Back... "Home"

The evening breeze blew in from the sea, carrying the salty tang of seawater and the lingering warmth of the distant city. A few withered yellow leaves were swept into the air, spun once, then fell back onto the stone path and slid past Wu Changkong's feet. Holding Long Bing, Wu Changkong slowly descended onto the stone steps at the edge of Sea God Island. The flagstones beneath his feet had been worn smooth, with a thin layer of moss growing along their edges, glimmering dark green under the moonlight.

He did not let go immediately after landing. He lowered his head to glance at Long Bing, and only after confirming that she was standing steadily did he slowly set her down. As his hand moved away from her lower back, his fingertips brushed along the edge of her clothing, as though confirming something. Then he took her hand, his fingers gently closing around her knuckles. "Let's go. We'll find Master."

Long Bing did not pull her hand away, nor did she speak. She simply followed his pace, stepping over those polished flagstones. The wind swept in from the sea, lifting the ends of her hair before letting them fall again. Her skirt swayed faintly against her legs in the breeze, like words yet to be spoken still circling uncertainly in the air.

"Well, what brings you all the way here?" The voice came from behind them, unhurried and carrying a lazy nasal drawl. Zhuo Shi stood several steps behind them, one hand behind his back and the other stroking his beard. His gaze swept from Wu Changkong to Long Bing, then from Long Bing back to Wu Changkong, an inscrutable curve at the corner of his mouth.

Wu Changkong and Long Bing both jolted half a step backward in fright. The two of them clung to each other like a pair of startled little animals. Wu Changkong's hand shielded Long Bing's shoulder, while Long Bing gripped his sleeve. It was as if they had been pulled back by the same string. Only then did they slowly let go and straighten up.

Shen Yi poked her head out from behind Zhuo Shi, her ponytail swishing as she hurried forward and threw her arms around Long Bing. "Sister Long Bing!" Her voice held undisguised delight. "Hello, hello!" Before Wu Changkong could react, Shen Yi had already embraced Long Bing. "Sister Long Bing, I missed you so much!" Her voice was muffled against Long Bing's shoulder, as though it had only now found an outlet after being held back for so long, filled with excitement and unhidden affection.

Long Bing wrapped an arm around Shen Yi's back, her movements far gentler than before. Resting her chin on Shen Yi's shoulder, she looked at the ends of her hair, and her gaze gradually softened. "Shen Yi, I missed you too." She remembered how Shen Yi had followed behind Wu Changkong as a child, calling him "Senior Brother." Back then, she had not paid much attention to her. Later, this little junior sister who was always running along behind them gradually grew taller, gradually began taking her hand and calling her "Sister Long Bing," and gradually learned to take her side whenever she and Wu Changkong bickered.

Shen Yi released Long Bing, casually shoved Wu Changkong aside, and said without looking back, "Sister, I have so much to tell you. Come on, come on." She took Long Bing's hand and started walking forward, taking a step toward the corridor.

"Hey..." Wu Changkong reached out as if to stop them, but Shen Yi flung him a glare without even turning around. The angle of that glare was precise and practiced, as though she had rehearsed it countless times. He stood there, opening his mouth, and only drew back his hand after watching Long Bing get pulled farther away.

"Still the same as ever..."

He turned around to face Zhuo Shi. His feet did not move forward again. Instead, his knees bent, and with a thud, he dropped to his knees. There was nothing beneath them on the stone slabs. When his knees hit, they made a dull sound, like something striking bottom—clean and direct.

Zhuo Shi's back remained straight. His gaze fell from above, yet he did not speak at once, as though waiting to see what Wu Changkong would say.

Wu Changkong knelt there, opened his mouth, then suddenly stopped. The words he had rehearsed countless times in his mind seemed to clog his throat in an instant. He realized that the man before him did not need any preamble from him. He only needed to say the most direct words.

"Master," his voice was lower than usual.

"Please take me back as your disciple." In a daze, Zhuo Shi saw that ignorant child again.

He fell silent for a moment. Then, with his hands behind his back, a gentle stream of Soul Power surged from his palm, supporting Wu Changkong's arm and lifting him to his feet. "Enough." There was neither reproach nor perfunctory dismissal in his tone. "This teacher has nothing to say to you." He turned around, facing away from him and the silence that was about to follow. "Get up."

