Chapter 89 — TVF Chapter 89

Dog-blooded Love Story 12

Qin Jingzhou admitted frankly in front of Ling Jing, his son, and his future daughter-in-law, "How many of the Extraordinaries are actually glad to have another mountain weighing on their heads, especially one that suddenly drops out of nowhere?"

Ling Jing shook her phone and said, "Anyway, what I've seen is most Extraordinaries treat you as an outsider. They obey you but neither trust nor let down their guard around you."

"As expected," Qin Jingzhou said as he checked again the Energy-Sealing Array he had laid out and the dormant but intact Sealing Array. Judging by this, Zhong Dewen and his group would need at least two days before they would be "fully prepared to act." With that, he simply waved his hand and brought Ling Jing and the others back to their home on the outskirts of the Capital.

Ling Jing dragged the worried Yuan Lingmei upstairs, claiming it was to check on how her wound was healing.

In the small living room on the first floor, Qin Jingzhou and his son Xuan Qing exchanged glances. "After hearing that conversation just now, what do you think?" What he really meant was, "Son, are you still sticking to your choice?"

Zhong Dewen and Xuan Helin's "runaway plan" sounded plausible, but there were two key issues the couple had deliberately avoided. First, no one had any idea where the Domain passage torn open by destroying both the Energy-Sealing Array and the Sealing Array actually led to—not even the couple themselves. Second, with the two arrays blocking negative energy gone, even if Qin Jingzhou somehow managed to save the situation at the last moment, the world would still have to undergo a period of complete invasion and impact from negative energy. What then would happen to those Extraordinaries and ordinary people who failed to escape in time? The couple utterly didn't care.

Zhong Dewen and Xuan Helin didn't care about anyone else's fate, but Xuan Qing couldn't do the same.

From Qin Jingzhou's observations and experience, his foolish son's heart demon was split into two parts. He lacked love, but since Qin Jingzhou’s arrival and Yuan Lingmei’s "revival," Xuan Qing's attachment to love and kinship had lessened quite a bit. That was why when Xuan Helin came to test and provoke him, Xuan Qing just became agitated at first, but calmed down soon after Qin Jingzhou comforted him. The other part was the desire to save the world...

And saving the world was also Gu Lingfan and Ye Lingtian’s wish.

His son Xuan Qing and Gu Lingfan were both willing to sacrifice their lives to save the world. As for Ye Lingtian, he only deeply loathed moral coercion. Even though he seemed momentarily swayed by Zhong Dewen and his wife earlier, he was really just pretending. When it came down to it, he would also stand up.

After thinking it over, Xuan Qing chose to be honest with his father at this moment. "The Extraordinaries, especially those Golden Cores, are already completely unsettled. The method Zhong Dewen and the others suggest sounds pretty doable. Sooner or later they’ll convince more and more Extraordinaries to join them. Dad, no matter how incredible you are, it’s hard to openly oppose all these people. They are set on sabotaging things and won’t give up until they get what they want. You simply can’t guard against them all. Dad, this great ship is doomed to sink. There’s no need for you to keep pouring your heart into it."

When his father said nothing, he went on, "Senior Xuan Yuan, who designed the Sealing Array, was prepared for this long ago. There’s a special switch inside the main coffin. All you have to do is activate it and the array will self-destruct, sealing the whole mountain and the Domain passage off completely. That should buy some time."

Qin Jingzhou frowned slightly, "And what about you?"

Xuan Qing didn’t think he could fool his father at the Divine Transformation Stage. "The moment I willingly stepped into the main coffin, my fate was sealed." Suddenly he stood up and hugged his father. "I’m just a little reluctant to part with you, Dad… and with Xiaomei."

Qin Jingzhou: ...

The System was moved as well. "He… would rather die himself than have you take any risks."

Qin Jingzhou gently patted his son’s back. "I’m really touched," he said, and then his tone changed, "but I’m not so happy that you don’t actually believe in my strength." He promptly flicked his foolish son on the forehead.

All at once, Xuan Qing realized his father had just "infused" him with something. His level silently rose a small stage, and a Divine Transformation Stage cultivation technique appeared in his sea of consciousness... Xuan Qing was completely stunned.

Qin Jingzhou explained serenely, "Since you hadn’t untied your heart’s knot, I was afraid of forcing you and thought I’d teach you the technique after a while. But you actually doubted your father’s power."

This coaxing tone made Xuan Qing, once he regained his wits, feel both amused and helpless. "Dad, I’m not a kid anymore."

Qin Jingzhou ruffled his son’s hair. "Isn’t this just you using that tone to act cute with me?" He laughed. "You rascal, you could be eight hundred or a thousand years old and you’d still be my son."

