Chapter Fifty Return in Triumph

  That's Father, a father without affection. My heart seemed to have returned to its original coldness, and I walked out of the big tent in a daze to find someone to call for my older brother.

  "Father, you're looking for me?"

  "Hmm, choose a few guards to accompany your younger brother back to the Imperial City immediately."

  "But father, brother has just come back, why don't we let him rest for a day?" My elder brother's words warmed my heart, and it was only from him that I could still feel a hint of familial affection.

  "Never mind, he has something very important to do, just follow my orders. You all go out together, Lei Xiang, you don't have to come back after you leave, afterwards... forget it, just go."

  I quietly followed Big Brother out of the big tent. Leilong patted my shoulder and said, "Just met and now we have to part ways again, little brother, be careful on the road. Big Brother will find a few skilled clan members for you."

  I calmly asked: "Is the road still so rough?"

  "Lei Long said: 'Our beastman country is like this, everywhere are thieves. Don't worry, with them guarding you, nothing will happen.'"

  I clenched my fists and said in a cold voice, "Bandits? Meeting me will be the greatest misfortune of their lives. Big brother, rest assured, I'm not a child anymore. This is for you, keep it close to your body, it's useful." As I spoke, I took out a piece of green jade from my inner jacket. After the last life-and-death experience, I found that what had been constantly transmitting life force to me was this unassuming green stone. If I hadn't had them back then, I wouldn't have been able to hold on until the final victory.

  Lei Long picked up the green jade and asked: "What is this thing?"

  I smiled and said: "Don't ask any more questions, just take it. Don't let others see it, it will help you on the battlefield."

  Lei Long furrowed his brow as he looked at the small green turquoise and said, "Alright, since you put it that way, I'll definitely keep it well."

  "Just now someone told me that the vice leader is back, I thought it was who, turned out to be you, little bastard." A familiar and annoying voice sounded in my ear. My brother and I both turned our heads at the same time and saw Lei Hu, who was as tall as my brother. He still looked like that, with a ferocious face. "Little bastard" is the nickname he gave me before, from what I can remember, he has always called me that.

  I snorted coldly and said, "Who are you calling a bastard?"

  Lei Hu snapped his fingers loudly and said with a smirk, "What's this? A few days without seeing you and the little bastard's temper has grown, dare to resist now?"

  Big brother blocked me and shouted: "Second child, what nonsense are you talking about? He is our brother, how can you call him a bastard?"

  Lei Hu glanced at his older brother with some disdain: "I'm telling you, big bro, what kind of brother is he to us? Does he look anything like our Mongolian ancestors? He's not a pure breed, his mother was that human trash, gave birth to this piece of trash, I don't know what our father was thinking, keeping him around all these years. If it were me, I would have strangled him in his crib, just to avoid the annoyance."

  Lei Long suddenly felt a chill on his back, turned his head to look, and was so frightened that he retreated several steps. The indifference of my father, the humiliation of Lei Hu, made me who had just returned from the Dragon God go mad, with blood-red eyes staring at Lei Hu, my long hair turning red and standing up without wind, after I went crazy, my muscles suddenly swelled, and my upper body clothes were torn apart in many places.

  Lei Hu saw me and was stunned: "What's wrong, is the hybrid going crazy?"

  I exuded a cold and stern aura, step by step closing in on Lei Hu, my mouth constantly muttering: "Who did you say was a hybrid? Who did you say was a hybrid? Who did you say was a hybrid?"

  Lei Long grabbed my arm and said urgently, "Third brother, don't be like this, let's talk it over."

  I waved my hand and shook off the Thunder Dragon, squeezing out a voice from between my teeth: "There's nothing to say, anyone who insults me will die." Due to our argument, many people gathered around, mostly from the Crazy Lion Army and our Bimon Army. Since I and Lei Hu were both at the deputy commander level, no one dared to come up and stop us, some smart ones had already gone to find Father. Thunder Dragon looked at his numb hand in disbelief, muttering: "But, but he's your brother after all."

