Dad, how did you end up here?!

Bai Ke felt that the series of events that had unfolded were undeniably strange, but he couldn’t pinpoint exactly when it all began.

At this critical moment, as fleeting images of the things others had said flashed through his mind, he noticed two things that were off—

First, when they mentioned feeling exhausted, Junxiao had stopped and asked Yu Xian, “What about you?”

In Bai Ke’s memory, Junxiao had never spoken so directly to Yu Xian; he would always address him as “Master ” or “Salted Fish Master Ancestor.”

Although Yu Xian occasionally talked about the past, describing how Junxiao used to be a complete troublemaker—"A real brat, who would cause trouble everywhere," even leading the younger disciples astray, causing chaos in their sect—Junxiao had always shown deep respect for Yu Xian. Whether it was in the past or now, whenever Junxiao spoke to Yu Xian, even in jest, he would always add “Master” to the address.

The moment Junxiao said “What about you,” Bai Ke felt something was off, but in his dazed state, he barely registered it and let it pass. Only now, in hindsight, did he realize exactly what felt strange.

Second, as the mist around them thickened, Yu Xian looked back at the disciples from Changling and Xuanwei who were trailing behind, and said to Bai Ke, “Just now, we could still see people clearly, but now, it’s like they’ve all been shrouded in mist, looking like gourds.”

Talking about mist—it could obscure the vision of ordinary people, but for cultivators, especially those with considerable strength, it shouldn’t have been able to block their sight. Moreover, for someone like Yu Xian, a powerful expert, how could a little mist prevent him from seeing the disciples of Changling and Xuanwei? And how could they appear “like gourds”?

As Junxiao had said before, “Just find the flaw in the formation.”

The moment Bai Ke realized there was a flaw, his muddled mind cleared up significantly. The pressure in his chest, which had nearly squeezed out the last bit of oxygen, disappeared as if someone had lifted the lid off a steamer, releasing all the trapped air. It felt like the suffocating heat had been abruptly released.

Taking in a deep breath of fresh air, Bai Ke instinctively inhaled several times, feeling as though he had been revived.

His ears seemed muffled, as though cotton had been stuffed into them. He could faintly hear someone calling his name and gently patting his face, but it felt distant, as if separated by a vast mountain range. As his awareness grew clearer, the voice drew closer, and he finally realized that someone was holding him, trying to wake him up.

Frowning, Bai Ke struggled to move his fingers. As he regained control over his body, his pitch-black vision slowly began to reveal shapes.

Sure enough, the first thing that came into view was Junxiao, who was holding him.

Seeing that he had woken up, Junxiao’s previously furrowed brows relaxed instantly, as though a heavy weight had been lifted, but he still looked a little worried. “Are you feeling any discomfort?”

Bai Ke tried to move his lips to answer, but his mouth was filled with the taste of blood.

So even though everything that had happened was an illusion, the damage was still real? If he hadn’t found the flaw in time, if he hadn’t woken up from that hallucination at the critical moment… would he have truly died?

Even the calmest person, after experiencing something that felt like death, would be left with lingering unease.

Swallowing the blood in his mouth, Bai Ke propped himself up with Junxiao’s help. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and felt the dried blood at the corner of his lips, slightly stiff from coagulation. He looked at Junxiao and said, “I’m fine now. What happened to me just now?”

“Whoa—just now, you nearly scared the piss out of me!” Lin Jie, who had been standing nearby, rubbed his face vigorously, seemingly trying to loosen up the tense muscles from the shock. “We were walking along just fine, and suddenly you went limp and fainted. Luckily, Master… uh, well, someone reacted quickly and caught you. We hit the brakes in a panic, and then you mumbled something, but we couldn’t understand a word, and then you suddenly stopped breathing. No matter what we did, you didn’t start breathing again, so we had to try to breathe for you. But instead of air going in, you suddenly started convulsing and puked up a big mouthful of blood! We were all totally freaked out! You kept bleeding from your mouth—seriously, it was really terrifying.”

Lin Jie nearly called Junxiao “Master” twice, but each time he caught himself, the awkwardness in his voice was evident. Meng Xi, standing next to him, looked at Junxiao several times with a blank expression, but quickly turned away when he realized it might be rude.

“Eh? Xiao Bai? Why aren’t you reacting?” Lin Jie waved his hand in front of Bai Ke’s face after noticing he had stayed completely still, as if trying to get him to react. “Xiao Bai’s come back to life~~~”

Bai Ke was no longer the same.

