On the tower of heavens, Li Daoyi watched as Mengmeng returned the items to Jiang Ziya, and only then did he breathe a sigh of relief.
"This child is really too naughty," Li Daoyi said helplessly.
"Haha, Mengmeng has the heart of a child; she's just playful," Zhen Yuanzi laughed.
"What do we need to do next?" Kong Xuan asked.
"Don't rush. Although the great calamity has begun, it hasn't officially arrived yet. It will take time," Li Daoyi said.
Now, Jiang Ziya, after regaining the Investiture of the Gods, breathed a deep sigh of relief. He looked up at the Tower of All Heavens, which was less than a hundred meters away from him, hesitated for a moment, then suppressed his curiosity and turned to squeeze out of the crowd.
Jiang Ziya then went to the outer city of Chaoge and found a brokerage firm. With their introduction, he arrived at a simple courtyard.
"Guest, let me tell you, this family was originally a grandfather and grandson, but they became rich a few years ago. I heard they met a benefactor and moved to a better place. Before they left, they listed this little courtyard with the broker, saying they would only rent it to honest people. I see you're quite old and don't seem like a bad person, so I'll give you a good deal," said the broker's clerk.
Jiang Ziya looked around the small courtyard. There were only two rooms, but they were very clean, which suited his idea of being low-key.
“Alright, this is the place.” Jiang Ziya nodded.
"Alright, sir, let's sign the contract right away," the Asian Development Bank employee said happily.
After everything was finished, Jiang Ziya finally moved into this small courtyard.
There was also a pear tree in the courtyard, which was now full of pears. Jiang Ziya liked it very much. With a wave of his hand, a reclining chair appeared under the tree, and he lay down comfortably.
"Why..."
Thinking about what had just happened, he still felt a little scared, and the image of Mengmeng and her cute appearance reappeared in his mind.
"What a mischievous and amazing child," Jiang Ziya murmured.
There were actually two reasons why Jiang Ziya settled in Chaoge. One was that the time Yuanshi Tianzun had said had not yet come, so he needed to wait for the right opportunity. The second was that he wanted to understand the current state of the Shang Dynasty. After all, Yuanshi Tianzun's mission for him was to overthrow and end the Shang Dynasty, so he wanted to understand the reasons why the sage chose to end it. He knew what this meant: war.
Lost in thought, Jiang Ziya actually drifted off to sleep. The arduous journey, coupled with Mengmeng's mischief, had left him exhausted.
The next morning, Jiang Ziya was awakened by a knock on the door. He quickly reached into his robes and was relieved to see that the Investiture of the Gods was still there.
"Really, I actually slept through the night," Jiang Ziya said, somewhat incredulously.
"Knock knock..."
Is anyone home?
A girl's voice came through.
"Strange..." Jiang Ziya was puzzled as to why someone had come to his door so soon after he moved in.
He then got up and walked to the gate, unlatched it, and pushed it open. There stood an old man and a young man.
"Oh, Grandma, someone really lives here!" the girl exclaimed. She was about twelve or thirteen years old and very lively.
Moreover, the old woman was a woman around sixty years old. She was dressed simply, but her clothes were made of precious fabrics.
"Who are you?" Jiang Ziya asked, somewhat puzzled.
"Oh, I'm sorry, my grandma and I heard from the brokers on the street this morning that you rented this place, so we came to take a look," the girl said quickly.
“Sir, this used to be my and Niu Niu’s home,” the old woman said with a smile.
Jiang Ziya then realized that this was the homeowner.
"Oh, please come in, please come in." Jiang Ziya quickly stepped aside.
These two women were Shen Gongbao's godmothers, and the girl was Niu Niu.
"Ah, Grandma, look! So many pears! I haven't eaten them in so long!" Niu Niu exclaimed excitedly, looking at the tree laden with pears.
At this moment, the old woman stared at Jiang Ziya, looking him up and down.
"Uh..." Jiang Ziya was a little confused by the look, but out of politeness he just smiled awkwardly.
"Grandma?" Niu Niu called out in confusion when her grandma ignored her.
“It’s just like it, so much like it,” the old woman said.
"......"
"Grandma, what did you say?" Niu Niu asked.
"This old gentleman looks just like an old friend of mine."
"What old friend?" Niu Niu asked.
Jiang Ziya also looked at the old woman with a puzzled expression.
"Ah, let's not talk about it. It's been over forty years. He's dead now," the old woman sighed.
"Oh, I know!" Niu Niu's eyes suddenly lit up.
Jiang Ziya looked at the girl with curiosity.
“Hehe, Grandma, I know who you’re talking about, it’s Grandpa, right?” Niu Niu said with a grin.
"You child, you have such a good memory," the old man said with a hint of reproach.
“Hmm, let me think… Fei Xiong, right? You call him Brother Fei Xiong, you’ve mentioned it often before, and you’re from the same village,” Niu Niu said.
"Don't talk nonsense, people will laugh at you." The old man's face immediately turned red.
