The Holy Land Secret Realm in the far north, on Qiu Tian Dao.
Deep in the vast barren sea, above an abyss without a bottom, three Abyss Sky Locks, thousands of miles long, confined Qiu Tian Dao.
Ji Qingqing sat in front of a thatched hut, holding a stone and gently etching messy figures on the ground.
Her eyebrows slightly furrowed, not knowing why she had felt somewhat restless these past days.
Her family had judged her, imprisoned her on Qiu Tian Dao, but she wasn’t worried about herself, after all, her uncle and aunt looked after her. Aside from being unable to cultivate and only being able to pass the days in tedious boredom, there was nothing uncomfortable.
Life here was tough, but she had followed Li Tian Gang in the military, fighting battles, and had experienced many hard times, to which she had long since adapted.
“Originally, I told him not to come unless he broke the Four Stands Realm, he should listen…”
“After all, he has always prioritized the family…”
“I wonder how Hao Er is doing, it’s been fifteen years, he must have grown tall and strong, I wonder whether he resembles me or his father, they say sons take after their mothers…”
Ji Qingqing’s thoughts rested on her husband and child, the two ties she found hardest to sever from her heart.
Thinking of her son, whom she hadn’t seen in fifteen years, a warm feeling surged in her heart, but it was accompanied by piercing guilt and longing.
Her memory drifted to the hundred-day feast fifteen years ago, the cherubic child in swaddling clothes, and the imperial edict that had hastily arrived.
If not for the demon invasion of Northern Yan, she would be happily united with her husband and child now.
“It’s cruel, the fate of a general’s child. I’m the reason for the hardships you’ve faced, you shouldn’t have been born to me…”
Ji Qingqing murmured softly.
Unless there was an accident, she would have to stay here for a thousand years before she could see her husband and child again.
She knew how difficult it was to break the Four Stands Realm; although her husband was a remarkable talent, it still depended on fortune and opportunities.
And considering the average lifespan at the Divine General Mansion, by the time she left Qiu Tian Dao, they might already have perished in battle.
“Hao Er started Martial Arts too late, it’s hard for him to achieve greatness, but with the glory and wealth of the Divine General Mansion, maybe it could save his life, allowing him a peaceful hundred years…
Ji Qingqing thought, suddenly feeling slightly better, though a hundred years was brief, it wasn’t a joyless tranquility.
As she was lost in her scattered thoughts, suddenly, she heard a woman’s call from outside the island near the Abyss Sky Stele.
“Miss?”
Ji Qingqing had just snapped back to reality when she saw a Divine Soul hovering over the island. As she noticed the Divine Soul, it too saw her and then quickly descended and disappeared.
Soon, a figure flew up the mountain.
Ji Qingqing saw the arriving elderly woman, her wet nurse who had taken care of her since she was a child, and she couldn’t help but freeze, immediately paling and saying,
“Nurse Ning, why have you come, could it be that you too…”
“Miss…”
The elderly woman was Ji Qingqing’s mother’s maid and also Ji Qingqing’s wet nurse, who had cared for the miss since she was young, and they shared a deep bond.
Seeing Ji Qingqing’s filthy appearance, covered in grime, Nurse Ning’s eyes filled with shock and sorrow, and said,
“It’s too harsh here, miss.”
Ji Qingqing anxiously replied, “Nurse Ning, how come you are here?”
“I was granted permission by the Family Head to visit you, and I bring good news.”
Nurse Ning thought of her mission and quickly composed herself, taking Ji Qingqing’s hand and saying, “Miss, you’ll be able to leave soon, your son has come to take you home!”
“Ah?”
Ji Qingqing, realizing she wasn’t being brought here as a prisoner, relaxed slightly, but upon hearing the subsequent words, she was stunned and looked puzzledly at her:
“Nurse Ning, what did you say?”
“I said, your son has come to take you home!”
Nurse Ning, seeing her shocked expression, also smiled. Nowadays, who within the Ji Family wouldn’t praise that young man? And yet, he was Qingqing’s child.
“My, my son?”
Ji Qingqing doubted if she was really hallucinating, or even delusional, imagining even Nurse Ning in front of her was false.
She drew back her hand and pinched herself, immediately feeling a sharp pain.
“Nurse Ning, you, you aren’t joking with me, are you?” Ji Qingqing couldn’t help but ask.
“I wouldn’t trek tens of thousands of miles to joke with the young miss, it’s the truth.”
Nurse Ning chuckled, “Your son, Ji Le Ping, recently escorted the Heroic Spirits of War God Yunge back to the family, and then consecutively challenged and defeated Ji Xuan Shen, this year’s most formidable talent, becoming a Dao Seed. He has used his status as a Dao Seed to exonerate you!”
“Very soon, you and your son will be reunited!”
Hearing the joy in her voice, Ji Qingqing was dumbfounded, especially at the mention of “Le Ping,” her suspicious gaze suddenly seemed to tremble.
Her son was born noble, named Li Hao by Emperor Yu!
And Le Ping was just her own motherly soft-heartedness.
“Nurse Ning, did you say my son’s name is Ji Le Ping?” Ji Qingqing asked with a trembling voice.
Only she and her husband knew this name.
Suddenly, she thought of a possibility; since leaving Northern Yan, in memory of her, her husband might have let their son take her family name, even forsaking the Emperor’s bestowed name.
Though highly unlikely, the man who was law-abiding, viewing the laws as strict rules, had broken those rules for her, confronting the entire Li Family to marry her, even daring to defy his parents and uncles, eventually willing to abandon his identity as part of the Li Family.
Indeed, it wasn’t impossible now.
“He isn’t your son, then? Didn’t you give him that name?”