Have You Ever Thought About Finding Him?
As soon as Rong Ci’s words fell, Rong Hua led a white-haired elder in a black robe into the room.
The old man looked to be around seventy, his gaze calm and steady. In his hand, he held a string of antique bronze bells. As he approached at an unhurried pace, the bells continuously gave off soft, chiming sounds.
Su Jingyang lay on the bed with his eyes closed, sleeping unusually deeply, as though the outside world could not disturb him in the slightest.
“City Lord,” the Grand Shaman said first, bowing respectfully toward Rong Ci.
Rong Ci stood and lightly supported him. “Grand Shaman, there’s no need for formalities. Let’s begin immediately and finish quickly.”
The Grand Shaman said nothing more and simply nodded in acknowledgment. Rong Hua extinguished the lamps in the room until only a single light remained, and the space instantly grew dim and unclear.
Rong Ci slowly helped Su Jingyang sit up, letting him lean in his embrace.
Rong Ci intended to use soul-summoning to force Su Jingyang to speak the truth. Yet his emotions were burning too fiercely for him to remain fully steady. He feared a single misstep might harm Su Jingyang’s body, so he forcibly suppressed the turbulence in his heart and brought him back to Rongcheng, summoning the Grand Shaman the moment they arrived.
Because Su Jingyang was currently pregnant and his body was more fragile. To be safe, he decided to only ask two questions.
“Begin,” Rong Ci said in a low voice.
The Grand Shaman stepped to the bedside, closed his eyes, and murmured a few quiet incantations. Something unseen seemed to surge through the once-peaceful air. He opened his eyes again, lifted his hand slightly, and shook the bells.
“Ding-ling-ling, ding-ling-ling.”
As if controlled by an unseen force, Su Jingyang’s previously limp body suddenly straightened. He sat upright on his own, just as he would when awake, though his eyes remained closed. Even so, Rong Ci continued to hold him securely.
Rong Ci lowered his voice and said to the Grand Shaman, “Ask him who the child’s biological father is.”
The Grand Shaman did as instructed, his tone soft and measured, imbued with a powerful, hypnotic pull.
Su Jingyang shook his head weakly and his whole body seeming to exude confusion. His speech was halting, yet that sharp, abrasive edge of his usual speech was still faintly present. “I… how the f*ck would I know who it is…”
Rong Ci’s brows knit tightly.
He didn’t know. He truly didn’t know!!!
How could that be?!
Could it be that before Ming Zhan rescued him that night, something had happened outside…? Rong Ci’s fingers tightened harshly at Su Jingyang’s waist. No, impossible. If that were the case, Su Jingyang would never want this child. It couldn’t be that.
Rong Ci rejected the thought with every fiber of his being.
“Continue,” Rong Ci said coldly, half his face swallowed by shadow, making him appear even more chilling. “Ask him where he comes from.”
Rong Ci had always felt something was off about Su Jingyang. At first, he suspected some form of sorcery or manipulation, yet no trace had been found. If he could learn where Su Jingyang came from, perhaps there would finally be a clue.
The Grand Shaman asked as told, but Su Jingyang’s reaction was completely different this time.
His lips struggled to move. He shook his head slightly, as though he wanted to answer but couldn’t. His expression twisted in pain, cold sweat rapidly beading on his forehead, his body beginning to tremble.
Rong Ci immediately sensed something was wrong. “Wake him up, now!”
The Grand Shaman hadn’t even had time to shake the bell when Su Jingyang suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood. His body went limp, collapsing into Rong Ci’s arms.
“Jingyang!!!”
Rong Hua, who had been standing guard nearby, rushed to the bedside together with the Grand Shaman to check his condition. His pulse was steady, and he appeared to be out of danger.
Rong Ci held him tightly. Lifting his gaze, he looked at the Grand Shaman’s grave expression. “What’s going on?”
“This… only two questions were asked. Such a situation has never occurred before.” The Grand Shaman paused briefly before continuing. “Allow me to return to the main hall and consult the records. I will report to you in detail afterward.”
Rong Ci waved him off with a dark expression. Rong Hua instructed the guards to summon a physician, then relit all the lotus-shaped candles in the room, restoring full brightness.
Rong Ci gently wiped the blood from Su Jingyang’s lips and changed the stained clothing before laying him back down and tucking him in. He sat by the bed, his expression heavy and cold.
Everything had been prepared perfectly, yet something still went wrong at the last moment.
After the physician confirmed that Su Jingyang was fine, Rong Ci finally let out a breath.
Rong Hua leaned against the bedframe, arms crossed, and muttering in confusion. “The Grand Shaman is the most accomplished in Rongcheng in nearly a hundred years. He’s never failed before. What happened today? If it’s not his problem… then it has to be that Jingyang himself is different from others.”
Rong Ci’s dark eyes flickered, as though countless unspoken possibilities surged within them. His lips parted, and he suddenly turned his head. “You mean…”
Rong Hua let out a small sound and continued, “I said before that Jingyang might be what the Grand Shaman calls a ‘foreign star,’ yet you kept losing your head whenever it came to him and refused to believe me. Look now. When asked where he comes from, he couldn’t speak and even spat blood. Perhaps it violates the Heavenly Dao. It cannot be spoken. It must not be spoken.”
Rong Ci felt as though a bucket of cold water had been dumped over his head. His thoughts instantly cleared!!!
His eyes widened inch by inch as he slowly turned back, gripping Su Jingyang’s hand tightly and staring at that calm, handsome sleeping face.
What Rong Hua said made sense. The chance of the Grand Shaman making an error was slim. That left only Su Jingyang himself.
A foreign star. If he truly was that foreign star…
Rong Ci recalled the morning Su Jingyang had lost control, sobbing and shouting about going home. He had always talked about leaving, about not being responsible for anyone.
