Wu Pifu received a warm welcome from all the citizens of Bianliang City.
They brought out their best food and the finest clothes from their homes.
Even though they had just experienced war and devastation, and even though some of their family members had been killed or gone missing, at this moment, they all presented their most precious items and the highest etiquette to face Wu Pifu.
Yet, Wu Pifu merely sat beside the head of a wild boar, looking as if he were on the verge of death, while he spoke with Zong Ze.
“... I need to go back for a while.”
“Because I am gravely injured, as you can see, I am almost dead.”
“... Don’t ask me about court matters; I don’t understand.”
“... Don’t ask me about military matters; I don’t understand.”
“Send someone to collect all the meat of those Wild Boar Demons. Gather as much as possible. If it cannot be confirmed whether it is the meat of Wild Boar Demons or human flesh, then burn it all. By the way, I also want the internal organs of the Wild Boar Demons, and I want the bones too.”
Wu Pifu struggled to stand up from beside the wild boar's head, his steps unsteady, causing sadness to fill the eyes of Zong Ze and the other generals.
They felt that Wu Pifu was going to die.
To them, Wu Pifu was not an immortal, merely a child of the immortal family.
The injuries he bore would have caused any one of them to die on the spot, yet Wu Pifu could still speak so much; it was surely a fleeting moment of vitality.
As for the meaning of “going back,” that further deepened their sorrow.
Zong Ze clasped his fists and said solemnly, “I dare not disobey your command.”
Wu Pifu nodded, looking up at the sky, where he saw Qiu Qiu circling above him, and at that moment, it immediately descended from the sky and landed on his shoulder.
In the next moment, Wu Pifu and Qiu Qiu vanished without a trace.
Everyone present fell silent, then each saluted once more...
Wu Pifu appeared in the sleep chamber.
He sat up from the sleep pod, and even this action left him gasping for breath.
“... What a mess.”
Wu Pifu muttered, slowly making his way toward the medical base station.
The intensity of this battle exceeded his expectations.
If it weren’t for the title of Matchless Hero, he would have certainly faced certain death.
However, that first title was truly formidable; it matched him perfectly and was indeed powerful.
He had even defeated a Wild Boar Demon with over three hundred years of cultivation.
At this point, Wu Pifu felt he should be considered extraordinary, truly possessing extraordinary power, right?
As he thought this, Wu Pifu, feeling groggy, headed toward the medical base station, while Qiu Qiu landed on his shoulder, affectionately rubbing its head against his face.
The man and the bird arrived at the medical base station, where Wu Pifu lay down again, and Qiu Qiu watched from outside.
Not long after, Wu Pifu emerged from the medical pod, completely healed.
He twisted his arms and body, feeling a bit heavy in spirit.
Although his body had healed, the fatigue in his mind surged in waves.
Or rather, it was precisely because his body had healed, and the pain had diminished, that his mental exhaustion became apparent.
Wu Pifu fought against the drowsiness and fatigue, returning once more to the sleep chamber, lying back in the sleep pod, and then said to Qiu Qiu, “I need to sleep for a while...”
As soon as he finished speaking, he fell into a deep sleep, while Qiu Qiu nestled against his chest for a moment before also falling asleep beside him.
In a dreamless slumber, Wu Pifu was unaware that the Unresting Spirit Light in his sea of consciousness was flickering and burning.
Amidst this flickering and burning, a large amount of black qi was filtered from his spiritual consciousness and fed into the Unresting Spirit Light, transforming into fuel for the spirit light...
It was unclear how much time had passed when Wu Pifu finally awakened.
Upon waking, he heard music and turned to see Qiu Qiu playing with a half-rotten music box on the ground.
This was a useless item obtained from a lottery by previous seniors, left unused after being piled up behind the maintenance base station, yet he did not know how this bird had dug it out.
Wu Pifu made no sound upon waking, and Qiu Qiu was so engrossed in playing with the music box that it completely failed to notice he had awakened.
He watched as Qiu Qiu continuously twisted the music box with its claws and pecked at it with its beak, playing joyfully.
Seeing this scene, Wu Pifu’s heart gradually calmed down, filled with a strange warmth.
He felt lonely, very lonely.
Since falling asleep in the familiar home of the twenty-first century, he had awakened in the interstellar era, and in such a terrifying, twisted time where he could be killed by all sorts of monsters and anomalies at any moment.
Wu Pifu had always been tense, always lonely.
He had not reacted much to the deaths of the seniors, but the deaths of his two comrades, who had shared life and death with him, had a tremendous impact on him.
The negativity in his heart nearly surged forth, almost entirely relying on the Unresting Spirit Light and the return from death to withstand it.
However, this battle had nearly dissipated his gloom, and the final scene he had witnessed—the ordinary people fighting for their homeland, their loved ones, and their survival—along with the sight of this little bird playing at this moment, filled his heart with tranquility and warmth.
“Indeed, her performance during the weekend was just like that of a child. She is a demon, destined to have a long lifespan, and now she is merely a four or five-year-old child...”
Wu Pifu murmured, his gaze toward Qiu Qiu growing softer.
He slowly stood up from the sleep pod, and his movement caught Qiu Qiu’s attention.
Upon seeing Wu Pifu, it joyfully flew to his shoulder, nuzzling against his face.
Wu Pifu smiled and said, “Yes, there really is nothing here. When we get to a world with better technological civilization, I’ll buy you some toys, alright?”
