The Glory After Rebirth

Chapter 284: Growing Trust

“Me getting the required power is a precondition for helping the Millennium Pavilion move to another place, which means that for their own good, they will definitely give me a hand if the occasion arises.”

Ling Zhang’s eyes instantly lit up at this remark Yuwen Tong made in a low voice beside his ear. He caught on to what Yuwen Tong meant.

“You’re pretty good at this. I was worried that we were in a passive position. It didn’t occur to me that you seized the initiative,” Ling Zhang also breathed beside Yuwen Tong’s ear.

Yuwen Tong smiled and gave him a kiss. “In order to shape a bright future for us, I’ve got to make full use of everything within my reach. It’s a natural thing.”

Ling Zhang gave him a pinch on the arm. “Lower your voice.”

Arms around Ling Zhang, Yuwen Tong rubbed himself against him. “Relax. There’s no doubt Ji Yanlai knows I’ll figure this out. What’s the point of worry about him finding out something he’s already known?”

Ling Zhang let out a soft cough and listened hard to the sounds from outside, but this was the Millennium Pavilion, and he really couldn’t say for sure that he wouldn’t mishear. There was no telling whether or not some kung fu expert was hiding somewhere outside this house.

Yuwen Tong, however, was totally unworried, a quite relaxed and contented look on his face.

…

Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong stayed in this courtyard house. Later this day, Ling Zhaowu woke up but appeared a little listless. With his pallid face and thin figure on top of it, he looked as though he could collapse at any moment. Seeing this, Ling Zhang knitted his brows.

Ling Zhaowu’s eyes was obviously still a little unfocused when they fell on Ling Zhang, who tentatively walked over and sat opposite him. “Father.”

Ling Zhaowu looked at him, opened his mouth to utter “Ah” and then averted his gaze. After a while, his eyes moved onto Ling Zhang against, as though he had something to say to Ling Zhang but was somewhat afraid.

“Father, you don’t have to be afraid of me. I’ll stay here to take care of you as well, okay?” Ling Zhang tried to make himself sound as mild as possible, fixing his father with a sincere stare.

Eyes on him, Ling Zhaowu understood. After quite a while, he bobbed his head and replied, “Okay.”

Ling Zhang inwardly let out a sigh of relief and hesitantly reached out his hand to take his father’s arm. “Father, let me support you outside to go for a walk.”

Ling Zhaowu didn’t flinch at Ling Zhang’s approach and stood up with his help. Ling Zhang brought him out of the house to have a stroll in the orchard outside the front yard. Maybe it was because of that brief mental stimulation he’d been subjected to at noon, Ling Zhaowu had been a trifle dull since he’d awoken, and he wasn’t walking with as much ease as he used to. Though Ling Zhang was guiding him, he still tripped over small rocks or short clusters of grass occasionally, and Ling Zhang had to watch his step for him all the time, his arms steadily supporting Ling Zhaowu to prevent him from falling.

Maybe because Ling Zhaowu had realized that Ling Zhang was reliable, he gradually became much more relaxed, smiling at Ling Zhang from time to time. Though his smile was simple and barely contained any emotions, Ling Zhang felt a brief twinge of sadness every time he saw it.

After walking around the front yard twice, worrying about Ling Zhaowu’s physical condition, Ling Zhang intended to take him back, but Ling Zhaowu seemed to have gradually taken a liking to walking with Ling Zhang. He grabbed Ling Zhang’s hand, pointed at the fruits on the trees and told Ling Zhang excitedly, “We can eat those!”

Those were plum trees. The climate in the Sanguan Mountains differed greatly from area to area. It was very difficult for plum trees outside this basin to successfully fruit, but those inside were now laden with plums some of which were beginning to redden and would be ready to eat in a few days. Ling Zhaowu was pointing at a couple of relatively red ones on a twig from which plums were hanging in clusters.

Ling Zhang looked at him. “You want to have a try, Father?”

