Disabled

"Ah--!!!"

"Clang--!"

Yun Jingheng sat up abruptly, panting heavily, cold sweat pouring down his face.

"What happened? What happened?!"

A panicked voice came from inside, followed by Ya Li rushing into the room.

They ignored Yun Ming, who was lying on the ground.

She even stepped on the hem of Yun Ming's clothes. Yun Ming had just propped himself up halfway on the ground when she was stepped on and fell back down, his knee hitting the floor with a muffled groan.

Ya Li didn't notice; she didn't even look down, and rushed straight to Yun Jingheng on the bed.

She rushed to the bedside, hugged Yun Jingheng tightly, and pulled him into her arms.

Her arms were so tight that Yun Jingheng's ribs ached from the pressure, but he didn't struggle.

He buried his face in Ya Li's shoulder, smelling the familiar scent.

His fingers gripped Ya Li's clothes tightly at the back.

"Mommy's here, Mommy's here."

Ya Li's voice trembled, and tears fell, dripping onto Yun Jingheng's hair.

"It's alright, it's alright."

She placed one hand on the back of Yun Jingheng's head, gently stroking his hair, while patting his back with the other hand, lightly and steadily.

Yun Jingheng didn't speak, but buried his face even deeper.

His body was still trembling, and cold sweat soaked his clothes, which clung to his back, making them feel chilly.

He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and his heartbeat slowly calmed down.

Yun Ming silently got up from the ground, rubbed his knees, bent down to pick up the fallen chair, picked up the towel that had been flung away in fright, and draped it over the chair.

He glanced at the mother and child embracing, but didn't go over. Instead, he turned and walked to the window, his back to them, looking at the moonlight outside.

His shoulders relaxed slightly, and he clenched his fist at his side for a moment before letting go.

I was terrified...

He's lived so many years, what storms hasn't he weathered?

He is the Limit Douluo, the Sea God Pavilion Master, and there are only a handful of things on the entire continent that can make him change color.

That shout just now almost scared him so much that he was reincarnated on the spot.

He sat perfectly still, a towel draped over Yun Jingheng's forehead, the movement as gentle as could be.

Then the kid suddenly sat up, yelled, and leaned back. Before he could even react, the chair overturned, his knees were scraped, and Ya Li stepped on his clothes.

His knee still hurts.

He glanced down and saw a clear footprint on the hem of his clothes. It wasn't big; it belonged to Ya Li.

He turned around and looked at Ya Li and Yun Jingheng embracing each other, a slight smile curving his lips.

Fine, let them step on it.

At least no one was hurt.

Ya Li held Yun Jingheng in her arms, patting his back slowly and steadily, just like when she used to lull him to sleep when he was a child.

Her face was pressed against his hair; her tears had dried, but her eyes were still red.

She didn't speak again, but just hummed something softly, without lyrics or melody, just the kind of sound that naturally comes from a mother's throat when comforting her child.

Yun Jingheng's breathing gradually calmed down, and his heartbeat also slowed down from a rapid, drum-like pace.

His fingers were no longer gripping Ya Li's clothes, but gently resting on her back.

Ya Li felt that his body had stopped trembling, so she slowly let go of him, but she didn't completely release him.

She cupped his face in her hands, gently wiping away the cold sweat from his forehead with her thumbs, and then wiping away the tears from the corners of his eyes, tears that had fallen without his noticing.

She looked into his eyes, where a trace of lingering fear remained in his dark pupils, like an undercurrent rising from deep water.

"Nightmare?" Ya Li's voice was very soft, as if she was afraid of disturbing something.

Yun Jingheng nodded, letting out a muffled "hmm".

Ya Li didn't ask what he dreamed about; she simply pressed his head back onto her shoulder and continued patting his back.

"Dreams are illusions; they're gone when you wake up." Her voice was calm, as calm as stating an undeniable fact.

Yun Jingheng closed his eyes, buried his face in her shoulder, and said nothing more.

Yun Ming turned around from the window and looked at the mother and child embracing each other.

He stood there for a while, then walked over and sat down on the edge of the bed.

He didn't speak, but simply reached out and placed his hand on Yun Jingheng's back.

His hands were large and warm, a bit heavier than Ya Li's, but very steady.

He placed his hand between Yun Jingheng's shoulder blades, feeling the rise and fall of his breath.

Once, twice, three times.

