Chen Shi stayed in the imperial capital for a few days, handling various affairs of state before finally leaving.
He came to neighboring Xianzhou to observe the people's livelihoods, then went from Xianzhou to Qingzhou, lingering for several days in each place.
He was like a Great Emperor on a royal tour, inspecting his own domain.
The Earthly Immortal Realm was a distant journey, and he did not know when he would reach it, nor what month and year he might return.
He was filled with reluctance to leave his native soil, but the Heavenly Mechanism Scroll could always find his position, triggering the ascension glow and forcing him to head toward the Earthly Immortal Realm.
Spanning just over three months in all, he toured the fifty provinces and stayed in Xijing for a few more days, mourning the Xijing imperial court destroyed back then.
He returned to Huangpo Village, to the old Chen family residence.
"True King has returned!"
The villagers were quite flustered, coming to kowtow. Chen Shi hurriedly said, "We are all elders and folks of the same township, why bother with such heavy courtesy?"
"Little Shi, I heard you became a True King in the city, how is it that you've returned now? Has someone rebelled against you?"
Old Lady Wuzhu was already too old to farm, her old eyes dim, her teeth reduced to just two or three, her mouth leaking air. "You had the ability when you were a kid, carrying back such a big firecracker and setting off explosives outside the village."
Chen Shi listened with a smile while Old Lady Wuzhu chattered on and on without stopping. "... You even went to steal melons, lying low in the melon field like a badger. I can't grow melons anymore, you see, the fields