Chapter 88: Mother-Daughter Reunion

Ye Zhiqiu did not know what choice Xiao Qidi would make at this moment, but no matter what, as long as Lu Xingfeng felt that using her as a hostage was useless, she still had a slim chance of survival.

Indeed, when he heard those words, Lu Xingfeng's gaze showed a hint of wavering.

"Come, kill me if you dare," Ye Zhiqiu lifted her head, "I want to see how long you can live after I die."

"Don't force me..." Lu Xingfeng's cheeks twitched.

At this moment, Xiao Qidi lifted his foot and started walking toward the two of them.

He had a blank expression, as if he truly did not care at all about Ye Zhiqiu's life or death.

"Don't..." Ning Jinli whispered softly behind him.

Xiao Qidi said, "I am fully confident I can kill Lu Xingfeng; if I let this person escape, there will surely be endless trouble."

"But Sect Leader Ye..." Ning Jinli's eyes were full of anxiety.

Xiao Qidi lowered his voice, "If I do not act, Lu Xingfeng will realize that holding her is useful, which will instead put her in danger."

Ning Jinli immediately understood and stopped obstructing.

Xiao Qidi stepped forward, slowly approaching Lu Xingfeng.

"Don't come closer!" Lu Xingfeng's eyes finally showed a hint of fear, "Otherwise I really will kill her!"

Xiao Qidi sneered, "Do as you wish; I already gave you a chance to surrender and spare your life, you missed it, now I must kill you."

A powerful oppressive aura fully erupted at this moment.

Lu Xingfeng's psychological pressure rose to its peak.

In this situation, he would soon lose focus and reveal an opening.

Xiao Qidi only needed to strike at the moment he lost focus to kill him and, as far as possible, preserve Ye Zhiqiu.

Although the two sides appeared to be in a stalemate, they were actually engaged in a psychological battle.

As Xiao Qidi was about a zhang away from Lu Xingfeng and Ye Zhiqiu, Lu Xingfeng was about to lose control of his inner panic.

Ning Jinli suddenly noticed a pendant at her feet.

Its familiar color and shape instantly struck her heart.

She hurriedly picked it up and opened it to look.

Inside, there appeared a photo of her as a child with her father and mother.

In an instant, Ning Jinli's eyes widened and her whole body trembled violently.

Uncontrollable emotions surged out, swallowing all her reason.

She blurted out a crying shout, "Mom! It really is you!"

This cry, as if it could pierce a person's soul, left Ye Zhiqiu's mind blank in an instant.

"Mom!" Ning Jinli wailed, "I'm Xiao Li!"

"Xiao... Xiao Li?" Ye Zhiqiu trembled all over, her face full of shock, "How... how could you..."

The sudden change startled Xiao Qidi greatly.

And Lu Xingfeng also froze for a moment.

Ye Zhiqiu suddenly burst forth with astonishing strength, shoving Lu Xingfeng aside and preparing to rush toward her daughter at all costs.

At the critical moment, both Xiao Qidi and Lu Xingfeng snapped back to their senses simultaneously.

Xiao Qidi immediately launched an attack.

Lu Xingfeng no longer had time to reach out and grab Ye Zhiqiu.

At the moment of life and death, his strong survival instinct triggered an extraordinary reaction and speed, and he caught sight of that weapon lying beside his feet in his peripheral vision.

That was the Divine Weapon Ye Zhiqiu had used to break his right arm!

He rolled on the spot, picked it up, extended his arm, and the gun barrel exactly pressed against the back of Ye Zhiqiu's head, "Don't move!"

Ye Zhiqiu suddenly stiffened.

Although Xiao Qidi did not recognize it as a shotgun, he instantly realized it resembled the weapon Ning Jinli had found in the Zhuiyingjian forest.

That thing could even kill a giant snake!

And the one in Lu Xingfeng's hands was obviously much larger than that.

Its power must be even more terrifying.

Having no choice, Xiao Qidi could only move his fist, which was about to smash into Lu Xingfeng.

All of this happened in an extremely short time.

So brief that Ning Jinli had only blinked, and when she opened her eyes again, Ye Zhiqiu was being held hostage once more.

Xiao Qidi was only two or three steps away from Lu Xingfeng, yet he dared not act again.

"Daughter... it really is you..." Ye Zhiqiu wept, gazing at Ning Jinli less than two meters away, "You've grown up... you've become a young lady, but how could you also..."

"Mom..." Ning Jinli dissolved into tears, choking up unable to speak.

Lu Xingfeng sneered, "It's really not the time for you mother and daughter to recognize each other; you've given me quite a surprise."

