Upon hearing Ziqing’s confirmation, Jue Mingzi clenched both fists in excitement, stumbling backward again and again, then suddenly burst out laughing — but as he laughed, somehow, inexplicably, he began to cry!
He dropped heavily to his knees, then leaned back, gazing up at the heavens, his aged face impossible to read — was it laughter, was it tears, or was it grief?
Xiong Bao couldn’t help but tug at Jun Beiyue’s sleeve, thinking this old grandfather in front of him was genuinely terrifying — had he lost his mind?
Ziqing watched in silence. Whatever anger she’d felt was long gone; her heart only ached, ached so unbearably.
If Jue Mingzi had spent his whole life misunderstanding Mu Ci, never knowing the full truth of things — perhaps, in a way, that had been its own kind of mercy.
Now, at his age, he had to face the entire truth at once — full of regret, yet unable to even say a word of apology to Mu Ci; full of self-reproach, yet unable to undo any of it.
There was nothing sadder in life than this.
And yet, none of it could be blamed entirely on Jue Mingzi either.
The dangers surrounding the Isolated Isle had simply been too great, too overwhelming — everyone had their own way of dealing with that kind of risk.
Ziqing thought to herself: if the man she’d met hadn’t been Jun Beiyue, but instead some man deeply concerned with her origins, a man afraid of the Isolated Isle’s ren-gu constitution — would she even have Xiong Bao today? Would she even be standing here now?
Meeting Jun Beiyue had been her good fortune.
But she couldn’t demand that everyone else possess Jun Beiyue’s same boldness, the same courage to follow her without hesitation, to question the mighty royal house of South Zhao, to seek out the truth.
Finally, Ziqing walked over and stood directly in front of Jue Mingzi, extending her hand toward him.
Jue Mingzi froze, staring at his own daughter, his gaze slowly falling to her outstretched hand. Did this… did this mean forgiveness?
“Daughter… I… I truly didn’t mean to place the burden of the Isolated Isle onto your mother on purpose. I only wanted the secret of the Isolated Isle to be buried forever, so I gave ‘Lament’ and the two demon zithers to that East Qin crown prince, and lied that they belonged to your mother — so that even if anyone came searching, they’d find no trace of it on your mother at all!”
Jue Mingzi explained everything in a rush. In truth, now that the whole truth had come to light, Ziqing already understood all of this.
“Daughter, Father…”
Before Jue Mingzi could finish, Ziqing cut him off. “Get up. Come help us search for the Isolated Isle. I imagine that’s exactly what my mother would have wanted you to do most.”
The word “Father” — Ziqing still wasn’t quite ready to hear it just yet. Though her mind had accepted the forgiveness rationally, her heart hadn’t quite caught up. That word carried too much weight; she needed time to accept it.
Hearing Ziqing’s words, Jue Mingzi was overjoyed with relief, immediately grasping her hand and springing to his feet. “Alright! I’ll definitely search — even if it costs me my life, I will find the Isolated Isle!”
But the moment he stood up, Ziqing let go of his hand. “This isn’t the place to talk. Let’s head up the mountain first.”
Jue Mingzi, a little put out, shook his own hand and nodded repeatedly.
The group soon reached the mountaintop, where Madam Gu was in mourning, the entire Gu family sunk in a hushed, grief-stricken silence.
With Jue Mingzi here, and the Water Jade Radix already in hand, treating Baili Xiaosheng was no longer any trouble at all.
Ziqing set everything else aside — saving lives came first.
In the vast room, everything was silent. Everyone watched quietly as Jue Mingzi administered the needles and medicine, unable to help but marvel at his extraordinary medical skill. In no time at all, Baili Xiaosheng, still unconscious, slowly opened her eyes!
In her hazy, half-conscious state, she saw so many people around her — her master, Xiong Bao, Auntie Ziqing, and even Prince Yao, the one she’d always revered most and normally never dared speak to.
