All Heavenly destiny reduced to ashes
Chapter 362 - 12 The Past (1/3)

Chapter 362: Chapter 12 The Past (1/3)

Bai Qinghan was in Linjiang City, and moreover, she was together with his own mother, Shen Mubai.

This matter sounded somewhat unbelievable, but upon careful thought, it wasn’t strange... With the power of the Heaven’s Will Demon Sect, especially with the Northern Patrol Envoy leading, the ability of that batch of Demon Sect members to infiltrate Da Chen, it would have been odd if they couldn’t find Shen Mubai.

This was also why An Jing was anxious about his mother’s safety and wanted to find her as soon as possible.

Although now it seemed that An Jing was one step, or rather, many steps too late... At a glance, it seemed that Bai Qinghan hadn’t done anything, had she?

"Eldest Senior, since you are reunited with your aunt after a long separation, I will not disturb you for the time being."

After meeting with An Jing, Bai Qinghan bowed slightly and then hid inside the house.

There were many questions in An Jing’s heart, but Xiaobai was right, it was better to first ask about his mother’s situation.

The two of them entered the room, Bai Qinghan excused herself to the back to avoid suspicion, and An Jing sat in front of the stove holding his mother’s hands and talked.

Shen Mubai asked An Jing tirelessly about his recent days, and An Jing also explained in detail most of his actions after arriving at Hanging Fate Manor.

As for matters related to Subdue Evil Sword Spirit and the Tianyuan Realm, An Jing straightforwardly said there were some things he couldn’t tell his mother yet, and Shen Mubai expressed her understanding—seeing An Jing safe was enough for her, to have her own son healthy and in good shape right in front of her was more important than anything.

Moreover, Shen Mubai understood very well in her heart: if she knew the secrets her son couldn’t tell others, should other people learn of this one day, they would definitely consider capturing her to get the secrets.

Of course, if she faced someone truly intent on targeting her in such a way, knowing or not knowing the secrets, she would be captured either way, but if she was ignorant, even if pressed for information using various means, it wouldn’t cause her son any harm.

His mother’s understanding of this relieved An Jing. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to tell her, it was just not the right time.

The secrets of the Tianyuan Realm could be passed off with a hidden Cave Heaven microcosm, but it was best to reveal nothing about Subdue Evil, to avoid letting the Heavenly Demon catch wind of it, for he really wouldn’t be able to live in peace then.

However, An Jing found something odd.

Because Shen Mubai seemed not at all unfamiliar with Hanging Fate Manor.

"Qinghan herself told me," said Shen Mubai, looking towards the back house and smiling. "I know that she and you are disciples from the same entry to the manor. However, she chose to stay in the manor, and you fled from it... She told me about you, from her perspective."

"Son, I am proud of your choices," she said.

"Mm," An Jing appeared expressionless, but in his heart, he gasped silently: [No, why did Xiaobai even talk about this?]

—Fortunately, everything I have done can be honestly shown to my parents, family, and friends, otherwise I’d really be unlucky!

To be honest, at that instant, An Jing reviewed all he had done in Hanging Fate Manor like a flashback in his brain, and only then did he breathe a sigh of relief.

Regarding the events after leaving Hanging Fate Manor, Shen Mubai was extremely well-informed about the things An Jing did in Kanming City.

It was not only because storytellers had spread the events far and wide across the region, but also because Bai Qinghan had informed her of the details of Kanming City—although they differed from what An Jing had truly experienced and were from the Demon Sect’s point of view, they were coherent overall.

"Why... did she do that?" An Jing really didn’t understand the reason behind Bai Qinghan’s actions.

Because from what was shared, Bai Qinghan not only told the truth, she didn’t even hide her Demon Sect identity and clearly told Shen Mubai she was the ’Mysterious Yin Goddess’ from the Heaven’s Will Demon Sect, and also involved in the sect’s activities.

Putting aside why her hair had turned white and why she appeared in Linjiang City... An Jing was simply baffled, "Why didn’t she take my mother away?"

"Linjiang City is so perilous, she needn’t have waited for me; she could have taken my mother directly back to Heaven’s Will Mountain."

