"You? How do you know?" asked an astonished Li Guorui.
Li Xiaofei smiled slightly. "Only first-time university students bring so much luggage. If you were a sophomore or junior, you’d probably just have a backpack. Besides, there's still a bit of youthful innocence on your face. Your eyes show both vigilance and curiosity, which means this is your first time traveling far from home. Am I right?"
Li Guorui gave him a thumbs-up and said, "You're really sharp."
"Haha, it's nothing special. After spending enough time in society, you get used to observing and figuring people out. By the way, Guorui, didn't your parents come with you? It's a journey of thousands of miles. Weren't they worried?"
Li Xiaofei spoke as if they had been close friends for years. His warmth made it easy to open up. The closer he got to this young man, the more he felt an inexplicable aura emanating from him. It was something that seemed to attract and pull him in.
"My family is too poor," replied Li Guorui. He wasn’t embarrassed and admitted frankly, "The round-trip fare is too expensive, so I came alone. I’d have to experience this sooner or later. Besides, I arranged to meet up with a classmate. Security is good these days, so there’s nothing to be afraid of."
His words were open and confident. It was the attitude of someone born into a farming family, yet proud of his own abilities and filled with confidence in his future. He was a young man with determination and ambition.
The two chatted about many things along the way. The sixteen-hour train journey passed quickly, and morning had arrived before they knew it. The train pulled into Lanfu City Station just past seven.
As the transportation hub of the northwest region, Lanfu City Station was far larger than Dunhuang’s. The moment they stepped out of the station, they were met with a surging crowd. People were everywhere.
Loudspeaker advertisements blared from all directions. Unlicensed taxi drivers shouted for passengers. Elderly women, speaking with thick local accents, used their well-honed instincts to scan the crowd for potential customers. Once they locked onto someone, they cautiously approached. They asked if they needed a place to stay, even adding with a knowing smile that there were some ‘exciting’ programs available.
There were also kids who didn’t look old enough to have finished high school, going up to passersby and asking, “Need a ticket?”
Bearded men wearing small flower-patterned hats gathered around their tricycle carts laden with nut cakes, chatting and laughing in their distinct regional dialect. They seemed unconcerned about business, only responding with a smile when someone was drawn in by the colorful treats and inquired about the price.
For Li Guorui, who was traveling far from home for the first time, everything was novel and fascinating. But for Li Xiaofei, who had long been through all this... It was familiar. For a fleeting moment, as he stood at the station’s exit, he felt dazed. What a vibrant scene of everyday life.
Ever since that damned husky had transported him five hundred years into the future, his days had been filled with endless battles, bloodshed, and chaos. Even in Chongque City, the suffocating atmosphere of conflict had pervaded every aspect of life, forcing him to remain constantly on edge.
But here, in Earth 1818, he could finally experience the long-lost warmth of peaceful, mundane life once more. The most comforting thing in the world was the simple, everyday life of ordinary people. It was the one thing that could soothe a restless soul.
At that moment, Li Xiaofei felt like a wanderer who had been away from home for too long who was suddenly overwhelmed by the sensation of returning. Standing at the station’s exit, he even felt his body tremble slightly.
Beside him, Ah Qing keenly noticed his unusual state. In a soft voice, she asked, "What's wrong?"
It was the first time Li Guorui had heard this beautiful girl named Ah Qing speak. Until now, he had thought she was mute. Her voice was clear and pleasant but cold. Each word she spoke felt like a chilling gust of wind slicing through the air.
Li Xiaofei took a deep breath and said, "I'm fine. Haha, I'll take you to try some local specialties later... Since we're here, we might as well explore properly so the trip isn’t wasted."
"Mm." Ah Qing obediently nodded.
Li Xiaofei then turned to ask, "Guorui, do you want to come with us? You’ve never been to Lanfu City before, right? Let me take you to try some good food."
Li Guorui quickly waved his hands, politely declining. "Sorry, Brother Chen, I’ll pass. I already made plans with my classmates, but thanks for the offer."
With that, the three of them went their separate ways.
Li Xiaofei’s hunger soon grew unbearable. So, he took Ah Qing for a stroll around the train station area, indulging in a feast. They ate beef noodles, sweet fermented grains, grilled lamb skewers, stuffed cold noodles, buckwheat bread, sorghum jelly, oat porridge, roasted potatoes...
He sampled over thirty or forty different delicacies, eating to his heart’s content. It felt more satisfying than indulging in spirit-infused meats and wines back in Chongque City.
Ah Qing ate quite a bit too. She was especially interested in the food and she had a particular fondness for spicy flavors.
After their feast, Li Xiaofei took her to visit the Zhongshan Bridge[1], climb Wufeng Mountain, and even stop by the zoo.
Ah Qing was thrilled throughout the trip. She was filled with curiosity about everything around her. She genuinely enjoyed the lively atmosphere.
By the time evening fell, Li Xiaofei booked a suite at the Feitian Grand Hotel, a five-star Star Tier hotel near the train station.
"Brother Chen, you seem very interested in that boy, Li Guorui. Is there something special about him?" Ah Qing finally couldn't hold back her curiosity and asked.
"I once traveled to another version of Earth and heard a story. In that world, there was an unparalleled powerhouse named Li Guorui. He shattered that world's moon with a single punch," Li Xiaofei smiled as he spoke.
Ah Qing was stunned. Then, she immediately understood. If an ordinary person grew strong enough to obliterate a celestial body, fate and opportunity might have played a role. But what truly mattered was his talent and unwavering spirit.
If this Li Guorui was the same person as the strongest being from that archived Earth, it meant he was destined to rise in this world as well. A genius like that was an invaluable asset to humanity. So, it made sense to keep an eye on him.
What Ah Qing didn’t know, however, was that the Li Guorui of this Earth was also the son of Li Xiaofei’s long-buried memories, his parents' child. Li Xiaofei had always felt that there was an inexplicable bond of fate between himself and this boy.
The reason he hadn’t erased Miss Fan’s memory, the reason he had chosen to stay on this Earth, aside from investigating Eden, was because he had a new purpose. It was to witness Li Guorui’s growth.
He wanted to protect this world a little longer, to safeguard the Great Xia in its entirety, and preserve this place where one could stand by a window and see the warmth of human life in every direction.
Having witnessed too much slaughter and ruin, Li Xiaofei knew that no one could understand what he felt when he arrived in a world that was whole and at peace.
Night passed swiftly. Li Xiaofei finished his cultivation. When he boarded the train again and returned to his seat, a smile appeared on his face.
"What a coincidence, Guorui. We meet again."
1. The Zhongshan Bridge is a steel truss bridge over the Yellow River in Lanzhou. Opened in 1909, it was the first permanent bridge over the Yellow River. The bridge is one of the most well-known landmarks of Lanzhou. Construction of the bridge began in 1907 and the bridge was completed in 1909. ☜