The General’s Genius Daughter

Hua Qiyue stared astonished at Hua Zun. The man looked sincere enough. Men would not shed tears if they could help it. Yet he had. Men would not kneel so easily. Yet he had knelt too.

“Mom, why is that man calling you Tao’er? Hey, you got the wrong person. This lady here is my mom!”

Tianci puffed out his little chest, indicating that Hua Qiyue belonged to him alone.

Hua Zun paused for a while and glanced in great astonishment at Tianci. Then, he stared at Hua Qiyue. He was still smiling fervently. “It’s good that Tao’er is back. It doesn’t matter whose child it is you had conceived. Aren’t you back by my side now?”

Hua Qiyue nearly threw up blood.

This man claimed that she was like a chaste white lotus. Even though he did not despise her, must she like him?

Tianpi was beside himself with rage. “Hua Zun, aren’t you shameless? Who is returning to your side? It was I who had brought her here to reside. You’d better not have any designs on Qiyue!”

Hua Zun seemed not to hear him. He stared infatuated at Hua Qiyue. Hua Qiyue could not stand his feverishly fervent eyes. She turned her head back and ignored him.

“So you are called Qiyue in this life. What a lovely name. Sounds much better than Tao’er. But you are still yourself. Qiyue, this time I will surely protect you well. I won’t let that devil, Tianpi, hurt even a hair of yours!”

After saying this, Hua Zun resolutely stood up. He was preparing a death match with Tianpi.

“Hua Zun, I have already said: I’m no longer a devil. I am the former Tianpi!” Tianpi yelled loudly. He did not want to fight Hua Zun before Hua Qiyue.

Since the powers of these two men were close, Tianpi could not quite defeat him in a short time. Besides, he was afraid he might destroy the palace he had erected for Peach Fairy.

Hua Qiyue watched everything quietly. She could not understand anything Hua Zun had said. But she remembered that her soul had ended up in Hua Qiyue’s body. Such strange and wondrous thing did occur in this world.

Was she really the physical soul of Peach Fairy?

“Mom, what are they doing?” “Who is that big brother? Oh… they’re fighting!” Tianci widened his eyes, watching the two streaking figures as he frowned.

“Fighting in such a beautiful palace… what if they destroy it?” Tianci asked worriedly.

Hua Qiyue smiled. Her wearied expression did not vanish following the dispute between Tianpi and Hua Zun. “Be good. Ask Grandmaster and the other man not to fight.”

Tianci nodded and started to shout. “Hey, don’t fight, the two of you! Mom asks you two not to fight! If you continue, we will go!”

Tianci’s voice echoed within the palace. His threat was effective. These two men engaged in the death match immediately stopped.

“Don’t go!”

The two cried out together. Their expressions were hopelessly anxious. In that bizarre moment, Hua Qiyue raised her eyes. Her watery eyes in this Ice Palace seemed exceptionally tranquil and lovely. They were like a cool spring gushing into their hearts.

Hua Zun stared stupidly at her, intoxicated by her beauty.

A crimson flush also appeared on Tianpi’s diabolically handsome face. “We obey you. We’ll stop.”

Hua Zun came back to his senses and nodded like an obedient child. “Right. We won’t… Tao’er… no, Qiyue, we won’t fight anymore!”

Hua Qiyue looked at them indifferently and gave a tired assent. “Is there a room here? I’m tired. I need to rest.”

“I will take you there!” The two of them cried out again in one voice.

Hua Qiyue glanced at Hua Zun and pursed her lips, the glow in her eyes wavering. Hua Zun’s frantic eyes were making her uncomfortable. So she said to Tianpi, “Let my Master take me there instead.”

“Wait a minute. Why is she calling you Master?” Hua Zun heard her and asked jealously.

Tianpi gave a cold snort. “It’s called fate. Let me first settle her before offering you an explanation!”

Tianpi took Hua Qiyue to the long corridor, with Hua Zun following closely behind. Tianci studied Hua Zun with his curious eyes.

Everyone loved him because of his relationship with Hua Qiyue. Furthermore, Tianci was indeed an adorable boy. Hua Zun looked at Tianci and smiled a friendly and easy smile.

Then, he turned his fanatical gaze back to Hua Qiyue’s back.

Tianpi took Hua Qiyue to a room and Hua Qiyue shut the door. She and Tianci lay on the warm, cozy jade bed. She found the place clean and untainted by dust. Hua Zun must have cleaned this room regularly.

The cold wind whistled outside the window. Yet, within the room, it was as warm as spring.

Tianci snuggled into Hua Qiyue’s arms and stared at an occasional snowflake drifting in. “Mom, are we staying here for good? Aren’t we returning to dad’s place?”

Hua Qiyue felt a heart-wrenching pang grip her heart. Invisible pain, love and hatred all entangled inside, almost suffocating her. After a few seconds, she finally replied quietly, “Tianci, don’t mention your dad again in the future. We won’t return, you get it?”

Tianci started and murmured an unhappy assent. He was not willing to in his heart, yet he did not wish to leave Hua Qiyue.

“Mom…” Tianci would not give up. He called her affectionately.

Hua Qiyue kissed his forehead. “Tianci, you’re almost nine. But you’re still a kid. When you grow up, you will know that… many things in this world won’t go your way. You must learn to bear with them, understand?”

