Chapter 76
She squeaked in surprise.
"Nice to meet you."
He grinned.
"I am your brother Zheng."
Mei immediately smiled.
"Hello, Big Brother Zheng."
Nearby, Hua instantly became jealous.
She stretched her arms upward.
"I want uppies too!"
Mei pointed at her.
"Hua wants to be picked up too."
Zheng immediately turned toward Ming.
"Your turn."
Ming stared at him.
Then stared at Hua.
Then sighed.
"Fine."
He picked Hua up.
The little girl immediately looked victorious.
Meanwhile Ning looked toward Kai hopefully.
Kai immediately sensed danger.
"No."
Ning blinked.
"I didn't even ask yet."
"You were going to."
Kai pointed at her accusingly.
"And you're too heavy."
The entire courtyard fell silent.
Ning smiled.
Kai immediately regretted everything.
A second later she punched him directly in one of his wounds.
"AAH—!"
Kai bent over clutching his side.
"You little demon!"
Ning folded her arms proudly.
"Hmph."
"You deserved it."
Kai hissed in pain while everyone else laughed.
For a brief moment, the atmosphere became surprisingly peaceful.
Far away, however, the source of most of their problems was currently wandering through the Imperial Palace with Ye Bai.
Which meant the peace probably wouldn't last very long.
Wei Zhi's warning quickly proved itself troublesome. As Wuming walked through the Imperial Palace with Ye Bai beside him, he could already feel several presences following them from a distance. His expression remained unchanged, but inwardly he sighed.
Wei Zhi... what exactly was the need to send them?
Not only Zheng.
All five of them were here now.
Of course, if Zheng had started following him, the others would naturally tag along. The group was practically a pack of little wolves at this point. Wuming glanced over his shoulder briefly and caught sight of six small heads immediately disappearing behind a decorative pillar.
His eyelid twitched.
Wonderful.
He continued walking as though he had seen nothing.
Out of all of them, only Zheng actually knows the Imperial Palace properly. His mother is a General after all. Even though my father is the Marquis of Wu'an, I've barely visited this place. Most of what I know comes from the previous Wuming's memories.
Behind them, six children awkwardly hid behind statues, pillars, flower pots, and anything else they could find. It looked less like stalking and more like a poorly organized hunting expedition.
Meanwhile, Wuming turned toward Ye Bai.
"If you don't mind, dear friend," he said calmly, "tell me about the Endless Winter cultivation method."
Ye Bai immediately brightened.
"It is a family tradition."
Wuming nodded.
"The heirs cultivate it from childhood?"
"Of course," Ye Bai replied proudly. "Every heir must cultivate it. Even if it takes years."
"I see."
Outwardly Wuming remained polite.
Internally he was staring at the boy like an idiot.
What a dumbass.
Either he truly knows nothing about Endless Winter's real form... or Ye Ying never told his descendants.
The thought made him pause.
Then another thought followed.
Wait.
Did I ever tell Ye Ying myself?
For a second, Wuming actually thought about it seriously.
Several moments passed.
Then he almost laughed.
I never did.
His mood improved instantly.
So none of them know.
The realization amused him greatly.
Among the seven forbidden weapons he had once distributed, Endless Winter was one of the most valuable. Not because of its visible power.
But because nobody understood its true purpose.
Not even its owners.
Interesting.
The thought made his fingers itch.
The seven forbidden tools...
If gathered again, they would restore nearly twenty-five percent of my original strength.
Enough to stand face-to-face against the highest Angels of the Righteous Path and the strongest High Demons.
His heart rarely accelerated.
Yet the possibility of reclaiming Endless Winter made something ancient stir inside him.
How troublesome.
It's making my body crawl.
Beside him, Ye Bai suddenly looked behind them.
His brows furrowed.
"Wuming."
"Hm?"
"Why do I feel like that small fellow Zheng and the other children are stalking us?"
Instantly, every trace of excitement vanished from Wuming's face.
His expression returned to complete indifference.
He slowly looked toward Ye Bai.
"They aren't stalking you, dear friend."
Ye Bai blinked.
"They aren't?"
"No."
Wuming smiled politely.
"They're simply looking for an opportunity to speak with the most profound heir in the Empire."
Ye Bai froze.
Then straightened unconsciously.
A moment later he looked slightly taller.
Wuming almost admired how easy this was.
I know I'm insulting half the Empire right now.
But feeding a hyena praise until it thinks it's a lion is still one of the easiest ways to gather information.
Boast, little hyena.
Boast.
Ye Bai looked genuinely pleased.
Meanwhile, Wuming's gaze shifted toward a nearby pavilion.
Behind it were six very obvious spies pretending not to be spies.
Zheng was peeking around one side.
Ming around the other.
Kai was crouching behind a flower pot that was much too small to hide him.
Ning was whispering something.
Mei and Hua were trying very hard not to laugh.
Wuming looked at them once.
Only once.
His eyes were cold.
Very cold.
The six children froze instantly.
Then, without exchanging a single word, they grabbed each other and immediately turned away.
"Food."
"Let's get food."
"Food sounds nice."
"Very nice."
"Extremely nice."
"I wasn't spying anyway."
Within seconds they were standing beside a nearby table pretending to be deeply interested in pastries.
Wuming watched them for a moment.
Then slowly looked away.
Idiots.
