“Senior, I offer you a toast.”
“I’ll drink first in respect.”
Chu Feng raised the already-filled wine cup and downed it in one go.
“You’re not afraid I might curse you again?” Old Freak Tang asked with a sly smile.
“If Senior wanted to kill me, I wouldn’t stand a chance,” Chu Feng replied.
“What do you think of my daughter?” Old Freak Tang asked.
“Huh?” Chu Feng was taken aback by the question.
Then he said, “Senior, you know what I’ve been doing?”
“Yes, I saw everything that happened in the ruins,” Old Freak Tang said with a smile.
Hearing this, Chu Feng understood. When he was secretly following Song Ge, Old Freak Tang had been secretly following him.
Chu Feng gave an awkward smile, as he’d been completely unaware of Old Freak Tang’s presence.
But that was to be expected. For someone like Old Freak Tang, a Supreme Realm master, to track Chu Feng unnoticed was no surprise, even if Chu Feng was a Saint-cloak World Spiritist.
The only reason Chu Feng had successfully followed Old Freak Tang the first time was because the latter had been careless.
Given the situation, Chu Feng realised why Old Freak Tang had prepared wine and food to wait for him.
He’d already guessed Chu Feng would come looking.
“Since Senior knows everything, I won’t say more.”
“But Senior, your daughter misses you dearly and wants to meet you. Why won’t you acknowledge her?” Chu Feng asked.
“It’s not that I don’t want to, but I don’t have the face to.”
Old Freak Tang downed a cup of wine, his face filled with guilt.
He then shared the full story with Chu Feng.
Back in the day, Old Freak Tang was a prominent figure in the All-Heaven Starfield, but he grew tired of the deceit and scheming, deciding to return to an ordinary life.
He chose to go back to his hometown, Qiuluo Village.
Though he intended to live quietly as an ordinary man, Old Freak Tang, after years in the martial world, was used to solitude and wary of others.
As a result, despite living in the village for years, he remained distant from the villagers, and his eccentric personality meant no one sought to befriend him.
His relationship with Song Ge’s mother was entirely an accident.
Old Freak Tang didn’t love her; it was a moment of lost control.
When he learned she was pregnant, he wanted to force her to abort the child.
Old Freak Tang didn’t want burdens—no wife, no children. He craved a carefree, solitary life.
But Song Ge’s mother threatened to take her own life if he forced her to abort.
Though Old Freak Tang didn’t care about her life or death, for some reason, he feared her dying at that moment.
Reluctantly, he compromised, allowing her to keep the child.
But he warned her never to tell anyone the child was his, or he’d kill both her and Song Ge.
Remarkably, Song Ge’s mother never spoke of him to anyone.
A woman, single for centuries, suddenly had a child, with no one knowing the father.
Inevitably, rumours spread—vicious gossip and the scorn of the entire village fell on Song Ge’s mother.
One can imagine what she endured.
Most would have left to start anew elsewhere, but she chose to stay and bear it all.
As Song Ge grew, her martial talent emerged, and no one dared bully her or her mother anymore.
Instead, people began to curry favour with Song Ge’s mother.
With Song Ge’s filial devotion, her mother’s later years were comfortable.
But over the years, Song Ge’s mother never spoke to Old Freak Tang again. She despised him.
What she didn’t know was that the once-cold Old Freak Tang had changed after Song Ge’s birth.
She was, after all, his daughter, bound by blood.
He’d thought he’d never care for children, even his own, but watching Song Ge grow, his feelings for her took root unknowingly. By the time he realised, he was deeply attached.
He began watching over her, fearing she’d be bullied, even secretly helping and protecting her.
But he didn’t dare acknowledge her, feeling he had no right.
After all, if not for her mother’s desperate stand, Song Ge would have died by his hand, never born.
So, despite longing to claim her, Old Freak Tang felt unworthy.
“Senior, you need to know that Song Ge also desperately wants to acknowledge you.”
“Do you want her to live her whole life not knowing her father?” Chu Feng asked after hearing the story.
“I’ll think about it,” Old Freak Tang said with a bitter smile, his eyes filled with helplessness and heartache.
“Cough, cough, cough…”
Suddenly, Old Freak Tang began coughing violently, worse than ever, his body trembling.
Though he covered his mouth, Chu Feng saw dark blood seeping through his fingers.
Black blood.
After coughing it up, Old Freak Tang aged visibly, becoming frail.
He looked like a man on the verge of death, barely able to sit upright.
“Senior…” Seeing him like this, Chu Feng felt a pang of sorrow.
It was clear Old Freak Tang didn’t have long—perhaps just days.
“Chu Feng, two days from now, take Song Ge to the Fate-Changing Bell at Chongxu Temple to wait for me,” Old Freak Tang said.
Chu Feng had wanted to ease his pain, but Old Freak Tang refused and told him to find Song Ge.
Chu Feng guessed Old Freak Tang was worried about her. Lately, aside from watching Song Ge’s mother, he’d been secretly protecting Song Ge.
Now, with his condition worsening, he could no longer do so and hoped Chu Feng would take his place.
But, being Old Freak Tang, he didn’t say it outright.
Understanding his intent, Chu Feng chose to follow his wishes and went to find Song Ge.
