Against the Gods (Web Novel)

“Che’er, quickly, take a seat…”

Mu Yurou gently pushed Yun Che into a wooden chair. Her pretty face looked as though a shower of rain had fallen upon it, and her hands still continued to gently tremble. She looked at her son, who was right in front of her, and her gaze clung to him; it did not waver for even a single moment.

In his hand, he held the Mirror of Samsara. On his arm, the imprint of the Profound Handle still faintly glimmered, and his face closely resembled the face of the young Yun Qinghong. All of this was accompanied by the throbbing of her blood vessels that was so clear that it almost had substance… This was her son… Her very own flesh and blood.

“Che’er… My child…” Mu Yurou softly murmured, and once again, she choked up while saying, “Am I really… not having a dream right now…”

They had already grown familiar with each other over the last two months, and Yun Che had normally addressed her as ‘Mother’. But right now, while facing Yun Che, her mental state and emotions had reached a completely different level. Yun Che opened his mouth and said softly, “Mother, I am sorry… When I had first seen the both of you, I already knew that you were my birth parents, but… I waited until this day to be reconciled with the both of you.”

Mu Yurou gently shook her head. All of these were not the least bit important to her. At this time and place, nothing else in the world truly mattered to her right now. And all the joy and happiness that she had felt in her life, even when added up together, could not compare to this moment. She softly replied, “Husband, look at this son of ours, he is so good-looking that he looks even better than you when you were young. I won’t even be able to count the number of girls who have already lost their hearts to him. And he is still so obedient, so sensible and so kindhearted… For over twenty years, not only have we not done anything for him as parents, we also caused him to suffer hardship and homelessness from the time he was born. But our son doesn’t even blame us at all… doesn’t blame us at all…”

“Moreover, his boldness and intelligence even exceeds my own when I was his age. His medical skills, are even unrivalled under heaven. He has only come back for two months, yet he helped us escape from this deep abyss, and even caused your big brother, who doesn’t admire anyone, to want to become sworn brothers with him. He caused Duke Huai’s deliberate and methodical plot to collapse in a single day and gave our Yun Family hope once again… This is our son.” Yun Qinhong said as he raised his head, his voice brimming with pride and excitement.

“Our son…” Mu Yurou caressed Yun Che’s face, while covering her lips in one hand. After she had finished crying, she wanted to toughen up, so as to not let her newly-returned son only see her tears, but every time she tried, she just couldn’t help herself. She said in a dream-like daze, “I had thought that in this entire life, I would never… never be able to see you again… The heavens have eyes…”

Yun Che stretched out his hand and gently wiped away the tears on his mother’s face, “Mother, do not cry, our family has finally come back together again. And the both of you have recovered all that you had lost, so all of those difficulties are now in the past.”

“Yes… Mother won’t cry... won’t cry… It is just that Mother is… far too happy…” Mu Yurou nodded her head. She diligently attempted to wipe away all the traces of her tears, but the amount of tears she had shed was simply too much, and even after attempting to wipe them away, her face was still wet with them.

“Che’er.” Yun Qinghong softly sighed, and said in a gentle voice, “All these years, how have you been? And how exactly did you come from the far-off Profound Sky Continent to make your way here?”

Yun Qinghong’s questions severely plucked at Mu Yurou’s heartstrings. She grabbed Yun Che’s hand and asked in an anxious tone, “Yes… Che’er, have these years been treating you well? Did you suffer a lot?”

Mu Yurou’s entire being was focused on her son right now, and she couldn’t think of much else. But Yun Qinghong knew that because Yun Che’s temperament completely did not fit his age, that what Yun Che had suffered, was not just simply ‘great suffering’; it must have been a torment that normal people would not even be able to endure. Or else, how would he possess such an extraordinary temperament, boldness, insight and ability?

Yun Che faintly smiled and replied, “All the events that I have lived through, I will definitely tell them to Father and Mother in detail. But before that…” He extended a hand, grabbed Yun Xiao, and said, “Father, Mother, now is the time to tell your other son of his origins. Yun Xiao isn’t a little kid anymore and he has long ago become a true man who is upright and filled with an indomitable spirit. He also has the right to know about the truth behind his birth.”

Yun Xiao went into a short daze, but then his eyes cleared up. He resolutely nodded his head, “Father, Mother, please tell me about my origins. I also want to know where I am actually from and who my birth parents are. And please do not worry Father and Mother, even though I am not your real flesh and blood, all these years of nurturing and love that you have given to me were definitely not false. In the future, even if I recognize my ancestors and return home to find my birth parents, the two of you will always be father and mother to me. For life.”

Before this, Yun Xiao still felt bewildered, hesitant and even slightly despondent. But now that he had said these words, He realized that all the apprehensiveness and bewilderment had melted away, and what replaced those feelings was calmness, relaxation and a happiness which came from the heart because his family had finally been reunited.

Even though he was not the flesh and blood of his parents, in all those years, they had regarded him as their own and had lavished him with care. Just this debt of love alone was already hard for him to repay in this life. His big brother had saved his life, had continually helped and instructed him time and time again. He was so conscientious of his feelings that he had delayed this family reunion by two whole months just for his sake…

So even though there was no blood relation, they had treated him with a goodness that was heartfelt, so why should he even feel a sense of loss or hopelessness? The parents he loved the most had finally found the son they had worried about for all these years, so he should naturally be happy for his parents. His most respected big brother was able to reunite with his parents, so naturally he should be happy for his big brother as well…

At this moment, he clearly felt that he had grown up quite a bit, and it felt like what Yun Che had described as…. An elevation of his spirit.

Yun Qinghong and Mu Yurou shared a look, and they laughed with joy and comfort. Yun Qinghong nodded his head, “Good! Good child! Xiao’er, your birth father and I were sworn brothers as well. Moreover, he is the only confidante I have ever had in my life. So the fathers of you and Che’er had always been closer than brothers, and our two families had long ago become as one.”

