CH 77

After the great battle and the extinction of the stone clans, the space rifts returned to normal. The employees who had gone missing from the Three Thousand Food House found their way back, and everyone returned to the restaurant safely.

The surviving soldiers on the temporal battlefield were granted leave, and after returning to their hometowns, they eagerly recounted the thrilling scenes on the battlefield. Naturally, the most talked-about scene was the moment when countless stone and sand combined to form giant stone clans. At that time, this had greatly shocked countless soldiers. Even when they recounted it later, the fear from that moment was visible on their faces.

For those who had not witnessed the formation of the giant stone clans, the idea alone was unbelievable. Just thinking about it left them astounded. When they heard that dozens of divine clans had besieged a single giant stone clan and still struggled to gain the upper hand, many couldn’t help but exclaim in shock. Dozens of divine clans struggling against a single giant stone clan, just how powerful must that giant stone clan have been?

As they thought about it, countless people were filled with a sense of fear. If the giant stone clans had not been destroyed, if the divine clans had not managed to withstand their attacks, how would they, as ordinary people, have faced the giant stone clans?

The more they thought about it, the greater their gratitude toward the divine clans became. If it weren’t for the divines, the Three Thousand Worlds might have already been destroyed!

The sudden disappearance of the giant stone clans left the divine clans feeling perplexed and clueless. However, in the eyes of other races, especially some weaker ones, it appeared that the divines had wiped out the giant stone clans. This was because, before the extinction of the stone clans, dozens of divine clans had intensively attacked a single god. This was seen as a case of cumulative effort resulting in a qualitative change!

—Sometimes, being able to see the truth itself implies a certain level of strength.

As the scope of the battle on the temporal battlefield spread, more and more people began to share this perspective. However, at the same time, there was something else that received widespread praise.

Among the four thousand warriors under Ji Lan’s command, those who returned home felt luckier compared to the soldiers from the other five fleets. This was because they had truly brushed shoulders with death’s door. If it weren’t for the Three Thousand Food House coming to their aid, many of them would have suffocated due to the lack of spatial power before the stone clans even arrived.

So, after returning home, these soldiers began sharing their experiences online. They didn’t talk much about the stone clans since there had already been plenty of discussions online about them. Instead, what they talked about most was the Three Thousand Food House coming to their rescue during their moment of peril.

#Three Thousand Food House Saves Thousands of Soldiers’ Lives#

This news quickly gained popularity, second only to the news about the giant stone clans. In the past, the Three Thousand Food House was known for its delicious food, but it was ultimately just a restaurant. Some older generations even criticized the craze among young people for going to the Three Thousand Food House to eat and take photos.

In the eyes of these older generations, it was just a place to eat, even if the food was delicious. Why were these young people so obsessed with it? They found this behavior exaggerated. As a result, those older generations who had previously had a faint liking for the Three Thousand Food House started to feel a mild aversion to it after witnessing the young people’s frenzy of visiting the restaurant. They believed that anything that could get young people addicted was not a good thing.

However, the Three Thousand Food House’s reputation changed significantly after its voluntary assistance to four thousand soldiers. As for the younger generation, they needed no convincing. Their favorite restaurant had actually come to the rescue of the warriors protecting the Three Thousand Worlds during a crisis. So, they felt that, in a way, this restaurant had participated in the battle against the spatial rifts. Consequently, more young people flocked to the Three Thousand Food House.

For the older generation, those who were willing to risk their lives to help the warriors at such a life-and-death moment could not be bad people. Many of the older generation still remembered the horrors caused by the invasion of the stone clans in the past. Therefore, their view of the Three Thousand Food House improved, and they encouraged the younger generation to visit the restaurant more often, absorbing some of that righteousness!

The act of helping the soldiers was a subconscious choice made by Bai Xianzhi when he learned that the soldiers were on the brink of death due to the lack of spatial power. He hadn’t considered the consequences and naturally didn’t anticipate that Three Thousand Food House’s business could thrive even more.

Now, with the spatial overlappers in Three Thousand Food House once again open for business, everything returned to the way it was before the great battle. However, facing numerous customers clamoring for reservations and many others who claimed to be just here to take a look and not eat, Three Thousand Food House’s space once again felt cramped.

“Boss, the reservation page crashed because too many people entered it at the same time!”

“Boss, the rest area is packed with people, and customers are spilling into the spatial rift. Many visitors who originally came to see the Sand Belt want to come in and watch. The two employees at the entrance can hardly hold them back!”

Bai Xianzhi was overwhelmed, quickly instructing, “Go find Wen Nuan and tell her to immediately hire a professional in spatial management at a high salary, recruit more apprentices and servers, and hire a few burly security guards for the entrance. Also, have her buy more spatial overlappers.” The two employees hurried off to find Wen Nuan. Bai Xianzhi rubbed his temples and, just as another person entered, he reflexively asked, “What’s happened now?”

