Chapter 128 - 127: Bonus - 4

Chapter 128: Chapter 127: Bonus Chapter 4

「Back to the present.」

The day after returning from the Zhuo family, Gu Qingyin took Tong Xihai to the hospital. Posing as his friend, she visited his elderly parents.

The elderly couple had already received the compensation payment. Although they were still heartbroken, the look of stress had clearly vanished from their faces.

With this money, the couple could live out their later years comfortably, even without their children by their side.

Tong Xihai was relieved. After leaving the hospital, he reported to the Underworld with Gu Qingyin’s help.

Gu Qingyin gained another point of merit. In high spirits, she picked up her son from the company and they went for a big hot pot feast.

For the next two months or so, Gu Qingyin’s life was quite leisurely. She took jobs when they came, and when business was slow, she focused on her sons: making sure the eldest was eating and resting well, the second was doing good deeds, and the youngest was keeping up with his Xuan Technique studies.

Beyond that, her days were filled with humoring her husband and researching talismans.

「Before she knew it, the end of the year had arrived.」

Yun City was a southern city with no central heating in the winter. During the coldest periods, temperatures neared freezing. It was cold outside, but it felt even colder indoors.

The Huo Family’s old residence, however, had underfloor heating. Huo Yunjing had it installed when Gu Qingyin was pregnant, and it had since been renovated to run on solar panels.

It didn’t use electricity or water, giving it a longer lifespan.

Gu Qingyin might as well have been hibernating; she absolutely refused to leave the house unless it was necessary.

It wasn’t that she was afraid of the cold—after years of living on the mountain where it was much colder, she was long used to it. She simply found it incredibly comfortable to nestle somewhere warm on a cold day.

As the end of the year approached, Huo Xingchen finished his intensive training. The club gave him a three-day break, after which he had to return to the Yun City base to continue training. He wouldn’t get another vacation until just before the Spring Festival.

Huo Xingchen cherished these three days off, holing up at home to show Gu Qingyin the results of his recent talisman-drawing practice.

Honestly, Gu Qingyin was quite surprised.

Huo Xingchen had arranged the talismans he’d drawn in chronological order. It was obvious that the quality of the runes had been steadily improving. The quality of his most recent one was already on par with that of some master talisman creators.

"Very good." Gu Qingyin nodded, satisfied. "And how is your mastery of the Thunder Decision?"

Huo Xingchen puffed out his chest proudly. "Perfect!"

Gu Qingyin let out a laugh, then tapped the pendant on her chest.

Huo Yunjing abruptly appeared beside her. For once, he didn’t immediately cling to her, but stared with restraint. "Honey..."

Gu Qingyin tilted her chin up. "Go on. Let your son fix what’s wrong with your head."

When the temperature had dropped a while back, it was already cold enough, but Huo Yunjing had a habit of suddenly appearing and pressing against her, seemingly unaware that his body was as cold as a block of ice.

He wouldn’t listen no matter how many times she told him. Finally, at the end of her rope, Gu Qingyin kicked him out of the room. He only started behaving after sulking by the door for several days.

Now, Huo Yunjing didn’t dare to get close to her without permission.

Huo Xingchen sensed the subtle atmosphere between his parents, but he wisely chose to ignore it. He cleared his throat and asked, "How do I fix it?"

Gu Qingyin smiled. "Just strike him with lightning a few times. That should do it."

Huo Xingchen was dumbfounded. ’Is she for real?! What on earth did Dad do to make Mom this mad?’

Huo Yunjing fell silent as well. ’Is my wife trying to vent her anger? If I let myself get struck by lightning a few times, will she let me cuddle with her again?’

At this thought, Huo Yunjing suddenly became eager.

He stood up and said to Huo Xingchen in a chilling tone, "Let’s go. To the backyard."

Huo Xingchen hesitated. "This won’t cause any permanent damage, will it?" ’As a son, how can I strike my own father with lightning? That’s completely outrageous!’