Qiu Qiu chirped happily in response.
Wu Pifu stood on the ground and began to slowly practice his punches, gradually increasing his speed until his figure was almost reduced to an afterimage.
He continued to punch for at least ten minutes before suddenly stopping, bringing his palms together to form a circle, then shaking his hands.
A vast surge of qi expanded from him, radiating outward, nearly sending Qiu Qiu flying off his shoulder.
“It’s done!”
Wu Pifu shouted excitedly, then laughed heartily toward the sky.
Qiu Qiu landed on his shoulder, chirping in delight.
Wu Pifu nodded and said, “Yes, the Dan Qi has been formed. Although I’ve only just sensed the Dan Qi and haven’t even condensed my blood qi into the dantian, let alone refined my entire blood qi, being able to sense and use the Dan Qi means the rest is just a matter of time.”
Qiu Qiu chirped joyfully, and Wu Pifu felt happy as well.
After waiting a few seconds to calm his joyful emotions, Wu Pifu said to Qiu Qiu, “Let’s head to the Mud Buddha Night Demon Dream World first. I’ve slept for a while, and I don’t know how things are over there. The key is the meat of that Wild Boar Demon; that’s my great tonic.”
Qiu Qiu immediately began to chirp excitedly.
“Yes, yes, yes, the Demon Core is yours, the Demon Core is yours.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Wu Pifu and Qiu Qiu lay back in the sleep pod, and then both vanished without a trace, reappearing at the entrance of the North Gate of Bianliang.
As soon as they appeared, a sharp whistle sounded, followed by a multitude of torches flickering from the surroundings.
Wu Pifu focused his gaze and saw a team of patrolling personnel shouting as they approached.
This group of patrollers were armed, and under the torchlight, they immediately recognized Wu Pifu and his signature bird.
Upon seeing this, the patrollers immediately bowed respectfully to Wu Pifu, many of them excitedly whispering to those around them about who he was.
An immortal!
An immortal who slays demons and eliminates evil!
On the battlefield, he had boldly killed the great demon of the North, single-handedly breaking through the Golden Army, reversing the tragic fate of the Great Song, and saving countless common people in Bianliang City!
Not long after, the still-bright and contentious court learned of Wu Pifu’s return.
Most importantly, according to the patrollers’ descriptions, all his injuries had vanished, and he was currently at the North Gate, gruesomely dividing the head of that enormous Wild Boar Demon.
In the court, the saved ministers, the returning civil officials, the excited military generals, and the emperor with a grim expression all painted a vivid picture of the myriad of beings.
Zong Ze, as the chief contributor to the restoration of Bianliang aside from the immortal Wu Pifu, found himself in a very dangerous position after a day and night of court attacks.
News had already returned to the court that Zhao Gou had gone to Nanjing Yingtianfu, and along with that news came the information that Zhao Gou intended to ascend to the throne in Nanjing Yingtianfu.
His first edict, which he had issued three times, had Zong Ze’s name prominently featured.
This was a political alignment, and a political alignment that could lead to the extermination of families!
If nothing unexpected happened, the returning Zhao Huan could directly annihilate Zong Ze’s nine clans, and Zhao Gou in Yingtianfu would also surely die, along with all the civil and military officials whose names were on that edict.
Since Wu Pifu’s disappearance, the ministers had been waiting, and Zhao Huan had also been waiting.
Wu Pifu’s life and death were the core reasons for all these issues.
If Wu Pifu were dead, there would naturally be nothing more to say; Zong Ze would die, Zhao Gou would die, and countless people in Yingtianfu would be killed.
But if Wu Pifu was alive and returned...
Zhao Huan’s face was filled with malice, but it soon transformed into boundless fear.
He had witnessed everything with his own eyes.
His father, the lofty Emperor of the Great Song, even if captured by the Jin people, would only face humiliation; neither he nor his father had feared death.
However, Wu Pifu had publicly taken his father’s head in front of countless people, an act that could never be washed away!
What was most terrifying was that this Matchless Hero had actually dared to challenge that great demon of the North, and he had truly killed it!?
It was simply unbelievable, simply unimaginable; this was something only an immortal could achieve!
After the fear, Zhao Huan no longer dared to harbor even the slightest resentment, for he knew very well that this throne could not protect his life; the palace could not, Bianliang could not, and the Great Song could not!
He raised his head, his face transforming into a serene smile, and immediately said, “I believe that what you all have said is reasonable, but at this time of national grievances and family hatreds, and at this time of the immortal’s arrival, we must still use severe measures... Come, seize him!”
The chief of the Golden Guards immediately stepped forward, having no misunderstandings at all.
They directly bypassed Zong Ze, who had been isolated to one side, and charged toward the few civil officials standing at the front.
In the despairing gazes of these officials, they knocked off their official hats, tore apart their purple robes, and then dragged them out of the great hall.
Zhao Huan turned to the eunuch beside him and said, “Proclaim it.”
The eunuch immediately discreetly flipped through the imperial edicts in his hand, taking out the one at the bottom and loudly declaring, “By the decree of Heaven...”
“... Immortal Wu Pifu is appointed as the National Guardian Master, a superior rank, equivalent to a prince, and shall share governance with the court!”
“... Brutal and tyrannical, foolish and incompetent, the temple title shall be established as...”
“Zhao Hunzi!”
(End of Chapter)