Chapter 2274: Chapter 2338: Heading to the Capital City
Two days later, Li Yifei appeared in the Capital City. In the car, he looked out at the scenery. It was raining in the Capital City today, and despite almost being June, the spring chill lingered, making it feel quite cold once it rained. Pedestrians hurried by on the busy streets, and Li Yifei withdrew his gaze. This was a special car sent by Murong Yuanqing to pick him up, but Li Yifei needed to visit Elder Su, who hadn’t been in good health recently.
As people age, the nation gets better. Even though Li Yifei was not Elder Su’s grandson-in-law, he wished for such elderly to live a few more years, to witness the country’s developnt and changes. Though not day by day, there were visible changes every year.
Li Yifei recalled Elder Su’s longing to see the motherland, to visit border cities, return to small towns he once resided in, and perhaps visit places like Hong Kong and Macau. Unfortunately, he’s now almost confined to the Capital City. Either traveling would cause a commotion, or it would be inconvenient.
Living for a few more years would be good. There aren’t many elders left, and truthfully, the Capital City’s changes aren’t significant anymore. Now, it’s those once small towns that have seen trendous changes annually, renewing and expanding. This is fundantally because of the country’s prosperity and economic developnt.
As a soldier, Li Yifei could feel it too. He has a deep-rooted love for his country. Becoming a soldier was to protect ho and nation. These four words explain it all— the progress in weaponry, the developnt of technology, the integration of land, sea, and air forces, the network of satellite surveillance overhead. Without these, even with two billion people, they would be easy targets. Now, Li Yifei truly feels the nation’s transformation.
As his thoughts drifted, Li Yifei considered many things over this short journey. Arriving at the sanatorium where Elder Su was recuperating—though it was more a place for high-ranking leaders to receive dical care—it was heavily guarded, with a pleasant environnt. Li Yifei presented his pass, and the car slowly drove in. Upon arriving at the courtyard where Elder Su resided, he saw two doctors and two nurses walking out. They nodded at Li Yifei in recognition, to which he also responded, then proceeded inside. He found several mbers of the Su Family present as well; Elder Su lay on the bed with his eyes closed, IVs in both hands, looking even older.
Li Yifei nodded to the Su Family mbers, but their response was indifferent, which made him lose the interest to greet them further. Su ngxin was favored by her elders, but her relationships with family weren’t good. In fact, the Su Family had already begun its decline by the second generation. If not for Elder Su’s care over the past decades, there were exceedingly few in the Su Family who would have truly amounted to anything. It’s conceivable that once Elder Su passed, the Su Family would quickly fall to a second-rate status instead of being a top tier family in the Capital City.
Perhaps... it might not even maintain a second-rate status, for without capable successors, adversaries or forr equals could easily turn on them, seizing Su Family’s assets.
Elder Su had often said that each generation had its own fortune, but is it really so? After his passing, how could he not worry about his descendants? Li Yifei watched in silence for a while, knowing Elder Su had fallen asleep.
Originally, Su ngxin was supposed to return today, but sothing ca up on her side, preventing her from doing so right away. Fortunately, with Li Yifei visiting, she felt reassured.
The Su Family mbers present noticed Li Yifei had arrived, and one stepped forward, saying, "Since you’re here, accompany the elder for a while. Once the IVs are finished, we have to leave for other matters."
"Alright!" Li Yifei nodded. Without another word, those people turned and left. Watching their backs, Li Yifei gently moved a chair and slowly sat down. Outside, the rain pattered. Inside, Elder Su lay peacefully, yet appearing quite aged. Li Yifei recalled how saddened and helpless Elder Su felt when one of his friends passed away last year.
After overcoming inner demons, Li Yifei found himself becoming increasingly sentintal, or at tis, overthinking things. He wasn’t sure if this was good or bad. At this mont, Li Yifei’s thoughts drifted to the aning of life.
What makes a human is their capacity to think, to use tools, to feel emotions, to adhere to constraints, to communicate through language, and to leave a mark through writing... From ancient tis, sages and cultivators spent their ti not only cultivating but deeply contemplating. They pondered nature, the universe, animals, humanity, and the aning of existence, as well as the inevitability of demise...
Li Yifei himself didn’t realize that he had been in the Innate Expert realm for so ti, progressing rapidly. Yet unknowingly, he began to comprehend the heavens and all things, understanding the principles of every entity. It’s undeniably... a miracle, sothing Murong Yuanqing and others did not expect from Li Yifei.
