Li Zhengguo hugged his two sons tightly.
"Tell Dad, how many days have your mom and I been up the mountain?"
"Four days."
Four days?
He was injured on the first day, and rested for another day.
On the third day, he entered the maze...
...Then, they spent another day figuring out how to restore the formations in the private vault, following the pattern.
Were the eight lives he had experienced all just dreams?
No wonder his limbs were intact from the second life to the first.
No wonder he couldn't bring his superpowers over.
No wonder Tian Tian's superpower level hadn't changed.
No wonder Xiao Qing hadn't been brought over either.
No wonder the "him" in the fourth life didn't know about the formation in Misty Valley.
No wonder in the second life, Tian Tian didn't remember Grandma saying that she used to cry as much as their daughter when she was little.
It turned out everything was fake.
After disappointment came happiness.
He had experienced it, and he and his wife had even dreamt two lives together.
His son and daughter hadn't suddenly grown up.
His life would not have any regrets.
Tian Jing looked at the relief on her husband's face and breathed a sigh of relief.
In the second life, although her husband felt inferior because of his physical limitations, she felt pained watching his struggles with superpowers.
After the transformation, the powerful combat ability and the recovery of his human body had filled him with confidence and pride.
By the first life, she had already sensed the psychological gap her husband was experiencing.
She thought it would take some time for him to come to terms with it, but it happened in the blink of an eye.
Sensing his wife's gaze, Li Zhengguo turned his head and grinned at her.
"Let's go home."
"Mm, home."
...
Seeing his mother in the living room, Tian Jing felt a pang of guilt.
After experiencing two dream lives, the knot in her heart had disappeared.
Since the incident hadn't happened yet, she couldn't convict her mother-in-law based on speculation.
Nor could she for her husband.
"Mom, thank you for your hard work these past few days. Go rest for a bit. We'll eat dinner at the courtyard today. We'll bring vegetables and ask Ah Feng to cook."
Seeing her daughter-in-law back to her usual self, Li's mother's fatigue immediately halved.
"It's fine, I'm fine. What child doesn't fuss when they're little?"
Tian Jing continued to persuade, "Even if you're fine, go rest. We'll head to the courtyard now. I'll have Zheng Ge call you when it's time for dinner."
"Okay, okay."
Li's mother went into the east room, lay down on the kang, and fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.
Listening to the faint snores from the east room, Tian Jing gently tapped her daughter's forehead again.
The family of five closed the courtyard gate and headed to the courtyard in the east of the village.
As they passed the Niu family's house, they called out to Sister-in-law Niu.
Sister-in-law Niu, her hands covered in flour, rushed out, "Tian Tian, you're finally back? Your daughter, her crying can shake the whole village."
Li Li, hugging her mother's neck, said one word to the complaining Aunt Niu, "Bad."
Sister-in-law Niu playfully teased Li Li, "Oh, you dare to talk back to me? When I was talking about you, why didn't you listen?"
"No, reason."
"Nonsense, you're the one who's being unreasonable."
"Yes."
"Yes, what? I told you your mother would be back soon, and you still cried?"
"Not, here."
"Of course not, if she were here, would you still be crying?"
"Not, here!"
Seeing his sister getting anxious, Li Weihao quickly defended her.
"Aunt Niu, we're going to see Grandpa. We'll talk to you next time we pass by."
"Alright, alright, off you go. Your Grandpa has also been tormented by your sister."
Leaving the Niu's house, Li Weihao wriggled out of his father's hand and came over to tug at the hem of his mother's cotton jacket.
"Sister said 'not here', I understand."
"Then what do you think she meant?"
Li Weihao lowered his voice, "Sister meant she couldn't feel you. We have a spiritual connection with you and Dad."
"During these four days, there was also a day or so when I couldn't feel you and Dad."
"Just now, we felt you, and that's why my brother and I came back."
"The previous time, it was the same feeling, the time Aunt Niu came to find you in the middle of the night."
