The disappearance of the Bronze Gate was a grand spectacle, with fierce winds and colorful lights filling the sky, instantly drawing the attention of countless residents.
And Zhang Qiling, slowly emerging from amidst this strange phenomenon, was inevitably caught by the eyes of a few. Fortunately, he appeared in such a disheveled state, with not a single part of him unharmed, that people, after much discussion, could only use their imagination to give him various code names.
For instance—
"Holy crap, that's amazing!" Fatty, holding a newspaper, lay sprawled on the ground, unfazed by the dust around him. He directly wiped the sweat from his forehead with his dirty hand. "Look, what's this—'The Bronze Gate's Most Awesome Sweeping Monk'!"
"Just now, Fatty saw 'Mysterious Beggar, Dragon Group Big Shot' over there, and now another awesome title. Our little brother really lives up to his name, never simple wherever he goes~"
Fatty let out a self-amused, boisterous laugh. Just as he was about to slap the furniture beside him to vent, he was stopped by Wu Tianzhen.
"Keep it down," Wu Tianzhen said, setting down a huge package. He straightened up and rubbed his shoulders, feeling the soreness in every muscle. "Little brother is still sleeping in the car. Don't wake him up."
... The experience at the Bronze Gate had ultimately taken a toll on Zhang Qiling. The hospital couldn't figure out his physical condition, so they could only discharge him. However, Zhang Qiling became visibly lethargic, awake for only a few hours a day.
At this moment, he was curled up in a small corner in the back seat of the car, holding his saber, his hood pulled down, looking drowsy.
"Oh, oh," Fatty immediately quieted down. He cautiously glanced towards the car, patted the dust off himself, and stood up. "No kidding, little brother really doesn't take up much space when he sleeps."
... To provide Zhang Qiling with ample space to sleep, the two of them had to transport their belongings back and forth multiple times. Only on the last trip did they bring Zhang Qiling along, all to clear the entire back seat for him to use as a bed.
But clearly, Zhang Qiling didn't particularly favor the spacious back seat; he still seemed to prefer sleeping curled up.
Looking out from the house, the back seat of the car was dim, with only a hint of white faintly visible, emitting a gentle fluorescence.
That light came from the saber in Zhang Qiling's arms.
The white blade was like fine jade, warm to the touch. Despite its extremely sharp edge, it was held directly by Zhang Qiling, its sharpness completely sheathed, not even nicking his clothes.
... This was the saber Zhang Qiling had brought out from the Bronze Gate.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk!" Fatty laboriously bent down and lifted the Black Gold Ancient Saber from the bag. The little Black Gold had finally been fitted with the beautiful scabbard obtained from Zhang Haike, but it felt no joy at all.
It vibrated intermittently, its sound lacking strength, as if plunged into deep sorrow.
"Hey, the new generation replaces the old!" Fatty carried the saber and let out a brazen laugh, then he pretended to reach out and stroke the hilt of the Black Gold. "Look on the bright side, maybe little brother will remember you someday? Hahahaha!"
Black Gold Ancient Saber: ...
The blue rabbit, which had been darting around the yard, heard the crisp sound of the Black Gold Ancient Saber being placed on the table. It poked its head out, its eyes glowing with eager red light—
It hadn't been able to bite through the saber before, but now, after two years of growth, it felt confident it could!
"Whoa, Fluffball, stay away from those things!" Seeing Fluffball taking two steps towards a pile of incredibly shiny boxes, Wu Tianzhen's spirits lifted, and he hurried over to stop the rabbit's big teeth.
... These were all congratulatory gifts sent by others. What if Fluffball gnawed them to pieces—
Wu Tianzhen recalled Zhang Haike's overly excited expression and the bloodshot eyes from exhaustion when he delivered the gifts, and he felt that this clan leader and fervent admirer might very well pluck all the fur from the blue rabbit with his bare hands.
Although Wu Tianzhen's intervention was timely, the pile of gift boxes, already precarious due to their excess, tilted and fell to the ground after being bumped by the blue rabbit.
The topmost box bounced a few times on the ground, ultimately unable to resist Newton's power, and reluctantly opened its lid—
A stream of green light instantly poured out, almost blinding Wu Tianzhen.
This was the mother bell, which had been ruthlessly crushed by Zhang Qiling!
Now, the mother bell had been meticulously repaired, and one couldn't see the cracks without close inspection. Wu Tianzhen remembered Zhang Haike carefully picking up the fragments, and his expression gradually turned blank.
... Damn it, he just didn't like any Zhang family member who wanted to drag Zhang Qiling back to be their clan leader.
In an instant, Wu, who had been feeling grateful, turned cold and ruthless. He pointed at the miserably lying mother bell with dead eyes—
"Go, Fluffball, it's decided, it's you!"
"Quick, eat this unlucky thing for me!"
Fluffball: ... So I'm just a trash can for destroying things you don't like?
Fluffball was tempted, but Fluffball refused.
The mother bell still faintly retained the scent of Ghost Seal fragments. Even if the blue rabbit had eight hundred guts, it wouldn't dare to offend it.
So, it stomped its hind legs in place, gave Wu a face full of blue fur with an extreme shake, left with a "I'm very noble" look, and hopped away, heading straight for the Black Gold Ancient Saber.
For a moment, Wu, standing there, deeply empathized with the Black Gold Ancient Saber, which was about to be messed with.
"Hurry up, Tianzhen, stop playing around!" Fatty was busy moving things alone, almost exhausted to death. "It's almost dark. We have to get little brother onto a proper bed before nightfall, right!"
Indeed, looking into the distance, smoke was rising from the sky above this small village.
Although it was the technological era, in the distant green mountains and clear waters, there were still elders who preferred the rustic charm of smoke from cooking fires.
Yucun was such a small village, and it was the paradise they had chosen for Zhang Qiling to recuperate.
"Coming, coming!"
Wu Tianzhen looked at the wisps of clouds in the sky. Against the backdrop of the setting sun, they resembled shimmering golden points on the sea. A few birds were chirping as they spread their wings and flew past. With each beat of their wings, they stirred the tightly packed clouds into slowly scattering shimmering dots.
... This was their new home.