Zhang Fei - The Abandoned Son

Shang Baishi had just opened his eyes, but he was shocked after finding himself in another place and his cultivation sealed. He immediately woke up Shang Xiaoyin, who was still sleeping soundly beside him. "Xiaoyin! Wake up."

"Hmm." Shang Xiaoyin groaned softly and rubbed her eyes. "Why did you wake me up, husband? I'm still worn out and want to rest."

"Wake up now! We have moved to a different location, and someone sealed our cultivation.

Shocked, Shang Xiaoyin sat up and looked around. "How could this happen? Did my mother find us?"

"I don't think it's your mother but someone else." Shang Baishi helped Shang Xiaoyin up and led her out. "Even though our cultivation is sealed, I believe this place is still in the lower realm."

"You're right." Shang Baishi pulled Shang Xiaoyin behind him as soon as Zheng Mohei appeared in front of them. "My master brought you here, but you two are still in the lower realm due to this realm's connection to the previous realm."

"Who is your master?" Shang Baishi inquired with vigilance, as he had previously been unable to detect anything.

Zheng Mohei shook his head. "You don't need to know my master's name, but you guys need not worry because he won't kill you two, especially since your wife is pregnant. Instead, you will be safe from Shang Ziyuan's pursuit as long as you stay here, and your wife can give birth in peace. If you need food or anything else, you can look for all your needs around here."

"Husband."

Shang Baishi nodded to his wife. "The man just now was indeed strong, but he wasn't as strong as us if our cultivation wasn't sealed, and he seemed to be a demon. Moreover, his master must have known us for a long time, or else he wouldn't know your mother's name. That man might be one of the strong cultivators in the upper realms, but I don't understand why he would concern himself with the lower realms or why he wanted to save us from your mother."

"Do you think my mother won't be able to find us here?"

"We don't have any information about this place, so I don't know if she can find us or not." Shang Baishi then looked around the surroundings of the Xian Realm. "This realm is quite peaceful, and I can't feel the presence of anyone else other than that man. Moreover, we can't do anything with our cultivation sealed, and that person probably has certain plans to bring us here, so we can only stay here for the time while waiting for you to give birth."

Shang Xiaoyin nodded in response. "This realm seems comfortable, so we can stay here for the time being until our child is born. Moreover, that man's master will probably meet us soon, and we can know his plans for us then. I hope he is not an enemy of our family, or he might harm our child. I don't mind if I have to die, but I don't want that to happen to our child."

"Me too." Shang Baishi rubbed her stomach. "Even though I still feel that your pregnancy is too fast, I am happy that you are carrying my child, and I will do anything to protect our child."

"Yeah." Shang Xiaoyin immediately took his hand. "Since we will be here for a while, I want to explore the area first to find the best spots."

Shang Baishi walked beside her while looking around. "This realm is too small compared to the Wasteland Realm, let alone compared to the Red Sun Realm. We might be able to explore the entire realm area in a few days, but I still don't understand why there's no one here."

"Do you think that man's master has killed all the inhabitants?"

"That's possible." Shang Baishi nodded slightly. "However, it is none of our business, so we don't need to think about it. I just hope that man will come to see us soon; I want to know his identity and his intentions towards us."

Meanwhile, Zheng Mohei watched Shang Baishi and Shang Xiaoyin from a distance, but he was curious as to why Zhang Fei didn't kill the two, especially after the cruelty he had shown when they attacked the Tian Realm and slaughtered so many winged races.

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Helian Yueyi sat alone on the veranda looking up at the sky, but her face was quite pale, and her eyes were swollen. Her conversation with Zhang Fei last night kept bothering her mind, making it difficult for her to calm down or sleep. "What should I do to stop him? I don't want to die or see my children die, but I can't possibly fulfill his wish to kill my husband."

*Tap... Tap...*

Helian Yueyi turned towards the sound of footsteps. "Why did you come here, Lian'er?"

"What are you thinking about, Mother? Are you still thinking about Xiaoying and Xiaomei's condition?" Huangfu Lian returned the question, quickened his pace, and sat down next to Helian Yueyi. "I heard Senior Tiannan will be back in two weeks, and he brought someone from the Huangfu Clan with him."

"Did your father tell you about them?"

Huangfu Lian replied with a shake of his head. "My father never told me about them, and Grandpa Ling told me last night. So what's bothering you? Why is your face so pale?"

