Learning that their parents were still alive and that nothing had happened to them, Ye Fan and Pang Bo first felt relief wash over them.
But when the detailed reports came through, they were dumbfounded.
Things on Ye Fan's side were straightforward enough. His parents were still alive, and aside from being somewhat dispirited over his disappearance, they were otherwise fine.
But things on Pang Bo's side were rather interesting.
According to the findings of Chen Yu's subordinates, everything in Pang Bo's home was perfectly fine.
Pang Bo himself was staying at home, safe and sound. Everything looked utterly normal.
This result left Pang Bo himself struggling to keep his composure.
He had clearly followed the Nine Dragons Pulling a Coffin all the way to the Big Dipper, yet there was now another him at home?
He could confirm that he was the real one. There was absolutely no question about that.
Then a new question arose.
Since he himself had come all the way to the Big Dipper, who was the one in his home?
"Now that really is a strange affair."
After learning that his family was well, Ye Fan was in excellent spirits and even had the heart to tease Pang Bo. "Could you have a twin brother, Pang Bo? Have you been keeping it from me all this time?"
"Shoo, shoo. Stop fooling around."
Pang Bo's feelings were complicated. "Other people might not know whether I have a twin brother, but how could you not know?"
"Then who's the one in your home?"
"You're asking me? Who am I supposed to ask?"
Pang Bo himself was bewildered by the situation in his home, with no idea what was going on.
"That seems to be a member of the demon race."
Chen Yu spoke. "There's faint demon Qi on him. It should be a demon in disguise."
"But judging from the current situation, he doesn't seem to have done much of anything. He's merely pretending to be you and quietly living in your place."
"The demon race?"
Pang Bo immediately grew nervous. "There are demons on Earth too?"
"Since there are cultivators, naturally there are demons as well."
Chen Yu said, "That isn't particularly strange."
"The point now is how to handle this."
"Do you need me to have someone warn him and drive him away?"
Before leaving Earth, Chen Yu had left quite a few contingency measures behind, primarily to protect his family.
Though those means fell short of Chen Yu himself, driving away a minor demon would be no problem.
"Better not."
Conflict showed on Pang Bo's face. After thinking for a moment, he still shook his head with a bitter smile. "Since that demon hasn't done anything bad all this time, let's leave things as they are for now."
"Letting my parents think he's me and carry on like this is pretty good too. Better not give them anything to worry about."
Pang Bo's choice was somewhat unexpected, but understandable.
After all, now that he could no longer return, having someone fulfill his filial duties before his parents in his place was a decent choice.
If they really drove the demon away and let his parents learn the truth, it would probably only add to their worries.
After turning it over in his mind, Pang Bo still did not want to bring his parents more trouble and distress.
His only concern was their safety.
"There's no need to worry too much about safety."
Chen Yu saw his concern and said, "I'll have someone make things clear to that demon cultivator."
"But generally speaking, the proper cultivators over there don't readily harm mortals either."
"Sorry for the trouble, Teacher Chen."
Gratitude showed on Pang Bo's face, and he nodded firmly.
Pang Bo's matter was set aside for the time being. Next came Ye Fan.
Compared with the undisturbed calm of Pang Bo's parents, the reaction of Ye Fan's parents was undoubtedly much stronger.
"They had quite a reaction after receiving the message you sent back."
Chen Yu wore an odd expression. "According to the report that came back, at one point they suspected you'd been kidnapped. Fortunately, several private details you sent personally proved your identity, and only then did they believe it."
He reached out and sent his parents' responses directly into Ye Fan's mind.
The information was quite extensive, filled with all the feelings parents had for their child, from relief that Ye Fan was still alive to worry over his present circumstances.
But whatever the case, knowing he was alive was already far better than not knowing whether he was dead or alive.
Standing before him, Ye Fan's eyes were already brimming with hot tears. Only after a long while did he bring his emotions under control.
He thought for a moment, then spoke again, asking Chen Yu to help relay a message.
This time, he said a great deal in one breath.
On the one hand, being in a foreign land, he truly had many things he wanted to tell his parents. On the other, he was afraid of holding things up.
The cost of sending messages across star domains was far too terrifying. A single transmission actually required an entire piece of Source.
Although Chen Yu's reaction suggested that he did not care about such a small amount, Ye Fan was too embarrassed to keep freeloading off him.
Saying everything in one go and using as little Source as possible would be good too.
One had to understand that Ye Fan was utterly penniless at this point.
Aside from the Bodhi Seed Chen Yu had given him earlier, even selling every last possession on him would not cover this single piece of Source.
"You certainly know how to make every penny count."
Chen Yu saw what he was planning, so he smiled and casually sent the message back.
A streak of light swept over the altar, then turned into motes of divine power that poured into it before finally vanishing.
Once all this was done, Chen Yu put away the altar, then looked toward the thatched huts before him. "You wouldn't mind if I stayed here for a while, would you?"
"How could we?"
Pang Bo and Ye Fan shook their heads repeatedly. "We couldn't ask for more than to have you stay longer, Teacher Chen."
"It's just that the conditions here are humble, and we don't even get any meat in our usual meals. We only hope you won't mind, Teacher Chen."
"That's no matter."
Chen Yu shook his head and said, "I'll be here for some time yet. Spending a while cultivating in seclusion at your place would be quite good."
Over at the Qing Emperor's Tomb, Yan Ruyu had only just begun leading people in exploring it. Clearly, they still had a long period of searching ahead of them.
Before they found a way to open the Qing Emperor's Tomb, Chen Yu could not leave. Lying low here and cultivating in seclusion for a while was a decent choice.
Taking advantage of this time, he might even be able to raise his cultivation a little further.
Thus, in the days that followed, Chen Yu settled down here.
Spirit Ruins Paradise did not have much of a reaction to Chen Yu's arrival.
There were only a limited number of cultivators in the Yan Kingdom's cultivation world, and most were low-level rogue cultivators. Visiting friends was common enough.
Of course, to be on the safe side, Wu Qingfeng, who was responsible for teaching Pang Bo, still made time to visit Chen Yu once.
After a single meeting, Wu Qingfeng was astonished by Chen Yu, regarding him as a heavenly being, and scarcely any doubts remained in his heart.
Not only was the man's cultivation profound, but his understanding of the Dao and its principles far surpassed Wu Qingfeng's own. In all of Spirit Ruins Paradise, perhaps only Weiwei, the immortal seedling who had already left for Yaoguang Holy Land, could compare with him even slightly, yet she too fell far short.
Such a figure was certain to have no interest in Spirit Ruins Paradise. To say he harbored ulterior designs was simply a joke.
"As this is our first meeting, let me give you this piece of Source, fellow Daoist. How about considering it payment for my temporary stay at Spirit Ruins Paradise?"
As they parted, Chen Yu casually gave him a piece of Source.