Flying to the Moon

"What is wrong with people these days!"

"Exactly. Aren't they worried about setting a bad example for the kids?"

"Hey, don't jump to conclusions. Maybe he's an astronaut."

"An astronaut, my ass. Even if he is, there's no way he can fly to the moon."

"You never know. Our space technology is advancing by leaps and bounds. One of these days, we might be able to take people to the moon for a visit."

"Oh, give it a rest. Don't think one little thing you've seen represents the whole picture. Our country's technology is still miles behind America's. If an American said he was going into space, then maybe I'd believe it."

The two people chatting were some distance from Zhang Hongxing and the children, but their words still reached his ears. Normally, he ignored this sort of thing.

This time, however, he turned to look at them.

The two immediately fell silent when they saw Zhang Hongxing looking their way.

But only a moment later, the one who had kept expressing his doubts suddenly raised his voice.

"So what? I meant for you to hear it. What are you going to do about it?"

Whoosh. Zhang Hongxing suddenly appeared in front of him. "Do you think even the moon is rounder in America than it is in the Xia Kingdom?"

"So what if I do? You're the one spouting nonsense. Are other people not allowed to say anything?"

"Whether I'm bragging isn't important. I only came over to tell you that, although our country's technology is a little behind America's, we'll soon catch up. As a citizen of the Xia Kingdom, I hope you can have a little more confidence."

"Hmph. I don't need you lecturing me."

Whoosh. Zhang Hongxing returned to Lele and Wenwen, then took their hands and headed home without looking back.

As soon as they got home, he announced that he was taking Wenwen and Lele to see the moon.

"Dad, you're not joking, are you?"

"Dad, are you sure you can do this?"

"Dad, can you take me too? I'm still your baby, really."

Unlike the two worried mothers, Zhang Jun's eyes shone with excitement. What man hadn't dreamed of doing something as thrilling as flying into space?

"I can't take you. Taking the two of them is already my limit. The distance from Earth to the moon is roughly 384,401 kilometers, and I estimate my top speed with them will be around Mach 5.

"At that speed, the round trip will take almost six days. With that level of consumption, my current immortal essence power can last about eight days at most.

"If I take you along, the consumption will double."

"Dad, since when did you know so much? The distance from Earth to the moon, Mach numbers, all of that?"

"Read more and cultivate more. Stop going off to work all day. Does our family need that little bit of money you earn anymore? As a man, once you know enough and are good enough at it, wouldn't doing just about anything beat spending your whole life working a job?"

"Dad, that's a bit of a blow."

"All right, you decide what you want to do. After dinner, I'm taking Lele and Wenwen. If the school or Mayor Huang asks, you can figure out how to explain it."

After dinner, Zhang Hongxing took one child in each hand and flew straight into the sky.

The rest of the family could only look up and watch from afar.

"Jun, Dad and the kids really will be okay, won't they?"

Even now, Zhang Ying's heart was pounding with anxiety. No matter how confident Zhang Hongxing sounded, he couldn't erase her worry.

"Don't worry. Dad's already as powerful as an immortal. A trip to the moon is nothing to him. Honestly, I'm a little jealous of Lele and Wenwen. Ah... forget it. I'm going to try cultivating some more."

"Yingzi, I want to try cultivating again too. Shall we go together?"

Yan Mei took Zhang Ying's hand. Zhang Ying looked up at the sky, where their father and the two children had long since vanished, then nodded and went with her.

Their mother, Li Xiuying, had already finished cleaning up and begun cultivating ahead of them.

The night soon passed.

By now, Zhang Hongxing and his two grandchildren had left Earth and were heading toward the moon.

"Grandpa, Grandpa, look! The Earth we live on is so beautiful!"

"Grandpa, Grandpa, the moon looks so ugly! How am I supposed to draw it when it's that ugly?"

"Grandpa, Grandpa, is that one of our satellites?"

"Grandpa, Grandpa, it's so scary up here!"

Ever since they had left Earth, Lele and Wenwen had been exclaiming nonstop.

As they continued upward, however, staff in space agencies around the world were letting out one astonished cry after another. The other countries that had planned to join Goddess Country in its confrontation with the Xia Kingdom all put their plans on hold because of this.

After all, that mysterious, incredibly fast ball of light had launched from within the Xia Kingdom.

Until they understood exactly what was happening, waiting and watching was the best choice.

What they didn't know was that the Xia Kingdom Aerospace Administration was just as baffled. Its staff had tried every piece of equipment available, but none could penetrate the ball of light to see what was inside.

"Dr. Ma, I just called an old classmate. Guess what he told me?"

"Xiao You, at a time like this, you still have the leisure to tell me about your old classmate? I told you to contact the local authorities in Xinzhou. Have you done that?"

"Dr. Ma, that's unfair. This old classmate of mine is right there in Xinzhou City."

"Oh? Did he give you any information?"

"Of course. Top-secret information, at that."

"Then what are you waiting for? Tell me!"

Dr. Ma glared at him, looking as though he might hit him if he didn't speak up.

"Dr. Ma, before I tell you, you need to brace yourself. The explanation is a little... unscientific."

Xiao You gave Dr. Ma a warning first. If his old classmate hadn't repeatedly assured him, and if that classmate hadn't always been honest and upright, he would never have brought this up.

After all, it was far too incredible, far too unscientific.

"Just tell me," Dr. Ma urged again.

"My old classmate is Huang Sheng, the current mayor of Xinzhou City. According to him, there are actually three people inside that beam of light. Hey... Doctor, don't get worked up. I'm telling the truth. Huang Sheng has quite a reputation even in Capital City. I'm only repeating his exact words."

"Xiao You, are you sure you haven't been drinking?"

As Dr. Ma spoke, he even leaned in and sniffed hard.

"Dr. Ma, would I joke with you about something like this? According to my old classmate, those three people are Zhang Hongxing, his grandson Zhang Le, and his granddaughter Qin Wenwen. Their purpose this time is actually to go and see the moon.

"Because the two children's school assigned them homework to draw the moon, he decided to take them to see what it looks like with their own eyes."

Dr. Ma stared at Xiao You in shock. Even though Xiao You's account sounded perfectly coherent, he couldn't believe a word of it.

Taking his grandchildren to the moon just because of a school assignment to draw it?

What kind of extraordinary being was this Zhang Hongxing?

Even if his reasoning made sense, how could anyone explain him simply taking people and flying into the sky?

In an age when cars filled the streets and planes filled the skies, someone suddenly told you that a man could fly off Earth with his two grandchildren to see the moon, without relying on any external assistance.

Could you believe that?

"Xiao You, I don't think you're suited to working here anymore."

"Dr. Ma, don't! I really am not joking. Huang Sheng really said this. If you don't believe me, you can call him and ask!"