Twenty minutes later, on the wide flagstones of the Gu Residence’s rear courtyard, twenty-nine-year-old Gu Changsheng. At Rank 3 Peak Martial Grandmaster, stood with his sleeves rolled up in front of their thirty-foot iron-wood Spirit-Ox carriage.
Stacked neatly around the carriage were all the high-tier materials they had harvested from Imperial Envoy Zhao Kun , at Half-Step Rank 4,:.
1. Two halves of the broken [Quasi-Rank 4 Wind-Step Flying Bronze Disk] (containing thirty-six intact wind-levitation and speed-acceleration arrays);.
2. Envoy Zhao Kun’s [Rank 4 Imperial Void-Silk Spatial Bag] (providing a thirty-by-forty-foot interior spatial expansion fold, fifty thousand spirit stones, alongside three hundred plates of Rank 3 Peak meteoric star-iron);.
3. Two volunteer Rank 2 Peak Lava-Rock Golems (Unit #01 and Unit #02. Wearing their pink floral aprons and [Little Red Flower Stickers]), ready to serve as dual self-heating geothermal engine cores and automatic night-watch drivers;.
4. Two horned Rank 2 Iron-Hoof Spirit Oxen at the front yoke, plus a trailing two-wheeled iron luggage cart at the rear!
Before opening the fusion interface, twenty-nine-year-old Gu Changsheng tucked a newly written blue-covered silk manual into his inner breast pocket: the [Family Dinner Qi-Gathering Art (Draft)]. He had deduced this foundational Rank 4 Spirit-Core cultivation blueprint by combining his [All-Family Shared Cultivation Link], Grandpa Yao’s alchemical notes. The golden celestial law patterns from the hairpin, ready to be completed once they reached the Royal Capital!
Then Gu Changsheng placed his right palm against the carriage frame and opened [Dad’s Care-Package Upgrade Box]:.
“System—spend 100,000 Dad Points (107,000 DP -> 7,000 DP)! Fuse the Spirit-Ox Carriage, the Quasi-Rank 4 Wind-Step Bronze Disk arrays, the Spatial Bag’s interior expansion fold, the 300 Meteoric Star-Iron Plates, and the Dual Lava-Golem Geothermal Cores into the ultimate long-distance mobile home!”
[ DING! 100,000-DP GRAND FUSION — ARMORED FAMILY RV COMPLETED! ]
* Dad Points Spent : -100,000 DP (Remaining Balance: 7,000 DP)
* Item Created : [RANK 3 PEAK ARMORED SPIRIT-OX FAMILY RV.
, at Quasi-Rank 4 Spatial-Levitation Cruiser,]!
* Exterior Specs : 40-foot Brushed Meteoric Star-Iron Armor Hull.
(Blocks Rank 4 Spirit-Core Strikes!), Wind-.
Step Hover-Spring Axles (Zero Bumps at 250+.
Miles/Day!), & Dual Lava-Golem Geothermal.
Turbo-Boosters!
* Interior Space : 1,200 Sq. Ft. Expanded Spatial-Fold Suite!
- Built-In Earth-Fire Kitchen & Spice Rack.
- Heated Warm-Jade Dining & Study Lounge.
- 3-Bed Children’s Bunk Room (Pre-built 3rd.
Warm Bed ready for 10-year-old Ye Xiao!)
- Auntie Qin’s Mobile Peace Dispensary &.
Grandpa Fu’s Abacus Logistics Desk!
HUMMMMMMM—KRA-SHING!
As a magnificent dome of golden-silver light enveloped the courtyard and condensed into the carriage frame, the rustic wooden wagon transformed. The family’s eyes into a breathtaking, forty-foot-long brushed-black-and-gold armored land-cruiser: the [Rank 3 Peak Armored Spirit-Ox Family RV]!
Beneath its reinforced meteoric star-iron chassis, the repurposed wind-runes of Envoy Zhao’s [Quasi-Rank right 4 Wind-Step Flying Bronze Disk] hummed softly. They lifted eighty percent of the vehicle’s weight off the ground on a cushion of compressed wind-qi while Golem Units #01 and #02 locked happily into the rear geothermal engine mounts!
