nownovels Chapter 9: The Peaches of Immortality Bring the Dead Back to Life—Has My Son Really Transmigrated?
Chapter 9: The Peaches of Immortality Bring the Dead Back to Life—Has My Son Really Transmigrated?
Jiang Dajun sat on the old sofa, a cigarette almost burned down to the filter, unaware that ash had fallen onto his faded trousers.
My son died in a plane crash three years ago; he was never seen alive or dead. It was like half the sky had fallen.
My wife was diagnosed with a serious illness last year, requiring an exorbitant amount of money for surgery. My world collapsed.
Now...now my daughter is...crazy too!
She kept saying that her brother was still alive!
Jiang Yu stood in front of him, her face flushed with excitement, her eyes shining brightly, and she spoke rapidly in words he couldn't understand at all.
"Dad! It's true! Brother didn't die! He's back! He transmigrated! He went to a world where you can cultivate immortality! He even came back today and gave me immortal techniques! Mom is saved! Brother left behind an elixir!"
Cultivating immortality? Time travel? Elixir of immortality? Jiang Dajun felt his ears ringing. He recognized every word his daughter spoke, but when put together, they sounded absurd, like lines from the worst third-rate novel.
Looking into his daughter's earnest, almost fanatical eyes, the last bit of support in his heart collapsed. His son was gone, his wife was on her last legs, and now his daughter... His daughter couldn't take the successive blows and went insane.
"Dad! Don't cry! I'm not crazy! I'm telling the truth!"
Jiang Yu was so anxious that she stomped her feet. Seeing her father's utterly despondent look, she felt both heartache and worry, and could barely speak.
She knew it sounded too unbelievable and outrageous, but it was true.
What should I do? How can I make Dad believe me? If this continues, Dad won't be crushed by Mom's illness, but by the fact that he's "gone crazy."
Yes! Bro! Looking for my bro!
Jiang Yu took a deep breath and said to her father, "Dad, wait a minute, I'm going to the restroom."
She turned and ran into her room, closed the door, took out the warm jade slip from her pocket, held it tightly in her palm, closed her eyes, and concentrated her mind to connect with Jiang Feng.
"Brother! Brother! Please help me! Dad doesn't believe me, he thinks I'm crazy! What should I do?"
The jade slip warmed slightly, and soon Jiang Feng's voice came through: "Don't rush. Get Dad to tell you something that only he and I know, something you don't, and he'll believe it."
"What is it?"
"The summer after I graduated from high school, my parents secretly took me on a tour to the southwest for half a month, leaving you alone at school. Only the three of us knew about this; even you didn't know. Tell your dad about it and ask him if it's true."
Jiang Yu was taken aback, but before she could think any further, she gripped the jade slip tightly, pushed open the door, and walked back to the living room.
"Dad, I have a question for you." Her voice carried a hint of sullenness. "The summer after I graduated high school, in August, you said you were going to help out at a relative's house in another city and that I should stay at school. Where did you actually go?"
Jiang Dajun's body suddenly stiffened.
He looked up, a flicker of panic in his eyes.
"Why...why are you suddenly asking this?"
"Answer me!" Jiang Yu stared at him. "Did you go to the Southwest? Joined a tour group? And spent half a month there?"
Jiang Dajun's mouth opened and closed repeatedly.
Only the couple and their son knew about this; how could their daughter possibly know?
"How...how did you know?" His voice trembled.
"Because my brother told me," Jiang Yu said. "He's still alive, and he told me himself. Dad, only the three of you know about this, right?"
Jiang Dajun's tears welled up instantly.
He reached out shakily and grabbed his daughter's wrist.
"Xiao Feng... he's really... really still alive?"
"He's alive! I said he's alive!"
Jiang Dajun was still somewhat uneasy.
Jiang Yu remembered something, took out her phone from her pocket, flipped to yesterday's live stream replay, opened it, and handed it to her father.
