Having found a demon, I've decided to raise her.

"No, Cerberus doesn't smell the familiar scent."

Dogs largely rely on smell to recognize things.

When Liuli heard his question, she hesitated for a moment, a thought flashing in her blue eyes, before she said—

"It seems somewhat familiar... but then again, it doesn't seem so."

Chen Ming looked at her, suddenly smiled, but didn't seem to care. Instead, he looked around at the mud-walled houses and said—

"It seems I feel familiar with this place; it's a place that's connected to me... it's probably..."

He looked at a short lychee tree that could barely block out a small patch of sun, where several middle-aged women were enjoying the shade.

Upon seeing Chen Ming and his group approach, he asked them a friendly question.

"...What kind of talk is that?"

Xiao Guqing has traveled all over the country and has been to many places, but he really couldn't understand the language here. It sounded a bit like the local dialect of Nanzhou, but the pronunciation was different; it was a very fast, connected speech.

However, to her surprise, Chen Ming replied to the middle-aged women with the same pronunciation and a smile, which slightly surprised Gu Qing.

As the saying goes, three women make a drama, and when several middle-aged rural women start gossiping, it never ends. Chen Ming finally managed to end the conversation and led the girls straight into the village.

He said—

"They asked us where we were from and why they'd never seen us before. I told them we were from out of town, coming back to recognize our ancestors..."

"Recognizing one's ancestors and returning to one's roots?"

Xiao Guqing was surprised.

Chen Ming nodded, looking at the dirt road beside the main road leading into the village, and couldn't help but say—

"I never thought this would be my hometown... those old ladies... oh, I shouldn't call them that now... anyway, this feels like my old home."

"In the past..."

Gu Qing looked at the tiled houses and earthen walls, which had a remnant of the past. She hadn't expected to have truly returned to a long time ago. But it wasn't too surprising, considering she had previously fallen into a fragment from fourteen years ago.

Chen Ming led them in one direction. The road was a bit hard to recognize now, and it was different from the road in the future. It was full of twists and turns. There were more households in the village than in the future, because many people in the future had left.

Looking at my hometown, it's all so pristine, with lizards occasionally darting out. Houses nestle against trees, trees against mountains, and roads encircle the village like threads connecting a needle.

Chen Ming recalled—

"As far back as I can remember, there weren't so many tiled houses anymore. I only remember when I was very young that everyone was demolishing their mud houses. That wasn't my hometown; it was my parents' workplace. They demolished all the tiled houses and moved into cement buildings."

"Of course, there are still earthen houses in the countryside now. Some people say that earthen houses are sturdy and can be trusted after living in them for a lifetime. But they are rare now. Most people have moved into cement houses. After all, it is very troublesome to maintain earthen houses. If the wooden beams are damaged, accidents can easily happen."

"The roads aren't like they used to be. They're all paved with cement now, and they're very clean. Every harvest season, people would dry their rice on them. When I was little, I loved lying on the rice piles and playing, sometimes until I was all itchy..."

Upon arriving in his hometown, Chen Ming became very talkative, every word filled with memories. Everyone listened attentively, learning about his childhood and discovering how mischievous he had been as a child, which brought smiles to their faces.

Chen Ming's expression was also very gentle; returning to one's hometown always makes one feel more relaxed.

stomping on...

Two people walked towards us, seemingly returning from farm work, chatting about gossip.

"Hey, have you heard about what happened to that girl from the Chen family?"

Which Chen family?

"It's Chen Jun's family."

Although they were a bit far apart, Chen Ming's current cultivation level allowed him to hear their conversation, and he was immediately taken aback. Chen Jun? Isn't that his father?

Chapter 845 I am her husband

Chen Ming stopped and listened carefully to what the other person was saying. Although it was a bit impolite, it seemed to be related to his family, so he couldn't help but pay attention.

"Wasn't the one Chen Jun brought back supposed to be his wife? Oh? It turns out she's his daughter? No wonder I thought she was a bit too young."

"..."

Chen Ming's expression froze as he looked at the aunt... Although she was as young as Chen Ming now, he still recognized her as an elder.

Now, with a look of sudden realization on her face, she asked the man next to her—

What happened to Chen Jun's daughter?

"What Chen Jun's daughter? She's really someone's wife. Don't talk nonsense... But saying she's already studying at a teachers' college is probably just an excuse. She's probably just a girl in her early teens."

The man first rolled his eyes at the woman, and then raised a new misunderstanding... However, in the rural areas of this era, it was quite common for teenagers to get married, so there was nothing to worry about.

Only Chen Ming, listening nearby, couldn't help but twitch his lips. He really wanted to rush over and stop his aunt and uncle to explain. His mother was like this, and she would be like this in the future, but she was indeed an adult when she started dating his father.