Tianci blinked his eyes, nodding yet not fully understanding her. What was mom saying? Why couldn’t he understand even a word?

But when he saw the tiredness on Hua Qiyue’s face, he no longer wished to disturb her. He held on to her arm and they both drifted off to sleep.

Outside the room.

Tianpi silently strode to the outside.

Hua Zun’s expression was fierce. He walked up and blocked Tianpi’s way. “Tell me, what do you really mean? Why is she calling you Master?”

“Humph, let’s talk in the kitchen. She’ll be hungry when she awakes.” Tianpi coldly left for the kitchen.

It was spotlessly clean all around. Hua Zun had not been idling. He had stayed here for 10,000 years and his solitude had almost driven him crazy. He could only wash and scrub the palace every day, in order to fritter away time.

Tianpi’s eyes swept the kitchen a glance. With a frosty face, he pointed at the body of an evil beast. “When did you hunt this down?”

“A month ago,” Hua Zun said coldly. He was now so jealous of Tianpi. Hua Qiyue had called him Master!

“You mean you can eat this, one month later?”

“Have you forgotten that this Ice Palace will preserve everyone alive? A carcass will not rot here. Nor will a man age.” Hua Zun smiled derisively. “You must have forgotten these facts, since you have been imprisoned for so long.”

Tianpi’s face sank but he did not argue with Hua Zun. He had indeed quite forgotten these facts.

Being imprisoned in the green jade gourd for so many years, his only memories were loneliness, Hua Qiyue and Tianci.

Tianpi picked up a knife on the side and rinsed it clean in a nearby stream. Yes, there was a flowing stream in this palace. Tianpi had tried to improve the living conditions here. He had tried his best to make this place as perfect as possible.

Tianpi quickly sliced off a big chunk of meat and swiftly diced it. His culinary skills had not worsened after a 10,000-year imprisonment.

Although Hua Zun was very displeased with Tianpi, he still quietly retreated to the side of a pot. He injected spiritual energy under it. A fire began to blaze from the black stone under the pot.

Hua Zun picked up a ladle by the side and scooped a few ladlefuls of water to the pot. Then, he added ingredients into it.

Tianpi had already prepared the meat. He washed the cubes of meat and then threw them into the pot.

“Where’s the rice?”

“I don’t have any.”

“Humph, you carnivore!” Tianpi arrogantly rolled his eyes at Hua Zun. Hua Zun with his head of gray hair started to snort. “As Tao’er’s… Qiyue’s faithful guard, I must live entirely within this palace. Otherwise, why would you have such a spotless palace 10,000 years later?”

Hua Zun remarked coldly.

Tianpi raised his brows mockingly. He said no more. He only took out his Space Ring and brought out a sack of rice from it.

Although the rice was stored for over 10,000 years, its age had not affected its quality and nutrition level.

Tianpi swiftly started to rinse the rice grains. After rinsing them clean, he put them in the big pot.

After that, he added a few Ginsengs with Nine Souls and Long Reds. Although he merely added a few, they would make the soup more tasty.

Hua Zun wore a grim face. Then, Tianpi took out a few flagons of wine. They were brought to him by Hua Qiyue when they were in Hua’s Mansion.

Tianpi threw a flagon to Hua Zun with an expressionless face. Hua Zun caught it. Although the two of them had quarreled and were almost about to fight to the death, they seemed to have reconciled.

The friendship between men is so bizarre.

“I was imprisoned in a green jade gourd after Tao’er’s death. You know what happened after Tao’er’s death. Those three great Qi Artists… Bai Ling, Xuan Cuo and Yun Tian… all joined hands and trapped me within the green jade gourd. I didn’t expect that 10,000 years later, their descendants would still be involved with Qiyue.”

Tianpi drunk the wine as he gave a rough account of his past.

“For some unknown reason, I felt a familiar aura when the green jade gourd ended up in Qiyue’s hands. So… I drew her soul in and forced her to acknowledge me as Master.”

Tianpi said with a quiet smile. He stared sarcastically at Hua Zun. “You’re such a sentimental man. You couldn’t have imagined my contact with Qiyue, could you?”

“Bastard. I want to kill you!” The easily agitated Hua Zun jumped up in a towering rage. But Tianpi pressed him down. “You don’t want to hear more, do you, you bastard?”

Hua Zun panted. He remembered Hua Qiyue and slowly sat down again.

If they started fighting again, they would surely wake her up.

“Then I started teaching her Qi Art. You must know that Qiyue’s meridians had been shattered in the past. After I healed her meridians, she began to change miraculously. Like in her earlier life, she is extremely gifted in Qi Art. She mastered everything easily and advanced insanely fast.”

Tianpi slowly started to narrate the past. The face of Tao Xian’er from that earlier life surfaced again in his mind.

Yes, two lifetimes ago, Hua Qiyue was Tao Xian’er. That would explain why the green jade gourd was given to her by Elder Xuan, through his grandson.

After all, the Xuan Family had always abided by their divinations. They would cast oracles for other people and also heeded the instructions of their late ancestors. They must leave the green jade to a fated person.

What it meant by a fated person could only be divined.

Unexpectedly, after so many years, a reincarnation of Tao Xian’er was discovered by the Xuan Family.

Tao Xian’er in that lifetime was an extraordinarily gifted woman. She was born into the most distinguished family of Tianyuan Continent.