At a certain level of cultivation, rely training yields minimal benefits. It’s necessary to comprehend the heavens alongside cultivation. To advance further to the next level, training alone won’t suffice; one must grasp the ultimate principles of the world.
Currently, cultivation has stalled. If technological developnt continues at its rapid pace over the next hundred or two hundred years, there may be no cultivators left. No one can provide precise guidance to Li Yifei, not even Murong Yuanqing and others. Otherwise, they would have long seen through everything and reached the legendary Indescribable Realm.
Li Yifei still wanders in his hazy understanding, clueless about the reasons. He thinks unconsciously, or one could say he zones out, contemplating issues, sotis hitting a dead end due to lack of knowledge and guidance. This explains why, even thousands of years ago during a ti rich with cultivators, only a few could penetrate the ultimate truths and enter the Indescribable Realm.
Precisely how many reached this stage is indeterminate; only nas of renown indicate those who likely achieved that state.
Whether Li Yifei can reach it or not—who knows? He hadn’t even realized he’d unwittingly embarked on the right path. But how long and how treacherous this path might be remains unknown.
A soft cough interrupted Li Yifei’s thoughts; he refocused on the hospital bed. Elder Su had awakened, and the IVs were nearly empty. Li Yifei stood and approached the bedside, greeting, "Grandfather."
Elder Su nodded gently, smiling slightly, and asked weakly, "Why are you here? Did that girl ngxin tell you?"
Li Yifei nodded, "I missed you too, so I ca by!"
"Hehe, go call a doctor to remove these needles. Since you’re here, I don’t need any more IVs." Elder Su said.
Li Yifei rang the bell; the doctor promptly arrived from the room next door. If no one were present, a nurse would always be nearby. With the IVs removed, the doctor left. Li Yifei, holding the elder’s hand, assessed him with True Qi. The elder wasn’t gravely ill, but age had weakened his vitality. Unless like Su Lio, he regularly used True Qi for maintenance, which provided limited effect.
Heavenly materials and earthly treasures are scarce and difficult to acquire, requiring luck. Else, Li Yifei might cheekily request so from Murong Yuanqing and others; it’s likely they would offer if they had any.
Assisting to clear Elder’s ridians, Li Yifei delicately used essence to unblock vascular obstructions, cautious since so vessel walls were particularly thin, which might otherwise cause severe consequences if stressed.
"You really have the skill, boy. No effect from days of IVs and dication, yet a short while with you, and I’m revitalized. Ah, aging brings discomfort, like sothing presses on my chest these days, making it hard to breathe or move. It’s much better now," Elder Su chuckled, his voice recovering so strength.
Li Yifei advised, "Still, you need to take care, grandfather!"
"Yes, yes, I will take my dicine on ti. Though I used to claim I wasn’t afraid of dying, truly facing death is utterly terrifying. The older I get, the more I fear I won’t see this prosperous era!"
This echoed Li Yifei’s earlier thoughts; he nodded earnestly, stating, "Why don’t you co back with
to the Li family? That way, I can use True Qi to maintain your health daily when I’m ho; it will definitely help a lot."
"I won’t go. I just idly thought; now I mostly concern myself about you all, not much else. I’m old, I can’t keep up with today’s rapid pace ntally," Elder Su replied.
Lacking words to continue, Li Yifei simply smiled along. Elder Su mused, "I would like to visit my granduncle. Despite being nearby, I only et him infrequently as if we’re thousands of miles apart, and that’s not good!"
"I can arrange it, would you prefer you to visit, or to have him co here?" Li Yifei offered.
Elder Su glared, "What nonsense, of course, I’m going! My granduncle visits ? He is decades older than my father!"
Indeed, generationally he’s a granduncle; in age, he might be akin to Elder Su’s grandfather’s generation. Li Yifei nodded, "I’ll arrange this, and hopefully, I can accompany you."
"Whether you co or not, I don’t mind. If ngxin has ti, ask her to co with ," Elder Su noted.
Li Yifei nodded, "Alright, it’s settled. I’ll arrange it as soon as you’re in better health."
"I could go now. Give
a gun, and I can shoot ten bullseyes in one breath, believe it?" Elder Su declared, drawing passionate seriousness.
Li Yifei laughed aloud, nodding profusely, "I absolutely believe it! Forget ten bullseyes; I’d believe you’d drop two enemies with one shot!"
"Haha, you cheeky brat, can’t even flatter properly!" Elder Su burst into laughter, and Li Yifei joined in, smiling.
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