When nine-year-old Gu Nian , at Rank 3 Early Grandmaster. Seven-year-old Su Nuannuan , at Rank 3 Early Grandmaster, ran up the brass boarding steps and peeked inside the double doors, both children gasped in pure enchantment:.
Inside the forty-foot exterior was a bright, cozy, twelve-hundred-square-foot sunlit home!
In the center stood a spotless open kitchen where the [Rank 3 Nine-Flavor Earth-Fire Chef Wok] and [Father’s Golden Spatula of True Discipline] locked into a spill-proof marble island. Right beside it hung a wall-mounted spice rack holding three-hundred-and-eighty-year-old Grandpa Yao’s [Rank 3 Nine-Grid Spice-Rack Spirit-Gourd] and his velvet [Jade-Turtle Plush Doll] hammock!
To the left was a warm-jade dining and homework table where five bowls of hot soup could sit without rippling even at a hundred miles an hour. Across the aisle stood an herb-dispensary cabinet for twenty-four-year-old Auntie Qin , at Rank 3 Mid Grandmaster, and a built-in mahogany accounting desk for sixty-two-year-old Grandpa Fu , at Rank 2 Peak.
And in the cozy rear bedroom cabin stood three warm cedar bunk-beds covered in fluffy cloud-cotton winter quilts. One had a yellow bunny pillow for nine-year-old Gu Nian, and the second had a pink rabbit pillow and a little shelf for seven-year-old Su Nuannuan’s pink watering can. Right beside them stood a brand-new third bed with a warm blue sword-patterned quilt, new soft cloth slippers, and a jar of honey-plum candies waiting for ten-year-old Big Brother Ye Xiao!
“Whoa! Look, Big Brother Nian—Big Brother Ye Xiao’s bed is right next to ours. Dad even put a nightlight lantern above his pillow so he’ll never have to sleep in the dark again!”
seven-year-old Su Nuannuan cheered.
Patting the third bed’s warm quilt with both small hands.
“And with Mom’s [Frost-Phoenix Jade Hairpin & Soul-Resonance Compass] pointing the way from the dashboard, we’ll reach Sky-Crown City in seven days flat—three whole days. The Second Prince’s ten-day deadline!” nine-year-old Gu Nian beamed.
Setting his wooden homework ruler and his new two-hundred-square [Good-Kid Conduct Chart] neatly on the study desk.
Up on the marble kitchen island, three-hundred-and-eighty-year-old Grandpa Yao [Warmth: 92/100] hopped into his velvet hammock next to the [Rank 3 Nine-Grid Spice-Rack Spirit-Gourd] and bounced up and down with glee:.
“Hahaha! Look at this shock-absorbing spatial array and this built-in Earth-Fire alchemy flue! Even when the Spirit Oxen and Lava-Golem boosters are cruising at thirty miles an hour over rocky mountain passes.
This old Sovereign can brew [Rank 3 Peak Bone-Warming Elixirs] and roast five-spice spirit-chickens without spilling a single drop of gravy!”
Twenty-four-year-old Auntie Qin , at Rank 3 Mid Martial Grandmaster, ran her fingers admiringly over the sixty self-sealing jade herb drawers in her mobile dispensary corner. Sixty-two-year-old Grandpa Fu , at Rank 2 Peak, placed a bowl of clear well-water on the warm-jade dining table and tapped the wall panel. Even as Golem Units #01 and #02 revved the geothermal turbo-boosters outside, the water inside the porcelain bowl remained as flat and still as a mirror!
“Incredible craftsmanship, Master!” Grandpa Fu cried, adjusting his monocle with pride. “With this zero-vibration dining table, Young Master Nian and Little Miss Nuannuan can practice their calligraphy and eat hot braised pork-rib noodles.
We cross two hundred and fifty miles of mountain highway every day!”
