186: Lifting a stone

Four thousand two hundred and one years...

For him, who was once just a Mortal, this was an unimaginably long span of time.

But for him, now possessing a Lifespan of a hundred billion years, it seemed... somewhat short.

Chen Jun's gaze fell involuntarily upon Lin Wei.

She remained as gentle and beautiful as ever; time had left no mark upon her, and her Stellar Level Peak cultivation allowed her to retain her youth forever.

But Chen Jun knew that deep in her heart, she had always harbored a regret, an obsession.

An obsession with having a son.

Back when they were still at the Star Rail Group branch on Zhiyuan Star, Wei Wei had said longingly: "Brother Jun, if only we could have a son, someone just like you, wouldn't that be wonderful."

However, the [Wu Kun] rule was like an iron law; all offspring were fixed as female.

This wish had become nothing more than a reflection in the water.

Ever since he had confessed about his special Physique, Wei Wei had never brought it up again. She poured all her motherly love into their daughters and managed the Family in perfect order.

Yet Chen Jun knew that the initial expectation was always buried in the softest part of her heart.

Now, the storm had temporarily subsided, the pain was digested, and his Lifespan... well, the System showed "only" four thousand plus years available to work with...

It was time to make up for this regret of Wei Wei's.

Thinking of this, a wave of tenderness welled up in Chen Jun's heart...

He reached out, gently took Lin Wei's soft hand, and looked at her, as she had been watching him all along.

At this moment, Chen Jun noticed that deep within her eyes looking at him, besides the usual love, there seemed to be a trace of something barely perceptible, a fleeting... sense of alienation and fear?

Chen Jun's heart skipped a beat.

That must be it.

It must be caused by that regret!

Wei Wei's lifelong wish had always been to have a son.

Before, it was worrying about his health, then various accidents and protection... and finally, that sudden catastrophe, followed by his eleven-year "digestion period."

Now, the dust had settled, his Lifespan was no longer a concern, and his strength... well, in everyone's eyes, he was invincible.

It was time...

He reached out, gently held Lin Wei's slightly cool hand, and with a tone filled with a long-lost, "Brother Jun"-style teasing and tenderness, said: "Wei Wei, I remember you used to always talk about wanting to give me a son, right?"

He had intended to create a relaxed, nostalgic atmosphere to begin a new chapter of warmth.

However, the moment his words fell, he clearly felt Lin Wei's hand tremble violently!

Her face, which had been smiling faintly, instantly drained of all color. Like a startled fawn, she pulled her hand back abruptly, stumbled half a step back, her beautiful eyes widening, filled with incredulous terror and... pain?!

"Wei... Wei Wei?" Chen Jun froze, his outstretched hand hanging in mid-air.

The laughter and joy around them came to an abrupt halt.

Chen Xi... Yun Qinglan, Su Yuan, Li Qingshan, Yan Ji... everyone was looking in astonishment at this sudden change.

"Mother?" Chen Xi stepped forward, worriedly supporting Lin Wei's slightly trembling shoulders.

Lin Wei, however, seemed not to hear her daughter's call. Her gaze was locked tightly on Chen Jun's face, and tears gushed out without warning, sliding down her pale cheeks.

She slowly raised her head. In her beautiful eyes, there was no longer any emotion or shyness, but rather... a deep, indescribable sorrow and fear?!

She looked at Chen Jun's face, which seemed familiar yet somewhat strange, at the calmness in his eyes after experiencing the vicissitudes of life, and at the casual yet supreme, authoritative posture on his face...

Eleven years ago, that voice of judgment that had resounded across the starry sea echoed in her mind once again:

"This Venerable... sealed my cultivation, slumbered my memories, and at the edge of this Universe, sought a quiet place to experience the joys of Mortal life and perceive the various states of the Mortal World, for hundreds of billions of years..."

"I had intended to establish a Family on this ordinary star, take a few wives and concubines, enjoy Family happiness, watch my descendants surround my knees, and silently observe the birth and death of this galaxy and the rise and fall of civilizations... to spend these long, mundane years of the Seal."

"It was your atrocities!!! You forced this Venerable to end this experience early, forced me to... break the Seal!!!"

"Do you know what price must be paid for interrupting this Venerable's slumber and forcing me to recover my power early?! You ruined an important realization that I had been pursuing for billions of years!!!"

...

Every word was like an icy needle pricking her heart.

For eleven years, Chen Jun had been immersed in digesting the pain, but hadn't she also been immersed in endless hesitation and fear?

That "Brother Jun" who met her when they were at their lowest, who would giggle like a child when their daughter was born, and who would slump in a lounge chair complaining about the poor gaming experience...

Was he... really still the same "Brother Jun" as before?

Or was it that within that familiar body, an ancient existence had awakened... one that carried hundreds of billions of years of memories and looked down upon the birth and death of the starry sea?

That existence might still have some affection for them, his "wives and daughters from the Mortal period," and might perhaps feel a trace of nostalgia for this brief "experience" due to the vast passage of time...

But, was that still love? Was it still Family affection?

Or was it... merely a form of... maintenance for a "past experience"?

A kind of high-and-mighty... pity?

