Dance Of The Dragons
Chapter 407 : Traveling Alone (1)

Chapter 407: Chapter 407 : Traveling Alone (1)

Upon hearing Qiao Wei’s pronouncement of his inability to marry Bai Ling, Bai Siyang declared their engagement officially dissolved. His daughter, however, reacted with vehement disapproval.

That night, a tempestuous scene ensued between her and her father.

"He said that he only saw me as a little sister!" Bai Ling cried out. "He didn’t say that he hated me! He still cared for me, so why can’t he just marry me???"

With a deliberate shove, Bai Ling toppled a porcelain statue from its stand, sending it plummeting to the floor in a porcelain rain.

"Little Ling, will you stop already!"

A sharp tone laced Bai Siyang’s words as he reprimanded his daughter.

"Qiao Wei must have a strong reason for his decision. We must respect his wishes!"

Hot tears burned Bai Ling’s eyes, blurring her vision as she fought to breathe through the rising tide of emotion.

"His wishes?? Does he even know what he wants??? What about my wishes???"

Sobs wracked Bai Ling’s body as she crumpled onto the couch, her face pressed against a comforting pillow. A sigh, heavy with paternal concern, drew Bai Siyang to her side.

"Little Ling, you are such a beautiful young woman. You have all the time in the world to find a man who truly appreciates you and wants to take you as a wife. Why are you so hung up on Qiao Wei?"

Bai Ling threw herself at Bai Siyang’s neck and wailed at her father’s shoulder.

"Because Wei Wei is the best! Wei Wei cares for me the most! The others only see me as the daughter of the sect leader! I don’t trust them and I don’t want any of them as my husband!"

Bai Siyang ran his hand up and down Bai Ling’s shoulder and sighed.

It was a good idea to send Qiao Wei away from Mount Wu. Bai Ling needed to be away from him for now.

While Qiao Wei journeyed south towards Jiangnan, a heavy heart accompanied his measured steps. Leaving without bidding farewell to Bai Ling gnawed at his conscience, despite Bai Siyang’s insistence on a swift departure. Though he knew this wasn’t a banishment, a melancholic ache lingered, refusing to be dispelled by the promise of new horizons.

In an attempt to distract himself from his churning thoughts, Qiao Wei transformed the world into a stage for acts of kindness. He rescued a child’s cat from a skyward scramble, guided an elder across the rushing river, and even faced down a charging boar on behalf of a startled stranger.

"I am deeply grateful," the man bowed to him many times. "If Grandmaster was not there, I might be dead by now."

Qiao Wei dismissed the address, "I am not a Grandmaster. Just someone who wants to help."

"Anyway, I thank you very much. May I invite you for lunch?" The man asked ecstatically.

"No, I... I have to continue my journey."

"Daddy...!!!"

A child’s voice, sharp and unexpected, pierced through the air, freezing Qiao Wei in his tracks.

The man he had just saved broke into a happy grin and walked past Qiao Wei.

"Heyyy, my babies!"

Qiao Wei spun around and watched the man scoop up his twin boys and kiss his wife on the cheek.

"You took so long to return. You said that you were only hunting for some wild hares!" The wife playfully pouted at her husband.

"Ahahaha, my bad, my bad. Wife, you wouldn’t believe it. I ran into a wild boar and almost got killed. Thankfully, this great cultivator saved me..."

The man turned around and saw no one behind him.

"Eh? Where did he go?" He asked, puzzled about Qiao Wei’s sudden disappearance.

At that time, the cultivator in question was already on his sword, traveling southward.

The picture-perfect family scene struck him like a physical blow. The weight in his chest returned, heavier this time, as his mind conjured Zhang Fengxi and their sons, and the little memories they weaved together upon his brief return to the Heavenly Realm.

After flying several lis, he decided to resume his journey on foot, but this time away from the crowd.

Oh, he missed them, Qiao Wei thought as he traced a solitary path, dwarfed by ancient trees that clawed at the sky. Their leafy fingers choked the sunlight, leaving only slivers of gold dappling the forest floor.

He missed all three of them.

He missed his husband, the fiery tiger whose love had blazed even into eternity, warming him beyond the chill of death.

He yearned for his twin bundles, whose whispers were as soft as that of newborn birds, whose desperate fingers clang to his robe, and whose eyes shimmered like glass, reflecting a sea of unspoken need.

Before he knew it, his tears escaped their confines and fell freely down his face.

What a disgrace for a cultivator to cry all of a sudden in the middle of nowhere! He scolded himself.

Qiao Wei stopped in his tracks to wipe the tears away.

Just then, he heard a tiny whimper, clearly coming from a child.

An audible gasp erupted, followed by a flurry of hushed murmurs. And then, a colossal shadow, a dark blur amidst the trees, cut through the scene like a fleeing specter.

"Wait!!!" Qiao Wei shouted. "Stop right there!!!"

The stranger’s raven cloak billowed behind him, a dark banner carried by the wind of his flight. He was determined to ignore Qiao Wei’s calls, so Qiao Wei had no other choice but to subdue him.

Qiao Wei’s sword leaped from its scabbard, a silver flash arching through the air towards the stranger’s unsuspecting back.

A loud clang erupted as the stranger’s weapon parried Qiao Wei’s strike, the force whipping his sword back into his grasp.

Frightened cries were heard, not from the stranger but from the two bundles he was carrying in his arms.

One of the bundles pulled back his hood, revealing a pair of fluffy tiger ears, and cried out, "Mommy, please don’t be mad! We just wanted to see you!"

Qiao Wei’s jaw fell open in disbelief.

It was Zhang Mingrui.