Chapter 571: Surprised Again [Two in One]

Edited by Aelryinth

“Come on, we’ve already achieved our goals above and beyond. We can return now!”

Zhang Che took another look at the mountains and rivers around him. Truth be told, he was a little unwilling.

This period of time in the beast world was like paradise to him.

Nightly activities with Huang Tielan were something they did every day. After they returned to Mercury, it’d be more difficult to experience such days again.

However, it had been almost a whole month since they had entered the beast world. Zhang Che knew their family would worry if they didn’t return.

“Hmm, let’s go, then. If things go well, we’ll arrive at the safety zone tonight!”

Huang Tielan was incredibly excited. She could finally return home!

She was a woman, after all. After so many days of fighting, she would of course be sick of it, even though it was her goal to raise her strength. She was very much looking forward to returning to Mercury to rest for some time.

However, similar to Zhang Che, Huang Tielan was a little unwilling to leave their unrestrained days in the beast world behind.

One could never forget the taste after trying it. She was unwilling to separate from Zhang Che for even a day. But when they returned to Mercury, the two would definitely not be able to be together like this everyday.

Putting aside the fact that they were not married yet, even if they were, they had their own careers and businesses to handle. How could they possibly stay together every day?

Moreover, the world was in troubling times. They had to plan for the future and work hard to increase their strength. They couldn’t be like ordinary people.

Perhaps they were really unwilling to leave this lifestyle behind. On their way back, Huang Tielan didn’t fly on her Dark Unicorn, but chose to ride on the Darkfiend Abyssal Dragon’s back, letting Zhang Che embrace her from behind as they whispered sweet-nothings to one another during their journey.

Zhang Che had intentionally slowed down the Darkfiend Abyssal Dragon. In their original plans, they could have returned to the safety zone tonight. But when night fell, the two were still hundreds of kilometers away from civilization.

It went without saying they needed to spend another night in a mountain cave.

—

When camping, the elemental queen had very tacitly chosen to not enter the cave. She chose to stay outside of the cave alone, forcing herself to not think of strange things, and instead immersed herself into the world of a chess manual.

Indeed, the elemental queen’s foresight was very wise.

That night, Zhang Che and Huang Tielan almost didn’t get any sleep at all. They spent the night tangled in a sleeping bag, doing some vigorous activity. In the end, the two finally stopped from exhaustion, so tired they couldn’t move any longer.

——

“It’s already the 28th. Why are Xiaoche and Lanlan still not back?”

Back in Bei Du, Huang Juyun was worried sick.

Although he believed in Zhang Che’s strength and trusted that they wouldn’t be in any danger, it had been almost a whole month since they left, and hadn’t returned. It truly left him extremely worried.

Alas, the beast world was vast without end. He would have gathered his men and went searching for them personally otherwise.

“Ai, the youngsters are really insensible. How can they stay in the beast world for so long? Even if they want to raise Lanlan’s strength, they shouldn’t do things in such a hurry. They’re really killing me from worry.”

Huang Juyun paced back and forth in his office. He tried contacting the two youngsters with his personal terminal again, but as usual, he couldn’t reach them.

In the end, he could only sigh and pray that nothing untoward had happened to them.

Dok dok dok… knocks came from the office door.

Huang Juyun gathered himself and responded calmly, “Come in.”

The door was pushed open. An aide-de-camp came in respectfully and reported, “Chief, at present the cult organizations in Bei Du’s metropolitan area are almost wiped out, but judging from the interrogation results from our captives, it seems these are all only branch organizations. They know nothing about the higher-ups. How should we proceed?”

Huang Juyun pondered silently for a while, then said viciously, “Continue intensifying our efforts in striking at them. I don’t believe these rats have left no traces behind. Pay attention to strengthening our cooperation with the government. Their intelligence network is very good; hopefully we can find some usable clues.

“That’s all. Send the order down!”

“Yes, Chief!” the aide-de-camp stood at attention and left the room, closing the door.

Huang Juyun sighed, mumbling to himself, “Ai, times are really difficult. It’s indeed as Xiaoche said. Those evil cults might really be controlled by the demons. How could they have left things so watertight otherwise? It’s already been a month, and we’ve only been dealing with their branches. Things are going to become difficult…”

Shaking his head, he let out another sigh and opened up his personal terminal again, sending the report he had just received to the top brass.

