Chapter 62: The Fire Ruins

"I have no father, you're overthinking it!"

"I think it's time to tell you, my surname is Mo, and my given name is Moli. It is not Mo, and certainly not Mo Liuli!"

Moli finally met Feng Wujiang's gaze directly, though the words tumbling from her lips were difficult for him to accept.

Before Feng Wujiang could react, Xiao Junwang lost his patience and struck out, throwing a punch straight at Feng Wujiang.

"Second Young Master!"

Noticing something amiss, the attendants turned back only to see their young master ambushed from behind. They shouted in alarm and spurred their horses forward.

Tonight, the few attendants accompanying Feng Wujiang were those who had grown up by his side since childhood. Rather than subordinates, they were more like brothers.

Xiao Junwang did not use his full strength—it was merely a thirty-percent-power punch, yet it still blasted Feng Wujiang away from Moli's side. Taken aback, Moli even reached out a hand to steady his retreating figure.

However, before Moli could touch Feng Wujiang, her wrist was seized. Lifting her gaze, she met Xiao Junwang's murderous, ice-cold eyes.

Without another word, Xiao Junwang grabbed Moli and stepped into the empty air. The mythical fire-phoenix materializing beneath his boots tore through the void, illuminating the endless night.

***

Moli was bewildered. She blinked playfully and glanced down, vaguely making out Feng Wujiang's figure surrounded by his attendants, accompanied by one or two curses echoing as they rushed toward them.

"Where are you taking me?"

Seeing Xiao Junwang holding Long'er in one arm and firmly grasping her hand with the other as he walked on air, Moli lost her basic sense of orientation, unable to tell north from south until the shouting faded entirely before she finally asked.

"To where you want to go!"

"I..."

Moli originally wanted to say she had nowhere she particularly wanted to go, but recalling his murderous look from moments before, she parted her lips, obediently closed them again, and shifted her gaze to the hand he was holding.

His hand was unlike his person; rather than feeling cold and aloof, it was surprisingly warm, making her feel a lingering fondness and gradually melting away her earlier annoyance over her sore feet.

She had no idea how long they had been traveling when Xiao Junwang finally stopped, touching solid ground once more. The phoenix beneath their feet vanished, and even the bright radiance dimmed, leaving only the soft, alluring moonlight.

Looking around, she saw only utter ruins, unrecognizable from their original state, as if they had recently been ravaged by fire. In the distance stood a solitary, lonely tree, carrying an air of absolute desperation. Its branches, which should have been lush, were completely bare and scorched by fire, the trunks marked with charred, black blemishes.

Disregarding the rubble beneath her feet, Moli stepped forward toward the tree. Having pulled her hand away earlier, she walked with greater composure.

***

Xiao Junwang did not follow. He merely tracked her moving silhouette with his gaze through the shifting light and shadow. Seeing her come to a halt before the great tree and pause for a moment, he withdrew his gaze and looked down at the child in his arms.

Long'er was fast asleep because Xiao Junwang had used a spell to let the boy cultivate while in slumber. Seeing that the time was nearly up, Xiao Junwang swiftly drew a small flask of brewed nectar from his sleeve and held it beneath Long'er's nose. Within moments, Long'er slowly stirred awake.

The first thing Long'er saw was Xiao Junwang's stern and chilly face. He rubbed his chubby little face, reluctantly muttered a greeting of "Father," crawled out of his embrace, stood up, and looked around.

"Father, where is Mother? You haven't gone and lost my Mother, have you?"

Bang!

Scarcely had Long'er finished speaking when a heaven-shaking crash erupted not far away.

The bare tree collapsed heavily to the ground with a resounding roar, leaving only a slender, graceful female figure standing bathed in the moonlight.

"There!"

A man of few words, Xiao Junwang simply pointed ahead toward Moli's location.