Chapter 1572 - The Past is Like Smoke

Wang Lin seemed to not notice the old man’s arrival. He touched the tombstone and knelt before it. The tombstone was very cold and bursts of coldness came from his hands. However, that turned into warmth in his mind.

Tears flowed down from his cheeks and fell on the grave. They slowly soaked into the tomb and seemed to fall on his parents.

The coldness from his hands, the warmth in his heart, and the tears that fell on the grave seemed to cause Wang Lin and his parents’ grave to fuse into one.

This fusion gave off an unspeakable mood.

The old man in the sky was in a daze. His mind rumbled as of countless bolts of thunder were exploding inside him. His body trembled and he had a guess in his mind. This guess made his eyes filled with excitement.

Only one person had the qualifications to kneel before this grave, to cry like this before this grave, and to call out “father” and “mother” before this grave. That was the Lord of the Sealed Realm!

A faint and gentle light seemed to release from Wang Lin’s body and shroud the tombstone. As he knelt there, his tears continued to fall. With a sad expression, he looked at his parents’ names on the tombstone.

However, when the old man looked over, he took a deep breath. He didn’t know if he was hallucinating, but the shadow of a woman appeared on the left of Wang Lin.

This figure was very weak, as if it would dissipate from a gentle breeze. She had long hair, but it was impossible to clearly see her appearance. However, her body gave off the same sense of sadness.

She silently stood beside Wang Lin, looking at the tomb, and also knelt down.

From afar, the shadow of the woman and Wang Lin looked like a husband and wife paying respects before their parents’ tomb.

In the blink of an eye, another shadow appeared on the right of Wang Lin. This was the figure of a young man about 20 years old who looked very similar to Wang Lin. At this moment, a third shadow appeared, this time it was a woman.

They looked at the grave with sad expressions and knelt down as well.

This was like a family of four paying their respects. While heartwarming, an inexplicable bitterness spread in the old man’s mind.

Just at this moment, howls echoed across the sky. The madman closed in while laughing, and the old man’s three disciples pursued closely.

Everyone immediately arrived before this old house.

The old man’s three disciples closed in while shouting, but their teacher immediately brought them to his side. He stared at them and they immediately stopped shouting. They lowered their heads and looked at Wang Lin, who was kneeling before the grave.

The madman ran for a long distance, but when he looked back to see no one chasing, he scratched his head. He landed in the old house and saw Wang Lin kneeling not far away. He circled around Wang Lin a few times and faintly saw the three figures beside Wang Lin.

Wang Lin turned a deaf ear to all of this. He silently sat there, touching the tombstone as if he was his parents’ old faces.

At this moment, the sky became dark. As the sun gradually fell, the formation around Zhao flickered violently. Seeing that someone had entered the formation around Zhao, the powerful cultivators stationed on planet Suzaku all rushed over. More than 10 rays of light entered the formation, and they seemed to notice Wang Lin.

Rays of light flew across the dark sky and a lot of cultivators appeared. They all stared at Wang Lin, who was kneeling before the grave.

Some of them were native cultivators of planet Suzaku who had see Wang Lin before, so when they saw the kneeling Wang Lin, they immediately recognized him!

“Lord of the Sealed Realm!!!”

“Wang Lin!!”

Exclamations came from the mouths of the cultivators that recognized Wang Lin. This caused a commotion that was like a storm among the cultivators that came. Shock and disbelief filled them, along with excitement.

The old man’s three disciples were gobsmacked. They could have never expected the person that had come with the madman, the person they had called “vulgar,” to be the Lord of the Sealed Realm!

At this moment, their minds were blank. They had forgotten how to think and were just standing there in a daze.

In the distance, the sky lit up and a red cloud rushed over. In the blink of an eye, it closed in and a person walked out. He was an old man wearing a red robe. His face was pale, but he gave off a sense of majesty without being angry.

One could faintly see Zhou Wutai’s features on his old face.

This old man was the lord of planet Suzaku, Zhou Wutai!

He looked at the kneeling Wang Lin and his expression became melancholy. He silently stood there for a long time and then softly said one line before all the silent cultivators.

“You’ve… Returned…”

Wang Lin didn’t raise his head, he continued to look at the tomb. A moment later, he said,

“I’ve returned…”

Zhou Wutai was old and his body gave off a sense of age. With a step, he arrived beside Wang Lin and bowed at the grave.

