Qi Rong cannot offer Gu Zi a single thing in life. He is a revolting ghost that no one likes and he has close to no followers. Gu Zi is painfully human and a little kid. He’s already had a dad fail him and now he has this absolute trainwreck watching him.

He can’t bring himself back completely because he doesn’t see a reason to come back. Of course he wants to raise his son and be there for him. Who wouldn’t want to? But he also knows that he’s not a perfect father. He knows that Lang Qianqiu could probably take care of Gu Zi better than he ever could.

And it really sinks in just then. This ancestors son is going to be protected and raised by heavenly officials and they’re going to give him a life that he could never even dream of giving him.

- Qi Rong muttering Xie Lian’s name while the fire was coming closer to them. Not because he was pissed at him for getting them in that situation but because he had Gu Zi in his arms and he was silently swearing to be somewhat better if Xie Lian would spare them. And it slowly turned into him at least praying that Gu Zi was spared.

- I like to think that Qi Rong can come back at any given point but he’s too scared to fuck up Gu Zi’s life even more. The kids training to be a martial god. He doesn’t need his trainwreck if a cheap dad to come back and ruin that. Though, I don’t think he knows that he has to want to come back. He probably thinks that it’ll just happen but the fact that he has to genuinely put effort on his side just hasn’t occurred to him yet.

- Gu Zi trying extra hard with Lang Qianqiu because he plans to help his cheap dad get better. He wants to be able to take care of him.

- Gu Zi putting little gold star stickers on Qi Rong every time he doesn’t escalate a fight. It goes hand in hand with the swear jar that Gu Zi shakes in Qi Rong’s face anytime he so much as starts to enunciate the beginning of a swear.