The newcomer didn’t respond for a while. Bai Xianzhi opened his eyes and saw a person at the entrance with silver hair and silver eyes. This wasn’t an employee; it was clearly—

“Fe… Feng Ye.”

Bai Xianzhi was somewhat dazed. Since the last major battle, he hadn’t seen Feng Ye. Many things had been weighing on his mind, and now, upon seeing Feng Ye, these suppressed thoughts and feelings burst forth like a dam breaking.

The last words from that day, spoken by his uncle, left Bai Xianzhi’s heart heavy. Although he didn’t fully understand them, he instinctively felt that something bad was going to happen. So, he rushed forward to grab his uncle, but in just a few seconds, the person who had been smiling kindly at him disappeared from his sight.

Bai Xianzhi rushed out, shouting for his uncle. Feng Ye, at the entrance, quickly asked what was wrong. Bai Xianzhi said that his uncle was gone and asked if Feng Ye had seen his uncle come out of the kitchen. Feng Ye, however, said he hadn’t seen his uncle appear in the front area at all.

It was at this moment that there was a loud noise outside the door. The two of them ran to the entrance and witnessed dozens of giant stone clans instantly turning into sand and dust. The enormous stone clans, as tall as mountains, disintegrated simultaneously in that moment, and the sky was filled with sand and stones, blocking everyone’s view.

It was at this moment that Bai Xianzhi vaguely understood something. In his uncle’s story, the two aspects of the consciousness of the world that had perished, one seeking tranquility and satisfaction and the other unwilling to fade away, coexisted, depended on each other, and lived and died together. And now, his uncle had disappeared, and these giant stone clans immediately disintegrated…

The connection between all of this made Bai Xianzhi think deeply. Later, he asked Feng Ye to leave first and forced himself to deal with the affairs of the restaurant, sending the employees home one by one. After comforting the two children, he lay down in his room, feeling exhausted. The events of this day had been overwhelming, and most importantly, his uncle’s sudden appearance and disappearance had left him feeling more tired than ever.

While lost in thought, he took out his phone, intending to browse through his photo gallery. However, he found a piece of paper beneath his pillow. He immediately sat up, pulled out the paper, and unfolded it. It turned out to be a letter left for him by his uncle.

“Zhizhi, when you read this letter, do you still have any doubts in your heart?”

Bai Xianzhi blinked and continued reading —

“Kid, I knew you wouldn’t understand. Oh well, I’ll reluctantly explain it to you.”

Upon seeing this sentence, Bai Xianzhi immediately pictured his uncle, sitting there with a drink in hand, looking disdainful. The corners of his mouth twitched involuntarily. He thought to himself, “With the way you explained it, who could have understood?”

The sadness in his heart diminished slightly. He lowered his head and continued reading —

“In the story, the consciousness of the perished world split in two, each with different aspirations and desires for a different life. So, one aspect of the will entered a large world, rooted itself there, concealed its power, and aimed to erase all living beings in that world. Then, it intended to recreate its own world based on the foundation of that one.”

“While the other aspect of the will arrived in another large world. Here, it found a child, couldn’t locate the child’s parents, and decided to raise the child into an adult.”

Later, the child gradually grew up, and the power of the other aspect of consciousness began to strengthen, calling strongly to the will of this world. The satisfied will could not resist this powerful call, and the barriers between worlds made it restless. So, he opened a passage between the two worlds.

With this passage, the unwilling will sensed him in the same large world, and they no longer conflicted. The satisfied will wanted to raise the child, so he decided to open a small restaurant and start cooking.

“…as they connected the two large worlds, he didn’t help or hinder the other aspect of the will. He just quietly observed until the child grew up into an adult. The other aspect of the will grew too strong, even starting to absorb the power of the satisfied will. The satisfied will had no choice but to choose to slumber.

He settled in the small restaurant, and during his moments of clarity, he looked at the child he had raised. It wasn’t a bad way to spend his time.

Until one day, the unwilling will, controlling his power of manifestation, came to the adult child. The satisfied will woke up, knowing that the time of complete extinction had come. Only after he self-destructed could the unwilling will disappear completely.

Moreover, his child had grown up, and he no longer had any attachments. So, he left, and the story ended here.

“Now, kid, once you finish reading this letter, burn it immediately. No sneaky business, hiding the letter away. You’ve always been one to hide things!”

Bai Xianzhi wiped away a tear, rereading the letter several times. The emotional tone of the last sentence was incredibly strong. He rolled his eyes, unable to help but take out a lighter and set the paper on fire. The dancing flames slowly consumed the paper, distorting and devouring the black ink in the firelight. When the last flicker of flame disappeared from his view, the room was left in the dim light of a desk lamp.

