My mother is the white moonlight of the cultivation world.

"Yes, I know."

His voice remained as gentle as ever, as if he had anticipated everything. He didn't press for answers or question anything, as if he already knew.

Shen Qingfu reached out his hand, his large palm warm and dry, and gently took Hua Yue's slightly cool hand in his.

This action startled Hua Yue, but she did not break free.

He led her, turned, and walked towards the magnificent gate. With his back to the two stunned servants at the entrance, he gave the order in a calm yet authoritative tone:

"From now on, this young lady will not need any tokens to come to Xuan Guang Pavilion. She is my most important guest."

"Yes! Yes! Master!"

The two servants were startled and quickly bowed in agreement.

The doors of Xuanguang Pavilion slowly closed behind them, shutting out all the noise from the outside world.

Inside the door lies another world.

The lobby on the first floor was surprisingly spacious. People came and went, yet it was orderly and not noisy. The air was filled with a faint fragrance of spiritual herbs and minerals. On the jade shelves around the room, all kinds of magical artifacts, elixirs, and talismans were displayed, each of them shimmering with a faint spiritual light, clearly not ordinary items.

Shen Qingfu did not linger on the first floor. He took Hua Yue's hand and headed straight for the spiral jade staircase leading upstairs.

The higher you go, the fewer people there are, and the richer the spiritual energy in the air becomes.

The second floor displays rare spiritual plants and high-grade elixirs, many of which are priceless treasures. The third floor showcases dazzling magical artifacts and armor, each with its own name and story.

Hua Yue strolled along, secretly marveling at the sheer depth of Xuan Guang Pavilion's resources.

But Shen Qingfu did not stop on any floor. He seemed to ignore these treasures that could drive countless cultivators crazy, and focused on leading her up the stairs, one floor at a time.

Finally, they reached the top floor.

In stark contrast to the opulent and dazzling array of goods downstairs, the entire rooftop is spacious and tranquil, even somewhat...simple.

There are no shelves, no treasures, and the floor is made of a single, uncarved, huge piece of warm jade, with a gentle luster emanating from underfoot.

In the vast space, only two things were placed.

In the very center stands a life-sized statue of a Pixiu. The statue is carved entirely from some unknown type of gold and jade, with a fierce appearance and piercing eyes, as if it will come to life at any moment and devour the treasures of the world.

Behind the Pixiu statue, on the wall, hangs a painting.

The painting depicts a woman.

The woman possessed skin as white as ice and bones as pure as jade, so clear and untouched by the world. Her eyes and brows were as clear as mountain springs, shimmering with a pale, lustrous purple, with naturally upturned corners that conveyed an innate aloofness and cold pride. A jade ring loosely bound her long, flowing hair, which was not pure black but a frosty purple tinged with moonlight, giving it a cool, damp feel on the painted silk.

The person in the painting is not smiling; her expression is indifferent, as if nothing in the world can catch her eye.

This unapproachable aura is completely different from the image Hua Yue remembers of her who always smiled and called her "baby".

But that face, those light purple, glassy eyes, were clearly her mother, Hua Zhishuang.

"I love your mother very much."

Shen Qingfu's voice rang out in the empty rooftop, breaking the silence. He rarely spoke so bluntly; his instincts as the heir of a powerful family had made him accustomed to hiding and pretending. But at this moment, he spoke these words with utmost seriousness, each word carrying a heavy weight.

Hua Yue remained silent, simply gazing at the painting.

Shen Qingfu led her closer, his amber eyes reflecting the figure in the painting, also tinged with a complex and indescribable emotion.

"I painted this picture."

He paused, as if recalling something from a long time ago.

"Your mother... she didn't like me much when she first met me." A bitter smile played on his lips. "I rarely have the chance to be alone with her. Once, in the Myriad Realms, we were unexpectedly trapped in one place, and she had no choice but to join forces with me. She actually really likes beautiful things, so I thought I'd paint this picture and give it to her, maybe... she'd change her opinion of me a little."

"But even though I finished the painting, I never had the chance to send it out."

He hadn't confided these things to anyone for many, many years. In all these years, the only person he could reminisce about Hua Zhishuang with was his rival in love.

Hua Yue's feelings were somewhat complicated. She could sense the regret and love hidden deep in the man's words, but she was more concerned about something else at the moment.

"Did you once give my mother a coin made from a green cicada shell?" She looked up, interrupting his recollection. "I wanted to use that to find my mother's whereabouts."

She didn't have time to stay here with him reminiscing about the past; finding her mother was the priority.

The look of longing on Shen Qingfu's face slowly faded, replaced by a deeper, almost cruel calm.

"I love your mother very much," he repeated, as if stating an undeniable fact, "but she doesn't like me."

Saying those words seemed cruel to him.

He added, "So, given her personality, she would never carry that coin with her."

This is not speculation. Over the years, he has tried countless times to activate the mother coin on his person, attempting to sense the location of the daughter coin, but each time it has been to no avail.

Hope, which was ignited just moments before, was mercilessly extinguished by a bucket of cold water.

The light in Hua Yue's eyes dimmed little by little. She thought she had grasped the only clue, and that she would soon see her mother, but it turned out to be nothing but empty joy.

