Douluo, my clone Groudon

Chapter 293 Asking
Deep within the Sea God Pavilion.

Yun Ming, who was in meditation, felt a slight stirring in his mind. He slowly opened his eyes, a faint hint of surprise and... disbelief flashing in his gentle and deep eyes.

That trace of spiritual energy... though extremely faint and heavily disguised, contained a unique, eerie, and chilling soul quality...

"Yu Lai...?" Yun Ming murmured to himself, his brows furrowing slightly. She had actually returned to Shrek City and left her mark. Where had she been all these years?
Yun Ming pondered for a moment, and his powerful mental energy spread out silently like ripples on water, instantly locking onto the location of the mental imprint. Following the faint connection, he also "saw" the figure of the woman who was disguised and had a weak aura.

He didn't alert anyone, and his figure quietly disappeared inside the Sea God Pavilion.

On the outskirts of Shrek City, in a secluded grove of trees.

Moonlight filtered through the sparse branches, casting a soft glow. Leng Yulai leaned against a large tree, waiting quietly, her heart pounding uncontrollably. She was nervous, she was afraid, and she even felt a pang of regret.

What if... what if everything that mysterious person said was a lie? What if Yun Ming...

Just then, a gentle yet vast aura silently appeared not far behind her.

Leng Yulai's body tensed abruptly, and she slowly turned around.

Under the moonlight, Yun Ming stood quietly, dressed in a simple white robe. He remained as gentle and composed as ever, his eyes deep and profound, as if they could encompass all things in the world.

He looked at the woman before him, who was weak, veiled, and with complex and unfathomable eyes, and sighed softly.

"Yu Lai, it's been a long time." Yun Ming's voice was gentle, yet it carried a penetrating power that seemed to see through everything.

Leng Yulai took a deep breath, abruptly pulled off her veil, revealing a beautiful face that resembled Leng Yaozhu's but was filled with gloom and haggardness.

Her purple eyes were fixed on Yun Ming, her voice trembling slightly, as she cut to the chase and asked the question that had tormented her for decades:

"Yunming, it's been a long time."

"I've come back this time to ask you only one thing. Back then, did you ever have romantic feelings for me or my sister Leng Yaozhu? When she confessed her feelings to you, did you reject her? Did she... really entrust you... to take care of me?"

Her voice was exceptionally clear in the silent woods, carrying a resolute determination to gamble everything.

Looking into Leng Yulai's eyes, beneath the intense resentment that seemed to see through, and at the hidden vulnerability and the glimmer of yearning for the truth, Yun Ming understood and felt a complex sense of guilt.

He paused for a moment, then met Leng Yulai's gaze with a calm and composed expression, and spoke slowly, his voice steady and clear:
"Yes."

“In my life, Yun Ming has been nurtured by the academy and devoted my heart to Shrek Academy. My only personal feelings have been for Ya Li; she is my one and only. As for Yao Zhu and you, it is the trust and respect I have for you because we fought side by side in the Blood God Legion. I appreciate her feelings, but I cannot reciprocate, so I can only politely decline.”

"As for entrusting her with this..." Yun Ming's eyes became incredibly deep, as if piercing through time and space. "Back then, she competed with you for the right to speak in the Leng family. Knowing that the road ahead was fraught with danger and surrounded by powerful enemies, she was unwilling to turn against you and intended to give up inheriting the position of head of the Leng family."

"She once told me: 'If anything happens to me, it will be Yu Lai... She has a fiery temper and is prone to extremes. I hope you will take good care of her out of consideration for our comradeship, and not let her... go astray because of me.'"

Yun Ming's words were like a morning bell and evening drum, each word striking Leng Yulai's heart clearly.

"I never imagined that a simple request from back then would be misunderstood by you to this extent, and I never expected... that it would drag you into the quagmire of the Holy Spirit Cult." Yun Ming's voice was filled with sorrow and deep regret. With his strength, Leng Yulai's disguise was too pale in his eyes. "Yulai, turn back. Yao Zhu... she has never stopped searching for you, never stopped worrying about you."

boom--!
Leng Yulai was struck dumb, staggering back a step, her face instantly turning deathly pale. Yun Ming had personally confirmed it; he had personally recounted everything the mysterious man had told her!
Decades of hatred, decades of obsession, decades of depravity, and it turns out... it was all just a tragic misunderstanding?!
The immense impact made her vision go black, and the suppressed injuries and forcibly restrained evil energy within her body surged out of control in an instant.

She coughed up a mouthful of blood, leaning against the tree trunk, her body trembling violently. The deep-seated resentment in her purple eyes melted away like ice and snow, replaced by a huge emptiness, bewilderment, and... an overwhelming sense of shame and regret.

Tears welled up uncontrollably, mingling with the blood at the corner of her mouth, and slid down her pale face.

Looking at the man before her, as imposing as a mountain, whose eyes held only openness and regret, she felt for the first time how ridiculous, how... pathetic, she felt.

Holy Spirit Cult... Ghost Emperor... Spirit Pagoda... My decades of dark life... It turns out, it was just a huge joke built by inner demons and lies!
In the woods, only Leng Yulai's suppressed sobs, filled with despair and collapse, and Yun Ming's long and heavy sigh remained.

The cool moonlight filtered through the sparse branches and leaves, casting dappled shadows on Leng Yulai's pale face.

She leaned against the rough tree trunk, her body still trembling slightly from the intense emotional turmoil and her injuries. Tears streamed down her face silently, mingling with the blood that had not yet dried at the corner of her mouth.

She dared not look into Yun Ming's open, regretful, and sorrowful eyes; that gaze made her feel utterly ashamed.

The crying gradually subsided, eventually fading into a deathly silence.

Leng Yulai used all her strength to barely suppress the surging blood and qi within her body and the evil energy that was about to break through her disguise. She slowly raised her head, looked at Yun Ming with a complicated expression, and her lips moved a few times.

Yun Ming waited quietly, sensing the immense turmoil and struggle within Leng Yulai's heart. He hoped she would turn back, hoped she could provide information about the Holy Spirit Cult, and hoped she would return to her sister's side.

However, Leng Yulai could only shake her head with difficulty in the end, her voice hoarse and weak: "...I understand. Yun Ming...thank you for telling me the truth."

She paused, a barely perceptible fear flashing in her eyes—the fear of that god-like figure in the Valley of Burial Souls. "But...I can't...I can't go back with you yet, and I can't tell you anything more..."

Yun Ming frowned slightly, a hint of inquiry flashing in his eyes: "Is it because of the Holy Spirit Cult? Or... something else?"

Leng Yulai avoided his gaze, lowered her head, and looked at her hands, which were stained with mud and blood: "Yes, they are. I need time to process all of this. I also need to deal with some things that must be dealt with."

She dared not reveal Gula's existence, nor daring to disclose even the slightest information about that mysterious person.

She was certain that Yun Ming was very strong, a peak Limit Douluo of this era, a demigod, but the power displayed by that masked man... transcended the realm of the mortal!
That was the oppressive power of divinity.

That person's warning hung over her soul like a cold blade.

She had no doubt that if she revealed even half a word, not only would she be instantly annihilated, but she might even implicate Yun Ming and cause him to meet with misfortune.

"Yun Ming, please... don't ask any more questions, and don't try to find me." Leng Yulai raised her head, her eyes filled with a resolute plea. "To see you today and know the truth, I... have no other requests. Take care."

(End of this chapter)