Although he also couldn't figure out how the situation suddenly became like this.

But there is no doubt that the initiative has now returned to his hands.

"Obediently make those snake packs retreat, or else your mother's head will meet the same fate as my right arm!" Lu Xingfeng threatened, gripping the shotgun's handle.

Then he also ordered Xiao Qidi, "Stay away from me as well!"

Xiao Qidi's face darkened, and he clenched his jaw as he stepped back a few paces.

Ning Jinli could only disperse the snake swarm.

"Ye Zhiqiu, don't move around anymore," Lu Xingfeng warned, "Now slowly step back and follow me away from here."

By then, Ning Jinli had already calmed down from her earlier loss of control.

She recognized the weapon clutched in Lu Xingfeng's hand and instantly thought of the pistol she had placed in her waist pack.

Inside the gun, there's still the last Bullet…

"Mom…" Ning Jinli steadied herself and asked, "That Revolver, you made it, right?"

Lu Xingfeng couldn't understand what a Revolver was.

But Ye Zhiqiu not only understood, he immediately realized that the discarded Revolver must be in his daughter's hands.

Otherwise his daughter wouldn't ask like that.

"That's right," Ye Zhiqiu gradually calmed down, while cooperating with Lu Xingfeng's slow retreat, and looking into Ning Jinli's eyes, said word for word, "Do you find it useful?"

Ning Jinli remained expressionless, quietly slipped her hands behind her back to draw the Revolver, "It's useful; I've already mastered it."

Ye Zhiqiu added, "No wonder you're my daughter; you got the hang of it right away. Not everyone can do that, especially people from ancient times."

"What nonsense are you two spouting? Shut up!" Lu Xingfeng gritted his teeth and scolded.

Even though he felt he had the situation under control, the mother‑daughter conversation left him bewildered and increasingly uneasy.

He wanted to leave immediately, but his physical condition wouldn't allow it, so he had to hold onto Ye Zhiqiu while inching backward.

Xiao Qidi remained silent, but a flash of light rose in his eyes as he guessed the meaning behind Ye Zhiqiu and Ning Jinli's exchange.

"Daughter, are you ready?" Ye Zhiqiu shouted.

As soon as the words fell, Ning Jinli's gaze hardened and she extended her right hand.

Even though the mother and daughter hadn't seen each other for ten years, their tacit understanding blossomed perfectly at that moment.

Ye Zhiqiu immediately lunged forward, diving onto the ground.

Lu Xingfeng was startled; instinctively he tried to give Ye Zhiqiu a lesson with the weapon in his hand, only to realize he didn't know how to use it.

Relying on a vague memory of the moment Ye Zhiqiu had broken his arm, he fumbled clumsily, feeling for the weapon's rear end.

He remembered that Ye Zhiqiu had used it that way.

The rear end seemed to contain a small mechanism.

A pull would spray a flash of fire, launching some enormously powerful projectile!

Bang!

A deafening roar.

Lu Xingfeng's finger just touched the mechanism, and he felt excruciating pain in his chest.

Looking down, a bloodied hole gaped in his chest, with fresh blood gushing out.

He looked up in disbelief, staring at the smoking weapon in Ning Jinli's hand, "You… how… could… could you…"

"Perhaps this is destiny's will," Ning Jinli said coldly, staring into his terrified eyes.

Clang—

Lu Xingfeng could no longer hold his weapon.

The Shotgun fell to the ground.

He covered his bleeding chest and staggered backward.

Ye Zhiqiu picked up the Shotgun, ready to fire a round into his head, but Lu Xingfeng, dazed and swaying, staggered to the platform's edge and, with a misstep, fell into a bottomless abyss.

Ye Zhiqiu peeked out, let out a long sigh, "That guy… finally dead."

"Mom!" Ning Jinli dropped the Revolver and sprinted over.

Ye Zhiqiu also set the Shotgun aside, ran toward his daughter, "Xiao Li… my daughter!"

The mother and daughter clutched each other tightly, both weeping until they were a blur of tears.

"Mom, how did you end up here?"

"Daughter, how are you here?!"

They asked in unison.

Then they both answered in unison, "It's a long story."

Their voices fell, the mother and daughter stared, then both burst into tearful smiles.

There were too many things they wanted to say and ask; they couldn't finish in a short time.

That night, Ye Zhiqiu let Ning Jinli and Xiao Qidi stay at her residence.

"You two can bathe and change here first; I'll have my attendants waiting here to prepare food for you, and if you need anything else, just ask them."

"I still need to deal with Lu Xingfeng's mess."

"Daughter, you and His Majesty should rest first."