  "Who is his brother, he's a mongrel. Stinky mongrel, don't think that just because you've become like this I'll be afraid of you. Today I'll let you see the true power of Bei Ming." After finishing speaking, he let out a loud roar, took a step forward and threw a punch through the air.

  Just as Big Brother said, Leihu's Tianlei Xiajia has been practiced to the third layer. A faint white aura burst out from his fist and rushed towards me violently. If I hadn't gone crazy, I might not have been his opponent, but after going crazy, even a Dragon Knight would dare to fight, and I didn't know what fear was. My body suddenly charged forward, meeting the aura he released. Leihu sneered and snorted: "Looking for death."

  I charged forward and swung my fist, a red airflow burst out with it, colliding with his white Dou Qi. With a loud crash, Lei Hu was knocked back two steps by the counterforce, his face slightly changing color. I, on the other hand, only had my speed hindered for a moment before continuing to charge forward.

  My fierce aura ignited the ferocity of the Thunder Tiger, which let out a loud roar and charged at me. I stood on one foot, sprang into the air, and roared: "Crazy Battle Across the World!" The Crazy God Fist can only unleash its true power when in a state of frenzy. A column of red energy shot out, and the Thunder Tiger fearlessly charged forward, swinging its fists repeatedly. "Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!" The Crazy War Aura released by Crazy Battle Across the World collided with the Thunder Tiger's Heavenly Lightning Armor six times in mid-air. The Thunder Tiger's massive body, over five meters tall, was sent flying by my frenzied strength, crushing a tent.

  The soldiers of the two tribes who were watching saw that Lei Hu, who was invincible and often claimed to be the next successor of King Baimon, was actually beaten by me and flew out, and they involuntarily made various sounds.

  A soldier from the Fierce Lion Legion said: "Who is this guy? He's so powerful that even Vice Commander Lei Hu can't beat him."

  "You don't know, do you? This is the youngest son of the Bam King and also the vice-leader. Although he doesn't look very tall or large, and somewhat resembles a human, but he's the only Bam in hundreds of years who can go berserk."

  A proud warrior next to him replied, "Haha, this time the deputy commander of the Thunder Tiger can't be arrogant anymore. Usually he always looks down on others with his eyes above his head, but this time he's been defeated by his own brother."

  Lei Hu tore open the tent, swaying and standing up. Even he, who was strong in defense, had suffered a great loss just now. "Good mixed breed, you're cruel! Today I'll fight it out with you!" With a loud roar, he charged forward again.

  In his normal state, he's not even a match for me when I'm enraged, let alone when he's injured. Facing this person who has been bullying my mother and me since childhood, my heart is filled with murderous intent. Since completing the Two-Winged Fallen Angel transformation, even when I'm not transformed, my speed has increased significantly. I add Wind Blade to myself, utilizing my much smaller body compared to Raiko, no longer clashing head-on, dodging his attacks and landing heavy punches on him one after another.

  Big Brother Leidong was anxious on the side, trying to intervene several times but unable to catch my quick movements, and could only watch as Lei Hu was beaten back and forth like a sandbag. Relying on my speed, I didn't give him any chance to fall to the ground, every punch landed on his flesh, beating Lei Hu until he spat out blood, after taking ten punches, I knew that at least a dozen of his bones were broken by me, but Tianlei Xiajia was indeed an excellent defensive martial art, plus his innate strong defense, after withstanding so many heavy blows, he was still alive.

  I let out a loud roar: "Crazy Dragon's Frenzied Dance." My body transformed into a blood-red dragon, and although I didn't use the Ink of Oblivion, its power was not reduced in the slightest. Compared to when I used this move during my fall from the Heavenly Realm, its power had increased by several folds. This was the final blow I would leave for Lei Hu, no matter how strong his defenses were, I would make him turn into a pile of minced meat like a white day.

  After going berserk, I have no scruples at all, facing the target that made me go berserk, only knowing to kill, kill and kill.