Helian Yueyi hesitated to tell her son the truth, but Zhang Fei's threat stressed her too much. "A powerful and evil cultivator wants to destroy our family, but I can't tell your father about him because he keeps monitoring us. He repeatedly infiltrated this palace without anyone knowing, including your father. He threatened me that he would kill you or your siblings if I told your father about this matter, and he ordered me to kill your father if I wanted us to survive."

'I'm sorry, Mother. My inability to defeat Zhang Fei left us in this situation, and I have become his slave now.' Huangfu Lian then asked. "Who exactly is that person? Why does he want to destroy our family?"

"Zhang Fei." Huangfu Lian pretended to be shocked so that Helian Yueyi would not be suspicious of him. "If your father wasn't obsessed with capturing him, we wouldn't be in this situation now. That brat apparently has a terrifying background, and his father is a powerful cultivator from the upper realms. I met him a few times, and one of his wives has an extraordinary status in the Red Sun Realm."

This time, Huangfu Lian was truly shocked by Helian Yueyi's answer. He knew that Zhang Fei came from another realm, but he thought that he came from the lower realms. Moreover, he knew nothing about his true background or the people around him, except for Feng Yao and Shang Yumei, who had helped him before. "Are you sure about that, Mother?"

"Do I need to lie to you?" Helian Yueyi then leaned back in her chair. "A month ago, I tried to track down the whereabouts of a mysterious woman in the Zhou Kingdom, and I met Zhang Fei's father there. I thought he was just an ordinary man because his cultivation was only at the 4-Star Earth Realm, but he apparently disguised it. I followed him when he went somewhere else, and the mysterious woman turned out to be one of his wives. She was able to restrict my movements so easily, and I couldn't do anything to free myself from her, but they didn't do anything to me and released me before they returned to their realm. After I returned, I asked your father to ask Senior Tiannan about her identity, and he told him that Hong Xinxin was the young miss of the Hong Clan, one of the powerful clans in that realm. They have a stellar reputation and influence in the upper realms; even the ancestors of the Huangfu Clan would not dare to confront them directly."

"Then, how can you be sure that that man is Zhang Fei's father?" Huangfu Lian asked in confusion.

Helian Yueyi let out a heavy sigh. "A few days later, Sister Yanxi and I met him at Zhang Fei's restaurant in the Yun Royal Capital, and he revealed to us that he was his father. At first, I didn't believe him, so I came to Yun Xinyue's wedding, and he was present with Hong Xinxin. He had a close relationship with everyone there; even the Beast Emperor and the Elf Emperor were also familiar with him."

'Mother! You have been fooled by Zhang Fei! That man is not his father but himself!' Naturally, Huangfu Lian could not tell Helian Yueyi that. "So aren't you going to talk to my father about this?"

Helian Yueyi frowned at her son. "How could I possibly tell your father about this matter? I already told you that man was constantly monitoring us, and he gave me a choice between our safety or your father's life. He has infiltrated your two sisters' rooms twice, and they are in a helpless state now. I fear that if I inform your father about this, he will immediately kill them."

'That guy is truly evil, mother! You would probably die of shock if you knew all his actions, including his action of turning Du She into Ruo Yanxi. Right now, all of us are already in his grasp, including Grandpa Ling.' Huangfu Lian then stood up, walked behind Helian Yueyi, and hugged her from behind. "I know we are in a difficult situation, but I am confident that we can get through it. We just need to wait for the right time. Senior Tiannan and the people from the Huangfu Clan will probably realize our situation, and they might be able to save us from that evil man."

"I don't have your self-confidence." Helian Yueyi rubbed her son's arm. "I don't mind if I die, but I'm afraid that he will hurt you and your two sisters. If the situation worsens, I want you to take Xiaoying and Xiaomei away from this kingdom, and you must take them to hide as far as possible so that he cannot find the three of you."

'Unfortunately, there is no safe place in this realm because I am his slave, and he can order me around at will.' Huangfu Lian could only say that in his heart. "I'll go see Xiaomei and Xiaoying now."

"All right." Helian Yueyi closed her eyes after her son left. 'Will he come to see me again tonight? If he comes to me again, I must try hard to persuade him not to destroy our family.'

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Zhou Xiaochuan, who was lying sick in bed, was shocked after one of his ministers told him that his treasury had been emptied and nothing was left.

"What should I do, Emperor?"

