Chapter 517

Chapter 517: Returning Home in Glory?

In the Da Min Empire, the Huayang secret realm passage suddenly opened, but it closed again in a moment.

At the very instant the secret realm passage shut, a figure appeared at its entrance.

This figure was a handsome young man in his twenties.

After the young man appeared, he scanned his surroundings and revealed a look of nostalgia.

“After twenty years, I have finally returned.”

The young man was none other than He Mu Shan, who had entered the secret realm earlier.

He noticed that, twenty years later, the scenery near the secret realm entrance had not changed much.

Beside the entrance, He Mu Shan also found the large hammer and an axe he had left behind two decades ago.

Both tools were now rusty and in terrible condition, and the wooden handles of the hammer and axe had completely rotted away.

“Old buddy!”

He Mu Shan beckoned, and the rusty axe appeared in his hand.

In the next moment, he wiped his hand over the axe, and all the rust disappeared, transforming it into a smaller, brand-new axe.

This axe had accompanied He Mu Shan for decades, and all his previous livelihoods came from this very tool.

So, upon seeing the axe again, he decided to take it with him.

In the future, although he would not need it, keeping it for memories was a good idea.

…

Upon leaving the secret realm and returning to his hometown, He Mu Shan did not fly or use his divine sense to scan the surroundings.

He simply walked toward the home he had lived in for a lifetime, following his memories.

Two hours later, a small village appeared in front of He Mu Shan.

The village had about one hundred houses. Since it was summer, a group of people was bathing in the river at the edge of the village.

The appearance of He Mu Shan attracted the attention of a group of children.

Many children looked at He Mu Shan with curious eyes as they saw him.

It was simply because He Mu Shan looked too handsome and his clothes clearly indicated he came from a wealthy family.

He Mu Shan ignored the children.

He had left the village twenty years ago, and he did not recognize any of them.

“Hey! Who are you looking for?”

An older child shouted at He Mu Shan.

Hearing the child’s words, He Mu Shan looked at him and felt he looked somewhat familiar.

So he asked the child, “Whose child are you? Who is your dad?”

Upon hearing He Mu Shan’s words, and seeing his extraordinary aura, the child was somewhat intimidated.

“I, my dad is He Qingshan.”

“So you are the child of Qingshan! I didn’t expect he has a son who has grown up so much.”

He Mu Shan sighed and then ignored the group of children, quickly walking into the village.

Seeing this, the children abandoned their bathing and hurriedly followed He Mu Shan.

As He Mu Shan entered the village, he saw some young men, but he did not recognize any of them.

Many of the village’s young people looked at Li Xiaojun with curiosity.

Some little girls gazed at He Mu Shan, their eyes sparkling but feeling quite shy.

“Who are you looking for?”

A young man blocked He Mu Shan’s way and asked.

“I used to live in this village; I have come back home.”

“You’re also from our village? What’s your name? I’ve never seen you before.”

“I left here twenty years ago, so of course you don’t know me. By looking at you, I can tell, who is He Feng to you?”

“You know my dad?” The young man was surprised.

“Your dad should call me Second Elder,” He Mu Shan replied to the young man.

“Ah?” The young man seemed somewhat skeptical.

While speaking, He Mu Shan walked deeper into the village.

Soon, he met a man in his sixties or seventies.

“What are you doing?” The old man said, noticing a group of children following an unfamiliar young man.

“Are you He Daniu?” He Mu Shan asked the old man in surprise.

“You know me?” The old man was also surprised.

“Hmm? You look somewhat familiar. Whose child are you?” The old man asked He Mu Shan.

Hearing this, He Mu Shan smiled.

He said to the old man, “Daniu, don’t you recognize me? I am He Mu Shan.”

“He Mu Shan? Which He Mu Shan?” The old man was astonished.

He felt that the name He Mu Shan sounded familiar, but he truly could not recall.

“Daniu, I’m He Mu Shan, your brother Mu Shan. When you were a child, you were bitten by a snake, and I carried you to the town for a doctor.” He Mu Shan told He Daniu.