During this period of time, Huang Juyun had been appointed chief commander for cracking down on evil cults due to his prior experience, instead of returning to Xinjing City to assume his post, and he had stayed in Bei Du to handle the matters.

——

In the beast world to the south of Bei Du, a deep blue creature was seen in the skies several kilometers away from the safety zone, closing in rapidly.

Zhang Che and Huang Tielan had finally returned to the vicinity of the safety zone and would soon return to the human world.

Looking at the exotic scenery, the two felt even more unwilling.

“Zhang Xiaoche.”

“Hmm?”

“When we have time in the future, let’s come back and play for some time, okay?”

“Mmm, whatever you say. I’ll come with you whenever you want.”

“Zhang Xiaoche.”

“Mmm?”

“Thank you for being by my side all this time. You’re really fantastic!”

Huang Tielan had a blissful smile on her face. Zhang Che’s arms were around her slim waist. He couldn’t help but hold her tighter, saying softly, “I want to thank you too. It’s very nice to have you by my side.”

The two directly flew into the safety zone on the Darkfiend Abyssal Dragon. They landed, and crossed the spatial gateway holding hands, officially leaving this place where they had spent close to a month together.

Once they stepped out of the spatial gateway, the two took out their personal terminals from spatial storage, which immediately vibrated intensely at the same time.

“Aiya, we stayed in the beast world for so long. Daddy must be worried sick!” Huang Tielan cried out. She opened her personal terminal, and as she had expected, it displayed the many calls Huang Juyun had sent her.

“We won’t get reprimanded when we get back right? Haha!” Zhang Che laughed. His own terminal was also displaying the many calls requests Huang Juyun had sent.

It seemed like his father-in-law was really anxious about their extended absence.

“It’s all because you didn’t want to return. If daddy scolds us, I’ll say you’re the one to blame.” Huang Tielan quickly shirked off all responsibility, and immediately sent a call request to Huang Juyun.

Soon the call connected. Huang Juyun’s relieved voice was heard, “Ah my precious girl! Why are you only back now? Daddy was so worried! Come back quickly, you two. I’ll be waiting for you at home!”

“Ugh, okay, daddy. We’re coming back now.”

After ending the call with Huang Juyun, Huang Tielan stuck out her tongue at Zhang Che and said, “Let’s go. Go get your car quickly. We’re going home immediately. Ah, I really miss daddy and the others now.”

Zhang Che smiled, but didn’t say anything. He immediately walked to the nearby military camp and drove the beastly car they had left here previously over. After picking up Huang Tielan, they drove straight towards Bei Du.

——

After only an hour, the two arrived at the gates of the Huang family ancestral house. They saw Huang Juyun waiting outside, looking for them.

He seemed just like an ordinary old man looking forward to his son and daughter’s return home. There was not a hint of the mighty presence of a military commander.

“Ai, you two are too willful. Why did you go for such a long time? The month is almost over! Really, you two little willful brats!”

Huang Juyun came up emotionally the moment Zhang Che and Huang Tielan got out of the car, but he kept nagging them, showing how worried he was.

“I’m sorry, daddy/Uncle Huang. We won’t do it again.” The two youngsters knew it wasn’t the time to explain things, and could only apologize profusely.

{TLN: They apologized at the same time.}

“Alright, alright. Who are you trying to show by acting so wronged. Quickly come inside. I’ve already had them prepare lunch. Surely you must have not eaten or slept well during your stay in the beast world, right?

“I’ve specially instructed people to go get some fresh seafood. They’re all your favorites. We’ll talk while we eat.”

The three walked into the main courtyard, directly walking to the main hall.

“Hmm? Daddy, where’s grandpa, grandma, and the others?” Huang Tielan suddenly asked Huang Juyun.

The latter smiled, explaining, “The weather in Bei Du is getting colder and colder. I had your grandpa and grandma move to Xinjing City to spend the winter. Right, your mother has also put off matters and gone over. We’ll go visit them in two days. Xiaoche, you haven’t seen auntie before, right? It’s a good opportunity to get to know her.”

“Ah, that’s great! We can finally have a family reunion!” Huang Tielan almost jumped in joy. She smiled, “Then, daddy, will we be able to spend the new year together at Xinjing?”

Huang Juyun smiled and nodded. He said, “Mmm, we can have a family reunion together. Right, Xiaoche, how about asking your mother to come to Xinjing as well? The weather there is much more comfortable. Bei Du is getting colder and colder.”

