Chapter 478: Chapter 297: Battle of Duck and Chicken

The letter said that if he had the chance, he wanted to spar with Su Zhi after the disaster relief operation and experience a genius’s prowess for himself. It would have been even better if Su Zhi had been willing to offer him some guidance.

If that chance never came, he wrote that he wouldn’t have any regrets and told Su Zhi to please carry on in his stead.

"Senior, you can’t do this... I’m back now. How could you stand me up like this?"

Su Zhi clenched the envelope, his heart a tangle of emotions.

"We can’t change yesterday, and we can’t predict tomorrow. But at the very least, we can live today to the fullest."

Selena patted his shoulder and gave him a light hug.

"Carry on in his place. I’m proud of you. I look forward to the day you truly realize your potential."

"Yeah. And I’m proud of the Flying Shadow Alliance."

Su Zhi took a deep breath and hugged Selena back. "Captain Sai, take care."

Selena smiled gently, nodded, and gave Shao Ya a hug as well.

"Have a safe trip. Take care of each other."

"Mhm, we will!"

After saying their goodbyes, Selena hurried back to the camp. As the de facto Vice Alliance Leader and the deputy commander of the disaster relief operation, she carried a heavy burden.

The two watched her go before turning their gazes to Shen Chuqing.

She had also come to see them off but had been silent the whole time. Her golden eyes were fixed on them, but the moment they looked over, she immediately averted her gaze.

"Thanks for taking care of me too, Sister Chuqing, for showing me around and treating me to authentic Sichuan food." Su Zhi smiled. "If you ever get a chance to visit Huai City, be sure to let me know. I owe you a few rounds of minqu and xiaolongbao."

"Thanks for lookin’ after our Su Baby, Ah Qing," Shao Ya added with a laugh, her accent a mix of Huai City and Sichuan dialects.

"Just go already. I don’t want to see you two knuckleheads."

Shen Chuqing waved a dismissive hand, pretending to gaze at the sky. But just before the two of them boarded the bus, she suddenly looked at Su Zhi again.

"Thank you for saving my life when the earthquake hit."

"Ah, it was nothing..."

"But the next time we meet in the national tournament, I won’t go easy on you."

Shen Chuqing’s gaze grew intense. "See you in the semi-finals. Don’t get knocked out early and rob me of a match."

Su Zhi laughed heartily. "Haha, deal. You too!"

The bus started up, left the disaster relief camp, and pulled onto the road that had been repaired overnight. Shen Chuqing watched them go, only turning away after they had completely disappeared from sight.

Not far away, Shen Zechuan watched his grandniece’s—or, to be precise, his great-grandniece’s—retreating figure vanish, his expression also somewhat complex.

"What’s wrong, Grand Alliance Leader? Aren’t you quite fond of Shen Chuqing?" Chopper, who had been standing beside him and watching as well, asked with a smile. "She’s so driven and full of spirit. You should be happy, shouldn’t you?"

"...No."

Shen Zechuan, however, shook his head.

"I would rather she were a bit more... ordinary."

Chopper was silent for a moment. He didn’t argue, simply nodding.

A few moments later, the two returned to the disaster relief camp and threw themselves back into the tasks of rescue and post-quake reconstruction. Everything returned to normal.

Unsurprisingly, a certain Vice Alliance Leader with an outrageous Beast Taming Talent was forgotten once again. He was probably sulking in some deserted corner. But that wasn’t important.

·

When they left, dawn was just breaking. By the time the plane landed at Huai City Airport, it was already dusk.

The journey home had been arduous. He’d taken a bus for over two hours to a temporary airfield, flown to the Alliance Headquarters on a transport plane, transferred to another bus to get to the civilian airport, and only then finally boarded a flight back to Huai City...

All the transfers along the way had nearly made him sick.

But the moment his feet touched the familiar ground, a wave of homesickness—stronger than any he had ever felt—surged through his chest.

It was just concrete, same as any other, but Su Zhi knew the ground here felt different from the ground there.

The wind seemed to carry the faint scent of locust blossoms. Compared to Celestial Paradise, the lights around Huai City’s airport were much dimmer; after all, its total population was less than a tenth of Celestial Paradise’s.

It was nighttime, and the people of Huai City, unlike those in Celestial Paradise, weren’t ones for all-night revelries that lasted until dawn. As a result, the ride home was quiet, and the entire city was enveloped in a somewhat monotonous tranquility.

But Su Zhi knew this was his hometown.

’People are full of double standards.’ At that moment, in his heart, Huai City was the most beautiful place in the world.

’After being away for so long, I can finally see my parents again!’

They took a taxi back to his apartment building together. Downstairs, Shao Ya waved at Su Zhi.

"Su Baby, you go on ahead. I’m going to go drop off my luggage, then I’ll come find you in a bit, ’kay?"

"Okay, come over to my place for dinner!"

With that, Su Zhi ran into the stairwell, impatiently fumbling for his keys and opening the door.

"Dad! Mom! I’m home!"

In the living room, Liu Yuhang was sitting on the sofa with his hands clasped, Xue Li asleep in his lap.

Seeing Su Zhi, Liu Yuhang’s eyes lit up. He shot up excitedly. "Brother Shu! You’re finally back! Welcome home!"

"Ah, it’s the class rep!" Su Zhi gave an apologetic laugh. "My bad, my bad. I got a little too excited and went to the wrong apartment!"

After saying that, Su Zhi closed the door and left.

...

A moment later, Su Zhi opened the door again and poked his head in, his face a mask of confusion.

’Wait a minute... How could I possibly open Liu Yuhang’s door with my key? This is obviously my apartment!’

’The main thing is, Liu Yuhang doesn’t even live in Wudu New Village!’

"Hey, class rep, why are you in my apartment?"

"Oh, Teacher Zhou asked me to come check on you!"

Liu Yuhang gestured for Su Zhi to sit down while pouring him a glass of water. "You hadn’t arrived when I got here, so your parents told me to wait. They went out to buy some groceries to make a big meal for all of us later. Here, Brother Shu, have some water!"

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