“What?”

Upon hearing He Mu Shan’s words, He Daniu’s voice suddenly increased in pitch.

“And when you were little, you stumbled while urinating on the hillside and fell into the water field. I was the one who pulled you out…”

“What?”

“You little rascal, how dare you tease me…”

He Daniu realized that the He Mu Shan before him must be the child of someone in the village, as only the village elders knew about his childhood mishaps.

However, he did not believe that this child was He Mu Shan because He Mu Shan was over ten years older than him.

“Are you He Mu Shan’s son?” He Daniu asked He Mu Shan.

He looked at He Mu Shan and indeed saw some resemblance.

He Mu Shan had been missing for twenty years, so maybe He Mu Shan had gone to live elsewhere, and this child was his son.

Hearing this, He Mu Shan felt a bit awkward.

He told the truth, but no one believed him.

However, after considering He Daniu’s words, he thought this was a good idea.

So he smiled and said to He Daniu, “Uncle Daniu, I’m sorry. I was just joking with you; I really am He Mu Shan’s son.”

“Oh! I thought so! You look so much like your dad, He Mu Shan, but you are way more handsome. If your dad looked like you, he wouldn’t still be single in his forties or fifties,” He Daniu told He Mu Shan.

Upon hearing this, He Mu Shan’s face turned slightly dark.

But he was not the type to argue with an ordinary person.

After thinking for a moment, he asked He Daniu, “Uncle Daniu! How is my uncle doing?”

The uncle He Mu Shan mentioned was, of course, his real brother.

He Mu Shan’s parents had passed away when he was young, and it was his real brother who had raised him.

Unfortunately, after his brother got married, his sister-in-law was very domineering and stingy.

Once He Mu Shan turned 15, she did not allow his big brother to provide any support for him.

Even the two acres of land left by He Mu Shan’s parents weren’t divided for him at all.

Considering that it was his real brother who raised him, He Mu Shan did not contest for the land.

To support himself, he relied on an axe to cut firewood for the rich people in the city, managing to barely get by.

However, this meant that He Mu Shan had very few possessions, and his family was very poor, so he remained single for decades, living as a lifelong bachelor.

Now that he returned, He Mu Shan planned to check on his real brother, then complete the task his teacher assigned, settle down in the village, and marry a few women.

Although He Mu Shan had been cultivating for twenty years and had reached the Nascent Soul stage, his mindset remained at the level of a rural villager.

He had never met other cultivators, so he did not know what level the Nascent Soul stage represented.

In front of his teacher, he felt no different from an ant.

So, even though he returned to his hometown, he had no desire to use his identity as a cultivator to accomplish great things.

What he wanted now was to settle down, get married, and have children after finishing his teacher’s mission, ensuring the continuation of his lineage.

In the past, he didn’t have this ability, but now that he did, he wanted to embrace it.

…

Finally, He Mu Shan met his real big brother.

When He Mu Shan entered the secret realm, his brother appeared to be in his seventies or eighties, but he was actually only around sixty.

Now, looking genuinely over eighty, his brother was about five or six years older than him, making him around eighty-six or eighty-seven.

When He Mu Shan saw his real brother, he noticed that his brother was now so old he could barely move.

“Are you Mu Shan’s son?” He Mu Ping said, looking a bit excited.

He did not expect that his brother, who had disappeared more than a decade ago, had not only started a family but also had a son.

Seeing how the child was dressed, it seemed the family must be quite wealthy.

“Where is Mu Shan now?” He Mu Ping asked He Mu Shan.

Hearing this, He Mu Shan sighed and said, “My dad passed away a few years ago…”

Then, He Mu Shan spun a tale about his “dad” He Mu Shan.

He said that twenty years ago, his father saved a woman in her forties, and they eventually married, leading to his birth.

Then, a few years ago, his father passed away, and last month, his “mother” also died.

Furthermore, his father told him that he was from He Family Village and that he had an uncle there, encouraging him to visit.

