Ancient Strengthening Technique (Web Novel)
chapter-1021

AST 1021 – Mother And Daughter Reunited, Emotional Entanglement of 36 Years

Qing Shui rode on the Golden Scaled Dragon Elephant and hurried towards Fair Wind City.

He was thinking about the Old Man’s words from earlier. If the Buddha Sect caught wind of Huoyun Liu-Li’s existence, they would definitely not allow Liu-Li to stay alive in this world. Qing Shui felt his rage burning at the thought of it. If the Buddha Sect really dared to make any move on Liu-Li, he wouldn’t go easy on them.

Qing Shui planned to reveal about Huoyun Liu-Li when he goes to the Buddha Sect. But the Old Man words made him a little hesitant. However, Qing Shui decided to go to the Buddha Sect and meet Huoyun Peng at a later time. He wanted to see if it there was anything the Huoyun Clan could do.

“Qing Shui!”

Just when Qing Shui was deep in his thoughts, Mo Hongluo called out to him softly.

Qing Shui was startled. “What is it, Aunt?”

It didn’t take him too long to figure out the situation when he saw Mo Hongluo who appeared to be slightly nervous. Even so, he still asked the question with a smile. She must be either excited or nervous because she was going to meet Liu-Li soon.

“Does Liu-Li know about us?” Mo Hongluo asked nervously. If Liu-Li didn’t know about her, would it be better if she stayed clueless forever? It wasn’t too bad for things to stay as it is. She was actually content just by knowing that Huoyun Liu-Li had been living well.

“Aunt, Liu-Li knew of your existence ever since she was young. Her foster parents had already told her when she was little. Her name remains as Huoyun Liu-Li too. It was thanks to them that I was able to know about your existence this quickly too.” Qing Shui explained with a smile.

“Oh. Does she loathe me then?” Mo Hongluo was extremely tense when she asked this question.

“Not really. Because her foster parents have told her that both of you had done this out of desperation. Liu-Li has only known about both of you recently.”

“Qing Shui, can you tell me some more things about Liu-Li? I really wish to know more.” Mo Hongluo requested Qing Shui earnestly.

“Liu-Li is a kind girl…”

Qing Shui recounted his first meeting with Liu-Li until now to her. While he was slowly speaking, Mo Hongluo listened quietly at one side with a faint smile on her face.

They had arrived at Fair Wind City before they could even realize it. Qing Shui smiled as he looked towards Mo Hongluo who was acting a little overly cautious. “Aunt, don’t be nervous. Liu-Li wants to meet you very much. I’m sure she will be very happy to see you.”

“Qing Shui, can we land somewhere further away and go there in a carriage?”

“Sure!”

Qing Shui knew how Mo Hongluo felt. She must have felt that she had fallen short of her daughter’s expectation. Most of her thoughts had come to a standstill long ago. They dwelled on the day when Liu-Li was sent to the Huoyun Blacksmith Store.

Children that had been abandoned usually thought a lot about their parents. But of course mostly with resentment, unless their reason for doing so was because they had no alternatives.

Mo Hongluo was very excited. She was going to meet her own flesh and blood very soon, that fair skinned and jade-like baby from back then. The child that she had reluctantly given away to someone else back then. The grief and agony she felt back then remained fresh in her memory, it still felt painful even now.

They got into a beast carriage and continued on their journey to the Qing Residence in Fair Wind City. They arrived at the entrance of the Qing Residence very soon and the beast carriage left. Mo Hongluo stood at the entrance as she stared at the manor, feeling very emotional in her heart.

“Aunt, let us go in!” Qing Shui told Mo Hongluo with a smile.

“Qing Shui, is this your home?”

“Yes, I have just purchased this place. It will also be my home from now on.”

Qing Shui made his way inside the Qing Residence with Mo Hongluo while they talked. This Qing Residence had no guards. Perhaps they would have some here in the future, but for now he had no plans in doing so.

The moment they entered, they saw a few children fooling around in a distance. Both Huoyun Liu-Li and Luan Luan were around.

“Daddy!”

