1568 A Letter from Father
After Xia Fan released energy from his seventh brain region, the message slumbering in the crystal was awakened. A light shot out, forming a screen in the air. The clarity couldn’t match a hyperfrequency laser projector, but the effects were still pretty good. The surroundings and the people’s faces were all clearly visible.
The location of the recording was a dense forest, sunlight leaking in through the cracks in the foliage. The clean-chinned man who appeared far younger than his actual age was Xia Fan’s father, the patriarch of the Skywing Clan and man of many legends, Xia Fei!
Although Xia Fan knew that this was a recording, he still tensed up when he saw his father’s face. Based on his experience with Traveling Buddha, fathers were all stern types while mothers were somewhat more gentle.
But to Xia Fan’s surprise, Xia Fei wasn’t very serious at all. He was laughing, very happily so, and saying to his surrounding brothers, “Everyone, hurry and come over! This recording is for Little Fan Fan! He really is my son! Rather than waiting for me to find him, he went through the Cosmic Gate and came to find me! What do you think? Impressive, right?”
!!
Little Fan Fan…
Such an awful nickname!…
Xia Fan complained inside, but he still felt happy. An unprecedented sense of joy surrounded him, and something warm was coming out of his eyes.
So this was what it felt like to have a father…
Xia Fei was bragging to all his brothers about his little son. It was true that he was truly proud of Xia Fan. Even though Xia Fan had only a few accomplishments under his name and was only a mortal, Xia Fei still treated him as his most precious treasure. This was one of the reasons why it was impossible to sever one’s relations.h.i.+ps with one’s blood relatives.
The Skywings truly didn’t have any rules. Many people circled around Xia Fei and teased him, saying things like the youngest son had returned, so they should invite him to dinner or such!
“Regardless, at least I can explain things to your mother now. Ever since you went missing, your mother has wept every day, which breaks my heart.
“Forget it. Let’s not talk about unhappy things. Little Fan Fan, this is your older brother. Unfortunately, your big sister isn’t here. As a woman, she’s more considerate, so I had her stay at home and take care of your mother.”
Xia Fan followed his father’s finger and saw that his big brother Xia Xiaofei was a very cold and aloof existence, with fair skin and a handsome appearance. He stood elegantly in the crowd, like the Adonis of an idol group, or perhaps some tyrannical chairman. Comparing Xia Fan to his older brother was like comparing an ugly duckling to a swan.
“Big Brother!” Xia Fan scratched his head and laughed awkwardly. The moment he spoke, he realized that this was a recording, so his big brother couldn’t hear him. But Xia Fan was very happy to have such a handsome big brother. Presumably, his big sister was also a beauty!
Xia Xiaofei didn’t like to talk, and his face was normally expressionless, but today, he made an exception and said in a cold voice, “The thing I regret most in this life is that I couldn’t be like big brothers of other families and take you swimming and fis.h.i.+ng, to get up to mischief with you and stand at your side when others bullied you.
“Now, you’ve finally returned. Starting from today, I swear that I won’t let you leave again!”
Whoos.h.!.+
Tears flowed down Xia Fan’s face, and in a flash, he was weeping like a child.
So it turned out that he also had a big brother…
The other members of the Skywing force didn’t expect such moving words would come from the cold Xia Xiaofei’s mouth. Normally, getting him to say even one word was difficult.
Many people silently wiped their eyes, and even Xia Fei’s eyes reddened a little. However, he controlled them and didn’t show his son his sad side.
“Enough, enough, what’s with all the crying? This is a matter worth celebrating! We should be happy!” Xia Fei waved his arm while complaining.
After a few moments of silence, Xia Donghai pointed at his wrist, indicating to Xia Fei that his time was running out. They were hiding in a forest and wearing stealth combat uniforms. They were obviously in the middle of a secret mission.
Xia Fei nodded to indicate that he understood. He then sighed helplessly and said to Xia Fan with a smile, “Alas, we still can’t meet for now. Turan tells me that you are a good fit for Subduing Demon City, and I think it’s also a good idea for you to receive their Talent Awakening training.
“Of course, as per the rules of the Skywings, you have absolute freedom. How you live your life is up to you to decide. You can do whatever you want and I won’t interfere. You will be the one to decide if you want to stay and study in Subduing Demon City.
“Normally, as a father, I think I should be saying something here.
“But what should I say?
“Why don’t I tell you about our family? They have many understandings about the Skywings, saying we’re monsters or madmen, even calling us unreasonable.
“Actually, the Skywings are very simple. Most of the people in the universe will consider their own profit when they run into problems, but while they’re still considering, we’re already charging into the fray.”
…
Xia Fan turned on the faucet in the bathroom, cupped water in his hands, and splashed it on his face. Looking at his face in the mirror, he saw that his eyes were red, a clear sign that he had been crying. Traveling Buddha and Turan would probably easily notice once they returned.
Xia Fan stroked his spatial ring and took out a bottle of eyedrops. He quickly dripped two drops into his eyes and then closed them.
—
Several minutes later, when Xia Fan opened his eyes, he found that there was no longer just his face in the mirror, but also that of a girl. She was sitting on the edge of the bathtub, her legs crossed. She wore black stockings on her lower legs and black leather boots on her feet, which bobbed lightly in the air.
