Chapter 121: On Soulbreaking Abyss, the past flows like wind

Mother, who is she?

Mo Xiaohu blinked her big, watery eyes, sizing up the strange sister beside her. Those pitch-black pupils were like black grapes, as watery and spirited as could be.

Hello, little ones, I'm your mother's sister you can call me Meng Yi!

The family of four: ……

Who is this overly familiar woman?

When did you become my sister?

Ye Qingran asked, amused.

I call you Sis Ran—doesn't that make me your sister?

Ye Qingran:???

Is that even okay?

Hmph!

Fu Qianchen, as always, acted all tsundere in front of outsiders.

Mo Xiaohu, meanwhile, tilted her head back, smiling innocently: 'But Meng Yi, you're so young—if we call you that, won't we be calling you old?'

No way, no way!

Although being scorned by Fu Qianchen made her feel down, Mo Xiaohu's pure smile healed her again.

Xia Meng waved her hand, thinking how adorable the baby was—she wouldn't mind being called Grandma Meng!

……

Ye Qingran found a mountain stream to bathe Mo Xiaohu and Fu Qianchen.

Wuhen volunteered to help.

The two babies were stripped naked.

'Mother, why is our little chick so small?' Fu Qianchen asked, lowering her head in confusion.

Ye Qingran's mouth twitched; for a moment she didn't know how to explain. Meanwhile, Mo Xiaohu giggled: 'I'm as small as you—it's because we're still just babies!'

Fu Qianchen clearly didn't think Mo Xiaohu's words carried any authority, so she continued asking the already-blushing Ye Qingran, 'Pretty Mother, is that really the case?'

Ye Qingran felt answering this question was perfectly normal, so she patted Fu Qianchen's head: 'Of course! So you'd better eat well!'

Fu Qianchen blinked her eyes: 'Does that mean when we grow up we'll be as big as Father Lord?'

Cough!

Ye Qingran felt a thunderbolt roll down, striking her crisp on the outside, tender within.

Her already pure thoughts were led astray by Fu Qianchen, and uncontrollably she recalled that amorous episode at the National Master's manor.

Seems, it's actually quite big…

Wuhen beside her gave a light cough, turned her face away, her fair cheeks faintly flushing.

After bathing and changing their clothes, Xia Meng asked Ye Qingran where they were headed next.

Ye Qingran's reason for joining this hunting gathering was mainly to visit Soulbreaking Abyss. Without a second thought, she pointed toward it and said, 'Let's go to Soulbreaking Abyss.'

Soulbreaking Abyss lies in the middle of Jiu Fu Lin; it's not a major hazardous spot, but because there is a ten-thousand-zhang cliff here, ghostly wails and wolf howls often drift from below, enough to break one's soul.

Night fell.

A new moon rose slowly.

Above the night sky, countless stars were scattered.

Beneath the firmament, in Jiu Fu Lin, all sounds ceased.

After the two children fell asleep, Ye Qingran tiptoed out of the tent, tapped her foot, and darted toward the not‑far Soulbreaking Abyss.

After she left, Wuhen immediately opened her eyes, sat up, and gazed in the direction Ye Qingran had vanished, lost in thought.

The closer she walked to that abyss, the more uneasy Ye Qingran's heart became.

On Soulbreaking Abyss, the wind whistled sharply.

Five years ago, Lin Xueyan and Ye Huanhuan teamed up, luring Ye Qingran here, ruining her appearance, cutting open her abdomen to take her child, digging out her spiritual root, and shoving her into the ten‑thousand‑zhang abyss below!

Time flows like water; in the blink of an eye, five years have passed.

These years, although she has tirelessly searched for her child's whereabouts, she has never personally set foot here.

Tonight, when she finally mustered the courage to revisit this place, she found it far more oppressive and painful than she had imagined.

……

You say this wretch's belly is already seven or eight months along—why don't we cut her open and see whether the wild offspring she carries is male or female?

Not a bad suggestion—I'll tear off her clothes, you slit her belly.

A beggar's child, a lowly wild offspring—does it even deserve to live in this world?

You petty trash—any child you bear is the most lowly existence in this world!

Boring! Let's toss them to the jackals—don't forget why we're here.

A holy spiritual root growing on such a fool—what a waste!

……

Lin Xueyan and Ye Huanhuan's demonic clamor still rang in her ears, now transformed into a demonic echo that lingered.

Ye Qingran's breathing grew heavier; the hand at her side clenched, her chest rose and fell, a dull ache throbbed in her heart, as if something were blocked there.

The cold, lone moon, the crimson blood, the girl's pale, despairing face, the infant's heart‑rending wail…

One scene after another flashed in her mind.

Ye Qingran walked forward expressionlessly, reaching the edge of Soulbreaking Abyss; beneath her feet lay a black, massive gap, boundless, like the eye of an ancient beast.

The sharp wind howled up from below the cliff, striking the rock face and emitting a sound like ghosts wailing and wolves howling.

Here, nothing has changed at all.

This person, however, is no longer that person.

Things remain, but people have changed.

Ye Qingran lowered her gaze to the bottomless abyss below; her eyes seemed to hold countless ice and snow.

At that moment, a faint sound came from behind.

"Who's there?"

She abruptly turned around, her eyes like lightning.

Under the starlight and moonlight, the figure standing in the darkness was tall and straight, narrow-sleeved and long-collared, with a tightly bound waist, almost blending into the night.

Although she couldn't see his face clearly, Ye Qingran immediately recognized the person.

"How did you come here?"

Wuhen's gaze locked onto the woman on the cliff edge.

Just moments ago, she emanated a thick killing intent, like a slaughter god from Jiu You. Yet beneath that killing intent lay a despairing loneliness as endless as a long night.

What on earth has she experienced to reveal such a heartbreaking side?

A surge of pity welled up in his heart.

For a moment, he urgently longed to step forward and embrace her, to shelter her under his wings.

But he ultimately restrained himself.

"I'm not at ease with you… come over and have a look."

He spoke in a low, sombre tone, his voice darker than usual.

Ye Qingran nodded. She realized that her coming out must have alerted the already highly vigilant Wuhen.

"Since you're here, come sit." Ye Qingran pointed to a protruding stone ahead, then she herself turned and sat down, facing the abyss as terrifying as hell.

Wuhen remained silent for a moment, did not answer, but stepped forward toward this side.

Ye Qingran patted the spot beside her, "Sit."

Wuhen hesitated a moment, then sat down beside her.

Even though the cliff wind was blowing fiercely, he could still catch a faint fragrance drifting from her.

It was not the scent of powder or makeup, but a special fragrance, like orchids in an empty valley, or like snow lotus on an icy mountain—faint, elusive, altogether quite unique.

After Ye Qingran greeted him to sit, she stared straight ahead; her eyes were calm and still, as if veiled by clouds and mist, revealing nothing.

The two sat like that, neither speaking.

After an unknown amount of time, Ye Qingran suddenly spoke, "Want to hear a story?"

When Ye Qingran asked that, she didn't even look at Wuhen. Wuhen turned his gaze to her, looked at her profile, and gave a slight nod, "Mm."

Ye Qingran pondered for a moment, then said slowly: "Five years ago, in Xiliang City, there was a maiden born into a family of affluence and prestige, raised in the etiquette of a noble lady; though she had a fiancé, she became pregnant with another man's child before marriage."

As soon as she said that, Wuhen's pupils trembled.

He knew Ye Qingran was talking about herself.