So Dad really isn't a little girl. Although Chen Ming himself often complains about it, his dad is truly innocent. Now, hearing outsiders talking about it, he, as the son, only feels embarrassed.

But things will be better in the future. Once everyone gets used to seeing each other, they'll know the situation and won't make mistakes.

I remember my parents started talking about marriage after I graduated from teachers' college, and they didn't officially start dating until they were both in the same teachers' college, but it seems like they knew each other before that.

A typical couple driven by ambition, aiming for a long-term relationship.

And I vaguely remember that it was my mother who took the initiative to plan their lives together, saying things like she would keep my father in her grasp and that neither of them could fight back...

Perhaps they knew each other during middle school?

Then the mother became certain and started pursuing him relentlessly.

She has a lot of her mother's style—quirky, clever, and decisive.

His indecisiveness is basically inherited from his father, but if you think about it that way, he's a little better than his father. After all, his father waited to be pursued, while he at least took the initiative, right?

Okay, at least he was the one who caught up with Lucifer in the beginning.

Although afterwards, he was mostly the one being pursued.

The two people opposite each other drew closer, and their conversation continued.

"You men just love to lie to young girls, you're all so frivolous."

"..."

Auntie, my mom is really an adult now. When my dad brought her home, they must have already been talking about marriage, and she should have been around the age of graduation.

Chen Ming mentally complained, but of course he couldn't rush up to explain. After all, if the other party said something like, "How do you know so much? Who are you? I've never seen you in the village before," he would be in big trouble.

He can't exactly say he's Chen Jun and Yun Yi's son, can he? He's actually older than his parents at this point in time...

My balls started to hurt.

When the man heard the woman's disdain, he couldn't help but retort—

"Where did I go wrong? Okay, okay, we've gone off on a tangent. I was talking about Xiaomei. Something happened to her... I heard she came back heavily pregnant."

"Huh? She's heavily pregnant!?"

"Keep your voice down."

The man quickly tugged at the woman's arm. Realizing she was being strange, she covered her mouth and said—

"Then, didn't Xiaomei just start high school in the county?"

She's already considered exceptionally bright, having been admitted to a top high school. She might even get into university next, making her a talented woman for miles around.

How did I suddenly get pregnant?

The man said—

"And it seems... they still don't know who the child's father is..."

It's as if they're talking about a taboo subject; just discussing it behind someone's back feels uncomfortable. Unmarried pregnancy, unable to find a man to take responsibility—what does that say...?

After a while, the woman grabbed the man's ear and said fiercely—

"Don't talk nonsense and ruin people's reputations. Xiaomei is such a sensible child. Although she is a little naughty, how could she be so insensible?"

"The Chen family is in an uproar right now. They've even closed their gates. I think it's pretty much a done deal."

"How could this be..."

……

Chen Ming slowly opened his eyes wide, listening to his uncle and aunt's discussion, and finally understood the exact time. This was twenty-seven years ago, when his aunt was found to be pregnant.

Since the child was acquired through connections, no one could take responsibility for it, leaving the aunt to silently bear the burden alone.

At the time, my aunt was just a young girl who had never experienced anything like this before and didn't know what to do. Suddenly, it felt like she had fallen into a terrible abyss. The pointing fingers, sympathy, blame, and disappointment from those around her created immense pressure.

But she was just a young girl.

Weak and helpless.

The future uncles and aunts are approaching, and they all lower their voices or even stop talking before passing Chen Ming and his group.

They gossip about it behind people's backs, but they don't say much to outsiders.

The man looked at the unfamiliar group of people with some curiosity and asked—

Where are you from? Who are you looking for?

Unlike in the future when transportation is much more convenient, the presence of outsiders in the village is quite noticeable. However… looking at Chen Ming, who was holding his wife, child, and cat, the man felt a strange sense of familiarity…

"You are……"

He tilted his head.

Chen Ming was still in a daze when Xiao Gu Qing tugged at his hand and said—

"Old... what's wrong?"

She almost blurted out "husband," but saying that in front of outsiders would probably land her in jail, since Gu Qing looked much younger than she actually was.

Chen Ming then came to his senses, his expression becoming somewhat serious. He pursed his lips and looked at the other person.

The man scratched his head, and when he met Chen Ming's gaze, the feeling intensified. It was as if he had seen him somewhere before, but upon closer inspection, he couldn't quite place him.

I've seen it, but I'll see it in the future.

"Are you from out of town?"

The women also felt familiar with Chen Ming, after all, these were the uncles and aunts who had watched Chen Ming grow up, and they were also very familiar with Chen Ming's father.

Chen Ming slowly exhaled, his eyes hardening.