Chapter 282 - 281: As Long as You’re Awake

Chapter 282: Chapter 281: As Long as You’re Awake

After leaving the Sheng family, Gu Qingyin prepared several letters. She planned to send one every few months, making each shorter than the last to give the impression that her feelings had faded and she no longer wished to stay in contact.

It was better for them to drift apart and become strangers than for her to die without explanation.

It might have been a heartless way to handle things, but at that moment, Gu Qingyin couldn’t think of a better solution.

Finally, she tidied up the house. Gu Qingyin didn’t take a single thing, doing her best to restore everything to its original state. ’This was the original owner’s home; I was just staying here for a while. It’s only right that I help clean up before I leave.’

Gu Qingyin closed the door and left. It was likely that no one would come to this house again for a very long time.

The same route, the same people... ’Oh, wait, we have Huo Yunjing with us this time.’ They were traveling it again, but her feelings were completely different. The last time, she had been mostly filled with apprehension. This time, she was mostly excited and wasn’t particularly afraid of failure.

When they passed by the Ghost King’s territory again, it was completely silent, as if the place were deserted.

Huo Xingchen strode at the very front, puffed up with borrowed courage, and snorted softly. "They sure learned their lesson."

When they reached the familiar spot, they set up their camp at the edge, unsure of how long they would be staying this time.

After resting for the night, everyone rose at dawn to study the Array Map and divide up the construction tasks.

As the adult with the least skill in arrays... Gu Qingyin was naturally assigned the simplest part of the construction. She also had a little assistant: her son, Huo Xingchen.

Gu Qingyin and Huo Xingchen looked at each other, then huddled together to study the Array Map.

As the saying goes, two heads are better than one. Although there were only two of them, they figured it couldn’t be that much worse.

They had all the necessary materials, and the construction of the Array went smoothly. Everyone worked in tandem, and by the third day, the Array was complete.

"Are you all ready?" Dongfang Lingjun asked, looking at the others in their positions.

The rest of them nodded, looking toward the family of three at the Array’s core and smiling their goodbyes.

The travelers of spacetime. It was time for them to return to their original world.

Gu Qingyin’s eyes reddened with emotion. "Thank you all for taking care of us and helping us. I’ll never forget any of you."

As the Array activated, a familiar spatial channel appeared in the void. Huo Yunjing and Huo Xingchen were uncontrollably pulled toward it. Gu Qingyin, however, simply closed her eyes and collapsed to the ground. The moment her soul emerged from her body, it shot into the spatial channel at incredible speed.

Huo Yunjing’s expression grew taut, and he hurriedly gave chase.

Huo Xingchen, who was left behind, panicked. "Mom, Dad, wait for me!"

As Huo Xingchen entered the portal, the spatial channel snapped shut. An invisible ripple of energy blasted outward, and the Array instantly disintegrated.

Master Huo’s expression changed drastically. He turned to Dongfang Lingjun. "The portal closed prematurely. Will that affect them?"

Dongfang Lingjun wasn’t sure either. "It shouldn’t... They all made it inside."

Gu Ziqian sighed to himself and tried to reassure him, "This isn’t their first time traveling through spacetime. They’ll be fine."

Master Huo didn’t look any more relieved, his face filled with worry as he stared into the void.

Zhang Qiuyan lowered her head in sorrow. ’I know it’s impossible, so why did I let myself get so attached? When will he ever turn around and notice me?’

Inside the channel, Gu Qingyin moved so quickly because her body and the Divine Artifact that had acknowledged her as its master were both summoning her from the world on the other side.

Huo Yunjing and Huo Xingchen accelerated to keep up with her, so the portal’s abrupt closure had a negligible effect on them.

Once inside the channel, under the influence of spacetime, the three of them began to change in succession.

Gu Qingyin’s transformation was the most subtle—at least, there were no outward changes.

Huo Yunjing’s transformation was far more dramatic. His physical form began to erode and dissipate from the outermost layer inward until only his ghost body remained. If not for the excruciating pain, the process would have felt like shedding a heavy overcoat.

Huo Xingchen’s transformation was also incredibly fast; he was aging with every passing second.

After an unknown amount of time, the family of three was ejected from the spatial channel one after another.

「The Huo Family estate.」

The very instant a sound came from the secret chamber downstairs, Gu Ziqian rushed over. The first thing he saw was Huo Xingchen, slumped on the floor by the entrance. Deeper inside, Huo Yunjing was lifting the lid of the Ice Coffin.

Stirred, Gu Ziqian quickly floated over. He looked down and met Gu Qingyin’s open eyes. He was overjoyed, but before he could speak, her eyes fluttered shut, her head lolled to one side, and she passed out again.

"Qingyin!" Gu Ziqian anxiously reached out to check on her, but Huo Yunjing blocked him. He then turned to Huo Xingchen. "Call an ambulance. We’re taking your mother to the hospital."

Huo Xingchen quickly pulled out his phone to make the call.

Gu Ziqian came to his senses, shaking his head with a self-deprecating laugh. ’Worry really clouds one’s judgment.’ Gu Qingyin had been asleep in the Ice Coffin for so long; there was no way she would be up and running the moment she awoke. She would likely need to recuperate in bed for some time.

Before long, the sound of a helicopter could be heard outside. The area was remote, and an ambulance would have taken too long, so Huo Xingchen had taken the liberty of calling for a medevac helicopter instead.

Huo Yunjing carried the ice-cold Gu Qingyin onto the helicopter, not forgetting to throw an appreciative glance back at Huo Xingchen. ’Guess raising this son wasn’t a waste. He’s clever when it counts.’

The hospital was one of the Huo Family’s enterprises, so they were fast-tracked directly to the family’s exclusive ward on the top floor. Afterward, the doctors politely asked Huo Yunjing to step outside.

While they waited for the test results, Huo Xingchen and Huo Xingye arrived one after the other. As for Huo Xinghai, he had been working in a neighboring city and was still on his way back.

The results came back two hours later. There were no major issues with her health; she was just extremely weak. With good food and some exercise, she would recover quickly.

Huo Yunjing breathed a sigh of relief and turned to his two sons. "Take good care of her. I’m going home to cook for your mother."

Huo Xingchen and Huo Xingye naturally nodded in agreement and entered the room.

Gu Qingyin lay on the bed, her face pale, with a nutritional IV in her arm. The doctor said she would likely wake up once the bag was empty.

Huo Xingchen wet a towel with warm water and gently wiped Gu Qingyin’s face and hands, while Huo Xingye sat on the sofa and continued to work.

The IV drip soon finished, but Gu Qingyin still hadn’t woken up.

Worried, Huo Xingye went and found a doctor to come check on her.

The doctor was rendered speechless by their overreaction. After a quick check, he said, "The patient is just tired. Sleep is the best way for her to recover."

Not long after, Huo Yunjing returned with an insulated food container.

After setting down the container, he caressed Gu Qingyin’s cheek. It was warm to the touch, and a hint of warmth finally appeared in his eyes.

"Yunjing..."

Huo Yunjing’s eyes brightened. He leaned closer, his voice incomparably gentle. "You’re awake? Want to sit up and eat something?"

Gu Qingyin smiled and nodded.

Huo Yunjing raised the head of the bed, helping her sit up.

Huo Xingye and Huo Xingchen also gathered around, their faces full of concern.

Huo Xingye, who was usually such a calm, aloof, overbearing-CEO type, actually had red-rimmed eyes.

Warmth spread through Gu Qingyin’s heart. She gave them a reassuring smile. "Don’t worry."

Huo Xingye nodded. "As long as you’re awake, that’s all that matters."