Chapter 784: Nonsense

"It's good that you're back, it's good that you're back!" For someone as adept at social maneuvering as He Chunhua, even he was momentarily overcome with emotion, a myriad of feelings surging through him.

It took him a while to compose himself before he asked, "Have you had breakfast?"

He Lingchuan shook his head.

"Perfect, let's eat together."

Madam Ying wiped away her tears, then turned to Butler Wu and instructed, "Add more dishes!"

Their eldest son had a large appetite; the breakfast the kitchen had prepared earlier wouldn't be enough for a family of four. "I heard the toon sprouts delivered this morning are very tender. Tell the cooks to make six steamed buns—no, no, steamed buns take too long. Make pan-fried buns instead! And the braised beef that was meant for lunch, slice it up now. Also, make three bowls of hot and sour rice noodles..."

He Lingchuan leaned closer and smiled, "Is it still the same cook from Blackwater City? Then I want hawthorn cakes!"

"You're so greedy, wanting dessert before you've even eaten?" Madam Ying scolded him playfully, then turned to Butler Wu and said, "Go get the hawthorn cakes."

He Lingchuan quickly added, "I also brought back more than a dozen people, Old Wu. Please arrange their food and drink for me!"

Truly their eldest son, still acting the same way after half a year! Madam Ying secretly rolled her eyes but didn't voice any reproach.

He Chunhua also heard this, and his eyes flickered.

Where did their eldest son bring these people from?

Butler Wu quickly agreed repeatedly and hurried off to take care of it.

The family of four walked towards the dining hall, and the courtyard was filled with long-absent laughter and joyful chatter.

Seeing his mother and younger brother express such genuine emotion, He Lingchuan was equally joyful.

Neither he nor the original owner of the body liked this family, but compared to the tumultuous experiences that followed, he realized how carefree and comfortable his life in Blackwater City used to be.

Alas, he couldn't go back.

Neither his state of mind nor his experiences allowed him to return to that past.

He could still feel He Chunhua's gaze fixed firmly on him.

His father's joy was also evident.

After eight months, the whole family was finally eating together again.

They seemed to be enjoying themselves immensely.

As soon as He Chunhua's fish porridge was served, he immediately pushed it towards his eldest son. "Eat more! You look thinner."

He Lingchuan didn't decline, slurping his porridge loudly. "The food at home is still the best."

His words were true; after eating all sorts of delicacies in Lingxu City, he eventually realized that home-cooked food suited his taste the best.

Madam Ying said with a smile, "Quick, tell us where you've been all these months! Why didn't you come back or send a message to let us know you were safe?"

The last few words were uttered with a hint of gritted teeth.

This thoughtless brat, did he not know how much his family suffered?

"Oh dear," He Lingchuan scratched his head. In fact, shortly after first entering the demon kingdom of Chi-Yan, he had met Li Qingge, who had originally offered to send a verbal message back home for him but later voluntarily withdrew the offer.

Sect Master Li was a clever person who knew how to handle situations appropriately.

Thinking of the He family, He Lingchuan's mood became quite subtle.

"Last summer, I fell into the Han River. I don't know where so many debris, logs, and rocks came from, but I was tossed around in the water and then something hit my head, knocking me unconscious." He began to concoct a story. "When I woke up, I was already in a harbor called Shapo Head in Xuluo Nation. They say I was washed into a shallow bay by the flood, and local fishermen pulled me out. They were going to bury me, but then they found I was still breathing."

Madam Ying and He Yue listened with bated breath. Only He Chunhua had personally experienced the Battle of Han River and witnessed how his eldest son fell into the water, and how the endless logs from upstream of the great river had rushed down, crushing all living things in their path.

For He Lingchuan to have survived was nothing short of a miracle.

"How long did you drift downstream?" He Chunhua vaguely recalled that there indeed seemed to be a river bend named Shapo Head in Xuluo Nation, and it was indeed downstream from the Han River. He knew this because he had studied battle maps with Zhao Pan, the general of the northern front.

"I'm not sure, maybe two or three days?"

He Yue asked curiously, "Brother, I'm not trying to argue, but how could you still be alive after drifting in the water for two or three days?"

He Lingchuan pulled a bead from his bosom and dangled it in front of him. "Look what this is? A tortoise pearl!"

"This thing helps with underwater breathing. I put it in my mouth as soon as I fell into the water."

"Oh, I remember now, did you get this near Spirit Lake?" He Yue still remembered the fierce battle near Spirit Village.

"Good memory." He Lingchuan complimented his brother.

Madam Ying urged, "And then?"

"Then I forgot who I was."

"Huh?" What kind of bizarre twist was this?

He Lingchuan rubbed the back of his head and said, "When I woke up, I had no idea who I was or where I came from. The doctor said my head had taken a severe blow, and blood clots had blocked my memory. I couldn't fish, nor did I want to farm, and I was completely at a loss there, unable to even pay for my medicine."

At this point, he gritted his teeth and said, "I don't know which unscrupulous scoundrel it was, but they plundered all my money and belongings while I was unconscious! I woke up with nothing but the clothes on my back!"

The storage ring on his finger had long been replaced with one from Lingxu City, so there was no risk of He Chunhua recognizing it.

"Fortunately, a passing merchant caravan saw that I was strong and skilled in martial arts, so they recruited me as an escort."

The piping hot pan-fried buns were served, still sizzling at the bottom. With a scrape of chopsticks, a whole layer of crispy, flaky skin came loose. He Lingchuan picked one up and took a bite; the hot juice spurted out about two feet, nearly splashing He Yue's face.

He Yue deftly dodged, "What happened next?"

"I wandered with the caravan for a long time. Memories would surface occasionally like fragments. I could remember your faces, and fragments of Blackwater City and Shihan City, and even scenes from the battle at the Han River would flash in my mind. But... it was all disjointed. I just couldn't remember who any of you really were!"

He Lingchuan wore an expression of sadness and grievance.

He certainly couldn't say: "I beat up the demonic puppeteer Dong Rui, then we drifted to the lair of the ancient great demoness Madam Zhu Er, and she entrusted me to find the immortal cicada shell in Beijia City. After that, I became close friends with the Prince of Chi-Yan, and helped Chi-Yan investigate the missing courier case, which escalated into the elixir of immortality case that shook Lingxu City. Finally, after offending many powerful figures in Lingxu City, I blew up the Star-Picking Tower of the Heavenly Palace, and Lingxu City suffered a major disaster?"

Madam Ying would surely say, "Your brain is broken, you need to take your medicine."

Rather than that, it was better to simply invent a story about him losing his memory and aimlessly wandering around.

To Madam Ying and He Yue, this was quite bizarre; to He Lingchuan, it was shamelessly copying a melodramatic plot.

But between the utterly unbelievable and the merely bizarre, he preferred the latter.

After all, it barely fit within the realm of normal human understanding, didn't it?

He Yue patted his brother's shoulder in comfort. "Brother, you're finally back!"

"Yes, later, the caravan reached the border of Rong Mountain, and there was actually a cicada plague there..."

As his eldest son mentioned "Rong Mountain," He Chunhua's gaze subtly sharpened.

He had heard "Rong Mountain" twice in one day. What a coincidence?