Chapter 5 — The Abyssal King Returns

Half a month after the father and daughter settled down in Vân Khê Trấn, the night sky began to show unusual signs that only those who understand celestial phenomena can recognize. The full moon of the full moon night gradually turned into a strange dark color, unlike any normal lunar eclipse phenomenon ever recorded in human books.

Bách Uyên realized that right from the afternoon, when a cold wind suddenly blew through despite the warm autumn, bringing with it a gloomy aura that only those who had been exposed to the magic power of U Minh Giới could feel. Different from the previous two Black Moon Eclipses, when that air just briefly passed over the skin and then disappeared, this time it was thick and clung tightly to every muscle fiber like a clenched hand that refused to let go. His heart tightened. The Black Moon Eclipse was approaching, sooner than he had anticipated, and his intuition told him that tonight would not be as gentle as the previous two times.

"Dad, I feel a bit cold," Tiểu Yên spoke in the late afternoon, holding her arm, her face paler than usual.

Bách Uyên quickly placed his hand on his child's forehead, feeling a strange cold current creeping under her skin, a painfully familiar feeling that he had witnessed in previous contracts, though never this intense. I know this night won't be normal.

He took the child to his room early, covered her with a warm blanket, sat next to the bed and watched her every breath, filled with worry. But at midnight, when the moon outside gradually turned completely black as ink, a painful groan suddenly rang out from Tiểu Yên, startling him awake from his slumber.

"Daddy... it hurts... it hurts so much..." The little girl writhed on the bed, her hands clutching her chest, cold sweat drenched the pillow. On the girl's pale skin, faint black lines began to appear, weaving like a spider web from her chest to gradually spread throughout her body, a sign that U Minh Tuyệt Mệnh Khế was tightening her grip.

"Tiểu Yên! Tiểu Yên, it's dad, it's dad!" Bách Uyên hugged his child, his hands shaking, not knowing what to do. If he still kept the Heavenly Mandate Seal, he could have used his magic power to temporarily suppress the pain and restrain the contract even for just a moment. But now, he is just a helpless mortal who can only hold his child tightly, helplessly watching her struggle in pain.

"Is there anyone! Help, help!" His scream tore through the quiet night, containing the despair of a father who had devoted seven years of his life to protect his child but now stood on the brink of complete helplessness.

Thục Di, who was sleeping in the room across the yard, was startled awake by the sound of calling for help, immediately rushed out of bed, without having time to put on a coat, ran straight to the father and daughter's house. The scene before her eyes stunned her for a moment - Tiểu Yên was convulsing on the bed, strange black lines crawling all over her skin, while Bách Uyên hugged her child tightly, his face pale, so desperate that he almost collapsed.

"What's going on?" Thục Di rushed over and quickly checked Tiểu Yên's condition. She had seen many types of injuries, toxins, and diseases in her life as a warrior, but she had never seen anything like the black lines that were spreading across the child's skin, like some kind of black magic beyond common understanding.

"I... I don't know what to do." Bách Uyên revealed his extreme weakness in front of others for the first time since leaving U Minh Giới, his voice trembled, almost choking. "This is some kind of curse, it's been with her since birth. I... I'm powerless." Thục Di didn't have time to ask any more questions about what he just said and immediately called for her master. Chung Diệu Nga ran over right after, and with just a glance at Tiểu Yên's condition, she understood that this was not an illness that she could cure with conventional medicine. She quickly took out a few rare elixirs that she had kept for many years, ground them, mixed them with warm water, and carefully poured them little by little into the twitching child's mouth.

"This medicine can only help her endure and alleviate some of the pain, but cannot completely cure what is tormenting her." The old woman said, her voice heavy. "Brother Nie, what exactly is she carrying in her body?"

Bách Uyên bowed his head, his hand tightened around his daughter's hand, whose convulsions were gradually reduced thanks to the effect of the elixir. "It's a dark contract, embedded in her soul from the night she was born, caused by my enemy in a far away place. Every time a Black Moon Eclipse appears, like tonight, the contract tightens a bit more, draining her vitality."

"Black Moon Food?" Thục Di raised her head to look out the window, where the strange dark moon was still hanging in the sky, a phenomenon she had never seen in her twenty-two years living in the human world. "So... what should we do to save her, long term, not just temporary?"

"I do not know," Bách Uyên replied, his voice full of despair, revealing for the first time the full helplessness that had weighed heavily on him for the past seven years in front of people he had only recently known. "I've searched all over the world and met countless Taoists and medicine men, but no one has been able to show me a way to completely cure it. I only know that every time a Black Moon Eclipse passes by, she gets a little weaker, and until the last full Black Moon Eclipse..."

