How could Bai Li ever want to leave?
Shen Qing was the child she had given birth to with hope. Over the years, she had been powerless to fight against fate and had missed out on the role of a mother. If there was even the slightest possibility, she would have loved to stay and watch her daughter grow up.
But she had exhausted all her strength just to leave behind a wisp of her soul. Once her soul dissipated, so would she.
She could only take advantage of this last moment to look at Shen Qing's face one more time and engrave it deeply in her heart.
"Shen Qing, Aniang is sorry for you. I'm glad you've grown up well and become a good girl. All I ever wanted for you was to be carefree and happy. But unfortunately... you'll ultimately have to bear the fate of the Dragon Clan that guards the oath."
"Han Ze is your elder brother. It would be good if he can turn back. But if not... sigh..."
"They're both my children. How could I not feel heartache for them?"
Tears welled up in Bai Li's eyes. Just thinking about her two children about to stand on opposite sides made her, as a mother, feel extremely heart - wrenching.
Shen Qing's heart felt like it was being tightly squeezed by an invisible hand. She tightly grasped Bai Li's hand and didn't even dare to blink for a moment.
"Aniang, daughter... daughter..."
Shen Qing's voice was choked with sobs. She couldn't even complete a sentence.
She knew that after this parting, they would never see each other again in the years to come.
But... why!
She had been reborn and finally reached this point. Was she still unable to keep her own mother?
Amidst her grief, a strong sense of unwillingness welled up in Shen Qing's heart.
She didn't want to be left alone in the world with no relatives. She also wanted to be able to serve her mother and not suffer the pain of separation.
On impulse, Shen Qing thought of Luo Ling.
After hesitating for a moment, Shen Qing's eyes suddenly became firm.
Bai Li noticed the change in Shen Qing's eyes. A hint of doubt flashed in her eyes, and she immediately had a bad feeling. "Shen Qing, what do you want to do?"
"Don't do anything stupid. Aniang has lived long enough. If you want to sacrifice yourself to let Aniang stay, Aniang will never forgive you!"
Shen Qing slowly shook her head. In Bai Li's panicked eyes, she slowly said a sentence, "Aniang, we will meet again."
As soon as the words left her mouth, Bai Li seemed to be hit by something, but at the same time, it seemed like nothing had happened.
But slowly, Bai Li opened her eyes wide in disbelief. "Speak and the law follows..."
"How did you obtain this ability!"
Shen Qing was stunned. She didn't expect Bai Li to know that she had used the ability of speaking and the law following. "Aniang... how do you know?"
The pity in Bai Li's eyes was almost overflowing. Her words were filled with blame, but she couldn't really scold Shen Qing. "You silly child. Is this how you use the ability of speaking and the law following?"
"Aniang is already a dead person. Leaving behind a wisp of soul in this world is just to let you know the truth. If you use this ability to forcefully reverse life and death, do you know what the consequences will be!!"
Only later did Shen Qing realize that she had been impulsive. But when faced with the death of a loved one, what else could she do?
This was the only way for her to see her mother again.
Shen Qing lowered her eyes. Her voice was filled with a heavy nasal tone and grievance. "Aniang, I was wrong. But I really don't want to be separated from you again."
Bai Li was in a state of confusion. Her body had already become much more transparent, but she still stubbornly held onto Shen Qing. She said painfully, "Shen Qing, do you know why there are the souls of the Dragon Clan wandering in the Demon Abyss?"
"It's because when the Dragon Clan was destroyed, there was a clansman whose innate ability was speaking and the law following. She used all her strength and left behind a sentence saying that the Dragon Clan would never be destroyed."
"Because of this sentence, the clansmen who were filled with unwillingness and didn't want to die remained in this world with their残缺 forms. They neither entered reincarnation nor died. But what's the meaning of living like this?"
Shen Qing only knew that there were the souls of the Dragon Clan under the Demon Abyss, but she didn't know what form they remained in.
Reminded by Bai Li, Shen Qing only then realized what a wrong thing she had done.
Just thinking that Bai Li might have to live a painful life because of her words made Shen Qing extremely regretful. She panicked and apologized to Bai Li. "Aniang... I... I... It's my fault! Aniang, I'll take back that sentence now... It's all my fault!"
Seeing Shen Qing on the verge of a breakdown, Bai Li felt extremely heartache.
She opened her arms and hugged Shen Qing in her arms. She couldn't say any words of comfort or blame. Helplessly, she could only hum the unique ballad of the Dragon Clan in a gentle voice. These songs that were used to lull children to sleep, she finally had the opportunity to sing to Shen Qing.
Shen Qing broke down and cried, but gradually calmed down in this lullaby. She sobbed softly.
Bai Li already felt that she was about to dissipate. She reached out one last time to hold Shen Qing's face. She smiled gently. "Shen Qing, stop crying. I hope that just as you said, we will have a chance to meet again in the future."
At the moment of parting, Bai Li swallowed all her words of blame. She only hoped that Shen Qing's ability of speaking and the law following was reliable and that it could allow the mother - daughter duo to meet again.
Amidst Shen Qing's sobs, Bai Li's figure slowly dissipated, turning into stardust and then slowly returning to nothingness.
The aura and smell that belonged to Bai Li had completely disappeared, as if this person had never appeared.
Shen Qing's heart ached so much that she couldn't bear it. She only covered her heart and shed silent tears.
She had finally tasted the bitter taste of life and death separation.
After leaving the sea of consciousness, Shen Qing's consciousness returned. When she opened her eyes, she saw Wu Wang looking at her worriedly. Its paw was on her face, as if it was about to slap her.
Seeing Shen Qing wake up, Wu Wang embarrassedly put its paw down and scratched its cheek. "Don't hit me. I just saw that you seemed to be in a nightmare and wanted to wake you up. Who knew you'd wake up by yourself..."
Shen Qing opened her mouth, but her voice was extremely hoarse. "How much time has passed..."
Only after she said this did Shen Qing realize that her voice was choked with sobs. She reached out and touched her cheek, only to find that she was already in tears.
Wu Wang thought for a while and said, "It's been about two hours. Seeing that I couldn't wake you up no matter what and you were crying like this, I had no idea what was wrong with you."
Shen Qing let out a breath and slowly got up from the grass.
After entering the sea of consciousness, her body had changed back from the dragon form to the human form.
When walking on the grass, her feet felt a stabbing pain, as if being pricked by needles. But Shen Qing didn't react much because she knew that this was the side effect of the awakening of the dragon bones. It would get better slowly.
She walked in front of the temple and stared fixedly at the pillars and the closed stone gate.
With the memories of the Dragon Clan and Bai Li's reminder, she knew that her next step should be to enter the temple and receive the inheritance of the Dragon Clan.
But Shen Qing wasn't sure if the inheritance of the Dragon Clan could still continue after the power of the Heavenly Dao faded.
Moreover, Bai Li had told her that when something happened to the Dragon Clan, Han Ze's inheritance had been interrupted. Therefore, Han Ze had only received half of the inheritance of the Dragon Clan.
That was why Bai Li had entrusted the task of stopping Han Ze to her.
If she received the inheritance, her strength would surely be greatly improved. Maybe she would even be stronger than Han Ze.