Chapter 198 – Return to Stone Village
At this moment, the little guy was already feeling nervous and excited, and there was even a bit of fear. He was homesick, and didn’t know how Stone Village was doing recently.
He left with Qingfeng when he was eight and a half years old. His training and travels exhausted roughly eight to nine months of time, and after joining the Heaven Mending Pavilion, time quickly passed by. As a result, he had already left for two years.
It all seemed like yesterday when he looted the bird nest and were chased after by Aunt Green Scaled Eagle with Ermeng and Pihou’s group. There were also the times they hunted together, picked old medicines, catched young vicious beasts, and many more. There were too many joyous events to reminisce about.
Little Qingfeng also began to shed tears, laughing while crying at the same time. Even though he only lived here for one or two years, those years were filled with happiness.
“It’s just some mountain village, why are you guys getting so emotional. When I return to the old nest, it always feels dull.” The big red bird muttered.
Dong
At this moment, the little guy and Qingfeng both smacked its head. Second Baldy took advantage of the moment and also joined in.
The big red bird was resentful and took to the skies. It moved quickly, and the scenery on the ground retreated rapidly. They finally arrived at the beautiful and peaceful treasure ground.
While they were still far away, the little guy already told it to descent. He wanted to walk step by step there. It was hazy and vague, but a village slowly became discernable.
“An extreme battle happened here! You guys can see that this giant boulder was even split apart!” The big red bird said.
“Precious artifact has been used here, moreover, it’s an extremely terrifying precious artifact. This was originally a mountain, yet half of it was directly swept through!” Second Baldy was also shocked.
At this moment, the little guy’s heart immediately froze. His mind was trembling and his fists were clenched; he was incomparably terrified.
After leaving for about two years, what happened to Stone Village?
Qingfeng was about to cry as well. They finally returned to the village, so they were praying that nothing bad happened to the village. Their emotions were all over the place as they returned to the village, and they truly were extremely scared of seeing something wrong.
It was very quiet ahead. There was no sound.
The little guy was in fear. Even though they were still separated by many li and weren’t in the surroundings of Stone Village yet, there were traces of a showdown taking place here. Someone used a terrifying precious artifact here that far exceeded the power of his dragon shears.
There were a few stone mountains here originally, yet they were all rubble and dust now. They no longer existed!
“Nothing happened! It’s definitely peaceful!” The little guy spoke quietly as he quickly rushed forward. His heart was jumping with thumping sounds, and he was nervous and scared to the extreme.
Qingfeng followed behind him, and his tears were about to spill out.
When Hairy Ball reached this point, it was also familiar with the surroundings. After turning into a streak of light, it streaked across the grass and went straight for that place.
After running several li, they finally drew near. The little guy abruptly stopped. He couldn’t bear it anymore, and tears slid down his face.
A moment later, Qingfeng and the rest of them caught up. They stood by his side, and were able to see the village in the distance.
“Stone Village is safe!” The little guy covertly wiped his tears away. Even through all the intense battles of life and death he had outside as well as all the times he escaped for his life, he was never scared. Just now, however, he was frightened and fearful beyond comparison.
Only when he was able to see it in front of him did he completely relax. He was was so moved that his eyes brimmed with tears of excitement, and all of the worry within his heart disappeared.
It was visible that there were people moving in the village. Each and every figure were very familiar as those were the people closest to him. The houses were the same as before, and there were no significant changes to the village.
An ancient tree was rooted within the village, and its thick branches were scorched black. It had previously been struck by lightning, but currently, there were areas where the old bark fell off that carried vitality.
On that lightning-struck wood, there were now dozens of lush green branches that were emitting a gentle light. It seemed akin to the divine chains from the world’s creation that survived from the ancient years. They were mysterious yet peaceful, and as they naturally hung down, they were full of exuberant life force.
With the Willow Deity here, as long as it was peacefully at rest, nothing would happen to Stone Village. Just now, he was concerned, but the group’s inner torments had all been self inflicted.
They were too tired, and their minds were exhausted.
They finally returned home. The little guy and Qingfeng were both smiling from happiness, but their eyes clearly had tears. After experiencing such a great calamity, they were able to return to the sides of their close ones. Their worries all disappeared, and they were filled with happiness.
At this moment, Second Baldy’s eyes stared blankly. It stared at the willow tree and began to develop a sense of intimidation in its gut. It was extremely terrified.
“Second Baldy, what are you shaking for? You’re truly making me embarrassed.” The big red gave it a slap.
“别乱语，前面有一尊大个的，通天动地，耸入九天上，浩瀚无尽头，快吓死爷了！”二秃子发毛，简直快吓尿了。
“Don’t speak nonsense, there is a great figure up ahead. It possesses a world trembling might, and towers from the nine heavens. It has inexhaustible power, almost scaring this grandpa to death!” Second Baldy was ranting and raving. It was scared out of its wits.
“What rubbish are you saying?” The big red bird was puzzled.