As if reading his mind, Gu Qingyin said with a smirk, "Don’t be so confident in your own abilities. You’ve only been cultivating for a short while."

Huo Xingchen’s competitive spirit was instantly ignited. ’It’s not like I haven’t done something outrageous before,’ he thought.

The father and son headed to the backyard, one after the other. Gu Qingyin wrapped herself in the blanket again and settled back onto the sofa to watch TV.

A moment later, a series of CRACKLES and SNAPS erupted from outside, far louder than Gu Qingyin had expected. She tutted and turned up the volume on the TV.

Huo Yunjing’s mind hadn’t broken down in a single day. Rather, during the years he was suppressed, he hadn’t used his brain at all and had been constantly eroded by Evil Qi. That was what had led him to this state.

To put it bluntly, it was just another case of having water on the brain. Drain the water, and he’d be fine.

And lightning was the bane of all things dark and evil. A few good strikes would help the ’water’ in Huo Yunjing’s brain evaporate a little faster.

As for why Huo Xingchen had to be the one to do it, firstly, it was for him to atone. Regardless of his original intentions, he was the one responsible for his father’s current state.

Secondly, Huo Xingchen was the most suitable person for the job for the simple reason that he was weak.

If Gu Qingyin had been the one to act, a few bolts of lightning might have been enough to obliterate Huo Yunjing completely.

The crackling continued for over half an hour before the commotion outside finally ceased.

Gu Qingyin’s slightly furrowed brow relaxed. The TV’s audio was perfectly clear once more.

A moment later, Huo Yunjing floated back in, wobbling. His soul body was still emitting wisps of white smoke—a clear sign he’d been struck quite severely.

Behind him, a pale-faced Huo Xingchen walked in, his own steps unsteady. He was exhausted; he had unleashed too many Thunder Decisions at once, completely draining his Spiritual Power.

With a wave of her hand, Gu Qingyin sent Huo Yunjing back into the pendant to recuperate. Then she gestured to Huo Xingchen. "Go to your room and meditate. Cultivating now, after complete exhaustion, will yield the best results."

Huo Xingchen forced himself to nod and went upstairs without another word.

He didn’t emerge for the rest of the afternoon. It wasn’t until dinner was prepared and served that any sound was heard from upstairs.

Huo Xingchen rushed to the table, grabbed his bowl, and started eating. He didn’t even bother with the other dishes, just wolfing down a whole bowl of rice before chugging a glass of water.

The moment he set the glass down, he let out a long breath and exclaimed, "I’m starving."

Unsurprised, Gu Qingyin ladled some sliced beef into his bowl. "Eat up. You need to replenish your energy."

Both the complete exhaustion of his power at noon and the long cultivation session in the afternoon were extremely taxing on the body, requiring a good deal of nourishment to recover.

But once he recovered, he would find his stamina had greatly increased.

The results were excellent, but unfortunately, it couldn’t be done often. This kind of extreme training method could cripple someone if it went wrong. Once in a while was more than enough.

For dinner, Huo Xingchen ate a full six large bowls of rice, plus a large platter of meat and a big bowl of restorative soup.

He didn’t even feel full after eating; his stomach was still flat, as if he had digested the food as he ate it. But the panicky, ravenous hunger was finally gone.

Before he went upstairs, Gu Qingyin handed him a talisman. "Take a bath before bed. Burn this and toss the ashes into the water."

Huo Xingchen took it and immediately began to study it. "What kind of talisman is this? What does it do?"

"It relieves physical fatigue. If you’re not worried about being too sore to get out of bed tomorrow, you don’t have to use it." With that, Gu Qingyin picked up her thermos and headed upstairs.

Huo Xingchen took the talisman back to his room, intending to study it and see if he could replicate it. But in the middle of his research, he accidentally drew a line on it with his vermillion ink.

Huo Xingchen: ...

Early the next morning, Huo Xingchen woke up and habitually stretched. He instantly transformed into a human record player of agony. "OW-OW-OW-OW-OW..."

It was no exaggeration; Huo Xingchen felt as if he’d been run over by a truck.