Gong Yan'er had always treated Meng Yiqiu as a pawn. She eventually led him to the ruin of his promising future via poison. In fact, Meng Yiqiu was actually dead. His body only lived because Qin Yun had replaced him after his descent.
"I thought Gong Yan'er was quite famous. She shouldn't be shameless enough to come again. From the looks of it, I have overestimated her and Centaurea Valley." Qin Yun shook his head.
Liu Qingsha took Qin Yun's order and went out to see it done. Dong Wan was standing inside a pavilion.
"Junior Sister, what did Elder Meng say?" Dong Wan asked immediately when he saw Liu Qingsha coming over.
"Master seemed a little upset but he will still allow her to enter," said Liu Qingsha.
"This Gong Yan'er caused Elder Meng to be poisoned and even implicated Grandmaster Feng." Dong Wan's eyes were burning with anger. He detested Gong Yan'er. In fact, most of the Zhou Mountain Sword Sect's upper echelons did not like Gong Yan'er.
Liu Qingsha shook her head gently. "It's Master's personal affairs. It's not our place to say anything. Besides, Master was infatuated with Fairy Gong for a long time. They are bound to have some old feelings for each other."
"I think Elder Meng has changed a lot from his previous self. It can even be called a complete renewal. I believe he will not fall for this Gong Yan'er's honey trap again." Dong Wan nodded. He was now an ardent supporter of Meng Yiqiu.
"I'll talk to you later. I need to pass on the message," said Liu Qingsha.
Liu Qingsha quickly came to the main entrance of the manor.
Gong Yan'er was standing at the door with a baby. Behind her was a group of female disciples from the Centaurea Valley. Many of them were beautiful, with two rather old women.
Liu Qingsha walked out and swept her gaze over them. She said indifferently, "My Master said that only Fairy Gong is to enter. As for the rest of you from Centaurea Valley, stay here and wait."
"The Valley Lady has ordered us to protect Disciple-Niece Gong," said a middle-aged woman.
"I repeat, Master said that only Fairy Gong is to enter!" Liu Qingsha said coldly. The Zhou Mountain Sword Sect and Centaurea Valley did not have a good relationship.
The Centaurea Valley disciples looked at one another unwillingly but they did not dare act recklessly.
The current Meng Yiqiu was enough to make the entire Centaurea Valley tremble in fear.
"Elder Qu, all of you can wait here." Gong Yan'er smiled as she carried her child in.
"Why is she carrying a child?" Liu Qingsha was puzzled but it was not her place to ask.
After passing through the manor's interior, Gong Yan'er arrived in a back garden. She noticed the reading Qin Yun sitting far away at a glance.
For no apparent reason, Gong Yan'er's heart tightened.
"Yiqiu." Gong Yan'er looked at the familiar but also alien figure.
He was familiar because they had been in love for a rather long period of time. They had also shared many physical, intimate nights.
It was alien… because the Meng Yiqiu in front of her was too different from the Meng Yiqiu of her memories! Back then, Meng Yiqiu was a prideful man. He fought everywhere with his Frost Sword. He had a sharp pride that exuded from his very bones. But the present Meng Yiqiu was a little thinner and he no longer had that keen air to him. It was as though he was only an ordinary scholar.
"He was poisoned to the point of being crippled. No one expected that he would revitalize himself and soar into the sky," thought Gong Yan'er.
Her relationship with Meng Yiqiu back then was one of exploitation. It made it so that she owed him but her heart was also stirring. Her concern that Meng Yiqiu was too thin now baffled her. All sorts of complex emotions were entwining with one another.
Most of all was there was respect! She even had a sliver of extravagant hope that she could rely on Meng Yiqiu, never to be under Centaurea Valley's control ever again. Then, she would be able to bring up her child without worry. How good would those days be?
"He had feelings for me once, after all. Besides, we have a child together now." Gong Yan'er immediately walked towards Qin Yun.
Qin Yun looked up and took a glance at Liu Qingsha, who stood behind Gong Yan'er. He gently waved his hand.
Liu Qingsha respectfully bowed and took her leave.
Only Qin Yun and Gong Yan'er, as well as the child in her arms, were left in the back garden.