Even Fluffy—now a majestic, nine-foot-long Rank 2 Peak Snow-Mane Spirit Hound wearing a custom red silk collar with a golden bell—trotted happily up the boarding ramp. Curled up on a heated sheepskin rug right beside the front doorway. Thumping his fluffy white tail against the floorboards to guard the children’s bedroom cabin!
“Good boy, Fluffy!” nine-year-old Gu Nian laughed, scratching behind the giant white spirit-hound’s ears while seven-year-old Su Nuannuan placed a fresh porcelain dish of roasted marrow-bones beside his rug. “When we rescue ten-year-old Big Brother Ye Xiao from the Second Prince’s dungeon, you can let him rest his head on your warm fur just like you did for me and Nuannuan!”
“Woof! Woof!” Fluffy barked in resonant Rank 2 Peak agreement, his warm breath fogging the polished brass porthole as the two horned Rank 2 Iron-Hoof Spirit Oxen outside stamped their hooves in eager anticipation.
Meanwhile, behind the gleaming forty-foot [Armored Spirit-Ox Family RV], sixty-two-year-old Grandpa Fu finished hitching a two-wheeled iron luggage cart loaded with spare firewood, pickled turnip jars, and road-repair tools. Standing between the shafts of that luggage cart was none other than forty-five-year-old Imperial Envoy Zhao Kun [Half-Step Rank 4, Warmth: 25/100]!
Stripped of his arrogant black dragon robe, with his swollen jaw in a wooden splint. The Half-Step Rank 4 envoy wore a bright-pink floral cotton apron tied around his waist stamped with the bold black title [PROBATIONARY LUGGAGE-CART MULE #01 — ROYAL CAPITAL EXPRESS]. He gripped the cart shafts with both hands and trembled like a mouse when twenty-nine-year-old Gu Changsheng tapped the side of the cart:.
“Envoy Zhao, remember what I promised you on the pharmacy steps if you didn’t apologize to the school? Keep the luggage cart steady behind the Spirit Oxen all the way to the Great Qian Royal Capital! If you show us the secret back entrance to the Second Prince’s Imperial Astral Tower without slacking off.
I might let you keep your remaining twenty-two teeth and upgrade you from raw turnips to hot cabbage soup!”
“Y-Yes, Patriarch Gu! This humble Zhao Kun swears to pull the luggage cart faster than a wind-horse all the way to Sky-Crown City!” Envoy Zhao Kun nodded so furiously his wooden jaw-splint rattled [Warmth: 20 -> 25/100]!
CREEEEEEAK—ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOAR!
As the massive eastern gates of Azure-Cloud Prefecture City swung wide open to send them off. The scene along the three-mile grand avenue brought warm tears to twenty-four-year-old Auntie Qin’s and sixty-two-year-old Grandpa Fu’s eyes:.
Lining both sides of the highway from the High Court Plaza to the eastern city wall stood fifty thousand cheering citizens of Azure-Cloud Prefecture and Frost-Pine Town [Warmth: 85–95/100]. At their head stood fifty-two-year-aged Prefecture Lord Qin Zheng, fifty-two-year-old Chief Pigsty Supervisor Gu Ba holding Prize Piglet Little Flower, thirty-five-year-old Guard Captain One-Ear Scar, the twenty-eight remaining Pink-Apron Lava-Golem Farm Tractors. The three thousand pink-aproned Capital Guards waving their shovels!
“SAFE JOURNEY TO THE ROYAL CAPITAL, PROTECTOR GU! SAFE JOURNEY, DOCTOR QIN, BUTLER FU, GRANDPA TURTLE, LITTLE BROTHER NIAN, AND LITTLE SISTER NUANNUAN!”
“BRING YOUR THIRD CHILD HOME SAFELY—WE’LL KEEP THE FARMS AND THE LOVING-HEART CANTEENS WARM UNTIL YOU RETURN!”
