Chapter 7: A Best Friend Paying a Consolation Visit?
After leaving the Green Mountain Sanatorium, Li Moxuan took Li Moling back to their old family home in Peach Blossom Village.
Just as in his memories, a few red-brick tile-roofed houses were surrounded by waist-high fences. The courtyard gate had long since decayed; one door was leaning askew against the side, no longer serving to guard the home.
Six years had passed, and everything had changed.
Li Moxuan’s heart was heavy with melancholy.
Beside him, Li Moling pursed her lips, glanced at him without saying a word, then silently pushed open the door and stepped into the home littered with fallen leaves.
Li Moxuan sighed, knowing his sister still hadn’t fully forgiven him.
Inside, the old tables and chairs were covered in thick dust. The mahogany table holding his parents’ memorial portraits was also draped in cobwebs.
He reached out to brush away the webs, gazing at the black-and-white portraits of his parents’ gentle smiles, his guilt swelling within him.
“Mom, Dad…”
He lit an incense stick and bowed deeply before the portraits. Tears silently streamed down, dropping softly onto the stone floor beneath him.
“Mom, Dad, I’m sorry… I’ve come back too late.”
His voice choked with emotion, struggling to regain composure.
Li Moling stood off to the side, biting her lip, her eyes filled with doubt and suspicion as she looked at Li Moxuan.
What did her brother want now, suddenly returning at such a critical moment?
If not for money, then what?
For this dilapidated old house? That was impossible.
For her?
Li Moling gave a bitter smile. If she truly mattered to Li Moxuan, why had he waited until now? Why had he left her to suffer all these six years?
If he had cared for his family, how could their deaths have happened because of him?
If it weren’t for searching for him, their parents wouldn’t have been in that fatal car accident…
Thinking of this, her eyes reddened, and she clenched the rag in her hand tightly, glaring at Li Moxuan’s retreating back with hatred.
No matter what he did, he had to take responsibility for their parents’ deaths!
With that thought, Li Moling turned and left, slamming the old wooden door of her room shut behind her.
Li Moxuan stared at the closed door, his expression forlorn.
Family reunions should have been warm and comforting, yet this one was filled with sorrow and pain.
Perhaps this was the punishment for his six years of cultivation?
Still, he resolutely vowed to make amends to his sister.
He approached Li Moling’s door and hesitated for a long moment before pushing it open.
“I didn’t have time to explain before, but... six years ago, I unfortunately fell off a cliff. My master saved me and took me away to cultivate. It’s only now that my master has allowed me to return. It wasn’t intentional…”
The room remained silent.
“Sorry, sister. I know whatever I say now won’t earn your forgiveness. No matter how you treat me, I don’t care. I just want to fulfill my duty and responsibility as your brother.”
“I swear, no one will bully you anymore!”
Suddenly, the wooden door opened.
Li Moling looked at Li Moxuan’s guilty expression with complex emotions.
She did not believe his explanation.
“It’s meaningless to say this now. Mom and Dad are gone, aren’t they?”
Her words pierced Li Moxuan’s heart like a blade.
---
“Forget it. No matter what, you’re still their child. If you want to stay, then stay.”
Closing the door, Li Moling buried her head in the blanket, crying bitterly, her whole body trembling with grief.
Li Moxuan shook his head silently and turned to clean the house.
After tidying every corner until spotless, he returned to his own room and sat cross-legged.
Six years seemed like another lifetime. Not only had their parents passed away and his sister misunderstood him, but his university girlfriend, Yitong, had likely married or found someone else.
They had been deeply in love back then.
Now, he had ultimately let her down.
Helpless, Li Moxuan cleared his mind and continued his cultivation.
He practiced the Nine Heavens Celestial Evolution Technique taught by his master.
This was a peerless method discovered in ancient ruins.
Its cultivation requirements were extremely severe.
Only those born with innate spiritual bodies could cultivate it.
