Chapter 835: The Long-Lost Father

Chapter 835: Chapter 835: The Long-Lost Father

Xuan Long’s raw, broken voice echoed through the empty, hollow space.

Xuan Long stumbled forward and dropped heavily to his knees besides the shimmering man.

The moment he saw that face clearly, his entire body went rigid as stone.

He didn’t know why. He had never met this man. Not once in his entire life had he held his father’s hand or looked into his eyes.

Yet the moment he saw his features, his very blood and soul recognised him instantly.

It was him.

It was his father...Teng Yunxiao.

Xuan Long’s eyes instantly turned blood-red. Crimson veins flared across his face as he grabbed the shimmering man’s shoulders, desperately shaking him.

"Father..." His voice cracked into a hoarse sob. "Wake up!"

But Teng Yunxiao remained completely still, his translucent form flickering faintly beneath Xuan Long’s hands.

"Father, wake up!" Xuan Long shook him harder, his massive hands trembling uncontrollably. "Please..."

His voice became a broken, desperate whisper.

"Don’t disappear again..."

Yet the man gave no response, his fading eyes closed to the world.

Xuan Long stared down at his face, tears finally gathering in his bloodshot eyes and spilling onto his face.

After searching for him for his entire life... he had finally found his father.

But why did it feel as if he was about to lose him all over again?

Behind him, Su Qinglan and An Mo could only stare at the retreating figure of Xuan Long.

He had left so suddenly that neither of them had even had time to react.

Su Qinglan’s heart was still filled with intense confusion. She had never seen Xuan Long like that before. That desperate expression... those bloodshot, wild eyes...

She had no idea what it all meant. But she knew one thing for certain: she had never seen her husband so utterly desperate in her entire life.

Su Qinglan slowly turned her head toward An Mo.

"An Mo..." she whispered, her voice trembling. "What happened to him?"

An Mo did not answer immediately. His swirling eyes were also trembling with suppressed shock. He had heard everything. He had seen Xuan Long’s frantic reaction.

An Mo’s lips pressed into a tight, grim line. Then he stepped forward and firmly grabbed Su Qinglan’s arm.

"Let’s go."

Su Qinglan blinked, her golden eyes wide. "Go where?"

"After him." An Mo’s voice was low and heavy. "We need to see what happened."

Su Qinglan immediately nodded. She carefully held Yue Yue against her chest, her hands trembling.

"Yue Yue..."

Her soul ached seeing the small, bleeding wounds and deep bruises covering her baby’s tiny body. Without a second thought, Su Qinglan activated her plant-type healing ability.

A soft, warm glow erupted from her hands, surrounding her body before slowly spreading toward Yue Yue. The luminous light wrapped around the little snake cub like a gentle blanket.

At a visible speed, the injuries began disappearing. The cuts closed up seamlessly, the harsh bruises faded back into brilliant green scales, and even the internal weakness vanished step by step.

After a short while, there was not a single scar or wound left on Yue Yue’s delicate frame.

The little cub’s ragged breathing became peaceful and steady. She snuggled deeper into her mother’s warm chest, letting out a soft, contented sigh as she fell into a deep, comfortable sleep.

Su Qinglan let out a long breath of relief. "She’s okay..."

She gently stroked Yue Yue’s small head, kissing her snout. Then she looked toward where Xuan Long had disappeared. "Let’s go."

An Mo nodded, his expression serious. The two of them quickly set off.

However, unlike Xuan Long...who had charged blindly through the falling rocks without caring about his own life... Su Qinglan and An Mo could not navigate the collapsing mountain so easily.

Massive boulders blocked the path, thick dust blinded their vision, and the earth still shuddered occasionally as broken pieces of stone continued falling from above.

They had to carefully thread their way through the ruined mountain.

By the time they finally reached there... a raw, broken sound echoed through the quiet air.

"Father!"

Su Qinglan froze. Her heart suddenly clenched into a tight knot.

The voice belonged to Xuan Long. But there was something terrifyingly different about it. It was trembling, broken, and filled with a profound, agonizing pain she had never heard from him before.

Then came another desperate cry.

"Father! Wake up!"

Su Qinglan’s eyes widened. She sprinted past the last pile of rubble, and the moment she saw the scene ahead, her entire body went rigid.

Xuan Long was kneeling on the cold stone floor. His massive, bloodstained hands were wrapped around the shoulders of a lean, shimmering, unconscious man, desperately shaking him back and forth.

"Father..." His voice cracked into a hoarse sob. "Please... wake up!"

Tears were streaming down his face, soaking into his scales. Xuan Long...the powerful husband who had always stood as an impenetrable shield in front of everyone, the man who never seemed afraid of anything in this world... was crying like a lost, helpless cub.

Su Qinglan’s feet felt rooted to the ground. Tears instantly flooded her eyes, and her heart throbbed with unbearable ache just looking at him.

"Xuan Long..." she whispered, her voice choking up.

She didn’t even understand the full story yet, but seeing her strong husband completely broken on his knees was enough to tear her chest apart.

An Mo stood a step behind her, his expression equally heavy and grim. His eyes moved past Xuan Long toward the unconscious man lying on the ground, and his pupils suddenly contracted.

The resemblance... it was impossible to ignore.

Su Qinglan slowly looked at the man’s face as well, and her breath caught in her throat.

The man’s features were strikingly similar to Xuan Long’s. It was as if she were looking at an older, more mature version of her husband. The sharp arc of his jawline, the shape of his pale lips, the structure of his brow... they were almost exact copies.

Su Qinglan’s heart trembled violently. How is this possible? Wasn’t Xuan Long’s father long gone? Then who is this man?

"Xuan Long..." Su Qinglan could no longer hold herself back. She quickly ran past An Mo and dropped to her knees beside him on the dusty ground. "What happened?"

Xuan Long slowly turned his head. His eyes were completely bloodshot, swollen with unshed pain. The moment his gaze met Su Qinglan’s tearful face, the last thread of strength holding his mind together shattered completely.

"Lanlan..." His voice shook violently. "Lanlan..."

He looked at her with wild, terrified eyes, like a child who had lost his way in the dark.

"My father..."

Su Qinglan’s heart shattered into pieces. She immediately reached out and gripped his trembling arm tightly. "Your father?"

Xuan Long nodded frantically, his voice breaking. "My father... he is my father..."

Su Qinglan stared at the motionless man in complete disbelief, her lips trembling. But how? None of this made any sense!

At that exact moment, An Mo stepped forward. His serious eyes moved toward Yue Yue, who was sleeping peacefully in Su Qinglan’s arms, and then fell upon the tiny green crystal still tightly wrapped around the little cub’s tail.

The same crystal Yue Yue had protected with her very life. The Heart of the Mountain.

An Mo’s eyes flashed with a sudden, sharp light. Without saying another word, he knelt down and carefully took the sleeping Yue Yue from Su Qinglan’s arms.