“I never imagined I would return to this old place one day.”
A pointed spire building occupied the most prominent position in the city. No other structures dared to compete with it within a several-mile radius; there were only public roads stretching out in all directions.
A man, only one hundred and thirty centimeters tall, stood on the main road beneath the spire. He looked up at the massive building pointing toward the sky, his voice thick with emotion.
Despite his short stature, no one would mistake him for some young prodigy. Not only was his head somewhat large, but his face looked exceptionally aged.
At that moment, four people emerged from the Great Gate. They bowed deeply to him, their waists bent nearly ninety degrees.
“Welcome back, General Chu!”
Chu Ying smiled gloomily. The grin only made the wrinkles on his face look more hideous and pitiful.
They used to say that with such an appearance, it was difficult to establish credible authority—that no one would ever be convinced by a man they had to look down upon to see.
However, time flies. After years of hardship and tempering, those people had grown taller and cultivated the temperament of superiors in their high positions. Yet, upon seeing his still-diminutive self, why were they bowing so low?
“Stand up,” he said, tucking away his smile and looking inside. “Lead the way.”
“Yes, General Chu.”
Zhou Tian was the first to respond. His body remained stooped, half-bowing as he accompanied Chu Ying at his side.
“General Chu, regarding the meeting at the foot of the mountain tomorrow, everything was arranged by Teacher Wen Yuan. I didn’t have a hand in it at all.”
This was an explanation—a way to say that the deaths of those three people truly had nothing to do with him. After all, he hadn’t stepped foot out of the villa for half a month.
Don’t ask; if you do, the answer is that Teacher Wen Yuan forced the requirement.
A smile crept back onto Chu Ying’s face. “I know that, of course. That is why I have returned—to find a way out for my brothers.”
Hearing this, smiles appeared on the faces of the others as well.
Indeed, everyone had gone to such great lengths and risked their necks to invite General Chu back just to seek a path to survival.
“Lead the way. Take me to meet my old friend.”
“Gosh, Shen Ning, you’re so amazing~”
In the Crystal Stone World, within the Fossil Corridor, Xu Chuyao patted her small face with both hands, speaking in an exaggerated tone.
Being teased like this by her sister-in-law made Shen Ning rub her face sheepishly. Fortunately, this wasn’t the mortal world; otherwise, her hands, which had just finished touching stones, would have turned her neck into a ‘little flower pig.’
“It’s… it’s alright.”
The Sexual Repression gave a cold sneer: ‘Look at you, acting all proud because she called you fat. Can’t you hear the sarcasm in Li Yao’s voice? If it were me, I would have taken her to the supermarket long ago!’
Sarcasm? Shen Ning didn’t think so. Her sister-in-law wouldn’t hurt her. Besides, Li Yao had truly provided a lot of help over the last few days, leading to so much inspiration.
“Let’s take a break for a while.”
Shen Ning placed a glowing stone she was holding back onto the Fossil Wall.
“Alright, let’s rest.” Xu Chuyao sat down beside her, reaching out to wipe away the non-existent sweat on the girl’s forehead. “You’ve worked hard.”
The girl’s blush spoke louder than words, aside from the [+4300 Emotional Value].
Since returning to the Crystal Stone World these past few days, aside from frequently teasing the Crown Princess and harvesting Emotional Value, Li Yao’s main job was to find ways to drop hints and help Shen Ning discover the secret of the Daystone.
“Hey, look, do you think the faint light on this wall serves any purpose other than representing a person’s mental state?”
“Do you think these stones can be taken down?”
“Where did this vivid sand come from?”
Under the influence of these seemingly casual remarks, Shen Ning tried many things and made significant progress. For instance, the glowing stone she just held was originally a reflection of herself on the Fossil Wall—it was also the only source of light in the entire corridor back then.
It could actually be taken down.
Whenever she performed an effective action, Xu Chuyao would praise her from the side, sending her Emotional Value skyrocketing.
However, while Li Yao said “You’re so smart” out loud, she was actually thinking: ‘How are you so slow? How many more hints do I have to give? Do I have to just write it out for you?’
Fortunately, it finally worked.
Now, seeing Shen Ning finally take down the glowing stone that belonged to her, Xu Chuyao felt deeply relieved.
“So, what do we do after taking it down?”
Shen Ning still didn’t quite understand the object. She turned around, holding the glowing stone in her hand.
What did it mean that it could be removed? What should she do next?
Xu Chuyao hummed for a moment, pretending to go through a day’s worth of deep thought before suddenly snapping her fingers. “Oh! Why don’t we try taking it to the mortal world to see if anything changes?”
Shen Ning was stunned. “Take it to the mortal world?”
“Yeah, it’s chemical thinking. Many things are stable in their current environment but might change if the environment is swapped.”
“Is that so?”
Shen Ning’s grades in Culture Class weren’t great. She knew her sister-in-law’s grades were excellent—top of the whole school—so she believed her implicitly without the slightest suspicion.
“Then let’s go back.”
After conquering the Three Major Sacred Lands in the Crystal Stone World, traveling between the two worlds had become very convenient. For example, to return now, they only needed to cross the White Zero plains and walk to the Naihe Bridge…
“Holy cow! Officer Li? Weren’t you out playing with Shen Ning? Am I dreaming?”
“You are dreaming,” Xu Chuyao said to Xiao Si Nuo, who stood before them. “Don’t doubt yourself.”
“Huh?”
“This is a dream visitation. I’m telling you to bring us back. Hurry up. By the way, let me ask—is this your afternoon nap or your night sleep?”
Having stayed in the Crystal Stone World for several days, they had lost track of time.
Xiao Si Nuo thought hard. “I think it’s an afternoon nap.”
“Whatever. Anyway, help us out and bring us back.”
“Yes, Chief Li. I’ll do it as soon as I wake up.”
About half an hour later, a small door appeared overhead, and the two girls returned.
Beneath them was turf, and there were sandbags nearby. Judging by the environment, they were on the training grounds of the school.
“Chief Li, oh—” Xiao Si Nuo, just awake from his nap, yawned and handed over a mobile phone. “A leader called. They couldn’t find you, so they found me through the principal. Will you take it?”
“Is it that urgent?”
Xu Chuyao took the phone and checked. Soon, the voice of the General came from the other end: “It’s me, it’s me. Xiao Chu, you know what? That person actually came.”
“Who?”
“The one they call General Chu!”
It turned out Chu Ying had arrived. The four councilors had gone out to welcome him, bringing him back to the Council Hall with great fanfare. Good heavens, that momentum looked like the “Three-Year Term is Up, Welcome Back the Dragon King” meme.
“It’s just… this guy… how should I put it? His appearance is certainly, well…” He didn’t know how to describe it.
“I know. Dwarfism, right?” Xu Chuyao cut straight to the point.
On the other end of the line, the General’s eyes widened. “How did you…”
“It’s a long story, and things are quite complicated. It’s not convenient over the phone. You need to grab a helicopter and come over, and I’ll tell you then.”
While Xu Chuyao attempted to handle her old leader, Shen Ning was silently watching the glowing stone in her hand. After being brought from the Crystal Stone World to the mortal world, it had indeed undergone a complete transformation.
The moon-white light gradually withdrew, shrinking inward, until it slowly turned into a snow globe.
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