Chapter 1459 - 426: I Am Your Daughter, I Come from the Future

She gently stroked the sketchbook. "After muddle-headedly ending up in this timeline, the only way I could search for who my mother is was by looking at all the women who had contact with my dad, plus some of my own traits."

Zhou Qing’s heart suddenly clenched, and his gaze unconsciously shifted to Shen Hanyi.

Shen Yunzhou’s eyes were about to pop out of their sockets as his gaze swept back and forth between his elder sister and Lu Yaoyao.

Miss Lu had even sworn a Heavenly Dao Oath; the truth of what she said was beyond doubt.

Then how was it possible she hadn’t seen her own mother since she could remember?

A terrifying thought suddenly flashed through Shen Yunzhou’s mind.

Could it be that his sister secretly gave birth to her, then abandoned her, just to preserve her own pure, flawless Immortal image?

The moment that thought appeared, he ruthlessly strangled it.

No, impossible.

His sister, who had suffered the pain of losing their mother, understood better than anyone the misery of an orphan. How could she bear to let her own flesh and blood repeat that tragedy?

Now, under the stares of Zhou Qing and Shen Yunzhou, Shen Hanyi fell silent for a moment, then gently caressed her own belly. Her voice was firm yet gentle: "I won’t leave her, not even for a single day."

Lu Yaoyao’s eyes immediately reddened at that, tears welling up. "I believe you!"

But a bad premonition rose in Zhou Qing’s heart. He turned his gaze back to Lu Yaoyao. "Can you tell us in detail why you’ve never seen your mother?"

Shen Hanyi and Shen Yunzhou also fixed their eyes on her, waiting for the answer.

Lu Yaoyao took a deep breath. "Do you trust what I say?"

"I do." Zhou Qing answered without hesitation.

"I do." Shen Hanyi’s cold voice carried a trace of urgency.

Shen Yunzhou opened his mouth, then recalled his sister’s earlier warning. He could only nod hard in silence, his eyes full of anticipation.

He was very curious how he, this future uncle, was doing in the future.

After all, he was determined to become the Shitian Emperor!

Seeing the three of them react like this, a trace of gratified smile curved Lu Yaoyao’s lips. "Thank you."

As she spoke, she took out another yellowed booklet from her Storage Bag.

Opening the first page, the drawing showed a slightly slovenly middle-aged man whose features were seven or eight parts similar to Zhou Qing’s, yet much more weathered.

His eye sockets were sunken, his eyes dim and lifeless. On his back he carried a Broken Sword, and in his hand he tightly held a five- or six-year-old little girl.

Though that little girl wore plain clothes, they had been washed very clean.

Only her eyes were full of fear and unease, as if some unknown thing behind them was constantly hunting them down.

Seeing Zhou Qing’s image in the drawing, Shen Hanyi’s heart suddenly twisted in pain.

Her fingers unconsciously brushed over the portrait, then moved to the little girl, her heart aching just as much.

Zhou Qing remained silent, his brows tightly knitted.

Lu Yaoyao turned to the second page. In the drawing, Zhou Qing was locked in battle with a Demon Emperor, while the little girl hid in terror in a crack between rocks.

The third page, the fourth page... every page recorded a similar scene.

Zhou Qing fighting one or several Demon Emperors, while the little girl either waited or looked up anxiously. The fear in her eyes never diminished.

"From the moment I became aware of things, I’ve always lived like this." Lu Yaoyao said softly as she flipped the pages. "Our pursuers included members of the Human Race, but most were Demon Emperors in human form. Dad was always fleeing for our lives with me."

Shen Hanyi’s icy eyes were now bloodshot red, her voice trembling slightly. "Why?"

Lu Yaoyao shook her head. "I don’t know. Dad never told me. These are scenes I drew over the years based on my childhood memories."

She lifted her head to look at Zhou Qing, her gaze complicated. "In my memories, Dad rarely spoke."

Silence fell over the room, broken only by the soft rustle of turning pages.

Every page was like a sharp blade, carving a bloody wound into the hearts of the three.

A indescribable bitterness surged in Zhou Qing’s chest. He couldn’t understand why so many Demon Emperors in the Spirit Severing Realm would relentlessly hound this father and daughter.

"Then how did you arrive here?" Zhou Qing asked in a deep voice.

Lu Yaoyao lightly bit her lower lip. "I don’t really know, either. One time I woke up in a cave, and Dad was nowhere to be seen. I was terrified. I waited until nightfall, but he still didn’t return."

She paused, her voice quivering slightly. "Back then, Dad only tempered my body and bones; he never taught me any Cultivation methods. At night the cave was crawling with poisonous insects. I was so scared I ran out to look for him."

"I wandered aimlessly through that ancient forest. I don’t know what I stepped on, but suddenly the world spun..."

Zhou Qing’s gaze sharpened. "And then?"

Lu Yaoyao said in a low voice, "When I finally came to, I realized I was plummeting from the sky. Luckily..."

A hint of relief flashed in her eyes. "My master—who is now the Taiqing Sect Leader—just happened to be in that area gathering materials, and casually saved me."

"He took me back to the Taiqing Sect, and on the way I slowly came to understand..." She lifted her eyes to Zhou Qing, smiling. "I had actually arrived in the era when Dad was still young."

Zhou Qing held his tongue.

This meant she hadn’t simply time-traveled; she had directly merged into this timeline.

Judging from the age when she entered the Taiqing Sect, she had been about twelve years old then.

In other words, before twelve she belonged to the future; after twelve, she belonged to the present.

Zhou Qing suddenly lifted his head to look at Shen Hanyi.

Lu Yaoyao had never once seen her birth mother. Could it be... something happened to her?

Shen Hanyi sensed his gaze. The instant their eyes met, they both read the same thought in each other’s heart.

Zhou Qing grabbed her hand in his anxiety, his eyes full of worry.

This time, Shen Hanyi didn’t pull away; she only gently bit her lip.

Shen Yunzhou couldn’t help but interject, "Then why are you called Lu Yaoyao? Why don’t you take my sister’s surname or my brother-in-law’s? Did you deliberately change your name after arriving in this timeline?"