Max Level Return—I'll Protect That Fragile One

Xu Xingguang roughly understood the reason behind Divine Hidden Crane’s actions.

The items she loved most disappeared mysteriously with her, along with the words she carved in Ancient Xia Country script under her childhood bed—

[Xu Xingguang, keep moving forward, go home.]

Divine Hidden Crane was a very intelligent person, who, back then, guessed that Lin Piaopiao’s background was suspicious, yet couldn’t find her origins, so he placed his hopes on Jianghu sorcerers and those Superpower Users who awakened odd superpowers.

”During that period, I stayed by the Monarch’s side, watching him go mad, watching him pretend to be normal.” Ming Feng was the only one who witnessed the Divine Hidden Emperor’s madness for Lin Piaopiao.

”You asked me earlier why I am still alive.” Ming Feng couldn’t help but sigh with sorrow.

Unable to hide his grief, he told Xu Xingguang, ”Since my mother’s death, the world has fallen into chaos. The meteorite released toxic gas, centered on the Kunze Mountain Range, spreading outward. At that time, people in the Infected Zone were dying in large numbers, and everywhere you looked, there were mountains of corpses and seas of people. During those years, in order to escape the harmful effects of the gas, people could only move their families continuously.”

”In such a harsh and cruel environment, more and more people began to awaken unusual abilities, and those who awakened superpowers were no longer affected by the gas.”

”When I was 19, the fifth year after the meteorite fell, the gas finally spread to Capital City. During that period, people of Capital City fell in waves, everyone in the Marshal Mansion fell, and I was also eroded by the gas, bedridden and unable to recover. Just when I thought I was sure to die, the Monarch came.”

That was a memory from a long time ago, but every time Ming Feng thought about it, it was deeply engraved in his memory.

He remembers clearly that it was dusk, the entire Marshal Mansion was silent, without a living soul.

It was hot at the time, and he could smell the stench of decay from the deceased Infected drifting in from outside the courtyard.

He Yuanhang thought he was going to die; he struggled to get up from the bed and found a fruit knife on the dresser. He bowed his head and kissed the Longevity Bean, saying a silent apology to his father and mother.

He raised the knife, ready to stab his heart, when the door was pushed open from outside, and the Monarch, who was usually busy as a dragon, walked in.

Seeing He Yuanhang about to commit suicide, Divine Hidden Crane did not stop him.

He merely stood aloof behind the door, his eyes, which usually looked at He Yuanhang with tolerance and love, now filled only with contempt.

His thin lips lifted slightly, his voice wrapped in the cold of ice and snow, ”You are the child she raised. She would rather die fighting than become a captive, not a person to commit suicide, even if cornered by thousands of enemy troops.”

”With that stab, you truly throw away all her honor.”

He Yuanhang voluntarily dropped the knife.

Since then, no matter how difficult the situation, He Yuanhang never thought of taking his own life again.

He was the only bloodline He Yue left in the world, the child Lin Piaopiao raised with love. His foster mother was an upright Female War God, how could he disgrace her?

”The Monarch personally took care of me for two days, and I miraculously survived.”

”After waking up, I discovered I had awakened a superpower.” Ming Feng shyly smiled at Xu Xingguang, lightly grasping the air, various strange threads appeared in his hand.

Xu Xingguang was about to touch the threads when Ming Feng quickly moved to avoid her. ”Mother, please don’t touch them. Each of these threads represents a person’s wealth line!”

”What?” Xu Xingguang was utterly amazed, ”What exactly is your superpower? Granny Nan said your combat strength is very strong; isn’t your superpower supposed to be a high combat ability?”

What on earth is this wealth line?

Hearing her, Ming Feng felt both proud and embarrassed.

He said, ”I can’t fight at all, but I can summon an opponent’s wealth line. As long as I tie a knot on their wealth line, their financial path is cut off.”

Embarrassingly touching his nose, Ming Feng’s old face turned bright red as he whispered, ”They’re all afraid of having their wealth lines cut, so they treat me very well.”

”...”

”Pretty impressive.” Cutting off someone’s wealth is undoubtedly equivalent to taking their life, this move is indeed very powerful. ”But, over two thousand years have passed, how are you still alive?”

This was what Xu Xingguang cared about the most.

Ming Feng put away the thread clusters, looked around to make sure there were no surveillance or listening devices in the room, then crouched beside Xu Xingguang and whispered, ”I suspect I awakened two superpowers, one is cutting off wealth, and the other is longevity.”

”I’ve kept this from everyone.” In order to hide this matter, he felt very aggrieved.

Others had only awakened one superpower, but he had two. He was terrified that if people found out, he would be taken to a lab as a research subject.

”Before, every once in a while, I would fake my death. Since a hundred years ago, when the Three Great Alliances started using DNA data in place of ID cards, it’s not easy to resurrect and change identities anymore.”

Ming Feng touched his aged face and said wistfully, ”I haven’t figured out how to resurrect this time after dying.”

Thinking of her own golden finger of eternal spiritual power, Xu Xingguang also felt a bit melancholic.

