Chapter 103 "Seclusion in a Mountain Village" - The 103rd day of game development...

Peach Blossom Village is not large, and the village chief's house is naturally not comparable to the magnificent palace in Heaven.

But it was big enough to fit Xihe Dijun and ten little golden crows, not to mention the nine older brothers beside them were chattering away, describing how the house was built.

"It was Father who built this house, laying the foundation, digging stones, shaping bricks, and assembling the house."

"It collapsed twice at the beginning, and I could see it clearly from the sky."

Xiao Liu chimed in, "Hahahaha, because Aunt Yuanyi told Father that as long as he builds Peach Blossom Village well, he will bring us and Mother over as well."

"But actually, Mother and I have been watching Father from heaven for a long time, but Aunt Yuanyi doesn't want us to tell him."

Hearing this, Xihe couldn't help but smile. In fact, she had tacitly agreed to this, after all, her husband had just failed in his grand ambition to unify the prehistoric world from the Heavenly Court, and for the time being, he could only be confined to this small place.

Xihe's first concern was whether Dijun could accept it.

Compared to Xihe, who only likes playing Farm Battle, Dijun prefers to play Zixiao Three Thousand Guests and expand his territory in the prehistoric world. The Golden Crow, who shines brightly over the nine provinces, is trapped in a corner of the land. Isn't that a kind of suffering?

When Xihe was awakened that day, after hearing Yuan Yi explain the cost and limitations of resurrection in the game, her first reaction was gratitude that she could see her children again, followed by worry about Dijun, who had been by her side for tens of thousands of years.

"Life and death are not important to us. This time, I am still willing to die with Your Majesty." This was the second sentence Xihe said to Yuanyi after waking up in the game.

The first question she asked was whether her children would also wake up.

Yuan Yi did not reply at the time, but asked her to help maintain the game formation in the sky and assist the nine little golden crows in completing the daily sunrise and sunset.

It was only then that Xihe realized that she and her children might indeed be more important than Dijun's ambitions.

The former Heavenly Emperor took the initiative to build a village from scratch for the sake of a possible awakening, planting peach seedlings one by one in front of the door, and calling out the name of Xihe to the hazy sun.

At this moment, Xihe and Dijun smiled at each other and clasped their hands together.

And so, Xihe, who was combing the sunlight on the sun that day, rushed from the great sun toward the dusty Dijun.

Just as the fairy once again chose the fallen mortal prince, they remained as devoted to each other forever.

At this moment, all the titles of Heavenly Emperor and Heavenly Empress have become a thing of the past. They both know in their hearts that they are willing to start anew in this small mountain village, as a village chief and his wife, waiting for the return of their old friends.

At first there were nine children, then Donghuang Taiyi, Bai Ze, Ji Meng... and even the most detestable Kunpeng arrived, and now...

"The virtue of 'great virtue carries all things' is called Lu, and the ability to condense fire into elixir is called Ya. Lu Ya. Not bad, it's a good name, very suitable for Xiao Shi." At this moment, Di Jun had already listened to Lu Ya's account of what he had seen and heard after the war between the Lich King and the Demon King.

Upon hearing that Xiao Shi had not only not suffered any injustice outside, but had also obtained a great opportunity and received a new name, Di Jun naturally praised him highly.

Even the name he chose on a whim was given a noble meaning, making Xiao Shi, who rarely spent time with his father in Heaven, feel shy.

I'm too embarrassed to say that I came up with this name because I was overwhelmed with emotion when I saw my companions surrounded by their friends and family at Wuzhuang Temple, while I was all alone.

Hmph, now I have a father, a mother, an older brother, Uncle Donghuang, Minister Bai Ze, Brother Ji Meng, and I might even be able to become their most admired Lord Yuan Yi's master. What can those little dragons, phoenixes, and unicorns compare to me?

Thinking of this, Lu Ya happily raised his head and decided to bury his naming experience deep in his heart. From now on, he would be Lu Ya, the one who "bears great virtue and carries all things, and suppresses evil to make elixir."

It sounds just like his identity as the Golden Crow!

