Chapter 138: Father and Daughter

Tens of thousands of miles away, the bloodshed and upheaval in the Yanluo Hall, the fall of the Ghost Emperor—Lu Xingzhou knew nothing of it at all.

That night he hugged his little maid and slept until the sun was high in the sky, only waking groggily when conversation drifted in from outside the courtyard. Listening closely, it was a servant from the Sheng family coming to invite them to a meal: "Miss A'nuo, is your master here? Our lord and young lady have set out wine to thank your master."

A'nuo was saying, "Sister Yao is only inviting Master? What about me?"

"Of course we're inviting you too, Miss."

"What about Sister A'luo?"

"... Our young lady didn't mention that name. Most likely she doesn't know her."

Lu Xingzhou looked down. Pei Chuyun lay in his arms with a half-smile: "This Miss Sheng, I'm afraid she's truly fallen for him."

Lu Xingzhou said, "Probably not. Melon Girl is all fire and fury every day, never had any intention of looking for a man. I suspect she's never even opened that door in her head."

"Is that so?" Pei Chuyun hummed. "If she's only a friend, why does she have so much hostility toward me?"

"Isn't it because every time you see her you get all tea-sweet? Even I get goosebumps listening."

Pei Chuyun giggled: "Against a woman like her, this trick works best—one word and she's so disgusted she can't eat."

"So where does your hostility toward her come from, then? Why deliberately disgust her?"

Pei Chuyun's beautiful eyes circled his face several times before she slowly rose and smoothed her hair: "I don't know either. You're so clever—you guess."

Did she really think that just because the little enchantress of the Hehuan Sect wasn't afraid of giving herself away, she'd truly be willing to let him hold her like a bun every night? Those were two different things.

Pei Chuyun sighed inwardly. She suspected she'd heard more sweet nothings from Lu Xingzhou than even Shen Tang had, yet never knew how much was perfunctory and how much was real.

Of course, Lu Xingzhou also found it hard to be certain what the intimate little enchantress in his arms was actually thinking... they were even.

"Forget it." Pei Chuyun finished dressing and said leisurely, "Normally when you go to a banquet, who brings a maid along? Going to the Pei residence that day was deliberate—under normal circumstances it wouldn't be appropriate. You and A'nuo go ahead."

"Then where will you go?"

Pei Chuyun paused, her smiling eyes curving: "My young master, I need to cultivate too. Why would I need to go anywhere?"

Lu Xingzhou tapped his head and laughed to himself.

This little cat, lazing in his arms day after day, sleeping at the drop of a hat, constantly made him forget that in her first half of life she had also been a rising star of the Mo Sect, cultivating every day—a standout of this age.

He felt as though her sleeping was itself a form of cultivation.

Lu Xingzhou didn't think further. He took A'nuo to the meal. Pei Chuyun ate some breakfast alone in the courtyard and sat quietly in cultivation.

What she really wanted was to wait for Pei Qingyan. This was already the third day. With Pei Qingyan's power and resources, any investigation would be swift—by now there was most likely some result... She didn't know whether Pei Qingyan would come find her. She had no mind to go peddle tea in someone else's house at this juncture.

That mere Melon Girl was no challenge; bullying her brought no sense of accomplishment.

Sure enough, after quietly cultivating for a while, she sensed something in her heart. Pei Chuyun slowly opened her eyes.

Pei Qingyan stood alone before her, quietly staring at her, his gaze exceedingly complex.

Pei Chuyun stared back at him in silence.

The air hung still for several breaths before Pei Qingyan spoke in a slightly hoarse, low voice: "That day... you came deliberately to investigate your origins."

"Yes," Pei Chuyun replied calmly.

"Then you must already have an idea. Why... why didn't you say anything?"

"Say what?" Pei Chuyun's tone was faintly mocking: "Return to some so-called noble house? I'm not interested. I only wanted to know who my parents were, and why my position in the sect was so awkward."

Just as the Mysterious Lady had said—when Pei Qingyan investigated on his own and discovered Pei Chuyun's awkward position in the sect, the state of being "suppressed"—his mindset was entirely different from hers coming to claim kinship.

One could see the guilt in his eyes, the heaving of his chest reflecting his tangled emotions.

Pei Qingyan had truly just learned he had a daughter. For eighteen years he hadn't raised her for a single day, letting her fall into the Mo Sect—and into the Charwoman Hehuan Sect, which sounded at first hearing like the most depraved of Mo Sects... For Pei Qingyan, it was no different from his daughter ending up in a brothel.

If the Charwoman Hehuan Sect had treated her well out of consideration for her mother, that would have been something. But they hadn't. On the surface they gave her the title of Holy Maiden, but in reality suppressed her at every turn—no authority befitting a Holy Maiden, not even the old routine of building her image and promoting her. They left her with no support on either side, obscure and unknown.

Looking at it this way, the so-called Holy Maiden status had nothing to do with goodwill—only because the child was talented and worth cultivating. And indeed it was so: her mother's cultivation was already high, and with his Pei Qingyan bloodline, this child's potential might even surpass Pei Yu's.

Families like theirs had plenty of troublesome affairs. This act of acknowledging kinship could trigger a chain of complications, and the Charwoman Hehuan Sect was a lingering threat. But right now Pei Qingyan truly had no mind to think further. Impulsively, he said just this: "Come back with me, acknowledge your ancestors and return to the clan... I... as your father, I will give you everything you've missed in these eighteen years."

Pei Chuyun looked at him expressionlessly and did not respond.

