His wife Jiang Rumeng's astonished voice reached his ears.
Chief Ji.
Which Chief Ji?
Gradually, the figure before Lu Dahai's eyes overlapped with a figure he remembered seeing on television.
The chief that national security official had mentioned was actually this man.
Lu Dahai trembled all over with nerves, his hands shaking uncontrollably. Jiang Rumeng was hardly any better.
They were ordinary citizens, as ordinary as could be.
They rarely even got to meet the mayor-no, even a district head-and would have to be respectful and cautious if they did.
"Comrade Lu, Comrade Jiang, welcome to Jinghua!"
"Welcome, welcome!"
"You've had a tiring journey. Thank you for making the trip!"
Lu Dahai stood rooted to the spot, unsure how to respond.
Was he supposed to say it hadn't been tiring?
"Thank you for your hard work, comrades"?
Wouldn't that turn heaven and earth upside down?
"This humble citizen, Lu Dahai, pays his respects to all the chiefs. Hello, chiefs, hello, everyone. Good, all good!"
The senior leaders of Great Xia were all beaming. They did not look down on or ridicule Lu Dahai in the slightest for his humble, ordinary citizen's manner.
Because the person standing behind him.
Was far from ordinary.
"Comrade Lu really is such a simple, endearing man."
"Come, please head inside."
"Xiao Gao, bring out the finest tea in the chief's private collection."
Meeting with the leaders of Great Xia.
It was a scene Lu Dahai and Jiang Rumeng could never have dreamed of.
Yet their confusion only deepened.
Why?
They were merely ordinary people. What value did they possess to warrant such treatment from the country and its leaders?
The answer to that question was soon revealed.
Ji Chang'an thought it over and ultimately decided not to hide it from them.
They had the right to know the truth.
Moreover, the training of immortal cultivators would begin with the military, ensuring that the formidable power from another world would first fall under the country's control.
Thus, the future era of universal immortal cultivation would inevitably proceed from the top down, a natural progression.
There would be no disorder.
Naturally, Lu Chenxing's existence could not be made public yet.
But a hero should not remain unknown. One day, he would enter the public eye and receive the admiration of all the people of Great Xia.
For now, a small number of people could be told.
Lu Chenxing's immediate family had the greatest right to know.
"Actually, your eldest son, Lu Chenxing, isn't dead."
Those words from the chief's mouth immediately made Lu Dahai and his wife wonder whether they were dreaming.
What kind of joke was this?
Their own son, Lu Chenxing.
Whether he was dead or alive.
Wouldn't his parents know?
Although his body had been a mangled mass of flesh and blood after the car accident, it had clearly been identifiable as Lu Chenxing.
He had gone cold right there.
He couldn't have been any deader.
As for a mistaken assessment, followed by him coming back to life afterward.
That was even more impossible.
His body had been cremated that very night. Jiang Rumeng had personally pushed him into the furnace and watched him burn to ashes bit by bit.
His ashes were now buried in a heavily discounted cemetery somewhere in Changhai City.
"Impossible!"
"As much as I want Little Xing to be alive, he clearly died."
Jiang Rumeng was the first to recover, disbelief written all over her face. Although Lu Dahai said nothing, his expression was equally skeptical.
If everything around him hadn't felt so real.
He really would have suspected he was dreaming.
He had even begun to entertain the idea of slapping the chief before him a couple of times to see whether that could wake him up.
It was a dream anyway.
What was there to fear?
Perhaps he would wake up after the slaps.
Fortunately, he didn't act, or he would have been hit back...
Ji Chang'an was in his prime and came from an Aristocratic Clan of military men.
He knew a little hand-to-hand combat.
The couple's reaction was just as Ji Chang'an had expected. In this new age of soaring technological progress, atheism was deeply rooted in people's minds.
Once upon a time, hadn't their group of Great Xia's senior leaders also been staunch materialists?
Until the facts were laid before their eyes.
And so, Ji Chang'an laid the facts before Lu Dahai and Jiang Rumeng as well.
It was the first letter Lu Chenxing had written during his second delivery of supplies.
Crooked handwriting came into view.
"My name is Lu Chenxing, and I'm from Changhai City, Great Xia Country..."
When they read the name Lu Chenxing, both their hearts clenched.
After finishing the letter, their turbulent emotions surged like waves, unable to settle for a long time.
Transmigration, reincarnation, immortal cultivation.
This... this... this...
"Chief, is... is this true?"
Ji Chang'an then took out the second letter. "Although it's hard to believe, this is the truth. The country has already verified immortal cultivation. So although Comrade Lu died in this world, he is still alive in another."
"And he's very worried about you. He specifically asked the country to look after you."
When they saw the personal request at the end of the letter.
Tears instantly streamed down the couple's faces. "Xing'er, it's Xing'er! He's still alive! Dahai, look, our Xing'er is still alive! This is wonderful, wonderful!"
"Good, good, good!"
"As long as he's alive!"
Ji Chang'an gave the couple some time to compose themselves.
Once they had calmed down, he continued.
"Not only is young Comrade Lu alive, he has also become a pioneer for Great Xia, striving to usher in an entirely new era for us. He deserves the respect of every person in Great Xia."
"As his family, you have all the more reason to be proud of him."
"Furthermore, the country will respond to young Comrade Lu's request with the utmost commitment. Treating Lu Chenyu's eyes is only the first step. Next, the country will provide your Lu Household with vigorous, unlimited support..."
Lu Dahai and Jiang Rumeng were still immersed in the joyous surprise that their son was alive.
When another enormous surprise struck them.
The chief actually said they would support the Lu Household in becoming Great Xia's fifth great Aristocratic Clan.
Lu Dahai would enter politics, Jiang Rumeng would go into business, and Lu Chenyu would focus on his studies first before joining the military.
With the country's unstinting support, the Lu Household would surely rise smoothly to the top in politics, business, and the military, laying the foundations of an Aristocratic Clan.
"Chief, what has our Lu Household done to deserve this?"
"Comrade Lu Chenxing is your greatest qualification."
In an immortal cultivation world an unknown distance away, Lu Chenxing, who could only send things one way and could not receive replies, had no idea that his request had already been fulfilled.
And the country's arrangements for his family.
Were even more thorough than he had imagined.
Even if he could never return to Great Xia from the immortal cultivation world in his lifetime, his parents and younger brother would still be able to live out their lives in happiness and peace.
Lu Chenxing continued reading the letter in his hands.
"Comrade Lu, stranded alone far from home, please be cautious and make survival your priority. Whether Great Xia can continue along the path of immortality rests entirely on you."
"The relevant experts have conducted preliminary research on the Law Artifacts and spirit talismans you sent back. Due to limited time, a lack of materials, and other factors, there have been no results yet. If convenient, sorry for the trouble, Comrade Lu, but please send back some samples of spiritual materials from the immortal cultivation world."
"Since the country does not know your current circumstances, Comrade Lu, we cannot determine what we should send. Please trust the country and describe your situation in your next letter. Furthermore, the country trusts you unconditionally, Comrade Lu."
"Just as you said, Comrade Lu, we shall weather the storm in the same boat, spare no effort, and ascend together to the pinnacle of the immortal path."
The country trusts me unconditionally.
Lu Chenxing set down the letter, his emotions unable to settle for a long time.
He had given Great Xia this opportunity to transmit through the passage, and had successfully received a response from them.
Their response consisted of only a single letter.
But the information within made him feel utterly reassured.
His family was properly cared for, and his country supported him with all its strength. Even alone in this other world.
Lu Chenxing could remain fearless.