Immortal of the Nine Realms

The crowd watched in silence as Fang Chen and Fang Cangyue departed. They dared not even draw a breath. Only after they were out of sight did a wave of excited whispers finally erupt.

Someone asked hesitantly, ”Is Divine General Fang now a wandering soul like us...?”

He was immediately rebuked and scolded by another, ”Are you stupid? What kind of figure is Divine General Fang! Hundreds of years ago, he was already our Grand Xia’s Duke. He is a cultivator! A grand cultivator! His lifespan is vast! How could he be dead?”

”This is wonderful! Now that Divine General Fang is back, let’s see if these damn imperial relatives can still act so arrogantly!”

”A few years ago, the house I was living in was mysteriously bought at a low price by an imperial relative, leaving me with nowhere to stay for years. Finally, someone has stepped up to handle this!”

”Pfft!”

Someone spat towards the unconscious Princess Consort Zhenlian, and others immediately followed suit. Seeing this, Li Badao promptly led the group away.

He turned to the minor officials following him and sneered, ”Our Lord is truly enraged. Next, a storm is going to sweep through every corner of this land. You lot in Baiyue City had better prepare yourselves.”

The officials from the various divisions looked at one another, their hearts growing significantly heavier.

***

Fang Cangyue dismissed her attendants and walked towards the edge of the city alone with Fang Chen. Just as they were about to step onto the bridge, an old man arrived with a group of servants. He was running so hard that he was drenched in sweat. The moment he reached them, he collapsed to his knees. His servants followed suit, bowing their heads.

”Prince Zhenlian, back when you were alive, among all the princes, your talent was the most outstanding, and you cherished your reputation the most. It’s a pity that after death, you were far too indulgent with your family,” said Fang Cangyue indifferently. ”If the investigation leads to you, things will be handled according to the rules. It’s useless to beg me as the Underworld has its own laws.”

She gave him no chance to speak and led Fang Chen onto the bridge.

The old man stared blankly at the scene. A middle-aged man beside him whispered, ”Prince, should we destroy those...”

”No.” The old man shook his head firmly. ”Do not do that. You don’t understand what Duke Fang is capable of. If we do that, we are all finished. Go report to the Judgment Division honestly. Confess what needs to be confessed and plead for a lenient sentence.”

The others looked bitter but could only nod in quiet agreement.

***

Just before returning to the Mortal Realm, Fang Chen wrote an imperial decree of the Day Walker lineage for Fang Cangyue. With this decree, she would be able to manifest her physical form before the living whenever she visited the mortal realm, rather than appearing as a wandering soul.

On the bustling streets of the capital, two figures appeared silently. Even if passersby caught a glimpse of them, they would simply assume their eyes were playing tricks on them and think nothing of it.

”The capital... it’s been expanded, hasn’t it?” remarked Fang Chen as he surveyed his surroundings.

Compared to when he last left, the streets here were at least five or six times wider. Many ancient buildings had been taken down, replaced by a fusion of various new architectural styles. Only a few landmark structures remained, such as the old Fang Manor. Without Fang Chen’s explicit permission, even Xia Xuanji would not dare touch that place.

”Yes. The population in the capital has been growing, so it has undergone significant expansion. It changed bit by bit over several hundred years, so it didn’t seem particularly striking to me. You only noticed it immediately because you’ve been gone for so long,” said Fang Cangyue with a smile.

”Is it because of an influx of outsiders?” asked Fang Chen.

She laughed. ”Not entirely. It’s mainly because life is better now, so every household has added many more children to their families. Remember when Marshall Xiao Lang wanted you to marry into his family and wed Goddess Xiao? Back then, the Grand Xia capital only had about twenty-two million people. Now, it has increased more than tenfold, which is why it keeps expanding.”

Fang Chen nodded. ”More than tenfold...”

This was an aspect he hadn’t closely observed before.

