Why is he back

The old fisherman, holding Xiao Xue and Xiao Fang’s hands, stood behind Qin Hao like a stone statue struck by heavenly thunder, his mouth hanging open wide enough to fit an egg. He rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn’t seeing things due to old age—

The man in the silver-white robe, followed by a retinue of high-ranking Golden Immortal attendants, was the newly appointed ruler of the Immortal Court. At this very moment, he was bowing at the waist, almost reverently, toward Qin Hao.

“Your Highness the Imperial Prince, I, Qin Buyu, newly appointed ruler of the Immortal Court, have come specially to pay my respects.”

Qin Hao waved his hand lightly. “I see. Rise, then.”

“You didn’t have to make a special trip to visit me. Instead of spending time on me, you’d do better to manage the Immortal Court well. There’s still plenty of work waiting for you.”

Qin Buyu straightened up and clasped his hands in Qin Hao’s direction.

“You are right, Lord Imperial Son. Then I will return to the Immortal Court to handle affairs. If there is anything at all, Lord Imperial Son, you may contact me.”

Qin Hao nodded. “Mm. Do a good job, and don’t end up like your predecessor, shirking all responsibilities.”

Qin Buyu’s expression tightened slightly. With solemn sincerity, he replied, “I swear I will never be negligent! Then I shall not disturb Lord Imperial Son any longer. I take my leave.”

He bowed a few steps back, then turned and led his retinue of Golden Immortal attendants back along the street.

Behind Qin Hao, the old fisherman and the two girls stood frozen in place, staring at him with eyes full of sheer disbelief.

Good heavens—what had they just witnessed? The ruler of the Immortal Court, bowing to Young Master with such deference.

Imperial Prince? He had called him Lord Imperial Son.

The ruler was a member of the legendary Qin family… which meant that this young man, who had been living among them for some time, was none other than the legendary Divine Son of the Qin clan?

The moment this realization hit, as Qin Hao walked toward them, all three instinctively stepped back half a pace, hesitant to draw close. It wasn’t that they feared Qin Hao might harm them—it was the chasm in status that inspired awe and left them instinctively distancing themselves.

Seeing this, Qin Hao frowned.

“Are you all all right?”

The old fisherman waved his hands frantically. “Fine, fine, fine. No need to trouble yourself, Lord Imperial Son.”

Xiao Xue and Xiao Fang also kept their heads bowed, not daring to meet his eyes again.

At that, Qin Hao could only sigh deeply.

“Don’t be like this. There’s no need. We’re still friends, aren’t we?”

“Yes, yes, yes!” the old fisherman agreed with a nod, yet the reverence in his eyes and the subconscious aloofness hadn’t diminished one bit.

It was only natural—what madness was this? Back then, they could treat him like an ordinary person because they hadn’t known his true identity. Now that they did, how could they possibly keep a level head and interact with him as before?

Qin Hao shook his head helplessly.

“You can continue to live in this city. If you ever run into trouble, you can also seek help from the Immortal Court.”

Having given these instructions to the old fisherman, Qin Hao returned to his own room.

“Ah Long, Ah Hu, you two take Chen Xiaoyun back to the Qin clan. I’ll manage alone outside.”

Hearing this, Ah Long immediately stepped forward.

“That won’t do, Lord Imperial Son! One of us escorting Miss Chen home is enough. At least one of us should stay to protect you.”

Ah Hu chimed in, “Yes, Lord Imperial Son! If anything happened to you, even killing the two of us a thousand times over wouldn’t be enough to make amends.”

Seeing their worried faces, Qin Hao gave a faint smile.

"I have my reasons for sending you back. Once you return, focus on secluded cultivation and strive to break through to the Immortal King realm as soon as possible."

"As for my safety, you need not worry at all—I still have others protecting me."

Hearing this, Ah Long and Ah Hu exchanged skeptical looks:

"Lord Imperial Son! Have you found another man out there?"

"Lord Imperial Son! Please don't send us away! Tell us what we did wrong, and we'll fix it. If nothing else works, just send Ah Long away and let me stay by your side!"

Qin Hao's vision went dark. What the hell did they mean by "found another man"? Couldn't they phrase that better?

Qin Hao took a deep breath, restraining the urge to give Ah Long and Ah Hu each a good kick.

He glared at the two, then raised his hand and gently traced a line in the air.

A golden spatial ripple spread outward from the tip of his finger.

When the ripple expanded to about the height of a person, it suddenly stopped, and a figure stepped out from within it.

As this figure appeared before them, everyone felt as though time itself had frozen.

An indescribable pressure radiated outward.

Ah Long and Ah Hu tensed up as if facing a great enemy. Their joking expressions vanished entirely, replaced by an instinctive wariness.

"Lord Imperial Son! Who is this? He's dangerous! The feeling he gives me—it's just like the Patriarch!" Ah Long's voice even began to tremble.

Their Patriarch, Qin Wuya, was the supreme being of the age. The pressure this person exuded was in no way inferior to the Patriarch's. Who on earth was he?

Qin Hao smiled and patted the puppet on the shoulder, grinning widely.

"Don't worry. This is a puppet I crafted. As for its strength... I'd say it's about evenly matched with my father."

Upon hearing this, Ah Long and Ah Hu's eyes went wide.

"L-Lord Imperial Son, are you joking? A mere puppet has strength comparable to the Patriarch?"

"The Patriarch is the supreme being of the age! Across the entire Three Realms and Nine Heavens, aside from your wife, the most powerful is the Patriarch himself. And you're saying a mere puppet equals the Patriarch's strength?"

Qin Hao chuckled lightly. "Why would I lie to you? What, you don't believe me? Want to spar with this puppet?"

At that, Ah Long and Ah Hu quickly waved their hands. "No, no, no need to prove its power like that."

With that, they grabbed Chen Xiaoyun and made a run for it, completely ignoring Chen Xiaoyun's reluctant expression.

Watching the trio disappear into the distance, Qin Hao let out a soft laugh.

"Perfect timing. I want to see just how this puppet stacks up against the old man."

"The old man's side is still in the middle of a war. Since the system says this puppet is no weaker than my father, if I bring it over, maybe it can turn the tide."

With that thought, Qin Hao took out his jade pendant and teleported himself and the puppet to the Nether Hall.

Above the Nether Hall

The battle had been raging for a month. The entire sky was riddled with scars.

Broken spatial fractures hung like black lightning bolts frozen midair, tearing the once azure canopy of the Imperial Heaven Realm into a shattered mosaic.

Suddenly, a rift split the sky, and a young figure stepped out from within it.

The moment he saw Qin Hao, Qin Wuya froze for an instant.

This kid, didn't he run away? Why is he back now? What the hell is he up to? He better not mess things up.