  "Halt." Just as Lei Hu was about to meet his demise, a thunderous roar echoed through the air, and a glimmer of joy flashed across Lei Long's eyes. A massive white light appeared in front of Lei Hu, blocking the full force of my frenzied dragon dance. The blood-red dragon collided with the white light, producing a series of crackling sounds, and finally, with a loud boom, the dragon I had conjured up disappeared, and I transformed back into my original form, flying backward with a pale face, the crimson color in my hair gradually fading away.

  The white light faded, revealing Father's angry and surprised face. In front of his majestic momentum, all the soldiers present knelt down to the ground, shouting: "Long live King Bimont for a thousand years, a thousand years, ten thousand years."

  Father first lowered his head and took a glance at Lei Hu. Lei Hu groaned and said: "Father, save me. Kill that little bastard."

  After hearing this sentence, Leio naturally understood what we were conflicting for.

  Father snorted, shouting: "I've lost all face because of you, and you can't even beat your own brother. Come on, take him away, find a doctor to treat him." After that, he strode towards me.

  As I watched my father approach step by step, I thought of gathering more strength. If he blamed me, I would fight him. I couldn't bear the anger in my heart. But the energy of madness had been consumed almost completely, and my body was gradually returning to its original state. Leihu was after all a stronger opponent than Mengzhong. As the saying goes, "hurt the enemy a thousand times, but suffer eight hundred losses yourself". It took a lot of my internal energy to beat him up like that.

  A wave of dizziness came over me, and I fell to one knee, using my hands to support myself. At this time, Father had already walked in front of me, raised his hand to stop Leilong from speaking, and pulled me up with one grab.

  I found that his expression was surprisingly gentle. A pure and thick aura flowed from his large hand grasping mine. With the support of his aura, my spirit lifted, and I straightened up my body.

  His father's cold gaze swept across the kneeling soldiers, and he said loudly: "All of you listen up, today I declare as the King of Bimon that my third son Leixiang has the same revered status as my other sons in the Beastman Country, all of them are vice commanders of the Bimon Army. If I ever hear anyone insult him again, it will be an insult to me, Lei Ao, no matter who it is, absolutely no mercy."

  "King Bimont is one thousand years old, Vice Commander Leixiang is also one thousand years old."

  His father nodded in satisfaction and shouted: "What are you all still kneeling here for? Go back to your own posts."

  The soldiers dispersed, and my father gazed at me deeply. I didn't feel excited or grateful for what he had just said; it was my own strength that defended my position, and I stood firm, staring back at him without backing down.

  "Good, you're indeed the son of Leio. In this past year with Longshen, your progress has been great, especially that last move just now, it was quite good. Keep up the effort, Kyoryu's consumption is huge, don't go today, rest for a day. Leilong, arrange accommodations for your younger brother, let him set off again early tomorrow morning." After finishing speaking, Father turned around and left.

  Big brother took a step forward and supported me, saying in a low voice: "Third brother, why are you so angry today? Let's go, I'll arrange for you to stay somewhere." After finishing speaking, he dragged the exhausted me towards his own tent.

  I rode the black dragon slowly towards the Beastman capital, with eight Bimon giants following behind me on foot. Due to my performance yesterday, they all looked at me with great reverence, and even though they were running very tired, they didn't dare make a sound. Because of them following me, unlike when I left, this time we didn't encounter any thieves, probably because they saw the eight Bimon giants and were scared away.

  All the way, I rarely spoke, always with a gloomy face, only when thinking of Ziyan and her sisters, my face would reveal a hint of tenderness. Without the disturbance of thieves, our journey was very fast, and it took us just over ten days to enter the territory of Beast Emperor City.

  "A giant beast asked: 'Deputy Commander, should we return to the manor first or...'"

  "Return to the mansion."

  "Yes."

  I want to go back and see my mother first, I don't know how she is after leaving for so long. Since meeting the duke, my hatred towards my mother has faded a lot, she was not good to me, it's just fate, I will tell her about what happened with the duke.

  As I walked into the unchanged, still majestic and spacious Bimon Palace, I said coldly: "You few find a place to rest on your own, don't need to follow me, tomorrow morning wait for me at the entrance."

  "Yes, Vice Commander."

  Looking at the familiar yet strange courtyard that had not changed in the slightest, I felt a sense of confusion in my heart. Is this really my home?

