Chapter 542 Six Years Later, She Comes Back
The war among alliances may last for decades because of the vast star territory of both sides and the large number of member stars.
However, the two alliances have prepared a lot for conquering the Alpha Alliance this time. In the fourth year of the war, the Alpha Alliance has already been at a disadvantage.
The rebellion of some high-rank member stars also deteriorates the Alpha Alliance’s situation. Many famous young generals of the Alpha Alliance emerge in this battle. However, they cannot save the Alpha Alliance from its decline.
Among them, Colin’s old rival Gaut Sutherland is the most famous. He is an aristocratic general who once laughed at Colin for being as a traitor. After Caesar Star was occupied, he led the Sutherland family to join Bape Alliance.
Gaut Sutherland is still alive, but Lin Luoran and others almost forget this Alliance officer who was left in a wild planet. However, his performance in war is impressive and his rebellion is marked as “a typical example”. He is so famous in this area that Lin Luoran can’t miss reports on him at all.
From Mu Tiannan’s perspective, this person is a bit weird because he is no longer a real human being. His body should have been dead ten years ago. However, his body is manipulated by a group of power. His words and actions are no different from ordinary people, but he is truly “living dead” inside.
Mu Tiannan’s idea reminds Lin Luoran and others of the goblin that escaped in the wild star because of Hu Ji’s carelessness. After discussion, Mu Tiannan knows that goblin doesn’t have body and can only live with other living thing being’s body. He also suddenly recalls an old story.
It happened when Lin Luoran just returned to the Earth from an extraterrestrial territory. She held “Miaoyin Spell Conference” in Dongting and the Alpha Alliance launched an air attack against Dongting City. Mu Tiannan found a breath of a monster when he pa.s.sed by the s.p.a.ce station on the back of moonstar.
That place was the Alpha Alliance air attack base. That goblin partic.i.p.ated in it. Obviously, it was hostile to Lin Luoran.
Everyone feels vigilant after hearing it.
Whether the body is controlled by the goblin or Gaut, it is bad news for Lin Luoran. Therefore, “Gaut” will not be nice to the Earth Federation.
It doesn’t matter if he is just a senior general of the Alpha Alliance. Anyway, the earth has broken off relations with the Alpha Alliance. However, this guy joined Bape Alliance when it is going to win.
It’s subtle that Bape Alliance tries so hard to promote Gaut. Lin Luoran feels that after the two alliances finish the war with the Alpha, how they deal with the issue of the earth may change.
Colin swears the haunting Sutherland family. He grits his teeth with all his strength.
Before Caesar star is occupied by the enemy, Colin has contacted his families several times and begged his families to give up Caesar star. He has applied for temporary residency in the defense city for them. Lin Luoran does not oppose it. Unlike the Sutherland family which is famous for its military merits, Colin’s family is not honorable. Therefore, it has not been recognized by the mainstream of Caesar star. Back then, it did not even join the army.
When the Alpha Alliance invaded the earth more than 300 years ago, the Sutherland family actively earned military merit but the Weir family totally didn’t join the war at all. Lin Luoran has known it for a long time, so she can be nice to Colin. The Alpha Alliance is certainly hateful, but not everyone is her enemy.
Colin’s plan is pretty good. He wants to keep the main part of his family safe before Caesar Star is totally conquered. This family of “Waterside Attraction ” was not a honorable family in the beginning, and it usually behaved as a tweener. However, this time the current family head gives family business and wealth earned by descendants for many years to Colin. He then leads some families and they sacrifice in the battlefield against Bape Alliance.
The image of dissipated Weir family for hundreds of years has totally changed overnight, in sharp contrast with the Sutherland family. No matter who or which power will rule the Alpha Alliance Star Territory later, the people living in this star territory will only admire the Weir family which died for its motherland even if they must obey the Sutherland family superficially.
Colin realizes it after reading the head’s legacy. He knows that the head of his family had been waiting for this opportunity for a long time. The Weir family shouldn’t bear its bad reputation forever. Only fire and blood can obliterate the shame imposed on the family reputation. After this battle, the Weir family will become a symbol of loyalty. Surviving members can enter the real aristocratic circle in the vast star territory.
