The Boy Who Left Home Young Returned in His Later Years

Ling'er remembered sitting on the phoenix and seeing the Witch Queen, the man in white, and Baiyue fighting from far away in the sky. She hadn't expected the monster to be dead, so she hurriedly asked, "You killed the Water Demon Beast, but the flooding didn't stop. I remember Mother was rescuing the people, while the man in white and that awful Baiyue were fighting."

How had Wang Yue not noticed the phoenix? Could it have left before he arrived? He quickly explained, "The three of us—well, the man in white and the Witch Queen worked together. Knowing it couldn't win, the Water Demon Beast blew up its body, but its essence escaped. Later, when the man in white and your mother went to find the Baiyue Cult Leader, I was slower than them. By the time I arrived, your mother had used herself as a catalyst to seal Baiyue, hoping to stop the flooding and Baiyue's madness. But after Baiyue was sealed, he suddenly broke through the seal and escaped. Your mother, meanwhile, turned into a statue and fell into the water. No one knew what became of her."

Wang Yue and Zhao Ling'er walked ahead while everyone else followed behind. As the two chatted, they soon reached the house Wang Yue remembered from when he had left home. He looked it over carefully and saw that it was still the same residence, without a single change.

Wang Yue couldn't help wondering if his father was still the county magistrate here. Had he really gone all these years without being promoted?

Just then, an old man came out of the residence. He had heard that a group of people had arrived at the gate and had come to see who they were. When he spotted Wang Yue among them,