None of the three people spoke.

Moonlight streamed in through the gaps in the curtains, casting a thin line on the floor.

It's very quiet.

A long time passed, so long that Yun Ming thought Yun Jingheng had fallen asleep, before the child finally lifted his head from his mother's shoulder.

His eyes were still red, and his nose was red too, but most of the fear in his pupils had dissipated.

He looked at Ya Li, his voice a little hoarse, "Mom, I'm thirsty."

Ya Li smiled, but her eyes welled up with tears again.

"Wait, Mom will get you some water."

She stood up, walked to the table, picked up the kettle, poured a glass of warm water, and handed it to him.

Yun Jingheng took the cup, held it with both hands, lowered his head and took a sip, then another.

The water was lukewarm, neither too hot nor too cold, just right.

He drank most of the glass and handed it to Ya Li.

Ya Li took it and placed it on the bedside table, then sat down on the edge of the bed and held his hand.

"Are you hungry?" Ya Li asked.

Yun Jingheng thought for a moment and nodded.

"Hungry."

Ya Li smiled, "Mom's making you noodles, do you want a poached egg?"

Yun Jingheng nodded again, "Yes."

Ya Li stood up, turned around, and walked towards the door.

Only Yun Ming and Yun Jingheng remained in the room. Yun Ming looked at Yun Jingheng, and Yun Jingheng looked back at him. They stared at each other for a few seconds.

Yun Ming reached out and ruffled Yun Jingheng's hair. "You scared me to death!"

"Sorry."

Yun Ming shook his head.

"No need to apologize. It's good that you're awake."

He paused for a moment, then asked, "What did you dream about? What could have scared you like that?"

Yun Jingheng was silent for a moment, then said, "It's a ghost, white hair, red eyes."

Yun Ming waited for him to continue.

Yun Jingheng thought for a moment, "That scene was... very eerie."

Yun Ming remained silent for a long time before placing his hand on Yun Jingheng's shoulder.

"Don't overthink things now that you're awake."

Yun Jingheng nodded, "Mm."

"That leopard... tell me?"

"I told you not to use the second Soul Skill."

"So what was the second Soul Skill it gave you?"

Yun Jingheng sank into the Sea of Spirit, and two pieces of information emerged.

Soul Skill 1: Nine Sword Heavenly Prison, Effect: Pointing the sword to the sky, nine sword shadows descend, each sword shadow will release shockwaves at random intervals, causing ice-attribute area damage.

Special Effect 1: Within this area, all movement is prohibited.

Special Effect 2: Spatial elements are not allowed to move within this area.

Special Effect 3: Causes a 2-second time freeze on targets hit by the shockwave (this effect cannot be dispelled or neutralized).

Special Effect 4: The Moon Phase passive effect will be reflected in the shockwave that is first emitted when the sword shadow lands, and it will stack with Effect 3.

Soul Skill 2: Tears of the Waning Moon Erosion, Effect: Clears the current moon phase and freezes it as Blood Moon. Tears condense in the eyes, flow down the cheeks, and when they land, they will create Blood-Colored Wave, causing a continuous curse that extinguishes life force, and then unleashes a sword aura.

Special Effect 1: During the duration of the wave, it causes temporary blindness, disables all lock-on skills, and inflicts a curse every second, stacking erosion (defense gradually becomes ineffective, stacking up to five times; at five stacks, all defense is lost).

Special Effect 2: The sword energy splits into five, then continues to split. Targets hit immediately lose 15% of their maximum health and trigger the Blood Moon Curse.

Yun Jingheng's expression was priceless.

"The second Soul Skill is... to clear the current lunar phase and freeze it as Blood Moon-- "

"Stop, wait a minute."

Yun Jingheng's words caught in his throat, and he silently swallowed them back.

"Clear the current moon phase and freeze it as Blood Moon?"

"... Um."

Yun Ming grabbed his shoulder, his eyes extremely serious. "Jing Heng, listen carefully, that Soul Skill absolutely cannot be used."

"Um."

What is Soul Bone Skill?

"Soul Bone Skill..."

Yun Jingheng sank into the Sea of Spirit for a moment...

"It's pretty normal."

"That's fine."

He patted Yun Jingheng on the shoulder, paused for a moment, and said, "Go to sleep early. I'll ask for leave for you. We're going to the Star Dou Great Forest tomorrow."

"Good."