02. Tian Sen

The eight-year-old nodded, and his father calmly taught him everything he wanted him to learn. An hour, two hours, three hours passed; only after they felt the sun had begun to rise did the two of them emerge from the cave and return to the village. The boy’s father returned home, while his son went to play at the lake he’d promised to visit with his friends. When the father arrived home, his wife was already waiting, staring at him with a cold gaze.

“Why did you take Shen’er there?” the mother asked, looking at her husband with a gloomy expression.

“Sigh… Who knows what the future holds? At least I’m giving our child a choice for his future! Do you think we can keep hiding from them forever?” Her husband’s reply made the wife lower her head. She understood what her husband meant—she understood it all too well, to the point that her heart ached deeply at the thought of the real problem they faced. She didn’t mind dying herself, but she wouldn’t accept her son dying so easily at the hands of the enemies chasing them.

“Don’t worry, as long as I’m here, nothing will happen to our child! He’ll grow up to be a handsome man who charms every woman around him—by then, you might even have three or four beautiful daughters-in-law who’ll give us grandchildren to hold!” The man comforted his wife, seeing how deeply she was dwelling on their family’s current situation.

“Ugh! You really are something, but I’m looking forward to it too. I hope this happiness never fades!” The beautiful woman rested her head in her husband’s embrace. She prayed, praying that her family would continue to feel the peace they had now and that it would never change in the future.

Around the lake, several villagers could be seen washing clothes and fishing around the not-too-large lake. There, a child named Shen’er was playing in the lake with several children his age; they looked like they were having a great time together around the lake. Some adults watching the joy of their village children were deeply moved by the sight of the little ones’ camaraderie.

“Shen’er! Are your father and mother at home?” An old man with a walking stick approached Shen’er, who was sitting by the lake’s edge after growing tired from playing.

“Oh! Village Chief? Yes, my father and mother are at home right now. Do you have business with them?” Upon hearing that both were at home, the village chief simply ruffled Shen’er’s hair before heading toward Shen’er’s house.

Shen’er was a little confused seeing the village chief looking so serious, but since he was so tired, he eventually fell asleep leaning against a large rock near the lake. Meanwhile, without him realizing it, the necklace he was wearing glowed red for a moment before returning to normal. At the same time, the village chief came to meet Tian Shen’s parents with a worried and anxious expression. Seeing the village chief suddenly arrive at their home made Tian Shen’s parents realize something; they immediately had the village chief sit down and asked what the problem was. The village chief simply explained that they were coming! With just that one sentence, their expressions changed instantly—had they, who had lived in this remote village for so long, truly been unable to escape those people?

“You must leave here! If you’re late, it might be dangerous for Shen’er.” The village chief said with a serious expression, warning them both.

“Think about this: I’ve heard from some people in town. They told me this because they thought I needed to know—you’ve lived here for decades, I know that! But… your son, who’s only ten years old, shouldn’t be dragged into your problems. Try to find a way to resolve everything!” The village chief’s advice only made the couple feel even worse. They had indeed burdened Tian Shen with their problems, but now they truly didn’t know what to do.

“We… will try to think everything through!” In the end, they both really had to consider everything for Tian Shen’s sake. If they couldn’t take everything into account, their child would truly suffer—either now or in the future.

…..

Swish…

BOOOOOMMM…

BOOOOOMMM…

“Kid! These people don’t seem to be demons. What should we do?” Three figures flying through the void looked ahead. There was a group of people flying in the opposite direction, but their initial suspicion made them stop the group.

“Senior, we really aren’t demons! We just want to cross through space to reach the home of a relative of ours. Please forgive our rudeness earlier!” The figure leading the group was a middle-aged man, and at first, he had also thought that the young man and the two small creatures flying on either side of him were enemies. Even though they might not be enemies, they wanted to confront these people and kill them, but unfortunately, the power of the three of them was far beyond their own capabilities.

“Huh? Is that so? Little Rat Uncle, are you sure they’re not dangerous? What if they are?” asked the handsome young man with black hair and black eyes; his pupils were like bottomless pits that kept moving, swallowing everything in the universe. And now his gaze and aura completely overshadowed

the group standing before him.

“Ugh! They’re nothing, just look at them! Right now they’re terrified of you, and look at the aura and qi they’re emitting. Are there any signs they’re demons? Come on, Zhuting… We still have a lot of work to do!” the little rat asked again, tapping his forehead as he looked at this truly unruly nephew.