What?! My anime figurines have all come true!

"Hey! Xia, you're back."

At that moment, an old man sitting under a tree saw Chen Xia, seemed to recognize her, and raised his hand to greet her in Hokkien.

"Yes, yes, I'm back."

Chen Xia nodded awkwardly in response.

Because she had forgotten who this old man was.

She has too many relatives in the countryside; it's impossible for her to remember them all.

"Are you looking for your grandfather or your grandmother?"

The old man asked another question.

"Looking for my grandfather."

Chen Xia continued answering.

"He's sitting right there at the entrance of the temple."

The old man seemed to sense the aloofness in Chen Xia and thought that she might not recognize the way after being away for so long, so he pointed in a direction.

"I understand, thank you, sir."

Chen Xia smiled and nodded.

Although she can no longer recognize people, she can still recognize the roads.

"Oh dear! Actually, you should call me Grandpa too!"

Chen Xia: ... (awkward)

Chapter 145 Do you know how much damage a big helmet can do to it?

Although modern technology allows Chen family members who have left their hometown to communicate with people in their hometown via video, in the grand scheme of things in this extraordinary era, they rarely have time to contact their elders in their hometown, let alone go back to visit.

Facing the ancestral temple that has remained almost unchanged since her childhood, and the village committee building next to it, Chen Xia couldn't help but sigh, "Things have changed."

This family temple is said to have a history of three or four hundred years, but it was destroyed several times during wars. It was not until about a hundred years ago that her great-grandfather funded its restoration.

However, after a century of weathering the elements, the rebuilt ancestral temple has become an old antique, appearing from the outside as a dilapidated old house.

Some of the elderly people living nearby still recognized them, while others didn't even know how to address them.

The only thing that saddened her most was that one of the old ladies she remembered very clearly, who had taken good care of her when she was little and often gave her candy, no longer remembered her.

According to the old lady's son, it seems that due to her advanced age, her memory has deteriorated so much that even when she is eating, she says "okay" but her hands don't move for a long time.

"Ugh……"

Chen Xia's mood grew even heavier.

Arriving at the familiar temple entrance from her childhood, the basketball court in front of the village committee building, and a group of elderly people sitting under a large tree in the distance, she spotted her grandfather, Chen Shifeng, from afar.

The man who was once known as "Invincible Iron Fist" now looks like an ordinary old man, wearing an old gray Zhongshan suit, sitting on the side watching other old men play cards.

The cards they played were not playing cards, but a long deck of cards with various symbols and composed of four colors.

Few people of Chen Xia's generation can understand this thing, let alone play with it.

Oh, if the Poker Organization's King were still around, seeing Chen Shifeng like this, he would probably first question his existence, and then let out a heart-wrenching roar.

'You're not him! Tell me! Where did you hide that invincible man with the iron fist?!'

Chen Shifeng: Who else has gone through so much suffering all these years, turning themselves into something neither human nor ghost?

"Grandpa! Wow, everyone's here!"

(Hokkien: Grandpa, I'm back!)

Chen Xia stepped forward and greeted Chen Shifeng.

"Xia, you're back so soon?"

Chen Shifeng, who was watching the game, looked up in surprise. He thought that Chen Xia, who had returned from Guizhou Province, would not be home for a few more days. He did not expect her to arrive so soon.

Several elderly people around seemed to recognize Chen Xia, and greeted her one by one before continuing their card game.

"Are you taking the high-speed train?"

Chen Shifeng stood up from his seat and asked curiously.

"Yes, although the plane will be faster."

Having heard that the high-speed rail construction in Fujian Province was progressing well, Chen Xia specially took the high-speed train home.

"High-speed trains are great. Back in the day, it was so troublesome to travel from one province to another."

As Chen Shifeng walked, he talked to Chen Xia, leading her back to his family's red brick house. Compared to the house before Chen Xiao left, it seemed to have been renovated again, with signs for "[Village History and Party History Exhibition Hall]" and "[Chen Dengtai's Former Residence]" posted next to it.