Rong Ci bent down, burying his face in Su Jingyang’s neck, fingers interlaced with his as he let out a soft sigh.
The dark fog clouding his mind seemed to part all at once.
He finally understood everything.
Su Jingyang’s strange behavior, his constant meddling to help others, was likely all for the sake of fulfilling some condition to return to his own world.
…Wait!!!
In a sudden flash, something connected violently in Rong Ci’s mind. He snapped upright, staring at Su Jingyang’s face in disbelief as a terrifying storm surged within his dark eyes!!!
Rong Hua, completely unaware, continued complaining. “I told you long ago to act decisively and marry Jingyang right away. Look what happened. Someone else got to him first. He’s already carrying another man’s child. What use is your sour face? Still, it’s strange…” She rubbed her chin. “How could Jingyang not even know whose child he’s carrying? He might look silly, but he’s not that stupid. Or did something happen where he never even saw that man’s face? Rong Ci, don’t tell me you watched him every day and still let him be taken by someone else—”
She stopped abruptly.
Rong Ci had suddenly turned his head, his gaze sharp as lightning, his eyes gleaming with an unfathomable light.
Rong Hua thought she had angered him and hurriedly covered her mouth. Then she heard Rong Ci speak hoarsely, “You… might be right. He truly may not have seen that man’s face clearly.”
Because this happened in a dream!!!
At that moment, Rong Ci’s blood boiled, scorching every part of him. After Rong Hua’s words, everything finally clicked. He was utterly certain!!!
When Su Jingyang said he didn’t know who that man was, Rong Ci had believed it a lie born of deception. Yet now, after the Grand Shaman’s confirmation, he knew the truth. Su Jingyang truly didn’t know. Under sorcery, he couldn’t lie.
Su Jingyang was the foreign star spoken of by the Grand Shaman.
For reasons unknown, that star had entered his dreams, and the two of them had been entangled in a dark dreamscape for more than half a year!!!
His dreams had stopped around twenty-six days ago. He had assumed the timing foretold by the dream master had arrived and that the illusion had simply ended. He hadn’t given it much thought. Su Jingyang’s pregnancy dated to precisely that time.
It all matched!!!
He had been blinded by rage, focused only on forcing out the truth, never connecting the two.
Now looking back, there had been countless clues and inconsistencies. He had simply been too deep inside it to see clearly, unlike Rong Hua, an outside observer.
Rong Hua still misunderstood his meaning and tried to comfort him. “Don’t lose heart. No one wants to encounter this kind of situation. Jingyang surely doesn’t want this child either. Since it’s early, have him get rid of it. You two should hurry and marry. He’s young. Once he recovers, there will be children again.”
Rong Ci heard none of it.
His long fingers traced Su Jingyang’s face, brows, eyes, nose, lips, his own eyes bloodshot.
So the one who had haunted his dreams for over half a year was this person.
So he had already possessed him, time and time again.
Though each dream faded into hazy fragments upon waking, now that the truth was laid bare, recalling those intimate dreamscapes filled his heart with sweetness.
Moreover, what this person was carrying in his belly now was his own flesh and blood.
His child!!!
Rong Ci could no longer restrain the violent surge in his veins. Overcome with emotion, his breathing unsteady, he bent down and fiercely claimed Su Jingyang’s lips, pulling him into his arms as though he wished to devour him whole.
Seeing the situation was wrong, Rong Hua had already slipped out, closing the door behind her. Outside, she nearly collided with the Grand Shaman rushing back, clearly eager to report good news. She hurriedly intercepted him, pushing him away without explanation.
“Rong Hua, what are you doing? I have something important to report to the City Lord. The person inside is very likely—”
“We know, we know, the descended foreign star. Elder, go back and sleep,” Rong Hua said, dragging him away. Inside, things were already underway. Entering would only invite trouble.
Without the sorcery’s hold, Su Jingyang no longer slept like the dead. Rong Ci’s movements were far too intense. He stirred awake, eyes barely opening as he desperately pushed at Rong Ci.
Completely unaffected, Rong Ci decisively and efficiently pressed his hands above his head to hold them down, entangling with his wet, soft tongue, kissing even more deeply.
Su Jingyang was kissed breathless by him, his face flushed red. Making muffled sounds from his mouth, he tried hard to dodge. Rong Ci finally reluctantly left his warm, soft lips to kiss his eyelids, nose tip, chin, and neck.
Su Jingyang finally had air. Before he could even catch his breath, he spat twice in anger. “Rong Ci, did you bite my mouth? Why is there a bloody taste???”
Rong Ci paused, then left two marks on his neck before lifting his head. His eyes were calm. “Are you hurt? Open your mouth. Let me see.”
Su Jingyang clamped his lips shut. Rong Ci chuckled and pecked them anyway. “Idiot.”
Su Jingyang struggled with his hands, glaring at him. “You touched me while I was asleep again, didn’t you? Next time I catch you, I’ll smash your dog head!!!”
Rong Ci smiled faintly, releasing him and lying beside him. “Relax. Next time, I won’t let you catch me.”
“Shameless!” Su Jingyang rubbed his wrist. Rong Ci helped massage it, then leaned in to kiss it once more.
Su Jingyang stared at him strangely. After a short nap, this person felt… different. The hostility in his brows seemed diminished, and his expression gentler. Was he no longer angry?
Still drowsy, Su Jingyang decided not to think about it. Just as he was about to sleep again, Rong Ci wrapped an arm around him from behind. After a moment of silence, he asked softly, “Jingyang, you said before that you don’t know who the child’s father is. Is that right?”
The sudden calmness made Su Jingyang suspicious. “Why bring that up now?”
After a pause, Rong Ci leaned close to his ear and asked in a low voice, “Then… have you ever thought about finding him?”
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