Ling Zhaowu gave a nod, his expectant eyes on Ling Zhang.

Ling Zhang turned his head around, shifting his gaze to Yuwen Tong, who took the hint and returned to ask Mr. Mu about it. Mr. Mu replied, “It was Ya who grew all those fruit trees. Please help yourself.”

So Ling Zhang had Ling Zhaowu stand under a tree. “Just stay here, Father. Don’t walk away.”

Ling Zhaowu inclined his head, eyeing yearningly at those plums, swallowing hard.

Ling Zhang released Ling Zhaowu’s hand, took a flying leap upward, nimbly picked the couple of plums hanging from the twig and then landed steadily on the ground, the several reddish plums lying in his palms, along with a few leaves.

Judging from their color, these plums had a faint sweetness in the outer layers of their flesh at the most and were largely tart and astringent.

Seeing Ling Zhaowu was straining at the leash to taste them, Ling Zhang hastily removed the leaves, wiped those plums with his sleeve and then handed one to Ling Zhaowu. “Father, these plums are very sour. You–”

Before he could finish his sentence, Ling Zhaowu had taken the plum and stuffed it into his mouth. The next moment, his brows contracted, his countenance changing, and as though what was in his mouth tasted terrible, he instantly spat out the plum, an aggrieved expression in his eyes which looked at Ling Zhang incredulously.

Ling Zhang almost dissolved into laughter at the sight of Ling Zhaowu’s amusing reaction, but he forbore from doing so, for after all this man was his father, and he had to show him some respect. Otherwise when his father recuperated from his amnesia and recollected this, he’d probably feel embarrassed and angry.

“I can’t eat these,” said Ling Zhaowu in an aggrieved and quizzical tone of voice, as though unable to understand why the plums he’d had in the past had been sweet but these were so tart.

Ling Zhang explained, “These plums are still green, so they’re sour. They’ll taste sweet when they turn red.”

Ling Zhaowu, who’d lost interest in plums and didn’t want to see plums any more, swept the remaining couple of plums in Ling Zhang’s palms off to the ground and said to him, “Don’t eat them.”

He seemed to want to prevent Ling Zhang from eating the plums and tasting the tartness.

As Ling Zhang saw this movement of his father’s, some fragments of his vague memories of his father when he’d been a little boy flashed across his mind, which this time around were of neither the madness on his father’s face when he’d been burning the books nor his receding figure when he’d been leaving home without a backward glance but the moments when his father had been smiling at him.

Ling Zhang suddenly felt that Ling Zhaowu was actually very piteous. Previously he couldn’t understand why Ling Zhaowu had done those crazy things, but after Yuwen Tong walked into his life, he’d slowly begun to fathom it. He believed that if something like that happened to Yuwen Tong, he’d probably also act as though the whole world had fallen apart, just like Ling Zhaowu had.

It was true that Ling Zhaowu had left home and forsaken him, but he still had his maternal grandfather and uncle and had grown up safe and secure. His maternal grandfather and uncle were very good to him, and he actually didn’t have much regret…

Ling Zhang tried letting go of some of his grudges against his father. Though it was not all of them, he still had a much milder face when he was with Ling Zhaowu.

Ling Zhaowu, as though able to perceive this, smiled at Ling Zhang more and more often.

Mr. Mu said, “This is the first time that I’ve found him to be so easy to look after since he came to half a year ago. When you’re around, he never throws tantrum and virtually acts like a well-behaved kid.”

Ling Zhang inwardly contradicted, ‘My father’s not a kid.’

But he knew that Mr. Mu was not deliberately being mean or something, that it was just a casual remark, so it was unnecessary for him to correct Mr. Mu.

On the first day, it was Ling Zhang who took Ling Zhaowu outside for a walk. The next day, as Ling Zhaowu was in a better state, Yuwen Tong tentatively got closer to him. At first Ling Zhaowu was quite wary of him, but gradually he found that Yuwen Tong meant him no harm and even gave him goodies several times, so he slowly let his guard down and got used to Yuwen Tong’s staying around.