If the population explosion was related to the other side, did it mean the situation there was truly becoming dire? Did more deaths lead to more wandering souls seeking reincarnation? he pondered.

”Little Chen, what are you thinking about? Are you going to see your uncle-in-law?” asked Fang Cangyue.

”I will. It’s been so many years since I’ve been back, I should at least pay him a visit,” said Fang Chen, nodding with a smile.

He took out the World Gourd to release Fang Xiaotian and Fang Xiaohua. The two had not actually been inside for very long, and Fang Chen had specifically placed restrictive formations on them. Even so, they had been scared half to death by the Five Element Origin Qi within the gourd. They had never seen such pure Origin Qi. The purer it was, the more terrifying it felt.

Fang Cangyue was momentarily startled. ”And they are?”

Fang Xiaohua was already looking around curiously, her eyes lingering longingly on the snack stalls. Fang Xiaotian remained relatively calm. Once he had assessed his surroundings, he bowed to Fang Chen and asked, ”Big Brother, where are we?”

”Little Chen, why did he call you Big Brother? Is he your sworn brother?” questioned Fang Cangyue curiously.

”Aunt, this is Fang Xiaotian, and this is Fang Xiaohua. My and Zhixue’s siblings,” introduced Fang Chen with a smile.

Even with the composure she had cultivated over many years, Fang Cangyue froze in shock. She stared blankly at the siblings, and sure enough, she could see a familiar similarity in their features.

Fang Xiaotian was jolted with surprise. ”Aunt!?”

He looked at Fang Cangyue in disbelief and then back at Fang Chen. Seeing Fang Chen nod, he finally said with excitement, ”I pay my respects to you, Aunt!”

Since their parents had left many years ago, they had first encountered their eldest brother, Fang Chen, and now they had finally met another close relative. How could they not be moved!

”Big Brother, is she really our aunt?” exclaimed Fang Xiaohua as her attention finally shifted from the street stalls to Fang Cangyue.

”Of course she is. Offer your greetings,” replied Fang Chen fondly.

Fang Xiaohua stepped forward and hugged Fang Cangyue tightly. ”Aunt!”

”Good... good children...” Fang Cangyue patted Fang Xiaohua’s shoulder repeatedly. Looking from Xiaotian to Xiaohua, her eyes suddenly reddened. ”Why didn’t your father and mother bring you home to visit? If it weren’t for Little Chen, I wouldn’t have even known you existed...”

”Aunt, it’s a long story. The two of them were simply too far away from this realm. Even for ordinary cultivators, that distance is not something that can be bridged by cultivation alone,” explained Fang Chen with a bitter smile. ”Let’s head into the palace first. We can talk while we walk.”

The group walked towards the palace. They didn’t use any spiritual techniques. Instead, they chose to weave through the crowds, allowing Fang Chen to take in the local sights. As they neared the palace gates, Fang Cangyue finally processed the whole story. She looked at the siblings with heartache.

”If you hadn’t met your elder brother, how would you have endured the days ahead...”

The siblings fell silent. Indeed, if they hadn’t met Fang Chen, would they have even survived until now? Perhaps they would have been long dead....

”Father and Mother are in a rather unique situation right now. Besides Xiaotian and Xiaohua, they’ve likely given me many more younger brothers and sisters. I have no idea where they are now,” added Fang Chen with a wry smile.

Fang Cangyue sighed. ”Big Brother and Sister-in-law haven’t returned once in all these years. If I had known, I would have just followed them back then.”

Having said that, she suddenly brightened up. ”Actually, this is for the best. We don’t have many people in Fang Manor. I only have Yunxin, and she carries the surname Xia. Your uncle doesn’t have children either. With Big Brother and Sister-in-law around, more children would bring us more blessings. Only then does it feel like a real family.”

Holding Fang Xiaohua’s hand, she arrived before the palace gates and spoke calmly to the guards, ”Tell Xia Xuanji that I, Fang Cangyue, have returned.”