They were all gathered around her, their eyes full of relieved surprise. Watching them, Baili Xiaosheng suddenly, inexplicably, felt like crying. For the first time since she’d been old enough to understand things, she felt truly protected — and it made her so, so happy.
But she quickly snapped out of it, bolting upright with a start, crying out, “Auntie Ziqing, Meng Wanyue wants to kill you!”
At those words, everyone was stunned — how did this child know that?
“Master, and you too! Meng Wanyue wants to kill you as well! When the sea beasts attacked us, she was about to make her move — I caught her in the act. She threatened me, said that if I didn’t do as she said, she’d kill my master first! She’s incredibly strong, just as strong as Prince Yao!” Baili Xiaosheng said urgently, on the verge of tears, clutching desperately at her master’s sleeve. Heaven only knew how terrified she’d been of losing this less-than-responsible master of hers!
“In the vortex — was it her who pulled you down?” Ziqing suddenly understood.
“No, she was trying to ambush you — I had no choice but to knock her off course!” Baili Xiaosheng explained urgently. She hated herself, hated that she hadn’t had the courage to expose Meng Wanyue sooner — she’d been terrified, terrified something would happen to her master.
“That’s outrageous! I’m going to go settle the score with her!” Baili Weisheng snarled furiously, turning to head for the prison cells.
“Master! Be careful, she’s really—” Baili Xiaosheng cried anxiously. Ziqing quickly reassured her, “It’s fine now, she’s locked in the prison. We’ve left the Innocent Abyss — we’re on the Isle of Lingering Immortals now.”
Xiong Xiaobao hurried over too. “Big Brother Sheng, it’s fine, Daddy and Mommy are here!”
Big Brother Sheng?
Baili Xiaosheng blinked, faintly startled — the first time this kid had ever called her “brother”… well, she didn’t bother correcting him. Knowing her master was in no danger, she finally relaxed.
“You were badly hurt, covered in wounds — does anything still hurt?” Ziqing asked gently.
Only then did Baili Xiaosheng notice her own body. She touched her hands and saw several scars, then reached up toward her face — only to find it wrapped in white gauze.
A wave of unease surged up in her heart at once. Her small hand froze mid-air, not reaching further, and instead she looked at Ziqing, asking very, very seriously, “Auntie Ziqing… will my face be okay?”
Ziqing was about to answer, but Jue Mingzi stepped forward first to examine her, gently lifting away the gauze, carefully studying every single scar on the small face.
Everyone tensed at once, especially Xiong Xiaobao, who stared intently at Jue Mingzi’s hands, unconsciously holding his breath.
Ziqing gently rubbed her own cheek, lips pressed thin, waiting.
“These will all heal fine, it’s just…”
The moment Jue Mingzi spoke, everyone tensed further, and Baili Xiaosheng clenched her jaw.
“It’s just that these two scars on the left side of the face are too deep — they go straight down to the cheekbone. They won’t heal completely.” Jue Mingzi delivered his verdict with certainty, then smiled and offered Baili Xiaosheng some comfort. “Don’t cry, kiddo. A real man doesn’t mind a couple of scars on his face. It’s not like you’re some girl, right?”
Xiong Bao nodded along eagerly. “That’s right, that’s right! Big Brother Sheng, real men don’t care about being pretty — a couple more scars on your face just make you look tougher! People will see them and know you’re someone not to be trifled with!”
Baili Xiaosheng clearly wanted to cry, tears burning hot in her eyes, yet never quite falling. Ziqing watched, her heart aching, but she didn’t expose the girl’s true gender.
Baili Xiaosheng’s strength was her dignity.
She gave a firm, decisive nod, and yanked off the cloth wrap hanging by her ear. “A real man — I won’t cry!”
Jun Beiyue stood off to the side, watching in silence, a flash of tenderness and guilt crossing his eyes.
Baili Xiaosheng — this king acknowledges you as his daughter!