"Dad, see for yourself."
On the screen, Jiang Feng, dressed in a dark imperial robe, stood tall and straight at the factory entrance.
Then he vanished into thin air, and Jiang Yu blocked the speeding car, smashing its front end to pieces.
Jiang Dajun's hands were shaking so badly he could barely hold his phone.
"This isn't special effects...it's real..."
"It's all true, Dad." Jiang Yu put her phone away. "Brother is still alive. He became a cultivator. He's back. He also left behind medicine that can cure Mom's illness."
Jiang Dajun finally believed it.
He laughed, then cried and laughed, like a child.
"Xiao Feng...you're still alive...you're really still alive..."
Jiang Yu felt a lump in her throat when she saw her father's expression, but she still felt angry.
"Dad, you guys have gone too far! You went out to play for half a month and left me alone at school? And you kept this from me for so many years?"
Jiang Dajun wiped his face, then smiled through his tears: "Those are all minor matters, minor matters. You and your brother haven't been hiding anything from us, have you?"
Jiang Yu opened her mouth, but then, remembering the mischievous things she and her brother had done when they were little, her face flushed slightly, and she fell silent.
"Alright, let's go see your mother first." Jiang Dajun stood up, took his daughter's hand, and walked towards the bedroom.
In the bedroom, Jiang's mother was half-lying on the bed, her face sallow and her cheekbones protruding from thinness.
"Mom, my brother is still alive." Jiang Yu sat down by the bed and held his mother's hand. "He also brought you medicine. You'll feel better after taking it."
Jiang's mother paused for a moment, her eyes reddened, and she shook her head.
Jiang Yu didn't explain much, but directly took out the red jade box from his backpack and opened it.
Golden light illuminated the entire bedroom.
A golden peach lay in the box, its surface shimmering with a soft glow and emitting a sweet fragrance.
"What is this?" Jiang's mother was stunned.
"Peaches of immortality. My brother brought them back from the world of cultivation." Jiang Yu held the peaches to his mother's lips. "Mom, you'll feel better after you eat them."
Jiang's mother hesitated for a moment, but still took a bite.
The peach flesh melts in your mouth, and a warm current spreads from your stomach to your limbs and bones.
She could feel something being washed away, repaired, and awakened.
In less than a minute, she had finished the entire peach.
The sallow complexion on Jiang's mother's face faded at a visible speed, replaced by a healthy rosy glow.
Her sunken cheeks became fuller, and her chapped lips turned rosy.
She looked down at her hands—her once withered and thin hands had become full and supple.
"I..." Jiang's mother's voice was no longer weak, "I feel much better. I've never felt this good before."
She threw back the covers and sat up nimbly.
Jiang Dajun stood at the door, his mouth agape, wide enough to fit an egg.
Jiang Yu rushed over and hugged her mother, bursting into tears.
"Mom...you scared me to death..."
"It's alright, it's alright." Jiang's mother stroked her daughter's head, tears streaming down her face.
The family of three hugged each other, cried for a while, and then laughed for a while.
Jiang's mother held Jiang Yu's hand and asked her all sorts of questions.
Jiang Yu recounted her brother's story in detail—time travel, cultivation, ten thousand years, return, and leaving behind something.
She didn't mention the jade slip call, only saying that her brother had contacted her through a special method.
As Jiang's mother listened, tears streamed down her face, but her lips curved into a smile.
"It's good that you're alive...it's good that you're alive..."
As night deepened, Jiang Yu returned to her room and lay down.
My mind is a mess, but I feel at peace.
Suddenly, a creaking sound came from the parents' room next door.
Jiang Yu suddenly opened her eyes, her face instantly turning red.
"No way..." She pulled the blanket over her head.
The sound continued intermittently for half an hour before finally stopping.
Jiang Yu blushed under the covers and muttered under her breath, "Those two old geezers, can't they be more careful..." But she couldn't help but smile.