She wearily released Shen Qingfu's hand and said softly, "Thank you for informing me. I apologize for disturbing you."

After saying that, she turned around, ready to leave this place that had shattered her hopes.

Just as she turned around—

"Buzz—"

A strange, low hum suddenly rang out from the top floor without warning.

The sound did not come from any direction, but resonated directly deep within a person's soul.

Hua Yue paused, then subconsciously turned around.

Behind her stood a majestic golden jade Pixiu statue, whose eyes, which were originally just carved, now burst forth with a dazzling golden light!

The light was not dazzling, but rather gentle and intimate, enveloping the little Hua Yue completely.

Shen Qingfu froze completely.

His amber phoenix eyes, which always held a gentle smile, widened slightly at this moment, revealing a rare look of disorientation and shock.

It was as if an invisible hand had gripped the throat of time and space, causing all the sounds and colors in the world to rapidly fade and collapse, ultimately focusing on that small figure shrouded in golden light.

The Shen family has inherited the Pixiu bloodline for generations, and this spiritual jade carving left by their ancestors will only respond to the purest and most core bloodline descendants.

He disregarded everything else and looked at Hua Yue again, searching for any familiar traces on her face. Yes, her eyebrows resembled hers, clear and aloof like distant mountains shrouded in mist; but the contours of her eyes were clearly more like his.

Shen Qingfu walked slowly and stiffly toward Hua Yue, as if afraid of disturbing some priceless treasure. He reached Hua Yue and slowly squatted down, bringing his gaze level with the child's.

His lips moved, a thousand words swirling in his throat, but in the end he murmured, "She...didn't lie to me."

Hua Yue was completely bewildered by his sudden change of heart. What did he mean by lying?

Shen Qingfu seemed to have finally regained his voice from the huge shock. He raised his hand, as if he wanted to touch Hua Yue's cheek, but stopped in mid-air.

He looked into Hua Yue's eyes and said clearly, word by word, "Your mother... left a letter after she left."

"The letter said that she... left me a child."

"what?"

Hua Yue was completely dumbfounded.

Mother wasn't found, but Father was found first?

"What evidence do you have?" Hua Yue felt it was better to confirm it first, just in case.

"This jade Pixiu carving is connected to the Shen family's bloodline and will only respond to the purest bloodline."

"The only people who can make it willingly reveal its brilliance right now are me and my child, that is, you."

It turned out to be the case.

Hua Yue nodded, understanding now. This Pixiu statue was essentially a fully automated bloodline identification device, complete with lighting effects, making it faster than modern ones.

She didn't feel much about the sudden appearance of a father figure.

After all, from the time she could remember, her life consisted only of her incredibly beautiful but occasionally eccentric mother. She had never experienced fatherly love, so naturally she didn't feel a lack of it.

Right now, she's more concerned about whether this will help her find her mother.

Hua Yue's calmness was like a fine needle, pricking the softest spot in Shen Qingfu's heart.

He had imagined countless possibilities.

She might be shocked, doubtful, angry, or even cry.

I never imagined she would be so... indifferent.

Shen Qingfu's heart felt as if it were being clenched by a hand, aching in waves. He had spent his entire life calculating gains and losses, strategizing and planning, but at this moment, he was acutely aware that he was facing the greatest, and irreparable, deficit of his life.

He slowly crouched down, trying to make his line of sight level with hers.

"I... missed you for so long..."

He did not use the self-reference of "father," as that word seemed too heavy and extravagant at this moment.

"Will you... resent me?"

When he asked that question, his voice carried a cautiousness that he himself was unaware of.

He waited for Hua Yue's reply; that brief silence felt far too long to him.

Hua Yue looked at him, thought about it seriously for a moment, and then gently shook her head.

"It's nothing." Hua Yue shook her head casually. Although her mother was a bit oblivious, she always loved her very much, so Hua Yue never felt a lack.

These words made Shen Qingfu's heart ache more than any words of resentment.

After a long silence, he finally found his voice and spoke with difficulty, "I...can I call you Yue'er?"

"Okay." Hua Yue didn't care about these details of address.

With permission granted, Shen Qingfu felt as if a huge weight had been lifted from his heart. What was lost could not be made up for, but from now on, he would make it up to her in everything.

"Yue'er," he called the name again, "our Shen family bloodline is endowed with a special power from birth. We all need to undergo an awakening ceremony in our childhood to awaken this power."

He gazed into Hua Yue's eyes, his tone becoming serious.

"I will help you awaken your bloodline."

Awakening one's bloodline? That sounds pretty impressive.

Hua Yue wondered if it would be easier to find her mother if she became stronger.

"What will happen?" she asked curiously.

"It might hurt a little," Shen Qingfu admitted.

"Okay." Hua Yue readily extended her little hand.

Shen Qingfu no longer hesitated and took out a silver needle from his storage ring. He gently pricked Hua Yue's fingertip.

A drop of crimson blood seeped from his fingertip, and then he picked up Hua Yue and pressed her blood-stained fingertip onto the cold, hard gold and jade Pixiu statue.