My Dreams Connect to Ancient Times-Chapter 122 - 99: Old Friends Remain, I Am a Youth No More (Part 2)

Chapter 122: Chapter 99: Old Friends Remain, I Am a Youth No More (Part 2)

"I’d rather not." Lu Xuan shook his head. "Uncle Yan is probably very busy these days."

’Old Yan is a textbook doting father, but he’d just arrived and was already leaving. Considering he’d casually mentioned a joint strike from Sakata Heavy Industries and Aotao Organism, Longque Technology must be in serious trouble. It might even be worse than I imagined.’

’Sakata Heavy Industries, the Evil Cult...’

A profound glint flashed in Lu Xuan’s eyes.

Beside him, Yan Jiangxue rested her chin on her hand, quietly gazing at the boy’s profile, her eyes curving into smiling crescents.

"So which university are you planning to go to? Shengjing, or the provincial capital?"

"The provincial capital, I suppose." Lu Xuan returned to the present, catching the faint, sweet scent coming from the girl. He answered honestly, "It’s just a formality anyway. The provincial capital is the closest, and I can go visit Xiaoxu and Uncle Wu."

’A lot of the people at the ruins this time were also from the provincial capital. Chen Dao, for instance, and Wang Zhiyao. Also, that Celestial Human who was the first to stand with me and the Qingxin Temple Master. If I remember correctly, he’s also from the provincial capital. His name is Zhong Wuhe.’

"Then I’ll go with you," Yan Jiangxue said softly. "What about summer break? There’s still more than a month left. What are your plans?"

"Didn’t you want to go to Taishan?" Lu Xuan said with a smile. "This is the perfect chance... But first, I need to make a trip to the Kongtong Mountain Range to pay a visit. I was also planning on going to Dragon Tiger Mountain, but there probably won’t be enough time. I’ll go some other time."

"Okay! I’ll go with you!"

...

「Langya City, the Provincial Capital of Langya Province.」

"I got three more invitations today..." Wu Xiaoxu said, sprawled listlessly on the sofa. Dazed, he continued, "One from the Zhong Family, one from Wang Zhiyao, and one from the Chen Family..." 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

"What in the world did I do?"

He couldn’t for the life of him figure it out.

Beside him, Wu Datong shot his son a lazy, disdainful glance.

"Just go. It’s not like you’re any good at cultivation or studying. Making a few more friends wouldn’t hurt."

Wu Xiaoxu was unconvinced.

"You can’t really blame me for that, can you? If you’d taught me how to cultivate earlier... never mind."

He sat up straight.

"Dad, when can I go find Brother Xuan? Uncle Zheng and the others all went back to East Sea City, and I don’t know anyone else here."

"Xiaoxuan?" Wu Datong yawned. "He should be coming to the provincial capital soon enough. As for you, kid, don’t even think about leaving the city. If you step outside, you’ll be in big trouble."

"Huh?" Wu Xiaoxu didn’t understand. News of what happened in the ruins was still circulating within a very small circle. The only ones who knew were either eyewitnesses or the top brass of the major powers.

Wu Datong didn’t bother explaining. He just smiled and said:

"If I’m not mistaken, all these people who’ve been coming to see you lately are connected to your Xiaoxuan. Why don’t you ask them about it? Then you’ll understand."

He paused, then waved his hand dismissively.

"Hmm, your body has been tempered just about enough. There’s no need to finish high school. Just go straight to Langya University in September."

Wu Xiaoxu nodded, only half-understanding.

...

After saying goodbye to Xiaoyan, Lu Xuan first went to visit Teacher Lu and Ji Bochang. It seemed Teacher Lu didn’t plan to stay in East Sea City for much longer; after all, his identity had been completely exposed, and he was preparing to find a new place to live in seclusion.

As for Ji Bochang, he had lost an arm. Even though he’d been fitted with a bionic prosthesis, his vitality was still in serious decline, and he was entertaining the idea of retiring from the Inspectorate.

"If City Hall hadn’t refused, saying there’s no one else to take the lead right now, I’d have retired already," Ji Bochang said.

"By the way, Mr. Lu, while you were away this past month, an inspection team came. They specifically asked to investigate you, but they gave up after getting a look at your file."

As he spoke, a grim expression crossed Ji Bochang’s face.

"The inspection team was recalled by the higher-ups halfway through their investigation. The waters here in East Sea City still run deep..."

Lu Xuan listened in silence, interjecting with a timely question.

