Chapter Eight Countdown Eight
“Hmm? Who are you, old man?” After many years, seeing Zhang Hainan again, Qing Ji voiced his confusion, then turned to Luxianbei with a complaint, “It’s the middle of the night, can’t you just not bring guests home? You even woke Wang Ying up. She has to go to kindergarten tomorrow morning!”
Zhang Hainan, “…”
“Especially that one…” He said, his gaze gradually darkening, his eyes drifting toward the two pomegranate trees behind him, “I say, that friend of ours, have you had enough fun? Come down quickly. If you keep this up, I’ll personally come to invite you, and it’ll be bad for everyone’s face!”
Nanling Yaohua sat at the treetop, focused on staring at Wang Ying, her hands tightly gripping the flower leaves, the entire pomegranate tree swaying slightly with the rapid rise and fall of her chest, making rustling sounds.
After hearing Qing Ji’s words, Nanling Yaohua finally withdrew her gaze from the shivering Wang Ying and looked at Qing Ji, tilting her head slightly, a hint of sulkiness in her expression.
Though it was a memory from Dream City, that pomegranate flower was a token from Luxianbei’s confession to her…
Now she wasn’t even allowed to touch it. What kind of reasoning is that?
Seeing this, Luxianbei’s heart skipped a beat. She knew that the two pomegranate trees were among the most cherished possessions of Yan Zhi’s great-grandmother, a treasure in the eyes of their ancestor.
Anyone else besides Wang Ying, including herself, would face a harsh beating if they dared to sit at the treetop like Nanling Yaohua and “pluck leaves and fly flowers.”
Just as Qing Ji was about to lose his temper, Luxianbei’s eyes darted around, and in a few quick steps, she moved closer to Qing Ji and whispered, “Ancestor, that’s your great-granddaughter-in-law, calm down, calm down, just bear with it and it’ll pass.”
“Really?” Qing Ji’s displeasure faded at once, his eyes sparkling with delight, “She is Wang Ying’s mother? Great, great! We’re finally a family reunion!”
He did not question Luxianbei.
Although he couldn’t see Nanling Yaohua, he had his ways of determining that a woman was sitting at the treetop.
Being able to distinguish between yin and yang was also a small ability attached to the special spirit pattern of [Taiji Hunyuan].
However, this remark left Nanling Yaohua feeling confused.
A family reunion sounded nice!
But… Wang Ying’s mother? When was I notified about this? Did anyone inform me when she was born?
Realizing that Qing Ji misunderstood her meaning, Luxianbei hurriedly explained, “She isn’t Wang Ying’s mother, uh, she’s just one of your great-granddaughters-in-law…”
“Well, one of?” Qing Ji’s lips twitched slightly.
Although he already knew there was more than one great-granddaughter-in-law, mistaking Nanling Yaohua for Wang Ying’s mother still made him feel a bit awkward.
To dispel the awkwardness, he naturally chose to change the topic.
“Old man! I’m talking about you, old man!” Qing Ji switched gears, pointing at Zhang Hainan and shouting, “Who exactly are you? We’re having a family reunion here, what are you doing standing there?”
“Uh, Senior Brother, I am Zhang Hainan…”
“I don’t care if you’re Zhang… wait?” Qing Ji suddenly furrowed his brow, stepping closer to Zhang Hainan and examining him carefully, tugging at his beard and grinning, “Hahaha, how come you look like this? Hahaha, you’re so ugly I almost didn’t recognize you!”
“Don’t mention it, after you aged, you actually bear a resemblance to that Elder of the Sect from before. I had guessed you might be related to him!”
“Come on, let’s go inside; we need to catch up! I’ll have Yingzi cook a few dishes, and we can have a couple of drinks.”
As Qing Ji spoke, Zhang Hainan, like Wang Ying, had been staring at the special vine he concocted, trembling, until he heard they would go inside to chat, and only then did he secretly let out a sigh of relief.
It’s safe to say that a person’s childhood shadow is nearly impossible to heal, and may even deepen due to twisted memories, turning into an adult or elderly shadow as one ages.
“Shasa, shasa!”
Just as Qing Ji was pulling Zhang Hainan in to go inside, a light sound of a pen scratching paper came, followed by a small notebook with written words appearing before Luxianbei’s eyes.
【Who is Yingzi?】
“【Xuan Ying Luo Fu】, a self-aware spirit energy item of mine, usually stays here to help the ancestor manage this small diner… By the way, I didn’t get a chance to introduce you earlier, the one just now was my grandfather’s grandfather.”
After hearing Luxianbei’s explanation, Nanling Yaohua nodded. She opened her mouth as if she wanted to ask something just then, but not far away, Qing Ji’s voice came.
“Well, you little brat, you take your wife to walk around nearby and get familiar with the surroundings. I’ll have a drink with this guy…”
“And Wang Ying, hurry up and go to sleep. You have to go to school tomorrow!”
Wife, wife? Nanling Yaohua froze for a moment.
Then, receiving the recognition from such a ‘grandparent’s grandparent’ made her cheeks flush bright red, almost as if they were on fire, her head drooping, nearly burying into her chest.
Watching Qing Ji and Zhang Hainan leave, Luxianbei suddenly remembered something important and called out to their backs.
“Senior Black Emperor, don’t forget the purpose of our trip! Don’t forget to explain to the ancestor later; we might still need his help!”
Hearing this, Zhang Hainan’s body stiffened, and his expression gradually changed.
What was he supposed to say? Tell Senior Brother Qing Ji that he’s going to beat up his great-grandson? How could he continue his life like that? Zhang Hainan thought.