  Letting out a long sigh, I pulled Hei Long along and walked in, heading straight for Mother's living quarters.

  Author: Today is the 30th of the Lunar New Year, as I mentioned a few days ago, I'm updating two chapters today to wish everyone a happy new year and all the best. Thanks to everyone's support, I've made it this far, so thank you from the bottom of my heart.

  People see me and keep a distance from me, in their hearts, I am always a piece of solid ice.

  Just as I walked to the door, I heard a sharp voice inside. "Bang! You human trash, I'll beat you to death! Your dead son and that little beast Leilong have all left, who's still going to protect you? How does it feel to be beaten? Haha... You dare to stare at me, are you tired of living? Bang! Don't worry, I won't kill you, if I killed you, what would I play with in the future..."

  Hearing this, I could no longer hold back and rushed into my mother's room. The room was in a mess, with things scattered all over the place. A woman in her fifties, with a face full of wrinkles, was grabbing my mother's hair with one hand. This person was Leihu's mother, my father's third wife, and also the Beast Emperor's cousin.

  In this house, no one dares to provoke her, and she is described with a flattering adjective - shrew.

  Her mother's mouth was bleeding from the corners, her face was even worse than when I left, and her clothes were torn in many places. She was staring fiercely at the ugly woman in front of her.

  "Let her go." My voice was as cold as hell.

  The ugly woman looked up and saw me, her face changed slightly, and she let go of her mother's hand: "Oh, I thought it was someone else who called the funeral, but it turned out to be a bastard born by a lowly woman returning. Look at your behavior, thin and dry, and compared to our Lei Hu, you are simply worlds apart."

  I stepped forward, swung my right arm and threw the ugly woman out heavily, hitting her against the wall of the room. Seeing my mother's weak and miserable state, my eyes became moist.

  I stretched out my hand and picked up her frail body: "Mother, I'm back. You've suffered." Mother looked at me with no anger in her eyes, but didn't say anything.

  The ugly woman's body was still quite sturdy, although she had been thrown down, but she hadn't suffered too much injury. She let out a shrill howl and charged over, shouting: "You little beast dare to hit me? I'll fight you to the death!" Her appearance was like that of a mad dog.

  I kicked her away with one foot, not using much force, and said to her back: "No need to struggle, your life will end today too." After that, I gently put my mother on the bed, pulled over the quilt to cover her. "Mother, you rest first, I'll deal with this shrew and come back to see you. You must take care of yourself, the things you entrusted me with are already done, I'll tell you the results later, okay?"

  Upon hearing this, a hint of vitality appeared in Mother's eyes as she pulled on my clothes and asked: "Really? Is he... is he okay?"

  I smiled slightly and said: "Wait a while, I'll tell you the answer later. You rest first, after all, you need to recharge your energy to have the strength to listen to this story, right?"

  Her mother's eyes dropped a tear and said with some sobs: "Thank you."

  When I heard her say thank you, my heart ached: "You shouldn't be thanking me, I'm your son, forever and ever."

  After finishing speaking, I took a deep breath and stood up. The ugly woman looked at me with a ferocious expression and said in a hateful tone: "You, you dare to do what to me?"

  "You'll know soon enough." I grabbed her collar and easily lifted her up, dragging her outside.

  How could a shrew not resist? She struggled desperately, scratching with her hands and biting with her teeth, but how could she harm my body which was stronger than Meng's? Dragging her along like this, I pulled her all the way to the big courtyard. The servants around us saw us and all retreated far away, not daring to make a sound; it was clear that they all knew what was going on.

  I called out to a person: "You, come here." This was a snake-like person, I remembered that he seemed to be in charge of sweeping the courtyard. The snake-like person walked over with trepidation, glanced at the ugly woman, and trembled as he said: "Third Young Master, what are your orders?"

  I said in a low voice: "Go, call everyone at home, regardless of age or sex. Also, bring the eight Mongols who came back with me. I have something to announce."

  The snake-headed man asked tentatively: "Is Madame Lian also to be called?" Madame Lian was the mother of Lei Long, who had been bedridden with illness for many years.

