CHAPTER 220: FINALLY A COMPLETE FAMILY.

Shen Mingyue’s lips curved into something sharp, almost mocking. "Yet I knew it was not enough to simply defeat him. If he remembered what had happened, he would return again and again until either he succeeded or she was broken. I could not allow that. So I twisted his memory. I altered his mind so that he believed he had already succeeded in his vile act. To his recollection, Yin was already tainted, already claimed. And with that thought festering in his skull, his obsession weakened. His hunger dulled. For a man such as him, the thrill lay only in the chase, in the destruction of something pure. Believing he had won, he lost interest."

Mo Yuxin bit her lip so hard it nearly drew blood. The idea of anyone thinking of her mother in such a way made her stomach churn, but she forced herself to listen. She had to.

"But I knew," Shen Mingyue said after a pause, her eyes softening with sorrow, "that this would not be enough. A phantom cannot kill a mortal. I could knock him unconscious, alter his memories, but in the end, he would live. And as long as he lived, danger lingered. I had to leave something behind to guard her, something that could protect her long after my phantom faded."

Her voice grew quieter, almost reverent. "So I did the only thing I could. I entrusted her with my natal spirit weapon."

At those words, Mo Yuxin’s head snapped up, her eyes wide. Su Yubing, too, gasped softly, recognizing the significance of such an act.

Shen Mingyue gave a faint smile tinged with grief. "Yes. The weapon bound to my very soul, the one I had nurtured since the dawn of my cultivation. I transformed it into a seed, compressing its essence into a form Yin’s mortal body could accept. Then... I planted it within her, weaving layers of spellwork and illusion over it. To all eyes—including her own—it would appear as though she were gradually becoming pregnant with a child. But in truth, what grew within her was my weapon, concealed beneath the guise of life."

She exhaled slowly, as though the memory itself drained her. "I asked my spirit weapon to remain within her for nine months, to rest and to guard. After that, when the time was right, I wove a final illusion—one that would convince Yin’s body and mind that she was giving birth. At that moment, the weapon would emerge, transformed, reshaped into the form of a child. Not only would this keep her safe from Mo Futian’s predation, but it would grant my weapon a chance to live, to breathe, to guard her as more than just steel and spirit."

Her eyes dimmed, filled with both pain and pride. "That was the choice I made. My phantom faded soon after, my essence collapsing back into nothingness. But at least, when I departed, I knew she was not alone. I left a part of myself with her—something to shield her, to watch over her when I could not."

Shen Mingyue’s gaze shifted to Mo Yuxin, her expression unreadable. "And that... was how the seed of truth was sown. From that day onward, Yin carried not only my essence, but also the disguised form of my natal spirit weapon. What she believed to be her child was, in reality, my weapon given new form. A safeguard, a shield, and perhaps... something more."

The room fell into heavy silence, the weight of her words pressing down like an unseen mountain. Mo Yuxin’s breath came ragged, her mind spinning. Su Yubing’s hand never left hers, grounding her as her world shifted beneath her feet.

Shen Mingyue leaned back slightly, her eyes misted with the echoes of a thousand years. "Such were the measures I took. Cruel, perhaps. Deceptive, certainly. But in that moment, I had no other path. All that mattered was keeping Yin safe, no matter the cost."

The air in the quiet chamber seemed to still. Even the faintest whisper of wind outside the carved windows felt muted, as though the heavens themselves held their breath at the weight of the revelation.

Mo Yuxin and Su Yubing sat frozen, unable to immediately process what Shen Mingyue had just unveiled. It was as if reality had been peeled back to reveal something far more fragile, far more wondrous than either of them had ever dared to imagine.

Mo Yuxin’s fingers curled tightly against her robes. Her eyes flickered toward Su Yubing instinctively, searching for grounding. Su Yubing’s gaze mirrored her own—wide, uncertain, trembling with a mixture of awe and disbelief. For a long moment, neither spoke, the silence stretched taut between them, before Mo Yuxin finally forced herself to turn back toward Shen Mingyue.

Her voice cracked slightly when she asked, "Does Mo Feng... my sister... does she know the truth about her?"

The question hung heavy in the air.

Shen Mingyue’s expression softened, the faintest sigh escaping her lips. Her eyes, which moments ago carried the vastness of an ancient existence, now dimmed with a quiet sorrow. "No," she said gently, her tone almost like the lull of wind through silk. "She does not know. I... altered the very essence of a weapon spirit and allowed her to be born as a human."

Her gaze drifted as if remembering the countless years, the battles, the decisions that had led here. "Right now, she is no longer my weapon spirit, but... my and Yin’s child. She stayed within Yin’s womb for nine months, her essence washed by the laws of heaven and earth, slowly transforming into something new. Into a true human."