Right at that moment, Qing Yu ran towards Qing Shui at lightning speed as soon as she saw him and hugged him. Huoyun Liu-Li also turned around to look in his direction. But she was visibly startled as soon as she laid her eyes on the beautiful woman by Qing Shui’s side. She felt kind of strange.

“Lass, have you been naughty?” Qing Shui asked while smiling at her.

“Yu’er has been most obedient. Why would I be naughty?” Qing Yu giggled and blinked her big round eyes.

Mo Hongluo stared at Huoyun Liu-Li without blinking. She could tell that this girl was her own daughter at just a single glance because Liu-Li resembled her very much, especially those eyes of hers.

Huoyun Liu-Li felt the same too. All of a sudden, she seemed as if she had realized something, before she turned towards Qing Shui with a questioning look.

Qing Shui smiled at her without saying anything. Mo Hongluo slowly walked towards her. “You are Liu-Li……”

She was stuttering a little and she looked very emotional. Her eyes reddened within an instant. At the same moment, Huoyun Liu-Li was also staring at this woman blankly. By now, she had already realized this woman’s identity. She just didn’t expect Qing Shui to be able to bring her here this soon.

“I am Huoyun Liu-Li. Who are you?” Although Huoyun Liu-Li already knew who she was, she still asked the question.

“Daughter, you are really my daughter!” Mo Hongluo’s tears immediately trickled down her face, as she stepped forward to embrace Huoyun Liu-Li tightly.

Huoyun Liu-Li was stunned. Her sudden appearance made her feel like she was in a dream. Mother, her birth mother. She felt very strange the moment she was embraced by this woman, she felt that strange connection between them.

“Liu-Li, you are my daughter. Mother has let you down……”

“Mother, I know all about it. It hasn’t been easy for you too.” Huoyun Liu-Li comforted her, as she looked at the woman whose eyes were already swollen. She wasn’t able to hold back her own tears too.

Huoyun Liu-Li thought that she wouldn’t have any feelings for her birth mother at first. If it wasn’t for the fact that she knew that she was in a hopeless situation back then, she would still hate her. Even so, there was still a little hatred in her heart. If she knew that she couldn’t raise her, why did she still give birth to her?

“You’re willing to call me Mother? Liu-Li, I am sorry. Do you hate mother?” Mo Hongluo asked anxiously. She was looking at Huoyun Liu-Li happily, yet at the same time her heart was wrenching.

“Yes. I hate both of you for giving birth to me when you knew you couldn’t raise me.” Huoyun Liu-Li replied softly.

“We were planning to escape to a place where no one knew us, so that the three of us could settle down and live a normal life. But the Buddha Sect and Demon Gate wouldn’t allow it and we couldn’t let them discover your existence. Hence, we had no choice but to give you away to someone. That time, my heart felt like it had been ripped apart. I still remembered how you were staring at me back then, crying and shouting. Although you were really little, you seemed like you knew that I was going to leave you. Your tiny hand grasped on my sleeve and you were unwilling to let go…”

When Huoyun Liu-Li heard the story from Mo Hongluo, she felt as if the knot in her heart was undone within an instant. She returned to the tight embrace of this woman who gave her a very strange feeling. She felt very close and dear to her, as if there was an invisible string connecting both of them together. Perhaps this was how blood connection felt like.

“Mother. I found Mother!” Huoyun Liu-Li raised her beautiful tear-stained face and said happily.

Mo Hongluo was very happy. This was her happiest day over her past 30 years. She reached out to wipe away Huoyun Liu-Li’s tears, feeling very content. She was very satisfied.

“Now that I have met my daughter, I have no more regrets. I’ve been thinking about you for all these 36 years, but I didn’t dare to see you because the Buddha Sect will definitely not let you get away if they discovered your existence.”

“He wants to kill me?” Huoyun Liu-Li looked at Mo Hongluo in shock.

“Foolish lass, how would your Daddy be able to bring himself to kill you? It’s the others.” Mo Hongluo knew who she was referring to.