After giving the instructions, Ye Zhiqiu gave Ning Jinli a firm hug and left reluctantly.

Later, Ning Jinli and Xiao Qidi each went to bathe and freshen up.

These days they had lived like savages, and now they could finally have a proper bath.

Ning Jinli lay in a large tub filled with hot water, gazing at the antique beams; her body relaxed, and she felt as if dreaming.

She could never have imagined that after ten years… she could still see her mother.

She couldn't have imagined that her mother had also come to a world over two thousand years ago and become a Sect Leader of a martial world sect.

What had her mother gone through in those ten years?

And… what about father?

She once thought her parents had died in a car accident.

But just two months ago, after the Spacetime Portal appeared and a series of events unfolded, she learned from He Kai that the crash wasn't an accident and the bodies were never found.

She had indeed fantasized that her parents might have miraculously escaped the accident and lived in secret, only unable to meet her due to unavoidable reasons.

But fantasy aside, that possibility seemed nonexistent.

In reality, the truth was even more unbelievable than her fantasies.

"I… could it be that I'm really dreaming?" Ning Jinli squeezed her thigh hard.

The next second, she was in so much pain tears welled up.

It hurts, it really hurts!

This proves it's all real!

She smiled through tear-filled eyes.

After bathing, she changed into the clean clothes and socks prepared by the Sect Leader's attendants, then went to the hall to eat something.

The table in the hall was filled with dishes.

Xiao Qidi had already finished washing up and was sitting here waiting.

"Your Majesty, Miss Ning, please take your time. Just call if you need anything; we'll be waiting outside." After the Sect Leader's attendants said this, they withdrew from the hall with deep respect.

The table had fish, meat, and vegetables, looking abundant, and obviously not common practice of this era.

No need to ask; it must have been taught by Ye Zhiqiu.

Ning Jinli swallowed a mouthful of saliva, her stomach growling loudly.

During the few days in Zhuiyingjian, she had been nearly starved, eating only two decent meals of wild boar meat; the rest of the time she could barely get by.

"Here, eat this quickly." Ning Jinli tore off a chicken leg and placed it in Xiao Qidi's bowl, then began eating herself.

As they ate, she noticed Xiao Qidi hadn't started eating, just silently watching her.

"Huh? Why aren't you eating?" she asked, cheeks puffed, her words muffled.

Xiao Qidi smiled, "You look quite nice in the clothes of this era."

Ning Jinli struggled to swallow the mouthful of food, giggling, "Of course, you don't even look at my appearance."

Xiao Qidi said, "I can see that you share many similarities with Ye Zhangmen; she... is really your mother?"

"Yes, absolutely!" Ning Jinli nodded repeatedly.

"In that case..." Xiao Qidi pondered, "During the previous chase of the Yu Guo Crown Prince, you and she merely crossed paths; if you had met then, you would have already recognized each other."

"Who would have thought that? But it's fine; aren't we reconciled now?"

"Why did your mother also come to this era? Could she have also passed through the Spacetime Portal?"

"I don't know, I haven't had a chance to ask yet. Hey, don't worry about this for now—finish your food, rest well, and I'll tell you once I figure it out."

"Hmm..."

Regarding this matter, not only Ning Jinli was curious, but Xiao Qidi also harbored many doubts.

After they finished eating, each went to their assigned bedroom to sleep.

Finally able to rest peacefully, Ning Jinli and Xiao Qidi quickly fell asleep.

The next morning.

The sky was already bright.

Ning Jinli slowly opened her eyes to see Ye Zhiqiu sitting beside the bed, smiling.

"Mom!" Ning Jinli sat up and flung herself into her embrace.

Ye Zhiqiu gently stroked her daughter's shoulder and said softly, "Did I wake you? Go back to sleep for a while."

Ning Jinli said, "No, no, I'm not sleeping; I want to look at you more. Mom, haven't you rested yet?"

Ye Zhiqiu yawned, "Yeah, I was busy handling things late last night... Hey Xiao Li, how did you come to this world? And what's going on between you and Xiao Qidi? How did you end up together?"

Ning Jinli scratched her head, "This starts from when I inherited a factory from the Ning Family."

Afterward, Ning Jinli told Ye Zhiqiu the whole series of strange events that had occurred since she opened the Spacetime Portal.

After hearing this, Ye Zhiqiu was stunned for a moment before regaining her composure, delighted, "In other words, you can still return to the modern world?"

"Yes! I can go back! Xiao Qidi can travel back and forth too—too bad no one else can." Ning Jinli urgently asked, "Mom, how did you end up here? What exactly happened ten years ago?"