Chapter 71: Li Ping

A flash of white light, and Guo Jing was astonished to find himself returned to this grassland filled with memories. From the moment he was born, he and his mother had depended on each other, spending every sunrise and sunset together on this vast, boundless grassland.

To him, every single blade of grass on this grassland carried the years he had spent with his mother. He seemed able to smell the fragrance of the grassland drifting in the air, to hear the sound of cattle and sheep leisurely chewing the green grass in the distance, and to feel the warmth rising from the soft earth beneath his feet.

At this moment, standing on familiar land, an indescribable surge of emotion welled up in his heart.

Just as Guo Jing was lost in deep thought, a peasant woman with a sturdy build and hands covered in rough calluses suddenly stepped into his line of sight—it was his beloved mother, Li Ping. Although in another timeline he was enjoying the warmth of a family and receiving kindness from those around him, the longing for his mother in his heart could never be severed.

His mother, Li Ping, was nothing more than an ordinary peasant woman. She was not wealthy; every day she bore the burden of heavy labor, thick calluses worn into her hands, yet she still insisted on saving the best food in the house for him, letting him eat his fill so that he could grow a little stronger.

Back then he was very slow; he only began to speak at the age of four, and when he helped his mother herd the sheep he would always lose them, forcing her to search all over the hills for them.

Even though decades had passed, he still remembered those days.

"Mother." Tears welling in his eyes, Guo Jing threw himself at her. Li Ping, tightly held, was stunned for a moment; she tried to break free but found Guo Jing's strength strangely great, and no matter how she tried she could not pull away.

Just as she was about to scold him a couple of times, she was stopped by Guo Jing's reddened eyes, and her tone softened as well. "What's wrong, Ah Jing? Have you been wronged somehow? If you've been wronged, you can tell your mother about it."

Guo Jing wiped away his tears and said, "I haven't suffered any grievance, I just haven't seen you, Mother, in a long time—it's been decades."

Li Ping was completely baffled at this moment. Didn't the two of them see each other every day? How could it be that they hadn't seen each other for over a dozen years?

"Mother, it's like this. That day when I was herding sheep, I became a Reincarnator of the Lord God—the kind of person who changes all the myriad worlds on the Lord God's behalf. I spent several decades in a future world hundreds of years later before completing the mission." After saying this, Guo Jing quietly watched Li Ping.

Li Ping felt Guo Jing's forehead, muttering nonstop: "There's no fever either. How is it that he's started talking nonsense in broad daylight? Could he be possessed?"

"I'm not possessed." Guo Jing was helpless; he had gone to such trouble to explain, so why didn't his mother believe him?

Seeing Guo Jing's helpless look, Zhang Chu'an, Nie Huaishang, and Zhang Xiaofan felt like laughing. Who would have thought that Guo Jing, who always remained unmoved even when Mount Taishan crumbled before him, had such a side to him.

"Big brother, why don't you show Auntie a thing or two? Then she'll know," Zhang Chu'an said helplessly.

Guo Jing heard this and secretly reproached himself for being stupid. He then opened his palm, as if it contained all the mysteries of heaven and earth. Guided by his will, streams of white light gathered like flowing water and quietly fell into his palm. At that moment, the air was filled with the portent of thunder and lightning, and a powerful force surged tumultuously within him. In the end, a dazzling bolt of thunder tore through the air like the wrath of the heavens, shaking the heart.

Witnessing this scene, Li Ping was instantly struck dumb with shock, her heart surging with waves, and for a moment she could not find words to express her feelings.

"Mother, you should believe your son's words now, right?" Guo Jing said.

Li Ping nodded. If what Jing'er said were not true, then how had Jing'er become so powerful?

"Mother, let me introduce them. This is Zhang Xiaofan, this is Nie Huaishang, and this is Zhang Chu'an. They are all good friends of mine who have shared life and death with me. They came this time specifically to help me." After Guo Jing finished the introductions, the three stepped forward one after another to greet Li Ping.

"Since you're Ah Jing's friends, come in quickly and sit down. Auntie will go prepare some food for you right now." After saying this, Li Ping went to the sheep pen, grabbed a sheep, and killed it cleanly and decisively.

Before long, Li Ping carried a large pot of steaming hot lamb to the table. The lamb rolled with an enticing aroma, steaming hot, making one's mouth water.

The four did not stand on ceremony and ate like a whirlwind sweeping away the clouds. While eating, Li Ping was very pleased and said to Guo Jing, "Now that you have such ability, it's time to kill Duan Tiande and avenge your father."

"Eh, Auntie, your true enemy isn't Duan Tiande. Your true enemy is the Sixth Prince of the Great Jin, Wanyan Honglie. It was he who ordered Duan Tiande to come kill your family." Zhang Chu'an said this while wolfing down the lamb.

"He's just a Sixth Prince of the Great Jin—why would he scheme so carefully against us two ordinary common folk?" Upon hearing that the enemy was someone else, and a man of no small status, Li Ping was both furious and worried for a moment.

Seeing his mother in such a state, Guo Jing told her everything about how Wanyan Honglie had been saved by Bao Xiruo back then, fell in love with Bao Xiruo, devised a vicious plot, sent Duan Tiande to kill the two Guo and Yang men, and then pretended to be chivalrous and came to the rescue himself.

Li Ping listened, her eyes wide with shock, and for a moment found it hard to accept. Had her Xiaoge lost his life so absurdly?

Seeing Li Ping so shocked, Nie Huaishang quickly said:

"Eh, Auntie, don't be shocked—the shocking part isn't over yet. Bao Xiruo is already Wanyan Honglie's woman now. She didn't tell Yang Kang who his father was; Yang Kang now only thinks his father is Wanyan Honglie. And one more thing—Master Qiu Chuji has already found Bao Xiruo and her son, but he still left them at the Wang Fu and didn't tell Yang Kang who his father is."

Suddenly learning so many things, Li Ping felt she needed to take it slow. After calming the shock in her heart, a long while passed before she let out a long sigh and said, "Since sister-in-law and Daoist Priest Qiu have chosen to do this, I have nothing to reproach them for. As long as they don't regret it later."

"No, Auntie, we've told you so many things, and this is all the reaction you have?" Zhang Chu'an said, somewhat heartbroken.

Li Ping was a little stunned. Wait—how am I supposed to react?

"You should be shocked, furious, and curse Bao Xiruo as a harmer who covets wealth and status, and Master Qiu Chuji as a despicable wretch who bows to power. Auntie, your reaction really disappoints us." Zhang Chu'an clutched his chest and wailed in lamentation.

"Child, a human life lasts but a hundred years and passes in the blink of an eye; that alone is not in vain having walked through this world. If others have wronged us, there is no need to dwell on their evils." Li Ping said.

"I'm completely bowled over." Zhang Chu'an realized that it was not without reason that an ordinary peasant woman like Li Ping could raise a person like Guo Jing.

"Alright, Brother Chu'an, stop messing around—our time right now is very precious." After impatiently stopping Zhang Chu'an's antics, Nie Huaishang said to Li Ping, "Auntie, we came here mainly for two things. One is to help Brother Guo avenge his father's murder, and the other is to prevent the slaughter that would follow the fall of the Great Song."

In an instant, Li Ping's eyes nearly split with rage. If the Great Song had perished, then wouldn't they Song Ren all become a people without a nation?