Chapter 23

A loud gong sounded, the sound shaking several hearts, followed by a distance ringing of bells. The door to the throne room was wide open in an instant. A young man in heavy long ceremonial robes stood by the doorway. Following further behind the young man was another man of similar age, wearing a ceremonial armour no less majestic than the other man in front of him. As the bells grew louder, the crowned prince stepped into the large throne room.

The crown prince seemed to be in his early twenties, sharp eyes and brows, profound cheeks, a well sculpted jawline. It was obvious that the crown prince had inherited his father's looks.

The crown prince strides to the throne, his pace not slow, yet not fast, with each official he passed by they bowed down. When the crown prince stood before the emperor, his father, he knelt down on one knee, head lowered. The man following the crown prince stood out of the way to the right, unlike the rest of the officials and generals the man was standing, his back straight and proud.

The emperor approached the prince, hand rested on the prince's shoulders. There was an inaudible exchange between the two, the movements of their mouth indescribable. Only the two and the man standing to the right knew what they were speaking of, though it left the both prince and the man in armour surprised. After patting the prince's shoulder twice did the emperor end their conversation.

The emperor took a step back, hand threaded on a single golden stick holding the crown on his head, and pulled, releasing the crown from his head. The beads rattled as he hand over the crown over to the eunuch on the side.

Next the emperor took off the Prince's own crown, handing it to another eunuch. Now came the moment many bystanders had waited with great anticipation, the emperor crowning the prince.

Not finding the situation the least bit interesting, Ming Yongnian tuned out the rest of the ceremony, closed his eyes and sipped his tea, his other hand occupied with a certain baby that was trying to sneak into his robes. "Don't sleep, I will not entertain your midnight activities."

"Bah! Ah!"

The baby grabbed hold of the Immortal's lapels, seeing how helpless yet persistent she was, Ming Yongnian sighed and helped her into his robes.

The baby sat in his robes comfortably, there was an evident smugness.

Crunch

Someone rested their arms around Ming Yongnian's shoulders. It was a man eating walnuts, a wide smile rested on his face.

The blood drained from Feng Delun's face, who could pass through the arrays he had put up without alerting him? Not only that, this man dared to drape his arm on Ming Yongnian's shoulders, and the immortal did nothing but sip his tea.

Feng Delun who had planned to act recklessly calmed down, this man should be Ming Yongnian's acquaintance. It was impossible to approach Ming Yongnian so casually without the Immortal allowing it.

Ming Yongnian put down his tea and chuckled. "I see."

The man beside him laughed. "I'm pretty amazing aren't I?"

Ming Yongnian shot back, "You mean bold?"

"I could say the same to you, strolling into Dongfu without a disguise?" The man chuckled, "Simply asking for trouble with your identity," he eyed Feng Delun. "Identities, more like it. Hey, how good is your silencing array?" The man asked Feng Delun.

"Good enough." Feng Delun gave the man a deadpanan, the man should know of Feng Delun's capabilities, there was no need to question it.

"If you say so." The man turned his attention back at Ming Yongnian. "Nian, you could've told me that you're not ascending."

Ming Yongnian hummed as an answer.

The corners of the man's lips twitched. "You… you haven't changed, still the same heartless man."

This time Ming Yongnian sipped his tea.

The man sighed. "You didn't ascend, so what are you doing?" Perhaps the man knew that Ming Yongnian would not answer him, so he turned to Feng Delun for answers. "What is he doing these days?"

Feng Delun wasn't sure if he should answer the man, so he looked towards Ming Yongnian for answers. The Immortal remained silent.

"Don't worry and answer my question. The worst this iceberg man could do is give you a cold shoulder." The man beckons with his hand, his arm still lazily draped around Ming Yongnian's shoulders.

"Delun, don't answer him." Came Ming Yongnian's order.

The man's eyes widened. "Delun? Feng Delun? The array master of Jingyi sect?"

Feng Delun corrected, "Formerly of Jingyi sect." The bottom of his eyelids were twitching in annoyance, why feigned surprise when you clearly recognized me?

The man frowned and shifted his gaze constantly between Ming Yongnian and Feng Delun. "Nian, did you kidnapped those five nascent soul cultivators?"

Ming Yongnian gave the man a stare that said "are you dumb".

"No, even with eldest brother ascending we had planned to cut ties with our respective sect." Feng Delun felt that there was no need to hide their matters from this man, since Ming Yongnian seemed to trust the man we'll enough.

"Eldest brother, huh, so the five of you are the famed sworn brothers and sister, Nian had taken in and hid from me. Hiding from me is a very tough achievement." The man laughed, slapping his thigh, he even dared to snatch Ming Yongnian's cup and drank the entire tea, despite under Ming Yongnian's intense glare.

"Famed?"

"Nian, had told me on the rare chance we met, that he had taken in a group of children to be his sworn brothers and sisters."

Feng Delun didn't know what to feel, about how Ming Yongnian would tell someone who seemed closest to the Immortal that the nine of them were his sworn siblings. No one knew of their ties, except themselves, at least that was what Feng Delun and the rest of them believed.

"So, Delun, would you tell me what this iceberg man had been up to, now that he refused to ascend?"

Feng Delun's eyes shifted to Ming Yongnian, but all the Immortal did was snatch his cup back from the man, and closed his eyes meditatively. He gulped and finally told the man, "Currently eldest brother is helping us build our own sect."

The man's brows raised. "So, this was the reason why the five of you had cut ties with your sects, even going as far as handing every single treasure and items of importance you owned?" The man laughed. "I understand why Nian took a shine on the five of you."

"Ah!"

The man was stunned stupid, his eyes landed on the baby inside of Ming Yongnian's robes. Unashamedly Ming Yongnian pushed the child deeper into his robes. Ming Yongnian was hiding the presence of his child within his robes from when he had sensed the man's presence nearby. But it was too late the man's hands moved like lightning, it was estimated that the man had used his entire power then and there.

"Ah?!"

The man's eyes we're wide in disbelief.

"Nian… who's child is this? You — don't tell me you kidnapped someone's child for real?!"

***

Ming Yongnian retrieved his daughter with ease. "She's my daughter." He tucked his child into his robes once more.

The man's jaw dropped to the floor, his eyes wide with surprise, there was no doubt that his eyes would've rolled down onto the floor if it could. "How can you have a child?"

If one were to translate the man's words it would mean that it was impossible for Ming Yongnian to have a child of his own. Simply because Ming Yongnian was Ming Yongnian.

"Why can't I? You have one." Ming Yongnian shoot back.

"Well it's because I'm me that I have a child. But you're you!" The man pointed at Ming Yongnian incredulously.

"If you must know,"

"I must know!"

"She's born from a spiritual foetus."

The man's lips formed into a large "O", then he frowned. "Who's the child's other parent?"

"None of your business."

The man's face lit up with smugness. "Hah, so there is a certain someone!" As it turned out the man's question was a trap.

Ming Yongnian felt tired all of a sudden and rubbed his forehead. "It's really not the way you think."

The man's face splitting, shit eating grin, only grew wider. "Yes it is!"

Ming Yongnian sighed. "It was an accident, neither of us knew there was a spiritual foetus nearby, and that the foetus used our leaked spiritual energy to nourish itself. If I hadn't found it on accident, this child would have been left to her own devices."

"Boring!" The man sighed. "Care to share who this child's other parent is? I'm sure Delun here is also curious."

Feng Delun who was called out by his first name sent the man a glare. Though he was indeed curious as to who might share a child with Ming Yongnian.

"It's no one's business but my own."