A child who is pampered by his parents is naturally different from the prickly and rebellious child he was before. Lu Ya, now in a comfortable environment, suddenly felt that he could talk about every little thing that had happened before.

Things that seemed ordinary before now inexplicably made her feel wronged, and she kept nagging and grabbing her mother's sleeve. She ignored her brother's mocking laughter, covering her ears and doing whatever she wanted.

Seeing that he was about to become an outsider, Di Jun immediately coughed to get the attention of his wife and children.

Seeing that everyone's eyes were on him, Di Jun awkwardly and stiffly changed the subject: "Little Shi... how about we go take a look at Kunpeng?"

The Demon Master Kunpeng, the spark that ignited the war between the Lich King and the culprit behind the destruction of the Heavenly Court, is now able to be reborn in a game just like everyone else?

Xiao Shi slammed his fist on the table and stood up: "Where is this bad guy? I want to go with Father, Mother, Uncle Donghuang, and Minister Bai Ze to teach him a lesson." Halfway through his sentence, he remembered the important fact that he couldn't defeat Kunpeng, a Great Luo Golden Immortal, and immediately changed his mind.

"...There's no need to be so cautious."

When Lu Ya finally saw the so-called Kunpeng, even with his deep-seated hatred, he was so shocked that he couldn't speak for a moment.

What appeared before them was not the enormous Kunpeng with wings like clouds hanging from the sky, but a plump, half-bald chicken, the size of two small golden crows, with mottled feathers.

If it weren't from the player's perspective, where the two large red characters "Kunpeng" could be clearly seen, Lu Ya would never have recognized that this was the demon master who had strategized in the Heavenly Court.

"Is this a Kunpeng?" The little golden crow grabbed the bald chicken with one claw, and the chicken struggled desperately with its wings and feet, but still could not escape the golden crow's grasp.

Seeing that Xiao Shi looked at the same question he had once asked, Di Jun finally regained some of his authority as a father: "Because he once made a vow to Heaven."

"Kunpeng's loyalty to the demon race is witnessed by heaven and earth. Heaven and earth above, I, Kunpeng, hereby swear that if I ever fail Lord Dijun, I will be denied the Great Dao and my cultivation will not be able to advance even a little."

"If I break this oath, then I will give up these wings and become a bald chicken." The voice echoed in my memory along with Di Jun's recitation.

"Although he used a magic method to escape the initial constraints, the fact of his betrayal cannot be denied, so even in the game he can only become a bald chicken with no cultivation left."

Di Jun rested his chin on his hand: "Besides, this was Yuan Yi's arrangement. She said that the beginner village must have a chicken that can be caught."

"Hmm." Di Jun raised his chin, regaining his professional demeanor as an NPC. "This is the newbie task I'm giving you: catch the bald chicken at the village entrance and prepare dinner for the village chief's family."

"After all, it is a Kunpeng. Although it takes half an hour to revive after being defeated, it still tastes very good. Let me show you a skill."

Having adapted to rural life, Di Jun was full of confidence in his newly learned cooking skills, and Lu Ya also showed an expectant look upon hearing this.

While skillfully wielding the True Fire of the Sun, Donghuang Tai directed several little golden crows to pour seasonings onto the chicken, leaving Dijun speechless as he stared at the charred chicken leg.

"Actually, I'm a pretty good cook. I'm the one who does all the cooking at home," Di Jun muttered to himself, completely ignoring the fact that he had only cooked once, and that was a beginner's tutorial.

But no one paid him any attention; all ten children gathered around Donghuang Taiyi, waiting for the fragrant roast chicken to come out of the oven.

Xihe covered her mouth as she watched her husband make a fool of himself, even abandoning the half-finished moon skirt she was knitting.

Only his fellow countryman, Donghuang Taiyi, cast a glance at him. In fact, he had only been watching from afar at first. Although his elder brother and sister-in-law no longer blamed him for his negligence in causing the death of the nine little golden crows, he still felt guilty and naturally dared not disturb Xiao Shi at this important moment of his return.

But seeing his older brother handling chicken like a complete novice, clumsily and half-cooked it, he wanted to feed the charred chicken leg to his newly returned nephew.

