The Admirer from Back Then

The night was black as ink, and the river of stars lay hidden.

Lu Qing'an and Xiao Qingyi sat across from each other in a stone pavilion, with a pot of spirit wine and two celadon cups between them.

The wine reflected the faint moonlight, its crisp, mellow fragrance drifting into the bamboo grove on the night breeze amid a soft rustling.

A few fireflies flickered beyond the pavilion, now bright, now dim.

Inside, the two men lightly clinked their cups.

The candles inside the house had already gone out, and Lu Zixuan and Lu Miaomiao were lying in bed.

"What are you looking at? Keep drinking. Are you raising fish in that cup?" Lu Qing'an glanced at Xiao Qingyi across from him. Seeing that he was only looking at him and had barely touched his spirit wine, Lu Qing'an urged him on.

Xiao Qingyi said, "You seem to have something on your mind. There's a question that might upset you if I ask it, so I don't know whether I should."

"Then don't ask," Lu Qing'an said.

"But I'm really curious, so don't get angry. Why didn't the mother of these two children come with you?" Xiao Qingyi had known Lu Qing'an for tens of thousands of years and naturally knew he had something bottled up. The way Lu Qing'an kept drinking was enough to tell him that.

And since the children's mother wasn't with Lu Qing'an, it most likely had something to do with their relationship.

As for the possibility that their mother was dead, that was rather unlikely.

After all, who could lay a hand on this killing god's woman in front of him?

No one in the world could do it.

Lu Qing'an glanced at Xiao Qingyi but said nothing.

"All right, if you don't want to talk, forget I asked. Let's keep drinking. This old man will risk his life to keep you company tonight, and we won't stop until we're both drunk."

Xiao Qingyi was increasingly certain that something weighed heavily on Lu Qing'an's mind.

He didn't want to rub salt in his wounds either.

Lu Qing'an did have pent-up resentment in his heart, and he wanted someone to confide in. He took a deep breath, looked at his old friend, and finally decided to speak.

"Their mother and I divorced."

Xiao Qingyi froze for a moment when he heard that.

"Divorced? Did something go wrong between you?"

Could it be that Lu Qing'an no longer liked her and had abandoned her?

No, that wasn't right. The Lu Qing'an he knew wasn't that kind of man.

And if Lu Qing'an hadn't abandoned her, there was no way they should have divorced.

Surely this woman hadn't been foolish enough to leave a man like him of her own accord?

Impossible!

There shouldn't be anyone that foolish.

Given Lu Qing'an's circumstances, who knew how many saintesses in the Demon Domain had their eyes on him?

And this fellow didn't even care for those saintesses.

After thinking it through, he only succeeded in confusing himself.

"Why? I don't quite understand. Tell me exactly what happened." Xiao Qingyi's lips twitched, his curiosity thoroughly piqued.

Lu Qing'an said, "She broke through to the Emperor Realm, with the Immaculate Emperor Position."

"Wait! You mean the Immaculate Emperor Position?! Tsk, tsk, that's an emperor position that can stand alongside your Eternal Night Emperor Position! Wait, the Immaculate Emperor Position, and then what? Don't tell me you wanted her to grow stronger, perhaps even reach your level, and then left of your own accord?"

Xiao Qingyi still couldn't make sense of it.

Lu Qing'an didn't leave Xiao Qingyi to untangle it himself any longer. He poured out everything that had happened not long ago.

Afterward, he felt a little better.

"No! Wait! Let me sort this out again!!!"

Xiao Qingyi closed his eyes and circulated his cultivation to dispel the slight drunkenness clouding his mind.

After thinking it over carefully, he widened his eyes and stared blankly at Lu Qing'an.

"You mean she never knew your strength from beginning to end, never knew you were the Eternal Night Demon Emperor. Then she learned beforehand that she would obtain the Immaculate Emperor Position, so she decided in advance to leave you. And as soon as she became an emperor, she divorced you in public? What she did left you utterly disheartened, so you brought your daughters back to the Demon Domain?"

Lu Qing'an drained a cup of wine in one gulp and said nothing.

Xiao Qingyi was sure he had gotten the whole story right, and when Lu Qing'an silently confirmed it, he fell silent.

There really was someone this foolish under heaven!!

She probably had no idea what kind of man she'd missed out on!!

The Eternal Night Demon Emperor!!

An existence invincible in the world!!

