noffsinger Chapter 307: Farewell to Father
Chapter 307: Farewell to Father
Xundao City is located in the central part of the Eastern Region, only millions of miles away from the Tianlan Sect. It is one of the immortal cities under its jurisdiction.
Although it is called the Fairy City, its population is as high as tens of millions.
But there are not many monks, either permanent or passing by.
This is because this place is one of the immortal cities where the disciples of Tianlan Sect settle their relatives.
Ninety-nine percent of them are ordinary mortals without spiritual roots.
Of course, as relatives of cultivators, the probability of their offspring giving birth to spiritual roots will be slightly higher, so Tianlan Sect will naturally give priority to this place when recruiting disciples.
Therefore, there are also monks from sects who travel outside all year round and will issue some tasks to take care of family members.
Fang Xiao's father Fang Yuan is also among them.
In the restaurant opposite the Fang residence, two cultivators in the late Qi training stage were sitting by the window.
Even when drinking tea, he was always paying attention to the situation in Fang Mansion.
"Brother, is it necessary to mobilize so many people to look after a mortal? Not only does it require the cultivation of the late stage of Qi training, but also requires constant attention to the situation. In my opinion, just deal with it casually, and when the time is up, go back and collect the contribution."
"You are so bold. I don't know whose connections you got here through. You didn't even tell me in advance. Do you know who issued this mission?"
"It wasn't Master Xiao who posted it, could it be someone else?"
"You know it's Master Xiao, but you still dare to slack off. Do you think such a high contribution is given for nothing? I don't know how many people are eyeing this lucrative job, but it seems that you won't be able to do it for long."
"Ah, why is that?"
"Don't you see that the owner of this mansion has already shown signs of death? I'm afraid he's not far from dying."
They continued to communicate here, but did not notice the two people walking on the street.
"I'm sorry to trouble Junior Brother Xiao."
The visitors were Fang Xiao and Yuan Chen, so they naturally heard the conversation in the restaurant, including the talk about the end of life.
"Brother Fang, this Fang Mansion is..."
Yuan Chen asked tentatively.
"my home."
Fang Xiao's eyes were full of reminiscence as he replied softly.
"Junior brother, you can walk around the city first. I want to see my family alone."
"Brother, don't worry. I'm in the city. If you need anything, just call me."
Yuan Chen didn't ask any more questions and left very tactfully.
Fang Xiao stood there, took a deep breath, and then quietly stepped into the Fang Mansion.
There was no light in the back hall, so the light was a little dim.
The old man rested with his eyes closed on the recliner, as if he was immersed in darkness. Only his heavy breathing proved that he was still alive.
The air of decadence and death lingered around him, and it was obvious that his end was not far away.
Fang Xiao stood quietly at the door. No matter how happy his mood was, his eyes gradually became blurred when he saw his now old father.
At this moment, Father Fang seemed to sense something. His body trembled suddenly. He slowly opened his eyes and tried to look towards the door, but he could not forget to focus no matter how hard he tried.
"Xiao'er, is that you?"
His arm was slightly raised, as if he was trying to grasp the shadow at the door.
"Dad, it's me. I'm back."
Fang Xiao immediately rushed over and knelt in front of the recliner, holding Fang's father's raised hand, tears already flowing uncontrollably.
Hearing this familiar yet distant voice, Father Fang's weak body suddenly shook, his eyes gradually focused, and the hand holding Fang Xiao became stronger.
However, as Fang Xiao looked at the increasingly dead look on his father's face, he knew clearly that this was his father's last glimmer of life.
If he had not returned home, with the help of the pills Xiao Yan sent him, Father Fang might have been able to maintain this state for another year or two.
And a large part of it is his obsession with Fang Xiao. He only hopes to wait for him to come home until the end of his life.
Now that Fang Xiao has appeared, Fang's father's last wish has been fulfilled, and he naturally lost the will to hold on. After his last burst of energy, he is no longer able to turn the situation around.
He carefully controlled his magic power and nourished Fang's father's body in the most gentle way, hoping to prolong this last breath of life.
"Xiao'er, my good child, you are finally back."
Father Fang's hazy consciousness gradually became clear at this moment. He struggled to sit up, stretched out his other hand and stroked Fang Xiao's head, slowly believing that all this was real.
"Dad, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting."
The father and son had not seen each other for sixty years, but they did not feel the slightest bit of strangeness, as if they both had thousands of words to say to each other.
In the end, they just hugged each other, all their words turned into silent tears, and they talked to each other for a long time without separating.
Afterwards, Fang Xiao began to tell Fang's father about his experiences over the years, of course, all the dangerous parts were omitted.
And Mr. Fang just sat quietly by the side, listening to him with a smile.
Even though Fang Xiao has a high level of cultivation and great magical powers, and is about to enter the Nascent Soul stage, in front of Fang's father, he is still that childish child.
Father Fang did not elaborate on how he had spent the past few years. Instead, he talked most about the memories of Fang Xiao before he was twelve years old, when he had not yet started practicing Taoism.
"I still remember that you left to cultivate immortality at the age of twelve. As a father, I thought you were seeking a carefree and carefree life, but over the years I have come to understand the ups and downs of the path of cultivating immortality. The fighting and deceptions there are even more serious than in the mortal world.
At first I regretted letting you go to cultivate immortality, and I often couldn’t sleep at night, but later I thought it through.
Everyone has his or her own path to follow. Maybe your path, Xiao'er, is to travel through the heavens and live a carefree and eternal life.
Although I don’t know how difficult or long this road is, if you are determined, you must keep going no matter how hard or tiring it is.”
The father and son kept chatting, and as the sky gradually darkened, the deathly look on Fang's father's face began to reappear.
"Dad, I have found a way to get you on the path of cultivation. As long as I plant this poisonous insect into your body..."
Fang Xiao knew that he could not delay any longer, so he immediately took out a jade-like green cicada and told his father about it.
However, before Fang Xiao could finish speaking, he was interrupted by Fang's father.
"Don't worry about it, Xiao'er. This is your pursuit, your world, not your father's. I don't want to practice it either."
"But……"
Seeing the deathly aura surrounding Fang's father, Fang Xiao injected his magic power into him again, trying to dispel the deathly aura.
However, it had little effect, and his internal organs began to rapidly deteriorate.
"You should know that I have never forgotten your mother, even though I have been single all these years.
But if I can't see you for the last time, I won't be at peace when I leave.
Now that I see you are doing well, I can go find your mother."
"I understand. I always understand."
Fang Xiao's eyes were red as he held his father's gradually weakening breath, muttering to himself.
Although Mr. Fang seems to be unruly, he has never overstepped his authority. He just wants to hide his longing for his wife in front of Fang Xiao so that he can leave with peace of mind.
Finally, Mr. Fang lost his life completely.
Fang Xiao hugged his father tightly, and the tears that had stopped flowing began to flow again.