Chapter 1817 - Like a Burst Dam (1/2)

The snowy winds suddenly stopped howling and one could even faintly hear the beat of a wildly-pounding heart in the vast still whiteness that seemed to stretch on forever.

“Of course I do.”

That calm and quiet reply caused Xia Yuanba’s heart to drop in his chest… because he knew that Yun Che was definitely listening.

“How can I not hate him?”

She didn’t turn around to look at Xia Yuanba. Instead, she kept staring into the distance as her voice turned even colder and gloomier than the boundless snow. “He wasn’t around when I was born. He wasn’t there as I was growing up. He didn’t even come… to my coming-of-age ceremony when I turned eighteen.”

“He told me that I was his whole world… He told me that he’d never let my mother and I get hurt or cry again… He told me that he’d be back before I even knew it… He told me that he wanted to watch me grow older, to make up for everything that he owed me…”

“But… he broke every promise he made… over and over again…”

“He’s the most unreliable father, the most ill-qualified father… the worst father in the world.”

Her voice was very soft and light, and although it sounded a little faint at times, one couldn’t hear any emotion in it.

In the skies high above them, far higher than where her senses could reach, Yun Che slowly closed his eyes. He had clenched his jaw so hard that a small rivulet of blood was slowly trickling from the corner of his mouth.

Shui Meiyin stretched out a hand to wipe away the blood before she gently closed her palm.

“He clearly said that… he wouldn’t allow anyone to steal him away from me… But why… does he keep choosing to abandon me time after time, again and again…”

“I hate him, I hate him so much.”

After she softly muttered those words, she started to slowly walk away.

Xia Yuanba couldn’t see her expression right now and her voice had been so cold and calm that it had practically frozen his heart. He stretched out a hand to stop her but he simply couldn’t find the words to say.

At this time, Yun Wuxin suddenly stopped and turned around to look at him.

“Uncle Xia,” she said as she stared straight into Xia Yuanba’s eyes with those clear and innocent eyes of hers. “Have you already met him?”

This sent a jolt through Xia Yuanba, who was currently deeply emotional. He anxiously waved his hands and exclaimed, “No, no, no, no! Absolutely not! If not, I would’ve… definitely brought him home.”

Upon seeing Xia Yuanba’s reaction, a flowing light flashed through Yun Wuxin’s beautiful eyes. She opened her mouth to speak but she ended up stopping herself several times before she finally asked in a slow and measured voice, “You… really did see him, huh? You saw him… and he’s still around… right?”

Xia Yuanba had always been terrible at lying. He wasn’t even as good as your average human being, much less someone like Yun Che, who could spin a web of lies with an absolutely straight face.

It would’ve been better if he hadn’t tried to deny it, because this denial had so many holes in it that it was practically an admission in Yun Wuxin’s eyes.

“Er… this… I…”

Xia Yuanba panickedly retreated a few steps as Yun Wuxin continued to stare at him. He wanted to make another strong denial, but the moment he opened his mouth, all the air went out of him and his head sagged in defeat instead.

“Huuuu…” He let out a long sigh as a look of resignation crossed his face. After that, he made sure that he didn’t look towards where Yun Che was as he avoided Yun Wuxin’s gaze and replied, “Yes. In truth… I successfully managed to go to the God Realm, and I met your father under extremely fortuitous circumstances.”

Since everything he said was true this time, Xia Yuanba didn’t show any of the tells he gave away when he did try to lie.

Once he said those words, Xia Yuanba’s body instantly relaxed. He felt guilty toward Yun Che, but he felt a lot better now that he had gotten it all out.

Silence… A very long and drawn-out silence ensued after that. Xia Yuanba stared at Yun Wuxin with apprehensive eyes as she quietly stood in place. Her face was still as cold and calm as ever, and not a single ripple of emotion could be seen on her face.

Yun Wuxin finally spoke, “Then why didn’t he come back to me? Why did he ask you to hide the truth? Did he receive some sort of debilitating injury… that crippled him?”

“No, no, absolutely not. He’s extremely fine, not a single wound on him! I can guarantee that much at least.”

Since matters had already come to this, Xia Yuanba chose not to hide anything any longer. He solemnly said, “There are some very important tasks that he has to complete. Tasks so important… that even I can’t quite understand them.”

“Wuxin,” Xia Yuanba hurriedly continued, “I understand your father very well. The only reason he wouldn’t have returned after all these years is because there have been some unforeseen difficulties and obstacles tying him down. After all, the place called the God Realm is unimaginably vast, and there must be something that’s keeping him there.”

“However, he did promise that he would return very soon… That was something that he said himself. A promise he was very sincere about.”

Xia Yuanba had already racked his brains to craft this answer for Yun Wuxin, so the only thing he could do now was anxiously wait for her response.

“Is that so…” Yun Wuxin said in the softest of voices. After that, she simply turned around, her back facing Xia Yuanba once more.

“I got it. Since he didn’t want us to know about the chance meeting that two of you had, I won’t tell Mother or my masters.”

“Uncle Xia, you’ve been gone for several months, so Absolute Monarch Sanctuary has been worried to death about you. You should return as soon as possible and give them some peace of mind.”

She was already wandering into the boundless flying snow even as she said those words.

“Wuxin, are… you okay?” Xia Yuanba asked in a worried voice.

Unfortunately, he did not receive a reply. Yun Wuxin’s figure had already become indistinct and blurry as she disappeared into the neverending blizzard.

After Xia Yuanba shot a very apologetic look into the skies above him, he remained where he was standing for a while, a troubled look on his face. After that, he gave a short sigh before he turned around and flew toward the south.

After all, Frozen Cloud Immortal Palace forbade all males besides Yun Che from entering, and he was no exception.

The snowy winds were growing more and more frantic. This had become a common occurrence in the Snow Region of Extreme Ice since four years ago, when the entire Blue Pole Star had shuddered violently. Ever since then, this region had grown even colder than it had been before.

Yun Wuxin’s steps grew slower and slower, and before she even knew it, her path had deviated away from where Frozen Cloud Immortal Palace lay.

Thud!

She suddenly staggered as she fell to her knees in the icy snow.

She remained still for a very long time, her delicate shoulders gently trembling. However, this trembling began growing more and more intense...

A hoarse sob that she desperately tried to suppress rang out in the snowy winds.

“Da… Daddy…”

She cried out those words in a desolate and miserable voice as a single tear fell from the eyes she had shut tight. It transformed into the purest and most lustrous snow crystal in the universe as it silently fell into the eternal ice that shrouded this land.

“As long as you’re safe… As… long… as you’re safe…”