It Was Time for You to Rely on Me Too

When the three returned to Shrek, the city gates had been fitted with new lights.

It wasn't completely dark yet, and there were quite a few people coming and going at the city gate, including former students as well as newly arrived craftsmen and merchants.

When they saw Yun Jingheng and his two companions, they instinctively moved aside.

Yun Jingheng walked in front, with Ye Xinglan and Gu Yuena following on either side.

He still carried the earthy smell he had brought back from the back mountain of the Yuanen Family, and a few very faint streaks of demonic blood on the hem of his clothes had already dried.

As soon as they reached the street corner, Ya Li squeezed through the crowd.

She didn't look at Yun Jingheng.

She took Ye Xinglan's hand with one hand and Gu Yuena's hand with the other, then turned and walked inside.

Yun Jingheng raised his hand, but before he could speak, Ya Li said, "It's good that you're back. Come sit at my place for a while. There's soup simmering in the kitchen. You've all looked thinner on your journey."

Ye Xinglan didn't move, but was pulled to the side by Gu Yuena. Gu Yuena raised an eyebrow, as if she wanted to laugh, but held it back.

Ya Li didn't turn her head and said, "Don't worry about him, he'll find food himself."

Yun Jingheng stood there, watching as Ya Li pulled the two girls away, one on each side.

Ye Xinglan glanced back at him, Gu Yuena also turned around, waving her hand lightly at him, her eyes carrying a hint of anticipation.

Yun Jingheng opened his mouth, but in the end only whispered, "Who exactly is her son?" No one paid him any attention.

He stood there for a moment, then turned and walked towards the Sea God Pavilion.

Yun Ming sat outside the temporary Council Hall, a pot of tea in front of him, which he was slowly sipping.

There was a stack of reconstruction progress charts next to him. He looked up when he heard footsteps.

Upon seeing that it was Yun Jingheng, he lowered his head again, as if he had known he would come.

Yun Jingheng walked over, sat down opposite him, and poured himself a cup of tea, which was a little cold.

He downed the drink in one gulp and said, "My mom took Xing Lan and Gu Yue away."

Yun Ming hummed in response but didn't reply.

Yun Jingheng said, "Aren't you going to do something about it?"

Yun Ming said, "I'm not going."

Yun Jingheng said, "Which of us is the son?"

Yun Ming said, "You are... so you're responsible for your own affairs."

Yun Jingheng choked for a moment.

Looking at Yun Ming's unyielding attitude, he sighed, "How could you have put up with her before?"

Yun Ming did not answer.

He slowly put down his teacup and glanced at Yun Jingheng.

That look in his eyes said it all: If I could stand it, would I have been bossed around by your mother for half my life?

Yun Jingheng fell silent. The night breeze blew in through the window, and Ya Li's laughter could be faintly heard in the distance.

After a long while, he put down his teacup, looked up at Yun Ming, and said, "Dad, where is your Godhood?"

Yun Ming was about to add more tea.

Upon hearing this, he paused for a moment, the teapot hovering over the rim of the cup, not falling over.

He looked up at Yun Jingheng and asked, "What Godhood?"

Yun Jingheng said, "It's yours."

Yun Ming remained silent.

He slowly put the pot down, leaned back in his chair, and after a few moments, said, "It's long gone. Or rather, it was never truly formed."

Yun Jingheng said, "I know, that's why I came back this time, not just for myself, but to make up for what I didn't do."

Yun Ming froze, staring at Yun Jingheng, trying to confirm what he had just heard.

Yun Jingheng said, "I want to create a new Divine Realm. We alone are not enough. A few pillars cannot support a sky. I need other Godhood. You and your mother are the best foundation."

Yun Ming remained silent for a long time; he neither smiled nor refused.

A breeze blew in through the window, gently ruffling a few pages of paper on the table.

He said slowly, "My body is no longer what it used to be. My Soul Power is still there, but my path to divinity has long been severed."

Yun Jingheng nodded. "I know where you're stuck, which is why you've been stuck at the Limit Douluo. You don't lack talent or cultivation level; what you lack is an opportunity, a chance to reopen the Divine Gate."

Yun Ming asked, "What will you use to make up for it?"