Donghuang Taiyi, who often sneaked down to the mortal realm to roast meat with Xuanming, finally couldn't resist anymore. He refused the treacherous feeding for his resistant nephews and took on the responsibility of cooking for the whole family.

A true expert's skill is immediately apparent. Seeing this masterful, fluid roasting technique, the tender, juicy Kunpeng chicken, already radiating an irresistible aroma, was worlds apart from the charred, burnt chicken leg.

The ten little golden crows, realizing the situation, immediately abandoned their revered father and ran into the arms of their closest uncle, the Eastern Emperor.

After the whole chicken was cut into appropriate sizes and served to everyone, Donghuang Taiyi, holding a plate, came to his brother's side for the first time since his resurrection. He replaced the charred raw chicken leg in front of his brother with a freshly baked large chicken leg.

Then, he swallowed the half-cooked meat as quickly as possible, before even Di Jun could stop him.

Di Jun could only watch helplessly as his younger brother chewed on a chicken bone with a pitiful expression, his eyes filled with a mixture of guilt and pleading: "Brother, I was wrong."

The hand that was hanging there ultimately couldn't snatch the chicken bone; it just stopped above the younger brother's head: "I don't blame you; it was just a momentary impulse."

Bai Ze and Ji Meng, who were standing nearby, also smiled and gathered around. Where the peach blossoms bloom, the ice and snow melt away.

While all the "NPCs" in "Mountain Village Retreat" were happily working together to build a new Peach Blossom Village, a single dissatisfied victim appeared.

Lu Ya, who had been kicked out, stormed out of the game and charged towards Yuan Yi like a shuttle: "Why is there a protection mode for minors?! I can only stay in the game for four hours."

He had just agreed to help his fourth brother take over the sun's shift in the sky, but before he even got to the sky, he was kicked out of the game by some ridiculous "minor protection mode".

Peach Blossom Village is his home. Is he going to be driven out of his home by this strange pattern?

Yuan Yi, who had just ended the live stream a second ago, smiled and said, "The game was created to alleviate players' psychological emotions, but this mode was designed to prevent underage players from becoming overly addicted to the virtual world."

What virtual world? Doesn't he, as the son, recognize whether his father and mother are real or not?

Lu Ya was just about to follow his father's example and go all out to show Yuan Yi how ridiculous the "minor protection mode" was.

However, the experienced Yuan Yi had already swiftly closed the bird's beak and gently reminded, "This game is only in trial phase. The game tasks and process will be modified in the future."

"Furthermore, Lu Ya, you have already far exceeded the game trial time today and skipped today's class."

The little bird has finally perked up; it's time to get him into study mode. Yuan Yi smiled as he sent a message to Di Jun and Kong Xuan instructing them to rigorously supervise Lu Ya's studies and cultivation.

Meanwhile, Lu Ya, snapping out of his gaming frenzy, turned around in horror to see his senior brother, a smile playing on his lips, slowly approaching.

Run! It's a nightmare!

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Author's Note: The story revolves around Di Jun, the village chief who has accepted his new identity and is willing to live with his wife and children in Peach Blossom Village. He's inexplicably confident, but a terrible cook. He'll eventually grow into a stay-at-home husband (I guess?).

I was writing this chapter on Qixi Festival, and for some reason, I thought of the goddess of the sun rushing to her beloved. Whether it's the Heavenly Emperor or a mortal, as long as it's you, I'm willing (parental love added).

But Di Jun in this story is indeed worthy of the title, after all, he's a strong husband who can be both a celestial emperor and a farmer, capable of cultivating the land and building houses [doge emoji].

There should be more developments regarding the demon race later on. What a great starting village! We can't waste it. The village chief is Di Jun, the wandering swordsman Donghuang Taiyi, the storyteller Ji Meng, the schoolteacher Bai Ze... Even the chicken you catch at the village entrance during the starting quest is a Kunpeng with brains, and even the brick you smash down is from a former high-ranking figure in the Heavenly Court. I suggest adding this village to the "Don't mess with this starting village" list. [doge]

Lu Ya has just experienced a family reunion, and now he's about to be targeted by his senior brother and forced to study hard. Good luck, little golden crow! [doge emoji]