He didn't finish his sentence, but both Thục Di and Chung Diệu Nga understood the meaning behind that silence.

That night, all three of them stayed awake next to Tiểu Yên's bed, taking turns applying warm compresses, spoonfuls of medicine, and using every possible measure to help her overcome the critical situation. Towards morning, when the black moon gradually disappeared behind the horizon, the black lines on Tiểu Yên's skin gradually faded and disappeared, the convulsions subsided, she fell into a deep sleep, her breathing became more regular.

Bách Uyên put his head next to his child's bed, the tears he had held back for so many years finally rolled down his face, haggard from worry and insomnia. He is no longer the supremely powerful ruler of a world, but just a helpless father who just witnessed his daughter almost leaving him forever.

Thục Di put her hand on his shoulder, didn't say anything, just stayed quietly beside him like a strong fulcrum in the middle of the storm. In that moment, she knew that, even though she did not fully understand the story behind it, she decided not to stand by and watch this father and daughter struggle alone.

"You're not alone in this anymore," she spoke softly, her voice determined. "I will help you find a way to save her, at all costs."

Bách Uyên looked up at her, his eyes filled with surprise and deep gratitude. During seven long years, this was the first time someone, besides himself, was willing to shoulder part of the burden that had fallen on his shoulders since that fateful night at Huyền Khương Hall.

"Thank you," he said, his voice choked. "I... I don't know how to repay you enough."

"There's no need to give anything in return." Thục Di shook her head and looked towards Tiểu Yên who was sleeping peacefully. "As long as she can live healthy, that is the biggest reward."

The next morning, when Tiểu Yên woke up, ate a small bowl of porridge and slept peacefully again, Chung Diệu Nga called Bách Uyên to the backyard to talk privately, her expression serious and different from usual.

"Brother Nie, I have lived for more than sixty years in this world, and have never seen any evil magic like the one that tortured her last night." The old woman spoke frankly. "I'm not curious about your true identity, but if you want to save her, you need to tell me more about the person who harmed her, and about the so-called Black Moon Eclipse."

Bách Uyên pondered for a long time, and finally decided to tell part of the truth, even though he still hid his identity as Venerable Lord. "My daughter was placed in a dark contract by an enemy of the family from the moment she was born, aiming to end my family's bloodline. That person has very profound magic power, belonging to a power that the elders here can hardly imagine. I gave up everything I had, status, power, to take her away, hoping to slow down that contract, but I still haven't found a way to completely resolve it."

"So you doubt this place can help?" Chung Diệu Nga asked, her eyes sharp.

"I heard rumors that Vân Khê Trấn has talented traditional physicians who have cured many strange diseases," Bách Uyên replied. "That's why I brought my child here, even though I didn't dare put too much hope in." Chung Diệu Nga was silent for a moment, then nodded decisively. "I heard that, deep in the mountains east of the town, there is a hermit who used to be a royal physician in the past, skilled in both medical and mystical magic, and has been in hiding for decades, not caring about the world. If anyone in this area knows about such dark magic, it can only be him."

That news was like a ray of light flashing through the darkness in Bách Uyên's heart. He clenched his fists, his eyes flashing with real hope for the first time in many days. "Senior, please show me the way. I will immediately set out to find that hermit."

"The road up the mountain is dangerous, and you have to go through a forest with many wild animals. I'm afraid it will be difficult for you to go alone." Chung Diệu Nga shook her head. "Let Thục Di guide you, she knows the terrain of this area better than anyone else."

That afternoon, when Tiểu Yên was assigned to the care of an elderly disciple in the martial arts hall, Thục Di came to the small house of father and daughter, carrying a luggage bag already prepared with dry food and drinking water.

"Are you ready yet? It takes all day to get up the mountain, so we have to leave now to make it before dark," she said, her voice as decisive as always.

"Do you really want to come with me?" Bách Uyên asked, still a little guilty for dragging her into something that had nothing to do with him.

"I told you, you're not alone in this anymore," Thục Di replied, her eyes were determined and unshakable. "Let's go, what are you waiting for?"

Outside, the sky gradually brightened, the strange black moon completely disappeared, giving way to the first rays of a new day. But in Bách Uyên's heart, he knew clearly that this was just the first alarm bell. Time is running out, and he needs to find answers before another, more intense Black Moon Eclipse hits.