Of Course Forgive Her

[Douluo II Period]

Inside the Sea God Pavilion lounge, the very moment Qian Duoduo lost consciousness.

An aged and gentle figure appeared silently behind him, catching him with a soft touch.

The newcomer was an elderly woman who looked extremely advanced in years, her face covered in wrinkles and her hair white, yet her eyes shimmered with the wisdom and authority of one who had seen through the ways of the world.

Sea God Pavilion Elder, Elder Song.

She was also the mother of Xian Lin'er.

Elder Song glanced at the unconscious Qian Duoduo, then looked at the unsightly images still playing on the Sky Screen, a flash of complex emotion crossing her eyes.

She sighed softly and reached out a withered hand.

A stream of warm, peaceful soul power slowly flowed into Qian Duoduo's body, quickly calming the chaotic blood flow caused by his heart-wrenching rage.

"Cough, cough----"

Qian Duoduo coughed violently a few times and slowly drifted back to consciousness.

However, when he opened his eyes again and saw his surroundings, those memories rushed back like a tide, instantly drowning him once more.

His eyes were instantly filled with a deathly, hollow despair.

"Child, you have suffered."

Elder Song's voice was not loud, but it carried a power that soothed the heart.

Qian Duoduo slowly turned his head and, seeing his mother-in-law, seemed to have finally found an outlet for his emotions, shedding two lines of scalding, aged tears.

"Elder Song---- I----"

He choked, the word "I" escaping his lips, but he could not say anything more.

Decades of swallowing his pride, decades of self-delusion—in the end, it was all just a massive joke.

What was he supposed to say? What could he even say?

"Sigh----"

Elder Song let out a long sigh and patted his back.

"This matter, this old woman also bears responsibility. It is my fault for not raising that girl Lin'er properly."

She personally helped Qian Duoduo up, guiding him to a chair nearby.

"It is all my failure in teaching, raising such an inconsiderate daughter."

Qian Duoduo's lips moved, but he could not make a sound.

Seeing this, Elder Song continued in that soothing tone: "I know, this matter is a huge blow to you."

"But---- that was all a long time ago. They were only thirty or forty back then, at an age full of vigor and prone to confusion."

"Young people, after all, are ignorant; it is common to make mistakes in a moment of impulse."

"Duoduo, don't blame me for being blunt, but you know they had feelings for each other before. If it weren't for that child Shaozhe doing those ridiculous things..."

Speaking to this point, Elder Song actually revealed a hint of regret.

In truth, she had known about the affair between Xian Lin'er and Yan Shaozhe for a long time.

Not just her; in fact, Mu En knew as well.

Back then, she and her senior brother Mu En had actually favored Yan Shaozhe more.

In every aspect, Yan Shaozhe and her precious daughter were a match made in heaven.

If not for the fact that Yan Shaozhe had later gotten involved in those messy, scandalous affairs, how would it have ever been Qian Duoduo's turn?

And afterwards, they had actually been waiting for Xian Lin'er and Yan Shaozhe to divorce their respective spouses and get back together.

It was just that although Xian Lin'er and Yan Shaozhe had pierced that layer of paper, they had ultimately strayed from the path and failed to find a happy ending.

Hearing this.

Qian Duoduo wanted to laugh, but he found he didn't even have the strength to twitch the corners of his mouth.

Elder Song seemed not to notice his mocking expression and continued to speak to herself: "However, they still had their bottom line."

"Look, hasn't Lin'er known for all these years that she couldn't divorce you? This shows that she still has you in her heart, that she cares about this family."

"Now that you are both in your seventies or eighties, you have long passed that age of recklessness. Let those old matters of the past go."

Elder Song changed the subject and shouted sternly toward the door.

"Xian Lin'er! You wicked child, get in here right now!"

Soon, Xian Lin'er walked in. She had long since lost her usual pride and coldness; her face was deathly pale, and she kept her head down, not daring to look into Qian Duoduo's eyes.

"Mom---- I---- I was wrong----"

"You aren't wronging me!"

Elder Song pointed at Qian Duoduo, her expression one of extreme disappointment.

"You are the one who is wrong, Duoduo! Look at what you have turned him into, look at how you have dragged our family's reputation through the mud!"

Xian Lin'er's delicate body trembled. Only then did she muster the courage to look at Qian Duoduo. Her lips moved for a long time before she managed to squeeze out a pale, feeble apology: "Duoduo—I—I am—"

"Back then—back then he and I—we were both too immature—I—I realized I was wrong later, really, I had already cut ties with him completely long ago!"

Elder Song slammed her hand onto the table, scolding them with feigned severity, "How could you have agreed to such an absurd rule with Duoduo in the first place! Look at it now, the entire continent is laughing at our family!"

As she spoke, she forcibly grabbed the hands of Qian Duoduo and Xian Lin'er, trying to make them hold each other.

"Alright, alright, it's all in the past! You are both seventy or eighty years old, an old married couple; what obstacle is there that you cannot overcome?"

"Go back tonight, close the door, talk things through, and everything will be resolved!"

"Do you really want to go through with a divorce and let Shrek, let our family, be mocked once again?!"

Feeling Xian Lin'er's cold and stiff hand, the last trace of warmth in Qian Duoduo's heart vanished completely.

An old married couple—

He laughed, a smile that looked worse than crying.

A "husband" who had spent decades guarding an empty room.

A "wife" who had kept herself pure for another man.

Is this what they call an "old married couple"?

He finally understood.

From beginning to end, no one had ever truly cared about his feelings, his pain, or his humiliation.

What they cared about was only how to suppress this scandal as quickly as possible.

They were sacrificing him to preserve Shrek, or at the very least, to preserve Xian Lin'er.

Just then.

A voice, even more aged yet filled with supreme majesty, echoed slowly throughout the entire Sea God Pavilion.

"Duoduo, this matter—is due to my lack of discipline, and I have let you suffer a grievance. On their behalf, I apologize to you."

It was Mu En!

There was a hint of exhaustion and apology in Mu En's voice.

Even Elder Mu had stepped in.

Qian Duoduo knew that there was no room left for negotiation in this matter.

What else could he do?

Divorce Xian Lin'er?

Fall out with Elder Song and Mu En?

He couldn't do it.

He was the Dean of the Shrek Soul Guidance Department; his entire life was tied to the name "Shrek."

Qian Duoduo slowly lowered his head, looking at his hands, which were covered in calluses from years of crafting Soul Tools.

What had his life been for, after all—

In the end, all his grievances, anger, and unwillingness simply dissolved into a soft chuckle filled with endless bitterness and self-mockery.

He nodded slowly, saying nothing.

But that nod said everything.

He had compromised.

Elder Song and Xian Lin'er breathed a sigh of relief in unison.