As Lin Wei thought this, tears flowed down her fair cheeks without warning, like pearls from a broken string.

These tears came so suddenly that the originally tender atmosphere instantly froze.

Chen Jun was stunned.

The daughters were stunned.

Mo Heng, Li Qingshan, Chu Yueyao, and the others were all stunned.

"Wei Wei? What's wrong?" Chen Jun was a bit flustered and quickly tried to wipe away her tears. "Everything was fine, why are you crying?"

It would have been better if he hadn't asked. With that question, Lin Wei's tears gushed out like a bursting river.

She broke free from Chen Jun's embrace, took a step back, raised her tear-blurred eyes to look at him, her voice choking with a heartbreaking tremor:

"Brother Jun... are... are you really my Brother Jun?"

Chen Jun: "???"

He was completely bewildered...

Lin Wei's gaze was no longer the usual gentle affection, but filled with heartbreak and desperate accusation.

"Brother Jun... no... you are not my Brother Jun..." Her voice trembled uncontrollably, filled with sobs:

"You... which ancient existence are you exactly? My Brother Jun... has he... has he already been assimilated by you?... Is he already dead...?"

Her words were like a bolt from the blue, stunning everyone!

Chen Jun's mind went "buzz" and turned completely blank!

What the hell?!

I am not me?!

And I'm dead?!

"Wei Wei! What nonsense are you talking about!" Chen Jun was anxious and bewildered. "I am Chen Jun! Your Brother Jun! Genuine and authentic!"

"No! You are not!" Lin Wei shook her head violently, tears flying. She pointed at Chen Jun, her voice miserable, yet her logic was exceptionally clear as she began her "accusation":

"You possess hundreds of billions of years of ancient memories! You are a supreme existence who sealed yourself and experienced the Mortal World! A hundred billion years of sealing is just a game to you!"

"This is what you personally told the Yaoqiong Divine Kingdom! The entire Federation heard it!"

"My Brother Jun... he was just an ordinary person! He would get drenched in sweat in the shantytown just to ice a cup of sour and bitter Vitamin C water for me!"

"He would clumsily carve a pair of crooked slippers out of discarded foam using a utility knife, his hands covered in cuts!"

"He would hold a crying Xi Xi in the middle of the night and fall asleep leaning against the wall himself!"

"When he saw me and Xi Xi fall into the mud in the rain and become mud monkeys, he would hold me, trembling all over with heartache, unable to say a word..."

She sobbed uncontrollably, every word like flesh carved from the tip of her heart:

"That was my Brother Jun! The Brother Jun who struggled in the mud with me, warming each other! In his memories, there was always the bitterness of the shantytown, the smell of machine oil from the factory, and us, his wife and daughters!"

"But what about you?!"

Lin Wei raised her tearful eyes and looked at Chen Jun in despair: "In your mind, there are hundreds of billions of years of stars being born and dying, the rise and fall of countless civilizations! It is a long time that we cannot imagine!"

"What are a few hundred years of memories in your ancient memories that are as vast as the starry sea? I'm afraid they don't even count as a single drop of water!"

"Tell me, you, who have integrated hundreds of billions of years of memories, are you still that Chen Jun from before who would go to the trash heap to find foam to make slippers for me just because my feet were swollen?!"

"Does that Chen Jun, who would tremble with heartache just because I and the children suffered, really still exist?!"

"You are now Ancestor Chen! An ancient existence who rules the galaxy, who can determine the life and death of trillions of living beings with a single thought!"

"You treat me well, you cherish me, perhaps it is just... just a trace of lingering attachment to a 'Mortal experience' in your long life?"

"My Brother Jun... has he... has he long since been... 'overwritten' by those hundreds of billions of years of your memories?"

These words struck like a series of heavy hammers, making Chen Jun dizzy and tongue-tied!

Damn it!

This misunderstanding is huge!

The lie he had made up back then to act cool, take revenge, and attack the Yaoqiong Divine Kingdom's heart—the "ancient existence self-sealing" story—had actually become the biggest obstacle to their marital relationship?!

"No! Wei Wei, listen to me, let me explain!" Chen Jun stomped his feet in anxiety, wishing he could drag the System out to prove his innocence:

"That was all made up! It was to scare those bastards from the Yaoqiong Divine Kingdom! I'm not some old monster! I am just me!... A different... firework!"

"Made up?" Lin Wei looked at him with tear-filled eyes, her logic still terrifyingly clear:

"Then how do you explain your strength? Star River Level! 1.2 times Innate Venerable Body! Qinglan said it herself, your base Aptitude is 12 times that of Huang Yu! Can this be made up?"

Chen Jun: "I..."

He was stuck...

This thing really couldn't be explained in detail!

Should he say he had a System, whose main function was to have children, and his strength was inherited from his offspring when they died?

That was even more outrageous than being an "ancient existence"!

Seeing him speechless, the despair in Lin Wei's eyes deepened, and she said miserably: "See, you can't explain it... the special Physique, the unexplainable leap in strength... all of this confirms your 'ancient identity'... My Brother Jun, in the end... is never coming back..."

As she spoke, her body went limp, and she almost collapsed to the ground, but was tightly supported by Yun Qinglan and Chen Xi.

The scene was deathly silent.