Shen Mingyue paused, her eyes glimmering with a strange mixture of reverence and wonder. "Perhaps, the weapon spirit itself yearned for rebirth as a human. Such a miracle, even beyond my predictions, happened before my eyes."

Her words wrapped around Mo Yuxin like threads of warmth, fragile yet unbreakable.

And then, without warning, Shen Mingyue moved. She rose slowly, her posture no longer radiating the terrifying, godlike authority of the one once called the embodiment of Destruction. Instead, she carried herself with the trembling tenderness of a woman—of a mother.

Each step she took toward Mo Yuxin felt deliberate, sacred. The echo of her feet on the floor resounded like a drum in Mo Yuxin’s chest. When she stopped in front of her, her gaze softened in a way Mo Yuxin had never witnessed before.

With an almost reverent hesitation, Shen Mingyue reached out her hand. Her fingers brushed through Mo Yuxin’s dark hair, stroking gently, carefully, as though afraid too much force might cause the precious figure before her to shatter. Her touch was delicate, unpracticed, yet so filled with longing that Mo Yuxin’s breath caught.

"You both are my precious daughters," Shen Mingyue whispered. Her voice trembled, breaking past the iron control she usually commanded. "Our precious daughters. Mo Yuxin, my baby... would you accept this incompetent me... as your mother?"

The last word choked in her throat, raw and vulnerable. Her eyes reddened, shimmering with unshed tears. It was the plea of a woman who had borne centuries of burdens, yet trembled now under the simplest desire—that her child would call her "mother."

For all the legends surrounding Shen Mingyue, for all the myths of her power—the very thought of her, a being who could crush worlds with a stray thought, now bowing her heart so low before Mo Yuxin, was overwhelming.

The sheer intensity of love and longing in those eyes felt like a tidal wave crashing into Mo Yuxin’s chest.

Mo Yuxin’s throat tightened. Her vision blurred as her eyes unconsciously reddened. She bit her lip, trying desperately to hold back the tide of emotions swelling inside her. But it was no use. Tears brimmed at the corners of her eyes, threatening to spill at any moment.

Her whole life—her first life—she had carried the crushing weight of being alone. She had convinced herself that orphans simply bore such fates, that emptiness and solitude were their only inheritance. Even after her reincarnation, even as she gained friends, comrades, and Su Yubing’s unwavering companionship, there had always been a thorn buried deep within her chest.

The thought that her father was Mo Futian—a monster in human skin—had poisoned her heart. A man who had tormented her mother, scarred her family, and whose very existence tainted her own. She had carried the guilt of being born, of existing through such filth.

But now...

Now that thorn was pulled out.

The truth spread before her like dawn breaking through the longest night. She had no father, no vile blood binding her. She was not the seed of cruelty, but the seed of love. She was the child of her mother... and of Shen Mingyue, who had given her soul, her essence, her everything to protect Yin.

The shame she had carried dissolved into nothingness. In its place, warmth bloomed—bright, vast, and healing.

A laugh, broken and wet, escaped her lips as tears finally spilled over. She pressed her palm against her eyes, unable to stop herself. "Mother..." she whispered, her voice trembling. "Mother... I... I..."

Shen Mingyue froze, her whole body quivering as though struck by lightning.

Mo Yuxin lowered her hands, her tears streaming freely down her cheeks. She looked straight into Shen Mingyue’s trembling eyes and choked out, "Yes... I will accept you. I will... I will call you mother. Because you are my mother. You and Mother Yin both. I... I finally have a family."

Her words shattered whatever fragile restraint Shen Mingyue still held.

A sob, raw and unrestrained, broke from the woman’s throat. She pulled Mo Yuxin into her arms, holding her so tightly, so desperately, as if to merge their very souls together. Her body trembled with every sob she released, her hand cradling the back of Mo Yuxin’s head as if she would never let her go again.

Mo Yuxin buried her face into her embrace, inhaling the faint, otherworldly fragrance that seemed to linger on Shen Mingyue’s robes. It was warmth unlike anything she had known—gentle, protective, unconditional.

For a long moment, the world faded.

There was no chamber, no night sky, no history of bloodshed or pain. There was only a mother and daughter, finally reunited.

To Mo Yuxin, it was a dream she had never dared to dream. To Shen Mingyue, it was a redemption she had long prayed for but never believed possible.

Even Su Yubing, who had sat quietly at the side, felt her own eyes sting. She pressed her hands together tightly, as though holding the fragile miracle unfolding before her. She didn’t intrude. This was a sacred moment—one she could only bear witness to.

At that moment, Mo Yuxin knew: she was no longer an orphan. She was no longer a child born of guilt. She was the daughter of two mothers, both of whom had given their all for her. And that truth filled her heart with a completeness she had never felt before.

She clung to Shen Mingyue tightly, whispering through her tears, "Mom..