Pokémon: What should I do? My father-in-law always wants to tear me apart

The late autumn night wind swept across the eaves of the Jiang family compound, and the copper bells on the eaves made a faint whimper.

The tribesmen, led by Grandma Jiangzi, stood quietly in the bluestone courtyard. The moonlight stretched their shadows into long and slender shapes, interweaving with the shadows of Gengar and Night Patrol floating around them.

The ghost-type Pokémon that usually run around mischievously are now all hiding under the pillars, with the will-o'-the-wisp flickering, and even their floating postures are cautious.

Grandma Jiangzi's skinny fingers rested on the rosewood cane, and every wrinkle was engraved with the vicissitudes of life.

With the help of two juniors, she slowly sat down on the carved sandalwood chair, her silver hair trembling in the night breeze.

"My granddaughter-in-law, what time is it?"

Her voice was like the beams and pillars in an old house, hoarse with the accumulation of time.

The girl with a high ponytail quietly grasped the pocket watch, and the moonstone under the watch cover emitted a soft blue light.

&34;It"s almost twelve o&#;clock.&;

She caught a glimpse of the old woman's tense shoulders and added, "It's going to be okay, Grandma."

Granny Jiangzi nodded slightly, and her hands covered with age spots unconsciously stroked the Gengar pattern carved on the cane.

The courtyard was silent, with only the candlelight in the corner swaying in the wind, making her profile look even colder.

At this moment, strange ripples suddenly appeared in the sky, as if a huge rock had been thrown into a calm lake.

A dark blue crack slowly opened up from the center of the sky, and a faint blue light poured down from it.

The first thing that emerged was a half-bandaged arm, and soon after, seven or eight figures fell to the ground surrounded by the unique mist of the spirit world.

Everyone in the Jiang family suddenly became agitated, and the continuous calls broke the silence of the courtyard.

The young people's clothes were stained with moss from another world, and their hair was still stained with condensed dew from the spirit world, but the fiery light in their eyes was brighter than ever.

The leading young man, Xingzhu, had flying silver hair, and the phantom of the dream demon wrapped around his left shoulder was rubbing his neck affectionately.

A timid Mimikyu poked out from under Jiang Ruoli's skirt, its ruby ​​eyes scanning the surroundings vigilantly.

Their training uniforms were full of cracks, but they could not hide the calmness in their every move. Compared with their companions who had only trained for three months at most, this pair of non-blood-related siblings had practiced in the spiritual world for half a year, which had given their auras a coldness unique to the underworld.

"Ali! You've lost so much weight!"

A woman rushed forward and hugged her daughter in her arms, her sobs mixed with happy laughter.

The late autumn night wind blew up the ginkgo leaves and brushed across the trembling fingertips of the ponytailed girl.

"Star Candle..."

She looked at Xingzhu's silver hair dyed with the phosphorescent fire of the spirit world. The sharp aura tempered in the netherworld still lingered around the young man, causing his steps to freeze in mid-air.

It was not until the other person suddenly smiled a familiar smile, like the warm sun that dispelled the fog, and ran towards her with open arms that the girl's heart finally fell to the ground.

&34;I'm back!&34;

Xingzhu's embrace carried the unique chill of the spirit world, but it wrapped the girl tightly.

At the same time, Granny Jiangzi slowly turned around and pointed her age-spotted hand into the air.

Deep in the rift of the spirit world, the unchanging scarlet eyes nodded slightly, and the huge body of the wandering night spirit, wrapped in the air of the underworld, closed the rift at that moment, startling the low roars of ghost-type Pokémon in the yard.

"My dear grandson, my dear granddaughter, come here and let grandma see you."

Grandma Jiangzi's voice is like a bronze bell whose edges have been smoothed by time, and every word carries a heavy echo.

Her dry branch-like fingers trembled slightly, but she tried to straighten her hunched back, and with the help of the younger generation, she stretched out her hands towards the two figures squatting in front of her.

