If Yu Lian hadn't known that this world didn't have that particular meme, he would have punched that old man's dog head in.
Even so, it took him almost half a second to calm down, carefully scrutinize the other person, ponder for half a minute, and then finally dig out a tiny bit of memory from a certain crevice in his cerebral cortex.
Vaguely, it seemed, as if, there was an Uncle Wang next door who always smiled very kindly, was rarely home, but would always appear every once in a while to buy him quite expensive toys. His parents seemed to have a good relationship with him, but his father always seemed arrogant and haughty in front of him, like a marmot draped in peacock feathers.
Yu Lian tried to connect the vague image of Uncle Wang from his memory with the person in front of him, but because it was too long ago, they still didn't quite overlap.
Overall, this person could actually be considered a handsome old man, with a refined and scholarly appearance, of medium height, wearing a black military officer's coat. However, his demeanor was more like that of a teacher who had never left the ivory tower, which felt somewhat out of place with his military attire.
"Internal Guard," Feifei whispered.
Yu Lian's gaze swept across the other person's collar insignia, where he saw three silver general's stars, and his heart was startled.
He wanted to salute, but considering he was in civilian clothes, he simply bowed and said, "Sorry, sir, I'm in civilian clothes..."
"Don't do that, don't do that, I really am just Uncle Wang from next door, and I haven't been in the military long enough, so I'm not really used to this," he said, spreading his hands helplessly.
"...So, you didn't come specifically to wait for me, did you?" Yu Lian chuckled.
The other person paused slightly. Yu Lian was about to say something else when Feifei gently pushed him from behind, so he changed his words, "Just kidding, so, you're also here to visit my parents, right?"
However, to Feifei and Yu Lian's surprise, he smiled genuinely and nodded, "Whenever I return to Earth, I do come to see your parents, but this time, I specifically came to wait for you."
...This Uncle Wang is also someone who doesn't play by the rules. Although Yu Lian's memory of him was still a bit blurry, he immediately felt a sense of fondness.
...Forget it, let's talk after you've finished chatting with your parents. Haha, it's good, some things are better discussed in front of your parents."
Then, Yu Lian and Feifei began to set up. First, they cleared the fallen leaves and cleaned the tombstone. Of course, the place was already very clean, clearly a result of his aunt and uncle's meticulous care.
Uncle Wang truly didn't treat himself as an outsider and readily came over to help.
After lighting the incense burner and placing the incense sticks, Yu Lian opened his terminal and played a poetic recitation set to the music of "Song of Heaven." This was a poem from the youth of Mr. Qi Bingwen, the current Ambassador to the Empire and a renowned literary genius. It was said that this even directly related to his parents' love story.
It must be said, an Engineer and a fighter pilot, they were quite literary and artistic.
Subsequently, Feifei placed several plates of snacks in front of the tombstone, all of which were his parents' favorite foods when they were alive.
Of course, their absolute favorite was hot pot, but that wouldn't be appropriate here. Moreover, placing offerings on the tombstone was not only a memorial to the deceased family members but also a tacit understanding with the true "owners" of this cemetery.
"Here lies Ms. Liu Qiluo, Yu Xiao's beloved wife, and Yu Lian's violent mother. Galaxy Common Era April 8, 781 ~ September 14, 812."
"Here lies Mr. Yu Xiao, Liu Qiluo's beloved husband, and Yu Lian's unreliable father. Galaxy Common Era December 4, 780 ~ January 21, 819."
Yu Lian looked at the words on the tombstone and fell silent. For some reason, a wave of sorrow suddenly surged like a bursting mountain torrent, instantly overwhelming his emotions. At this moment, the childhood memories belonging to this body poured into his mind like movie scenes.
~~~~~~
"Come, son, this is Dad's self-invented candied sweet potatoes... try it!"
...Dad.
"What's wrong, what's wrong?"
Not good...
~~~~~~
"So, you two ran out to eat fast food? Fried chicken? Ice cream? Juice?"
"Yu, your son is only three! You can't eat out! Yu, you've committed a crime! Go eat stone rice for a week!"
Mom...
"What's wrong, darling."
Stone rice, I want to eat!
~~~~~
"Mom will definitely be back by your birthday, baby. I'll give you a surprise then!"
"Is it the big plane we talked about last time? The Valkyrie model!"
"Hey, baby, don't guess so accurately every time! That way, Mom won't have any sense of accomplishment."
~~~~~
"So, from now on, I'll never see Mom again?"
"Son, smile, don't cry! Mom doesn't like to see us cry!"
But why is Dad crying?