That is the pursuit of all the heads and Colin. The head of the Weir family died a worth death. After the family elites move into the temporary settlement area Colin applied for them, the people of the earth are actually very friendly to them. Other alliance people use all kinds of excuses and spend a lot of money to apply for temporary residence. However, the earth people appreciate martyrs. It has nothing to do with their positions, but only because they have similar experiences.
In the sixth year after Lin Luoran returned from Lost Land, the tenth super defense city is built.
Such speed of building city is a miracle in the history of architecture. The top priority is to settle as many people as possible. Dongting City has expanded for three times. Compared with it, living environment in defense cities is not very good. Many people are living in some small apartments.
However, compared with the fate of some members of the Alpha Alliance, they feel that they are very lucky.
Han Kuisheng is very thankful that he made the right decision in time.
Because of Pang Xianzhong’s news, the Han family had funded the federal government with family property long before the migration plan was launched. For that, it got the opportunity to move to Dongting City. Nowadays, this family owns a large reconstructed land outside Dongting City and it also has an renowned reputation. Big businessmen coming here later are all envious.
Han Kuisheng is more satisfied with the fact that his place is not far from Mas’ villa. Therefore, Han Weiya often visits him. Later on, Pang Xianzhong’s secretary also introduces him to Li In Inst.i.tute.
As a “spy crocodile” lurking under the eyes of the alliance, Rong Xihe coincides with Han Kuisheng. They wish that they could have known each other before. They take advantage of the Alpha Alliance and profit from war.
Seeing that they can even smuggle back professional battle starships, Lin Luoran decides to turn a blind eye to them. She just let them do whatever they want.
In the sixth years, the ten defense cities in the original plan cannot meet the demand. Alliance people spare no effort to apply for shelter on the earth. The migration on the side of the Grand Canyon in East Africa also brings pressure to the cities.
Federal construction teams have never really had a rest. Lin Luoran is very satisfied when seeing tall buildings rising from the ground one after another. The power of faith has gathered and the Dragon King Seal successfully expands as she expected.
As long as people are united, Dongting City will be totally safe. The defense cities covered by the seal will also be safe.
In recent years, Mu Tiannan has been taking care of all trivial matters decidedly. Lin Luoran gets rid of the trivialities. She once had closed-door training for one year to stabilize her sudden personal ability advancement to the middle Gathering Vitality period after got the Gold of the five elements.
Many things have happened in the past six years. Lin Luoran feels most happy about rapid changes in the Dongting area and the recovery of fire phoenix and silver fish. They were severely injured in the Green Mountains world but they restored after being “nourished” by 1000-year Hollow Azurite like free of charge.
Gradually, she was also able to face gold hawk calmly. Four of the five elements had gathered in the s.p.a.ce. The four were very boring all day long. Only the silver fish could occasionally leave the s.p.a.ce by the dragon skeleton and made clouds and rains above Dongting Lake in the disguise of a dragon. It attacked lots of incense constantly. However, the other three animals couldn’t get out of the s.p.a.ce. They spent time quarreling all day, causing troubles to Lin Luoran.
As a result, Liao taught her a very effective method. Lin Luoran polished a pair of Huaxia Mahjong with the 1000-year Hollow Azurite and Green Mountains Jade. She taught them all kinds of rules and then threw Mahjong to the four monsters. Lin Luoran’s world finally got quiet again.
The loser had to offer something in their game. Little silver fish was very lucky. Fire phoenix had an evil idea. It proposed that after four rounds, the one who played the worst had to talk about the scandal about itself.
In the end, wood wolf was the loser. It talked about the embarra.s.sing event that it went to take a peek when deer monsters were bathing in its youth. That’s the reason why it stayed on the earth as the young master of the wolf nationality when the monster races all migrated. It’s also ridiculous that the invincible little wood wolf was conspired by someone on the way of transmission. It fell out of the s.p.a.ce node and almost died when it fell on the gra.s.sland of the earth. Without the green light flower and a group of prairie wolves, it would become the most aggrieved monster in the history of cultivation—the one who fell to death.
This was the reason why Wood Wolf refused to mention its history. Lin Luoran heard things from Black Tortoise and she had a general idea about the past. The information that Wood Wolf said was not so important now.
She recalled the old story of meeting the fake saintess and the ancestor of the monsters of wood when she returned to Babylon. The two probably got in the Tower of Babel stone door together. The fake saintess failed and returned, but the ancestor of the monsters of wood had disappeared since then. She didn’t know if he succeeded in going where he wanted to go.
