Cangnan City, Old Town.
From the low, old house, the aroma of food wafted out. Aunt carried a plate of hot dishes to the table and called out loudly:
"Ah Jin, dinner's ready!"
On the balcony, Yang Jin stood alone, his gaze fixed on the distance, seemingly looking at something.
Seeing that Yang Jin didn't react, his aunt wiped her hands on her apron, muttering to herself as she walked towards the balcony, "You child, I'm calling you for dinner!"
Yang Jin then snapped out of his daze, "Okay, Mom."
He walked to the table, looked at the food on it, and pursed his lips.
"Little Black Tortoise has disappeared somewhere to play and hasn't come back yet. The thunder is so loud outside; it's probably going to rain heavily soon, right?" Auntie muttered as she sat down. Seeing Yang Jin still standing there in a daze, she asked in confusion:
"Eat up! What are you doing, just standing there daydreaming? What's wrong with you today? You seem so distracted."
"N-nothing...it's nothing." Yang Jin slowly sat down, picked up the chopsticks beside him, and took a bite of food...
It was handed into Aunt's bowl.
"Mom, eat more."Auntie was taken aback. "I'm eating. You should eat more."Yang Jin nodded and lowered his head to eat silently.
A rumbling thunder came from outside the window, and streaks of lightning flashed across the sky. On the horizon, faint golden points of light slowly rose.
"What's wrong with the weather today?" Auntie said while eating. "There's been thunder and an earthquake, and half the day has passed without a glimpse of sunshine."
"I don't know when the clothes hanging on the balcony will dry; I need to wear them to work at the factory tonight… Oh, and you'll have to cook dinner by yourself tonight. Mom's on the night shift and won't be coming home."
Yang Jin hummed in agreement. After a moment of silence, he finally spoke:
"Mom."
"Um?"
"You raised my brother, Xiao Chen and me with great difficulty for over ten years, enduring a lifetime of hardship... Do you regret it?"
When Aunt heard this, she was taken aback at first, then laughed and scolded, "What nonsense are you talking about? I'm overjoyed to have such sensible children as you, Xiao Chen and your brother!"
"Besides, what's wrong with hard times? Mom grew up in hardship. If you asked her to live in a big house now, she wouldn't be used to it."
Auntie looked up, glanced around at the cramped yet familiar house, and smiled.
"It's still most reassuring to stay at home."
Yang Jin was slightly taken aback when he saw the smile on his aunt's face, and then a smile also appeared on his young face.
"Then...after everything is over, after my brother comes back, let's go back to this old house and live together, okay?"
"I'd like to," Auntie said with a smile, shaking her head. "But you and your brother are both men who want to get married. And Xiao Chen want to be a traveler! How can you continue living in a place like this with an old woman like me? As long as you come back to visit often, I'll be very happy."
As soon as she finished speaking, Auntie looked at her fingertips and suddenly froze.
Golden specks of light were emanating from her fingertips.
She stared blankly at the scene, "What... what's going on?"
Yang Jin's lips trembled slightly. His face was pale, but he struggled to maintain a smile and whispered to his aunt:
"Mom, don't be afraid... everything will be alright."
Auntie looked closely at the specks of light, which spread from her fingertips to her palms, and the look of doubt in her eyes grew stronger.
"Ah Jin, is Mom... leaving?"
Yang Jin opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but couldn't utter a word. He could only silently clench his hands and slowly lower his head...
A hand gently lifted his head.
Something seemed to have appeared in her aunt's eyes. Her long-sealed memories were unlocked, and she knew her own destiny. She gently wiped away the tears from Yang Jin's eyes, and a smile appeared on her weathered face.
"Ah Jin, Mom has to go."
Yang Jin could no longer hold back; tears streamed uncontrollably from his eyes. He stood up, embraced his mother tightly, and choked out:
"Mom, Mom... I'm sorry, I'm so sorry..."
Ten years ago, we were still caught in the cycle of reincarnation, unable to witness all of this, unable to stand before you and prevent this tragedy from happening..."
"It was us who failed to save those million lives... and we failed to save you too."
"I'm sorry..."
Auntie held Yang Jin in a daze, a look of doubt appearing in her eyes.
"Ah Jin, you are...?"
Yang Jin raised his head and looked into his aunt's eyes. A faint charm flashed in her red eyes.
Aunt murmured to herself, "So that's how it is... You were actually... I never imagined I'd have such a special child in my life."
