The whole family is insanely eavesdropping on my thoughts Chapter 462
Chapter 462: Lu Chao Chao Has Returned!
This novel is translated and hosted on Bcatranslation
The crowd murmured with unease.
Perhaps it was fear, or the despair of being abandoned by the gods. They could not believe it.
Yet, deep in their hearts, a foreboding dread stirred.
Lu Chao Chao stood amidst the people, surrounded by fully armed soldiers.
She waved her small hand, and the soldiers stepped aside. She was so tiny—one could easily lift her with a single hand.
But as she stood there, none dared to ignore her.
Like the morning sun in the heavens, she remained the center of all.
“Tomorrow, I will personally journey to the Spirit Realm,” her voice was calm but carried to every anxious citizen.
“I will not allow the lands to crumble and life to perish!”
“I promise you this!”
She was but a child, one who should be nestled in her parents’ embrace, pouting and seeking attention. Yet, she bore the burden of salvation.
Even as Lu Chao Chao’s carriage disappeared from sight, the citizens remained dazed, unable to recover their senses.
That night.
Lu Chao Chao did not sleep. She had wanted to bid farewell to her parents, but the Ning Manor was empty.
She let out a small sigh.
Before dawn, with puffy eyes from exhaustion, she stood outside the palace gates.
The civil and military officials wiped away their tears as they gathered to see her off.
“Your Majesty, you will pass through that terrifying gate?” a woman in the crowd asked cautiously.
Though the sun had not yet risen, the people had already gathered outside the palace of their own accord.
“Your Majesty… just do your best,” an old man muttered, shifting awkwardly as he hesitated.
Beneath his worn robes, something bulged. He fidgeted nervously.
“I… I brought some chestnuts from home. Roasted them over the fire, they’re still warm, tucked in my clothes…” he stammered, as if afraid of rejection.
But this was the best he had to offer.
“If… if you don’t mind, please take them for the road. So you don’t feel too homesick.” He darted glances left and right, regretting his words as soon as he spoke them.
She was the Empress of the Southern Kingdom—what delicacies had she not tasted?
Just as he was about to retract his offering, a small hand reached out and took the chestnuts.
She popped one into her mouth without hesitation, biting into it with a crisp sound, her cheeks puffing up like a hamster’s.
“Such warm kindness, I cannot refuse,” Lu Chao Chao muttered, carefully tucking the rest into her robes. She did her best to move slowly, not wanting to appear like a starving refugee.
That single action seemed to unlock something in the crowd.
“Your Majesty, I made candied hawthorn this morning!”
“Your Majesty, here’s some fresh jerky!”
“Your Majesty, these pastries were just baked!”
Shouts rang out from all directions.
They wanted to feed their little Empress.
Their Empress, who did not despise them, who ate what they gave her!
Looking at their frost-covered hair, Lu Chao Chao felt warmth in her heart.
They had waited in the cold for who knew how long, yet the chestnuts and meat pies in their arms remained warm.
They cherished each other, both ruler and people.
“Go home now…”
“Do not fear, for Chao Chao is here.”
Seated upon Windchaser, she wiped away her tears.
“I am not crying. The wind is just too strong, blowing tears into my eyes.”
The National Advisor stood behind her. His family hailed from the Spirit Realm, a branch family, and he had remained in the mortal realm to assist humanity. Now, he returned to protect Lu Chao Chao on her journey and to visit his kin.
“Your Majesty, take care.”
Lu Chao Chao patted her round belly. “Don’t worry, I am quite heavy. I won’t disappear so easily!”
She turned to her elder brother. “Big Brother, I leave the Southern Kingdom to you for now.”
Lu Yan Shu, his presence more profound than before, smiled gently. “Rest assured, Brother will always guard your home.”
She looked left and right, searching for her parents to bid them farewell.
Turning around—
She saw Shi Yun smiling at her. Lu Chao Chao’s eyes lit up. “Mother!” She dashed into her mother’s embrace, carefully restraining her strength to avoid knocking her over.
“Your mother could not bear the thought of you venturing into the Spirit Realm alone. She packed early and has been running about to catch up with your departure,” Rong Che chuckled, ruffling her head.
“Of course, Father cannot bear it either.”
Lu Chao Chao grinned foolishly, her eyes growing hot.
“Aiyo,” Shi Yun winced, clutching her belly.
“That kick was quite strong,” she muttered. Though only four or five months along, the force from within felt as if she were about to give birth.
This child was strong.
Nestling into her mother’s embrace, Lu Chao Chao murmured, “Don’t make me slap you.”
Her voice was gentle, but the meaning sent chills down spines.
She infused her mother’s belly with a trace of spiritual energy. Instantly, all movements inside stilled.
Rong Che gritted his teeth. “Oh? So you don’t listen to me, huh?”
He had spent days coaxing and scolding, but the baby paid him no mind—yet a single word from his elder sister, and silence.
He felt a little jealous.
Xie Yu Zhou smirked. “You wouldn’t dare hit your own son.”
“But his sister? She definitely would.”
“Chao Chao, what is the Spirit Realm like? Do you know? Tell me!” Xie Yu Zhou chattered excitedly.
“The Spirit Realm… has many cultivators, but not all its people practice cultivation. You could say its folk are quite simple…”
Lu Chao Chao reminisced about her homeland.
Behind her, a little black dragon gazed at a flower spirit with lovestruck eyes.
The little flower spirit turned crimson under his stare, too shy to meet his gaze.
At the barrier’s edge.
“Father, Mother, passing through the barrier might make you dizzy. We might even end up in separate places.” Lu Chao Chao infused them with three strands of Sword Qi.
If they got separated, the Sword Qi would protect them, and she could use it to locate them quickly.
“If we arrive in different locations, do not panic. Outside, do not…” She paused.
“Do not mention my title of Sunshine. Keep this in mind.”
Shi Yun’s excitement at stepping onto her daughter’s homeland was quickly overshadowed by an ominous feeling.
Lou Jin Tang and Xie Yu Zhou obediently stood behind her.
Crossing the barrier, they felt as though their very souls were being drained. A disorienting weightlessness surrounded them…
Shadows lurked in the surrounding darkness, as if many outsiders hid within.
At long last—
Xie Yu Zhou nearly retched before his feet finally felt solid ground.
“Hahahaha! I, Lu Chao Chao, have returned!!”
“I have walked a thousand years to come home! Hahahaha!”
The moment she finished speaking—
A flash of cold light streaked by, too fast for even her to react.
She suddenly felt a weight lifted from her back.
“Where’s your bag?!” Xie Yu Zhou pointed, his eyes wide.
Lu Chao Chao, still lost in nostalgia, turned around—
Her bag was gone! The one filled with all her snacks!
“Ahhh! I kept it on my back to prevent Heavenly Dao from stealing it from my storage space!”
She had spent a thousand years returning home.
And in an instant, her homeland severed her attachment to nostalgia.