Simultaneous travel: I am rampant in the domestic area

New Year's Eve.

Inside the room, the flames in the stove were flickering weakly.

Russell stood in front of the pot with a stern expression, watching the plain white noodles bubbling inside, steaming hot but pitifully bland.

On the cutting board next to him lay a few wilted green vegetables, which he had just dug out of the snowdrift in the corner of the yard.

"This is all we're going to eat?" Wang Zhu crossed her arms, her little face scrunched up, and kicked the small stool next to her feet in disgust.

The red silk jacket Russell had somehow gotten her into was brand new and festive, making her look like a lucky baby from a New Year's painting. Unfortunately, her expression looked like someone had forced a mouthful of bitter herbs into her mouth.

"This is Chinese New Year!" she said, pointing at the bland soup in the pot, her eyes full of accusation.

Russell paused in his scooping of noodles, his chopsticks hanging in mid-air, water droplets dripping from the noodles. He glanced at the sulking Xiaolong and tried to argue, "That's enough. It's only because you're here this year that I don't eat here. I haven't eaten here in previous years."

"This is called a sense of ritual! Don't you understand?!" She put her hands on her hips and lectured like a little adult, "New Year's should look like New Year's! It should be lively and festive, with lots of meat and fish. What's with this plain noodle soup?"

Wang Zhu asked several questions in a row, indicating that she couldn't eat well before she came out of the Locked Dragon Well, and now that she has come out of the Locked Dragon Well, she still can't eat well, so wasn't she out for nothing?
Russell was speechless, unusually at a loss, but he simply didn't have the habit of celebrating the New Year.

For the past eighty years, during festivals and holidays he was either killing demons or on his way to kill demons.

One reason is the race against time, and another is that being alone in a foreign land, the festivals of this world are not the same as those of others, and ultimately one cannot feel that atmosphere.

Now that his cultivation level has improved, he has gotten used to it and no longer has any thoughts of celebrating.

He glanced at the meager noodles in the pot, then at Wang Zhu's determined expression, as if he were "defending the dignity of the New Year to the death," and began to consider whether he should make some new ones.

"Tuk, Tuk, Tuk."

Just then, a gentle knock on the door sounded in the quiet snowy night.

Russell put down his chopsticks, wiped his hands, walked to the door, and opened the creaking wooden door.

Chen Ping'an was also dressed in festive clothes and was standing outside the door.

"Master, come to my house and stay up all night with me."

Russell was slightly taken aback; this wasn't the first time Chen Ping'an had invited him on New Year's Eve.

In previous years, he had always refused, saying it was unpleasant for him to spend the night with orphans and widows. But this time, the young man in front of him was unusually firm.

“Master, this is my first New Year since I officially became your disciple! Your disciple should stay up all night with you!” He paused, his gaze sweeping over the little head peeking out from behind Russell, and added with a smile, “Besides, even if you don’t think about yourself, shouldn’t you think about your senior sister?”

Wang Zhu immediately nodded his head like a chicken pecking at rice, gazing expectantly at Russell.

Russell looked at the two figures before him, one stubborn and the other envious, and chuckled before agreeing to the terms.

The three of them followed Chen Ping'an to the small courtyard next door.

The Chen family courtyard is no longer what it used to be. Chen Ping'an has used the savings he has accumulated from working for more than three years to expand the rooms.

The originally cramped courtyard was expanded to the side, with two low but sturdy brick houses added. One was a secondary bedroom, and the other was combined to serve as a living room and dining room. A small bathroom was even partitioned off in the corner.

Although still simple, it was no longer the impoverished state of being with bare walls.

The room was warm and cozy, the earthen bed burning brightly. Entering, Chen Shu, wrapped in an indigo cotton robe, her black hair simply tied back, clutching a small hand warmer, looked at Russell with a gentle smile on her exquisitely beautiful face.
"Finally, I have the opportunity to properly entertain Mr. Luo."

Over the past three years, this was not the first time Russell had met Chen Shu. The two had frequent interactions, but they had never had the chance to have a proper home-cooked meal together.

The main reason is Chen Shu's illness.

Because of Chen Ping'an's inability to retain his luck in the previous two years, Russell was also unable to make any major moves.

It wasn't until recently that his shattered destiny was salvaged.

Russell smiled and replied.

The New Year's Eve dinner was made by Chen Shu, and included dumplings as well as various side dishes.

While not exactly luxurious, it was far more substantial than the plain noodle soup at Russell's house.

After several rounds of drinks and five more dishes, the sound of firecrackers drifted from afar outside the window. Just as Chen Ping'an put down his chopsticks, the courtyard gate was pounded on loudly.

"Chen Ping'an! Chen Ping'an! Come out and set off firecrackers!" It was Liu Xianyang's loud voice.

