The Tao is far away

The South Country, the southernmost tip of the Eastern Wasteland.

"Shangshan County!" Wang Chi and the other man muttered to themselves as they stood in front of the tall ancient city tower.

Shangshan County is one of the nine counties in the southern country, and is named after its proximity to the Mulan Mountains.

It was winter now, but the streets were still bustling with all kinds of pedestrians and vehicles, which shows that this county was prosperous.

Wang Chi has been in the Mulan Mountains for almost a year after many twists and turns, and is now almost the same age as in his previous life.

When he arrived at the magnificent gate of the palace, the first thing that caught his eye was a pair of majestic stone lions that were finely carved and lifelike. The door was painted bright red and radiant, demonstrating the wealth and dignity of the owner of the house.

The servants standing in front of the door were dressed in gorgeous clothes, busy and orderly, well-mannered and smiling, revealing that the owner here was of great importance.

"Excuse me, is this the palace?"

The housekeeper was busy dealing with a young man who was trying to enter the palace. He impatiently rebuked the man, "Every year, people who want to enter the palace line up from the east to the west of the city. How dare you, a poor man like you, want to enter the palace? Why don't you take a piss and look in the mirror!"

The harsh words made the young man feel ashamed and embarrassed. In the end, he could only bow his head and shed tears, and fled from the palace in disgrace.

The middle-aged man seemed tired from the argument, so he picked up a cup of tea from the small table next to him and drank it in one gulp to calm his anger.

Then, he smacked his lips, squinted his eyes at the two ordinary-looking visitors in front of him, and said unhappily: "You still want to be scolded, right? We don't accept servants here!"

"Well, I have a letter to give to the current head of the Wang family!"

The housekeeper's attitude softened a little after hearing this, but he still said with a bit of arrogance: "Even if you have a reliable guarantor and want to enter our house, it depends on the master's mood."

"Come on, give me the letter!" He stretched out his hand, motioning Wang Chi to hand over the letter.

Wang Chi smiled bitterly, said nothing more, and handed the letter to the housekeeper.

The butler took the letter casually, intending to take a quick look at it. However, when he unfolded the letter and his eyes fell on the four eye-catching large characters - "Written by Wang Heng himself", his face turned pale in an instant and he jumped up as if he had been electrocuted.

His attitude changed drastically in an instant, his face was full of flattering smiles, and he asked quickly: "Young man, may I ask which family you are from?"

Wang Chi maintained a mysterious smile and replied calmly: "This is not something you should know!"

"Yes, yes, I'll report it right away!" The butler agreed repeatedly and quickly turned around and ran to the inner courtyard to report.

After a while, the butler hurried back and welcomed Wang Chi in with a respectful look.

Wang Heng is the current head of the Wang family and the elder brother of Carpenter Wang Shi.

Under Wang Heng's order, all the servants in the spacious and luxurious living room were dismissed, leaving only Wang Chi.

The host sitting in the main seat looked at the letter brought by Wang Chi with a serious face.

As his gaze settled, a look of shock suddenly appeared in his eyes.

Looking up in disbelief, he asked in a trembling voice, "Are you really my brother's son?"

"Yes!" Wang Chi answered calmly without blushing or beating his heart.

When Wang Heng heard the news, he was so excited that he could hardly control himself. He stood up and said in a trembling voice, full of disbelief and deep worry: "So how is he now?"

Wang Chi was also filled with grief. Facing this "elder" whom he had never met, he sighed and slowly told the heartbreaking fact: "He has passed away."

"What!?" Wang Heng was almost on the verge of losing his voice.

Wang Chi looked at Wang Heng calmly and continued, "According to seniority, I should call you uncle. I would like to ask you, how much do you know about my father's experience?"

Wang Heng's expression became complicated at this time, with a trace of guilt and pain of memories flashing in his eyes. He said, "My Wang family suffered a great disaster that year, and my brother went everywhere to look for immortal fate in order to avenge his hatred. Then there was no news of him."

"More than a decade ago, he left me a letter in which he mentioned that he had a daughter and entrusted her to me. He also mentioned that he had a son, but I know nothing about the details."

Wang Chi nodded. These words roughly matched what he had heard from Carpenter Wang. He said, "Back then, my father had made some achievements in his cultivation and went to seek revenge on that man, but he was severely injured and left with a hidden illness. After that, he lived in seclusion in a small mountain village in Jiang State, where he was unhappy and eventually died of grief and anger."

Wang Heng was even more surprised after hearing this. He didn't expect that his brother had not returned home for decades because of this. However, when he looked at the unidentified Wang Chi in front of him, he couldn't help but feel suspicious.

Wang Heng was half-believing and half-doubting Wang Chi's words. After a moment's silence, he said, "My dear nephew, this incident has really touched me. You should stay here first and meet your brothers and sisters in the evening."

Wang Chi understood his doubts and nodded in response: "Please accept my condolences, uncle!"

Under the guidance of Butler Wang, Wang Chi was taken to an elegantly decorated guest room, while Xue Lian was arranged in the next room.

This room is beautifully furnished, and outside the window you can see the carefully manicured gardens of the palace, which are now covered in snow. Occasionally, a few rare birds come to feed, bringing with them some pleasant chirping sounds.

Wang Chi gently carried Zi Yue to his guest room, took out a bottle of animal milk collected in the mountains from his storage bag, carefully poured it into a small bowl, heated it, and fed it to Zi Yue bit by bit.

Zi Yue seemed to feel the love and care from Wang Chi. It licked the milk in the bowl with its wet little tongue. After a while, it drank up all the milk in the bowl. Its belly was bulging and it burped contentedly.

Looking at Zi Yue after she had eaten and drunk her fill, Wang Chi showed a gentle smile on his face.

Wang Chi stroked Zi Yue's head gently. Although Zi Yue was a descendant of the Wolf King, she didn't look like her mother at all. Instead, she looked like a small country dog.

Wang Chi stroked Zi Yue gently, and soon, Zi Yue fell asleep peacefully in Wang Chi's arms.

As night fell, the lights in the palace gradually lit up, and the warm light illuminated the window frames.

"Young master, the master is calling you to have dinner." A female voice sounded.

Wang Chi woke up Xue Lian, gently handed Zi Yue to him, and left quietly.

……