Xingzhu and Jiang Ruoli lowered their heads obediently, allowing the old man's calloused hands to stroke their heads. This action seemed to transcend time and space, bringing them back to their childhood when they were playing in the courtyard.

Jiang Ruoli's eyelashes trembled violently, and tears dripped onto the faded hem of Grandma Jiang Zi's clothes.

She clearly remembered that when she left half a year ago, the old man was still in good health and could even handle affairs at the Imperial University on his own.

But at this moment, Grandma Jiangzi needed two young men to support her arms even to stand up, and even the white breath she exhaled when she spoke was weak enough to be ignored.

"Why are you crying? It won't look good if you cry..."

Grandma Jiangzi wiped away her granddaughter's tears with her skinny thumb, and the dark stone inlaid on the ring hurt her skin.

She forced a smile, but the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes revealed her weakness.

At her age, aging often happens in a flash. She might have been practicing Tai Chi in the park yesterday, and be unable to move in bed today.

Even Grandma Jiangzi herself didn't expect that she would age so quickly.

She secretly thanked her decision made in late autumn last year - to take the initiative to unload the burden of the Four Heavenly Kings when she was still in good condition and solemnly hand the badge symbolizing glory to Lin Guochang.

As one of the Four Heavenly Kings of China, any sign of aging could become a flaw in the eyes of the enemy.

Those forces that covet the resources of the spiritual world and those ambitious people who secretly spy on the Chinese Pokémon Alliance will never miss such an opportunity.

After resigning from the position of president of Imperial University, she devoted more energy to the Jiang family's ancestral home, occasionally guiding the younger generation at home.

The consolation delegation sent by the Alliance brought precious healing potions and also expressed their concern for the affairs of the spiritual world.

Granny Jiang Zi took this opportunity to sort out the details of the century-long cooperation between the Jiang family and the alliance.

From the guardian contract of the entrance to the spirit world to the allocation of special training privileges, every clause has been carefully considered.

She knew very well that the spiritual world she had guarded all her life must not fall into chaos just because of her death one day.

Grandma Jiang Zi's hands, covered with age spots, gently pinched Jiang Ruoli's flushed cheeks. The soft touch from her fingertips reminded her of how the child looked when she first met her.

She had already arranged everything for her after death perfectly: the handover ceremony of the spiritual contract, the restructuring plan of the family business, and even the specifications of her own funeral were detailed.

But whenever the night was quiet, there were always two things that stuck in her mind - how should she pave the way for the future for those children who grew up under her wings?

Xingzhu's calm demeanor in every move reminded Grandma Jiangzi of the scene when they first met.

On a stormy night, a baby in swaddling clothes was abandoned at the gate of the ancestral hall.

Even though she raised him against all odds, when the ancestral precept of "people with other surnames cannot succeed as the head of the family" was brought up again, those hidden gazes still entangled her heart like poison ivy.

She is old and no longer has the courage she once had, otherwise she would have crushed those who opposed her long ago.

On the other hand, Jiang Ruoli, the granddaughter who inherited the pure bloodline of the Jiang family, has a sparkling aura in her eyes that is comparable to Xingzhu's. However, except for herself, all the tablets of the family heads of previous generations enshrined in the ancestral hall are male.

The reason why he was able to become the head of the family was purely because his own strength was strong enough to make everyone shut up in both the literary and physical sense.

How could Jiang Ruoli, who is gentle by nature, replicate such a thunderous method?

Although she could use her final authority to forcibly designate an heir.

But when I turn into a tablet in the ancestral hall, will those suppressed voices of opposition really not devour the two children?

The image of Jiang Ruoli wiping her tears and Xingzhu's resolute profile flashed alternately in her mind, and Grandma Jiangzi sighed heavily.

“Are you two confident about this Huaxia Meng?”

Grandma Jiangzi asked, holding on to her last hope.

Another way is to let the two of them accumulate enough prestige and achievements.

"Have."

The two nodded seriously.

"That's fine, that's fine..."