Pei Qingyan's beard trembled slightly, and he pressed his lips together.

Pei Chuyun finally laughed coldly: "I was born in the Charwoman Hehuan Sect. Prime Minister Pei should think it through before speaking. Don't end up swallowing your own words—that would be utterly pointless."

Pei Qingyan calmed slightly, but the guilt in his heart deepened.

The Charwoman Hehuan Sect... this child might or might not know what happened back then, but back then he truly could not have taken her mother as his wife precisely because she was from the Charwoman Hehuan Sect.

How could a family like theirs possibly marry in a woman they knew was from the Charwoman Hehuan Sect? What would that even look like?

The outer residence he had promised back then was the only solution; wait until enough time had passed, gradually build a plausible alternative background for her, and then find a way to bring her home—that was the most secure approach. But fate is fickle, and they never met again.

Now, facing the Charwoman Hehuan Sect problem once more, Pei Qingyan truly didn't want to go through it again. He finally said softly: "This matter, as your father, I will handle it... I only need to know your own wishes."

Pei Chuyun said coldly: "What if I'm unwilling?"

Pei Qingyan blurted out, "Then you cannot stay in the Charwoman Hehuan Sect. That is no good destination!"

Pei Chuyun looked at him with faint mockery: "I haven't even acknowledged you yet, and you're already arranging my life? Once I truly go back, will you start arranging some political marriage for me 'for my own good' too?"

Pei Qingyan was taken aback. That was exactly what he would do.

Pei Chuyun said coldly: "I'm wondering—Prime Minister Pei discovers he has another daughter out there. Is his first thought that he's gained another tool for a political marriage, and his heart is wild with joy?"

"Absolutely not!" Pei Qingyan hastened: "Rest assured, the Pei family has no need for such things! It's just... it's just that the Charwoman Hehuan Sect truly is no good place. You..."

"I think Prime Minister Pei hasn't thought it through. Please go back first." As Pei Chuyun said this, she suddenly felt like laughing.

This was something Lu Xingzhou had also said at the Pei residence back then—she seemed to be copying her young master... But right now she could truly understand Lu Xingzhou's mindset when he'd said it. The other party seemed sincere but was actually full of reservations, without a single decisive, all-in commitment. What kind of response could that hope to get?

Neither she nor Lu Xingzhou were greenhorn brutes who'd lose all sense of direction over a couple of casual promises.

Pei Qingyan also felt the words sounded familiar. He thought for a moment, then finally shook his head with a rueful laugh: "It seems you've learned quite a bit following Lu Xingzhou..."

Pei Chuyun smiled, her eyes curving: "What—you find the Charwoman Hehuan Sect identity distasteful, but you don't think it's shameful for me to be his maid?"

This was the first time Pei Chuyun had smiled since the two met. Pei Qingyan was somewhat dazed. After a long while he shook his head: "Because this I clearly know is false... he must have been helping you investigate your origins, yes?"

"Mm." Pei Chuyun still wanted to laugh. It seemed Lu Xingzhou's image in the Pei family's eyes was quite good. She wondered—would you still be able to laugh if you knew your daughter was held in his arms every night, helped him with her little mouth the day before yesterday, and was filled up by him yesterday?

Thinking this, she suddenly felt a fit of irrepressible mirth, not knowing herself what kind of mindset this was.

Pei Qingyan said, "Just for this matter, I, as your father, owe Lu Xingzhou an immense debt of gratitude. When he returns, you may tell him that the matter he mentioned we had not yet considered can be discussed further."

Pei Chuyun inwardly thought that the rascal had once again achieved his original goal... The reason that fellow had brought her to the capital was originally to secure a debt of gratitude from the Pei family; she simply did not know whether he still needed it now.

Yet the words on her lips turned into asking for more on his behalf: "Do you only owe Lu Xingzhou this one debt of gratitude?"

Pei Qingyan was momentarily stunned: "What you mean is..."

"Yesterday, during Pei Yu's garden tour, to create an opportunity for his friend to pursue Sheng Yuanyao, he took a large group far away, causing Sheng Yuanyao to nearly be assassinated. Lu Xingzhou saved Sheng Yuanyao, which counts as a significant help to Pei Yu; otherwise, you and the Sheng family would likely already be at odds. Not to mention that last night he killed Ye Wufeng, which also avenged Pei Yu's friend. These are all debts of gratitude."

Pei Qingyan had been focusing these past two days on investigating Pei Chuyun's origins and had not paid much attention to these matters. Now, hearing it put this way, he nodded slightly: "We will arrange another banquet to invite Lu Xingzhou."

Having said this, the father and daughter suddenly had nothing more to say and fell silent.

Pei Chuyun remained silent for a moment, then plucked out a strand of her own hair and handed it over: "Test it first. You need certainty, and so do I. Some words should not be spoken at this time."

Pei Qingyan silently accepted it: "Very well."

Pei Chuyun finally stood up and said in a low voice: "No matter how little the Chuanü Hehuan Sect appeals to your eyes, it is truly a Yipinmo Sect. I, Pei Chuyun, as the Holy Maiden, pursue the Great Dao above all else. Therefore, though the Pei family enjoys the splendor of bells and tripods, with generations of officials, able to dominate the realm and command universal reverence, that holds no meaning for me. What I want is simply a father."

Having spoken, she ignored Pei Qingyan completely, turned, and entered the room.

Pei Qingyan pressed his lips together, gazed silently at the closed door for a long while, then sighed softly and departed, looking somewhat weary.

(End of this chapter)