"Hey, our place is so remote and hardly any tourists come here, what's the point of rebuilding it just for our own people? It just makes the government spend money again."

Chen Shifeng looked at the sign next to his door and couldn't help but complain.

For those young government employees, Chen Dengtai might be a historical figure, but to Chen Shifeng, he was just his own scoundrel father, so why bother with the historical record?

Pushing open the gate and crossing the high threshold, what comes into view is a courtyard-like structure. From the gate, across the courtyard, you can see the main hall and the shrines next to it where gods are enshrined, including Mazu, the Third Prince, guardian deities, and the Kitchen God.

On the other side of the small table, there is a wooden sculpture of a cat. However, for some reason, the cat statue is curled up tightly, as if it dares not show its face.

“I heard about what happened to you in Guizhou Province from A-Chen. Sigh… Although that person wasn’t very strong, he was still your grandfather’s old rival. And yet he died just like that.”

Upon hearing the news of Black Spade King's death, Chen Shifeng couldn't help but feel a pang of regret. Back then, he had treated him like a speed bump to be run over, but the other party had targeted him and the Chen family for ten years without fail.

He thought his own good grandson (Chen Xiao's cousin) would sever this hatred and he could also collect some experience points, but unexpectedly, he was kicked to death by an outsider like a stray dog ​​on the street.

"Isn't Grandpa curious about the people in 'that world'?"

Seeing her grandfather talking about the past, Chen Xia couldn't help but ask him about Chi Ye Meng Xiang and the others.

"You mean that Kingdom of Women?"

Chen Xia: ...

That's a really apt description.

“Those powerful forces have nothing to do with us country folk. Xia, don’t get competitive with them. Like that girl from your Uncle Li’s family… oh, she has a little ability and goes to provoke others. As a result, she was beaten so badly that she had to be carried back on a stretcher and was almost disfigured.”

"Grandpa!"

Chen Xia is well past the age of youthful impetuosity, so how could she possibly get angry with someone because of their appearance, as he said?

However, when talking about the girls involved in the Blood Moon incident, Chen Xia couldn't help but recall when Kanroji Mitsuri and Akashiya Moka were chatting and mentioned going to Shanghai for a trip.

My cousin Chen Xiao lives there.

I just don't understand why he refused to enter [Shenzhou Nova Academy], even though his mental strength had already met the requirements.

"Grandpa, do you remember Xiao? He's your second uncle's son."

"I remember, how could I not remember? Your second uncle kept nagging me to protect Xiao, saying that Shanghai is a mixed bag and there might be problems... If only I had known this earlier, why did I do it in the first place?!"

Chen Shifeng pursed his lips in dissatisfaction, clearly referring to Chen Yuanhao's decision to conceal the matter of the extraordinary world from Chen Xiao back then.

"Then Grandpa, you..."

Seeing this, Chen Xia thought that her grandfather did not intend to protect Chen Xiao.

“I protected her! Your grandpa specially asked our spirit cat to protect Xiaoxiao, and look at the result!”

Chen Shifeng walked to the cat's shrine, pointing at the cat curled up in a ball. Upon closer inspection, he noticed a swollen lump on the cat's face that couldn't be covered up.

"What? Who hit you?!"

Chen Xia was stunned when she noticed the redness and swelling on the cat's face.

How could anyone dare to bully this little tyrant?

This is so awesome...

Oh no, it's just absolutely incredible!

"Ah Xiao is about to have a great adventure..."

Chen Shifeng couldn't help but sigh.

He slapped our family's sacred cat, which we've worshipped for two hundred years, back home. What can he say? Forget about protecting this grandson; he'll probably have to rely on his grandson to bless the whole family.

For some reason, the spirit cat absolutely refused to reveal what the being protecting Chen Xiao looked like, which made the old man very curious, but he was also afraid that asking Xiao would offend the person.