At that time, some well-informed people in the world of cultivation must have been planning to leave the earth, right?
In the fifth year, Rong Xihe was in his fifties. He had done a lot of things so Lin Luoran asked him if he wanted to begin his personal ability enhancement. He was from the Rong family which had paid a lot to take care of Lins’ Pharmaceutical Factory for hundreds of years. Lin Luoran really wanted to protect this descendant of her old friend.
Rong Xihe did not have the Taoist root, but he still turned down Lin Luoran’s proposal.
His actions were beyond everyone’s expectations. The cycle of “personal ability—power—longevity” was enough to lure every ordinary person to bring destruction on himself. Rong Xihe was getting older, but he could still resist the temptation. How could people not feel surprised?
Rong Xihe was in his fifties. He looked calm when standing in front of Lin Luoran. The wise grandmother of the Rong family Tess once said that if future generations could witness Lin Luoran’s return and Rongs have the Taoist root, Lin Luoran would definitely propose to enhance their personal ability. At that time, they could choose a good talent to embark on the path of personal ability enhancement.
However, if there is still no one with the Taoist root in the Rong family when Lin Luoran returns. It means that after many years, fate doesn’t bring the Rong family and immortality together. Then they should not insist on personal ability enhancement.
Don’t be greedy about things that don’t belong to you, which is the way that people will be satisfied and feel happy.
Lin Luoran listened to it, regretting that she did not have the chance to meet Tess as an adult in her lifetime.
Rong Xihe refused, so Lin Luoran didn’t mention it anymore. In the past, she rashly built the Taoist root for the two of Han Weiya. It was actually wrong. Without the sincere conversation with Black Tortoise, she would not have that kind of enlightenment, and her closed ocean of consciousness would probably never be opened again.
Personal ability enhancement is always about lucky chance. Building Taoist root for people casually may mess up destiny. Just like the cases of Colin and Han Weiya, Lin Luoran doesn’t know how far they can go on the road of personal ability enhancement. Acquired Taoist root will never be totally genuine. Colin and Ma Shuangshuang both have the Taoist root of two elements. However, Colin has always been worse than Ma Shuangshuang in terms of perceiving Reiki of heaven and earth and training Qi into body.
The person making the fastest advancement in personal ability enhancement among them was obviously Bai Qingxue.
She was the training Qi cultivator at the middle period who restarted after achieving the later period of Gathering Vitality. With the resources left by Ye Zhao, she succeeded again in Laying Foundation at the end of the third year and the beginning of the fourth year.
Bai Qingxue had the qualified state of mind, so she was not afraid of the instability of foundation. She was a.s.siduous in self-cultivation, just wanting to go faster and faster. She wanted to catch up with Ye Zhao who pa.s.sed the Divinization Doom and became an immortal in the spiritual world a thousand years ago.
Mu Tiannan’s blood poison was suppressed by snake fruit, but it took effect from time to time. Every time there was a sign, he disappeared, hiding in the big suite of the Rose Hotel and refused to go out. The desire to suck blood gnawed at his spirit. What Mu Tiannan had to defeat was the blood demon living in his heart.
Once, the blood poisoning lasted for a long time. Pang Xianzhong heard that the door of the Rose Hotel suite had been closed for more than half a month. He was very anxious so he found Lin Luoran.
The heavy door could isolate the sound in the house, but it could not deceive Lin Luoran’s eyes and ears.
She could hear the beast-like low breaths inside. He had tried his best to control himself, but he still groaned in pain like a wounded cub. Lin Luoran could imagine Mu Tiannan was tough in the luxurious suite. However, the pain piercing to the bone still made him pant like a monster forgetting about anything else.
Lin Luoran sighed. It turned out that the blood poison in his body would still affect him. However, it was not continuous pain any more but poison acc.u.mulated in his body. It would stop, but each strike was fatal.
Hearing her sigh after the door, Mu Tiannan curling up in the room was sober for a moment.
Then he completely stiffened.
Just as he wanted to maintain his image by handling the old bat, he wanted to cover up his dark history, and then calmly appeared in front of her. However, by accident, all his darkness was exposed.
Besides, at this moment, the person Mu Tiannan wanted to meet the most and the least is both Lin Luoran.
“Don’t come in. You will be scared.” Mu Tiannan tried his best to keep his voice as natural as possible, but his depression still revealed between sentences.
