An uninvited guest

That evening, Wu Xiuli and Jiang Wan'er worked their spatulas furiously in the kitchen.

In the main room, Jiang Tian sat with his father, Jiang Chenglin, drinking and chatting as father and son opened their hearts to each other.

"Here comes the last dish-braised pork!"

Just then, Jiang Wan'er came in carrying a bowl of braised pork.

"Come on, Wan'er. Sit down and eat!"

Jiang Tian reached out to take it as he spoke to her.

Jiang Wan'er wiped the sweat from her forehead and said with a smile, "You and Dad go ahead, Brother. Mom said she'd come after making one more soup!"

"There's no need, is there? We can't even finish all this."

Jiang Tian smiled at the food already covering every inch of the little square table.

"Tian, your mom's happy today too. Just let her."

Jiang Chenglin stopped him.

Jiang Wan'er nodded along. "That's right, Brother. You have no idea how long it's been since Mom and Dad were this happy!"

Helpless, Jiang Tian could only nod and sit down.

After Jiang Wan'er left, Jiang Chenglin suddenly sighed.

"Dad, what's wrong?"

Jiang Tian looked at him and asked.

Jiang Chenglin picked up his glass and drained it, then let out a long sigh. "Tian, I know you weren't in the wrong today, but the law doesn't show mercy. You..."

Seeing that his father was still worrying about this after all, Jiang Tian gave a helpless smile. "Dad, I told you. Even if all those people died, nothing would happen to me."

Jiang Chenglin stared straight at his son without a word.

He could sense that his son had changed, changed enormously. But as someone who had spent his whole life at the bottom of society, how could he understand how anyone could kill people and get away unscathed?

While he was sighing, Wu Xiuli and Jiang Wan'er came in again, carrying soup and a bowl of rice.

Perhaps to keep Jiang Wan'er from noticing anything amiss, Jiang Chenglin quickly hid his feelings and smiled. "Xiuli, thanks for all your hard work. Come sit down and eat. Let's enjoy being together as a family today!"

"I never dreamed Tian would come back. Heaven really has smiled on us! Let's all raise a glass to celebrate!"

As he spoke, he lifted his glass.

Wu Xiuli and Jiang Wan'er picked up the drinks they had prepared and said with smiles, "Cheers!"

Amid happy laughter, the family drained their glasses.

Jiang Tian set his glass down, picked up the erguotou liquor, and refilled his father's glass. Then he topped up his mother's drink before filling his own.

"Mom, Dad, thank you for everything you've done over the years. This toast is for you!"

Jiang Tian raised his glass again and addressed his parents.

He owed them far too much for those ten years.

Jiang Tian silently swore that as long as he was around, no one would ever bully them again-not even a little!

Jiang Chenglin and Wu Xiuli nodded repeatedly. "Good, good, good."

After downing another glass, Jiang Tian let out a long breath.

"Come on, eat up. Your mom made all your and Wan'er's favorites today. Have some more."

Jiang Chenglin picked up his chopsticks and urged them to eat.

The family began eating and drinking in warm harmony.

The meal lasted about an hour.

Perhaps Jiang Chenglin really was happy that day, for he had a few extra drinks. Before long, he was completely drunk, and Jiang Tian took him back to his room to rest.

When Jiang Tian returned to the main room, Wu Xiuli and Jiang Wan'er were clearing away the dishes.

"Mom, Wan'er, take a break. I'll do it."

Jiang Tian rolled up his sleeves.

"Go on, off with you. What's a grown young man like you doing in the kitchen? If you don't wash them properly, your sister and I will just have to wash them again. You've had plenty to drink tonight too, so get some rest. Wan'er can help me. We don't need you."

Before Jiang Tian could even reach out, Wu Xiuli stopped him.

"That's right, Brother. Go rest. Mom and I can handle it."

Jiang Wan'er urged him too.

Jiang Tian smiled helplessly, then nodded. "All right, then. I'll go out for some air and pick up some toiletries while I'm at it."

Wu Xiuli nodded. "Go ahead. Remember to put on something warmer. It's cold outside."

"I know."

Jiang Tian answered with a smile, then pulled his thin clothes tighter around himself and walked out.

What a joke. Would a mighty Nascent Soul cultivator like me be afraid of the cold?

Never mind a few degrees below freezing-even a few hundred below might not faze him.

Outside the courtyard, everything was already pitch-black.

This was an old part of town awaiting redevelopment, so the streetlights had long since stopped working from years of neglect.

There was hardly anyone on the road in the bitter wind. The only sound was the flapping of a banner swaying on a utility pole. He could just make out the words on it: "Counterespionage is everyone's responsibility. Safeguarding national security starts with me."

Jiang Tian shook his head, breathed out, and walked off into the distance.

Following the route he remembered, he soon reached a park.

He and his sister had often played here as children. But ten years later, it was deserted, and the slide that held so many of their memories was now battered and worn.

Jiang Tian followed the pebble-paved path onward. Just ahead lay a body of water called Yan Pass Lake.

He clearly remembered how, every summer, nearby residents would gather by the lake to cool off in the shade, while their children played in the little park he had just passed. They had been poor back then, but happy.

Now, ten years later, things were no longer as they had been. The lakeside railing had fallen into disrepair, and an iron fence had been put around it to keep people from slipping into the water.

Looking at a scene where nothing had changed yet everything had, Jiang Tian felt a jumble of emotions. He crossed the fence and gazed at the lake's gleaming surface beneath the moonlight. It was still just as beautiful.

"Helplessly, the flowers fall; as if familiar, the swallows return."

Looking at the gently rippling lake, Jiang Tian could not help sighing.

Over those ten years, he had grown from an innocent boy into a mature, steady man.

Perhaps it was just as the older generation said: once you reached a certain age, you could not help looking back.

"Ten years..."

Jiang Tian sat by the lake, gazing at the full moon in the sky as melancholy settled over him.

"Stop!"

"After him! We can't let him get away!"

Just as Jiang Tian was lost in reflection,

a voice suddenly rang out from the woods to one side.

Though it was far away, his cultivation allowed him to hear it clearly.

Curious, he turned to look. Through the bare trees, he saw someone in black clothes and a black hat racing toward him.

The man moved fast, reaching him almost in the blink of an eye.

Under the moonlight, Jiang Tian's gaze met the black-clad man's.

Thinking Jiang Tian was with the people chasing him, the man's expression turned vicious. In stiff Mandarin, he snapped, "Kid, get lost! Stay out of my way!"

Jiang Tian frowned, glanced around, and said, "I'm not blocking you. If you want to go, then go."

"You're asking to die!"

But the black-clad man took those words as a provocation. His eyes turned cold, and he pulled out a dagger and thrust it at Jiang Tian!

Jiang Tian frowned and cursed, "Are you out of your mind?"

With that, he swept his hand through the air. The black-clad man felt a sharp pain in his chest and went flying backward.