Xuan Qing squinted his eyes. "Oh?"

Qin Jingzhou added, "You’re not allowed to be sloppy about dinner tonight."

Xuan Qing covered his face. "Got it, Dad."

As evening fell, Xuan Qing and Yuan Lingmei went to the kitchen to prepare dinner. Qin Jingzhou didn’t keep anything from them and passed along the full story of the father-son "heart-to-heart" to Ling Jing.

Ling Jing was genuinely moved. "He’s got a spirit of self-sacrifice, but he’s no saint. Congratulations, big boss... on having such a son?"

Qin Jingzhou burst out laughing.

But Ling Jing’s guess was right. He had originally just planned to pass on cultivation techniques and nurture Xuan Qing and the other two up to the Divine Transformation Stage. Now, he revised his plan a little—he was determined to spend some extra time and effort to fill in the gaps of this world’s missing foundational inheritance.

Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Xuan Qing was so happy about making a feast for his father that he even started humming a tune.

His boyfriend beaming with joy, Yuan Lingmei was even more optimistic than him: she was sure the world no longer faced destruction, so she could just sit back and watch the drama... Still, as a firsthand witness to one of history’s most momentous events, she couldn’t help feeling excited.

She couldn’t hold back as she helped her boyfriend in the kitchen. "On the Extraordinaries Forum, that topic ‘What does it feel like to have a family member who’s a celestial being?’ I really want to answer that post right now."

Xuan Qing said with a sigh, "So do I."

In stark contrast to the happy mood at Qin Jingzhou’s home, things back at Gu Jing’s place were tense.

After a contentious Extraordinaries’ meeting, Gu Jing was more exhausted than he had been in a long time. In the end, Zhong Dewen and Xuan Helin had managed to win enough—and sufficiently influential—Extraordinaries to support them.

As a leader of the Extraordinaries, he had devoted himself for so many years, only to end up with this. He wasn’t immune to disappointment and discouragement. But now that it had come to this...

Facing his grandson and grandson-in-law, who had specially rushed home, Gu Jing slowly sighed. "The Extraordinaries who want to ‘destroy the arrays and carve out a new path’ are also those who once forced Xuan Qing in the name of ‘the greater good.’ And most of the ones who entered the Spiritual Coffin are willing to go back... So it’s not a natural disaster that will do us in, but our own infighting."

In their previous life, these self-righteous Extraordinaries had first forced Xuan Qing, then tried to coerce Gu Lingfan, and finally only hit a wall when they got to him.

Ye Lingtian had always regarded these people as enemies.

He glanced at the frowning Gu Lingfan, recalling how, in his past life, he’d had no choice but to send his cousin relief. This time, his cousin wouldn’t have to make that sacrifice.

Gu Jing didn’t know what his grandson-in-law was thinking, but it was clear that Ye Lingtian had his own agenda and was not aligned with Zhong Dewen and the others.

After a moment’s thought, he added, "I don’t know where Zhong Dewen and the others get their confidence from, thinking Senior Ying will just watch and do nothing."

Zhong Dewen had approached Senior Ying while Gu Lingfan was present, so Gu Lingfan ventured an answer. "Because if the Sealing Array is destroyed, Xuan Qing won’t have to sacrifice himself."

Gu Jing slapped his own forehead. "I can’t believe I forgot that!"

Ye Lingtian recalled that, in their previous life, Zhong Dewen and his wife hadn’t stirred up any trouble. First, their young son’s spirit scattered too quickly for them to react, and second, after Xuan Qing’s qi deviation, Gu Lingfan had sent off both Xuan Qing and the couple at once.

Thinking carefully, the couple had always had this aura of "Heaven’s Mandate is not with us," but honestly, they were never stupid. Their certainty that Senior Ying would not intervene might not have depended on Xuan Qing at all...

Ye Lingtian then asked, "Grandfather, do we have anything here that could force a banished celestial to leave? Array rules or whatever else?"

Gu Jing gave his grandson a rather subtle look. "If he unleashes power beyond the Divine Transformation Stage, the World Will will send him away at once."

Gu Lingfan was quick to add, "Then if we summoned a monster from another realm and forced Senior Ying to step in, wouldn’t that..."

No explanation was needed. Whatever monster could be summoned was directly proportional to the amount of spiritual energy or ‘energy’ poured into the summoning array. If both arrays were to collapse at once, the energy released would be enough to tear open a Domain passage. What kind of monster could that attract? The answer was obvious.

The three of them exchanged silent, heavy looks.

Author’s Notes:

Thanks to Sang Yiru’s old flame for the kingly ticket, mwah!

Now that it’s vacation time, I can stay up late with a clear conscience, haha.