Chapter 392 - Going Back
After a dazzling flash of white light, the two people who were originally still in the cave, along with the Void-Breaking Shuttle, disappeared without a trace. The only ones remaining were the battle slaves and the dumbstruck Yu Cheng. Everyone looked at each other in dismay.
Ao Min’s pupils suddenly constricted. In nearly an instant, he appeared in front of Yu Cheng, and hoisted the teenager up: “What’s going on?!”
Yu Cheng felt wronged. He also had no idea what happened! Like these battle slaves, he only watched Gu Zuo and Gongyi Tianheng studying the spirit weapon on that stone platform. After that, he similarly discovered that the two were nowhere to be found! Now that Ao Min was interrogating him like this, he was in no position to give any answers whatsoever.
Ao Min caused Yu Cheng’s deathly-pale complexion to look like he was thinking about something. The mastiff’s brows furrowed tightly: “Spit it out! Otherwise, don’t think about leaving here alive!”
Yu Cheng was intimidated by Ao Min’s imposing aura. Now that he was disparaged like this, he already reacted and hastily said: “This is my first time coming here, and I don’t know the reason behind all of this. I also didn’t recognize that thing. However, since it was similarly placed inside this cave with the inheritance, I can probably obtain some information about it after I accept the inheritance.”
Ao Min’s expression changed repeatedly.
Right now, he didn’t believe in Yu Cheng’s words at all. The young master and Pharmacist Gu had disappeared, and it was obviously caused by that weaver shuttle. He wasn’t sure that Yu Cheng was telling the truth, so he ought to have ordered someone among their group to receive the inheritance and acquire the information themselves.
But after calming down slightly, he had some conjectures.
Along the way, the Xiao Clan made many calculations. Just now, it wasn’t necessarily impossible for that shuttle to be part of those schemes. That being the case, if they accepted the inheritance and something went wrong…
Yu Cheng’s mood was tense. He came here for the inheritance, but such an accident befell them right at the very end. This was practically setting him up! He preferred to share this historical ruin with Prodigy Gongyi. His original plan was to evade the Yu Family and grow up without any troubles. But now that this mess happened, not only had he failed to smoothly resolve his problems, he actually might’ve become enemies with a prodigy — He truly felt that he was as unlucky as one could be.
It had to be said that he was an intelligent person. In the depths of his heart, Yu Cheng inevitably guessed that the matter of those two’s disappearance was orchestrated by the Xiao Clan ancestors.
Ao Min took a deep breath.
After communicating with the other battle slaves, he still didn’t dare to take any risks.
Hence, he carried Yu Cheng to the front of that prayer mat, and solemnly stated: “The inheritance will be received by you. But if you dare conceal anything in the slightest afterwards, we certainly won’t spare you!”
Yu Cheng promptly answered: “Naturally! You can rest a.s.sured!”
Nevertheless, Ao Min didn’t release his grip. One hand clutched around Yu Cheng’s wrist, and the other slowly placed the teenager on that prayer mat: “Receive it just like this.”
Although Yu Cheng felt that having his wrist grabbed was uncomfortable, he knew that this was the other side’s precaution. He composed himself, operated his inner cultivation method, and started to perceive the prayer mat.
In a split second, countless fragments of information entered Yu Cheng’s Tianfu Acupoint and battered against his consciousness. Numerous pieces of knowledge poured inside. This caused him to instantly understand innumerable secrets left behind by the Xiao Clan.
The acceptance of this inheritance lasted for no less than a full day and night.
During this time, Ao Min and the other battle slaves were incredibly anxious. They were extremely worried about the safety of their young master and Pharmacist Gu. However, they were also afraid of interrupting Yu Cheng’s inheritance, which might prevent him from completely receiving it and missing any relevant information.
In this way, they suffered for a long while. Finally, Yu Cheng opened his eyes.
Ao Min suddenly tightened his fingers: “Yu Cheng, how was it?”
Yu Cheng’s gripped wrist was starting to turn blue, but he quickly sorted out the things that the other party wanted to know. He spoke rapidly: “That item back then is called the Void-Breaking Shuttle. So long as there’s enough power inside, it can send the person who uses it across s.p.a.ce to enter different places.”
Ao Min’s emotions were running high: “What you mean is that this Void-Breaking Shuttle has sent the young master and Pharmacist Gu out of the historical ruin? Do you know where they went?”