"Leave." The minister simply nodded and left Zhou Xiaochuan's room. "Who dares to infiltrate my palace? How did the culprit manage to infiltrate here without anyone knowing? Could it be those two people who did it? No one has dared to infiltrate here for hundreds of years, and this is the first time this has happened. Furthermore, I still can't figure out my situation; I suddenly felt sick like this four days ago. All my meridians are blocked, and I haven't been able to move my body for the past four days; even the imperial physicians couldn't cure me."

Zhou Xiaochuan then contacted his three aides to ask about the continuation of his order to attack the Yun Kingdom. However, he was disappointed because Zhou Hanling, Zhou Fanzhi, and Zhou Fenghu still had not succeeded in conquering the kingdom. The three inform him that they encountered fierce resistance from Yun Shang's troops. "Those bastards! If I weren't in this condition, I would go there and kill the three of them directly! I've given them the best troops to conquer that kingdom, but they still haven't managed to take it over."

Zhou Xiaochuan then contacted Kong Zhi to ask for his help. To his surprise, the old man was already in his palace, so he asked him to meet him directly.

Kong Zhi naturally knew that Zhou Xiaochuan was in such a condition because of Zhang Fei, especially since he had ordered the old man to meet him. "Oh? What happened to you, Old Zhou? Why did your condition become like this?"

"Old Kong! I became like this four days ago, and I haven't found the cause yet." Kong Zhi laughed in his heart when he heard that and approached Zhou Xiaochuan directly. "Anyway, I asked you here to help me open the blockade on my meridians."

"Do you think I will help you?" Kong Zhi then took out a dagger and pressed it against Zhou Xiaochuan's neck, causing him to frown. "You must know that I had a long-standing ambition to seize your position, right? Back then, I didn't dare because those demons protected you, but they were still in the Star Tower and hadn't returned. Moreover, you are in this condition now, and you will go straight to hell once I slit your throat."

"Hahaha." Zhou Xiaochuan laughed instead. "Old Kong, I have known you for a long time, and you are not someone who would commit such a lowly act by killing defenseless people. If you really wanted to kill me, you would have killed me by now."

"You're right, I would never do such a lowly act, but I might if I had to." Kong Zhi immediately put away his dagger and grabbed Zhou Xiaochuan's hand. He then tried to open the blockade on the Zhou Emperor's meridians, but he gave up halfway. "Unfortunately, I can't help you, Old Zhou. It's unclear how your meridians got blocked, but I think you were exposed to something without your knowledge, and someone close to you may have done it."

Zhou Xiaochuan frowned for a moment. "Feiling and my other wives were dying in their rooms, so they couldn't have done it. All my sons were out hunting Jiang Tingxi and her Jiang Clan, and I would definitely know if they did something to me."

"What about Zhou Fengyu and the others?"

"Zhou Hanling, Zhou Fanzhi, and Zhou Fenghu had already left for the Yun Kingdom's border before I fell ill." Zhou Xiaochuan pondered for a moment before continuing. "Perhaps they did something before they left, and I was unaware of their actions. However, they have always been loyal to me, so I find it hard to believe that they did it to me."

'What a fool! The three of them have become Zhang Fei's slaves, and your most important people have also fallen into his hands, so you can only wait for your downfall.' Kong Zhi then stood up. "Actually, I came here to look for your daughter, but she still hasn't returned, so I'll be leaving now."

"Wait a minute, Old Kong." Kong Zhi turned to Zhou Xiaochuan. "Zhou Shenxin and Jiang Tingxi have clearly betrayed me, so I hope you can bring them back to me, and I will punish them severely."

'Do you think you still have a chance at that?' Kong Zhi nodded at him. "All right, I will bring them to you if I manage to find them."

After Kong Zhi left, Zhou Xiaochuan thought of something and called one of his ministers. Before long, a middle-aged man had arrived in his room. "Old Yang, I want you to take me to see someone, especially since only that person can cure me."

"Yes, Emperor. I will prepare a horse carriage now so the citizens will not know about your health condition."

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Some time later, Zhou Xiaochuan and his minister arrived at Zhang Xiaolong [3]'s residence, but he did not meet them right away because he was still busy tempering his body. Instead, he sent Shang Xinyu to meet them. "He is busy with something else right now, and he will meet you two after he is done. However, I can't say for sure when he will be done, so you can wait until he is done."

If someone else treated him like that, Zhou Xiaochuan would definitely be furious, but he didn't dare to do anything now, especially with his body in such a condition. "Please tell him that I'm waiting for him."

"All right."

- To Be Continued -