"By the way, Director Ji, I heard that on that rainy night, the people from Sakata Heavy Industries left ahead of schedule. Is that true?"

"That’s right." Indignation flashed in Ji Bochang’s eyes. "But no one dares to investigate it. We reported it to the Federation, but the Federation never gave any response."

Lu Xuan nodded silently, lost in thought.

’No one dares to investigate, huh?’

Just as the two were talking, the door was pushed open, and a freckle-faced teenager walked in carrying a basketball.

"Dad!"

he complained loudly.

"A bunch of old ladies have taken over the basketball court! They’re out there square dancing. Can’t you do something about it?"

"Get out, get out." Ji Bochang snapped. "You brat, can’t you see we have a guest? Besides, how am I supposed to handle that? I’m the Director of the Inspectorate, not a basketball court monitor!"

"But why can’t you..."

Ji Boduan grumbled as he put down his basketball. He glanced at the guest in the living room and froze.

"Hey, hey, hey!"

he exclaimed in delight.

"Little Brother Lu, what are you doing here? I was looking for you for days! I thought... I thought you were..."

"What did you just call him?"

Enraged, Ji Bochang slapped his son on the back of the head with a palm as big as a cattail fan. The boy yelped in pain, his eyes watering.

"What did I do wrong?!" Unwilling to lose face in front of someone his own age, he held his head high. "Lu Xuan *is* my little bro! I told you about him, the one I took under my wing at school..."

SMACK!

Ji Bochang slapped him again, fuming.

"You little bastard, shut your mouth! Say one more word of that nonsense and Old Master here will beat you to death today!"

Ji Boduan’s eyes swam with tears, and he looked like he was about to cry.

"Director Ji," Lu Xuan said with a placating smile, "I did attend East Sea High School for two months. We do know each other..."

Ji Bochang froze for a second, then immediately pieced together most of the story.

But he slapped Ji Boduan on the forehead again anyway, dragged him over, and commanded:

"Call him Uncle Lu!"

Ji Boduan: ???

Ji Bochang raised his large palm threateningly again. On the verge of tears, the freckle-faced boy choked out:

"U-Uncle Lu..."

He was completely bewildered. ’The world doesn’t feel real anymore,’ he thought. But the throbbing pain on his forehead told him this was no dream... which somehow made it even more absurd.

Then, Ji Boduan watched as his own father stood up, looking almost terrified, and said apologetically:

"Mr. Lu, I’ve failed to raise my son properly. Please excuse the embarrassing display..."

"It’s fine," Lu Xuan chuckled. "Xiaojie... he’s not a bad kid. At least he didn’t use his status as the Inspectorate Director’s son to kick out the dancing aunties, right?"

"Yes, yes, of course, of course..." Ji Bochang nodded repeatedly, then shot another vicious glare at his utterly dumbfounded son.

Lu Xuan didn’t stay much longer. After a bit more simple conversation, he stood up to leave.

As he left Ji Bochang’s house, he could still faintly hear Ji Boduan’s pained cries. He shook his head, amused, and walked all the way back to the shantytown.

The place had been completely transformed. The wooden shacks had been replaced with small Western-style houses, the roads had been widened and paved with concrete, and squares and shopping malls had been built. It could hardly be called a shantytown anymore.

There were more residents, too. The faces on the street were almost all strangers. The only familiar sight was Old Chen, the roasted chestnut vendor, who was leaning against his cart and yawning.

As for his own little wooden house, it was surprisingly still standing. It hadn’t been torn down, but sandwiched between two of the new houses, it looked jarringly out of place.

Lu Xuan walked back quietly, not greeting Old Chen or disturbing anyone.

Back in the home he hadn’t seen in so long, everything was just as it had been: the worn but clean table and chairs, the pitted walls, the yellowed lightbulb hanging from the ceiling, swaying slightly...

A sudden sense of how much things had changed washed over him.

The home was the same, but the world outside had transformed. And so had he.

The events and people of the last several months flickered through his mind. He sat silently on his bed and let out a quiet sigh.

In just a few short months, everything had changed.

After sitting for a while, he slowly lay down. He stared at the dilapidated ceiling, at the dim lightbulb hanging above, swaying gently. It was just as it had been for the past seven years, for the past two-thousand-odd days and nights.

Only he was no longer the same ignorant boy he once was.

Lu Xuan lay on the little wooden bed one last time and quietly drifted off to sleep, falling into a deep dream.