Homecoming

It was nearing noon. The tall wooden palisade surrounding Teng Village stood guard, with clansmen keeping watch at the main gate.

"Someone’s coming! There are a lot of carriages!" a shout rang out from the gate.

On Teng Village’s training ground, many clansmen had been chatting and laughing. When they heard the shout, they all ran over. Once they saw what was happening, wariness crept into their eyes, and some had already run into the village to find the people in charge.

The clansmen’s caution was not unfounded. At the very front of the carriage convoy were five giant wolves and a huge black panther. None of them looked like ordinary mountain beasts.

"There’s someone on the panther~"

"That’s Brother Qinghu~"

Several sharp-eyed clansmen spotted Teng Qinghu atop the Black Wind Leopard. The alarm faded from their faces, replaced by traces of delight.

When Teng Yongfan had returned from Yicheng after delivering goods with the Hunter Squad, the village had been thrown into a state of panic. Then Teng Qingshan had returned, but Teng Qinghu had vanished without a trace. Although the elders had repeatedly said that Teng Qinghu was fine, many clansmen still harbored doubts.

Before Teng Qingshan took charge of the Hunter Squad, the most famous and respected member of the younger generation in Teng Village had been Teng Qinghu, the youth with prodigious strength. Even after Teng Qingshan had slain the Wolf King in a single battle and taken charge of the Hunter Squad, most clansmen, influenced by their long-standing impression of him, still regarded Teng Qinghu as the village’s future number-one hero.

"Get a few people to open the gate, and send a few others to notify the patriarch and the rest!"

When several instructors in charge saw Teng Qinghu (Gu Sheng) make a familiar hand signal, they hurriedly ordered people around. Then they went forward and opened the tightly shut main gate of Teng Village together.

"Qinghu! You’re back!"

"Brother Qinghu!"

"Brother Qinghu, is this your sister-in-law?"

Adults and children gathered around Gu Sheng as he helped Chu Xin down from the carriage, enthusiastically bombarding them with questions. Gu Sheng could handle it, but Chu Xin had never encountered such a scene before. Embarrassed, she buried her face in Gu Sheng’s arms and did not dare come out.

"Shoo, shoo, shoo~"

Gu Sheng chased away several half-grown boys who were jeering thoughtlessly. Then he said to Teng Yongxiang beside him, "Uncle, find a few people to help move the things. They’re very valuable, so be careful."

"Of course~"

Teng Yongxiang laughed heartily and patted his shoulder without saying more. As one of the clan’s leading figures, he knew very well how much Teng Qinghu’s standing in Teng Village had risen after what happened in Yicheng. It was even three points higher than Teng Qingshan’s.

In the end, Teng Village was a clan connected by blood, and the patriarch’s branch had always enjoyed great prestige. The patriarch of Teng Village, Teng Yunlong, had only one son, Teng Qinghu’s father, who had unfortunately met with an accident in his early years, leaving behind only Teng Qinghu as his sole descendant.

Teng Qingshan was said to be Teng Yunlong’s grandson, but his mother, Yuan Lan, was ultimately only Teng Yunlong’s adopted daughter. Although Teng Yongfan was the clan’s number-one hero and Teng Yunlong’s Direct Disciple, most people still felt that Teng Qinghu was the better choice when it came to succession within the clan.

That was right. This was the succession struggle for the position of clan patriarch that some people within Teng Village had imagined. But in the original story, neither Teng Qinghu nor Teng Qingshan seemed to care about the position. Or rather, once they had the Gui Yuan Sect as a broader platform, why would they remain cooped up in this tiny corner of Teng Village?

On the current timeline, Teng Qinghu (Gu Sheng) was even less likely to start some kind of succession struggle. In reality, nobody cared who would inherit the position of patriarch in Teng Village. They simply did not think much of it!

"Qinghu!"

At the booming call, Gu Sheng looked up and saw Teng Yunlong, Teng Yongfan, Teng Qingshan, and all the other upper-level figures of Teng Village coming out to welcome him.

