When leaving the snow mountain, Zhang Qiling checked the system.
[Main Quest: Explore Changbai Mountain (50%)]
[Completed]
[New quests will refresh in three days, please adjust your status accordingly]
50%...
It seemed that the forbidden land of Changbai Mountain had not been fully explored, but the exploration had reached the system's requirements at this stage.
It made sense, considering Changbai Mountain was the source of countless myths and legends throughout history. How could such a sacred land, at the pinnacle of mystery, be completely occupied by Li Wang, a mere zookeeper?
As Zhang Qiling scrolled through the system messages, Fatty and Wu Tianzhen saw him as if he had zoned out again.
Although Zhang Qiling's frequency of zoning out had significantly decreased after getting to know them, his imminent departure made him seem like he was regressing to his initial state.
How could this be allowed?
With this thought, Fatty and Wu Tianzhen exchanged glances, nodded to confirm their plan, and surrounded him with strange smiles.
"Little Brother, didn't I say I'd give you a reward when we first met?" Wu Tianzhen put his arm around Zhang Qiling's shoulder.
"My parents have always wanted me to bring friends home for dinner. How about you and Fatty come over to my place for a meal!"
"Ah, that's right, that's right!" Fatty chimed in from the side.
"I also really admire you, Little Brother! You can't just send us off and then dive back into the snow pile, you have to come out with Fatty and see the world's wonders!"
Zhang Qiling was caught between them, falling into a state of confusion.
...When did he ever say he was going to dive into a snow pile?
No, he didn't live in a snow pile from the beginning either?
...The world's wonders? Right, he still didn't know what the entertainment and cuisine of this world were like...
Zhang Qiling was tempted. He wasn't planning to stay in Changbai Mountain anyway, and he had been wondering how to spend this three-day rest period. Now, Fatty and Wu Tianzhen had paved the way for him.
His mind raced, but he maintained his aloof demeanor, as if unburdened by worldly matters.
Zhang Qiling nodded faintly.
For a moment, the forbidden land of Changbai Mountain was filled with the joy of three people.
—
At Wu Tianzhen's strong insistence, their first stop was his home.
Initially, things were normal. Zhang Qiling sat quietly on the sofa, wearing new clothes bought by Fatty, listening to them chat. He only spoke when Wu Tianzhen's parents asked him questions.
The Wu family wasn't very wealthy. Wu Tianzhen's parents were both educators, and their home was decorated with a fresh and elegant style.
Zhang Qiling's eyes were fixed on the familiar and unfamiliar fruits from Blue Star displayed on the coffee table. While Fatty was boasting extravagantly, he sneakily tasted each one.
...The taste was good, but it felt a bit strange.
He thought with mixed feelings, chewing on a fruit that looked like an apple but tasted like a banana.
But when lunch was served, the atmosphere suddenly changed!
Zhang Qiling's mind was preoccupied with peculiar things, so he hadn't paid much attention to how Fatty and Wu Tianzhen had fabricated his background story earlier.
Then...
Seeing the mountain of food piled in his bowl by Wu Tianzhen's parents, and then looking at the sympathetic and sad expressions of the elderly couple, Zhang Qiling gradually sensed that something was amiss.
Wu Tianzhen and Fatty's guilt was evident in their eyes. They hastily ate their rice, burying their faces in their bowls, afraid to meet Zhang Qiling's sharp gaze.
"Oh, Xiao Zhang!" Wu's mother, with a look of heartache, placed a large chicken leg into Zhang Qiling's bowl. "Eat more! Poor child, you look so thin, you must not be eating properly!"
Zhang Qiling: ...Although he hadn't eaten much during his days in Changbai Mountain, his special physical constitution prevented him from starving.
"It's alright, child!" Wu's father also spoke, adjusting his glasses. "Don't be reserved, just treat this as your own home!"
"Your auntie really likes clean-cut children like you!"
"Yes, yes, don't be afraid!" Wu's mother added immediately, her tone becoming even gentler at Zhang Qiling's bewildered look. "Those bad people have been brought to justice, you don't have to be scared anymore. Our home is very safe!"
...
...
...??????
So, in the perception of these two elders, what kind of tragic suffering had he, a child of a few years old, endured?
Zhang Qiling was so shocked he was speechless, but he instinctively said thank you and began to slowly eat the "mountain of rice" in his bowl.
Wu Tianzhen and Fatty held their breath, listening to the bizarre exchange for a long time. They were stifling their laughter so much that they couldn't help it anymore, and made muffled snorting sounds of ridicule into their bowls.
"Why are you acting so strange, child?" Wu's mother, unaware of their antics, gently tapped Wu Tianzhen's head to remind him.
"I'm fine... Hahahaha, cough, Mom, I'm not hahahaha!"
Wu Tianzhen finally lifted his head, only to meet Zhang Qiling's deadly gaze.
Logically, he should have shown a little fear, but seeing Zhang Qiling's evenly chewing cheeks, the high pile of rice in front of him, and his rare, resentful eyes, he couldn't help himself.
So, he burst into laughter on the spot, and Fatty immediately joined in. The two of them laughed in unison across the table, unable to stop, vividly demonstrating to Zhang Qiling what ironclad brotherhood meant.
Zhang Qiling: ...
I'll kill you both after I finish eating.
...
In the end, he didn't finish it.
Thanks to Wu Tianzhen and Fatty, who were convulsing with laughter, they couldn't help but start laughing again while pretending to put food in Zhang Qiling's bowl.
They ended up knocking over Zhang Qiling's rice bowl.
Although he was splashed with soup, Zhang Qiling's heart was exceptionally peaceful.
...He really couldn't eat any more of that food.
Brothers were indeed useful, perhaps.
So, when Zhang Qiling came out after taking a shower, he saw Wu Tianzhen and Fatty standing at attention outside the study, being punished by Wu Tianzhen's parents to recite texts. He magnanimously forgave their earlier presumptuous laughter and patted their heads to comfort them.
...Are these two slightly taller than him?
Is this reasonable?
His mood instantly soured again. Zhang Qiling felt that true brothers should be clear about things, and what needed to be clarified should be clarified.
For instance, first of all, how exactly did they fabricate his background story?
As soon as this was mentioned, Wu Tianzhen and Fatty couldn't hold back anymore. They were on the verge of laughing again.
To prevent them from becoming too arrogant and incurring further punishment from Wu Tianzhen's parents, Zhang Qiling very kindly drew out his Black Gold Ancient Saber to help them calm down.
Seeing the saber that had turned Li Wang into dust, the two of them instantly returned to normal, feeling as if they had reached the peak of their seriousness for this lifetime.
"It's just, Little Brother, you know, you don't talk much..." Wu Tianzhen chuckled, trying to gloss over it.
"We just slightly, ah, just slightly, slightly mentioned..."
"That you're a bit reclusive or something..."
Zhang Qiling: ...?
"Yeah, Little Brother!" Fatty, as usual, was straightforward and seemed quite proud.
"You need a reason for being reclusive, right? So, the two of us brothers put our heads together and said you were a child from a family abducted to the deep mountains and wild forests, and you were just rescued!"
Zhang Qiling: ...Stare.
"Ah, look at you, if we said you were too old, people wouldn't believe it either~"
"By the way, Little Brother, how old are you?"
"..."
"One hundred years old."
Zhang Qiling said firmly.
At this moment, he really wished he could go back to when he first met Wu Tianzhen and tell his past self.
Stay far away from these two absurd people.