“All of you, leave and give us some quiet time.” Zhou Wutai looked up at the people above. Although there were a lot of cultivators with higher cultivation levels, Zhou Wutai was the lord of planet Suzaku. His identity was highly regarded and his words had more impact than his cultivation level would indicate.

The more than a dozen cultivators silently suppressed their excitement. The bowed at Wang Lin and then at the grave before respectfully leaving.

Many of them didn’t belong to planet Suzaku. They had come from other places and volunteered to guard planet Suzaku to pay respects to the Lord of the Sealed Realm.

The old man also left with his three disciples that were still shocked from disbelief.

In a flash, only Wang Lin, Zhou Wutai, and the madman were left in this old house. A moment later, the madman felt that it was a bit boring, so he walked to the side. He leaned against a wall, closed his eyes, and began to sleep.

Zhou Wutai silently pondered for a moment and then sat down beside Wang Lin. He waved his right hand, took out two jugs of wine, and put them down. He looked at the grave and softly asked, “How long do you plan to stay?” 

Wang Lin raised his hand that was touching the tombstone and silently sat down on the ground. The three phantoms around him slowly dissipated.

“It won’t be long…” Wang Lin picked up one of the wine jugs and took a sip.

“This is…” The wine had a taste he was familiar with, as if he had returned to more than 1,000 years ago.

Zhou Wutai softly said, “This is the Ceng family’s wine. I saved a lot from back then to drink with you again.”

Zhou Wutai picked up the jug and took a sip. He looked up at the sky and slowly said, “I took that child from the Ceng family as my disciple… If he knew you would come back, he would be very happy.”

Wang Lin silently pondered and Ceng Niu’s child appeared in his mind. That child with pretty good talent.

Wang Lin looked at his parents’ grave and softly said, “Thanks.”

“What is there to thank? My position as lord of planet Suzaku is something you gave me. Yet I can’t stop them from entering planet Suzaku. After you became the Lord of the Sealed Realm, a lot of people came. They came with good intentions to make this place a holy land. I can only keep this country of Zhao…” Zhou Wutai said bitterly and then took a big sip.

“I know you are someone one who is nostalgic. Perhaps this place has changed too much and it makes you feel estranged.” Zhou Wutai sighed.

Wang Lin didn’t speak and drank the entire jug. Then Zhou Wutai took out a few more jugs and placed them before Wang Lin.

The sky slowly darkened and moonlight shrouded the earth. While gentle, it contained silvers of coldness.

The two of them sat under the moonlight and drank wine. They sat in Wang Lin’s old home and spoke of the past.

“The Tattoo Clan’s Yun Quezi’s lifespan reached its end. I buried him… Before he died, he kept saying your name…

“The Cloud Sky is now one of the nine major sects, but all the old faces are now gone. The planet Suzaku today, forget you, even I feel it has become unfamiliar...

“Very few people from the past remain….” Zhou Wutai drank wine and his eyes recalled the past.

“Do you still remember the country of Hou Feng’s Zhou Zihong? I only learned later that you knew her. She left with her mother, Feng Luan, many years ago. I heard that they entered a sect in the Summoned River...

“Zhou Zihong’s dao partner died in a great battle a few years ago…”

Wang Lin listened to Zhou Wutai’s words and silently drank wine. One jug after another.

“Wang Lin, in truth, I envy you…” The moonlight became even stronger. The bright moon hung high in the sky. Zhou Wutai seemed a bit drunk, perhaps it wasn’t his body that was drunk, but his soul.

“You dared to walk out of planet Suzaku and dared to struggle between life and death… I wouldn’t dare, I can only guard here…” Zhou Wutai’s face was filled with bitterness.

“I’ve guarded for more than 1,000 years… I can never forget your figure as you left planet Suzaku after appointing me lord of planet Suzaku. Back then, I envied you, but not as strongly as today…”

“Remember that disciple of mine…” Zhou Wutai took a large gulp and sadness appeared in his eyes.

“He has been dead for many years. He was part of my domain… I promised him I would accompany him until he died… I buried him on planet Suzaku. Every time I wanted to leave planet Suzaku, I would go to him and silently drink before his grave.” Zhou Wutai lowered his head.

“My disciple really loved his home, he didn’t want to leave his hometown…”

Wang Lin didn’t speak. He drank the Ceng family’s wine with Zhou Wutai until the moon disappeared. Until the sky turned white and the sun began to rise.

“Wang Lin, Red Butterfly may not be dead!” Zhou Wutai, whose soul was drunk, said this at the moment of dawn.