"Grandpa! Uncle Yongfan! Qingshan…"

Gu Sheng greeted them one by one, still using Teng Qinghu’s habitual tone.

"Cousin!"

Teng Qingshan stepped half a pace forward and exchanged a glance with Gu Sheng. Before heading to the wilderness, Gu Sheng had arranged many things, the most crucial of which involved Teng Qingshan, the protagonist.

"Qingshan!"

Teng Qinghu smiled and nodded. Although Teng Qingshan had not explained much, it seemed that the arrangements he had left behind before departing had gone very smoothly.

"This must be Miss Li! My grandson is just a rough fellow, so please bear with him!"

Looking at Chu Xin, who was neatly dressed and carried an outstanding air, Teng Yunlong beamed warmly. He was extremely satisfied with this "granddaughter-in-law."

"Greetings, Grandpa!"

Chu Xin finally managed to force out those two words, her little face flushed bright red with embarrassment.

"Ah~"

Teng Yunlong laughed and nodded repeatedly. Everyone else laughed as well—even Teng Qingshan, who usually wore a cold expression, had a few traces of a smile on his face.

"Big Brother Teng! My father wants to see you!"

A clear, crisp call drew everyone’s eyes behind Gu Sheng and Chu Xin. Li Jun appeared before them, dressed in a neatly tailored martial artist’s outfit, her hair tied into a single ponytail.

"Little Cat~"

While the others were merely puzzled, Teng Qingshan suddenly froze. The smile vanished from his face, and his lips moved as he murmured to himself.

"This is…?"

Teng Yunlong turned his gaze toward Gu Sheng.

"Grandpa, Little Jun is…"

Gu Sheng explained his general plan and also discussed his suggestion of settling the Li family in Teng Village.

"Good, good, good~~~"

Teng Yunlong’s eyes lit up. He was a widely experienced man. Although he could not be certain exactly what the plan would bring after its success, he could say for sure that Teng Village would gain no small benefit if the matter was accomplished.

"Qingshan, take Qingyu and Little Jun around the village for now~"

After Gu Sheng discussed things with Teng Yunlong for a while, he assigned Li Jun to Teng Qingshan, who was still standing dazed. After whispering something into Chu Xin’s ear, he took Teng Yunlong, Teng Yongfan, and the others to discuss the specific arrangements for the Li family’s settlement with Li Yuan.

"Ah~"

Teng Qingshan, who had always remained calm and unshaken, panicked for the first time. But before he could refuse, Teng Qinghu (Gu Sheng) and the others had already left, leaving only a curious-looking Li Jun and Li Qingyu (Chu Xin), who was staring intently at him.

On the western side of Teng Village, Teng Qingshan was showing Li Qingyu and Li Jun around. Usually composed and calm, Teng Qingshan was in a sorry state today. He kept glancing back at Li Jun, but each glance lasted only an instant, while he muttered, "Impossible. How can she look so much like her…?"

Li Jun’s appearance was extremely similar to Little Cat, Teng Qingshan’s deceased wife from his previous life. In his former life, it was because of Little Cat’s death that he had fallen out with the assassin organization that had raised both him and his wife. He had then annihilated their headquarters alone, ultimately bringing a disaster of bloodshed upon himself.

Little Cat and Teng Qingshan had known each other since childhood. They had learned Internal Fist together, worked together for many years, and eventually become husband and wife. Thus, Teng Qingshan remembered Little Cat’s appearance as a child very clearly. Seeing the young Li Jun was like seeing Little Cat when they had first met, and his heart could not calm down for a long time.

"This is the ancestral hall of our Teng Village. The clansmen from every generation are buried here!"

As they walked, the three arrived at Teng Village’s ancestral hall. Teng Qingshan did not know how to introduce this place. His understanding of it came from the sacrifices of the clansmen nearly three months ago, after the Wolf King’s Rampage. Obviously, he could not bring up something like that.