Wang Zhu's eyes lit up instantly. He dropped the half-eaten dumpling, jumped off the bench, and rushed outside.

Chen Ping'an smiled and greeted his mother and master before chasing after them.

Chen Shu got up to clear the dishes and took the stack of plates and bowls to the kitchen.

Russell pushed open the door to the main room and leaned against the cold wooden door frame.

The courtyard gate was open, and the cool air, carrying a faint smell of gunpowder, rushed in.

Outside the courtyard, in the snow, three small figures were playing together.

Russell watched quietly, his eyes slightly narrowed.

For him, this kind of peace was something he hadn't experienced in a long time.

He stood there, his will flowing continuously, experiencing the changes in his own heart.

He started his cultivation journey from a beggar, using a sword technique he bought for ten coins to embark on the path of cultivation. He was stuck outside the sixth realm until he met Lu Chen, which allowed him to break through the realm.

For ten years, he traveled far and wide with Lu Chen; for ten years, he slew demons along the Great Wall with his sword; for another ten years, he wielded his sword as a chivalrous hero; and for yet another ten years, he entered his own universe, glimpsing the myriad realms of heaven and earth. His own cultivation also rose with the tide, and the constraints of his own world gradually diminished.

Thirteen battles slay two great demons with swords, inscriptions are carved on the city wall, he enters the town, takes Chen Ping'an as his disciple, fulfills the regrets in his heart, returns the sword to Zou Zi, and the sword opens up the vastness of the world...

Every little detail, every thread, all the changes in his heart that he experienced flowed quietly in his heart.

Human nature is not static, nor is it a black-and-white dichotomy. Good and bad, kindness and evil are two sides of the same coin, and the seven emotions and six desires are mixed together to form a person.

He suddenly felt from the bottom of his heart that perhaps it wouldn't be so bad to simply live as an ordinary person.

There's no need to rush things in this world.

Slowing down seems to feel better.

Feel the world, experience the warmth of human connection.

He thought this way, and he did this way.

As his proud sword intent receded, he seemed to instantly transform into an ordinary mortal with no cultivation.

It's quite peculiar that in the world of "Against the Gods," he indiscriminately slaughters without showing any intention of becoming a mortal.

It was clear that he intended to use numerical values ​​and laws to reach the very end, but instead, he began the path of transformation into a mortal.

The next morning, the snow stopped and the sky cleared.

After handing the shop over to Xiao Ping'an, Russell calmly stepped into the town for the first time, truly embracing his identity as "Russell".

On the street corner, a faded iron-tipped banner swayed gently in the breeze.

Lu Chen, wrapped in his ever-present white Taoist robe, huddled in a tattered rattan chair, a chipped rough pottery teapot in front of him, basking in the rare winter sun with his eyes half-closed, seemingly half-asleep.

As Russell approached, sensing the aura emanating from him, his half-closed eyes suddenly snapped open.

He looked Russell up and down carefully, then pointed around in confusion and asked, "What's wrong with you? Why are you browsing?"

Russell stopped and asked irritably, "You've been shopping, what's up?"

"Hiss..." Lu Chen gasped, immediately stood up, looked left and right, almost tearing off Russell's clothes. While looking, he shook his head: "This shouldn't be. Shouldn't you have done this twenty years ago?"

To attain the Dao, one must transcend the mundane, experience the myriad flavors of life, and cleanse the heart of worldly dust.

This is certainly not an ironclad rule, but most of the fourteen realms have gone through this process.

Except for abnormalities.

Yes, I'm talking about Yu Dou.

Russell, however, curled his lips into a mysterious smile: "Guess?"

"Hehe, I have no interest. If you want to browse, go ahead, just don't interfere with my business." Lu Chen had no intention of consulting Russell.

He couldn't help himself the last time he saw him, and almost gave him a piece of his mind. "I'm leaving."

Russell didn't linger. Seeing the sun rising higher, he returned to the Peaceful Shop.

Inside the door, a cool and aloof figure had been standing quietly for some time.

After glancing at Russell, Li Liu said, "Congratulations."

Russell met her gaze, smiled slightly, and replied just as simply, "Same to you."

Russell becomes a mortal, Li Liu becomes a human, and then there's Wang Zhu, who's extremely good at causing trouble.

The small shop suddenly became lively.

Chen Ping'an was the first to sense Russell's change.

He had only known that Russell was good to him before, but now he could feel that Russell had become family.

It was as if the membrane separating Russell from this world had disappeared, and Russell had completely merged into it.

So it is, and so it is.

The peaceful time passed in a flash.

Seven years have passed in the blink of an eye.

As Russell flipped through the calendar, six words popped into his mind:

On February , the dragon looked up.

……

"Chen Ping'an, have you noticed that there are more people coming to town lately?"