Zhang Che didn’t reject his offer. He nodded profusely, saying, “Alright, Uncle Huang. I’ll come with my mom.”

He was feeling a little excited inside.

-Our parents are finally meeting! Shouldn’t they be discussing our marriage, then?-

However, Zhang Che was no longer in as much of a hurry to get married now. As for the reason… hehe… though he hoped it would get settled soon.

After all, the whole world would be in chaos in less than three years, when the fifth beast swarm attacked. Nobody would have time to get married then!

Moreover, the evil cults built by the demon spies were becoming more and more rampant. Heavens knew what other changes there might be in the future. Naturally it was better to get their marriage settled as soon as possible!

—

When they arrived at the dining hall, Huang Juyun gave the word. Their servants immediately brought out plate after plate of delicacies, covering the dining table.

It was as he had said, they were all dishes Zhang Che and Huang Tielan liked.

The three sat down, and Huang Juyun was the first to dig in. He said, “Come, let’s eat. We’ll talk while we eat. Tell me, what have you obtained in the beast world? You’ve been inside for such a long time. You must have gotten many rewards, right?”

Huang Juyun was very confident of Zhang Che’s luck. Since when did that kid not obtain something great whenever he entered the beast world?

Although their main objective this time was to help his precious daughter raise her beastmaster tier, they probably wouldn’t neglect the other aspects, either. Surely they had gotten a lot of good stuff.

Huang Tielan had countless things to talk about regarding their trip to the beast world this time. She immediately took over the conversation and looked at Huang Juyun with a smile while eating, asking him, “I’ll tell you, dad. Guess how strong I am now.”

Huang Juyun observed her closely at her questioning. He chuckled, “Why, you’re a Tier Five beastmaster at best. This is with Xiaoche helping you. It would be impossible for anyone to advance from Tier Four to Tier Five in a month!”

“Hahahaha, I knew you wouldn’t guess it correctly, dad. Your precious daughter is already a Tier Six beastmaster, and…” Huang Tielan smiled excitedly. A five-colored light flashed on her brow, and a jade green long sword appeared in her hand.

“Look, dad! This is my new weapon! It’s five-star legend-quality!”

Huang Juyun was stunned. He could never have thought that his precious daughter would advance two tiers consecutively in less than a month, becoming a Tier Six beastmaster!

He would surely have thought it was but a tall tale if someone else had told him that, but the news came from his daughter. Huang Juyun had no choice but to believe her.

Moreover, what was that weapon in his daughter’s hand?

Huang Juyun had seen it with his own eyes. It took form from a five-colored light. It was definitely a legend-quality beast card weapon!

-Incredible, that’s incredible!-

Although Zhang Che had surprised him on multiple occasions in the past, Huang Juyun wasn’t spared from the shock this time. He was so shocked he almost couldn’t speak!

“Haha, how is it, dad? You didn’t expect that, right? Why did you think we spent such a long time in the beast world? We would be embarrassed to come back without getting anything good.”

Seeing the surprised look on Huang Juyun, Huang Tielan was extremely satisfied. She continued, “Not only that, dad, you have no idea. Other than this, this time Zhang Xiaoche also obtained another epic-quality subdued beast. Putting its combat strength aside for now, it looks very pleasing to the eyes. It’s actually a rainbow deer, and its antlers are brilliant gold! It’s really beautiful!”

Huang Juyun was speechless. He was already numb to this. He looked at the two blankly, not knowing what to say.

-Just keep talking. I’ll just listen and not say anything.-

Seeing her father was already numb from shock, Huang Tielan grew even more excited. She added, “Oh, right, we only discovered that epic-quality exotic beast thanks to a spiritual herb. That exotic beast was actually guarding that herb and was killed by Zhang Xiaoche. Zhang Xiaoche, quick, bring out that thing. Daddy is very knowledgeable. He might know what that thing is, or we won’t even know what that spiritual herb can do.”

Zhang Che nodded, smiling faintly. He took out the rainbow spiritual fruit from his spatial storage readily.

A thick, delicate fragrance immediately filled the dining hall and spread out, overwhelming the smell of the table full of delicacies.

The baby’s head-sized spiritual fruit had a faint rainbow luster to it, looking like the celestial fruits from fairy tales and legends!

Huang Juyun couldn’t help but let out a low moan when he saw the fruit, his mouth agape from shock.

He truly didn’t expect their luck to be so disgusting, to chance upon something like that!

-T-th-this… No one will believe me, even if I spread word of it!-