I Studied Abroad in the Modern Times-Chapter 133Book 2: : Days Like a Dream

Vol 2 Chapter 133: Days Like a Dream

"Brother Yan, this matter..." Zheng Fa thought for a moment before shaking his head. "I can only say, I'm sorry."

Yan Wushuang was a decent person. Perhaps a bit too idealistic, but still a cultivator with a strong conscience.

Zheng Fa knew that people like him were rare in the Xuanyi Realm.

Especially considering his background—bluntly speaking, this man was a beneficiary of the Immortal Sect system.

Countless people would kill to have his status as the son of the Tianhe Sect Master.

No matter how impulsive his thoughts might be, Zheng Fa still found himself resonating with them, even feeling a trace of admiration.

But... revolution isn’t a dinner party, is it?

Zheng Fa could only offer every kind of support—except actual, tangible assistance.

His outright rejection made Yan Wushuang’s expression darken.

"Brother Zheng, you don't agree either?"

"Who else disagrees?"

"Old Han."

Zheng Fa nodded slightly. That old man, the Sunset Sword Immortal, always looked like a disgruntled radical, yet all these years, he had done nothing.

It seemed he understood the difficulties involved.

Seeing Yan Wushuang’s wounded expression, Zheng Fa could only shake his head.

At the end of the day, everything Yan Wushuang had—his status, his resources—came from his identity. But if he truly followed through with his ideas, all of that would turn into obstacles against him.

Even though Zheng Fa felt they shared a similar end goal, his nature was always to consider failure before victory.

That was why he wanted to secure control of the Heavenly Monument Realm before pushing forward with the New Law research.

In fact, Zheng Fa didn’t even think that gaining control over the Heavenly Monument Realm would be the final step to success.

He had a hunch about something Old Han had left unsaid—Tianhe Venerable also had a Heavenly Monument.

In some ways, that put him in an almost invincible position.

Old Han said the Tianhe Sect had betrayed Tianhe Venerable—but if one considered the immense power Tianhe Venerable wielded in the Xuanyi Realm, such a betrayal shouldn't have driven him to despair.

It was likely related to the Heavenly Monument Realm as well.

Thinking this through, Zheng Fa became even more wary of the Tianhe Sect. He wouldn’t underestimate them.

Seeing him lost in thought, Yan Wushuang looked even more dejected and said in a low voice, "Old Han told me to invite you..."

"What?"

"He said that if I want to succeed, my only hope is to have you join me," Yan Wushuang explained. "Otherwise, there's no chance at all."

"Why does the Sunset Sword Immortal think so highly of me?"

Zheng Fa frowned. He was already somewhat wary of the old man—his support was even more inexplicable than Xiao Yuying's.

"He..." Yan Wushuang's expression turned strange. "This is Old Han’s secret, I can’t reveal it—not even a word!"

Zheng Fa couldn't shake the feeling that Yan Wushuang had put extra emphasis on the word word.

"I can only say... Old Han holds no ill will toward you. He even sees you as the next ancestor!"

"Hmm?"

Zheng Fa was stunned, but Yan Wushuang just shook his head furiously, unwilling to say more.

"Zheng Fa, do you have a plan for that matter?" Xiao Yuying’s voice rang out behind them.

Zheng Fa knew she was referring to the demon clan’s attack on the Jiushan Sect. Likely because Yan Wushuang was present, she kept her words vague.

"A plan?" Zheng Fa shook his head. "We’ll handle it as it comes... Fairy Xiao, why do you ask?"

Xiao Yuying tilted her head and bluntly said, "I was thinking, if Jiushan Sect falls, you could follow me."

"Huh?"

Zheng Fa hadn’t expected yet another person to try recruiting him.

Yan Wushuang immediately turned to look at Xiao Yuying, his face practically shouting: Wait, you want to poach him too?

"I’m more than capable of protecting one person..."

But Zheng Fa frowned. "Fairy Xiao, do you think their methods won’t just target the Jiushan Sect’s stronghold?"

Xiao Yuying replied, "If Zhang Wuyi were still here, and you were still here, I doubt those people could sleep at night."

Zheng Fa nodded slightly. He had thought about that too, but for now, there was nothing he could do.

With the Thunder Pool, they at least had a sliver of hope...

—

Heavenly Monument Realm, Half-Mountain City.

Xiao Qing walked briskly through the city, taking deep breaths and savoring the smell of home-cooked meals wafting from different households.

Fewer people were eating fish now. Everyone had lived through hard times and couldn’t bear to indulge too often.

But the joy at the dinner table hadn’t lessened.

The chatter of adults, the playful noise of children, the crackling of firewood—it all made Xiao Qing feel happy.

A large crowd had gathered in front of the temple. They knew Lord Thunder God liked peace and quiet, so they had set up a few meditation cushions outside instead.

People came to pay their respects daily, and the cushions were never left empty.

A few elderly folk sat under the eaves, chatting idly.

Xiao Qing walked over.

"Xiao Qing’s here?" One of them chuckled. "Have you eaten?"

"I have!" Xiao Qing nodded lightly.

She never lacked food.

"Good, good. We’ve eaten too."

The old man’s voice carried a hint of pride.

And strangely, the others around him wore the same expression—as if eating a full meal was something worth boasting about.

"How long have I lived? Thirty-four years now," the old man continued. "Never had a single day as good as these."

"All thanks to Lord Thunder God."

"That’s right."

Xiao Qing grinned smugly.