Click—

The desk lamp went out, and Bai Xianzhi quietly leaned against the edge of his bed. Suddenly, a faint blue light began to appear in the pitch-black room. He immediately looked towards it. Tiny blue lights floated lightly out of the ashes, gradually forming beams of light that merged into the walls of Three Thousand Food House and into his body. Bai Xianzhi watched this scene in astonishment, about to reach out to grab them, but in the next second, he lost consciousness and fell into a deep sleep.

When he was awakened by the two children the next morning, the ashes on the ground were gone, and there was no paper under his pillow. Everything seemed to have returned to normal. He brought the two children downstairs, pulled up the roller blinds with a ‘swish,’ and the crisp chirping of birds and bright daylight poured into the room. Outside the door was the peaceful and tranquil Wutong Lane.

“Dad, Dad, what are those divine uncles doing outside?”

Xiao Long and Xiao Lu tugged at his pants. Bai Xianzhi turned to smile gently at them, thinking that I can’t see them, my kids, can I? However, in the split second he turned around, the scene in front of the door faded like a gradually disappearing painting. The chirping birds and daylight were replaced by darkness, flames, and an endless expanse of Sand Belts.

From that day onwards, Bai Xianzhi found that he could freely enter both worlds. With a thought, the scenery at the entrance would naturally change.

Back to the present, Bai Xianzhi looked at Feng Ye, feeling somewhat uncomfortable. He still remembered the strange aura that day, and now it felt odd to recall it.

“Ahem, is there something you need?” Bai Xianzhi cleared his throat, looking around awkwardly.

“I remember I still have some money to spend at Three Thousand Food House.”

“Ah, yes! I still have 8,000 temporal coins,” Bai Xianzhi responded when he heard about business. “So, are you planning to continue dining here?”

“Of course,” Silver-eyed Feng Ye’s gaze followed Bai Xianzhi’s closely.

Bai Xianzhi turned his head, and with a snap, the pen in his hand was broken. He quickly threw the pen away and forced a laugh. “Haha, haha, this pen’s quality is terrible. Let me get you a menu; just wait a moment.”

“No need,” right at the moment when Bai Xianzhi was about to step out, Feng Ye suddenly said, “I don’t need a menu; I already know what I want.”

Bai Xianzhi turned around and saw Feng Ye take out a small booklet from his body. He was puzzled. “What’s this?”

Feng Ye looked at him and replied, “What I want is quite valuable, and 8,000 temporal coins won’t be enough to take it away. So, I brought this—my identification.”

“So,” Bai Xianzhi’s heart began to race in his chest, “what is it that you want?”

Feng Ye took two or three steps closer, handed the booklet to him, and then looked at the door, saying seriously, “I want… the owner of this shop.”

Thump, thump, thump—Bai Xianzhi felt like his heart was about to leap out of his chest. Why did this Feng Ye suddenly say something like this? And he looked so serious. Could it be that he didn’t feel… no, it couldn’t be—

A hint of crimson flashed in his peripheral vision. Bai Xianzhi focused and realized that someone who had been maintaining a poker face was now blushing intensely. It turned out that it wasn’t that he didn’t feel embarrassed; it was just that his stoic expression was too good of a disguise!

Author’s Note: Alright, it’s late again, so I’ll bow out~ Yesterday, I got too excited and didn’t make things clear. Today, I’ve gone back and sorted things out for everyone. Let’s start and end everything with Uncle’s letter. This story is ending here, but I’ll start updating extras tomorrow or the day after. It won’t be much, just a few chapters, to talk about the loose ends in the main story.

I definitely want to thank all the lovely readers who have supported this story! While writing this story, I was surprised by how many lovely readers suddenly started following me. I was really flattered and felt a lot of pressure (mainly because I’m not that experienced), but fortunately, there were many lovely readers in the comments encouraging me. So, I managed to push through, and my mindset has finally adjusted. I’ve found my original passion for writing, so I’ll definitely continue sharing the stories in my heart with everyone!

By the way, a quick reminder: The first hundred comments on this chapter will receive red envelopes! The deadline is tomorrow at exactly 4 PM, so everyone can reach out and grab some red envelopes from the author! Thank you to the angels who voted for me and watered me with nutrient solutions from 8:58:55 PM on September 2, 2020, to 3:48:01 PM on September 3, 2020!

Special thanks to the angels who voted for me: 474573362; White Peach Oolong Duck, 1 vote.

Thanks to the angels who watered me with nutrient solutions: Dance of the Moon, 20 bottles; Wendy, 10 bottles; Peach Blossom Fruit, 2 bottles; Shitian, 1 bottle.

Thank you all very much for your support! I’ll keep working hard!

1TL: YSIAD “Last two extra chapters everyone !!! You can support me if you like my translations by leaving a comment below, or by sending me a Ko-fi. Thank you ”