Chapter 1802: Just a Little Happy

During this period, Chen Ling also tried to contact Jian Changsheng using a Thought Storm.

For some reason, Jian Changsheng’s thoughts seemed to be isolated by some kind of power, or as if he had fallen into a deep sleep. Chen Ling had searched repeatedly, but simply could not find Jian Changsheng’s thoughts…

“……I see.” Chen Ling sighed softly.

“Mr. Chen, don’t be anxious.” Teacher Ye comforted him. “The Gray Realm is so vast that even the Fusion Faction cannot cover every corner… Perhaps he is somewhere else. If there are any findings later, we will notify you immediately.”

“Hmm.”

“By the way, Mr. Chen.” Teacher Ye seemed to remember something. “Recently, how is that child doing?”

“Jack of Diamonds? He is adapting very well.”

“That’s good……”

Teacher Ye seemed somewhat emotional. “This child really hasn’t had it easy… He is also the only genius so far who has managed to stifle the calamitous consciousness of fusion within his own body by his own power. At first, I was training him as my successor; I didn’t expect him to choose to follow you of his own accord……”

Chen Ling smiled. “It wasn’t me poaching your talent; it was his own choice.”

“Hahaha, of course I don’t mean to blame Mr. Chen. In fact, I also know that the value he creates in the Twilight Society is definitely much greater than it would be in the Fusion Faction.” Teacher Ye took a sip of tea and sighed while looking at the sky outside the window.

“His talent is truly rare to come by… I wonder when the next such genius will appear.”

Chen Ling’s hand holding the cup paused slightly.

In a trance, a familiar figure appeared in his mind. He was wearing a tattered wanderer’s cloak, his skin hidden under his sleeves covered in incantations, standing on the streets of Frost Street, grinning broadly at him.

Chen Ling closed his eyes and placed the cup back on the table unhurriedly:

“Perhaps……”

“He won’t appear again.”

Teacher Ye was stunned. He looked at Chen Ling in confusion, seemingly not understanding what the other meant.

Chen Ling didn’t say anything more, but naturally changed the subject:

“Have you had any results regarding the distribution of the Jiangtian Sect that I asked you to investigate before?”

“Yes.”

Teacher Ye took a map out of the drawer and spread it flat on the table. This was a hand-drawn map of the Gray Realm. Although it looked somewhat crude, if this thing were taken to the human realms, it would definitely be enough to drive all the high-level officials of the human realms crazy!

The Gray Realm had always been a symbol of mystery. Although after hundreds of years of exploration, the human realms roughly knew the locations of several major calamity territories, a map of the Gray Realm as detailed as this was likely the only one in the world, with even the terrain and landforms clearly marked.

And on the map at this moment, several red circles of different sizes were scattered everywhere, extremely conspicuous.

“The red ones are all the locations of the Jiangtian Sect branches we have currently investigated. The larger the circle, the more people in that branch.” Teacher Ye pointed to the red circles and explained.

Chen Ling glanced at those branches, memorized their locations, and nodded:

“Thank you.”

Chen Ling chatted with Teacher Ye for a few more words, and after finishing the tea in his cup, he stood up.

“Leaving already?” Teacher Ye asked.

“I’m going to ‘visit’ these branches one by one.” Chen Ling brushed his sleeves. “I’ll come back to see you after I’m done with the recent matters.”

“Alright, I’ll see you out.”

Chen Ling did not refuse. He walked out of the office with Teacher Ye and slowly descended the stairs of the Mother Tree. Familiar classrooms and dormitories came into his view one by one.

The Fusion Faction in this world was not much different from the Fifth Generation world. Chen Ling had lived here for a period of time and was very familiar with every blade of grass and tree here. At this moment, the Mother Tree in his memory and the Mother Tree before his eyes overlapped, giving him a sense of being in another lifetime…

“Hello, Teacher Ye!”

“Hello, Mr. Chen!”

“……”

Every student who passed by would greet them enthusiastically and proactively. Some of these people were familiar faces from Chen Ling’s memory, while others were not… With the shifting of the world line, many people who should have been taken in by the Fusion Faction did not repeat the mistakes of the previous life, and some children who did not belong to the Fusion Faction had come here by chance.

Chen Ling’s gaze swept across the faces of these children one by one. He suddenly remembered something and turned to ask Teacher Ye:

“Do you have a child named Xi Xiaotao here?”

“……Xi Xiaotao?” Teacher Ye shook his head.

“No, there’s no one by that name.”

Xi Xiaotao did not appear in the Fusion Faction, which meant that either she was never born, or her life trajectory had changed… She did not encounter misfortune like in the previous world, was not forced to be separated from her brother Xi Renjie, did not experience all kinds of suffering, and would not end up with a miserable fate like in the previous life.

Perhaps, she was living happily under the Aurora with her brother right now.

Not just Xi Xiaotao, but now with his own prior intervention, all the children of the Fusion Faction could escape the shadow of calamity… This time, they would not repeat the same mistakes and end up with such a miserable fate.

This time, he would make up for all the regrets of the Fusion Faction.

Chen Ling stood still in front of the Fusion Faction, looked back at the Mother Tree filled with laughter, a pair of cinnabar-like earrings swaying silently, shining brightly in the sunlight.

“What’s wrong, Mr. Chen?” Teacher Ye asked, somewhat puzzled.

Chen Ling withdrew his gaze, a faint smile curling at the corners of his mouth:

“……Nothing.”

“Just… a little happy.”

……

Ancient Theater of Arts.

Knock, knock, knock—

At dusk, Li Rider held a small bowl and knocked on Wenren You’s door.

Soon, a figure opened the door. Seeing Wenren You, whom he hadn’t seen for a long time, Li Rider immediately called out:

“Third Uncle.”

Wenren You smiled, but when his eyes fell on the small bowl in the other’s hand, his smile suddenly froze…

“Nephew, this bowl is way too small.” Wenren You’s expression was somewhat strange. “Is life outside so difficult now? Can’t everyone afford to eat?”

Li Rider: ……

“It’s not that, Uncle… It’s just that I haven’t been eating much lately.” Li Rider explained.

Hearing this, Wenren You kept a straight face and said nothing. He simply snatched the small bowl from Li Rider’s hand, coldly threw out a “Come in first, the food will be ready in a moment,” and walked straight to the kitchen.

Li Rider walked into the house and found that the other uncles and aunts had already arrived. Ning Ruyu, Luan Mei, and Mo Jiao were sitting at the table chatting, while the Clown was hugging a rice bucket on the floor, still enthusiastically playing with pebbles against his own reflection in the glass.

Seeing Li Rider enter, Mo Jiao smiled slightly and patted the seat next to her:

“Nephew, don’t just stand there like a fool, sit down quickly.”

“Yes, Uncle.”

Perhaps because he hadn’t been back for a long time, or perhaps because the room was full of seniors like his uncles and aunts, Li Rider appeared somewhat reserved. He sat down respectfully beside Mo Jiao and didn’t say a word.

“Nephew, you’ve been out for so long, how have you been doing outside?” Mo Jiao asked proactively.

……

……

On a business trip today, Yi Jiu sends greetings to everyone~