Mother, Your Son Has Returned

Jiang Hui looked at Li Guanqi, then down at the jade bottle in her hands. Suddenly looking out the doorway, she whispered, "Could... could this be an elixir of immortality?" Li Guanqi smiled wryly. He couldn't possibly give her a real immortal pill... It wasn't that he was stingy, but that an ordinary elderly mortal's body simply couldn't withstand the medicinal power. Yet in the eyes of an old mortal woman, weren't the medicinal pills of immortal cultivators the very definition of immortal elixirs? Li Guanqi told her to put it away and said softly, "It's nothing particularly precious, but it will improve your health and let you live a little longer." A smile lit up the old woman's face. Thrusting the pill bottle back into his hands, she reached out to caress his cheek. "Someone like me... has no use for such a precious thing." "I've heard those who walk the path of cultivation are terribly poor, and medicinal pills are extraordinarily rare." "Keep it for yourself, all right? Did you hear me?" She let out a sudden sigh and glanced outside. Beyond the doorway, the sunlight was bright, yet inside the room it was damp and dim—like two entirely different worlds. "Here in Beiliang City, nearly everyone has left. It's lifeless and gloomy." "It's good that you didn't come back. You made the right choice." Looking at Li Guanqi's attire, the old woman hesitated before asking, "After all these years... is this your first time back?" Li Guanqi nodded, his throat tightening slightly as he pursed his lips. "It's right to visit. After all these years, now that you've made something of yourself, coming back to look around... you should look around more..." Li Guanqi didn't explain the many worries that had kept him away, but his heart was filled with guilt. "Yes. I came back this time just to see the place, and to speak with my mother." The old woman smiled warmly and kindly. Li Guanqi could even sense that some of the suppressed gloom in her heart had dispersed. It seemed she had never known whether he was dead or alive all those years, and the uncertainty had weighed on her like a knot in her chest. "Just hearing you call me Sister Hui makes me happy." "Heh, it's been over twenty years since anyone called me that." "Nowadays, everyone just calls me Old Lady Jiang. Haha." Li Guanqi took her hand and said softly, "Sister Hui, leave Beiliang City with me." Hearing this, the old woman waved her hand dismissively and said in a low voice, "Leave? At my age, where would I go?" "Who knows which day will be my last." Li Guanqi felt a jolt in his heart. He suddenly realized that ordinary, common folk accepted life and death far more calmly in their old age. By contrast, cultivators who walked the path of the Dao clung to life with extraordinary obsession. Perhaps that was the nature of desire. When there was no hope or possibility, people accepted fate with peace. Yet once cultivators had the power to resist and the means to defy the heavens, they struggled desperately just to avoid death. Some chose evil cultivation methods to prolong their lives, while others trained relentlessly in vain attempts to conquer the heavens. Li Guanqi took a deep breath. "Sister Hui, I hold a position in a small sect. Why don't you come and make steamed buns for them...?" The old woman rolled her eyes and said impatiently, "I'm already this old. Why fuss with me?" "I'm not going." Li Guanqi said helplessly, "Think about it... If you go, you'll see lively young people every day, and they'll call you Sister Hui all the time." "Besides... I have ways to restore your youth and change your appearance." At first, she hadn't taken his words seriously, but when she heard that Li Guanqi could change her appearance and make her younger... Seeing the flicker of interest on her face, the corners of Li Guanqi's mouth curved upward. When he had cleansed her body earlier, he had discovered that Jiang Hui actually possessed the aptitude for cultivation. Although it was merely an impure three-attribute spiritual root, reaching the Core Formation realm wouldn't be an issue. Besides, with him around, what did even the Nascent Soul realm matter? "Can I really become young again?" As she spoke, she looked down at her wrinkled skin and stiff hands, visibly tempted. Li Guanqi chuckled softly. "If you trust me, Sister Hui, close up shop tomorrow and head out of the city." "Once outside, find an empty spot and swallow the pill." "Someone will come in person to receive you." After a moment's hesitation, the old woman gave a small nod. Having given his instructions, Li Guanqi quietly placed a teleportation talisman on her. Then he rose and said, "I'll take my leave now. We'll meet again at the sect." Jiang Hui stood up and nodded, walking him to the door and lifting her sleeve to wipe away a tear. After Li Guanqi left, she returned inside and sat in her chair, hesitating for a long time. She pulled the jade bottle from her robes, looked at it, and then gritted her teeth before starting to pack her belongings! Li Guanqi smiled. Before long, he passed another place. Zhao Manor. Now, Zhao Manor was abandoned and desolate; even the stone lions by the entrance had been hauled away. Weeds choked the ruined estate. Everything inside had been stripped bare, and even the blue paving bricks on the ground had been pried loose. Looking at the ruined estate, waves of intense emotion surged through Li Guanqi's chest. Suppressing the turmoil within, he glanced at the corner of the stone pedestal where a stone lion had once stood. For a fleeting moment, the sky seemed overcast with dark clouds, heavy snow swirling all around. A frail boy in thin clothing crouched there, shivering as he sheltered from the biting wind. Memories flooded his mind one after another. Li Guanqi closed his eyes, his breath catching in his throat. When he opened his eyes and looked back, the sunlight was bright and warm. With a wide sweep of his sleeve, Li Guanqi turned and called out with vigor: "The light boat has sailed past... ten thousand mountains!!!" "Hahahahahaha!!" "Wind and snow raged in my heart for thirty years." "Now no resentment lingers in my chest." "Past and present are worlds apart, and I am free." "Even swallowing bitter coptis tastes sweet..." His murmured words seemed meant for who he was today, as well as for that shivering boy crouching in the corner long ago. Following the direction etched in his memory, Li Guanqi made his way toward his former home. Along the way, he noticed a shop with tightly shut doors. After hesitating for a long while, he ultimately walked away. Li Guanqi sent a transmission to the Great Xia Sword Sect, and soon Tianlei Peak disciples were dispatched to wait outside Beiliang City. Before long, he arrived at the northern outskirts. The area had long since become desolate and uninhabited. In the distance, that humble little courtyard gradually grew clearer. Li Guanqi stood in place, hesitating for a long while before finally moving his feet toward the yard. Outside the courtyard gate, he looked at the fence that only reached his chest and murmured, "So this fence was only this high..." The gate had long since decayed and fallen to the ground. Li Guanqi carefully set it back upright. He walked toward the house. Standing before the doorway, tears welled in his eyes. He leaned his forehead against the door frame... At that moment, it seemed as though a gentle voice was calling out from within the room. With a trembling voice, Li Guanqi whispered, "Mother... your son has returned." *Creak...* He pushed open the door, and the smell of mildew and dust washed over him. A large hole was broken through the roof, leaving the room damp and dark—just like his life had been back then. The thin quilt still lay upon the earthen kang, and the rust-covered kitchen knife remained on the floor. Beside it were a few shattered pieces of pottery... Standing in the empty room, Li Guanqi could no longer hold back the surging sorrow and longing, and burst into loud weeping. A mighty Tribulation Transcendence realm cultivator capable of turning the world upside down outside wept bitterly and uncontrollably inside this unassuming, dilapidated hut.