“Gugu… Xiuxiu…”
Gugu crept up to Little Carp’s ear and suddenly blew two sharp whistles, startling the little fish.
Then Gugu giggled.
“Has Gugu become more cheerful?”
Seeing Gugu’s radiant smile, Yu Huilan seemed puzzled.
The smile was the same, yet she felt Gugu’s smile was different now. She couldn’t quite pinpoint why.
“She’s much more cheerful. It wasn't just her body that was injured, but her heart too. Her physical wounds have healed, but the wounds in her heart haven’t yet,” Su Jinxiu said, looking up as she helped Yu Huilan pick vegetables.
“Is that so…” Yu Huilan fell silent.
Although she hadn’t seen Gugu’s past, just by listening to Su Jinxiu and the others, she knew how much Gugu had suffered. She felt heartbroken. As she grew older, she especially couldn’t bear to hear such things.
After a long pause, she gritted her teeth and said, “Those people deserve to be cut into a thousand pieces.”
“Mhm.” Su Jinxiu lowered her head and acknowledged.
But Yu Huilan knew this was impossible. She then curiously asked Su Jinxiu, “Will they face retribution?”
Su Jinxiu hesitated for a moment before nodding.
However, Yu Huilan didn’t feel happy. She was no longer a child, and Su Jinxiu’s slight hesitation had allowed her to guess the real situation.
In this world, there was no such thing as retribution, merely the self-comfort of the weak.
Heaven’s way was neither merciful nor unfair; to the universe, good and bad were merely two sides of the same coin, treated impartially.
Thus, there was no retribution.
“Alas.” Yu Huilan sighed and fell silent.
Just then, Gugu ran over gleefully, circled the two of them, chirped twice, and went off to play with Little Carp again.
Once the little one accepted them, she became particularly clingy, coming over to nuzzle them frequently. While finding it amusing, both felt a slight pang of sadness.
Meanwhile, Liu Nanfeng and Liu Zonghe were chopping firewood near the woods.
Without electricity, cooking relied entirely on burning firewood, though the food cooked this way tasted better.
Yu Huilan was accustomed to rural life and was quite comfortable cooking with firewood.
In reality, there was no need for such trouble. Here, Liu Nanfeng was practically indistinguishable from a deity; with a mere thought, he could pile up mountains of firewood.
However, Liu Zonghe felt restless if he didn’t do anything, so Liu Nanfeng simply accompanied him.
“This is truly a good place, isn’t it?”
Liu Zonghe stopped chopping, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and took a deep breath, feeling invigorated.
“It is a good place, but you and Mother shouldn’t stay too long.”
“Eh, why?”
“Because one year here is equivalent to ten years outside. You will age very quickly.”
Liu Zonghe fell silent. After a while, he asked, “What about that… cultivation you mentioned? Can it help?”
Liu Nanfeng shook his head. “Cultivation only makes one stronger and healthier, but it doesn’t extend lifespan.”
“Is that so? I thought cultivators, if not immortal, could live for thousands of years.”
“If that were the case, cultivators would be everywhere now. Did you encounter any in the past?”
Liu Zonghe shook his head.
“Precisely. It’s because they all perished. Coupled with the current spiritual energy depletion, cultivation is even more difficult.”
“I see. Then this cultivation is time-consuming and effort-intensive, seemingly useless,” Liu Zonghe said dismissively.
In truth, he was more expectant than anyone. Everyone said men had a wuxia dream, let alone immortal cultivation.
Though he was old, he was still filled with anticipation.
However, their aptitude wasn’t very good. Su Jinxiu had previously taught them a method of qi absorption, but the effect seemed minimal.
Liu Zonghe picked up his axe, preparing to continue.
Suddenly, Liu Nanfeng said, “Dad, don’t slack off on the qi absorption method Jinxiu taught you just because you don’t feel anything. You must practice diligently and at least become proficient.”
Liu Zonghe put down his axe, looking at him with a hint of confusion.
“Because this world is about to change,” Liu Nanfeng said solemnly.
Ever since the old Dragon King had retrieved the Dragon Gate from him, he had a feeling that the day the Heavenly Gate would open was not far off.
The Heavenly Gate was not just a passage from the mortal realm to the celestial palace, but also from the celestial palace to the mortal realm.
Feng Zhirun must have encountered something in the celestial palace back then, otherwise, she wouldn’t have retreated to the mortal realm, let alone destroyed the Heavenly Gate.
From Ren Yang’s memories, combined with the traces left by Feng Zhirun, it could be inferred that the spiritual energy tide had reached the celestial palace, and even desolate beasts had invaded it.
If the Heavenly Gate remained closed, the spiritual energy tide would take “some time” to reach Earth.
But if the Heavenly Gate were wide open, due to the siphon effect, spiritual energy would surge back into the mortal realm, and desolate beasts would surely follow.
With humanity’s current technology, he didn’t believe they could withstand the invasion of desolate beasts.
Even if they could resist, it would likely result in massive casualties.
“Change? Change what? War?” Liu Zonghe asked curiously.
Before Liu Nanfeng could answer, Little Carp and Gugu, hand in hand, trotted over.
“Big brother, do you want to play with us?”
“No.”
“Then we’ll play with you.”
Liu Nanfeng:…
“Still no.”
“Hmph, why are you so willful? This isn’t good,” Little Carp let go of Gugu’s hand, put her hands on her hips, and said indignantly.
“Gugu.”
Gugu immediately imitated her, putting her hands on her hips, like two little gossips.
“Mind your own business.”
Liu Nanfeng put on an air of being deliberately willful, challenging them to do something about it.
Little Carp, like an angry little calf, panted heavily, with Gugu mirroring her actions.
“Haha…”
Seeing the adorable appearance of the two little ones, Liu Zonghe burst into laughter.
Little Carp’s big eyes darted around. “I’ll help you with your work?”
“No,” Liu Nanfeng refused without hesitation.
Hearing this, Little Carp put her hands in front of her mouth, suppressing a laugh, and pretended to say dismissively, “I wasn’t talking to you. I was talking to Grandpa. Grandpa, can I help you with your work?”
“Yes, yes.”
Looking at the two children, Liu Zonghe’s face beamed with joy.
Liu Nanfeng:…
“Grandpa, I’ll help you chop firewood.”
Seeing the axe Liu Zonghe had placed nearby, Little Carp reached out to grab it.
“Oh dear, that won’t do. It’s dangerous, and you can’t even lift it… uh…”
Little Carp effortlessly picked up the axe and swung it down on a thick piece of wood nearby, splitting it into two halves. The residual force of the swing sent it into the ground, creating a long groove.
Liu Zonghe:…
Seeing Liu Zonghe’s shocked expression, it was Liu Nanfeng’s turn to burst into laughter.
Within the painted scroll world, all was peaceful, filled with laughter and joy, while outside, chaos had erupted.
ps: One more chapter
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