Another month and more passed in the blink of an eye, and Shi Ziling and his wife returned. Though they had not found the Fifteenth Master, they had at least come back unharmed, albeit with weariness etched between their brows.
"We've been away for half a year. Hao'er is ten months old now. I wonder how he's been?" Shi Ziling dearly missed his little son.
Then he discovered that his baby recognized only his sister, not his parents. His already weary heart sank halfway into ice, and he felt utterly miserable.
"Zhao, thank you for all your hard work." Qin Yining did not immediately ask why the siblings had moved into a clan elder's secluded residence. Instead, she gently took Shi Zhao's hand and spoke softly.
"It wasn't hard. Little Hao has been very good." Shi Zhao smiled with her lips pressed together.
Her ear-length hair was smooth and lustrous, her large eyes bright beneath long lashes. Her oval face had grown even prettier and more delicate.
Now that the taut strings of her heart had relaxed, she looked all the more lively and charming, brimming with vitality.
Inquiries, please,
For the past six months, she had watched over little Shi constantly, terrified that someone would steal him away the moment she let her guard down. Even if she had not done everything herself, she had scarcely left his side, and her cultivation had suffered considerable delays.
Yet after "returning Shi intact to the Shi family," a trace of bewilderment suddenly rose in her heart.
Did I really change karma and fate just like that?
It was not difficult, in a sense-she had seemingly done nothing but hide for half a year. Yet it was by no means simple either. She had needed to change Shi Yi's disposition while remaining cautious at every turn, an exhausting drain on her mind.
Upon returning, Shi Ziling and his wife naturally took little Shi back to their residence to make up for their time apart. Shi Zhao, however, did not leave with them, remaining in Fourth Grandfather's secluded residence.
There was no other reason. She simply wanted some peace and quiet.
"Little Zhao, why are you still here?" Fourth Grandfather was helpless. He wanted some peace and quiet himself.
"I've gotten used to living here." Shi Zhao blinked, tilted her head, and smiled. "Besides, they're having their family reunion. Wouldn't I spoil the mood if I went along?"
The old man fell silent. With a soft sigh, he said nothing more and let her cultivate quietly there.
As little Shi grew day by day, his extraordinary qualities began to reveal themselves. His development far surpassed that of ordinary children, and with more than one person knowing certain secrets, they could not remain hidden forever.
That was hardly surprising. If no one knew, how could they use the clan's resources to nurture him?
"What? Shi Ziling's child was actually born with a Supreme Bone!" Shi Yi's mother learned the news from his great-grandfather. She immediately began trembling, unable to suppress the surge of emotion.
"Yi will have a rival in the future... no, my son is a born divine being. One day, he will surely stand shoulder to shoulder with the ancient sages. A Supreme Bone means nothing. Double pupils are what make one invincible!"
Her expression shifted back and forth as a powerful sense of crisis suddenly gripped her.
Everyone else thought Heaven had blessed the Martial King Manor, granting it two future supreme beings under one roof. Yet she came from the Rain Clan, and her first thought was entirely different. She even began to harbor thoughts of killing the child before he could grow.
"Double pupils are naturally invincible. With the aid of a Supreme Bone, they would be like a tiger given wings. When those two join forces in the future, never mind the Stone Kingdom or the Desolate Region-they could easily suppress the entire Eight Desolations."
Shi Yuan spoke mildly. He seemed to be referring to the two children, yet his words also seemed to carry another meaning.
A flash of malice flickered in Shi Yi's mother's eyes. She hurriedly lowered her gaze to conceal her thoughts, then left with quick steps, her expression deeply gloomy as she secretly contacted others.
Two months later, little Shi was already nearing his first birthday.
For some unknown reason, Shi Zhao's heart suddenly began pounding with dread. She felt inexplicably unsettled, a vague unease seizing her thoughts until she nearly fell.
"Young miss, what's wrong?" A Man cried out, hurriedly catching her.
Shi Zhao pressed a hand to her forehead. Her right eyelid twitched wildly, and an inexplicable stabbing pain arose between her brows.