Yu Cheng shook his head and forced a smile: “Speaking of which, this was also a scheme of my ancestors…”
Ao Min and the others couldn’t help looking over.
Their heartstrings tightened. It seemed that all of them had a bad premonition.
Yu Cheng’s following words proved this premonition true: “To prevent the inheritance from falling into the hands of others, my ancestors intentionally stored lots of energy in that Void-Breaking Shuttle. It can easily deliver someone to an extremely distant location, but where that place is depends on the strongest thoughts of the person touching it.”
Even if outsiders came here, so long as it was the the Xiao Clan descendant, the Void-Breaking Shuttle wouldn’t trigger. Meanwhile, if it was the opposite, the shuttle would send off the outsider the instant it was manipulated… This was also a small calculation. This was because, when all was said and done, this historical ruin belonged to the Xiao Clan. People who weren’t from the Xiao Clan might have doubts in their hearts after encountering the inheritance. More often than not, they would look at the other treasure before making any judgments. It was this psychological thought process that the Xiao Clan wanted to target.
One needed to know that anyone who could come here definitely brought along a member of the Xiao Clan. As such, once the other people were sent away, the remaining Xiao Clan descendant would be able to directly acquire the inheritance.
Of course, it was also due to the rarity of the present situation where many people were brought along. After all, unless the information was accidentally leaked, would the average person want to share with others? If Yu Cheng had been captured by selfish people who threatened him to acquire the inheritance, the ones sent away would be those selfish people.
Who could’ve imagined that this kind of spectacle would occur? The ones implicated were Gu Zuo and Tianheng.
After Yu Cheng learned everything from the inheritance, he felt ashamed of his ancestor’s plans. Yet, what gave him an even guiltier conscience was that he never voiced that, if the person who touched the Void-Breaking Shuttle didn’t have any extreme desires to go somewhere, that person would most likely be drawn into a s.p.a.cetime crack and be crushed to death by the s.p.a.cetime storms. This was because he knew that the battle slaves would take out their anger on him the moment he said this. There was even the possibility that they would directly kill him.
Now, Yu Cheng could only hope that Pharmacist Gu, who took the initiative to touch the Void-Breaking Shuttle, had some place in his heart that he really wanted to go to…
Ao Min wasn’t aware of Yu Cheng’s concealed notions. It was just that everyone had cold and solemn expressions on their faces, and worry in their eyes.
But presently, there was nothing they could do about it. With their capabilities, it was basically impossible to confirm where their young master and Pharmacist Gu went. All they could do now was return to Ten Ultimates Sect as soon as possible, and report these circ.u.mstances to the Blood Transformation Palace Master. They had to let their young master’s teacher know!
Afterwards, they would obey the commands of the palace master, who would make any subsequent decisions.
Ao Min restrained the unease in his heart, and spoke in a low voice: “We shall swiftly return!”
The other battle slaves had no objections.
Yu Cheng had obtained the inheritance. At this moment, he also didn’t dare to say anything. He would do whatever Ao Min said.
The group quickly left this cave, and the Jade Heart Pendant was removed from the phoenix notch.
Immediately following this, Yu Cheng utilized some things he learned from the inheritance, and transported everyone out of the historical ruin with the Jade Heart Pendant.
Shortly thereafter, they rushed back to Ten Ultimates City without stopping to rest!
City A.
It was just the beginning of winter, and snowflakes were lightly drifting down from the sky. Although it still hadn’t reached particularly cold temperatures, the wilted, yellow leaves of the trees that lined the sidewalks were dusted with a layer of silvery-white.
There were very few pedestrians on the roads, especially at this time of year when daybreak was late to arrive. Thus, although it was already 7:00 AM, the color of the sky was still a somewhat murky twilight. The moon was slow to depart, and the morning sun couldn’t be greeted.
Liang Jing was accustomed to braving the wind and snow on her morning jogs. For some reason, just as she pa.s.sed by a small alley, she turned her head to look inside. She glimpsed a shadow lying p.r.o.ne on the ground next to the wall.
— A shadow? Was it a stray cat or a feral dog avoiding the wind?
Her eyesight was exceptionally good, and she quickly got a clear view. That shadow definitely wasn’t a cat or dog like she thought. It was actually a human!
Liang Jing was startled. She immediately ran over, wanting to turn the person onto their back to get a better look. But before she could move her hand, that fellow had already turned over. The person’s face was pointing upward, and the eyelids were faintly quivering.