  "The madam and her attendants are excused, everyone else come here, hurry up, or I'll break your legs."

  "Yes, yes, I'll go right away."

  The ugly woman shouted in a shrill voice: "What are you going to do? If you dare touch a single hair of mine, wait for my tiger son to come back, he will definitely chop you into pieces."

  I coldly snorted, "Dismembered into ten thousand pieces? Whether he can do it in the future or not I don't know, at least for now he's not capable of it. Probably even standing up and walking will have to wait until half a year from now. Before returning here, I just finished collecting him."

  "Lei Hu is the apple of this shrew's eye, she trembled with rage and said: 'You, you've done what to Hu Er? No, it's impossible, you're absolutely no match for Hu Er, you deceived me, you deceived me.'"

  "Hmph, just you wait and see, but don't worry, he won't die, just a few broken bones. However, you're not so lucky, because it's impossible for another father to save you."

  The ugly woman felt fear for the first time and trembled with her voice: "You...do you want to kill me?"

  I grunted and didn't respond. Soon, everyone in the mansion came over. My father and two older brothers weren't home, so I was the master of the house. I wasn't the same Lei Xiang who nobody looked up to when I was a kid. Ever since I killed the first Bamont guard, my status at home had changed.

  The servant ran to the front of me, bowed and said: "Third young master, all those at home have arrived, you see..." I coldly said: "Alright, stand aside."

  I looked around and apart from a few of my aunts, most were servants and guards, including the ones I brought back.

  I pointed at one of the guards who had followed me back from the front line: "You come here."

  "Vice Commander, your orders."

  "Tell this shrew that her son, who is also my so-called second brother, what he is doing now?"

  Bi Meng looked at the ugly woman dully and said: "Lei Hu's deputy commander is recuperating from his injuries."

  "This guy is really a blockhead," I said angrily: "Tell her how Lei Hu was injured, and do you want me to teach you how to speak?"

  Bimon stepped back, recalling the scene where I received Lei Hu's gift. A hint of fear flashed in his eyes: "That day, Vice-Leader Lei Hu scolded and was beaten by Vice-Leader Lei Xiang. Later, King Lei Ao intervened to save Vice-Leader Lei Hu, who is now recovering from his injuries. King Lei Ao also publicly declared that if anyone dares to insult Vice-Leader Lei Xiang again, they will not be spared."

  Although this guy is a bit inarticulate and somewhat dull-witted, he has basically told the story clearly. I waved my hand: "Withdraw."

  "Did you hear that clearly? Your son is not invincible, whoever insults me and my mother will not have a good ending. If it wasn't for your father stopping him that day, your son would have gone to hell already. Since Father said he would never forgive those who insulted me, then I'll take his place to punish you today."

  The ugly woman no longer had her arrogant air, and said stupidly: "But, but he is your brother, I am your aunt."

  My mournful laughter rose: "Brother? What the hell brother? Did he ever treat me as a brother? From childhood to adulthood, did he? In his eyes, I was just a bastard. And you, insulting and beating my mother, today, I'll make you pay back tenfold, a hundredfold."

  I suddenly lifted my head, with bloodshot eyes, scaring everyone around me into involuntarily taking a step back.

  "I called you all here today to tell you that from now on, if anyone dares to bully my mother again, she will be your role model. Unless I'm dead, no matter who it is, even if it's Father, I'll fight to the end. Did you hear me clearly?" My words were filled with a chilling murderous intent, and the temperature in the entire courtyard seemed to drop sharply, while everyone's hearts turned icy cold.

  An ordinary and ugly aunt who was relatively close to the concubine spoke up: "She is your aunt, you can't treat her like this, let's wait until Wang returns before saying anything."

  I let out a heavy hum, my eyes narrowing into a slit as two cold glints shot towards this aunt who dared to speak up: "You'd better not spout nonsense here, you're no good thing either. But what you said is right, she's my aunt... Ah..." I nodded along as I spoke.

