A World Worth Protecting

All along the way, Wang Baole was tempted to ask about the mask, but he resisted it, knowing that it would be inappropriate to do so outside since the matter was serious. He decided to ask his father tonight, after they finished their drinks.

Before long, the father-son duo reached their house, the place where Wang Baole grew up. The feeling of familiarity made Wang Baole, who had left Phoenix City a year ago with gusto, slightly sentimental.

By virtue of his father’s archaeological work, Wang Baole’s house, an independent property, was considered relatively high-end in Phoenix City, though it still could not be compared to a typical apartment in Ethereal City in terms of price.

Once he stepped foot into the house, Wang Baole instantly smelled the fragrance of food. His eyes lit up, immediately running into the house after removing his shoes, where he saw his mother approaching him with a plate of braised meat.

“Mum, I’m home!” Wang Baole exclaimed cheerfully as he gave his mother a tight hug.

“Look at you, slow down!” Wang Baole’s mother was about forty years old, and although crow’s feet could be seen on her face, one could still see that she had been a beauty in her younger days. At that moment, her eyes were filled with a mother’s love. She put the dish in her hands down and brought Wang Baole to the dinner table as she fussed over him.

“Baole, you have lost weight! Come, eat more,” Wang Baole’s mother said as she placed a big chunk of red-braised pork into Wang Baole’s bowl.

Seeing that, Wang Baole’s father, who was still removing his shoes, pursed his lips and shook his head. The very reason Wang Baole could not successfully slim down had to do with the amount of pampering Wang Baole’s mother showered on him.

Very quickly, the family of three gathered around the dinner table. After catching up on Wang Baole’s life for the past year, his father brought out a bottle of wine and began drinking with him.

“Baole, don’t eat so much. Drink more!”

“Old Wang, here’s a toast from your son. In the future, our whole family can depend on me. You can finally retire and stop digging all over the place. It’s very dangerous.”

Wang Baole’s father jokingly reprimanded Wang Baole for what he just said. Until now, this boy was still confused between an archaeologist and a grave robber. Nonetheless, Wang Baole’s words filled his heart with warmth, and he gulped down the wine with satisfaction.

Looking at the interaction between the father and son, Wang Baole’s mother felt immensely content. Her gaze was gentle and loving, as the both of them were equivalent to the world to her.

“Mum, I am doing extremely well now! I am the only Head Prefect in the Dharmic Armament Faculty of the college!” Wang Baole mumbled as he stuffed a large piece of meat into his mouth.

“Our Baole has always been intelligent and handsome since he was young, so it is no surprise that he can become the Head Prefect.” While picking up another piece of braised meat with her chopsticks to add to Wang Baole’s bowl, Wang Baole’s mother smiled sweetly as she asked curiously, “Right, Baole, what is a Head Prefect?”

Wang Baole immediately and patiently gave his mother a brief description of what a Head Prefect did. After understanding the role of a Head Prefect, Wang Baole’s mother was filled with surprise, and his father was in disbelief.

“I was just wondering why the City Lord brought along so many people to pay us a visit a while back… It’s because our Baole is so capable!” Wang Baole mother expressed cheerfully, explaining to Baole that in the past few months, the City Lord and Deputy City Lord of Phoenix City had shown up several times, asking about their wellbeing and offering numerous gifts.

“The Deputy City Lord? His son is my subordinate now,” Wang Baole said as he delightedly raised his right hand, dangling the bracelet on his wrist in front of his parents.

“Let’s not talk about that. Look at this! This storage bracelet was a reward that an Upper Academy Elder gave to me for answering his question correctly,” Wang Baole bragged as he shook the bracelet slightly, retrieving numerous bottles of Ice Spirit Water and pills, as well as several Dharmic artifacts to hand to his parents.

“This Ice Spirit Water is produced by the Dao College. Try it! It is especially refreshing.

“Also, take these pills. I bought them from the Alchemy Faculty at Dao College. They can strengthen your body and cure any disease.

“Mum, your health is poor, so you should eat more of these. Dad, you are always out on your archaeological excavations, so carry some pills with you as well. I will buy better quality ones for the both of you next time.”

“As for these Dharma artifacts,” Wang Baole said as he handed the artifacts out, “they were handmade by me. Dad, these are for you, and Mum, carry these on you.”

Seeing how Wang Baole has achieved academic excellence in his year of study and how filial he was, his parents were extremely heartened. The family of three was immersed in an atmosphere of warmth and love.

They had a long dinner, with Wang Baole sharing his experiences over the past year. With the exception of certain encounters that he feared would make his parents worry, he detailed everything for them. In the end, Wang Baole shared a laugh with his mother as they cleaned up after their meal.

