Chapter 541 - The Gentle Township
An Lin was completely at a loss for what to do. He had never learned how to break through an illusionary spell technique!
Could he… do so by force?
Could he use his own strength to destroy this illusionary realm?
His storage ring flashed, and the Evil-Slaying Sword appeared in his hand.
Thankfully, his power and cultivation base did not seem to have been affected. This made things a lot more convenient.
He just had to blast a hole in the sky now!
“Dear husband!” A pleasant, yet familiar voice sounded from behind him.
An Lin’s body trembled as he turned to look behind him.
A woman in a jade dress was standing nearby with a vibrant smile on her face, and the sun shone down on her beautiful features, making her appear even more radiant and enchanting.
Just by standing there, she became the center of his universe. Everything else paled in insignificance next to her.
Her sudden appearance had completely set An Lin’s heart aflutter.
The title with which she had used to call him made An Lin draw a sharp intake of breath!
“Xu Xiaolan, you… you called me dear husband?” An Lin’s mouth gaped open in shock.
Xu Xiaolan’s brows furrowed slightly in confusion. “What are you saying? What else should I be calling you?”
An Lin was absolutely overjoyed upon hearing this!
“Dear wife!” An Lin pounced on her in excitement.
However, he was immediately pushed aside by a blushing Xu Xiaolan. “There are so many people on these streets; can’t you be a bit more subdued?”
An Lin couldn’t stop nodding. “Yes, I can be whatever you want me to be!”
He grabbed one of Xu Xiaolan’s hands in his as they began walking along the streets.
Xu Xiaolan didn’t reject his approach, but she was looking at him with an interrogative gaze. “Did you buy the tool refinement materials I asked you to buy?”
“Huh? Er… I was just about to do that! Let’s go together!” An Lin faltered for a moment before replying.
Xu Xiaolan rolled her eyes before dragging him toward the tool refinement shop.
“Dear wife…”
“What is it?”
“Nothing, I just wanted to say it a few times.”
“…”
“Call me dear husband a few times, I want to hear you say it!”
“Idiot!”
An Lin was ecstatic that he and Xu Xiaolan had become Dao partners.
This feeling of bliss…
It was enough to move him to the point of tears!
He knew that this was only an illusionary realm, but it was so realistic that he didn’t want to let it go. He wanted to stay and experience this happiness for just a bit longer…
All the buildings around them were intricately constructed from a pleasant combination of yellow and white wood.
There were also some buildings constructed from white jade bricks that were five or six stories tall, with unfamiliar yet beautiful totems carved into their surface.
The most eye-catching building was the black tower in the center of the city. It extended all the way into the clouds, and it shone with a five-colored spectrum under the light of the sun.
The setting for this illusionary realm was none other than the city An Lin was currently situated in in real life.
The two elderly men seemed to be providing him with the opportunity to experience what it was like to live in this city.
Crackle bang…
The sound of firecrackers erupted in the distance as a mature-looking groom rode past through the street on horseback with a celebratory wedding procession trailing along behind him. Eight carriage-bearers carried an intricate carriage behind the groom as cheerful music blared from the musicians in the procession party.
“Huh? Is someone getting married?”
“It’s the young master from the Chen family, Chen Zhan. He’s marrying Wang Lele from the Wang family!”
“They’re a match made in heaven! They have finally joined their hands in marriage after being in a relationship for twelve years.”
“I heard they are organizing a feast at Fu Man Restaurant and have extended an open invitation to the entire city.”
“What are we standing around here for then? Let’s go and grab a seat!”
All the bystanders were discussing spiritedly among themselves, and An Lin was also swept up by the celebratory atmosphere as he gripped Xu Xiaolan’s hand tighter; joy was overflowing in his heart.
…
Under the night sky, the black tower stood as always.
Outside the tower, three cultivators and a snow soul beast had been bound by an unknown tree branch.
All of them had their eyes tightly shut with serene smiles on their faces, as if they were experiencing a pleasant dream.
When the stocky old man’s song was concluded, the notes seemed to echo in the air, as if this world were reluctant to part with such heavenly music.
“Come on, Lü Cheng, let’s carry them away,” said the stocky old man.
The tall old man nodded as he looked down at the bundle of four dreamers lying on the ground.