~~~~~
"Son, I'm sorry, Dad also has a mission. After this one, Dad will transfer to ground duty, and then we'll live together again."
Live with Uncle and Aunt!
"Okay, okay, okay, live with Uncle and Aunt!"
Live across from Feifei!
Okay, live across from... you little rascal! I was twenty when I met your mom! Ah, I know, I know, I'm talking to my son, alright! I'm off now! Son, wait for Dad to come back."
~~~~~~
Yu Lian took a deep breath, his nose stinging. However, before he could cover his face, Feifei had silently taken his hand.
He held Feifei's hand tightly in return. At this moment, he fully accepted all the memories, all the Past, and all the bonds belonging to this body, and then slowly smiled.
His parents in heaven wanted him to always smile, right?
The Lieutenant General, who called himself "Uncle Wang," stood silently to the side, also immersed in the same grief. This time, Yu Lian truly believed that the other person should indeed be in the role of "parents' old friend."
...But this isn't right! Yu Lian bit his tongue hard, bringing a sliver of clarity back to his mind.
As a materialist, he naturally believed that matter determines spirit. In that case, his current thoughts and worldview should be dominated by the memories and history of the original body.
However, this did not mean that he should be as emotional as a young man in his early twenties.
An alarm bell rang in his heart, and he looked at the so-called Uncle Wang next to him, only to see that the other person had already reined in his smile, looking at him indifferently, with no expression and no warmth.
"A spiritual energy user! And a high-level spiritual energy user of the mental type! Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to hide so easily!"
Yu Lian pulled Feifei behind him, clenched his right hand, allowing a spiritual energy pulse to integrate into his fist with a magnetic oscillating power, and then wanted to punch him.
Since he was of the mental type, theoretically his physique and combat abilities wouldn't be too strong, and with his experience from the later generations, he could put up a fight.
At least he could let Feifei escape, at least hold on and make a scene, and the "relevant departments" would eventually arrive.
However, just as he was about to get close, the middle-aged man surnamed Wang, who was only a few inches away, simply took a step back, as if he had retreated hundreds or thousands of meters, and then vanished without a trace. Yu Lian's vision immediately turned gray, and he found himself in a chaos where he could no longer see his surroundings clearly.
Here, everything seemed to lose its proper form; time, space, matter, and spirit were intertwined in a blur, no longer distinguishable from each other, and no longer perceivable.
Even thoughts and emotions seemed to have stagnated, falling into a mechanical numbness, and his very existence was about to merge into this turbid, misty formation.
If he were truly just an ordinary student, an ordinary Seven Rings spiritual energy user, Yu Lian might have already been swallowed by the surrounding gray mist.
However, Yu Lian, who had experienced this in his previous life, woke up just as he was about to plunge into the gray mist.
He felt as if his back was drenched in sweat, but he knew it was all an illusion. The Present him existed only in form.
...This guy can actually drag my soul in here? This is no longer just a high-ring spiritual energy user. At least Six Rings or above, those beings who can be called 'Saints'!
Yu Lian knew that this was not a dream space created by illusion, but a truly objective world, existing in a material sense, even on a materialistic level.
This world has too many names. Abyssal Space, Spirit Realm, Ocean of Consciousness, and, "Void Realm"!
However, Yu Lian knew that all the above names were actually correct; they should actually all be branches of the "Void Realm," just at different levels on some metaphysical plane.
This is a world that belongs only to spiritual energy users and "Phantom Beasts" who possess spiritual energy.
As a Seven Rings master in his previous life, he was naturally no stranger to this place. He had been here many times, gaining much, but most of the time he was also left in a sorry state, and the damage to his body and even his soul was never less.
Now, with only his spirit body remaining, he should be in his so-called "Ocean of Consciousness."
However, he did not enter voluntarily; he was dragged in. This meant that in this world, he had almost no room to resist the other party.
At that instant, light suddenly burst forth before him. From within the chaotic gray mist, a giant of light, a thousand zhang tall, suddenly rose, a single finger of which seemed like a mountain.
In front of that giant, he felt smaller than dust and ants. Yet, it stretched its distant head and still looked down at him.
"Judgment!" the giant roared.
Speaking of which, I still haven't decided what to call the superluminal instant communication in this world.
According to the setting of this book, the superluminal instant communication device was dug out of the ground, so it has a feeling of something like the Lord of the Rings' palantir. It feels like magic, alchemy, but not science.
So, calling it 'ansible' still feels a bit out of place.
Does anyone have any ideas?
If there are no objections, I'll really just call it 'ansible'.