Noticing Zhang Hainan’s abnormal expression, Qing Ji quietly asked, “Are you hiding something from me regarding that kid?”
“Senior Brother…”
“It seems there really is!” Qing Ji said, “Just tell me, what exactly is going on?”
“But…” Zhang Hainan hesitated, repeatedly on the verge of speaking before finally trying, “Senior Brother, I told you, you can’t hit me!”
“What are you saying?” Qing Ji rolled his eyes, “Except for when you slacked off in your training, when have I ever really hit you?”
Zhang Hainan was momentarily speechless; he thought it over carefully, aside from being lazy in his training, Qing Ji indeed hadn’t hit him, but… using things like colorful scorpions, Southern Border poison, or even the indescribable Tian Shan colorful Epimedium was worse than a good beating!
In fact, before he attained Cataclysm Grade, he had nearly developed an immunity to toxins, and Qing Ji deserved at least half of the credit…
Now, whether to say it or not, what difference would it make?
“Ah…” Zhang Hainan sighed lightly, following along as they continued walking, detailing the entire situation to Qing Ji, then explaining, “Senior Brother, that’s basically how it went, so we are planning to arrange a fake d*ath for Luxianbei…”
“From what you’re saying, you intend to give that kid a good beating?” Qing Ji shot a sidelong glance at Zhang Hainan.
“Uh, just acting. Although I might go a bit hard, it’s for the sake of authenticity…”
“No need to say anymore!” Qing Ji waved his hand to interrupt.
“Senior Brother! Actually, I—”
“Can you take me along? I’ve long wanted to give that kid a proper thrashing!” Qing Ji said.
With Luxianbei’s strength continuously increasing, it had become quite difficult for him to freely punish her like before.
Zhang Hainan, “???”
What the heck? Senior Brother Qing Ji also can’t stand that kid?
But…
Thinking carefully, it had been a long time since he’d fought alongside Senior Brother Qing Ji; just thinking about it gave him a bit of excitement!
Zhang Hainan secretly thought, a faint smile appearing on his lips.
————
【”Calamity’s d*ath” Countdown, 104H12M48S】
In the dead of night, on the deserted Mudan Street.
Luxianbei was walking back to the Lu Family Manor, with Nanling Yaohua floating on her shoulder.
She had lived in the God Realm Prototype for quite a while, so she was very familiar with her surroundings. She had visited places like Huacheng Third Middle School, Huacheng University’s Cherry Blossom Avenue, and staff dormitories where she had left memories, losing interest in other places.
Moreover, she wasn’t sure if it was an illusion, but those places that had constantly occupied her thoughts after leaving the God Realm Prototype, which would occasionally appear in her mind, felt different this time during her return.
It was as if she had expected a huge splash, but instead, it was just a small stone dropping into the water, creating only shallow ripples, and then nothing more.
Perhaps being right next to the real Luxianbei made her realize that the experiences in Dream City had faded away?
“Shasa, shasa!”
Recovering her thoughts, Nanling Yaohua wrote a line on her notebook and handed it to Luxianbei.
【I’m sorry.】
“Uh?” Luxianbei was taken aback, extending her unique ability to look at the slightly bowed Nanling Yaohua, tilting her head, “What’s wrong? Why the sudden apology?”
“Shasa, shasa.”
【I saw you interacting with those girls before and felt a bit unhappy, acting out and causing you trouble, right?】
Honestly, she did feel guilty for causing some trouble for Luxianbei.
Especially since Luxianbei had explained to her that Wang Ying was the Inheritance Beast that had previously destroyed Dream City.
“Not at all!” Luxianbei shook her head, “Why would I feel troubled? On the contrary… I think she’s quite cute!”
Not knowing how to compliment a girl, saying she’s cute was one of Bai Kai’s secret techniques taught to her.
“Shasa, shasa.”
【Don’t worry, even if I’m unhappy in the future, I’ll hold back and won’t delay you from doing serious business!】 Nanling Yaohua wrote down these words.
Not delaying serious business but delaying personal matters, right? Luxianbei thought to herself, expressionless, “Since you say that, I want to meet two people, okay?”
Nanling Yaohua nodded.
“Alright, then make sure to hold onto my shoulders! We’re getting ready to set off!” Luxianbei said.
The first person she wanted to see was the Imposter Calamity she caught on the wasteland in front of Yumen Pass. It was because of this Imposter Calamity that she had glimpsed the past of the double ponytail girl who was the Proxy Player Sister…
Though the Proxy Player Sister had already explained the matters regarding the double ponytail girl, she still felt it was necessary to interrogate the Imposter Calamity thoroughly to learn the relationship between her and the double ponytail girl.
Earlier, when she didn’t see Ji Yunpei and the Imposter Calamity at the manor, it was likely because Ji Yunpei had taken that guy to the circular mountain range where the members of the Solar Eclipse Society were imprisoned.
By the way, there were some things she wanted to convey to Ji Yunpei as well!
They were both in the circular mountain range, which made it convenient… Luxianbei thought.
The second person she wanted to see was Ji Yunpei.
After hearing Luxianbei’s words, Nanling Yaohua froze for a moment, instinctively tightening her grip on Luxianbei’s shoulder. Then, as if feeling that wasn’t enough, she slightly leaned forward, pressing against her back and wrapping her arms tightly around her waist.
In the next moment, Luxianbei shot off at high speed toward the direction of the circular mountain range.
(It feels like the plot is pushing a bit slowly in these two chapters; I need to accelerate a bit tomorrow, crying crying crying.)