"Has someone already bailed out Ah Xiao?"

Chen Xia murmured something in surprise.

Is it because of this "adventure" that Xiao didn't go to New Star Academy?

Chapter 146 The Spirit Cat: Bian Que's Triple Strike

Too shameful!

That's so embarrassing!

Not only was the spirit slapped for no reason, but although it wasn't injured, its physical body had such a big bump on its face that it was too ashamed to be seen by anyone.

As a result, Chen Shifeng, that junior, insisted on pointing it out in front of his granddaughter, which was simply too much!

'Hmph! Whether the Chen family is safe or not, I don't know. With so many demons and monsters swarming around Chen Xiao, who knows when they'll cause trouble? Let's see if you'll still be happy then!'

The lynx thought to itself with a hint of resentment.

When Chen Shifeng asked it to protect a 'Muggle' disciple, it was extremely unwilling. Why would it waste its magical power to protect a mortal whose future was already predictable, instead of a promising heir?

However, considering that the Chen family had supported her for many years, the spirit cat reluctantly agreed and made a mark in Shanghai based on Chen Xiao's birth date and the Chen family's bloodline.

(Smug cat)

However, it returned immediately after marking it. After all, being in a trance for too long can damage the spirit, especially over such a long distance, so marking it allows it to quickly teleport there is sufficient.

Then the day arrived when Chen Xiao was attacked by the hooded man. Sensing that Chen Xiao's life was in danger, it immediately reacted, following the marked spellcasting spirit to the Shanghai area, and rushed to the villa community where Chen Xiao was.

As soon as he squeezed into the villa's wall, he was swatted away by a white cat's paw and landed on the road outside the villa.

"Demon power...is it from a demon?!"

The pain on her face was not a pure physical attack, but rather an energy filled with violence. As a being who became an 'immortal' by consuming human offerings through cat spirit, the spirit cat had witnessed this power more than a hundred years ago—a demon!

But in this day and age, how could such a terrifying monster appear in a human city, especially in a vibrant international metropolis like Shanghai!

Did it not instinctively go on a killing spree against humans?

"Are you an accomplice of that attacker?"

A snow-white kitten with fur similar to its own jumped out of the villa and met the spirit cat's eyes.

It... no, it should be called her, the cat demon Himari, the female protagonist of "Guardian Cat Girl Himari", and the 'tragic' female protagonist who didn't even get to enjoy the first soup of the main character until the very end, when everyone else had drunk it all.

As for why Himari was so agitated, it was naturally because as the [Guardian Blade], she not only couldn't alleviate Chen Xiao's pain, but could only watch helplessly as he suffered in his dreams until the event of him awakening his superpowers, which completely [anchored] his future, occurred.

This was already agonizing enough, but at the moment Chen Xiao awakened his superpowers, he was stopped by the Death Lord from "Black Rock Shooter," causing Black Rock Shooter to steal the credit.

Although Black Rock Shooter was one of the best solutions in that situation, people who were unhappy about it would still be unhappy!

At that moment, Himari was burning with anger when she suddenly sensed a scent of her own kind. She immediately used up some of her materialized energy to come out and slap the spirit cat!

Simply put, I'm just annoyed!

A bellyful of anger needs an outlet.

As luck would have it, the appearance of the civet cat was exactly what it was looking for.

"Anyone who dares to harm the young master... is unforgivable!"

As she spoke, Himari prepared to transform from her cat form into her human form.

"Wait! I'm not here to attack! I'm here to protect people! I'm the spirit cat worshipped by the Chen family! I'm here to protect the Chen family members in this house!"

Sensing a threat to its life, the spirit cat immediately slid to its knees and explained its origins to Himari.

"The young master's spirit cat?"

Upon hearing this, Himari immediately stopped transforming into human form and continued to maintain her cat form with minimal energy expenditure, but she did not let her guard down.

But even this was enough to make the civet cat breathe a sigh of relief.