“I’m talking about that tree! Do you see it? That’s a divine being!” Second Baldy’s voice was trembling, and it simply couldn’t believe what it was seeing. After coming here, this kind of ancient tree actually appeared.
It was shaking uncontrollably. Grabbing the little guy, it said, “Devilish brat… What is going on? Why didn’t you tell me, it… What kind of origins does it have? I’m about to die from fear.”
Second Baldy wasn’t an ordinary creature. In the past, it rebuked the heaven and earth and shook the world with its power. Its spiritual awareness was keen to a horrifying degree, yet it couldn’t see through the willow tree’s history. However, it felt that the tree could burst into the heavens and tower above the nine heavens, making its soul even tremble.
At this moment, the big red bird also felt that something was not right. It carefully felt about. Even though that ancient tree was auspicious and peaceful, it was full of soft light. It made the big red bird feel reverence, and it no longer dared to act so unbridled here.
“Exactly what kind of background does it have?”
“That is our village’s guardian spirit. It protects our stone village, ensuring peace. We give it our sacrifices and respects here,” the little guy said.
“What?! A small village’s guardian spirit?” Second Baldy’s eyes almost popped out. It became even more terrified.
What kind of village deserved the protection of such a great deity? To become the guardian spirit of this land, wasn’t that a bit too terrifying?
Second Baldy looked in front of him, then looked at the little guy. It felt more and more confused before it finally calmed down. “This makes sense. Only this type of incomprehensible place would produce a savage child that could chase after a Zhujian and Horned Dragon.”
“What kind of garbage are you speaking.” The little guy was happy as he glanced over at it. He knew that Second Baldy and the big red bird were scared stiff.
Right at this moment, a bird sound rang out. Purple light flickered within the village, and a six to seven meter long bird quickly flew over before descending.
“Little brother, you came back.” The purple-colored bird spoke. The scales over its body were completely purple, and they were incomparably brilliant. It seemed as if mists were rising, making it appear extremely mysterious.
Soon after, a large faint golden-colored bird appeared. There was another green bird that also flew over as well, and they were all flickering with a holy light. They were extremely happy and intimate as they gathered around in front of the little guy and Qingfeng.
“Ya, Ziyun, Dapeng, Little Green, you guys… You guys mature so fast and can even transmit speech now! You all are only few years old!” The little guy was extremely shocked.
“Yi, something’s not right. You guys are extremely strong and aren’t weaker than Archaic descendants. Are your bloodlines really this powerful?”
“Truly. Ziyun, Dapeng, Little Green, you guys are more powerful.” Qingfeng also widened his eyes.
“Mom told us to sleep at the Willow Deity’s base and worship it every day. As a result, after two years, our bloodlines seemed to have become increasingly purer.” Ziyun said.
“Aunt Green Scaled Eagle truly is smart!” The little guy sighed. He then asked about its whereabouts.
“Mother also became extremely powerful, as she continuously perched by the willow deity as well. However, recently she went to the depths of the great wastelands to undergo bitter cultivation,” said Little Green.
“My god! What kind of existence is this? I want to worship as well!” The big red bird jolted his buttocks as he ran towards the village entrance.
Second Baldy seemed as if it saw a ghost. It was truly scared bad, and its legs were giving out.
“Little guy, Qing Feng!”
At this moment, the villagers saw them. Quite a number of people immediately rushed out.
“Ah, this isn’t a dream! The little guy returned, and there’s Qingfeng as well!” One of them shouted extremely loudly. It rang through the village, and everyone became emotionally stirred.
With a hu la sound, Dazhuang, Ermeng, Pihou and the group of youth leapt over their houses to directly exit Stone Village.
Behind them were a group of elders, and there were also many women and children as well. They all ran out, all of them incomparably excited.
“We returned!” The little guy and Qingfeng both shouted loudly. They ran towards the village entrance, and the hundred meters separating them was gone in an instant.
“Little brat, you left us for two years! We were worried to death, and only now did you finally return!” The childhood companions rushed over, and the two of them were buried.
“Stinky brat, do you know how worried we were? We thought that something might have happened to you in the great wastes. We didn’t receive any news even after so long.”
Everyone stopped what they were doing and rushed up. In the end, the little guy and Qingfeng were almost buried into the ground.
They were all incomparably moved, and their eyes carried joyous tears. They grew up together since childhood, but these people never left the great wastes. Their feelings for each other were the most sincere and simplest of emotions.
“My bones are about to get crushed, let me get up…” The little guy cried out.
“Who are you trying to fool? When you were just a few years old, you already could run up a mountain while carrying a ten thousand jin boulder. Right now, you are saying that you are going to get crushed by just our group of twenty to thirty people?”
The group of people were full of laughter. Their eyes were moist, and they use all their strength to pressure him and Qingfeng. Only after a long time did they leave.
As soon as they stood up, Pihou, Er Meng and the others immediately came up to hug their arms and necks. They were extremely intimate.