“Don’t quarrel with Du Min all the time. She seems like a nice girl to me. And that Zhou Xiaoya you mentioned… bring her home for a visit the next time,” Wang Baole’s mother said.

“No problem. I will bring someone different home for you to see every year,” said Wang Baole gleefully, a result of him having one drink too many.

“Baole, you sure are capable!” Wang Baole’s mother glared at him while his father smiled as he picked up the wine glass, his heart filled with emotions, as if he was recalling his younger days.

“Mum, I have learned all this from Dad.” Wang Baole let out a dry cough. Upon hearing that, his father almost spat out the wine in his mouth, and he hurriedly explained the situation before staring back at Wang Baole.

Wang Baole laughed sheepishly, pouring another full cup of wine for his father. As the father and son drank, Wang Baole thought about the black mask. He knew that the mask did not come legitimately, but he did not want to involve his parents in any form of danger, no matter how slight, so he did not talk about the matter directly. Rather, he beat about the bush to obtain more information about it.

“You mean the mask you stole? Ha, you rascal. I have not punished you for that! Ah, but no matter. Keep it if you like it,” Wang Baole’s father said. “The mask… Let me try to recall. Last year, when I went on an assignment with the archaeological team to the Pond Cloud Rainforest, I picked it up from the remnants near one of the mountain ranges.

“After inspecting it when I came home, I realized that it was not a Spirit Qi remnant, which meant that it was not very valuable. Therefore, I spent some money to buy it so that I could research its age. However, even before I could do that, you took it away.”

Despite having drunk too much, Wang Baole’s father still managed to give a thorough explanation of the mask’s origin.

Wang Baole further inquired about the location of the excavation and if there were other remnants of the mask lying around. After ascertaining that there was only one such mask, he helped his drunk father back to his parents’ room before returning to his own room. He lay down, pondering deeply while looking at the moon.

The Pond Cloud Rainforest… Wang Baole felt a special connection with the rainforest. At this moment, he imagined the excavation location as described by his father and determined the most probable coordinates of the place. He planned to explore the area alone someday when he became stronger.

Very quickly, half a month has passed.

In that time, Wang Baole mostly stayed at home with his parents. The times he went outdoors were times when he either accompanied his mother to go shopping or followed his father and his archaeological team.

Life appeared to be the same as that before he entered the Dao College. Wang Baole was content with that. He asked his parents to eat some of the pills that he had brought home. Their health improved, they looked more youthful, and their spirits also seemed to be lifted.

That made Wang Baole very happy. He also equipped his parents with some of the Dharma artifacts that he had made. With their protection, his father would have some means of self-defense even if he met with a ferocious creature.

Days passed, and one afternoon, as Wang Baole lay on his bed, touching his full tummy after lunch, he received an invitation for a class gathering.

It was not a gathering of his schoolmates from Dao College but from the foundation school he had attended before college. Now that it was the holidays and everyone had returned home, it was a good time for a gathering.

“A gathering?” Wang Baole sat up on his bed, looking at the voice transmission ring, his eyes shining brightly. He climbed up from the bed immediately and changed his clothes. With his heart filled with excitement, he bade his mother farewell and left the house.

This was the first gathering with his schoolmates since Wang Baole graduated from the foundation school. The location of the gathering, as chosen by the organizer, was the renowned Cultured Hotel in Phoenix City.

When he arrived at the hotel, Wang Baole noticed Du Min, who had just reached the hotel as well. She was not dressed in the Dao College uniform but instead wore casual clothes and tied her hair into a ponytail. She looked fresh and pretty, but she still habitually gave Wang Baole a death stare after noticing him.

“Why are you always staring at me? I didn’t provoke you today!” Wang Baole said unhappily.

Du Min could not explain why she felt the urge to stare at him every time she saw him either. She let out a displeased harrumph and raised her head like a proud peacock as she walked passed Wang Baole.

“People with small chests indeed have short tempers!” Wang Baole exclaimed snidely and followed her into the hotel. There, he saw a large hall filled with people chatting cheerfully with each other.

There was a young chap dressed in a suit who seemed impressive. He was raising his hand, as if pointing out his legacies, and had a cheerful laughter. After noticing Wang Baole and Du Min, he threw a passing glance at Wang Baole while his gaze stopped at Du Min.

“Our class monitor, you’re finally here!” The young chap laughed happily as he enthusiastically signaled for the others to make way. Toward Wang Baole, however, he simply nodded without paying much attention.

Recognizing this different treatment, Wang Baole blinked several times. Since they did not have much of a special relationship even in their classes back during their school days and sat down without further thought.