Yang Jin clenched his fists tightly, his nails digging into the flesh between his palms, and drops of blood flowed down... He took two steps back, slowly knelt down in front of his aunt, and bowed deeply.
"Your son, Yang Jin, on behalf of the gods of the Great Xia Dynasty... begs forgiveness from all the victims in Cangnan City!"
"We...we're late."
Aunt stood up and helped Yang Jin up from the ground. She looked into his eyes, which were filled with guilt and self-reproach, smiled gently, and hugged him in her arms.
"Silly child, it's good that you're back."
"Mom, don't worry." Yang Jin took a deep breath, his eyes filled with determination. "Ten years ago, we missed out on all of this... Thanks to my brother, today we have another chance."
A chance to save everyone.
A flash of silver light appeared in Yang Jin's hand, revealing a gray cloth bag. "This is a Soul-Gathering Bag, a treasure of the Heavenly Venerable, sufficient to hold the souls of all the victims in this city."
"Now that the divine realm is shattered, the souls that were saved up in the mortal world have been separated once again. I have used this soul-gathering bag to collect all the souls. Once the Heavenly Venerable has finished reshaping everyone's physical bodies, you will be resurrected."
"Then, Cangnan will reappear in the world!"
Yang Jin looked into his aunt's eyes and said earnestly, "Mom, please bear with us for a while. One day, our family will be reunited."
Aunt smiled slightly, "Mom believes in you."
Golden light covered Aunt's entire body, and her body gradually dissipated. She walked to Yang Jin and stroked his face one last time...
"Ah Jin, take care of yourself, and take care of your brother too."
"Don't worry, Mom," Yang Jin said earnestly, "My brother will be fine."
Aunt nodded, her whole body turning into golden specks of light and dissipating into the air. Faintly, a sentence echoed in the air.
"Waiting for you to come home..."
Golden specks of light poured out of the window, rose into the sky, and converged into the golden torrent.
Yang Jin walked to the window, opened the cloth bag in his hand, and his deep voice echoed in every corner of the city.
"—May your soul return!!"
The golden torrent seemed to have found a way to vent, quickly surging into the soul-gathering bag and being absorbed into it in an instant.
Yang Jin silently tied up the cloth bag in his hand, looked back at the empty house, remained silent for a long time, and then stepped outside.
As soon as he pushed open the door, a six or seven-year-old child wearing a bright red hoodie stood in the doorway, seemingly waiting for him.
"Nezha." Yang Jin looked at him and calmly asked, "What are you doing here?"
The boy shrugged. "Whatever you do, I'll do."
Yang Jin narrowed his eyes. "How much of your strength have you recovered? Are you going to your death?"
"Going alone is suicide," the boy said slowly. "Among us gods, you are the one who has recovered most completely, but even so, you may not be able to kill an Outer God whose strength has been fully preserved."
"I still have the power of a hundred years of reincarnation," Yang Jin said calmly.
Nezha frowned slightly. "Overdrawing your divine power? Do you know the consequences?"
"That's not important... I only know that I am Erlang Shen of the Great Xia Dynasty." Yang Jin walked forward step by step. "We have been missing for a hundred years, and we must announce to the world in the most direct and shocking way... The god of the Great Xia Dynasty has returned."
"And this, only I can do right now."
He glanced at the little boy and said calmly, "As for you... slowly recover your strength. In the future, this country will still need you to protect it."
He stepped forward, put his finger to his lips, and whistled.
A ferocious black dog strode through the air from afar, its body stained with the blood of two giant beasts, its aura terrifying beyond compare.
It's the little black toad!
Yang Jin gently stroked the vicious dog's head, and with his other hand, he grabbed at nothingness, and a three-pointed, double-edged sword wreathed in silver lightning appeared in his hand.
He gripped the sword, slowly raised his head, looked at the chaotic thunder in the distance, and calmly stepped forward.
With the first step he took, he instantly entered the realm of "Zhan";
With the second step, his realm directly ascended to the "Pool" realm;
The third step, the "river" realm!
Step Four: The "Sea" Realm!
The fifth step, "Boundless"!
Step six, "Klein"!
Step Seven... Become a God!
The terrifying pressure of the gods emanated from Yang Jin, silver lightning swirled around him, he held a three-pointed double-edged sword, accompanied by the Howling Celestial Dog, and a strange vertical eye bloomed from between his eyebrows!
A divine light pierced through heaven and earth!
"Howling Sky..."
Amidst the roaring lightning, Yang Jin looked down at the little black toad and slowly spoke:
"Let's go... let's go kill the god."