Chapter 562: You Finally Returned

"It wasn't a wasted trip, it wasn't a wasted trip!"

Original timeline, the Loulan Kingdom.

"You finally returned." The Queen of Loulan sensed the seal of the dragon vein loosening and rushed to the top level to inspect.

She immediately knew the two time‑travelers had returned.

"Thank you for the queen's help; Konoha will not forget the previous promise."

Zhi Cun Tuan Zang understood what the Queen of Loulan was worried about, and seeing her rush over showed that he would not be unfaithful to his word.

They had traversed time and space twice in succession; although a few dozen days was not long, they had already had enough fun.

So they returned to their original timeline.

"I hereby thank the Honorable Hokage on behalf of Loulan's people," the Queen of Loulan said respectfully.

Now that an alliance with Konoha Village has been forged, there will be no need to worry about other factions coveting them.

After all, no faction dares to provoke Konoha Village today!

She seemed to recall something and continued, "Both of you, having twice used the dragon vein's power to traverse time, its energy is now somewhat unstable; within a short period, it may not be possible to open the seal as before."

The Queen of Loulan was not lying; the dragon vein indeed carries a risk of losing control in a short time.

If the seal were broken again, it could threaten the safety of Loulan's citizens.

As the queen of Loulan, she naturally puts the country's people first, so she had to speak up to caution the two.

She wanted them to temporarily abandon the idea of using the dragon vein to travel through time.

"We are aware; thank you for the reminder, Your Majesty."

Lian Ye had just arrived via time travel and had no intention of going again soon, which allowed the dragon vein's energy to regain stability.

Later, when Tuan Cang truly retires, they will traverse other timelines.

The two bid farewell to the Queen of Loulan and set off together back to Konoha Village.

Along the way, Zhi Cun Tuan Zang was deep in thought, constantly feeling that something bad was about to happen.

He even entertained the thought of not wanting to return.

In contrast, Lian Ye remained his carefree self, seemingly unaware of the seriousness of the situation.

"Tuan Cang, look, the scenery over there is nice; let's go sit for a while."

"Tuan Cang, are you hungry? Want to hunt something to roast?"

"Tuan Cang, you said we've been away for about ten days; has the elder in the village missed us?"

"Tuan Cang, why aren't you speaking?"

"No, why is your complexion so pale!"

Zhi Cun Tuan Zang's face turned deathly pale, his body involuntarily trembling slightly, as if he had seen some great horror.

Seeing his good brother's condition, Lian Ye certainly wanted to show concern.

"I‑I'm fine…" Zhi Cun Tuan Zang wiped the cold sweat from his face with his cuff, took a deep breath and explained.

This was merely his speculation, so he decided not to tell Lian Ye, lest his carefree brother accrue unnecessary worries on the journey.

If his speculation were wrong, they would all be delighted.

But if his speculation were correct, they would only face Teacher Feijian's wrath.

He hoped the teacher would, considering he had never intervened, be a bit lenient with him.

As for Lian Ye, he could only wish for his own good fortune.

"Your face is this pale, yet you claim you're fine," Lian Ye pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to Zhi Cun Tuan Zang, "Wipe the cold sweat off your face first."

"Where did that handkerchief come from?"

Zhi Cun Tuan Zang suddenly realized the issue and looked at his good brother in surprise.

One would think Lian Ye wouldn't carry a handkerchief; isn't that something women usually keep on them?

"You mean this?" Lian Ye waved the handkerchief, "This was left on the battlefield by Yuzhibo Quannai for Madara Uchiha to use as a bandage; I happened to be there, so he gave me one as well."

If he hadn't seen Tuan Cang's pallid face, he would have forgotten the whole matter.

Hearing Lian Ye's explanation, Zhi Cun Tuan Zang couldn't help but sigh in relief.

So it was Yuzhibo Quannai who casually gave it!

He had just thought a little girl had given it to Lian Ye, fearing his good brother might leave the single ranks.

Since it wasn't a girl who gave the handkerchief, there's no problem.

Otherwise, if his good brother had a partner, he'd be the only one left lonely.

Lian Ye saw Tuan Cang's complexion turn rosy again and curiously asked, "What exactly were you afraid of just now?"

He asked about the cause of his good brother's pallor, but the words came out twisted to Tuan Cang.

"I'm not scared, just curious."

He was merely curious about where Lian Ye's handkerchief came from, not afraid that Lian Ye might know other girls.

Exactly, that's it!

Lian Ye: "???"

What could you be so curious about that it makes your face turn deathly pale and cold sweat pour out?!

Though puzzled, seeing his good brother unwilling to elaborate, he refrained from further questioning.

Zhi Cun Tuan Zang, seeing Lian Ye not tangled in doubt, silently breathed a sigh of relief.

Lian Ye, that guy, as always easy to fool!

He truly feared his good brother would keep digging until the truth came out.

If that were indeed the case…

Should he speak the truth, or keep it hidden?

A small interlude diverted Tuan Cang's attention, making him start to agonize over whether, if Lian Ye asked, he should tell him the truth.

Subconsciously they ignored the whole matter of whether the Warring States they were heading to was actually a parallel universe.

By the time he recovered, the two were already not far from Konoha Village.

"Why aren't you moving?"

Lian Ye saw his good brother suddenly halt, his complexion turning pale again, and asked in confusion.

It was fine, why has it turned into this again?

The key is that I don't even know what happened.

Zhi Cun Tuan Zang subconsciously swallowed, his voice trembling a bit, and stammered.

"Lian Ye, are you really sure that the places we're heading to are all parallel universes?"

He was eager to believe his good brother's words, but his body's instinct warned him that they were doomed!

One has to admit, sometimes intuition is quite accurate…

Especially when there's a premonition that works against oneself, the accuracy can reach ninety percent!

"What big deal could this be? It's just this kind of trivial matter," Lian Ye realized, finally understanding why his good brother had been uneasy all the way.

He looked at Tuan Cang's uneasy expression, patted his own chest and reassured, "Don't worry, it's definitely a parallel universe!"

It's just a trip back to the past; there's no way it can so easily alter time.

Besides, he didn't do much—just gave that old kid Qianshou Feijian a good beating, how could that affect history?

"Is that really the case?"

Zhi Cun Tuan Zang's voice suddenly turned extremely terrified, while someone was still savoring the thrill of beating his adoptive father, not noticing his good brother's change in tone at all.

"Of course, why would I lie to you!"

"So look ahead…"

Zhi Cun Tuan Zang's voice trembled, and Lian Ye even sensed a feeling of despair from it.

"What did you see…"

Lian Ye just lifted his head and met Qianshou Feijian's murderous gaze; his body instinctively jolted, and his mind went blank in an instant.

What happened? Isn't this a parallel universe?

Damn, I think I just saw those never‑met cheap parents…

"You finally made it back!"

…

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ps: I once again broke off the chapter at a crucial moment, ke ke ke, everyone, please power up with love and support, watch Qianshou Feijian beat up two heinous scoundrels, eek eek eek…