Would Baili Weisheng wake up after all?

Everyone watched, transfixed, unable to look away, with no idea how things stood. Even Nanny Gu, who had raised him, only knew that the seal could preserve his body — but just how severe his injuries actually were at this moment, no one knew.

Large patches of golden scales continued to dissolve, one after another, into powder, into light, absorbed into his body.

In mere moments, almost no trace of the golden scales remained visible on him at all.

That had been the most noble symbol of the Golden Jiao — the very defining mark of the Golden Jiao lineage — and it was simply gone, just like that.

If it was true that a human-gu body felt no pain, then did the destruction of his scales cause him pain?

Ziqing’s heart ached. The pain of losing one’s scales — whether for a small fish or a mighty qilin beast — was always agonizing. Why wouldn’t Baili Weisheng feel it too?

The more she watched, the tighter she gripped Jun Beiyue’s hand. Unable to help himself, he frowned and glanced sideways at her — at this rate, the skin of his palm would genuinely be crushed to pieces by her grip.

It wasn’t just Ziqing — Xiong Bao and Baili Xiaosheng were both equally tense, the two children unconsciously clinging to each other at some point!

Even the Dream Clan leader watched in bafflement, unable to understand why this human-gu carried Golden Jiao bloodline — the Golden Jiao clan had already ceased to exist entirely!

He also couldn’t understand why these scales were dissolving, and why some kind of power seemed to be absorbed by Baili Weisheng after their dissolution!

If Nanny Gu hadn’t mentioned that the Dream Clan’s seal could lock down a human-gu body, he estimated it would have taken him quite some time to figure out this method himself.

Just as everyone’s tension peaked, the golden light was finally fully absorbed into Baili Weisheng’s body, and within the faint purple glow, his handsome, refined face suddenly began to take on a healthy flush of color!

Everyone noticed the change instantly — was this a good sign?

For a moment, everyone grew excited, yet each remained cautious, afraid to voice the hopeful thought aloud, worried that speaking it might somehow jinx it.

Could it be the power of the scales?

The Dream Clan leader had no time to spare on speculation. He clasped his hands together, completing the final stage of the seal. In an instant, the purple glow swirling around Baili Weisheng flared brilliantly, then abruptly condensed into a great lock that sealed itself into his body, and the purple light vanished entirely.

The corpse seal was complete.

The Dream Clan leader let out a slow breath, his breathing noticeably unsteady. Though the sealing process appeared simple on the surface, it consumed a tremendous amount of power — within the entire Dream Clan, only the clan leader himself was capable of casting a seal of this magnitude.

Once the corpse seal was complete, it meant Baili Weisheng’s body would remain permanently locked in its current state — everything would halt, no further deterioration would occur, but neither would there be any further change. He would simply remain as he was now.

The only uncertainty was — what exactly was “his current state”?

The seal was complete, but Ziqing and the others grew even more anxious. Seeing everyone fall silent, the Dream Clan leader felt compelled to break the quiet — after all, saving Baili Weisheng was important, but he still had a far more pressing matter of his own to attend to.

His long-lost daughter, whom he’d thought of day and night, the Dream Clan’s supreme treasure the Liuguang Dagger, and that formidable treasure known as the Qiankun Poison Pouch — all of these, he was desperate to see.

Yet, noticing the grave expressions on Ziqing’s and Jun Beiyue’s faces, the Dream Clan leader didn’t push the matter, saying only calmly, “It’s done. Whether he wakes… depends entirely on his own fortune now.”

But no one seemed to register his words at all — they simply kept watching Baili Weisheng in silence, as if silently praying.

Seeing this, the Dream Clan leader felt a bit awkward. Just then, Old Meng Five was about to speak, but the Dream Clan leader stopped him with a single glance.

“Father!” Old Meng Five said softly.

“They’ve already waited so long — what’s a little more time now? They’re already suffering enough; this isn’t the moment to press them further,” the Dream Clan leader said calmly.

Old Meng Five raised an eyebrow, then fell silent.

Off to the side, the Great Elder took all of this in, the corner of his mouth curling into a cold sneer as he withdrew quietly, saying nothing further.

He would wait — wait until all this business was finished, and then he’d properly dig up Meng Wanyue’s old grievances.

Unfortunately, this wait stretched on for a full two hours, with not the slightest stir from Baili Weisheng. Ziqing hadn’t spoken a word in half an hour either, her gaze never leaving him, and everyone’s expressions grew steadily grimmer.

Old Meng Five watched anxiously, and even the Dream Clan leader was growing impatient — a full hour had passed already; surely this group didn’t intend to wait until Baili Weisheng actually woke up?

Just then, in the silence, Baili Xiaosheng suddenly couldn’t hold back any longer and burst into loud, uncontrollable sobs. “Waaah! Master!”

Seeing this, little Xiong Bao’s expression darkened too. He turned to look at Ziqing, and then, “Wahh…” he burst into tears as well!

In an instant, both children flung themselves onto Baili Weisheng, crying like rivers of tears, moving anyone who heard them to tears of their own.

In truth, it wasn’t that no one had guessed the truth — it was simply that no one had dared face it. Baili Weisheng’s condition was simple enough to understand.

Remaining unconscious meant the body’s injuries had reached the spirit itself. And when the spirit was affected, unconsciousness followed — and beyond that, potentially, death.

Watching the two children crying themselves nearly hoarse, Ziqing bit down on her lip, again and again, her nose and eyes stinging painfully!

She felt something inside her building toward the edge of collapse, ready to burst at any moment.

Xiong Bao, crying his eyes and nose raw, turned to look at Ziqing and sobbed, “Mommy, can scholar uncle still take us home?”

Ziqing bit her lip, not knowing how to answer.

“Mommy… Mommy doesn’t know. Ask him yourself — ask him if he… if he can.”

Xiong Bao had always played with Baili Weisheng and had no idea just how severe his injuries truly were. He immediately climbed onto Baili Weisheng, crying as he asked, “Scholar uncle, can you still take us home?”

“Scholar uncle, wake up — only if you wake up can you take us home. You can’t lie to us.”

…

If Xiong Bao hadn’t said anything, Ziqing might have held together — but now, she nearly broke down completely, only kept steady by Jun Beiyue’s supporting arm. Baili Xiaosheng, too, could no longer hold back. “Master, Master wake up, wake up — I’ll go home with you too, Master! Wake up, don’t sleep anymore! Waaah…”

Home?

Before midnight — who would take you home?

What was Baili Weisheng, exactly, to her?

But where, exactly, was Baili Weisheng’s home? Did he even know the way back?

Drifting somewhere hazy and indistinct, the words “going home” lingered at the edge of his hearing, growing clearer and clearer, mingled with the sound of crying — so familiar, and yet so strange, as if it were his own, and yet as if it belonged to someone else.

Going home?

Suddenly, Baili Weisheng smiled, the corner of his mouth curving into a beautiful arc — warm, clean, like a lotus blossom.

The smile spread wider and wider, and then, all at once, he burst out laughing. “Heh heh, of course I can! Of course! If Jun Beiyue is willing, I can even take him home too!”

With that, he slowly opened his eyes, his smile dazzling, utterly carefree…

Ziqing, Xiong Bao, and Baili Xiaosheng all froze in place — while Jun Beiyue’s icy expression turned cold enough to freeze the entire room.

…