In an instant, a raging fire blazed in the small garden of the Hun Tian Palace. Out of the scarlet flames stepped two men. One was tall and held a long sword in his hand, while the other was half a head shorter than him and was playing with a cluster of searing flames.
They both looked like formidable characters. They had just blown up the elaborate Pushing Current Formation that Yi Huachi had painstakingly set up, leaving not a single ghost or a single tile.
Hun Dun, standing on the terrace, naturally saw this. He pinched Zhu Heyu's face and said, "Look at your two good senior brothers. They've ruined the formation I carefully arranged. Tell me, should I kill them?"
Zhu Heyu turned his head slightly to the side and ignored what Hun Dun said.
"Hahaha." Hun Dun neither beat nor scolded Zhu Heyu. Instead, he just burst out laughing without doing anything.
Perhaps no one knew what he was laughing about.
After Zhao Chen'an came out of the Qimen Dunjia, he and Qin Beixuan each took a soul - attaching doll and rushed straight to Yi Simiao's residence.
Knock, knock, knock—
Zhao Chen'an knocked on the door. He thought it would be Yi Simiao who opened it, but it was still Yi Liang.
Zhao Chen'an said with a teasing smile, "Brother Yi Liang, it's not proper for you to always go to a young girl's boudoir all day long~"
Yi Liang blushed involuntarily when teased by Zhao Chen'an. His voice stammered as he said, "I, I'm here to take care of my sister. My sister is not an outsider."
"Oh~ I see," Zhao Chen'an said as if suddenly enlightened. "Senior, what do you think of Yi Liang?"
Yi Bowen's voice came out muffled from the soul - attaching doll, "He is loyal and a good boy worthy of trust."
"Un, Uncle?!" Yi Liang was startled when he heard Yi Bowen's voice.
"Um, Xiaoliang, where's your sister?" Yi Bowen asked.
Yi Liang pointed into the room and said, "She's been sleeping."
Zhao Chen'an didn't think much of it in his heart. In fact, since Yi Simiao's living soul had escaped from the Pushing Current Formation, it must have had some impact on her physical body.
Qin Beixuan pinched the soul - attaching doll in his hand and looked into the room, "Let's go in. It's time to return this to its rightful owner."
This left Yi Liang very confused. He asked, "What is this?"
Zhao Chen'an put his arm around Yi Liang's shoulder, bent down and got close to him and said, "It's your sister's living soul. With this, your sister will return to normal."
Yi Liang immediately smiled happily, "That's great!"
For some unknown reason, when Qin Beixuan saw Zhao Chen'an's arm around Yi Liang's shoulder and their rather intimate posture, he felt a strange sense of unease in his heart. He directly reached out and grabbed the back of Zhao Chen'an's collar, forcibly separating them.
Just as Zhao Chen'an was about to say something more, he felt his collar being grabbed. By the time he reacted, he had been separated from Yi Liang like a chick being carried far away.
"…"
Zhao Chen'an flapped his arms and looked at Qin Beixuan pitifully, saying weakly, "Senior brother~ What are you doing~"
Qin Beixuan said to him very seriously, "How did the master usually teach you? You can't even stand properly."
Zhao Chen'an was about to refute, but Qin Beixuan didn't intend to listen at all. Just like a bad - tempered person, he lifted his leg and walked into the room. Just as he stepped over the threshold, as if suddenly realizing something, he reached out and dragged Yi Liang in too.
Seeing them go in, Zhao Chen'an also wanted to enter. But just as he lifted his foot, the door "banged" shut tightly.
At this time, Qin Beixuan's voice came from inside the door, "You stay outside. Don't come in."
It was obviously meant for Zhao Chen'an.
It was simply extremely speechless. Zhao Chen'an angrily kicked the door twice, using it as a way to vent his anger on Qin Beixuan.
Zhao Chen'an imitated Qin Beixuan's tone and said, "You're not allowed to come in, not allowed to come in." After saying that, he even snorted, "Do you think I want to go in?"
After venting his anger, Zhao Chen'an plopped down on the steps, basking in the sun and idling around like a mushroom.
After waiting for about the time it takes to burn an incense stick, Qin Beixuan opened the door and said to Zhao Chen'an, "Miss Yi Simiao is awake."
Hearing this, Zhao Chen'an took out the soul - attaching doll in his hand. He had been waiting for so long that he felt like the flowers had withered. Finally, this young lady was awake. He hoped that she wouldn't call him sister when they met again.
After Zhao Chen'an went in, he saw Yi Simiao sitting halfway on the bed. Zhao Chen'an tilted his head and asked carefully, "Do you... remember who I am?"
Yi Simiao smiled sweetly and said, "Of course I remember, sister."
Zhao Chen'an: "…"
Yi Simiao blinked her eyes. Thinking this wasn't the answer Zhao Chen'an wanted, she timidly added, "The sister who cried in my courtyard?"
Zhao Chen'an's face flushed bright red instantly. He quickly stopped Yi Simiao from continuing, "Alright, alright. Sister it is. I really can't do anything about you. Here, your father is looking for you." Zhao Chen'an handed the soul - attaching doll in his hand to Yi Simiao. During this process, he also infused a layer of spiritual power into it.
And Yi Bowen could just use this spiritual power to form a vague phantom.
"Dad..." Yi Simiao called out hoarsely, "I miss you so much."
Even though Yi Bowen was a grown man, he got red - eyed when faced with this scene. He had rehearsed many times in his mind how to bid a solemn farewell without losing his great image in his daughter's heart.
But when his daughter called him dad, all his defenses were broken.
Zhao Chen'an also unconsciously got red - eyed when he saw the father - daughter pair.
Yi Bowen walked to the bedside and hugged Yi Simiao, pulling her petite body into his arms. But his embrace was no longer warm. The embrace of a dead man was truly bone - chillingly cold.
But Yi Simiao wasn't afraid of the cold at all. She tightly hugged Yi Bowen and didn't want to let go for a moment.
"Dad, Miaomiao misses you so much. Miaomiao dreams of you every night. I still want to eat the pear blossom shortbread you bought for me. I still want you to swing with me. No, no. Let's go to the study to learn characters together, okay... I won't make you angry anymore. Don't leave Miaomiao..." Yi Simiao grabbed Yi Bowen's sleeve. Her vision was already blurred by tears.
Yi Bowen clearly knew that he was dead. How could a dead person stay in the mortal world forever?
It's better to have a short period of pain than a long one. Yi Bowen gritted his teeth and forcibly separated himself from Yi Simiao, "Miaomiao, you've grown up. It's time for dad to let go."
Yi Simiao propped herself up to grab Yi Bowen's sleeve, but Yi Bowen dodged, "But I don't want to grow up, dad. Can you not stand so far away? Miaomiao can't reach you anymore. You never used to bear to see Miaomiao cry."
"As much as I can't bear it, I have to now," Yi Bowen wanted to wipe Yi Simiao's tears. He stretched out his hand but immediately retracted it, "Dad won't be able to take care of you from now on. From now on, Yi Liang will buy you the pear blossom shortbread instead of dad, swing with you instead of dad... wipe your tears instead of dad. You two should study hard and practice martial arts well. The children of our Yi family are very outstanding."
Yi Bowen gave a faint smile. His eyes were full of reluctance as he looked at Yi Simiao. He didn't say it out loud, but his eyes couldn't deceive anyone. But so what? He would never be able to see her marry in style, nor would he be able to see his grandson grow up healthily...
"Take good care of yourself, Miaomiao."