Chapter Twenty-Eight: Letters Left by My Parents

The entire Azure Sky Gardens complex was outfitted with cutting-edge technology—everywhere you looked, there was another marvel of modern science. After unlocking the door with his fingerprint, Yi Sheng Feng entered his home and made his way to the living room, where he noticed a sheet of paper and a black bank card resting on the coffee table. Picking them up, he saw the paper was covered in lines of handwriting:

"Yi Sheng, your mother and I have gone traveling. We might be away for quite a while—your father doesn’t even know when we’ll be back, and we also need to visit your grandparents. There’s a hundred thousand yuan on this card, which should be enough for you until you finish high school. If you’re admitted to a university, someone will get in touch with you; we’ve already arranged everything you’ll need for college. But to keep you from spending it all at once, we’re only giving you this hundred thousand for now.

With love, Your Parents."

Yi Sheng Feng read the letter, then sat down on the sofa in silence, lost in deep thought. So much had happened in less than ten days—things he could scarcely believe. First, he’d had an uncommonly vivid dream, then he’d found himself in the middle of Mount Tai, and, by a stroke of luck, he’d inherited the legacy of a cultivator from five thousand years ago...

Was there some hidden connection between these events? Now, his parents had left on a trip, leaving him a sum of money. In the past, their trips had never lasted more than a month, but from the tone of this letter, it seemed they’d be gone for at least two years.

Was there some underlying link to all these things? Was it a sign that the world itself was about to change? Had his parents really gone traveling, or was there more to their departure than they let on?

There was no date on the letter. He didn’t know exactly when they’d left. He tried calling several times, but none of the calls went through. Had they left the day after his own disappearance that night?

Yi Sheng Feng’s heart was full of questions, but he forced himself to clear his thoughts and decided to take things one step at a time. According to the letter, once he got into university, someone would reach out to him.

But which university? The letter didn’t specify. Nor did it say how he would be contacted—he would simply have to wait for someone to find him.

Yi Sheng Feng realized he hadn’t been to school for a week, and now that his parents were gone too, the school would have no way to reach him. He’d have to go in tomorrow and explain everything.

After ordering a takeaway meal, he checked his phone and opened WeChat. His homeroom teacher had sent him a message at noon seven days ago. Of course, he hadn’t been able to reply then, so she’d left another message four days ago: “Yi Sheng Feng, is something going on with you?”

He considered replying, but since he’d be going to school tomorrow, he decided it would be better to explain in person.

After dinner, he logged onto Departure Web to check for new updates on his favorite novels—a nightly habit. Lately, he’d been following a novel called "Global High Martial," the kind of breakout hit that elevates an author to godlike status overnight.

The story followed the protagonist, Fang Ping, who was reborn on Earth only to discover that although the people were the same, the world had become a high-martial universe. With the help of his golden finger, Fang Ping strove for the pinnacle of power. The plot was novel and tightly woven, and in Yi Sheng Feng’s opinion, the author was remarkably dedicated, churning out over fifteen thousand words every day.

He found the story gripping, the world-building inventive—especially in an era when most web novels stuck to the same tired formulae, whether in the fantasy or urban genres. This author, like his protagonist, had carved out a unique path, and his hard work had paid off: in February, Departure Web had crowned him a new literary deity (though, in truth, the author’s "deification" happened in April, but since this story is set in February, let’s not quibble).

Yi Sheng Feng loved reading web novels, but he’d noticed that some writers, after becoming famous, began padding their stories with filler—chapter after chapter of it. One of the novels he’d been following had dragged on for nearly seven years without an ending, swelling to over ten million words, with little more than word count to show for it.

Of course, that was just his own opinion. After all, web novelists had their own priorities, and for some, making money was the most important thing.

After reading for a while, it was around ten o’clock. Yi Sheng Feng sent a thread of spiritual energy into his storage ring and discovered that the diamonds inside also contained spiritual power, though he had no idea how to use it.

Sitting on his bed, he pondered for a while and decided that improving his own cultivation was more important, so he began practicing the Pure Yang Technique. After about two hours, he started to feel sleepy. He washed up and went to bed.

The night passed without incident.

The next morning, just before six, Yi Sheng Feng woke up. After washing up, he walked to the entrance of the complex for breakfast—a simple meal of rice noodles and clay pot soup, both specialties of Changnan City.

Nutritious and affordable.

Then, he set out on foot for Southwater Foreign Language School, a walk of a little over ten minutes.

Southwater Foreign Language School was a semi-private, semi-public institution, which meant it boasted exceptionally strong faculty. Naturally, it also had an impressive university acceptance rate, but the price for all this was very steep tuition.

Each semester cost fifty thousand Huaxia yuan, and the full three years of high school—six semesters—had to be paid upfront.

This explained why, with no need to worry about tuition, his parents had left him a hundred thousand yuan. That would be more than enough for three years. At the current cost of living in Huaxia, a typical family of three spent about four thousand yuan a month, not counting rent.

Given that his parents had left him a hundred thousand for a single year, it was clear they were quite well off. In fact, even if they hadn’t left him any money, Yi Sheng Feng himself was now wealthy beyond measure.

As he walked down the street, he touched the storage ring on the middle finger of his right hand, wondering if he should sell some of the gold inside. But then he realized he didn’t need money right now—why bother selling the gold? Besides, with prices rising so rapidly these days, gold was only going to become more valuable over time.

After about ten minutes, he arrived at the school gates. It was eight o’clock, right as students were streaming in.

Yi Sheng Feng entered and headed toward the second-year building. Just as he was about to go inside, a familiar voice called out behind him.

"Yi Sheng Feng, you finally decided to show up for school?"

He turned to see his classmate, Yunxi Chen.