Yuwen Tong felt a sense of relief. He’d really been worried that if he was unable to have his father-in-law take to him, he’d feel it awkward to approach Ling Zhang in the presence of him.

On the third day, Yuwen Tong further narrowed his distance with Ling Zhaowu. Occasionally, when Ling Zhang intentionally created an opportunity for him, he could even support Ling Zhaowu and walk with him for a while.

Three days later, Ji Yin showed up. He’d seemed to be quite occupied during the past few days and they hadn’t seen hide nor hair of him.

“Zhang’er, I consulted with Clan Leader about the Force of Blood in you. Clan Leader found something after looking it up in various ancient books and records, but he wants to talk with you about it in person. How about you go with me right now and pay him a visit?”

Ling Zhang inclined his head and looked at Ling Zhaowu who had developed a heavy dependence on him over the last three days. “Father, Grandfather and I are going to visit the Clan Leader. I’ll be back in just a while. I want you to wait here for me. Can you do that?”

On hearing that Ling Zhang was leaving, Ling Zhaowu immediately grabbed Ling Zhang’s arm, refusing to let him go, a somewhat uneasy expression on his face.

Seeing him like this, Ling Zhang found it rather difficult to bring himself to walk away.

Ji Yin said, “Bring him with us. We could just have him sit in the hall. You may come as well, Yuwen boy. We could use someone who can help take care of him.”

Yuwen Tong expressed his gratitude to him and then, along with Ling Zhang, took Ling Zhaowu and followed Ji Yin out of the front yard, through the orchard, down the gentle flowery slope, across the reed marsh beside the lake, and onto the bridge leading to the island.

The moment they stepped onto the bridge, Ling Zhaowu curiously glanced around the place and specially cast a last lingering look over his shoulder at those brightly colored flowers. As his intelligence level was almost the same as that of a child, these things were irresistible to him.

A melodious chirp was heard and with that, from an orchard by the opposite bank of the lake flew up a large flock of multicoloured birds, which flitted over their heads towards the other side. Ling Zhaowu, his head up, stared unblinkingly at them, standing motionlessly.

Ling Zhang and the other two all patiently waited until he finished watching the birds. Then they slowly crossed the bridge and set foot on the island at the center of the lake. After going through some guards, they entered the great hall in which Ling Zhang had had a talk with Ji Yanlai three days ago.

Ji Yanlai was wearing another outfit which was not yellowish and white but black and white and looked more similar to some kind of a foreseer’s robe, but Ji Yanlai’s face was just as casual and carefree as always. He flicked a glance at Ling Zhaowu and said, “He looks a lot better. It surprises me that he’s willing to come here with you guys. This means that he trusts you very much.”

Ling Zhang said, “I have to thank you for allowing us to use all those precious medicinal herbs to treat my father, Clan Leader.”

Ji Yanlai replied, “You’re welcome. After all, we have a deal of some sort. I think if I show more generosity, you guys will naturally be more generous to me as well.”

Ji Yanlai put it in such a blunt way that Ling Zhang found himself unable to contradict these words.

Not a big fan of pleasantries, Ji Yanlai soon came straight to the point. “Come with me. I need to check your progress in cultivation of internal energy in detail. You may have Yuwen Tong keep an eye on your father.”

Ling Zhaowu gripped Ling Zhang’s arm and Ling Zhang consoled him in a low voice for quite a while before he released his grip and agreed to let Yuwen Tong keep him company.

Ji Yin looked at them and said, “Clan Leader, I want to go inside and take a look as well.”

Ji Yanlai replied, “Suit yourself.”

Thus Ji Yin also left. Obviously Ling Zhaowu was not quite used to staying alone with Yuwen Tong, but Yuwen Tong was sharp-witted and had got more acquainted with Ling Zhaowu during the past few days, so he knew what kind of topic would pique Ling Zhaowu’s interest – one about Ling Zhang.