“An illusion?” Xia Fan muttered. He then washed his face and rubbed his eyes, but he found that the two slender legs were still there. He could also smell the scent of a woman in the air.
Xia Fan immediately turned around and gave her a weird look.
“What? Why are you staring at me like that? Is there something on my face?” The girl pursed her lips unhappily, feeling Xia Fan’s gaze was offensive.
There truly was something on her face: two eyes, a nose, eyebrows, and a mouth! But Xia Fan had never seen a person whose facial features were so perfectly distributed, like a fairy who had stepped out of a painting. She was so absurdly beautiful that she didn’t seem real.
“Who are you? Why are you in my room?” Xia Fan asked. He was still a warrior, and it was a shameful thing for him to not sense a woman abruptly appearing so close to him.
“My next-door neighbor was crying, so I naturally had to come and look,” the girl said, playing with her golden hair.
No man wanted to admit in front of a woman that he had been crying, and Xia Fan was no exception. He frowned and said, “That? Some wind got into my eyes. It was rather painful.”
“Tsk, you don’t even know how to lie. Is there any wind in this room?” The girl c.o.c.ked her head and flashed her teeth.
Xia Fan was frustrated. He walked up to the toilet, put up the cover, and then acted like he was going to untie the string of his exercise pants. He then looked at the girl, whose bewitching mouth was already an “O”. She clearly realized what Xia Fan was going to do, but because she didn’t believe that Xia Fan would do something so ungentlemanly, she hadn’t reacted yet.
“You still want to look? You have to take responsibility for it, you know.”
Bang!
The sound of a door slamming came from behind him. Xia Fan didn’t see how the girl had angrily run out, but he felt like the expression on her face had to have been wonderful. As someone who had grown up with the Scourges, Xia Fan was a master at pranking.
“Eh? Jiajia, what were you doing in Xia Fan’s room?” Turan’s voice came from outside. It appeared that he had returned with Traveling Buddha after finis.h.i.+ng their business.
Xia Fan ignored them, his body completely relaxing as he tended to his biological needs. He then pressed the handle on the toilet, raised his pants back up, and walked out of the bathroom.
He saw that Jiajia girl was sitting on the sofa, her legs crossed, and Turan and Traveling Buddha were looking at her in confusion. When they saw Xia Fan coming out of the bathroom with his hands holding up his pants, the conclusion became rather shocking.
Jiajia stood up with a smile and walked up to Xia Fan’s side. Bringing her face up to his ear, she said with a voice that smelled of orchids, “Then I’ll be going first, Little Fan Fan. Let’s meet again.”
Plus.h.!.+
Xia Fan felt like he could hear the blood spurting from Traveling Buddha’s nose, but he continued to hold up his pants. His frustration deepened. Little Fan Fan was what his father had called him just now. Had that Jiajia girl heard everything?”
“Teacher Turan, goodbye.”
“Oh, goodbye, goodbye. Remember to not be late for the test the day after tomorrow.”
“I know.”
Once the door closed, Turan said to Xia Fan happily, “So it turns out that you know Jiajia. That’s good, very good. I was planning to introduce you two, but now, it seems that there’s no need.”
Traveling Buddha pinched Xia Fan’s shoulder. It was so painful that Xia Fan clenched his teeth.
“I say, aren’t you being a little too impolite? I didn’t hide my business with Hidden Water, but you hid your relations.h.i.+p with Jiajia from your best brother? Anyway, where did this girl even come from? How far have you gotten? Tell me everything.”
Xia Fan wanted to cry, but he had no tears. He didn’t even know Jiajia, so what was he going to say!? He had been set up!
At this moment, Turan suddenly laughed. “What did you say? Xia Fan and Jiajia? Impossible! Absolutely impossible! Traveling Buddha, you’ve got the wrong idea. They’re only acquaintances. Jiajia lives next door, so at best, they’ve greeted each other and perhaps had some tea together.”
“It’s like you’re saying I’m not a match for Jiajia,” Xia Fan muttered inwardly, but in the end, none of that mattered. He solemnly reported to Turan that Jiajia had probably heard the contents of his father’s letter.
“Even if she heard it, it’s fine. Jiajia is very special. Though she has a strange personality, she definitely won’t sell you out. In truth, there was a reason she was made your neighbor. All the youths on this floor are very trustworthy. You’ll understand in time,” Turan said nonchalantly, waving his hand.
The three of them discussed some other matters. Turan said that the Disasters had probably taken to the demons. While the Demon Subduers had found the Skywings in the Middle Realm, the demons had also not been idle, and were gathering various resources.
Xia Fan was very worried for the Disasters, but there was nothing he could do for now except note that down. In addition, he told Turan that he had decided to take his father’s advice and stay in Subduing Demon City to focus on studying Talent Awakening.
“Good, wonderful!” Turan exclaimed happily. “War isn’t something that’s done in a day and a night. Doing your utmost to improve yourself can’t be wrong. The recent batch of youths will start their testing and studying the day after tomorrow. Use these two days to familiarize yourself with the environment. You will be very busy soon!”