He had fought his way through the entire Demon Domain alone!!

Let alone the Immortal Ruins!!

He could fight his way through the entire Cangyun Continent alone with just a word!!

Although the Immaculate Emperor Position could rival the Eternal Night Emperor Position, that was only a comparison between the positions. Lu Qing'an wasn't so strong merely because of his emperor position.

It was because this fellow had maxed out every aspect of himself!

That was what made him so terrifying!!

In other words, this woman had left an existence who was already invincible in the world so she could become stronger???

An idiot!

A complete and utter idiot!!!

"I'll drink with you." After thoroughly roasting her in his heart, Xiao Qingyi raised his cup and poured one down himself.

"So, have you really decided to let this woman go?"

Knowing Lu Qing'an's character, he had most likely decided to leave this woman for good.

He wouldn't give her another chance.

This fellow was utterly scheming.

But it was also clear that he truly loved this woman.

He had actually come back without going on a killing spree over there first.

Of course, it was also possible that he had held back his killing intent for the children's sake.

He glanced toward the house. If he had such adorable children, he really wouldn't have the heart to let them see a scene like that either.

Leaving with dignity might have been the best solution.

But would that woman come back once she realized what she had missed?

And would Lu Qing'an's heart soften?

After all, she was the children's mother.

Lu Qing'an glanced at the moon and shook his head with a smile. "You know what I'm like. What's past is past. Love is like a mirror; once broken, it's hard to make whole again."

At first, he had still clung to a sliver of hope, unwilling to see his family fall apart.

The moment Xu Qingying divorced him in public, he had made his decision.

Their relationship could never go back to what it had been.

What kept his emotions steady now was, in truth, the children.

"All right, I'll support you unconditionally no matter what! Make your home here with me from now on! Besides, there are plenty of good women here in the Demon Domain too! Between you and me, several beauties come here looking for you almost every year, especially Xue Tianfei. She searched for you in the Demon Domain for a thousand years. I heard she even went looking for you in the Immortal Ruins, but accidentally exposed herself as a powerful expert from the Demon Domain. The Great Emperor experts there joined forces to besiege her, and she came back injured and spent a long time recuperating! This girl truly likes you."

At that, Xiao Qingyi poured Lu Qing'an a cup of wine and winked at him.

He thought Lu Qing'an could find a stepmother for his two children.

Hearing this, Lu Qing'an pictured a peerless beauty.

"She even went to the Immortal Ruins?"

"Yes, but you know that once you cross that boundary wall, your strength is greatly reduced. She was very lucky to make it out alive. How can you not be interested in a woman like that?"

He had always thought Lu Qing'an would end up with Xue Tianfei, but Lu Qing'an simply refused to accept her advances.

"What, do you want to play matchmaker again?" Lu Qing'an was speechless.

"All right, all right, forget I said anything!" Xiao Qingyi said.

"By the way, give me a copy of your cultivation method. I'll have my daughter try cultivating it and see if it suits her."

"That's easy! If it doesn't suit her, we'll find someone else's cultivation method! Given our relationship, your daughters are my daughters. Even if I have to search the entire Demon Domain, I'll find cultivation methods that suit them!"

The two continued drinking, chatting, and shooting the breeze.

And in the spirit wine called Sorrow Relief, Lu Qing'an gradually buried the sorrow in his heart.

Inside the house, in Lu Zixuan and Lu Miaomiao's room.

"Sister, I can't sleep..."

Lu Miaomiao pouted and looked at Lu Zixuan, who was lying beside her.

"What's wrong? Not used to sleeping here?" Lu Zixuan asked softly.

"I... I really hate Mother, but I miss her a little..."

Lu Miaomiao's eyes welled up with tears.

Lu Zixuan held Lu Miaomiao, a trace of sadness flashing in her eyes. But she held it back and said bravely, "Don't think about her anymore. We have Father, and that's enough!"

"But, but I can't help thinking about how she used to hold me while I slept..."

"From now on, I'll hold you while you sleep."

"Sister, are we never going to see Mother again for the rest of our lives?"

"We'll see her again."

"When?"

"When we've both cultivated to the Great Emperor Realm, we'll go see her together!"

"Really?"

Lu Zixuan nodded earnestly.

She would stand before her in person and use her strength to show her that she was wrong!

"Okay, then I'll start cultivating hard..."

"Mm, let's work hard at cultivating together!"