“Little brat, you really are daring. You leave for two years and didn’t send back any news. We were truly scared that you guys would never appear again.”
Shi Linghu and the other group of men made their way into the crowd. Each and every one of them were moved emotionally, and they immediately gave them poundings on their chests with their huge fists, creating peng peng sounds.
What they said was the truth. The great wastes were too terrifying, and after leaving for two years without returning, the chances of them ending up in the stomach of a vicious beast was extremely high.
“You babies grew taller! Even though you are still delicate, your bodies have grown sturdier.” Shi Feijiao patted their shoulders, and his eyes carried tears.
“Uncle Hu, Uncle Jiao, we are all very well. We learned many skills, and always wanted to return. We’ve always missed you guys.” The little guy’s feeling were sincere as he spoke
“Uncle, I missed you guys too.” Qingfeng began to cry.
They left for two years already. They experience so much outside, especially the great calamity recently. Their minds were exhausted, so after returning home and seeing so many brothers and elders, they immediately found people to rely on.
“Qingfeng don’t cry, don’t cry. Everything’s good now that you came home. Everyone was always thinking about you two brats, and we talked about you two every day.” The group of elders didn’t know how to comfort people. Hands were everywhere as they tried to help wipe away the tears.
“Qingfeng don’t cry! This time we have reunited!” Dazhuang, Huzi, and the snotty kid walked up.
“You two little babies are too rude. How could you just leave for two years? We were worried to death.” A group of women ran over. These aunties were extremely strong, directly pushing Ermeng and the rest of the strong young males to the side.
“Qingfeng is much thinner now, but has grown taller by quite a bit.”
“The little guy is still so pretty. Now that he is ten years old, we should call him by his real name.”
“These two children have both grown taller, becoming sturdier and stronger. They can get married now.”
The group of large aunties’ saliva flew everywhere. They pulled the two children towards them and bombed them with seemingly never ending gossip.
At this time, Huniu1, Uncle Feijiao’s daughter also hurried over. She was incomparably excited and gathered around as well. She grabbed the little guy and Qingfeng’s sleeves and began to chatter continuously. She asked about all types of things, and was extremely lively.
The little guy said that Huniu and the rest of them got fatter, and was then chased and beaten by these girls. Only after he covered his head and ran like a rat did he finally break free from the terrifying aunts.
“Grandpa Chief!”
After breaking into the village, the little guy almost collided with a group of elders. He quickly stopped himself and gave proper courtesy. His eyes reddened, because it was clear that these elders grew more white hair and were aging more and more.
Only village Chief Shi Yunfeng seemed relatively better. He grew a bit more white hair, because two years truly wasn’t a short period of time.
“Good, good, good! It’s good that you returned!” The group of elders were all very moved. All of them, especially the Clan Elder that held the little guy’s hand, had moist eyes. Their tears trickled down even though they were trying to hold them back.
He was the one that raised the little guy. Ever since the little guy was young, he was the one that took care of his needs. The clan chief was an unmarried man, and he had long thought of the little guy as his own son.
“Come quickly and pay your respects to the willow deity.” The elders said.
The little guy wiped away his emotional and joyous tears and turned to face the willow tree that was full of vitality. He was serious and sincere and he said, “Willow deity, thank you!”
A light breeze blew over, and roughly ten sparkling branches swayed. It was as if the heavens and earth were splitting apart, and the aura of primal chaos was dense. Divine splendor scattered down, and it replied, “You should have your reunion with the villagers first.”
“Okay!” The little guy nodded.
The big red bird was on the side, and was immediately scared until it began to tremble.
Right at this moment, the miserable cry of Second Baldy rang out from the distance. It was heart tearing and lung splitting, as it was filled with incomparable dread.
The group of large aunts were truly valiant, especially Huniu’s mother — Hu Shen. A thick arm reached out and grabbed Second Baldy by the neck. “These two kids are truly acting like outsiders. If they return, then they return. Why did they feel like they have to bring back prey? They were even so diligent as to pluck it clean. However, this is still a good thing. This bird is quite plump, so we can make soup out of it.”
She grabbed Second Baldy and started walking towards the village. The group of aunts nodded as they assessed this bird. They grouped up together and were extremely lively.
Second Baldy almost urinated out of fear. This group of women were too intrepid! Without asking to clear up any misunderstandings, they directly decided to stew it.
It finally understood how the devilish brat was raised. After being cared for by this group of large aunts, how could you not be savage?
Second Baldy always had problems with his body. His fighting strength was sealed, and this group of females’ strength were just too great. They almost strangled it to death. It opened its throat and shouted for the little guy to save its life.
“Save me! This is murder!”
“Yi, this bird can even speak, what species is it? It’s flesh is definitely precious medicine. The little guy truly brought back something precious. Don’t waste it, let’s stew it together with the old medicine to make it taste better.”
The group of large women discussed among themselves. Second Baldy was so terrified that goosebumps appeared all over its body.
1. Tiger girl that the little guy referred to many times before