431: Chapter 425 News 431: Chapter 425 News Chen Hai glanced up and down, and Kobashi Miku covered her mouth and giggled.
“Got no ID?
Surely, you didn’t tear it up yourself, did you?” she joked with a laugh.
She had heard plenty of cases where people tore up their passports upon disembarking the plane, using that as an excuse to stay illegally in Japan.
She didn’t know if Chen Hai was one of those cases.
After all, she was just speaking off the top of her head.
If her guess turned out to be correct, then Chen Hai’s claim that he would go back to his country immediately was merely to deceive her!
To this, she was not only unfazed but actually quite pleased to see.
After all, if such were the case, wouldn’t it mean she had the chance to act as a Sperm Collector once?
“Need me to get a room for you?
That’s definitely no problem.”
“Stay as long as you like here; of course, you’d have to cover your own room fees!”
She said, implying something deeper, then added another sentence.
Her travel agency already had a partnership with this hotel.
They got a very favorable price for booking rooms here.
If it weren’t for this, her tour group wouldn’t have chosen this place as their base.
For her, getting a room for Chen Hai in this hotel was merely a matter of saying the word.
She was somewhat interested in Chen Hai and was naturally very willing to help him out with this small favor.
Financially, Chen Hai was not lacking.
Although the Japan Currency bills he carried were old, they still circulated.
Besides, he also had a bank card.
He had several million in his HSBC account in Xiangjiang when he had come to Japan.
By now, the amount there was likely only more, not less.
Given he held shares in various companies, the profits they might distribute as dividends would presumably be deposited directly into this bank card.
Having reached such a transcendent realm, he viewed money with great indifference.
In the Dog Cave, he had spent nearly thirty years in cultivation without eating or drinking.
Merely through regular breathing, the nutrients he absorbed were enough to sustain his bodily needs.
The money was only necessary when needed.
He couldn’t be bothered to check exactly how much was in his bank card.
With Kobashi Miku’s assistance, he smoothly checked into his room and paid using the cash he had, then immediately went into his room.
Having spent twenty odd years in seclusion, he felt somewhat alienated by this era.
He needed to spend some time to fully understand this current world.
Also, he had to consider how to obtain legal documents to return to his home country as soon as possible.
Once back in his hotel room, he immediately picked up the landline phone and started dialing.
The number of the landline in his small shop, once dialed, indicated that the number was no longer in service.
His girlfriend Ye Qingqing’s phone did get through and was answered, but the voice that came through was a rough male voice.
Alas, the man did not recognize Ye Qingqing, and the time when this phone number was registered was ten years ago.
Next, Chen Hai made a dozen more phone calls.
Unfortunately, the numbers he dialed were either disconnected or had changed owners.
He was mentally prepared before making these calls.
Yet the outcome still left him feeling tremendously stifled.
Sitting by the tea table, he casually picked up the remote control and aimed it at the TV in front.
The TV screen was now just a large LCD panel without any bulky back portion—a significant upgrade from the older models.
Thankfully, the operation wasn’t too complex.
With just a bit of thought, Chen Hai had successfully turned on the TV.
He watched TV, but naturally, he didn’t watch movies or dramas; instead, he directly tuned into various news broadcasts.
“Today, Vice President Li of Yanhuang Country, along with his wife, Ye Qingqing, and a group, visited and toured the light manufacturing bases in Osaka under the escort of Defense Minister Inoue Masahiro…”
After switching through several channels, Chen Hai was completely stunned when he came across this news.
Ye Qingqing on the TV, compared to the Ye Qingqing in his memory, looked quite a bit fuller; her whole demeanor appeared much more dignified and luxurious.
On the TV, the image of her flashed by momentarily.
Just from that fleeting glimpse, Chen Hai could confirm her identity; mainly because he was very familiar with Ye Qingqing.
“So many years have passed, the Vice President’s wife, huh?
From her appearance, she seems to be doing quite well!”
After a long silence, Chen Hai sighed deeply.
Having confirmed from the TV that it was indeed Ye Qingqing, he felt no anger, only guilt.
Unkown if he was dead or alive, he had disappeared suddenly for twenty or thirty years.
Even if Ye Qingqing believed he was alive and wanted to wait for his return, her family type and her parents, would definitely not let her wait endlessly, they would surely have her remarry.
Chen Hai could understand that.
If truth be told, it wasn’t Ye Qingqing who was at fault, but himself.
The cause he had sown; even if the fruit it bore was bitter, he had to bear it alone.
Reaching for a cigarette, something he hadn’t done in a long time, he lit up for himself.
Amidst the swirling smoke, he felt as if it wasn’t the cigarette he was smoking, but his own sorrow.
“From now on, we shall not meet again, let us forget each other in the Jianghu.
Perhaps, this outcome was already determined for both of us!”
Breathing out a thick puff of smoke, Chen Hai sighed deeply once more.
You gain some, you lose some!
Given another chance to make that choice, would he refrain from absorbing that dense grey energy in the cave and instead, use the Hongming Blade to break the Dragon-breaking Stone to leave and return home?
Without a second thought, Chen Hai knew his answer would definitely be a no!
The twenty-seven years spent in Dog Cave had advanced his Cultivation in ways that couldn’t be matched even in two hundred and seventy years under normal conditions.
Opportunities like that, once missed, probably can’t be found again in a lifetime.
Should he abandon his Tao Path for the sake of familial affection?
Thinking it over, Chen Hai felt that he truly couldn’t do so.
“Without experiencing the hardships of the mortal world, one cannot understand the difficulties of the immortal realm!”
“Perhaps, for a Tao cultivator like me, love and affection are just luxuries!”
Sighing softly, Chen Hai muttered to himself.
He thought this way, but deep down, he still felt extremely uneasy.
Closing his eyes, every little interaction he had had with Ye Qingqing replayed in his mind.
Those scenes, which occurred twenty or thirty years ago, felt as though they had happened just yesterday to Chen Hai.
It is said that a man’s tears are not easily shed.
At this moment, Chen Hai, though not shedding tears, clearly began to feel a bit moist around his eyes.
It would be a lie to say he had no feelings for Ye Qingqing.
Yet, he had his own pursuits!
If not for his accomplishments in Cultivation, his present self wouldn’t be much different from the elderly men and women on the commuter bus.
Eternal youth, the undying state, such is the immortal fate not even emperors can beg for!
Now, although he hasn’t achieved immortality, he has barely managed to preserve his youthful appearance.
Was it worth it to achieve such feats at the expense of losing some things?
Chen Hai continuously questioned himself.
He very much wanted to declare it worth it without any regrets, but every time he thought of Ye Qingqing, now a Vice President’s wife, his heart just felt sore and uneasy.
“Perhaps, my inability to truly transcend and ascend to Sage is a problem rooted in my own mental state?”
After a long silence, this thought abruptly surfaced in Chen Hai’s mind.