Qing Shui was watching them while holding Qing Yu in his arms. Luan Luan had already brought the other few children to the rear courtyard.

Mo Hongluo only let go of Liu-Li after a long moment. There was a contented smile on her face. She then looked at the delicate little lass in Qing Shui’s arms. “Lass, you are a mother already.”

Huoyun Liu-Li face was still stained with tears as she took her daughter from Qing Shui arms. A happy smile bloomed on her face when she looked at Qing Yu’s face. “Yu’er, call Grandma!”

“What is Grandma?” Yu’er asked with a curious pout.

Mo Hongluo pinched her cheek and laughed very happily.

The few of them made their way towards the rear courtyard. The moment they entered, they realized that the Qing Clan and the others were all gathered there. Naturally, they didn’t forget to make an introduction. Everyone had known about Huoyun Liu-Li’s history, so they didn’t really find it odd.

Qing Yi was happily chatting to Mo Hongluo while holding her hand.

Occasions like these were rare. The reunion of relatives. Furthermore, they had been separated since Liu-Li’s birth and were only united after more than 30 years. This was heart wrenching even for the others, but they were very happy for them right now.

The happiest person in the room was still Mo Hongluo. She had never thought that this day would come, not even in her dreams. Looking at her daughter who was already all grown up into a slender and elegant woman, she was already a mother to a daughter on top of that, she was very happy and satisfied. Back then, she had actually been worried about her daughter all this time. She didn’t dare to speak of her, let alone meet her.

Now that she had come here today and saw her, she was content. But she didn’t know if her action would cause the Buddha Sect to find out about her. If they had really discovered something, what should she do?

She knew that the fact her daughter could stay safe and sound until now meant that Huoyun Peng didn’t tell anyone about her. No one knew that Huoyun Peng and she had a daughter out there. This made her felt a little warm in her heart. He cared about his daughter very, very much.

Huoyun Liu-Li didn’t ask much about Huoyun Peng. She was aware that this was a very dangerous situation. She wasn’t going to let Qing Shui blindly take any risks, so she didn’t want to reveal her yearning towards the matter.

Mo Hongluo naturally caught on to it. She wasn’t going to say anything either because she was already planning to give up after this. Her daughter was alive and well. This was already the best ending. As for her longing towards that man, she could only bury it at the bottom of her heart and keep it buried at the bottom of her heart forever.

Qing Shui and his family gave the mother and daughter some space and went out to the big hall. Many people were looking at Qing Shui curiously, seemingly wanting to ask some questions.

“Little Bei, if you have something to say then just say it. Isn’t it hard to hold yourself back?” Qing Shui asked while smiling

“Brother Shui, are you going to the Buddha Sect?” Qing Bei cautiously questioned him.

In fact, many people among the Qing Clan wanted to ask the same question. They were just holding themselves back. By now, they had also gained quite a lot of knowledge on the Buddha Sect and Demon Gate through rumors and were aware that they were formidable sects. Of course, they also knew about the story between Huoyun Peng and Mo Hongluo too, so they had been wondering what Qing Shui would do.

“Yes, I am going there. Why wouldn’t I? If I wasn’t going to go there, I wouldn’t have come to the Central Continent.” Qing Shui chuckled.

“But the Buddha Sect is a really formidable sect. Brother Shui, you are able to raise your strength very fast. Why don’t you consider putting this on hold for a little longer? Otherwise, not only you won’t be able to help sister-in-law, but also put yourself in grave danger.” Qing Bei said with a slightly anxious tone of voice.

“Little lass, since when has your Brother Shui done anything that he isn’t confident in?” Qing Shui smiled and patted on her head.

At that moment, he suddenly realized that Qing Bei had grown so tall and wasn’t that little anymore. “Little Bei, you’re all grown up now. Have you found any man that you fancy?” He chuckled.

“Brother Shui, are you thinking of chasing me out of the Qing Clan?” Qing Bei asked him in a pitiful voice.

Qing Shui wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. “When our Little Bei gets married in the future, our first condition to your husband is to marry and live with the bride’s clan!”