“Um…”
Liang Jing discovered that this person was quite young. Just by looking at their face, one could tell that this person hadn’t reached adulthood yet. This was a teenaged boy.
She felt a little sympathy, and hurriedly called out in a soft voice: “Are you awake? Why did you fall down here? Do you need me to help you up?”
That boy’s eyes finally opened. He looked at Liang Jing with a gaze filled with surprise: “Eh? Y-you are —”
At this moment, Liang Jing realized that this boy’s clothes were different from her own. The design was somewhat unusual. It was a pure and ancient style, but the clothes were too thin. She furrowed her brows, and said: “Are you cosplaying? When it’s first thing in the morning, you should be wearing several layers of clothing. The weather is very chilly. With just this, you’ll easily catch a cold.”
While speaking, she didn’t ask what was going on with this person. She extended a hand, and pulled the teenager up.
The boy’s expression was rather strange. At this time, he seemed to have a sudden reaction. He hurriedly replied to Liang Jing: “Me and my friend planned to go cosplaying. Because my friend’s house isn’t far away and it has a heater, I wanted to rush over quickly. In the end, I was running too fast, tripped, and fell down by accident. I almost couldn’t climb back up.”
Liang Jing understood clearly, and advised: “In the future, you’d better not take any shortcuts. You should also be a bit more careful when going out on foot.”
The boy smiled: “Ah, thank you.”
Liang Jing shook her head: “It’s nothing.” Then, she asked, “You wanted to go to a friend’s house right now?”
The boy nodded: “I don’t know what time it is. Can you let me see your phone?”
Liang Jing was quite straightforward. She took out a cellphone from her bag, and showed it to him.
The boy glanced at it, and said to Liang Jing: “Thank you. If that’s all, I’ll be taking my leave. It seems that I’m already running a little late. En, I don’t want to delay you either.”
Liang Jing and the boy were originally strangers. Seeing that he was alright, she didn’t say much else. Liang Jing only waved at him, muttered a quick goodbye, and swiftly jogged away.
She moved quickly, and left the boy behind. Naturally, she didn’t notice the look on the boy’s face. At this moment, the boy couldn’t help revealing an expression caught between grief and joy.
“Five years… How could it be like this?”
Gu Zuo recognized the nearby scenery. He had walked through here many times in the past. Although there was a gap of several years, there weren’t any changes to the overall layout, which allowed him to recognize it. From that girl’s cellphone just now, he knew the present date and time. Indeed, he had really returned…
Undoubtedly, he had achieved his wish of coming back, but he suddenly felt like his footsteps were ladened with heavy weights. For a short while, it seemed as if he couldn’t take another step forward.
Gu Zuo clenched his fingers before spreading them out to look at the object in his hand.
In the hollow of his palm was an inch-long weaver shuttle. It was the Void-Breaking Shuttle. It wasn’t known why, but it had suddenly become smaller. Nevertheless, it was firmly held by him in a tight grip. The entire time, it was never dropped or lost.
Gu Zuo remembered everything that happened before.
Back then, he learned about the miraculous ability of the Void-Breaking Shuttle from the system. Under the excitement in his heart, he wanted to turn on the Void-Breaking Shuttle. After looking at its active state, he intended to sense its qi emissions and some of its functions.
But Gu Zuo never expected that, the moment he infused his profound qi, the Void-Breaking Shuttle would carry him through s.p.a.ce without even recognizing an owner with a drop of blood!
Originally, he wanted to slowly acc.u.mulate energy, and think of a way to tell his big brother about the matters related to himself. After obtaining this thing, he might’ve been able to think of a plan to get the best of both worlds so that his feelings would have a hard-earned chance.
But, but why were things like this now?
In Gu Zuo’s heart, an intense feeling of sorrow and loneliness rushed out.
He clearly remembered that when the power of s.p.a.cetime encapsulated him, his big brother had reached out a hand to grab his wrist just in the nick of time. However, the Void-Breaking Shuttle’s speed was too fast. He didn’t know how long Gongyi Tianheng had been holding on, but later on, there was a sudden jolt. Both of their hands were flung apart…
Just like now, his big brother was nowhere to be found.
He couldn’t sense his big brother’s existence.
Then, they were scattered?
Gu Zuo’s eyes were dry and heavy.
