Fule Cried?

Fule strode into the courtyard, his smile even more hearty than it had been ten years ago.

"Brother Luo, you and your wife were understandably anxious; if it were me, I would have been even more frantic!"

Fule plopped down onto a stone stool in the yard and poured himself a cup of water. "When your own child goes missing, who has the mind for etiquette? If I didn't even understand that much, all these decades of life would have been for nothing."

Luo Dashan looked at the city lord, feeling a bit embarrassed. Fule continued, "When it comes down to it, this was my fault too. I shouldn't have let Luo Chen go in the first place."

Luo Chen scratched his head sheepishly; he truly hadn't expected that a single trip would turn into ten years.

Lin Xiaomei hurried to the kitchen, leaving Luo Chen, Luo Dashan, Fule, and Luo An'an sitting in the courtyard.

Fule patted An'an on the head and asked, "What spirit soul did you awaken today, An'an?"

Luo Chen explained the situation to Fule, who frowned in thought. "I have truly never heard of such a thing. Perhaps seeking out the Chief is the right choice. He might not know himself, but Tiandou City has many ancient texts in the Heaven Dou Royal Academy library; you might be able to find answers there."

After a while, Lin Xiaomei had the meal prepared. Luo Chen went to help his mother carry the dishes, with his little shadow, Luo An'an, tagging along.

Hailun City was a coastal city where people generally enjoyed drinking fruit wine and malt-brewed spirits, though they didn't call it beer, but rather malt ale.

Three rounds of drinks later, Fule suddenly grew sentimental.

He looked at Luo Chen and said, "You were gone for ten years—why didn't you send a single letter home?"

Luo Chen didn't know how to explain.

Fule continued, "You don't know, but in those first few years after you left, your father would come to ask me every few days if there was any news of you. But later, when he realized you were truly missing, he stopped coming. I sent many people to look for you, but we just couldn't find you..."

Fule's eyes grew moist; he had felt guilty for the past ten years.

Luo Dashan spoke up then. "City Lord Fule—no, Brother Fule. To be honest, I did resent you. I resented you for not stopping Luo Chen. But then I realized I shouldn't blame you; Luo Chen has been a person with his own mind since he was small, and he was already a spirit master. It was just us who kept treating him like a child."

Regardless, the family was still very curious about Luo Chen's experiences over the last decade.

Luo Chen said, "Actually, while it was ten years to you, it only felt like ten days to me."

"What do you mean?" Fule, Luo Dashan, and Lin Xiaomei were all confused.

Luo Chen explained what he had encountered, though he omitted the existence of the God of Time; he didn't want his parents to know too much, as the more they were involved, the less safe they would be.

The group finally realized the truth. So that was how it was; if Luo Chen had been in the outside world, he certainly would have written home.

Lin Xiaomei then asked, "Chen'er, will you go back into that hourglass again?"

Luo Chen paused. He didn't want to worry his parents, but he couldn't lie to them either, so he said, "Perhaps, but it shouldn't be for such a long time again."

"That's good, that's good." Lin Xiaomei let out a long sigh of relief.

Luo An'an lay on the table with a piece of braised pork stuffed in her mouth and asked muzzily, "Brother, you were inside for ten days, so did I grow from one year old to six years old?"

"Mm... something like that."

"Then when I see you next time, will I be twelve?"

Luo Chen opened his mouth, not knowing how to answer. The little girl's train of thought was quite strange.

Fule came to his rescue. "An'an, your brother shouldn't be leaving this time. Even if he does, he'll have to take you along, little one!"

Upon hearing this, Luo An'an's eyes lit up. She turned to look at Luo Dashan. "Daddy! Brother said he'd take me to Tiandou City! I want to go to Tiandou City!"

Luo Dashan offered a rare smile. "We'll go, we'll all go. Mom and Dad will go with you!"

Fule asked, "Brother Luo, is your whole family moving to Tiandou City?"

Luo Dashan replied, "Yes. Since the children are going, we can't rest easy, so we might as well go along."

Fule nodded. "That's true. It's not easy for your family to be reunited."

Luo An'an was so happy she hopped off her chair, ran two laps around the table, and then threw herself back into Luo Chen's arms, looking up to ask, "Brother, do they have candied haws in Tiandou City?"

"Of course!"

"And... do they have grilled fish?"

"They have grilled fish, and not just that—they have all sorts of delicious things!"

"Are there fun friends to play with?"

Luo Chen pondered for a moment. "Of course. An'an will go to school when the time comes and make many good friends. I'll tell you a secret: I have a friend named Su Heng, and he's even more fun than your brother."

Luo An'an was overjoyed and nestled into Luo Chen's arms, continuing to gnaw on her braised pork.

Watching this scene, Fule raised his glass to Luo Dashan. "Brother Luo, your son has a bright future. I reckon his cultivation is almost catching up to mine!"

Luo Dashan clinked glasses with him and said nothing, but the smile at the corners of his mouth could not be suppressed.

The night grew deep, and the host and guests were well-satisfied.

Fule eventually took his leave.

Luo Chen returned to the courtyard, where Luo Dashan and Lin Xiaomei were cleaning up the dishes. Luo An'an had already fallen asleep on the table, a bone still dangling from her little mouth.

"Dad, Mom, let me handle this!" Luo Chen took the bowls from Lin Xiaomei's hands and carried them to the kitchen.

Lin Xiaomei carried Luo An'an back to their room, and Luo Dashan began tidying the yard, leaving Luo Chen alone in the kitchen.

As he washed the dishes, he thought about the tasks ahead. He didn't know when the second trial of the God of Time would begin, but for now, he had to head to Tiandou City first, and then to the Star Dou Great Forest to hunt for a spirit beast!

Dark Gulu Ball, what kind of soul beast should I choose? And the Evil Eye Clan also needs to have a soul ring attached.

Mental-type soul beasts are relatively rare: the Three-Eyed Suanni, the Evil Eye Clan, the Mermaid Princess, the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger, the Ice Silkworm Clan, and also...

The Purple Spirit Wolf-hound!

The Purple Spirit Wolf-hound was Huo Yuhao's third soul ring, providing the soul skill Group Weakness.

This type of soul beast is currently very suitable for Luo Chen.

And there is the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger; Luo Chen must obtain this soul beast!

It possesses six attributes, among which are time and space—these are exactly what Luo Chen needs the most!

Luo Chen still remembers that in Heavenly Jewel Change, Zhou Weiqing's power originated from the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger that Tang San encountered.

Thinking of this, Luo Chen couldn't help but curl the corners of his mouth. The Gulu Ball will definitely become stronger and stronger as time goes on, and the number of soul beasts he captures will also increase. Perhaps in the future, he will be able to capture several hundred-thousand-year soul beasts, or even those Ten Great Fierce Beasts.

That 990,000-year Deep Sea Demon Whale King, as well as his wife, the Demon Empress, and perhaps even the Ten Great Fierce Beasts led by Di Tian, might all be collected into his possession.

Unknowingly, Luo Chen began to let his imagination run wild.