Trying to Fit into This World

Sincerity Hotel.

Zhang Hongxing's family had rented the hotel's only two-bedroom suite.

Their house had collapsed, they did not want to impose on anyone, and Zhang Hongxing's identity was difficult to explain. For now, they had no choice but to stay here.

On the walk from his home to the hotel, Zhang Hongxing had been like a country bumpkin seeing the big city for the first time, gazing with interest at every unfamiliar sight.

The rows of newly built high-rises.

The wide, smooth roads.

The endless stream of cars of every make and model.

The mobile phones that almost everyone carried.

The many styles of new clothing worn by passersby.

He had never imagined that the Xia Kingdom could change so much in just thirty years.

Zhang Hongxing's amazement made Zhang Jun and his family even more certain that he had traveled through time. In fact, the outfit he wore—the very same clothes he had left in thirty years ago—had already been gradually convincing them it was true.

Their family was hardly wealthy. No one would be foolish enough to find an identical look-alike and deliberately dress him in clothes from thirty years ago just to get close to them.

After they checked into the hotel, Yan Mei went to the supermarket with her son and mother-in-law to buy some daily necessities.

Only Zhang Hongxing and his son remained in the room.

"Um, would you like some tea?"

Zhang Jun pointed to the tea tray on the coffee table.

"Why are you being so formal with me? We're family. If you have something to say, just say it."

Zhang Hongxing settled onto the sofa. Feeling the springiness beneath him, he could not help marveling inwardly at how comfortable life on Earth was.

"Um... fine, I'll just say it. Honestly, with you looking the way you do now, we really don't know what to do. Even if I can accept this, what are you going to do about my mom? And how are we supposed to explain it to other people?"

"Explain what? Just tell them how it is."

Zhang Hongxing answered casually. His cultivation was only temporarily gone. Given some time, restoring Li Xiuying's youth would not be particularly difficult.

"You..."

Zhang Jun had always been a mild-mannered man. Besides, the person before him was almost certainly his father. He could hardly speak too harshly to his own father.

The living room fell quiet for a while. Zhang Hongxing fiddled with the LCD television until he turned it on. The Xia Kingdom had changed so quickly over those thirty years that he needed ways to learn about this world fast, so he could fit into it better.

Zhang Jun, meanwhile, was thinking about their future.

Their most pressing task was to buy a home. The whole family could not keep living in a hotel forever.

It was inconvenient and made no financial sense.

But buying a home required money first. Even if he emptied all his savings, he would only have enough for the down payment on a two-bedroom apartment in the county seat. With so many people in the family, two bedrooms clearly would not be enough.

Perhaps he could borrow some money from someone.

The thought of borrowing money filled Zhang Jun with worry. These days, getting anyone to lend you money was no easy matter.

So many friends and relatives had fallen out over loans.

Some had even become enemies.

"What are you thinking about? You look miserable."

Zhang Hongxing reached out and patted Zhang Jun's shoulder, startling him.

"N-nothing."

"If something's wrong, tell me. I might be able to help."

"Nothing's wrong. Really."

Since Zhang Jun would not talk, Zhang Hongxing could hardly force him. He turned back to the television. With fifteen thousand years of cultivation experience behind him, even "lightning-fast" could not begin to describe how quickly he absorbed this modern knowledge.

Before long, the grandmother, daughter-in-law, and grandson returned from their shopping trip.

The moment he came through the door, Zhang Le ran up to Zhang Hongxing.

"Grandpa, Grandpa, look! Mom bought me an Ultraman!"

"Ultra-man? What's that?"

"Ultraman is an alien! He's super powerful, and he helps humans fight monsters!"

"Oh? When did this hero come along? Why is he dressed like that?"

"He's a cartoon character from the Cherry Blossom Country. All the kids are into him these days."

Zhang Jun interjected. Clearly, he was not particularly fond of Ultraman.

"Grandpa, Grandpa, Grandma bought you new clothes too!"

Zhang Le's sudden announcement made the atmosphere a little awkward. Despite her age, Li Xiuying was so embarrassed that she hid in the kitchen. Her daughter-in-law, Yan Mei, however, calmly brought over two sets of clothes.

"Mom picked these out for you. What she means is, there's such a big age gap between you two now that being seen together really wouldn't look right. From now on, just say you're a relative from out west who's come to stay with us. That way, we won't have to explain things to anyone."

"All right."

Zhang Hongxing took the clothes. Until he could restore Li Xiuying's youth, he had no intention of saying much about it.

His ready agreement left both Yan Mei and Zhang Jun relieved.

Yan Mei immediately went into the kitchen.

“Red Star agreed?”

"Yes."

"Oh, this really is hard on him."

"Mom, what are you actually thinking? We can't keep going on like this forever."

"Oh, we'll just have to take it one day at a time."

Li Xiuying let out a wistful sigh, then continued preparing the vegetables.

Before seeing Zhang Hongxing again, she had thought about him every waking moment. But reunited with him in this way, she found herself unable to face him.

Whenever she saw her aged face in the mirror, she could not bear it.

Heavens, why would you play such a cruel joke on me?

At the dinner table, Li Xiuying hardly dared to look up at Zhang Hongxing. She simply ate in silence. Fortunately, little Zhang Le was there to make a fuss; otherwise, the awkward atmosphere would have been unbearable.

That night, Zhang Hongxing climbed onto the hotel roof, sat cross-legged, and began ravenously absorbing the meager spiritual energy around him.

In less than an hour, he broke through the ninth level of Qi Refining and entered Foundation Establishment.

Then his cultivation progress slowed.

By dawn, he had only just reached the second level of Foundation Establishment.

"The spiritual energy on Earth is far too thin. Without any outside assistance, Golden Core might be the limit."

"But for me, that isn't much of a problem."

Zhang Hongxing looked up at the streetlights lining both sides of the road, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly. In the Immortal Cultivation World, he had been known as the Thunder Immortal Venerable.

Using lightning to break through cultivation barriers had been one of his great innovations.

The lightning on Earth might not compare to the Thunder Purgatory of the immortal realm, but electricity seemed much easier to obtain.

The rising sun illuminated the city.

With a light leap, Zhang Hongxing jumped down from the roof. His Foundation Establishment cultivation was already enough for him to get a few things done.

Although Zhang Jun had said little in the living room yesterday, he had still noticed a few things. At the very least, he could tell they were short on money.

Since they needed money, Zhang Hongxing, as the head of the family, naturally had to earn some.

With his current Foundation Establishment cultivation, making a little money should not be difficult.