  Everyone let out a sigh of relief, thinking I had changed my mind. Just as they relaxed for an instant, I glared and shouted loudly: "Kill!" My right hand swung down sharply, and the fierce energy burst forth suddenly. With a loud crash, the ugly woman's body was struck head-on, she didn't even have time to let out a scream before turning into a pile of minced meat, blood splattering everywhere, my entire body and face were covered in the blood of this shrew who had bullied my mother.

  The aunt who just spoke for the ugly woman fainted on the spot, some women turned pale and started vomiting, and everyone else looked at me with trepidation. Covered in blood, I stood in the center of the courtyard, like the Asura King who had just walked out of hell.

  "This is your model, have you taken a good look?" Under my authority, no one dared to answer.

  I asked loudly again: "Did you see it clearly?"

  People answered intermittently: "Look, look carefully."

  "My face relaxed: 'Clean up this place, pick up these pieces of meat, find a place to bury them. Those who are fine can disperse, don't forget what I said today.'"

  After saying that, I didn't go to see my mother, but... how could I possibly show up covered in blood? I changed into a clean set of clothes, which made me feel refreshed all over.

  Back in mother's room, it has been cleaned up by the servant. Mother is still lying on the bed as when I left. "Mother, I'm back."

  I walked over, sat down on the edge of the bed. My mother turned over, struggling to sit up. I hurriedly supported her body and put a pillow behind her back. My mother took a deep breath and said, "Tell me, tell me the whole process."

  Looking at my mother's pale and haggard face, I couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness. At this rate, she probably won't be able to hold on for many more years.

  I reached into my pocket and pulled out a piece of cinnabar and a piece of green turquoise, handing them over. My mother was taken aback and didn't take them: "This is cinnabar, this is green turquoise, how did you come to have these things? They're all top-grade, worth a pretty penny."

  Looking at Mother's expression, she didn't seem to want it, I felt a pang in my heart and said: "It was he who asked me to bring it to you, how could I have something so valuable?"

  Her mother's body trembled slightly, stretched out her hand to grab two pieces of jade, her eyes were moist, and she murmured: "Ah Feng, Ah Feng, have you not forgotten me yet?"

  "He has not only not forgotten you, but also misses you very much."

  Mother grasped my hand and asked urgently: "Quickly, quickly tell me about his situation."

  I held my mother's icy hand tightly and said gently: "Don't worry, listen to me tell you slowly."

  Leaning against her mother and leaning back, I saw that her emotions had calmed down a bit. I continued: "It was like this, when I arrived at the Dragon God Empire, I entered the Tian Du Academy to study martial arts and magic."

  "Tian Du College?"

  "What's wrong?"

  "Alas..." Her mother sighed, "I also studied at that college back then."

  I smiled slightly and nodded: "I know."

  "Is it him who told you?"

  I nodded and said, "Yes, I didn't study there for long before I met a girl I liked. We tried to get along with each other. She's very beautiful and gentle, and she treats me well. Her name is Zixue."

  "Mother frowned and said: 'You are a beastman, how can you have this kind of relationship with a human girl? This will harm the human's family.' My heart ached, in mother's heart, am I forever a wild beast like father?"

  "Listen to me, okay? If it weren't for this girl, I probably would never have found the Lin Feng you mentioned." "Why?" his mother couldn't help but ask.

  I smiled faintly and said, "Because, Zixue is indeed the daughter of Lin Feng, and Lin Feng is a duke of the Dragon God Empire who dominates the court."

  The sentence shocked the mother greatly: "Duke? He still married another, he still forgot about me, should I be happy?" The mother laughed self-mockingly, but the tears in her eyes fell uncontrollably.

  "No, he hasn't forgotten you, Lin Feng... Ah, no, he's married into the Imperial Family now and has changed his name to Zi Feng. In his heart, you still hold the most important place. He only married another woman out of helplessness, just like Grandfather and Grandmother, it was a political marriage."

  "Political marriage?"

  I nodded and said, "Yes, otherwise, even if Purple Wind was very capable, it would be impossible for him to hold a high position at the age of 40. When he saw the token you gave me back then, his expression was just like yours now, excited beyond control. He said that he had been to the Beastmen's territory countless times to look for you, but all were in vain."

