Damn it, I've been reading The Smiling, Proud Wanderer these past few days, and it was getting really good — then it just stopped updating. What the hell.
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It had been five or six years since Yang Kai left the Yang family. When he'd departed back then, he was still an ordinary person who couldn't cultivate. Now, upon his return, he had already reached the seventh layer of the Zhenyuan Realm.
It felt like a lifetime ago!
Yang Kai missed his parents dearly, but the clan rules forbade him from coming back to visit. To make matters worse, Dong Qinghan had told him last time that his mother had sneaked out to see him in secret, only for the clan to find out. Young Master Yang had taken the punishment in her place — thirty strokes of the rod. That had only deepened Yang Kai's worry.
He had no idea how the two of them had been doing these past few years.
His emotions churning, he strode quickly away from the Dragon Transformation Pool restricted area. The moment he stepped out of the cloud and mist, he spotted two figures standing ramrod straight, gazing quietly toward the restricted zone with eager anticipation.
They looked at each other and froze in mutual shock.
Yang Kai had never expected his parents to be waiting here — after all, he'd only been back at the clan for less than half a day. If no one had sent word, they might not even know he'd returned yet.
Yang Yingfeng and Dong Suzhu hadn't expected their son to appear before them so quickly either.
Neither had fully recovered their wits.
Earlier, Young Master Yang had said that Yang Kai had entered the Dragon Transformation Pool and would need at least one or two days to come out — and that was already an optimistic estimate of his talent.
From Tu Feng, they had learned about Yang Kai's current cultivation level and knew he had overcome his innate deficiency. But as for how talented he actually was, they had no real idea.
Estimating one or two days in the Dragon Transformation Pool meant his talent was probably mediocre, but that was to be expected.
They never imagined that in less than half a day, Yang Kai would walk out. Such a short time suggested his talent was seriously lacking.
The three of them looked at each other, and then Yang Kai smiled. It was a smile so relaxed, so carefree — as if he hadn't truly smiled like that in years.
Dong Suzhu's lips immediately puckered and tears began streaming down her cheeks without a word. She rushed forward and pulled her son into a tight embrace.
But Yang Kai was no longer the boy he used to be. Having grown considerably taller during his years away, he now towered over his mother. Dong Suzhu had to stand on her tiptoes, wrapping her slender arms around his neck to rest his head against her shoulder. One hand stroked his hair, while the other patted his broad back.
She opened her mouth several times, but each attempt dissolved into sobs. She couldn't speak through her tears.
Her tears dripped onto Yang Kai's shoulder, bringing a warmth that spread through him. Breathing in that scent he'd been so fond of as a child, his entire being settled into a peace he had never known — a complete, utter relaxation that exploded through his body and soul.
A ship that had sailed far and long had finally returned to a warm, calm harbor.
Yang Kai's nose stung.
Iron-willed Young Master Yang, a man forged of steel, now found his eyes rimmed with red. He quietly turned his head away, blinking hard.
"Mom, I'm back," Yang Kai murmured softly.
Dong Suzhu finally managed to calm her emotions, gently patting Yang Kai's back while nodding repeatedly. "You're back — that's all that matters. You're back!"
She said it over a dozen times. Her voice gradually steadied, and by the end, she broke into tearful laughter, finally releasing him. Her hands gripped his shoulders as she stood before him, looking him up and down, her eyes brimming with joy.
He'd grown taller, grown stronger — no longer that frail, sickly child. Her son standing before her now even gave her a sense that she could lean on him.
At that thought, Dong Suzhu started crying again.
Growth always came with hardship. The fact that Yang Kai had become this way was inseparable from the suffering he'd endured these past years.
Yang Kai was about to give his father a meaningful look, signaling him to come over and say something comforting, only to find that the old man had turned his head away, gazing skyward at a forty-five-degree angle as if watching birds pass overhead, hands clasped behind his back with an air of serene composure.
But the corners of his eyes were glistening!
Yang Kai sighed helplessly and spoke up himself. "Alright, stop crying!"
"Mm, people will laugh if they see us," Dong Suzhu said softly, wiping her own tears. Her eyes were swollen like peaches.
Only then did Yang Kai smile and look toward Yang Yingfeng.
Young Master Yang was still holding his pose, unmoved.
"Dad..." Yang Kai called gently.
No one knew what was going through Young Master Yang's head. He flinched, then quickly turned around and, with an earnest expression, cupped his fists in a formal salute toward Yang Kai. His mouth opened — then he realized something seemed off.
This was his son he was greeting, not an elder or a peer. Why was he offering a formal salute? Was he supposed to bow too?
His aged face flushed crimson in an instant. Casually, he reached out and flicked his sleeve, pretending to dust off nonexistent specks of dirt, then clasped his hands behind his back again and gave a slight nod, wearing an expression of dignified composure. "Mm. You're back?"
Yang Kai sniffed, feeling that this question was essentially unanswerable, and simply nodded. "Mm. I'm back."
"Then... let's go home!" Young Master Yang declared, his composure rattled, and swept forward with a wave of his hand, taking the lead. Even the tips of his ears were bright red.
Yang Kai and Dong Suzhu exchanged a glance, following behind him with suppressed grins.
Though Yang Yingfeng hadn't shown much emotion upon seeing Yang Kai, anyone could tell he was practically strutting — his steps lighter and more spirited than usual.
At Young Master Yang's residence.
The three of them walked briskly and arrived home in no time.
The estate wasn't large, but it wasn't small either. After all, Yang Yingfeng was a direct-line descendant of the previous generation. The household had only a dozen or so servants and maids, giving it a rather quiet and secluded feel compared to other places.