The black branches carried the dreamers from the ground, as if they had a mind of their own. The tall old man walked into the black tower, and the bundle of four dreamers was suspended in the air as they too drifted into the dark interior of the black tower.
The stocky old man stowed away his musical instrument before looking up at the starry night sky with a profound expression.
“The gentle township… It’s a place where people would willingly allow themselves to be trapped even if they know it’s all an illusion…
“Isn’t the purpose of life to pursue happiness and to achieve goals? What if the ideal world in one’s heart is replicated in an illusionary realm, where everything is extremely realistic? What’s the difference between illusion and reality then? Perhaps the only difference would be that the illusionary realm is a happier place…”
A split second of confusion suddenly appeared on the stocky old man’s face. “Hm? Was that just my imagination? I feel like something is a bit different for some reason…”
…
An Lin and Xu Xiaolan purchased a bunch of tool refinement materials before making their way home.
“I feel like you’re different somehow, An Lin.” Xu Xiaolan’s intricate brows were slightly furrowed as she surveyed An Lin with her head tilted slightly to one side.
“Dear wife, call me dear husband!” An Lin demanded with a solemn expression.
Xu Xiaolan: “…”
“What do you think is different about me, dear wife?” An Lin asked with a look of interest.
“You’re more vulgar than before!” Xu Xiaolan chuckled.
An Lin was shocked. “How could you talk about your husband like that?!”
Xu Xiaolan waved her hand. “Alright, alright! Even if you’re a little vulgar at times, I married you, so I can only accept my fate. Let’s go home!”
An Lin was extremely touched to hear this!
A thought suddenly occurred to him. “Dear wife… can we do ‘that’ tonight?”
“What’s ‘that’?” Xu Xiaolan blinked with curiosity.
“You know… The exercise that couples often do at night…” An Lin replied in a low voice.
Xu Xiaolan seemed to have realized what An Lin was getting at, and a light blush appeared on her intricate features, making her face appear as if it were a ripe apple that An Lin couldn’t help but want to bite down on.
“You… How could you say things like this on the streets? Have you gone mad?!” She glowered at An Lin before pinching onto his waist and twisting the flap of his skin viciously.
“Gasp…”
Xu Xiaolan certainly hadn’t held back!
He immediately placated her with a fawning smile. “Alright… we’ll talk about it when we get home then!”
“By the way, where is our home?” An Lin suddenly asked.
Xu Xiaolan: “Not only did you become more vulgar, but you’ve also become more stupid!”
Xu Xiaolan was a little grumpy, but she still led An Lin home.
This was an extremely familiar courtyard…
“Ah… Young Master An Lin is back! Would you like to eat some cherries? The cherries have ripened recently, so we’ve bought a lot. All of them are in the kitchen!” A pretty young woman made her way toward An Lin with a broad grin.
This young woman was also extremely familiar…
An Lin thought to himself for a moment before finally recalling who she was.
Oh! It’s Little Qiu!
“Big Brother An, why did you take so long to buy some tool refinement materials? Everyone’s waiting for you so that we can start our meal, woof!” Da Bai ran into the courtyard with displeasure on his face.
An Lin looked around at all his familiar beast pets. Xiao Hong was wobbling her red flowery head as she joyfully underwent photosynthesis while Xue Zhantian was playing with the four seasons. As for the adorably ugly Xiao Chou, he was chasing Little Lang around the courtyard with a banana in his hand.
Everything was so serene and beautiful.
“Little Lin, Little Lan, come on in. Yudie had already finished cooking; she cooked her specialty, braised pork joint, for us today!”
A deep and steady voice sounded as An Mingchuan walked out into the courtyard to greet An Lin with a smile.
An Lin’s eyes widened in shock, and his breathing began to accelerate as he processed what An Mingchuan had just said.
“Dad… Wh-who did you just say was cooking?” he asking in a trembling voice.
“Little Lin, what are you doing outside? Come on in; the dishes are about to go cold,” a gentle, pleasant voice said.
Immediately afterward, a woman walked into the courtyard.
She wore a white dress and a gentle smile on her face as she looked at An Lin with a doting expression.
An Lin stared blankly at the woman before him as massive waves swept through his heart. The memories that had been locked away for so long began to resurface in his mind as tears flowed from his eyes.
“Mom…”