Ye Bai looked behind once more and frowned. "Are they dumb or what?" Wuming didn't even bother looking back. "You don't need to be bothered by them. Let's go further inside. Do you want to talk somewhere quiet? It's quite bustling around here." Ye Bai blinked and looked around the palace. Bustling? What the hell was this guy talking about? Even though he was the heir of the Regent Family, the way Wuming spoke made him feel like some countryside bumpkin who had wandered into civilization for the first time. Every sentence sounded refined and annoyingly sophisticated. Bustling huh? Ye Bai scratched his head internally and decided to simply go along with it. The guy seemed knowledgeable, smart, and strangely mature compared to everyone else their age. Besides, even if something went wrong, he was confident he could beat Wuming in a fight. The Endless Winter cultivation wasn't for decoration. "Yeah, let's go," Ye Bai said. Wuming smiled faintly and nodded once before taking the lead.
As he walked ahead, Wuming already knew what Ye Bai was thinking. I am sure he thinks he can rely on Endless Winter if something goes wrong. The thought amused him slightly. His gaze swept across the palace grounds, the guards, the officials, and the hidden experts scattered throughout the Imperial Palace. I need to get him out of here. There were simply too many people around. Too many eyes. Too many variables. Most of the guards here possessed cultivation beyond the Harbinger Stage and many were likely Tian Zhi cultivators. If something unexpected happened, it would become troublesome. Wuming hated troublesome things.
His thoughts drifted elsewhere. If only Wei Zhi hadn't decided to stay behind and spend her day teaching Weiyang strategies.
The corner of his eye twitched slightly. I could have simply used her soul abilities. With Wei Zhi present, things would have been far easier. A brief illusion, a temporary paralysis, perhaps a soul suppression technique. Just enough to examine Ye Bai properly without anyone noticing. Then he could have determined whether the boy had truly cultivated Endless Winter and if he had, how far he had reached.
His eyes drifted toward Ye Bai's broad shoulders. His body is strange.
Dense.
Stable.
Heavy.
Even his walking carried the weight of body cultivation. Wuming himself had focused almost entirely on soul cultivation during this life. Soul attacks barely affected him anymore. Most cultivators would simply find their techniques useless against him. But body cultivators were different. Soul cultivators are annoying. Body cultivators are troublesome.
A body cultivated to a certain degree could ignore countless techniques and forcefully break through many forms of control through sheer strength alone.
Which was why Wuming wanted answers.
If he truly inherited Endless Winter and if he is near completion... then things become interesting.
His fingers moved slightly beneath his sleeves.
A faint smile appeared on Wuming's face. To Ye Bai, it looked friendly. To Wuming, it looked like an opportunity.
The two of them continued deeper into the palace. Wuming intentionally chose the busiest paths possible, weaving through nobles, servants, officials, and guests. Every turn he took seemed random, yet each step was deliberate. He moved through the crowd like flowing water, slipping between groups without hesitation. As expected, Ye Bai followed after him without question. Wuming could almost feel it. The instinct. The familiarity. The strange pull that came from bloodlines and inheritances. Ye Ying had followed him once. Her successor was no different. Blood ran deeper than memory.
Behind them, the six little wolves quickly lost sight of their target. Zheng stood on his toes trying to look over the crowd before cursing loudly. "Shit. We lost him." Around them the palace was overflowing with guests because of the Crown Prince's birthday. Officials, clan heirs, servants carrying trays, cultivators from influential families, all moved through the halls. Ning grabbed Mei's hand while Kai tried forcing his way forward. Hua was complaining because she couldn't see anything. Ming rubbed his forehead. Somehow six people had managed to lose a single boy.
Meanwhile Wuming finally turned into a quieter section of the palace. The crowd gradually disappeared behind them until only a long corridor remained. The marble floor reflected the sunlight pouring through the windows while silence settled around them. Ye Bai finally stopped and exhaled heavily. "Were you running or floating, Wuming?" Wuming ignored the question entirely. His expression remained as blank as ever. Then he looked toward Ye Bai and asked, "Do you know what we are?"
Ye Bai blinked before grinning. "Yeah. We're new friends."
For the first time Wuming almost laughed.
Friends?
He thinks he has my friendship already?
The thought itself felt absurd.
I don't even consider Wei Zhi my friend.
The girl who would die for the body but not the soul.
The girl who remains beside me because of a promise made to another Wuming.
Not me.
The previous one.
And Weiyang?
That fool chased me for weeks just to be acknowledged. Calls me his best friend as though saying it enough times would make it true.
Ye Bai...
You are truly delusional.
And completely unfit for the title of heir.
His gaze lingered on the boy.
Honestly, even Ming was more qualified.
Zheng too.
Perhaps even little Mei.
At least they understood the value of struggle.
Most heirs possessed everything before they were born. Respect. Wealth. Status. A future already prepared for them. Others fought their entire lives just to prove they existed. They fought to be acknowledged. Fought to be remembered. Fought for a place in the world.
Why do I have to be polite toward you?
The question drifted through his mind.
I am not even this polite with my own mother.
His eyes darkened slightly.
No.
She is not my mother.
I lost her in my first life.
Everything I possess in this life belongs to somebody else.
This body.
This family.
This name.
None of it is mine.
"Well?" Ye Bai asked, confused by the prolonged silence.
Wuming finally focused on him again.
His eyes swept over the boy carefully.
Body.
Bones.
Meridians.
Blood.
Then his gaze settled on something deeper.
The soul.
And immediately he noticed it.
Untouched.
Untrained.
Uncultivated.
Just like most people.
Interesting.
So Ye Ying never taught them.
Or perhaps she never knew.
The thought made Wuming strangely amused.
The successor of Endless Winter possessed one of the greatest inheritances in existence and didn't even understand half of what he carried.
Finally Wuming turned and continued walking.
"Then shall we take a walk outside?" he asked calmly. "You seem to have caught your breath."
Ye Bai stared at him for a moment before following again.
Every time Wuming spoke, it felt strange.
Sophisticated.
Elegant.
Dangerous.
Like every sentence had already been considered ten times before being spoken.
End of 76