"Fewer people have died these past few months, haven’t they?" someone asked.

"Yes. In the past, every year there was a household losing someone. But these past few months... I haven’t heard of a single daughter being taken, an old person starving, or a child dying from lack of milk."

"I know a few who passed away. Aside from the ones who got struck by lightning in the valley, the rest died in the mountains."

"That can’t be helped," someone shook their head. "With all the rain, the mountain paths get slippery—one wrong step, and down you go..."

"Climbing the mountain is always risky. But without it, where would we get wild mushrooms? I’m telling you, life in Half-Mountain City is already good enough—it’s like a dream!"

—

"Xiao Qing, go find some people and collect the mushrooms from these jars. See how many we have."

As soon as she stepped into the temple, she heard Lord Thunder God speaking.

"Jars?"

Xiao Qing smacked her forehead, suddenly remembering the jars that had been blessed by Lord Thunder God.

"Mushrooms? They can grow in jars too?"

Curious, she started pulling the jars out from behind the deity statues.

Then, she ran outside to call over the old folks.

Together, they picked the mushrooms from the jars.

Half-Mountain City didn’t really have any precise units of measurement. Or rather, since no one collected taxes and there wasn’t much trade, such things had gradually faded into obscurity.

So when it came to counting mountain goods, everything was measured by baskets.

After some busy work, they finally finished tallying up the mushrooms in the jars.

Xiao Qing ran over to report:

"Lord Thunder God, the jar with the fewest mushrooms has only one-tenth of a basket."

"The most has two-thirds of a basket!"

"Are the mushrooms in that fullest jar the kind you used to eat?"

"Mm! We eat them all the time!" Xiao Qing nodded.

Zheng Fa looked at the nearly full basket of mushrooms, a little shocked—this yield was too high!

It even surpassed the most productive modern edible mushroom farms.

But honestly, the conditions he had here were quite basic.

The biggest factor was probably the different mushroom species.

And most importantly, the spiritual energy environment.

At the nursing home, once spiritual energy was present, vegetables started growing taller and stronger.

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And in the Heavenly Monument Realm, there was no shortage of spiritual energy.

Zheng Fa finally understood how Half-Mountain City managed to sustain tens of thousands of people.

Spiritual energy brought harsh thunderstorm conditions to the Heavenly Monument Realm.

But on the other hand, it also nurtured the life within it...

—

"Lord Thunder God, are you saying... these jars can grow mushrooms on their own?"

Xiao Qing stared at the deity statue in a daze, looking as if she suddenly didn’t quite believe in Lord Thunder God anymore.

"It’s not that they grow on their own. You bring wood shavings and forage here to my temple—mm, after the blessing, plant the mushrooms inside, and then you can grow them at home. You don’t necessarily have to use clay jars, but if mushrooms of a different shape start growing, you shouldn’t eat them."

Zheng Fa explained.

Now that he had selected the initial fungi strains and substrates, it was time to promote them in Half-Mountain City—or rather, in all the invested territories.

Half-Mountain City was more of an experimental base for now.

After all, even though Xiao Qing was young, she was still quite capable.

Once the city successfully implemented this, spreading it to other settlements would be much easier.

"You mean... we don’t have to climb the mountain to eat mushrooms anymore?"

An old man muttered, dumbstruck.

The others stood there, equally stunned.

"We can even eat our fill!" Someone did the math. "If one jar produces half a basket, raising enough of them would be more than enough for us!"

—

After the crowd left, Xiao Qing sat on a meditation cushion, grinning smugly. "They were just saying the other day that these past days feel like a dream."

"If you ask me, they couldn’t even dream of living this well!"

"Because in their dreams, Lord Thunder God, you aren’t there!"

Zheng Fa watched as Xiao Qing mumbled to herself—then suddenly, she started crying.

"Lord Thunder God..."

"Hmm?"

Seeing the little girl’s face scrunch up in tears, Zheng Fa was puzzled.

In his impression, Xiao Qing had always been tough.

Even when she had been starving and stole offerings to eat, she hadn’t shed a tear.

Yet now, she just kept crying without saying anything.

Zheng Fa tried to listen to her thoughts, only to realize that even she didn’t seem to know why.

She was, after all, just a mortal.

Crying and crying, she eventually fell asleep against the base of the deity statue.

She seemed to be dreaming.

"Mom, I don’t want to eat mushrooms anymore... Dad, I want Mom to come back..."

"Dad... we have food now..."

Zheng Fa was stunned.

Suddenly, he understood why Xiao Qing had cried.

"Mom is gone, Dad is gone." Dreaming, Xiao Qing’s brows furrowed tighter and tighter, as if she were reliving something painful.

"I have to protect the temple Dad left behind..."

"..."

"Lord Thunder God, don’t leave..."

—

Xiao Qing slept in the temple for the whole night.

She was woken up by a clamor outside.

When she looked outside, it seemed as though the entire city had gathered.

They carried loads on their shoulders, held shovels and other tools—it was the atmosphere of a grand undertaking.

"What are you all doing?"

For a moment, Xiao Qing even thought the Thunderstrike Sect had been revived.

"We’re rebuilding the temple!"

The person in the lead answered.

"Rebuilding the temple?" Xiao Qing was utterly confused.

"We’re going to build Lord Thunder God a bigger, better temple!"

As soon as he said that, the crowd behind him erupted in agreement.

Zheng Fa looked out from within the temple.

Judging by their expressions—calling them fanatics would be an understatement.