It wasn’t known where his big brother went. W-were they already worlds apart? Would he still be able to see his big brother again? The Void-Breaking Shuttle had used up a lot of energy, but in this world, the ambient qi was extremely thin. The levels were close to nothing. If he wanted to advance his realm and refine a Void Pill, it was almost impossible…
He didn’t even have enough time to say goodbye to his big brother.
Gu Zuo originally thought that he had plenty of time before leaving to confess everything to Tianheng, and tell him what he still needed to do. But now, everything had been messed up.
— What was his big brother going to think?
Separating under these kinds of circ.u.mstances was the last thing he wanted!
Gu Zuo quietly waited there for a long time. The drifting snow that fell down from the sky couldn’t break through the protection of the surrounding profound qi, and failed to land onto his body. If anyone else witnessed this scene, they would’ve felt that it was incomparably strange.
Fortunately, he still had enough awareness to stand in a remote corner.
After a long while, Gu Zuo numbly walked out.
He suddenly remembered something. In his consciousness, he urgently inquired.
[System! System, are you there?]
However, the system’s voice never echoed out.
Worry grew in Gu Zuo’s heart.
He could sense that both his martial path realm and spiritual path realm still existed. After using his consciousness to set up a connection, he discovered that the Divine Medicine Palace Hall could also be opened.
However, the system never gave any responses. It made him feel somewhat uneasy.
Gu Zuo was contemplating. Back then, he fainted and didn’t know what happened afterward, but the system was there the entire time. Wouldn’t it know what occurred during the shuttling process? Though, what he wanted to know even more was how his big brother was doing right now!
This was because he suddenly recalled — When he and his big brother were forcibly shaken apart, where had Tianheng been flung off to? It would’ve been tolerable if they were scattered between two worlds, but he didn’t know when they separated! N-nothing ought to have happened if Tianheng was thrown off halfway, right?
The more he thought about it, the more anxious he became. Gu Zuo paced back and forth. His current strength wasn’t the same as before. After only walking a few steps, the snow on the ground was melted by an invisible energy.
He couldn’t help calling out incessantly.
[System! System!]
[h.e.l.lo? Are you there?]
[What happened to my big brother…]
[He was thrown off. Is he still safe?]
[System! Answer me right now!]
Gu Zuo had never been so agitated before.
At that time, he knew that Tianheng had reached out a grasping hand for his own sake. If something happened because of that action, what should he do? The guardian contract that he normally could always sense now felt half-real. Was it because they were separated in two different worlds, or was it because his big brother was…
Eventually, it seemed that the system couldn’t endure Gu Zuo’s noisy clamoring any longer. In his Tianfu Acupoint, two lines of characters flashed out with difficulty.
[Insufficient energy.]
[Nothing happened to the patron.]
Gu Zuo’s heart, which had been hanging by a thread, suddenly landed back down.
Nothing happened… That was good.
Gu Zuo now knew that the system was unable to respond in time due to insufficient energy. Therefore, perhaps it would be okay if he supplied enough in return. As for his big brother… Although he still dearly missed Tianheng, as long as his big brother was alright, he could feel a little more at ease.
Soon after, Gu Zuo was able to tranquilly observe this world.
He had returned.
It was unexpected and he was still reluctant to part ways, but… This allowed him to finally see his dad again.
Gu Zuo put the Void-Breaking Shuttle back inside the Divine Medicine Palace Hall. His gaze fell onto that street up ahead.
Before he left, it was here that he had the traffic accident. After crossing two more roads on the side, one would see the neighborhood where he and his dad once lived.
Right now, he had to go back.
Gu Zuo lifted his legs, and swiftly moved towards that direction.
Gradually, he entered the small community, and walked in front of an apartment building.
At this moment, Gu Zuo was suddenly wracked with homesickness and a certain apprehension for what awaited him.
Five years had already pa.s.sed.
Originally, he was supposed to use a Void Pill to travel through s.p.a.cetime. The system ensured that the earth-level pill would’ve been able to bring him back to the moment of the accident, allowing him to seamlessly reconnect to the timeline. This would’ve also prevented his dad from becoming worried.
But now, he had unexpectedly returned, which wasn’t within his plans at all. This also facilitated the normal pa.s.sage of time… Then, was he supposed to be glad that he only spent five years in the other world? Otherwise, if he accidentally returned through the Void-Breaking Shuttle dozens of years later, wouldn’t it be possible that he would’ve never been able to see his dad?