Her primordial spirit was trembling!
A living being's primordial spirit was profoundly mysterious, far harder to strengthen and temper than the physical body. But she was an exception. Her primordial spirit's power far surpassed that of ordinary people, and even the level of her own body.
Who could have imagined that a Blood Moving Realm cultivator's primordial spirit was already on the verge of solidifying into a tangible form?
"I have a bad feeling. I need to find little Hao!" Shi Zhao drew a deep breath, unleashed the Peacock Precious Technique, and burst straight through the door.
In that fleeting instant, she seemed to have heard an infant's sorrowful sob. Perhaps it had only been an illusion, but regardless, she could no longer settle her heart.
Yet when she learned that Shi Ziling and his wife were also searching everywhere for little Shi, her vision went dark. Her little face turned deathly pale, and she felt as though all the strength had been drained from her body. She swayed, barely keeping herself from falling by bracing against the wall.
"Hao'er, my Hao'er, where are you?" Qin Yining was frantic.
"Who dared sneak into the Martial King Manor and abduct my son?" Shi Ziling raged.
When Fourth Grandfather learned of this, he too was furious and led a large force to search everywhere.
At this point, how could Shi Zhao fail to understand what had happened?
She had made so many preparations and had already avoided that original calamity.
She had even greatly overstepped her bounds to give them a warning. After Shi Ziling and his wife returned, she had embellished her complaints, telling them plainly that Shi Yi's mother disliked her and might harbor evil intentions toward little Shi.
She had done everything she ought to do. There truly was nothing more she could have done.
Poor little Shi. Was this tribulation truly written into his fate?
Or could karma and destiny really never be defied or changed?
Shi Zhao sank into bewilderment, lost in a daze she could not escape. She did not even know how she had followed the others to where little Shi was being held.
Inside an underground chamber, Shi Yi and Shi Hao lay on stone beds, both unconscious with blood staining their chests. A young woman desperately shielded the former, madness filling her eyes as she muttered something under her breath.
She knew that once her actions were discovered, she would inevitably be made to pay. Yet she felt it was worth it. As long as her child obtained the Supreme Bone, he would soar into the heavens, and no one would ever be able to stop his rise again.
"Hao'er!" Shi Ziling smashed into the underground chamber. Seeing the calamity that had befallen his little son, the corners of his eyes split and blood spattered out. Grief and fury consumed him, and hatred nearly drove him mad.
"My child, what happened to you?" Qin Yining almost fainted. She scooped up her child and held him tightly against her chest.
"You vile woman! You monster! You poisonous wretch! You wicked bitch!"
"Aah! I'll kill you! You'll pay for my son's life!"
Shi Ziling went berserk, his killing intent boiling. He swung a Golden War Spear, killing the shadowy knife-wielder beside little Shi with the force of the blow, then thrust it toward the young woman nearby.
Though Shi Yi's mother had a considerable cultivation level, she was no match for Shi Ziling. Her face instantly went pale, and the runes covering her body were on the verge of shattering.
Had Shi Yi's great-grandfather, Shi Yuan, not rushed over and blocked some of the force while protecting Shi Yi, she would likely have exploded on the spot.
Even so, the Golden War Spear carried her through the air and pinned her firmly to the underground chamber's wall.
"Heh heh heh, the Supreme Bone has already been extracted and fused with my son. They are one now. You're too late!" She coughed up great mouthfuls of blood,
her beautiful face twisted beyond recognition.
"Sister-in-law, is your heart red or black?" Radiant light shone from Qin Yining as she used her own life energy to sustain her little son's vitality. Unable to restrain herself, she berated the woman coldly. "You truly have the heart of a snake and scorpion. You're worse than a beast!"
Shi Yi's mother said nothing, but her heart was filled with fear and regret. Her own family had clearly already dispatched powerful experts to intercept them, so how had they still arrived so quickly? She had not even had time to extract the true blood remaining inside that little brat...
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