Stepping up to the side window of the [Armored Spirit-Ox Family RV] before the wheels rolled out the gate, fifty-two-year-old Prefecture Lord Qin Zheng , at Rank 3 Mid. Fifty-two-year-old Second Elder Gu Ba [Warmth: 74/100] presented twenty-nine-year-old Gu Changsheng with two departing gifts from the. People of Azure-Cloud Prefecture: a crate of freshly smoked ecological spirit-ham cured in Gu Ba’s model pigsties.
A golden-sealed [Twelve-County Imperial Diplomatic Pass] signed by every magistrate in the north!
“Nephew Changsheng, Young Master Nian, Little Miss Nuannuan!” fifty-two-year-old Gu Ba wiped a warm tear from his rosy cheek with the corner of his pink chore apron. Prize Piglet Little Flower oinked farewell in his arms.
“Don’t worry about a single blade of barley or a single hog back home!
Trainee Pig-Boy #01 Lin Fan already finished scrubbing his first forty troughs this morning. If he dares slack off for one breath while you’re in the Royal Capital, Little Flower and I will make him recite the [Ten Rules of Honest Farm Labor] a hundred times before bedtime!”
“And our five hundred [Pink-Apron Security Uncles] and twenty-eight Golem Tractors will keep the school bell ringing on time every morning. Protector Gu!” thirty-five-year-old Captain One-Ear Scar saluted crisply with his brass crosswalk whistle at his lips.
And as the fifty-thousandth citizen’s Warmth crossed the 75/100 threshold, the final milestone chime of the northern border rang out inside twenty-nine-year-old Gu Changsheng’s mind:.
[ DING! NORTHERN BORDER MILESTONE — 50,000 PROTECTED CITIZENS! ]
* Host Status : Gu Changsheng (29, Rank 3 Peak Grandmaster)
Carrying [Family Dinner Qi-Gathering Art]!
* Household Roster : - Gu Nian (9, Rank 3 Early, Darkening: 10%)
- Su Nuannuan (7, Rank 3 Early, Darkening: 8%)
- Auntie Qin (24, Rank 3 Mid Grandmaster)
- Grandpa Fu (62, Rank 2 Peak Butler)
- Grandpa Yao (Rank 6 Soul in Rank 3 Turtle)
- Envoy Zhao Kun (Half-Step Rank 4 Cart-Mule)
* Current Balance : 7,000 DP (After 100,000-DP RV Fusion!)
* Daily DP Income : +496,000 -> +500,000 DP/DAY (HALF A MILLION.
DAD POINTS EVERY SINGLE DAY)!
* Next Destination : Great Qian Royal Capital (Sky-Crown City) —.
10 Days to Rescue Child #3 [now Ye Xiao, Age 10]
& Claim Empress now Luo Qingxue’s 2nd Soul-Wisp!
Up on the wide leather driver’s bench of the [Rank 3 Peak Armored Spirit-Ox Family RV], twenty-nine-year-old Gu Changsheng sat with twenty-four-year-old Auntie Qin beside him and sixty-two-year-old Grandpa Fu checking the map. Three-hundred-and-eighty-year-old Grandpa Yao cheered from the window ledge. Nine-year-old Gu Nian and seven-year-old Su Nuannuan waved happily to the fifty thousand townspeople from the sunlit observation hatch as the eastern highway opened before them.
Two thousand miles ahead in the Great Qian Royal Capital (Sky-Crown City). A twenty-six-year-old 100-Year Regressor Second Prince sat in his Imperial Astral Tower believing he held the future of the world—and a ten-year-old orphan boy’s life—in his hands.
“Hold onto your soup bowls, everyone!” twenty-nine-year-old Gu Changsheng laughed, flicking the golden reins as the two Spirit Oxen bellowed, the dual Lava-Golem geothermal boosters purred to life. Envoy Zhao Kun broke into a desperate sprint behind the luggage cart!
“Next stop: the Great Qian Royal Capital—let’s go pick up your ten-year-old Big Brother Ye Xiao, claim your Mom’s second soul-wisp. Teach a 100-Year Regressor Prince what happens when he tries to touch a single hair on my kids!”