Chapter 60: Going Home
That night, to celebrate Jiang Ce cultivating Righteous Qi, Cao Zheng transformed into Cao Ji again and dragged Jiang Ce out for drinks.
Jiang Ce inexplicably felt that “Cao Ji” was much friendlier than usual today.
Until the other party unreservedly expressed praise for Jiang Ce’s unwavering loyalty and filial piety, Jiang Ce finally understood what was going on and immediately cooperated by becoming melancholic.
And this melancholy was very useful; at least that night, Jiang Ce wasn’t forced to drink by Cao Zheng anymore.
Even when someone came to the Emperor’s Seat wanting to get to know the two and toast them, Cao Zheng would help block the drinks, which was considered the highest courtesy and recognition at the drinking table.
But even so, when Jiang Ce returned to his residence, he was still dead drunk.
While lying on the suite’s balcony blowing in the wind and looking at the neon-lit world below his feet, Jiang Ce dazedly lost himself in thought.
“What an interesting world. If I can protect it and keep it like this forever, that would be great.”
Pausing for a moment, Jiang Ce felt it wasn’t quite right and added:
“I have to make it mine first.”
After saying that, Jiang Ce finally got so drunk he was dizzy and collapsed onto the bed, falling asleep.
The next day, Jiang Ce lazily crawled up from the bed. Habitually wanting to go to the Yangding Mountain Range to recite Confucian classics, but the moment he opened the door, he suddenly sobered up and gave a self-mocking smile.
He wasn’t here to cultivate; he should leave.
After washing up and eating breakfast, Jiang Ce arrived at the top floor, where Cao Zheng, Wei Lao, and Cao Ji, who knew his vacation was over, were already waiting.
“Cao Gong, Wei Lao, President Cao.”
Wei Lao looked at the much more spirited Jiang Ce and felt doubly gratified: “Time to go?”
“Yeah, thank you for your guidance and care during this time, Wei Lao. I’ll come visit you again in a while.”
Jiang Ce gave a deep bow. Leaving aside other things, he truly respected Wei Lao from the bottom of his heart.
As for Cao Zheng, he hadn’t interacted much and wasn’t particularly close, so he just thanked him for yesterday’s guidance from a subordinate’s standpoint and said goodbye.
As for Cao Ji, not daring to be too presumptuous in front of Cao Zheng, he kept it brief, thanking him for the care during this time.
Coming to Headquarters felt like it was just yesterday, making Jiang Ce inexplicably filled with emotion.
He knew clearly that the greatest gain from this trip wasn’t actually Righteous Qi, but the connections with Cao Zheng and Wei Lao. From the attitudes of the Gatekeeper Headquarters cadres he occasionally encountered, it was clear how envious they were of his treatment.
In other words, as long as he maintained this relationship well, his future in the Gatekeeper would surely be smooth sailing.
No wonder they were big shots—on a completely different level from Xiao Lin. How nice to be ordinary; why stir up so much trouble?
Jiang Ce grumbled inwardly.
“After you get back, you still need to ponder more on what I taught you. I’ve explained the White Tiger Secret Teachings crystal clear; you just need to go practice it yourself. Don’t skip practice just because you can’t get over that hurdle in your heart—it will make your cultivation path much smoother.
Also, now that word of my guidance has spread, you’re basically considered half my disciple. If you don’t produce some results, it’ll be embarrassing for me. Don’t slack off when I’m not watching, got it?”
Wei Lao himself hadn’t noticed that after spending time with Jiang Ce, he had become so nagging.
In the past, whoever received sorcery from him could practice it or not—he wouldn’t care at all. Even if you went berserk, it was your own problem, proving you were a failure.
How could he be like now, fussing over it like a grandfather feeding a toddler just learning to walk?
“Got it. I definitely won’t let down Wei Lao and Cao Gong’s expectations!”
Jiang Ce deliberately put Wei Lao before Cao Gong. He already knew their relationship was extraordinary—both teacher and friend—and Cao Zheng certainly wouldn’t mind such details, but precisely these details showed the weight Wei Lao held in his heart.
Sure enough, Cao Zheng nodded without displeasure, but Wei Lao smiled very kindly, seemingly very satisfied.
After bidding farewell, Jiang Ce returned to his room, packed his things, and quietly disappeared from Gatekeeper Headquarters.
It had to be said that after reading books for a while, Jiang Ce had really changed quite a bit.
Before, he would want to kick a trash can when he saw one on the road, but now he merely wanted to throw non-recyclable trash into the recyclable bin.
He had grown beyond compare.
Sighing at how excellent he had become, Jiang Ce boarded the high-speed train home.
He had come full of expectation, and now he was leaving equally full of reluctance, just like when he descended the mountain years ago.
At this moment, it was just like that moment back then.
Looking out the train window, Jiang Ce felt a long-missed trace of guilt toward his master.
“You better not really be dead.”
Ding—
“Next stop, Luocheng. Passengers getting off, please prepare in advance.”
Jiang Ce jolted awake and took his luggage down from the overhead rack.
Perhaps still a bit groggy from sleep, he paused while getting his luggage: “Where’s my suitcase?”
Then he remembered he had given it as a welcome gift to the people of Yangcheng.
It was raining in Luocheng—a long-missed downpour.
The scent of damp earth washed away the summer heat and also calmed Jiang Ce’s mood quite a bit.
He hadn’t brought an umbrella, so he had to hold his shoulder bag over his head.
Following the crowd, Jiang Ce exited the high-speed rail station, took a car, and went home.
The moment he closed the door, he casually tossed the damp shoulder bag onto the entryway floor, stripped off his soaked clothes, and flopped onto his own bed.
Smelling the familiar scent, Jiang Ce finally clearly felt that he was home.
His first long trip in life felt… pretty good, not as bad as he had imagined.
Glancing at the time—3 p.m.—he rolled over, lay flat on the bed, and stared blankly at the ceiling, his mind a complete blank, not wanting to think about anything.
He just wanted to quietly listen to the sound of rain hitting the window, letting it wash away the fatigue of the journey.
But while he wanted to slack off, someone else didn’t want to let him.
He didn’t know how long he had been spacing out—almost falling asleep—when the text message alert suddenly rang.
Jiang Ce grabbed his mobile phone and glanced at it. It was Xiao Lin asking him to come to the branch, saying there was something important to arrange.
He hadn’t felt pressure from the leader at the Funeral Home, but he felt it from the Gatekeeper.
To be honest, it was disgusting.
Jiang Ce sat up, crossed-legged on the bed, and started gnawing his fingernails.
“Right, I heard Cao Ji say Headquarters has subsidies. How come I’ve never heard about it from Xiao Lin? No, I have to ask tonight.”
No longer thinking more, Jiang Ce got up, took a shower, dried his hair, threw the clothes he had changed out of these past few days into the washing machine, and prepared to head out to the branch.
Looking at Aatrox in his shoulder bag, still quiet and infused with Power of Lack of Merit, Jiang Ce calculated the days and figured it was about time to visualize again.
He took out the spiritual tea gifted by Wei Lao and carefully stored it in the kitchen cabinet.
“I wonder if with these strong medicines tonight, I can break through to Fifth Rank in one go.”