Yun Jingheng said, "The Heaven Saint Rift Abyss Halberd can cleave planes, and the Taiyin Moon Goddess God Trial contains the method to mend the heavens. When I become a god, I can reconnect a Divine Vein for you and use your power to create a new position. You can be new gods."

Yun Ming remained silent, gazing at his son. Yun Jingheng before him no longer resembled a child; his tone was extremely flat as he spoke these words, as if announcing a pre-determined order.

Yun Ming suddenly said, "Did you plan this all along?"

Yun Jingheng said, "I already thought about it back in Jibei."

He paused, then added, "I can't always have you watching. I want you to be like us; after we establish boundaries, you and Mom need to be there too."

"You do not lack faith."

Yun Ming lowered his head, reached out, picked up the cup of tea that had gone cold, and took a sip.

He said, "Do you know that becoming Godhood is even more dangerous than becoming a god yourself?"

Yun Jingheng said, "That's why I won't do it now. I'll wait until I become a god myself, and then I'll use my Divinity to anchor you. At that time, I can protect you for at least 70% of the time."

Yun Ming asked, "What about the other 30%?"

Yun Jingheng smiled, "The other 30% depends on you. You're my dad, you can't possibly not even handle 30%?"

Yun Ming finally smiled.

The smile was faint, yet it eased some of the heaviness in the entire room.

He said, "Your mouth is just like your mother's."

Yun Jingheng said, "Then I'll take that as a yes."

Yun Ming didn't nod immediately. He stood up and walked to the window.

Outside, Shrek City was already dark, its lights forming a continuous expanse, and a thin mist hung over Sea God Lake in the distance.

He gazed at that spot, as if looking back on the path he had walked over the years. After a long while, he whispered, "If it really works, I want to stand on that height again and see what the current Douluo looks like."

Yun Jingheng walked to his side and stood shoulder to shoulder with him. He said, "At that time, we'll look down from the Divine Realm."

Yun Ming only gave a very soft "hmm".

"Dad, it's time for you and Mom to rely on me."

Yun Ming's back twitched slightly.

Yun Jingheng stood beside him, looking out the window.

The thin mist over Sea God Lake in the distance had not yet dissipated, and was reflected white by the lights.

Yun Ming didn't turn around, but instead looked away from the lake. He remained silent for a long time before whispering, "Have you been thinking this way all these years?"

Yun Jingheng said, "I've thought this way since the day Shrek City was destroyed."

Yun Ming didn't speak; he continued to gaze outside.

Ke Yun Jingheng saw his fingers, which were hanging by his side, slowly loosen and then gently close again.

"I'm not used to it," Yun Ming finally said.

His voice was very soft, as if he were talking to himself.

Yun Jingheng smiled and said, "You'll get used to it eventually."

As he spoke, he reached out and straightened the old lamp by the window, which was swaying violently in the wind.

Once the lamp flame stabilized, the light and shadows in the room also quieted down.

Yun Ming turned his head and glanced at Yun Jingheng's hand.

Those hands were already quite large, with distinct joints and several old scars on the fingers.

He looked at it for a while and said, "When you were little, you couldn't reach this lamp."

Yun Jingheng exclaimed "Ah!" as if he had remembered something, and said, "Now it's within reach."

Yun Ming nodded, and he didn't say anything more, but in that instant, it felt as if something had been released from a very tight place.

Perhaps it's not about letting go, but about finally acknowledging that there's someone who can share the burden with you.

Ya Li's laughter could be faintly heard coming from ahead again.

Yun Ming suddenly said, "Your mother probably won't let them come back easily tonight."

Yun Jingheng said, "That's why I came to find you."

Yun Ming glanced at him. "What's the use of finding me?"

Yun Jingheng said, "You're her husband. Can't you do something about it?"

Yun Ming said, "I couldn't stop her. You can see how much she wants to have grandchildren right now."

He spoke very calmly, Yun Jingheng sighed.

He knew that in front of Ya Li, Yun Ming was never the Limit Douluo.

He was just a husband who would stand at the door for half the night waiting for his wife to calm down.

Yun Ming smiled and said, "Actually, I wanted to hug him too."

Yun Jingheng chuckled silently.