He did not hear what Wu Changkong's second sentence was, but it did not matter. No parent would truly blame a child who had just returned home.

When Wu Changkong stood, a layer of dust still clung to his knees. He brushed it off, then tilted his head to look at Zhuo Shi's back. "Master, these past few years, it was because—" His voice was even softer than before, as though he was unsure where to begin or how much he should say.

"It's fine." Zhuo Shi did not turn around, but his tone had softened somewhat. "Tell me about it. How have you been these past few years?"

"Alright." Wu Changkong scratched his head, his voice a little lighter than usual. "I'll tell you slowly." As he followed Zhuo Shi into the house, his footsteps were just as they had been when he first came here so many years ago, carrying a tension and awkwardness that had never fully faded, as though time had been dragged back to its beginning.

Twilight slanted in through the window at the end of the corridor, stretching their shadows long and thin across the ground until they nearly overlapped.

On another path in Shrek City, Shen Yi walked ahead with Long Bing's arm hooked through hers, crunching over a few fallen leaves. "Sister Long Bing, how have you and Senior Brother been these past few years?"

"Not bad." Long Bing turned to look at her, her gaze resting on Shen Yi's face for a moment. "After all these years apart, you've grown so beautiful."

Shen Yi was delighted by the praise, the corners of her lips curling up. "Hehe, no matter how much I grow, I can't compare to Sister Long Bing." She took another step forward, as though suddenly remembering something. "Oh, right, Sister. Master has something he asked me to give you. I nearly forgot." Inside the Sea God Pavilion, Zhuo Shi flipped through a thick encyclopedia of Martial Souls, its page edges already frayed from being turned so often.

He stopped, his fingertip resting on a certain line. "This Hummingbird Martial Soul... how should I put it? It has no inherent flaws." He looked up at Wu Changkong. "If you want to break through the bottleneck, you can only try to make it mutate."

Wu Changkong sat opposite him, his gaze fixed on the page, his brow faintly furrowed. Of course, he knew how Long Bing's father had become a Titled Douluo—that path was wicked, and it had already been cut off.

Under normal circumstances, the Hummingbird Martial Soul's limit was right there, like a line that had been drawn in advance. "Master," he said, his voice softer than usual, "how am I supposed to tell her?" There was no hesitation in his tone, only the bewilderment of not knowing where to begin.

Zhuo Shi looked at him without speaking. Wu Changkong scratched his head, got to his feet, and began pacing around the room, as though repeatedly arranging and taking back the words he had not yet figured out.

Zhuo Shi flicked him on the forehead. "Now you remember I'm your master! Figure it out yourself." He withdrew his hand, his tone easing slightly. "Take her around Shrek first. She hasn't been back in years." Wu Changkong stopped and turned his head to look at him. "Yes, Master."

Wu Changkong turned and took two steps toward the door. Just as he was about to step over the threshold, Zhuo Shi's voice came from behind him. "Come eat here tonight." Wu Changkong paused and looked back at him. Zhuo Shi was still facing away, his voice neither loud nor soft, but every word clear. "Remember, don't restrain your aura. Let everyone know—you, Wu Changkong, have become a Titled Douluo. You're back."

Wu Changkong stood at the doorway without speaking. It felt as though something was lodged in his throat, and his voice would not come out. In the end, he only nodded. He lingered by the threshold for a moment before stepping across that boundary.

The door gently closed behind him. Zhuo Shi stood by the window with his back to the doorway. He knew no one would deliberately make things difficult for Wu Changkong, but he still could not set his mind at ease—no one could bully his disciple.

Wind seeped through the crack in the window, stirring the open pages on the table. The rustling of turning pages sounded several times in the quiet room, then stopped. Dusk had fully fallen, and the shadows of the branches outside the window were slowly lengthening, as though guarding the path before the door for someone, waiting for those two figures who had not yet gone far to turn back.

He stood before the window without looking back or saying anything, simply standing there as though waiting for something to be slowly pushed closer by the light.