Lin Luoran was silent for a long time, then she answered “OK” in a low voice. She turned back and left.
She sat quietly on the small terrace of the Rose Hotel which was different from other interstellar hotels for a long time. Her feelings are so complex…
In the sixth year, the Alpha Alliance is defeated, and the Federation people have all moved to safe places. The federal government restricts trading because of increasingly severe situation. Except for strategic reserves, it minimizes contact with the outside world.
In the seemingly paradise environment, people gradually calm down. In fact, the Federation’s control has already reached beyond Pluto. It has been monitoring at any time, and it will not miss any clue.
Trifles have been handled by others, so Lin Luoran concentrates on various seedling seeds in the s.p.a.ce. Now some delicate fruit trees outside Dongting City have gradually begun to bear fruits. Although the fruit taste is not pure and fruits are small and pitiful, those volunteers who have asked for the land to grow it still feel very happy.
In this summer, some people begin to sell fruits and vegetables grown by themselves on the streets and alleys of Dongting City. Lin Luoran walks on the street and sees all kinds of “hawkers”. She really has the illusion that she is traveling to another era back before the new era.
Some large pine trees planted by Han Weiya are also rewarding. Everyone in the family gets a handful of fragrant fried pine nuts. Han Kuisheng eats the pine nuts grown by his daughter all day. Soon he has the so-called “melon seeds teeth”—there is a small gap in his foretooth. Because of it, Boss Han even smiles less in front of outsiders.
Dongting has completely become the administrative center of the Earth Federation, and Pang Xianzhong has become the youngest second chief in the central Federation. Everyone has always called him “Mr. Pang” friendly.
Among all people funded by Mu Tiannan, Pang Xianzhong has received the greatest support, and he deserves the support. In his fifties, he becomes a mature and outstanding politician.
In the winter of the sixth year, Lin Luoran walks down the street with Bai Qingxue who has been doing painstaking practice. Hu Ji also follows up and expresses that he is willing to carry their bags. The Spring Festival of the old calendar is approaching. Lin Luoran s.n.a.t.c.hes a little leisure from the rush of business. She hopes to have a lively and warm Spring Festival this year, so she takes Bai Qingxue out to go shopping for the New Year.
There are many types of high-tech products, and even the sound of firecrackers can be simulated. Bai Qingxue notices there is an old lady with gray hair surrounded by a crowd of people on the corner of the street.
The Spring Festival is coming. Sponsored by big businessmen, the third defense city has artificial snow today. Among the artificial snowflakes from the sky, the old lady is holding scissors steadily. She bows her head and concentrates on the stack of red paper in her hands—a craftsman of hand-cut paper? Lin Luoran also feels very interested. Even in Huaxia before the new era, this ancient craft without inheritance gradually declined. Unexpectedly, in the interstellar era hundreds of years later, the ancient civilization of the earth has almost been destroyed but she meets such a craftsman.
Bai Qingxue also shows a look of nostalgia. In her childhood before she got to Misty Peak, the villagers always prepared everything carefully during the Spring Festival. There was some meat that they could not eat at ordinary times, fried bread, paper-cuts carefully affixed on windows after the snow on windowsills was swept away… After she began her personal ability enhancement, there was no Spring Festival in the world of cultivation—Bai Qingxue now understands why Lin Luoran is clinging to the mortal world and refuses to let it go. Most of the simplest happiness and beauty in life are indeed got from the contentment of childhood.
At the end of this year, Bai Qingxue has serious plans to celebrate the Spring Festival. She squeezes into the crowd and asks the old lady to cut a pattern of abundant grains full of cattle and sheep.
Holding the paper cut out, she sees Lin Luoran looking in a certain direction in a daze.
Following her gaze, Bai Qingxue finds someone who is not strange.
Artificial snow brings chills, and Qin Baojia is wrapped in a gray cotton-padded coat. She is pushing a wheelchair. The way she looks at Lin Luoran changes a lot, and soon her eyes are full of tears.
Chiao with big eyes in the wheelchair is innocent. He is extremely overjoyed by the white snow falling on his shoulders.
Lin Luoran is reluctant to turn around. She runs into Baojia whom she hasn’t seen for a few years. For a moment, she even feels that the real “Qin Baojia” is back.
—Long time no see, Xiao Luo.