Its difficulty far exceeded other methods; even achieving the Foundation Establishment stage perfectly was unmatched by others.
Because Li Moxuan was a natural spiritual being, his master had accepted him as a disciple and imposed strict demands.
He was the most likely candidate in a thousand years to ascend to immortality, carrying the high hopes of all his masters.
The cultivation path was divided into ten realms:
Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, Nascent Soul, Out-of-Body, Spirit Transformation, Void Refining, Body Integration, Great Perfection, and Tribulation Crossing.
Each realm contained multiple sub-stages.
The important Golden Core realm was split into Core Gathering, Core Formation, and Core Transformation.
The Nascent Soul stage had Gathering, Formation, and Transformation as well.
With every step forward, one’s strength increased exponentially.
In this era of scarce spiritual energy, Li Moxuan reaching the peak of Foundation Establishment was already quite an achievement.
---
Time passed in the blink of an eye.
He heard a car pull up at the courtyard gate.
It was a red Beetle.
A stylish, attractive young woman stepped out.
She appeared about seventeen or eighteen years old, wearing a white short skirt and black stockings. Her tall figure surely boasted a 36D figure. She carried a pink handbag and walked in high black heels.
Li Moxuan realized she was none other than Zhao Nannan, his sister’s close friend.
Zhao Nannan gave him a suspicious glance and called out:
“Ling’er, I heard you were discharged. I came specially to see you!”
Upon hearing the voice, Li Moling joyfully rushed out of her room.
“Oh, Nannan, you’re here? Come in quickly.”
Li Moling pulled Zhao Nannan inside, seating her on the worn wooden sofa.
Zhao Nannan looked at Li Moling, bouncing with energy, surprised.
“Ling’er, are you really better? I heard you had late-stage lung cancer! You recovered just like that? Medicine is really advanced these days.”
Li Moling smiled wryly.
“Just lucky, I guess. He cured me.”
---
Li Moling glanced out the window.
Zhao Nannan curiously asked:
“Who is ‘he’? Could it be your brother? I heard he died. Or is he your boyfriend?”
Li Moling’s expression grew complicated; she didn’t want to reveal the details.
Sensing this, Zhao Nannan changed the subject.
“So... now that you’re recovered, what do you plan to do? You’ve been out of school for years. Will you go back? Without a degree, it’s hard to find a job.”
Li Moling’s face darkened as she looked around the empty old house.
“With the house like this, what’s the point of school?”
Zhao Nannan encouraged her.
“I can help you figure something out. We’re good friends, after all!”
Li Moling sighed.
“Maybe later.”
Just then, Li Moxuan pushed the door open, his expression resolute.
“Sister, you’re at the right age for school. Don’t worry about money; I’ll find a way. It’s my responsibility.”
Li Moxuan refused to let his sister waste her life over these difficulties.
Zhao Nannan eyed the suddenly appearing Li Moxuan warily, protective of Li Moling.
“Don’t try anything or I’ll call the police.”
Li Moxuan explained:
“I’m her brother, Li Moxuan.”
“Ah?”
Zhao Nannan stared at Li Moling in surprise.
Li Moling reluctantly nodded.
“Kind of.”
Zhao Nannan looked at the two who seemed strangers to each other, pursed her lips, and said no more.
Li Moxuan promised:
“No matter how much the tuition is, I’ll gather it as quickly as possible!”
Then he turned and left.
Li Moling opened her mouth to call him back. Tuition at Wushi University was fifty thousand yuan. For their impoverished family, it was an astronomical sum.
Though she was unwilling to accept this brother, she didn’t want him to fall into crime because of her.
“Brother…”
Li Moling sighed helplessly.
“Nannan, sit tight. I’ll get you some water.”
Zhao Nannan sat on the sofa, watching Li Moling leave, then pulled out her phone, which had a cute bunny charm, and sent a message:
“Butler Huang, it really seems that Li Moling’s illness is cured. Don’t forget the one hundred thousand yuan you promised me!”