Chapter 551: Departure

Chapter 551: Departure

On a dirt road deep within a dense forest, Li Sui knelt on all fours, turning in circles with anxious urgency, as if searching for something.

The ground was already littered with her paw prints—evidence of a long search.

Yet after so much time, not even a trace of Li Huowang had appeared.

As moments passed, Li Sui grew more and more distressed.

She had always been by Li Huowang’s side; she had grown accustomed to it.

Just thinking that he might never appear again made her heart ache so much she wanted to cry.

It was then that tears began to well up from the corners of her eyes when, from her left, a rift suddenly opened in thin air, and a blackened, scarred figure emerged from within—Li Huowang.

"Dad!!"

Li Sui immediately pounced forward, eagerly licking his chin with her tentacled tongue.

"You crushed me! I still have wounds! Let go!" Li Huowang pushed her away with some effort before finally shaking her off.

"Dad, why did you throw me out? I thought I’d never see you again. It hurt so much." Li Sui circled around him, repeating.

"You were inside me—I couldn’t move. The fire was too big—it could’ve burned your tentacles. Don’t worry, everything’s over now," Li Huowang said, patting her head gently.

Feeling reassured, Li Sui rubbed her white skull lightly against his palm, asking softly, "Dad, can we go home now?"

"Not yet. We haven’t found the Upper Extreme Spring yet. I’m going back to Daliang first to heal."

With that, Li Huowang looked around at the thick woods surrounding them, then raised his gaze toward the setting sun, which was slowly sinking westward.

He had to admit, this feeling was strange. The Great Qi had been destroyed beyond recognition, yet Daliang remained completely calm, untouched by any turmoil.

It was hard to imagine how close these two places were.

What this meant, he couldn’t say. But he didn’t care. In this chaotic world, there were too many things that defied understanding. There was no need to question everything.

Returning to familiar Daliang, once Li Huowang felt his heart finally relax, he realized his severely injured body was nearly collapsing.

"Dad, are you okay?" Li Sui reached out to steady him. "Are you hungry? Thirsty?"

"Just fine. These minor injuries won’t stop me. Help me sit down by the side." Li Huowang endured the pain, looking down at his exposed waist, reaching inside to push something back in place.

Her tentacles followed, slipping in as well. Soon, the Li Sui standing there vanished, replaced by a fully restored version of Li Huowang's broken form.

"Dad, do you feel better now?"

Hearing the voice from within, Li Huowang touched one of his tentacles and said, "Thank you. No need to waste time healing now. Let’s go. Back to Great Qi to find the Upper Extreme Spring."

"Are you really sure about this? Are you afraid of dying there?" Shangguan Yuting asked, watching the disheveled Li Huowang with concern.

"No need to worry! Better to finish this sooner rather than later!" Li Huowang untied the cloth from his spine sword and tied it tightly around himself.

"Great Qi has finally escaped natural disasters. I must hurry. Who knows how long it’ll last before it collapses. If it does, everything will be gone."

With that, he took a deep breath, gripped his spine sword tightly, and slashed through the rift, stepping into it.

Not long after, a galloping carriage passed where Li Huowang had just been, heading toward Shangjing.

The driver glanced at the thick paw prints scattered across the ground and spoke to the person inside the carriage:

"We’ll rest once we get home. Look at these prints—this area must be full of great beasts."

A woman’s discontented voice came from inside, "Why are we changing our minds again? Oh my, slow down! This cart is making my butt numb."

"What a thankless woman! This gentleman kindly offered us a ride because he pitied us. If it weren’t for him, you wouldn’t even have a chance to ride!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the curtain of the carriage parted, and a hand adorned with silver bracelets reached out and grabbed the man’s ear.

"If you’ve got guts, repeat that! Do you really think just because I'm married, you can boss me around at home?"

"Ahhhh!! Sister, I’m driving the horse here! Stop that, or people will laugh at us!"

Meanwhile, Gao Zhijian sat silently at the rear of the carriage, bent over, watching the quarrel between the brother and sister.

Though his eyes were fixed on them, his mind was elsewhere—thinking about what he would do once he arrived in Shangjing.

Regardless of whether the chaos in his mind was real or imagined, Gao Zhijian didn’t want to dwell on his past.

He loved Niu Xin Village and intended to spend his life there. If he could marry Xiao Man, even better.

But seeing how much hardship his senior brother had endured protecting them along the way, he couldn’t stand by anymore. Now that his senior brother was clearly in trouble, he had to help.

Two adults like them—since Gouwa couldn’t be found, he could definitely use the emperor’s power to locate him. After all, the entire world belonged to the emperor.

In truth, Gao Zhijian wasn’t certain about his own past. Those hazy memories might be real or fabricated—but regardless, he had to try.

"I am the emperor. Once I arrive, the palace people should recognize me, right?"

"I used to be the emperor, so the current emperor should be related to me. He should be willing to help, shouldn’t he?"

Even if I’m not the emperor, I still have memories of being a general. Maybe I was a general before. A general finding someone should be easy."

As Gao Zhijian pondered, his head began to ache. His memories were too fragmented—pieces scattered everywhere, hard to piece together.

When he snapped back to reality, he found his carriage had stopped. The two siblings had already gotten out.

"Excuse me, kind sir, we've arrived. Thank you for the ride. This is our village ahead. Would you like to come in for a bite to eat?" The driver bowed politely to Gao Zhijian from within the carriage.

Gao Zhijian returned the bow and shook his head. He walked to the front of the carriage, grabbed the reins, and guided the horse slowly down the dirt path.

"That man is really kind—he’s strong and tall. If I hadn’t married, I’d have wanted to marry him myself," the woman sighed.

The man let out a regretful sigh and said to his older sister, "Yeah, look at him—he’s so sturdy. If he worked the fields, he'd outperform two oxen. Too bad... he’s mute."

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Next chapter updates at 00:02

(End of Chapter)