Tian Jing looked up at her husband in surprise. When her son and daughter couldn't feel them, it must have been when they entered the maze.
She had felt the rules of heaven and earth from the formation above that maze.
Li Zhengguo gently shook his head at his wife. "Hao Hao, next time, keep this feeling to yourself. Also, advise your sister not to say it out loud. Your mother and I will not leave you; we will watch you grow up."
"Mm-hmm."
Li Weihao's greatest strength was his lack of questioning. His parents never hid anything from them that they could tell them.
...
In the courtyard, Grandpa Xiao saw his granddaughter and grandson-in-law return safely and also breathed a sigh of relief.
"Li Li, why aren't you crying anymore?"
"Too, bad."
"You little girl, you've got quite a sharp tongue."
"Don't mind, Grandpa."
"Hahaha."
Grandpa Xiao laughed happily, "You're still cute like this."
Hearing that the whole family was coming for dinner, Grandpa Xiao instructed Xiao Shuyuan to tell Ah Feng.
Li Zhengguo put down his younger son, whom he was holding, and went back to the vegetable shed to pick vegetables.
Li Min saw her younger brother and quickly caught up to him to ask, "Little brother, where did you go?"
Seeing his sister, he remembered the "Li Zhengguo" from the fourth life who had said that his sister was jealous of Tian Tian and said that to Chen Yao Shi.
He wondered if this sister truly cared about that statement.
But whether in reality or in dreams, his sister had grown further and further away from them.
"Is it necessary for me to report my actions to you? You need to remember that you are now a Chen family member. I have already kicked you out of the house."
"Little brother."
Li Min opened her arms and blocked her younger brother, "Even if you kick me out, the Li family is still my maternal family."
"Fine, I won't ask where you went. I'll ask you how much money you gave to Brother Suo Zhu, that's acceptable, right?"
Li Zhengguo's expression became very serious. "Li Min, I ask you, who do you earn money for? Who is it for?"
"Of course, it's for Xiao Fu and An An."
"Then who does Suo Zhu earn money for? Who is it for?"
"Of course, it's also for Xiao Fu and An An."
"Alright, these two sentences are spoken without any guilt," Li Zhengguo nodded.
"Since it's all for the two children, why are you asking how much money was given? Do you not trust me? Or do you not trust Suo Zhu?"
"Li Min, you are as annoying as Zhang Fangcao now, do you know that? How did Zhang Fangcao become like this? How did you become like this?"
"Find the commonality. If you change, you still have a chance. If you don't change, you'll also have a bad ending."
He pushed away the arm blocking him and Li Zhengguo walked straight away.
Li Min stamped her foot in anger, "You all guard against me, and then you blame me for not trusting you."
Li Zhengguo stopped and turned back, "Find the fault in yourself, don't always blame others. Before, who didn't trust you? Now?"
Turning his head, he swung the basket in his hand behind him, "Don't talk to me anymore."
...
Life seemed to return to normal.
As it entered the twelfth lunar month, no one liked to go out.
Tian Jing and Li Zhengguo quietly went to the county town.
After returning, Tian Jing rested in bed for a few days.
Li's mother was a little worried, "Tian Tian, are you alright? If you feel unwell anywhere, you must see a doctor."
Tian Jing shook her head, "I'm fine, just caught a little cold. I'll be fine after a few days of rest."
A few days later, seeing her daughter-in-law coming and going as usual, Li's mother was relieved.
It started snowing.
Ouyang Meihua and Le Xia, each with their sons who were just over a year old, came to the Li family to visit.
The two of them were actually here to gossip.
Le Xia thought Fang Qiuhong seemed to be pregnant, as she could always hear her retching.
Ouyang Meihua asked if they should "deal with" Fang Qiuhong.
Tian Jing's mouth twitched. What kind of heart did this Great Hero Ouyang have?
"Sister-in-law, if some of us who are close were secretly pregnant, would you deal with them?"