  "Mother muttered: 'He came looking for me? He has looked for me before, how could he possibly find me.'"

  "I sighed and said: 'Yes, you are here, he can't find you. He really hopes to see you again.'"

  Her mother subconsciously touched her own aging face, looked at her already gray hair, and sighed: "Lingling is no longer the Lingling of the past. Will he still want to see me? Even if I can, I won't go see him. This way, at least I can keep a more perfect image in his heart."

  It's clear that Mother is in extreme pain. Her tears haven't stopped, constantly falling. I grasped her icy hand and said: "Don't be like this, the Duke said that even if he had to give up everything, no matter what you become, as long as you're still in this world, he'll find you."

  A gleam of spirit flashed across Mother's eyes: "He... did he really say that?"

  I nodded and said, "Although I haven't had much contact with you since childhood, I've never lied to you in front of you, have I? He told me about what happened between you and Duke Zifeng before. He really misses you from the bottom of his heart."

  Her mother smiled miserably and shook her head, saying: "Let him keep this illusion forever, I will never see him again. Maybe now I look more like his mother."

  I suddenly made up my mind and said firmly: "Mother, don't you want to return to the Dragon God Empire and see Duke Zifeng again?"

  "Mother didn't answer me directly, she just said calmly: 'Don't joke with me, will you betray your father and your people to let me go?'"

  I couldn't hold back the pain in my heart, and burst out laughing: "Tribesmen? Who are my tribesmen? To most people, I'm just a mongrel. Mother, you have a home, your home is in the Dragon God Empire, that's where you'll always be nostalgic for. But what about me? Do I have a home? I don't have a home, I'm a hybrid of human, demon, and beast, I don't have a home, I don't have a home."

  My throat was sweet, and the intense grief made me spit out a mouthful of blood. When I said I had no home, my mother's expression changed, and she stretched out her hand to pull me back, but then withdrew it halfway. I smiled miserably and said, "If you're willing, I can take you back to the Dragon God Empire. Of course, not now."

  The mother stared blankly at the wall, muttering: "Can I still go back? I've long lost face to see them again." "The Duke won't care about your appearance and all that."

  "Mother almost shouted: 'But I care, I can't go back and add trouble for him like this.'"

  My mother now only cares about the duke, who will care about me? Ziyan and Zixue? Are they thinking of me now? Ziyan's elegant and refined beauty, Zixue's gentle and lovely nature, keep flooding my mind. And they are thinking of me too, in this world I am not alone, right? Thinking of this, I feel much more at ease, and said lightly: "Mother, if I had a way to restore you to your rightful appearance?"

  Upon hearing this, a glimmer of hope appeared in her mother's eyes. The words she had spoken today had already stirred up the dawn of hope within her. If... if... Her mother didn't dare to think further, but her heart was racing faster and faster. "If I have a way to restore you to your original appearance, would you be willing to return to Longshen?"

  "Are you kidding me? Even if you were a god, I'm not sure you could make an old tree bloom again."

  I stretched out three fingers and said, "Give me three years' time. You've waited this long, what's the difference in waiting another three years? In these three years, I will definitely help you regain your beauty. Then, I'll take you back to Longshen. As for everything else, don't worry about it, just do as I say."

  "Mother sat up straight, staring at me intently: "You, you're telling the truth?" I nodded solemnly and said: "Firstly, I want you to eat on time every day, I'll get them to prepare some supplements for you. Secondly, since you recognized the two stones the Duke gave you, you should know what they're used for, you need to wear them on your body every day. As for the rest, just wait for my news. What you need to do now is fill your heart with hope, a hope as vibrant as spring, only then can you regain your youth."

  After listening to me for a long time, my mother said with difficulty: "Thank you, why are you so good to me?"

  I said somewhat violently: "Didn't I tell you not to thank me?" and strode forward towards the outside of the house. When I reached the door, I turned back and said: "I'm not being good to you, I just hope you're doing well, because you are my mother after all, even though you don't love me." After that, I turned around and left this place that made me sad.