"At that time, I couldn’t have said she was wrong. Others might be resentful, thinking it was the Demon Sect’s plot to control my thoughts, but as long as it’s explained to me, Xiaobai knows I wouldn’t be angry because of it, I would just think of a way to get my mother out."

With confusion temporarily suppressed in his heart, An Jing shook his head slightly and asked his mother for her opinion.

"I don’t have any opinions."

Shen Mubai shook her head slightly, "The Demon Sect indeed is evil, but we must focus on managing ourselves first. Jing’er, there are too many difficult, tiring, and bitter things in this world... Our family is also made up of refugees. I can’t figure it out, and I don’t want to figure it out... It’s better to be confused than to overthink."

"At first, I thought Qinghan was planning to take me to the Demon Sect and then trade you back to them. But later, I understood that she came just to protect my safety."

"And I can see... she has something she needs from you, that’s why she stayed with me, where she knew for sure you would come."

"Looking for me..."

An Jing was silent for a while, then shook his head slightly and asked his mother about her experiences over the past two years.

Everything was as An Jing had speculated.

The place where the two had separated, Ming Mountain City at the Northern Border, quickly collapsed.

Millions of its residents fled. Only a small portion of the city’s defenders and the Martial Army’s Armored Guard remained. Not long after, the Northern Barbarians’ grand army attacked from three directions at once and swiftly captured Ming Mountain City, which, given its mountainous fortifications, would not have normally fallen.

Following that, the surrounding area of Ming Mountain City experienced the worst blizzard of the Frost Calamity. The entire mountain was nearly frozen over, and it was said that the Northern Barbarians also suffered a loss to their Yuan Qi, which halted their large-scale invasions.

Under such severe circumstances, Shen Mubai raced against time and the Frost Calamity to reach the vicinity of Broken Blade Mountain as quickly as possible.

As a martial artist, Shen Mubai had no issues with food and clothing once she regained her strength, especially since they had brought some silver with them for expenses. It was just useless in the wilderness.

After arriving in the Broken Blade Mountain area, Shen Mubai took some time to recuperate in a small, out-of-the-way courtyard.

An elder from the An Family used to guard this place, but he did not survive the intense cold of the Frost Calamity and died in a summer when ice formed.

After her recovery, fearing that the Frost Calamity would continue to spread, Shen Mubai left Linjiang City and continued southward. As a result, many people from Broken Blade Mountain also relocated, and the once-bustling banks of Yujiang instantly became desolate.

The Linlang Commerce Chamber settled there during that period.

Shen Mubai remembered that when she left Linjiang City, the Linlang Commerce Chamber had conflicts with the local forces, leading to several violent clashes.

But by then, there were no martial artists from the government to stop such brawls, and all of them ended with the Linlang Commerce Chamber emerging victorious.

However, none of these mattered to Shen Mubai. She continued southward to Beirui City in the southeast, where she disguised her identity, recuperated, and then devoted herself to cultivation, breaking through to the level of Inner Breath as Vast as River.

"After that, I heard news about you, learned that you had been sent to the Northern Border, so I left Beirui and planned to wait for you around Broken Blade Mountain."

"On the way there, I met this child who claimed to be your junior sister... She explained your situation to me, and then accompanied me back to Linjiang City."

This was Shen Mubai’s ordeal – simple yet full of alarming perils. An Jing could tell that Shen Mubai’s several lightly mentioned experiences of ’running away,’ ’avoiding brawls,’ and ’breaking through bandit blockades’ were incredibly dangerous.

"You could have waited for me in Beirui City."

Hearing this, An Jing couldn’t help speaking out, "If I couldn’t find you in Linjiang City, I naturally would go to other predetermined places... Beirui is warm and safe, you would definitely have no accidents there!"

"How could that be? The situation in Beirui City is also quite strange lately. Martial artists in the city are continuously disappearing; rumors have it that a mysterious labyrinth has been discovered in the underground river... Many martial artists from other places are converging there, and it’s clear that the situation is changing."

Shen Mubai shook her head slightly, "The more people there are, the more likely my true identity could be exposed. If your junior sister Bai can find mother, it’s natural that other forces could too."

"It was precisely because I vaguely sensed that something was wrong, seemingly already being watched by someone, that I decided to leave."

—But the ones watching you are very likely from the Heaven’s Will Demon Sect!