Gu Zuo wiped his forehead.
Yet, there was still a problem.
Back then, in order seem less jarring once he came back, he had been consciously controlling the growth of his physical body during his realm breakthroughs. This allowed him to preserve his own features at sixteen to seventeen years old. But now that five years had pa.s.sed in this world and his age was supposed to be twenty years old, wouldn’t this undersized and immature appearance seem too jarring instead? If his dad saw his present form, what would he think?
Gu Zuo steeled himself, and hastened his pace as he entered the first floor.
Their home was right here.
It was an ordinary two-bedroom apartment, and they had been just ordinary people living here.
Gu Zuo stood in front of the door, and his eyes reddened slightly.
He felt another wave of timidity, and didn’t dare to knock on the door.
It was because, at this moment, he didn’t know what to say or do at all. He also didn’t dare to release his psychic power to look at the person in the apartment room.
A good while later, quite a few people quickly came down from the higher floors. They were rushing out to go to school or work. Some of them curiously turned their heads to look at him… It was precisely this kind of activity that caused Gu Zuo to realize that he couldn’t stall any longer.
Finally, he lifted his hand, and pressed the doorbell.
A couple seconds pa.s.sed, but the seconds felt like years to Gu Zuo.
At this time, an inquiring voiced resounded from inside: “Who is it?”
Gu Zuo’s nose turned stuffy. After that, he was choked with emotions: “Dad, it’s me.”
In the outskirts of a city.
“f.u.c.king h.e.l.l! There are traitors!”
“Who are the traitors? d.a.m.n, it must be their people!”
“Eldest young master, run for it! Follow this road and run away!”
“Old Three, protect the young master. You absolutely can’t let anything happen to him!”
Several gunshots rang out inside an abandoned residence. There were many people pouring out of the surrounding alleyways. Everyone was holding a real weapon, and some people were exchanging bursts of gunfire. Meanwhile, there were several people guarding a young man who was wearing a black suit. They were swiftly retreating towards the rear.
Although the people protecting the young man were skilled and the young man’s marksmanship was very accurate, when all was said and done, they were few in number and they didn’t carry enough guns. Soon, a couple of people toppled over. Before they collapsed, they strove their hardest to buy more time. The remaining people guarding the young man ran even faster.
They were traveling towards a river bank, and there was a small tract of woods nearby. If they could hide inside, they could rely on the obscurement of the trees to get rid of some of the pursuers. It could also conceal their tracks.
Yet, although this road was normally quite a close walk away, it seemed extraordinarily distant now.
A gunshot echoed out. Someone in front of the young man had rushed over to block it, but he no longer had the ability to continue following the group. Without any better option, he choked down the blood in his mouth, and said: “Eldest young master…run away! After you return, take revenge —”
The young man’s gaze hardened, but he remained calm. His pair of eyes stared fixedly at those mercenaries in pursuit, and he continued to retreat while shooting with speed and precision.
It was just that the pursuers were growing in number. Even though the young man had many loyal and devoted subordinates who gave their lives to stall for more time, it still wasn’t enough to allow him to truly escape.
At least twenty-something people were rushing over from all directions. They were moving to outflank him, and he was being surrounded little by little.
There was only one person who remained by the young man’s side.
Behind him were the trees.
The young man seized an opportunity, and raised his gun in a sweeping motion. He was about to dash into the woods. However, right at this moment, the person who was originally protecting him unexpectedly shot him in the leg! His momentum stalled, and he fell to the ground!
“You — You’re a traitor, too?”
That simple and honest man took several steps back, and pointed his gun at the young man: “Eldest young master, you should give yourself up.”
The young man let out a cold laugh: “Go f.u.c.k yourself!”
The simple and honest man suddenly revealed a vicious appearance. His finger tightened around the trigger. He was about to shoot: “Eldest young master, if you refuse a toast, then you’ll only be forced to drink a forfeit —”
Bang!
After the bullet was fired, it suddenly exploded halfway.
Everyone was stupefied.
At this time, a person walked out from the woods.
He was dressed in strange clothes, and a jade comb was holding together his head of long hair. Originally, he should’ve been an eccentric weirdo, but as it happened, his features and temperament made one feel that he was like a deity who had descended from the bright moon.
T/N: Thanks for the corrections, Charysa.
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