He had been completely disturbed when he heard the words “breathing for you.”

Bai Ke gave Junxiao a complicated look and thought to himself: With a mouth full of blood, how the hell did you manage to breathe for me... Hero?

For the first time, he wanted to borrow Lin Jie’s chatterbox quality and complain about it, even if only in his mind. But at the same time, he felt an urge to bury his head in the sand and pretend he hadn’t heard anything.

Just as he was torn between awkwardness and complexity in his thoughts, trying to maintain his usual cool demeanor and figure out how to respond, a melodious voice interrupted everything.

“Whew—finally caught up! Hey? Why did you all stop here?” It came from the leader , who had just arrived with a group of little ones, out of breath.

Bai Ke immediately shot him an appreciative glance. Of course, his eyes, which appeared normal, were actually just for show—no one could see his approval.

Lin Jie, who was easily distracted, waved at the chickens: "It’s been a tough journey. We're just taking a break here."

Although they called it a break, when the disciples from Xuanwei and Changling saw Bai Ke’s condition, they knew something was wrong, though they couldn’t quite tell what. They quickly turned to Bai Ke and asked, "What happened? Did you run into something like the tree vines earlier? Is there anything we can help with?"

Bai Ke shook his head, his voice hoarse from blood-soaked breaths. "It’s fine now, nothing happened." Even he didn’t know how to explain the situation that led to this state.

Junxiao had one hand on his back, channeling spiritual energy into him, and the other firmly grasped his wrist. His face, which had relaxed a little when Bai Ke regained consciousness, grew somber again. It seemed like he was holding back something, gripping Bai Ke’s wrist so tightly that it started to hurt, and his eyes never left Bai Ke, filled with an unreadable expression—so complex that Bai Ke, with his unique eyes, couldn’t make sense of it.

But when that gaze became clouded, like dense autumn fog, it was clear there was deep pain hidden within.

Junxiao seemed like he wanted to embrace Bai Ke, but there were too many people around, and it wasn’t the right time.

Bai Ke froze for a moment, staring at him. He couldn’t understand the other emotions hidden in Junxiao’s gaze, but he could see the pain veiled beneath the fog. He reached out and patted Junxiao’s hand that was gripping his wrist, signaling him to loosen up. Then, he tilted his head to look at Junxiao, turned his hand, and entwined his fingers with his, whispering, "This way, it's harder to lose each other."

Lin Jie and Meng Xi, who were standing nearby, exchanged puzzled glances.

Yu Xian scratched his cheek. "…" He suddenly felt like something was off.

In situations like this, there was always one person who couldn’t read the mood and ruined the "something’s off" atmosphere. The wild chickens weren’t close enough to them to interrupt, and Lin Jie, being a die-hard fan of his master, wasn’t about to break the silence. So, the task of breaking the tension fell to Yu Xian, the only one who could speak up.

True to expectations, Yu Xian coughed and asked, "What did you see while you were unconscious?"

This brought Bai Ke’s attention back to the present. He briefly explained the illusion he encountered and said, "After I found the crack in the illusion, everything that happened was definitely a hallucination. But before that, I’m still unsure which parts were real and which were fake. Did anyone feel drowsy? Also, did anyone smell the fog or the bitter fragrance?"

"Drowsy?" The disciples of Xuanwei and Changling exchanged glances and shook their heads. "No, we’re just a bit tired from trying to keep up, but we don’t feel drowsy."

Even Lin Jie shook his head. "I didn’t feel anything. We’ve just been rushing the whole time. And I didn’t smell anything bitter. How about you guys?" He looked toward the other disciples.

They all shook their heads. "No."

Bai Ke turned to Junxiao and Yu Xian. Their senses were much sharper than theirs, but they also shook their heads.

Junxiao spoke, "There was no fog or bitter fragrance."

He reached out and gently smoothed Bai Ke’s furrowed brows. "Don’t frown. We—"

Before he could finish, a sudden tension rippled through his body. He raised his hand and lightly tugged at the air. A clear male voice called out, "Hey!" Then, a shadow appeared seemingly out of nowhere, was pulled over, and rolled on the ground for two circles. After a moment, the figure clumsily stood up, dusted himself off, and tried to compose himself.

As soon as Bai Ke heard that voice, he froze. It was a voice he knew too well—he had been hearing it for eighteen years.

" Dad, how did you end up here?!" Bai Ke stood up suddenly and looked at the embarrassed Bai Zixu in front of him, almost unable to believe his own eyes.

 

Translator : DarNan