At this moment, Jiang Ziya was completely stunned, his whole body stiffened. He stared blankly at the old woman, whose face gradually overlapped with that of a pretty young woman.
"Su Rong".
Jiang Ziya murmured.
The old woman looked up in shock. Su Rong was her real name, but apart from her son and granddaughter, no one else knew it. Now, someone was actually calling her that.
“Huh…” Niu Niu looked at Jiang Ziya with surprise. This person actually knew her grandmother’s name.
The old woman's body began to tremble, and then she fell backward.
"Grandma!" Niu Niu quickly reached out to help, then screamed in fright.
However, Jiang Ziya was faster than her and helped the old woman up.
Immediately afterwards, a stream of true energy was transferred over.
"grandmother..."
Niu Niu was so frightened that tears were about to fall.
Soon, the old woman slowly opened her eyes and saw Jiang Ziya's face.
"Brother Fei Xiong, is it really you?" The old woman reached out and touched Jiang Ziya's face. Jiang Ziya trembled slightly but did not dodge.
Niu Niu, standing to the side, covered her mouth in surprise, looking utterly incredulous.
"Yes...yes...it's me," Jiang Ziya replied with some difficulty.
"Smack..."
The old woman slapped Jiang Ziya hard across the face.
"Grandma." Niu Niu quickly helped her over.
Jiang Ziya touched his cheek blankly, his face full of shame.
"You're still alive! You're still alive!"
"More than forty years have passed, and you're still alive," the old man murmured.
"Yes, I am still alive, Xiao Rong, I..." Jiang Ziya wanted to say something, but he couldn't open his mouth.
Jiang Ziya's thoughts drifted back to more than forty years ago, back to that small village.
It turns out that Jiang Ziya was the old woman's lover back then, and Feixiong was Jiang Ziya's Taoist name. Although it was his Taoist name, this name had been deeply imprinted in his mind since he was born, and thus it became his nickname.
Jiang Ziya left home at the age of thirty to seek the path of immortality. Before that, he had a lover who was more than ten years younger than him, Su Rong. Su Rong did not mind that he was poor and alone. She often cooked and did laundry for him. Every time Jiang Ziya caught fish or chopped firewood, he would send it to her family. Su's family was very simple and honest and did not object because of the big age difference between the two. In the end, the two got together.
Just when everyone in the village was blessing the couple, one day Jiang Ziya seemed to have become a different person. He told everyone that he was going to seek immortality and enlightenment. Ignoring Su Rong's desperate pleas, he left the village without hesitation, and this departure lasted for forty-two years.
"Why? Since you're not dead, why don't you come back?" the old woman, Su Rong, asked, tears streaming down her face.
“I…” Jiang Ziya’s expression was complicated, and he didn’t know how to start.
On the day he turned thirty, a Taoist appeared in his dream and told him that he had a destiny with the immortal path and asked him to go to Kunlun to seek the Tao.
Jiang Ziya, who had always felt different from others, felt a strong desire after waking up: to go to Kunlun. This idea was like a spell, and he did not hesitate at all. Even with Su Rong's tearful persuasion, he finally embarked on the path of seeking immortality. After nearly two years, he finally arrived at Kunlun Mountain.
At this moment, the old woman wiped away her tears, looked deeply at Jiang Ziya, and a hint of disappointment flashed in her eyes.
"Niu Niu, let's go."
"grandmother..."
"Let's go home."
"good."
Niu Niu had no choice but to help her grandmother up and walk towards the door. Before leaving, the little girl turned back to look at Jiang Ziya, hesitated for a moment, and then mouthed four words to him.
Jiang Ziya stared blankly at the departing figures of the two, his mind filled with the four words that Niu Niu had just mouthed.
Goodbye, Grandpa.
"grandfather?"
"grandfather..."
Jiang Ziya was completely stunned. The child called him grandpa. Right, she seemed to have mentioned it before.
Jiang Ziya recalled that when Su Rong thought he looked familiar, the little girl seemed to have mentioned that her grandfather was Fei Xiong.
"No...how could that be? It can't be," Jiang Ziya murmured.
"Back then, she had my child?"
An idea suddenly flashed through Jiang Ziya's mind, followed by a dull pain in his chest, and he slumped into his chair.
"My child...I have my child..." This thought kept swirling in Jiang Ziya's mind.
At this moment, Jiang Ziya felt utterly heartbroken. He had actually become pregnant. He couldn't imagine how Su Rong had managed all these decades. How terrible it was for an unmarried girl to be pregnant.
"puff..."
Jiang Ziya spat out a mouthful of blood, feeling that his forty years of Daoist resolve had shattered at this moment.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry..." Jiang Ziya lowered his head, repeating the words over and over, his face full of regret.
"You are not destined for the path of immortality; you can only enjoy worldly riches." At this moment, the words of the Primordial Celestial Venerable resurfaced in his mind once again.
"Hehe...hehe..."
"No fate? Or worldly riches?"
"Master, you've caused me so much trouble..." Jiang Ziya said with a bitter smile.
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