Raising a Seme is Tough (LOL)

Arc 2 : One Face, Two Identities (十三)

"As your father, I feel ashamed that I haven't been a good father to you like General Mo. I'm s-sorry..." he struggled to breathe as he stays clutched in Mo Ran's arms. He found the man was rather quiet than the usual himself. Lin Jia Qian tried to look up at Mo Ran's face, realizing Mo Ran had his eyes closed, his arms suddenly went loose on him. For the first time, Lin Jia Qian reached out by himself, struggling to grasp onto Mo Ran's hand. There was more blood on Mo Ran's hands and robes than on him.

Was he injured? Why isn't he saying anything? This isn't like him.

The question remained in his head as the scene before him went blurry the way he exited the world. The second he regained his sight again, he was standing within the portal. The rushing and about was just as he remembered then. 

Nothing was out of ordinary. The familiar face was there to welcome him. Fang Xin was standing there with a wrinkle in between his brows.

"You're alright?"

"Mm." Lin Jia Qian did not know what kind of expression he was wearing at the moment. Though he knew it would not have been a smile.

"Uhmn...so your points have been recalculated. It has been added to your account. Meanwhile, those extra points you've gained from the side missions will be added for your next world's usage. It may be used to increase your cultivation or as any form of currency according to its value. Jia Qian, are you certain you're alright?"

"I'm fine. Senior Fang Xin, are there any updates on my next world travel?"

He understood. Fang Xin flipped the book in his hand to a page in which he had to summarize it in an easy context for Lin Jia Qian. But the page he had his eyes on was...blank. He gulped.

"...there are some little changes and upgrades done but none should be of concern. The timeline is still within your closed-door cultivation so nothing much has changed. You may proceed as you see fit."

Fang Xin closed the book while avoiding Lin Jia Qian's gaze. He placed it under his arm, carrying it as he had his hands on Lin Jia Qian's shoulders, giving him a little squeeze to comfort.

"The missions you've done in the previous world must have gotten you tense much. Come on, you can relax and have fun in the next world. There's all these ascension and teleportation stuff to play with. Aren't you interested in alchemy? Go and study and learn with all those elderly. Go on." The senior did his best not to look too obvious with his lie.

"You're being weird, senior. Is there a bug in the next world?"

"Not that I know of."

Lin Jia Qian's instinct told him something was off but he still reentered the portal after given the okay by the portal keeper. Fang Xin let out a sigh of relief.

"Sorry, Jia Qian. Grandma Meng's orders. You wanted to avoid meeting him but you won't be able to avoid him at all. She wanted to let you two get to know each other. But I'm not lying. I really don't know who the bug is," he silently retorted under his breathing.

The portal sent Lin Jia Qian back to his cave. He was sitting in a lotus position, trying to relax his mind to the infinite state. To avoid demons from entering his heart. He tried to retrace from where he had left his cultivation previously. There were a few questionable points in the path he had trodden upon. He does wonder whether he was in the wrong body. His whole cultivation seemed to have upgraded by itself while he was in the other world. Lin Jia Qian was being careful. Every step to the top was just a step away from the drop on the cliff. He slowly guided his qi onto the right path. Trying to make a new breakthrough was harder than he thought. It would perhaps take another thirty years before he would be done with it.