On the ridges of the fields by the stream outside the town, Liu Xianyang looked at the horse-drawn carriages coming and going outside the town gate on the west side and couldn't help but feel curious.

The town has never been this lively before.

"I reckon something big is going to happen."

Beside Liu Xianyang, Chen Ping'an, who looked like a young master, nodded in agreement.

Seven years have passed, and Chen Ping'an has changed tremendously.

His former rustic appearance was completely gone, replaced by that of a refined and cultured scholar.

If this scholar wasn't carrying a sword case.

"Did you ask your master what he said?"

Liu Xianyang asked.

"What a coincidence, I haven't seen my master for more than two months either."

Chen Pingan shrugged.

Before the Lunar New Year, he moved out of Ping An's small shop and opened Ping An Pharmacy on the opposite corner of the street.

Unfortunately, apart from Ruan Xiu and Liu Xianyang, the others didn't really believe in his medical skills and preferred to go to Yang's Pharmacy.

This left him quite helpless, as his years of hard work had no way to be put to use.

As for his master, he always felt that there was something amiss between him and his junior sister.

They were almost too in sync, as if they had many secrets between them.

Three months ago, he even saw his junior sister appear in his master's courtyard.

This is one of the reasons why he insisted on moving out of the shop.

She was terrified that one day she might accidentally stumble upon her master and junior sister's affair and be silenced.

And Li Huai.

This kid thinks he's the boss, but he watches as his master drags his sister into a fire pit.

Alas... What a sin! What a sin!

"I'm not going to say anything more." Chen Ping'an casually stuck a bamboo pole down, picked up a crucian carp and carried it on his shoulder. He looked at Liu Xianyang and asked, "Do you want to come to my house for lunch? My mother will definitely cook crucian carp soup."

"Never mind, I still need to offer incense to Old Yao and visit Master Ruan." Liu Xianyang waved his hand, then, as if suddenly remembering something, laughed and said, "By the way, Master Ruan was talking about you yesterday. Guess what he said about you?"

"Hehe, is that even a question?" Chen Ping'an's lips twitched. "It's probably something like, 'If you keep playing around with Xiuxiu, I'll break your legs' or something like that."

Heaven help me, he treated Ruan Xiu like a younger sister, so why doesn't Master Ruan believe him?

And then there's the master, who insists on passing on some kind of love secrets.

He said things like, "You can't hide the look in your eyes when you like someone, but you have to hide it when you like two people," and "Don't let women control you; you should have women on both sides of you."

There are also sayings like "Cherish good girls when you meet them, and don't waste bad girls" and "Making a vow is fine, but publishing a proclamation is not."

He remembered that when he told Mr. Qi about the love bible that his master had taught him, Mr. Qi remained silent for a long time before finally saying, "This is really reckless."

"Smart, let's go." Liu Xianyang laughed.

Watching his master outwit Chen Ping'an every day was one of the great pleasures of his mundane life.

"Ugh……"

Watching Liu Xianyang's cheerful figure disappear into the distance, Chen Ping'an sighed helplessly.

He also had to consider his own livelihood.

Because he moved out of the Ping An shop, his master stopped paying him wages.

Not only did they run their own pharmacy, but the pharmacy's profits were also poor.

If we don't come up with a solution soon, we'll really be starving.

We can't really do what Lu Chen said and go to the intersection to sell Dragon Tiger Power Pills, can we?

Forget it, I'll just go back to my senior sister and try to get through this period.

Thinking this, Chen Ping'an returned to his family's pharmacy and called out as soon as he entered, "Senior Sister! Senior Sister? Will you come with me to the Ancestral Locust Tree?"

After calling for a long time, no one answered.

Chen Ping'an scratched his head. Where did such a big senior sister go?

The door wasn't even closed.

He shook his head and sat at the shop entrance for a little while longer.

Having confirmed that today would be another day of taking in but not leaving, Chen Ping'an dejectedly closed the shop door.

Just as I was about to leave, I saw Wang Zhu rushing over from the street corner.

"Senior sister, where did you go?" Chen Ping'an asked.

"A lot of cultivators from the three religions have come to the town. I went to see what was going on and also collected some interest." Wang Zhu patted the package at his waist.

This is a special Qiankun bag she made, just to make it easier to collect interest.

Over the past seven years, she has lost count of how many times she has collected interest.

Anyway, the old locust tree always granted her requests, and as the saying goes, "a fool wouldn't take advantage of a good deal," so she naturally wouldn't be polite.

Besides, it was those families who owed her in the first place.

As long as they live in Lizhu Cave Heaven, they will owe her a debt for another day.

However, it seems that this grotto-heaven is not far from its destruction.

Of course, if the sky falls, there are always tall people to hold it up; it won't bother her at all. (End of Chapter)