"This child?" Qin Yun was somewhat puzzled. For some baffling reason, his attention was drawn to the child.
"Yiqiu." The red-dressed Gong Yan'er smiled and looked at Qin Yun as she carried the child. "Long time no see."
"I never expected you to have the shame to come see me again," said Qin Yun. "Back when I was poisoned, you abandoned me instantly when I outlived my usefulness. You never came to see me after that. Now, here you are."
Gong Yan'er was alarmed as she said immediately, "It wasn't of my own volition. My Centaurea Valley sends all of us disciples wherever they please. We enter the palaces, aristocratic clans, or follow powerful cultivators. As for me, I was ordered by the Centaurea Valley Lady to seduce and use you."
"So you didn't like me and were only sent to seduce me." Qin Yun said with a smile.
"Yes." Gong Yan'er nodded. "When you were poisoned, you were of no use. Centaurea Valley immediately ordered me to leave you. I had no choice in the matter. In fact, I was long sick of living my days like that. If I weren't forced to do it, then having men go head-over-heels for me is quite interesting. But I have to listen to the orders from the sect. I had to seduce whoever the sect wanted to be seduced."
"I had enough of it. I was sick and tired of it. Although Centaurea Valley forbids us from having children, I hid away and gave birth to this child."
"And it's this child in your bosom?" asked Qin Yun.
"Yes." Gong Yan'er nodded. "It's your child."
"My child?" Qin Yun was taken aback.
This…This…
Qin Yun's mind was filled with thoughts and all of them turned into a mess instantaneously.
"My child with you?" Qin Yun could not help but ask.
"Yes." Gong Yan'er nodded. "You were poisoned. Just two days after I left you, I learned I was pregnant. There's no need to doubt it. This is your child!"
Qin Yun felt his head ache.
"Let me take a look," said Qin Yun.
Gong Yan'er looked at the child in her bosom and smiled. She held up her hand and gently prodded the child. "Baby, don't sleep. Quick, look at Daddy." After waking the child up, she handed it over to Qin Yun.
Qin Yun took it with both hands and held it close.
The closer he was to the child, the stronger the resonating blood bond was.
At that moment, the child was waking from its stupor. It opened its eyes in a daze as it stared at Qin Yun with its large eyes.
"Wa!" Following that it burst into tears.
"Wa! Wa! Wa!!!" The baby wailed as it flailed its tiny arms. It clearly did not recognize Qin Yun.
"Hush, hush, hush. Don't cry." Qin Yun quickly soothed the baby. His voice seemed to possess a magical power that made the child slowly stop crying. Instead, it began to look at Qin Yun curiously.
Only then did Qin Yun heave a sigh of relief.
"Based on the resonance of our blood, there is a high chance that this child belongs to this body," thought Qin Yun.
"Woosh."
There was a sudden wind.
Gong Yan'er felt Qin Yun's surroundings turn into a blur. The wind howled but she could not see anything clearly.
"Freeze." Qin Yun extended his finger. With a thought, he used his intent domain to obtain a tiny portion of spiritual energy to cast a Dao Domain. His fingertip suffused a runic pattern as he gently touched the baby's face. Immediately, the resonance intensified by more than a hundred times.
"Little guy." Qin Yun smiled as he looked at the child's exposed privates. "I'm your daddy from now on."
Qin Yun loved children.
He and Yi Xiao had been childless for years. After all, they had powerful bloodlines. One of them was at the purplish-gold Golden Core realm and the other was a descendant of the Dragon race.
Gong Yan'er watched Qin Yun tease the infant and could help but feel relieved. She was afraid that the father of her child would not like the child.
"Gong Yan'er."
With baby in arms, Qin Yun said, "Why come here now? Do you think I will spare you because we have a child together? I nearly died from being poisoned because of you. I could let that matter rest but more importantly, it resulted in the death of my master! With my master dead, how can I spare you?"
Gong Yan'er's face turned pale.
She had the extravagant hope that Meng Yiqiu still had feelings for her and that he would let her stay with him on account of the child.
She really wanted to bring the child up by his side. She was also willing to stay and rely on him.
