Chapter 1396: The Secrets of Those Years

Dantai Lan's quiet words caused Li Luo's and Jiang Jiang Qinge's expressions to shift slightly.

Li Luo recalled what Dantai Lan had said earlier, urging him to treat Jiang Jiang Qinge better, that the two of them, mother and son, owed her a debt of gratitude.

"Mother, what exactly happened between you in the ruins back then?" Li Luo couldn't help but ask.

The events of those years were shrouded in secrecy, and apart from the two people involved, outsiders likely had no way of knowing.

Facing the curious, probing gazes of the two, Dantai Lan said helplessly: "Back then in those ruins, we happened to find the so-called 'Myriad Phase Seed.' This thing was full of spiritual intelligence, able to seek fortune and avoid misfortune. If you tried to capture it by force, even a King-level powerhouse wouldn't succeed."

"We originally had no expectations for it, but who could have expected that it would come to me on its own. I tentatively reached out and touched it, and during that contact, it entered my body."

"But before I could rejoice, I discovered that the Myriad Phase Seed resonated with you inside my body, and then began to merge with each other."

"This should have been a tremendous stroke of fortune."

"However, the Myriad Phase Seed was an absolute treasure into which the Faceless Holy Sect had poured the heart's blood and resources of countless predecessors. How could that fusion possibly be something the two of us could bear?"

At this point, a look of lingering fear also surfaced on Dantai Lan's cheeks. Clearly, that scene from back then, even now, was enough to make one's heart tremble.

"At the time, we mother and son nearly had our bodies melted into blood by the spiritual light of the Myriad Phase Seed," she said in a low voice.

Li Luo and Jiang Jiang Qinge broke out in cold sweat upon hearing this.

"Fortunately, heaven always leaves a way out."

Dantai Lan sighed and said: "The fresh blood of us mother and son spread out, and happened to touch little E who was in the middle of being sealed. The aura of her original seed radiated out, shielding us from the spiritual light of the Myriad Phase Seed. In the end, we mother and son barely survived."

Her gaze was gentle as she looked at Jiang Jiang Qinge, and she said: "So you see, little E is our family's benefactor. If not for little E, Li Luo and I would have died long ago in those ruins of the Faceless Holy Sect."

Li Luo finally understood. No wonder Dantai Lan had urged him so, and from childhood onward, whether it was her or Li Taixuan, they had clearly favored and doted on Jiang Jiang Qinge more.

Jiang Jiang Qinge also gently let out a breath of relief. She had no memories from that time, but if she had been able to save Li Luo and Dantai Lan, that was something that brought joy to the heart.

"Little E saved us mother and son, and because of that she also consumed some of her origin. Otherwise, her first phase wouldn't have been merely Lower Nine Grade," Dantai Lan said, looking at Jiang Jiang Qinge with a hint of apology.

"Moreover, the seal that protected little E, the one that froze time, also loosened because of this."

"At the time, we sensed a vitality emanating from little E's body."

"Originally, Taixuan and I didn't dare to lightly touch the things inside that ruin, because we could sense how terrifying it was in there. If we took things from there, we feared we wouldn't be able to bear that karmic burden."

"But because of this turn of events, we changed our minds, and in the end we brought little E out of those ruins as well."

"After we left the Faceless Holy Sect's ruins, we went through many more twists of fate, and ultimately we left Outer Shenzhou and went to another Outer Shenzhou."

"During that time, because the seal on 'little E' was fading too quickly, for the sake of her safety, we hid her in a spatial rift far away from Daxia. Taixuan and I would take turns going to observe her every year, until three years after Li Luo was born, when that seal completely dissipated. And the Jiang Qing who had been only an infant when we left the ruins had already become a little girl, and was beginning to recover her spiritual intelligence."

"At that point, we brought her back to House Luolan Mansion."

In Dantai Lan's gradual narration, the secrets of those years gradually unfolded before Li Luo and Jiang Jiang Qinge.

And now Li Luo also fully understood why, when Li Taixuan and Dantai Lan had left for a period and then returned, there had been a little girl with slightly blank and vacant eyes following beside them.

So that was Jiang Jiang Qinge's seal being broken.

Dantai Lan looked at the two of them and said: "This is what happened back then. You've both grown up now, and if you want to know, I naturally won't hide it from you."

"Also..."

She looked at Jiang Jiang Qinge, her eyes filled with deep affection, and said seriously: "Jiang Qinge, Mother doesn't want you to learn of these things and think that we only treated you well because of the debt of gratitude from the ruins back then."

"I won't deny that at first we harbored a heart of gratitude, but after you came to House Luolan Mansion, in my heart I treated you as my own daughter."

Jiang Jiang Qinge's eyes reddened slightly. Over all these years, how could she not have felt the affection Dantai Lan and Li Taixuan had for her? In her heart, they had long been true family.

That chance rescue back then might well have been the destined connection between them.

And if not for that rescue, perhaps Dantai Lan and Li Taixuan would ultimately have been too cautious to bring her, sealed as she was, out of the ruins. Then she would have continued to slumber endlessly in that frozen time.

Perhaps that would have been another story entirely.

But in that story, would there still have been Li Luo, Dantai Lan, Li Taixuan?

"Mother, I'm very grateful that you brought me out of the ruins back then, and gave me a House Luolan Mansion," Jiang Jiang Qinge said, her eyes slightly moist.

"I love this family dearly, so I will also do everything in my power to protect it."

Dantai Lan's eyes also welled up with tears. She couldn't help but hug Jiang Jiang Qinge, moved, and said: "What a wonderful daughter. Without the two of us, this family would have fallen apart sooner or later!"

Li Luo was speechless. Attacked even while lying down? I've put in a lot for this family too, you know.

"If you love it so much, then why did you two sneak off for so many years? Leaving the two of us to face those wolves of Daxia alone," Li Luo muttered.

"Do you have any idea how miserable House Luolan Mansion was after you left? Me, a young mansion master with an empty phase, a waste—how much mockery did I suffer? If Sister Qing hadn't stepped forward, turned the tide, and stabilized House Luolan Mansion's situation, this young mansion master would have been driven out."

"Before we left, we did make some arrangements. At the very least, with Old Niu there, even if House Luolan Mansion was gone, your lives would still be safe."

"Besides, this was a suitable trial, wasn't it?" Dantai Lan said with a smile.

Li Luo rolled his eyes and said: "So what I want to ask is, was there some reason you had to leave in such a hurry back then? If you need help, we want to do our part too."

Jiang Jiang Qinge also nodded gently in agreement.

Dantai Lan sighed softly. The topic had come around to this after all. These two little ones, after a few years apart, were indeed not easy to deal with.

She was silent for a while, then finally said slowly: "As parents, unless we were truly at our wits' end, how could we bear to leave our own children?"

"We left, ultimately, because of you."

Dantai Lan's heavy gaze turned to Li Luo.

"If we hadn't left, you would have died."