Hearing about his real brother’s death filled He Mu Ping with emotion.

“By the way, Uncle, how is my Aunt?” He Mu Shan inquired.

“Your aunt passed away more than a decade ago,” He Mu Ping replied sadly.

Upon hearing this, He Mu Shan momentarily lost his focus.

It was his sister-in-law who once treated him harshly, not allowing his big brother to help him and forbidding her children from getting close to him.

He had harbored some resentment toward her, but he never imagined she had already passed away.

Next, He Mu Ping introduced He Mu Shan to his son, grandson, and great-grandchildren.

He Mu Shan recognized his brother’s son and grandson but not the great-grandchildren.

Still, he pretended not to know and introduced himself to everyone again.

“Daxuan, your family must be quite wealthy; I see you are wearing the clothes of rich people and high-ranking officials,” He Mu Ping remarked to He Mu Shan.

Daxuan was the alias He Mu Shan was currently using.

Thinking over this, He Mu Shan nodded, “My parents left me some inheritance after they passed, but I wouldn’t say we are wealthy.”

“You’re being modest. With clothing like that, your family must own hundreds of acres of land!”

“Um, something like that.”

“Daxuan, your dad and I have been very close since childhood. If he sent you to visit me, it means he values me as your brother…”

“Daxuan, my family is poor. My grandson is already 16 years old and has no money to start a family. Since your family is so rich, could you help him out…?”

…

That night, He Mu Shan stayed at his brother He Mu Ping’s home, but it made him feel somewhat uncomfortable.

Over the next two days, He Mu Shan learned about the village’s situation.

He discovered that many people his age had already passed away.

The younger generation he once knew had now become the grandparents.

The children he had once known were now the fathers.

Three days later, He Mu Shan left He Family Village.

At first, when he returned, He Mu Shan felt a sense of pride, wanting to show off as a cultivator.

However, after interacting with the villagers, especially his real brother and his descendants, He Mu Shan abandoned this thought.

He discovered that when his real brother learned about his family’s wealth, he sought ways to gain benefits from him.

For instance, he asked for financial help for his great-grandson’s marriage or requested to borrow some money.

In addition, there were various other excuses aimed at obtaining advantages from him.

What upset He Mu Shan the most was his brother He Mu Ping asking him to help his great-grandson start a family.

This reminded He Mu Shan of his youth.

When he was around seventeen or eighteen, he also wanted to marry; a matchmaker had offered him a marriage proposal, which was not too demanding due to some shortcomings on the other side.

He Mu Shan felt tempted and wanted to borrow some money from his real brother to get married, but in the end, it was his sister-in-law who refused to lend him even a penny.

As a result, the marriage fell through.

Since that incident, He Mu Shan had lost heart and never married throughout his life.

Now, his real brother was asking him to help his great-grandson marry, which struck a painful chord in He Mu Shan.

Therefore, after three days in He Family Village, He Mu Shan chose to leave.

“Stop.”

Just as He Mu Shan distanced himself from He Family Village, three young men blocked his path.

Seeing the three young men, He Mu Shan sighed.

“What do you want?” He Mu Shan asked the trio.

These three were the grandsons of his real brother.

“Uncle Xuan, you’re just leaving like this? We wish you could stay a little longer,” one of the young men said with a squint and a smile that wasn’t really a smile.

“Stop talking nonsense with him; just capture him and interrogate him,” another young man said.

“Okay!”

The three nodded and closed in on He Mu Shan.

Witnessing this scene, He Mu Shan sighed.

He slowly asked, “Is this all about my family’s wealth? How can you forget even a shred of family ties when I’m your second uncle?”

“Ha ha, family ties? You dare talk about family ties? Who do you think you are?”

“I call you second uncle, and you should cooperate and hand over all your wealth. This way, we can avoid torturing you and give you a quick end.”

Hearing this, He Mu Shan’s heart turned cold.

Earlier, he had still held onto a thread of family ties.

Now, his heart had frozen into eternal ice.