While Su Xingchen was puzzled, Su Ye was thinking about the same question.
Where was he going next?
He had a system, but... getting stronger would still take time.
Right now, he didn't even have a place to stay. The only thing of value on him was probably the phone in his pocket.
He unlocked it...
And found his linked bank account.
Balance: 219.8
The original Su Ye had worked hard to earn that money. He'd once had over three thousand, but after his time with the Su Family... Forget it. No point dwelling on that.
It probably wouldn't cover more than a few nights in a hotel.
And he still needed to learn this world's martial arts.
Just as he was worrying about what to do...
Bzzz—
The phone in his hand suddenly vibrated. The caller ID read...
[Mom]
This wasn't Xuanyuan Mingmou, his birth mother. It was Liu Ruxin, the woman who had adopted him and lovingly raised him for eighteen years.
He swiped to answer.
A gentle voice came through the receiver.
"Xiao Ye, is this a good time to talk?"
Hearing that voice, so familiar from his memories, Su Ye felt his eyes sting.
"Yeah, Mom. I can talk."
That one word made Liu Ruxin instinctively answer, "Yes?" Her voice was already choked with emotion.
"Good, good. Xiao Ye, I know you're working hard on your cultivation over there, but you need to rest too. It's so late."
Though she couldn't see him, Su Ye smiled and nodded.
"Okay. I'll listen to you, Mom."
Happiness crept into Liu Ruxin's voice. "Xiao Ye, tomorrow's your eighteenth birthday, so I wanted to wish you a happy birthday. I've sent you three thousand yuan. Buy yourself something good to eat... I know it isn't much, but I still wanted to do something for you."
Su Ye's adoptive parents, Su Xiangdong and Liu Ruxin, were ordinary people who had awakened no supernatural abilities and had no Cultivation Talent.
They had no connections and had never caught a lucky break.
When a Beast Tide swept over the coast years ago, they lost their families and their homes. Liu Ruxin was injured in the attack.
The whole family had to get by on the meager wages Su Xiangdong earned doing manual labor.
Even so, after finding Su Ye as a baby, they had raised him with all the care they would have given their own son. They had given him everything they could.
To Su Ye, Su Xiangdong and Liu Ruxin were his real parents.
"Xiao Ye."
On the other end of the line, Liu Ruxin's voice was full of hope.
"Xiao Ye, will you ever be able to come back? Could you let us see you again? Mom misses you."
Su Ye took a deep breath.
"Mom, I'm coming home right now."
Half an hour later.
Su Ye boarded a Maglev Train bound for Fangyuan City.
Dawn was breaking in the east.
Su Ye walked through the streets of the Old Town Area and finally stopped before a fifty-story building.
This was the Su Family's home.
Or rather, it was where they rented an apartment.
He'd heard that when buildings like this first appeared, only the rich could afford to live in them. Now... high-rises were standard housing for the poor.
The government planned, built, and rented them out at modest prices, ensuring basic housing for low-income residents and minimizing social instability.
Those with Martial Talent or substantial resources, meanwhile, lived in the New City.
Low-rise houses and villas, with more greenery and room to breathe, were what the wealthy called home.
Ding.
The elevator stopped on the thirty-second floor.
There were more than a dozen apartments on the floor.
The door to one of them was already open.
"Xiao Ye!"
Ever since she'd hung up the night before, Liu Ruxin had been listening for sounds outside. At last, she saw the son she hadn't seen in half a month.
"Xiao Ye, it really is you!"
"Mom, I'm home."
Su Ye stepped forward and took Liu Ruxin's hand.
Her eyes were red as she looked him up and down, her heart aching.
"You've lost weight. How did you get so thin? My poor boy, you've had a hard time out there."
"Xiao Ye, this will always be your home. Stay as long as you like."
A tall man who looked older than his years came out too. Su Xiangdong patted Su Ye's shoulder, his eyes reddening.
Neither he nor Liu Ruxin had slept after her call with Su Ye last night.
Su Xiangdong had even taken the day off work to wait at home for his son.
Su Ye hadn't said anything... but something must have happened to him.
The Yujing Su Family had a Guardian War God. Why else would Su Ye travel all the way back from Yujing in the middle of the night?
The couple exchanged a look, but neither asked Su Ye what had happened.
As long as their son was home in one piece, that was enough.
If Su Ye didn't want to talk about it, they wouldn't ask.
As long as they were around, they could always put food on his plate.
"Big brother! You're finally back! Now that you're home, that little fatty next door won't dare bully me anymore!"
A little girl squeezed in and hugged Su Ye's leg.
It was Su Xiangdong and Liu Ruxin's daughter, seven-year-old Su Baobao.
"Oh? That little fatty next door has been picking on our Baobao again? I'll get him back for you!"
Su Baobao grinned and clung to his leg.
"Yeah! Make him run a hundred laps downstairs without stopping! And don't let him drink any water. Hmph, that'll wear him out!"
Su Ye played with his little sister for a while before the family went inside.
The Su Family's apartment was tiny.
It had just one bedroom, with a bunk bed in it.
Liu Ruxin and her daughter slept on the bottom bunk, while Su Ye slept on top.
Su Xiangdong had set up a camp bed in the living room, where he slept at night.
One living room in the Yujing Su Family's home was ten times the size of this entire apartment. Yet standing here, Su Ye felt utterly at ease.
It felt like returning to a safe harbor.
"Dad, Mom, I've cut ties with the Yujing Su Family. From now on, I'm the same Su Ye I was before."
Su Ye explained with a smile and said nothing more.
When you weren't strong enough, telling people you'd make the Su Family regret it someday would only sound like a joke.
He just had to do it.
Liu Ruxin and Su Xiangdong exchanged a glance and nodded.
"Good, good. We're just glad you're home, Xiao Ye!"
Su Baobao blinked her big eyes.
"Happy birthday, big brother! Mom bought your favorite prawns. Let's eat! There's cake too—a birthday cake!"
Su Ye tapped the little girl's forehead.
"All right. I'll show you what I can do today and make braised prawns!"
Su Baobao clapped her hands and bounced with joy.
"Wow, you're the best, big brother!"
Just as she'd thought, their family was only complete when her big brother was home.
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