Looking at Ming Feng, who still seemed like a child squatting by her side, Xu Xingguang’s eyes naturally showed a hint of affection.

She never expected to meet an adopted son from the Xia Country Era, so saying she was not happy would be a lie.

She looked at Ming Feng and couldn’t help but think of the big pet pig Huo Wuyi that she and Huo Wen’an kept under their name. ”You have a brother, but he’s staying in the Mortal World. If there’s a chance in the future, I’ll introduce you to each other.”

Ming Feng was taken aback and instinctively glanced at Xu Xingguang’s belly, ”Did you give birth to him?”

Xu Xingguang’s gaze was as cold as a blizzard in an icy world, a mere glance could freeze a person to death.

Ming Feng quickly corrected himself, ”Your newly adopted son?”

”Yes.”

”What’s my brother’s name?” Ming Feng hadn’t expected to have a brother.

Xu Xingguang smiled and said, ”His name is Fearless.”

”Great name!” Ming Feng was full of curiosity about his brother whom he had never met, eager to see his good brother soon.

”Mother, what kind of person is my brother? To catch your eye, he must be both smart and handsome.” His foster mother was extremely fond of beautiful appearances and only got close to those who looked good.

His brother, no doubt, was also a handsome and clever little genius.

”Your brother Fearless is sturdy, eats well, sleeps well, and is very good at being playful. You should like him too when you meet him.” Xu Xingguang glanced at Ming Feng reassuringly, ”No rush, there will be a chance to meet him in the future.”

Ming Feng was bewildered by Xu Xingguang’s description.

Sturdy, eats well, sleeps well, playful... are these really the words to describe his brother?

Or is his brother just a little child?

But unfortunately, he couldn’t go to the Mortal World. If he could, he’d secretly go there to see his brother Fearless.

Xu Xingguang’s words pulled Ming Feng’s wandering thoughts back to reality. ”When the hurricane sinks into the sea and the imperial mausoleum opens, the black meteorite will appear, and the emperor will return.”

Reciting the prophecy again, Xu Xingguang asked Ming Feng, ”Did you make this up, or is it real?”

Ming Feng straightened his expression and told Xu Xingguang, ”It’s real, but these words weren’t Granny Feng’s final words left for her descendants, they were the words she left just for me.”

”You had a good relationship with her?”

Ming Feng honestly replied, ”I said before, after you died, the monarch talked to many with strong supernatural abilities, and Granny Feng was the only one among those superpower users who truly had real skills.”

”I don’t know what she told the monarch, but ever since the monarch met her, he stopped going mad and agreed to take your body out of the freezer and into the Crystal Coffin.”

Ming Feng didn’t know what Granny Feng had told the Divine Hidden Crane, but Xu Xingguang knew.

Granny Feng told the Divine Hidden Crane that Lin Piaopiao was from the Future World, and in the future, her name would be Xu Xingguang.

Knowing that he could reunite with Xu Xingguang in the future, the Divine Hidden Crane naturally wouldn’t go mad anymore.

”Before the Great Migration, the monarch found me and told me to keep in touch with Granny Feng. I always listened to my mother and the monarch, so even after going to the Divine Martial Realm, I often visited Granny Feng for tea and chats.”

”On the fiftieth year in the Divine Martial Realm, Granny Feng died. Those words were her last will for me as she was dying.” Speaking of which, Ming Feng felt like crying.

He cried as he wished, like a wandering orphan who had finally found his mother. ”For more than two thousand years, I’ve longed for the monarch’s resurrection. I just didn’t expect that Granny Feng’s abilities would fail, and instead of the monarch, it was mother who returned.”

”It’s good that mother can come back.” Ming Feng, with tears in his eyes, looked at Xu Xingguang, and said, ”Mother, Xiao Hang can finally show you my filial piety!”

Xu Xingguang disdainfully pulled out a piece of tissue and threw it to Ming Feng, ”Wipe your snot, you’re being embarrassing.”

Ming Feng took the tissue, wiped his tears absentmindedly, and forcefully wiped his nose.

Xu Xingguang found it extremely disgusting.

Ming Feng knew how disgusting he was being. He stood up, turned his back, and carefully tidied his appearance before turning back to Xu Xingguang with a ’well-behaved’ smile.

He thought he was still that 14-year-old boy.

Little did he know, when Xu Xingguang saw an elderly man with one foot in the grave smiling ’well-behaved’ at her, it gave her goosebumps all over.

”Don’t smile.” Xu Xingguang said expressionlessly, ”You look like an old fool.”

Ming Feng quickly wiped the smile off his face, stared at Xu Xingguang for a while, but couldn’t help but break into a grin again. This time, not only did he look like an old fool, but also like a simpleton.

Xu Xingguang tiredly turned her head away.

So fond of smiling, and smiling so foolishly, this is indeed He Yuanhang, that fool. During her life as Lin Piaopiao, she was clearly a serious figure. She wondered how she managed to raise such a buffoon as He Yuanhang.

Huo Wuyi too, clumsy and gluttonous, nothing like her at all.

Could it be that both kids took after their father?