“Ah…” Yun Xiao’s mouth gaped open, “Father and my birth father… had known each other from the start?”

“Yes.” Yun Qinghong nodded his head and he pulled Yun Xiao’s arm, “Xiao’er, sit down. Today, your mother and I will tell you everything regarding your origins.”

In a room which was not spacious, the four sat facing each other. And no matter whether it was Yun Qinghong, Mu Yurou or Yun Che, the feeling of family became even clearer than it had ever been before. Yun Qinghong told Yun Xiao in a sentimental and appreciative tone the story of the three years he and his wife had spent in the Profound Sky Continent. He especially recounted how he had met Xiao Ying, and how they had gotten to know each other, had hit off, and how they became sworn brothers…. Until the part where he had managed to save their lives by putting together an escape route for them, how he had even swapped his own son with theirs….

Yun Xiao just sat there and silently listened. Once Yun Qinghong had finished his tale, he sat there in a daze, but after that he said to himself in a lifeless voice, “Oh… So my homeland… really is the Profound Sky Continent…”

“The Profound Sky Continent is not as sinister as the Illusory Demon Realm has made it out to be. Only a portion of the people there are truly sinister and vicious. Comparatively, the biggest difference that the Illusory Demon World has with the Profound Sky continent is the composition of races. The Profound Sky Continent is a world where humans and beasts rule, there are very few demons there.” Yun Che said. In the Illusory Demon Realm, the Profound Sky Continent was a heavily-demonized place, and he did not wish for Yun Xiao to harbor such needless prejudice and internal conflict towards the Profound Sky Continent because of this.

“Right…” Yun Xiao gently nodded his head. His expression was still a bit dazed. He needed sufficient time to process and accept these things, “Xiao… So my surname was actually Xiao… No wonder… Father and Mother gave me the name Yun Xiao…”

“Hoho, because we had always thought of one day letting you go back to the Profound Sky Continent to recognize your ancestors.” Yun Qinghong told him while laughing.

“Big Brother, my birth parents… Are they still well now? And are they still living in that place called… called Floating Cloud City?” Yun Xiao asked with a hazy expression on his face.

Even though Yun Che had known that this question was unavoidable and made sufficient preparation for it, once Yun Xiao asked this question, his expression instantly froze, and he could not make a single sound for the longest of times.

Yun Che’s expression immediately caused Yun Qinghong’s expression to change as well. After he once again thought of all the tribulations that Yun Che must have suffered for all these years, his heart tightened even more. He grabbed Yun Che’s shoulder and looked at him directly while asking, “How is Xiao Ying right now? In Floating Cloud City, his Xiao Family was also amongst the elite, so he is definitely… living a carefree life now, right?”

Yun Che gave a heavy sigh. He did not answer Yun Qinghong’s question. Instead, he looked at Yun Xiao and declared in a solemn tone, “Yun Xiao, remember what I had said before. A true man must calmly face the trials of fate. And anything that has happened on this earth, whether they be happy or sad. But once they have happened, you can only accept and confront them…. How you accept and confront your fate will be a test of your character.”

Yun Xiao looked at Yun Che and both his hands quietly tightened. After a while, his eyes grew determined and he said, “Big Brother, go ahead and say it... No matter what the conclusion, I will face it with calm acceptance.”

Yun Che nodded his head, closed his eyes, and said in a gentle voice, “Uncle Xiao, he… he already passed away twenty-two years ago.”

Yun Qinghong stood up in a hurry, his face had instantly turned as white as a sheet of paper. In this world, there were very few things that would be able to provoke such a strong reaction from him… But Xiao Ying was the only sworn brother he had in his life, the only true confidante he had ever had. Not only that, Xiao Ying was a man he owed his life to, and it was a debt of gratitude that was as heavy as a mountain. All those years ago, if not for him, he and his wife would not have been able to make it back to the Illusory Demon Realm alive.

But he had never once thought that he was actually already… dead… That he had actually died… twenty-two years ago…

And at that time… Could it be… Could it be…

“He… He… He, how did he die? How did he die?” Yun Qinghong said in a quavering voice.

Yun Che did not hesitate or try to conceal anything, he said straightforwardly, “Twenty-two years ago, after Father and Mother had escaped from Floating Cloud City, the scoundrels who were chasing after the both of you somehow found out about your interactions with Uncle Xiao. They found Uncle Xiao and they tried to force him to reveal your whereabouts, but Uncle Xiao would rather die than tell them anything, so… As a result…”

Yun Qinghong’s entire body shook violently.

“After Uncle Xiao died, his wife very quickly passed away due to grief and loss. And my grandmother drowned in such sadness that her melancholy quickly turned into malady. After she had given birth to little aunt, who was one year younger than me, she passed away as well. I do not even remember how they looked like in life… It was grandfather alone who raised my little aunt and I together…”

“...” Yun Qinghong’s mouth violently trembled and both his eyes protruded. His entire body suddenly gave a violent heave as a spray of fresh blood violently spurted from his mouth. His entire body collapsed heavily to the ground.

“Ah… Husband!”

“Father!!”

Mu Yurou and Yun Che cried out in unison. They hurriedly went to support Yun Qinghong’s body. The corner of Yun Qinghong’s mouth twitched and the scarlet red blood trail was startlingly eye-catching. His gaze lifelessly drifted to the sky and two fierce streams of tears poured from his eyes, “It was I… It was I who caused Brother Xiao to die… It was I who caused the death of his family… It was me... It was me… The one who harmed them was me…”

“The debt of gratitude I owe to Brother Xiao is as heavy as a mountain… But what I repaid him with… was only… death, and destruction…”