"Alright then." Gong Yan'er's eyes welled with tears. "Kill me if you want to. All I wish is that you take good care of our child. Also, I wish that you would protect my mother and family who are still at the mercy of Centaurea Valley. It has always used my family to threaten me. With your present strength, you can easily protect them."
"Alright." Qin Yun nodded. "I will do as you say! Gong Yan'er, I do want to keep you by my side but my master died because of you. And if not for my sudden breakthrough, the entire Zhou Mountain Sword Sect would have perished at the hands of the Blood Saber Palace. How can I spare you? Master treated me like a son… So, there is only death left for you!"
With that said, Qin Yun extended his arm and the Frost Sword unsheathed itself and flew into his hand.
"Meng Yiqiu, you are indeed different." Gong Yan'er smiled. "Back then you were too foolish, but you are a lot more decisive now. I have had enough of this life anyway. I do owe you a lot. I have nothing to say if I were to die by your hand."
"I cannot keep you around." Qin Yun said as he thrust Frost Sword.
Gong Yan'er watched as Frost Sword came thrusting at her. It wasn't fast but she didn't dodge. All she hoped for was that Qin Yun would stop his sword.
But he didn't!
The sword came thrusting over. Although it wasn't fast, it still stabbed into Gong Yan'er's left chest, straight into her heart!
Gong Yan'er gave him a tragic smile.
She looked at the man in front of her and smiled. "Remember, take good care of our child."
"Don't worry," said Qin Yun.
"How cold."
Gong Yan'er felt her entire body turn ice-cold. "Is this the feeling of death?"
Following that, her consciousness plummeted into darkness as she slumped to the ground.
When Qin Yun's Frost Sword stabbed into Gong Yan'er's heart, the sharp blade produced a frost that permeated her heart at the moment of contact. It also froze Gong Yan'er's body.
"She really didn't dodge." Qin Yun was surprised. With a flick of his finger, a pill he had already prepared flew out and entered Gong Yan'er's mouth.
The envelopment of the Dao domain permeated every inch of Gong Yan'er's body.
The pill's medicinal essence quickly activated. Gong Yan'er's heart had been stabbed but it froze the moment that it happened. In fact, her heart was not seriously damaged at all. With the medicinal essence's help, it was rapidly healing. The pill was obtained from Immortal Sage Physician Xiao Chun. His medical skills were among the best in the world.
Although the heart was a vital organ that would lead to death if it was crushed, all that was left on it was a tiny puncture! With Qin Yun's abilities as a sword immortal that had stepped into the Dao and the pill, he naturally controlled his strike perfectly.
Gong Yan'er, who was lying on the ground, gradually awakened.
She was still in a daze as she looked at Qin Yun who was carrying the child with one arm.
"I… I…" Gong Yan'er was still very confused.
"Aren't you going to get up now?" asked Qin Yun.
Gong Yan'er stood up and touched her chest. There was some cloth torn from her chest but the wound had already healed.
"You still showed concern for the child even while facing death." Qin Yun nodded. "It's best you take care of it yourself in the future." With that said, he handed the infant back to her.
Gong Yan'er received the child in a daze. "You… you aren't killing me. But I implicated your master…"
"Enough." Qin Yun frowned.
In fact, Qin Yun had already worked out the scheme. "Feng Qingcang's death was a result of the Wei Kingdom! It has long set its sights on the Zhou Mountain Sword Sect. First, it had Feng Qingcang killed, then it sent the Blood Saber Palace to deal with the Zhou Mountain Sword Sect. It also sent Icefiend and Firefiend to kill me… Even without Gong Yan'er, the Wei Kingdom would have taken action either way."
"I do not feel at ease letting someone else take care of the child. Ignoring everything else about Gong Yan'er, her feelings for the child are genuine," thought Qin Yun.
Gong Yan'er hugged the child, feeling happy and excited.
"Leave Centaurea Valley and settle down here. Take good care of the child and teach it," said Qin Yun. After all, the child was his son in this world! Over the next fifty years, Qin Yun would also take good care of it. "As for your parents and family, there's no need to worry. I'll arrange everything for you."
"Okay." Gong Yan'er continued hugging her child and nodded immediately.