Published: February 24, 2025
“Miss, you need not worry,” Shen Qingqiu seemed to remember something, and with a shocked expression, he said, “Miss, you may not know, but yesterday the sovereign personally came to the outer gate and inquired about the hometown of Old Servant Tan Yun.”
“The sovereign also mentioned that Tan Yun is a rare talent of the Huangfu Sacred Sect, and his family requires protection. He requested the address of Tan Yun's hometown because he wishes to send someone to guard Tan Yun's family.”
Six days later, at the outskirts of the Heavenly Punishment Mountain Range, in a small valley, there was a small village.
The village was surrounded by mountains, with a simple folk culture, and over a hundred dilapidated thatched huts stood scattered on the hillside.
This place held the childhood memories of Zhong Wu Shiyao. Although she was only five years old when Tang Xinying rescued her, she could still remember the way home.
Zhong Wu Shiyao walked along the bumpy country road, with Tan Yun and Mu Mengyi holding hands behind her.
Tan Yun could clearly see Zhong Wu Shiyao's back shaking. He knew she was silently crying, missing her deceased adoptive parents.
Zhong Wu Shiyao arrived in front of a tightly closed wooden door. She trembled as she pushed open the courtyard gate and looked at the overgrown weeds in the small yard; her heart ached painfully!
She walked unsteadily into the yard, surveying the familiar yet unfamiliar scene. She closed her eyes, and images from her childhood floated in her mind:
A chubby little girl wearing a red jacket stood in the yard, pitifully looking at a farming woman who was cooking.
“Mother, I'm hungry... When will we eat?”
“Yao Yao, be a good girl. We have to wait for your father to come back from hunting before we can eat.”
“Why do we have to wait for Daddy to come back to eat?”
“Because your father is very tired. To support our family, he has to wake up early and hunt in the mountains. So, Yao Yao, be good and wait for your father to come back, okay?”
“Wuwu... Alright, but what if I'm really hungry?”
“Yao Yao, if you don’t listen, your mother will be angry!”
“Okay, I will wait for Father to come back to eat. Mother, please don’t be angry. When I grow up, I will be good and honor you and Father.”
“Oh, my little treasure is so obedient. Come here for a hug...”
Recalling this, Zhong Wu Shiyao suddenly knelt on the ground, crying out loud, a heart-wrenching sound:
“Mother, your Yao Yao is back... Wuwu... I want to go back to the past... I want a hug from Mother...”
“I miss the meals you cooked... Wuwu...”
Zhong Wu Shiyao's tears blurred her vision as she looked around the yard, as if she could see her father returning from the hunt, hanging the catch on the wall.
“Daddy... I miss you... I really miss you all...”
“Daddy, Mother... I really miss you...”
“Do you know? I have grown up now, and I have become the immortal you often spoke of...”
“Wuwu...”
Zhong Wu Shiyao was heartbroken, and Tan Yun watched her kneeling on the ground, overwhelmed with grief. His starry eyes glimmered with tears, thinking of his parents and family who tragically died in the eternal cycle of reincarnation...
Mu Mengyi listened to Zhong Wu Shiyao's cries, already in tears herself.
She thought of her father who was killed by Tang Yongsheng, and the bloodshed thirteen years ago in the Mu Feng Sacred Dynasty!
Mu Mengyi was forced to leave her hometown and felt Zhong Wu Shiyao's pain deeply.
“Little sister...” Mu Mengyi wanted to step forward to support Zhong Wu Shiyao, but was pulled back by Tan Yun, who whispered, “She has been holding back for too long; crying will make her feel better.”
The cries continued until deep into the night. Perhaps Zhong Wu Shiyao cried herself out; she stopped crying.
Tan Yun gently helped her up, but she gazed at the tightly shut door with no courage to enter.
She was afraid, very afraid!
She was afraid to see the kang where she once lived with her parents and collapse!