Runes • Rifles • Reincarnation
83. Happy To Be Back

Jin Shu stood up from the bed and stretched, testing his limbs. Thankfully, as a cultivator, his body had avoided atrophy, but that didn’t stop his muscles from feeling stiff and achy, since they hadn’t been used in years.

Stepping onto the wooden floor, he was startled by the groan of the floorboards beneath his weight. He paused, frowning. The floor hadn't been creaky three years ago. He could only assume it was due to people repeatedly visiting to care for his comatose body.

When he reached for the door, he gripped the handle, twisted, and pulled. To his surprise, the handle and a chunk of the doorframe came off in his hand. Jin Shu stared, stunned, at the broken door and the handle in his palm.

“Um… sorry, that might be my fault,” a meek, slightly monotone voice spoke in his mind.

“Nano?” Jin Shu asked aloud, realization dawning as he remembered the little robot residing in his dantian.

“I… continued to cultivate in your absence,” Nano admitted apologetically. “Now your mind and body are out of sync.”

“You cultivated for me? Oh, right—that method where you draw in Qi for me,” Jin Shu chuckled, shaking his head. “I’d completely forgotten about that.”

He waited for Nano’s response, but when none came, he asked, “What stage am I now?”

“You are at the 6th Stage of the Core Realm,” Nano replied. “I deliberately slowed the rate of Qi absorption in case it took you longer to wake.”

“At least I didn’t miss my own breakthrough to the Spirit Realm,” Jin Shu joked, a wry smile playing on his lips.

He paused, closing his eyes to feel the immense strength now coursing through his body. If, at the 1st Stage of the Core Realm, he had wielded the strength of an elephant—or perhaps even a bulldozer—then now, at the 6th Stage, it was as if he carried the power of six of either combined.

Curious, he punched the air in front of him. A deafening blast followed the strike, nearly a sonic boom, echoing like the sound of a tank firing or an artillery shell being launched. He stared at his fist, both amazed and slightly wary of the raw power he now commanded.

“If I went back to Earth now, I could probably punch a hole straight through a tank,” Jin Shu muttered to himself. “Maybe even through an armored Diseased.”

The thought of the Diseased—the horrifying monsters from his past life—darkened his expression. There was nothing he could do to help Earth from here, and the helplessness gnawed at him. He clenched his fists tightly, then forced himself to relax.

“They’ll survive,” he whispered, almost like a mantra. “Humans are stubborn like that.”

He allowed himself a brief smile, thinking about the resilience of humanity. Just look at this world. Barely a thousand years ago, Spirit Beasts had ruled unchallenged. Now, humans dominated the land, spreading to every corner and beyond. If this world’s humans could rise against such odds, then surely Earth’s humans could hold their own too.

Though he had once been a Spirit Beast—or something akin to it—himself, that thought didn’t bring as much comfort as it should have.

“As selfish as it sounds, I don’t really mind, as long as the Dragon Clan survives,” Jinshu’s voice echoed in his mind. There was a brief pause before he added, “Ah, sorry. I didn’t mean to read your mind, but I can’t help it while I’m in here.”

Jin Shu shook his head slightly. “No, it’s fine.”

Turning back to the door, Jin Shu grabbed it by the hole he had accidentally made earlier and pulled it open. He wandered through the halls and outside until he found himself standing in front of Aunt Chen’s doors.

He reached for the handle but hesitated. After what he’d done to his own door, he thought better of it. Instead, he summoned the Wind and Water elements from within his soul. A gust of wind whipped at his robes as a rippling portal of water formed before him.

With a step forward, he vanished into the ripple, reappearing on the other side of the door. There, he came face-to-face with two startled women and a tiger cub the size of a husky.

Jin Shu offered an awkward smile and a small wave. “Hi.”

Yin’er was the first to react, bounding toward him with her wings flapping in excitement. “Wow! Daddy can walk through walls!”

Before he could respond, she jumped in front of him, nearly vibrating with energy. “Teach me! Teach me!”

Jin Shu chuckled and gently patted her head. “I would, but you’d need the Water element to do that. You only have the Wind element. And, speaking of which, I still need to teach you how to use that.”

“What’s that?” Yin’er tilted her head, her golden eyes wide with curiosity.

“When you have an affinity for an element, depending on how strong your connection is, you can ask—or even command—it to do what you want,” Jin Shu explained briefly, his mind already turning over how to teach her to control the Wind element properly.

“Oh, like this? Wind, blow a big storm!” Yin’er shouted enthusiastically into the air.

Whoosh!

A sudden, powerful gust of wind blasted through the lobby, shaking the walls and doors. It whipped sharply against their skin, rattling the furniture, and sent the doors flying open.

The three people stared at the excitedly dancing tiger cub in disbelief.

“Yay! I made the wind blow!” Yin’er flapped her wings enough to lift off the ground and spun around in a delighted circle.

Jin Shu chuckled wryly. “Yeah, you did great.”

Chen Ai Yun and Sun Mei’er shook their heads in amazement before focusing back on Jin Shu.

“What was that just now?” Chen Ai Yun asked, her voice tinged with suspicion.

Jin Shu looked up from the excited Yin’er. “It was the technique you gave me.”

“That useless thing?” Chen Ai Yun asked, her tone skeptical. She caught herself a moment later, adding, “Ah! I mean, that technique shouldn’t have had that effect…”

Jin Shu smirked knowingly. “It does, but you wouldn’t have been able to learn anything from it since it’s gibberish—made up by a boy with memories of the future and written down absently by his aunt.”

Both Chen Ai Yun and Sun Mei’er frowned, exchanging puzzled glances before giving Jin Shu an odd look. He waved their concern off casually. “I can explain more later, but first, I’d like to catch up on what I’ve missed these last three years. Do you mind calling the others so we can all chat again?”

“Sure.” Chen Ai Yun manifested a slip of yellow paper marked with intricate runic patterns and held it up to her forehead for a moment before drawing it away.

Jin Shu’s gaze lingered on the talisman, curiosity evident in his expression.

“This is a communication talisman,” Chen Ai Yun explained, likely noticing his interest. “We distributed them to everyone after your… accident, in case of another emergency.”

“Oh, I know what it is. I was just wondering why you’re using a defective talisman,” Jin Shu said, his tone more matter-of-fact than critical.

“Defective?!” Chen Ai Yun retorted sharply, narrowing her eyes.

“Yeah, the runes are incorrect in two places, which weakens the range significantly.”

Ahem!

Sun Mei’er cleared her throat loudly. “Jin Shu, you do realize Ai Yun was the one who made that talisman?”

“Oh?” Jin Shu froze, blinking in realization. “Oh! I’m sorry—I didn’t mean… well, I did, but not like that.” He fumbled over his words, awkwardly scratching the back of his neck.

Chen Ai Yun raised an eyebrow but extended the talisman toward him. “It’s fine. Show me what you mean by defective.”

Jin Shu took the talisman and gestured to the runes. “The runes themselves are correct, but their placement is off. See, if you move these two here”—he pointed—“and swap this one with that one, the range will double.”

Chen Ai Yun examined his suggested changes closely. “Hmm… that does make sense. But why move this one?”

“Because it will amplify the effect of this rune here,” Jin Shu replied confidently.

“I see. That’s actually clever,” she admitted before frowning slightly. “But where did you learn this? You shouldn’t have picked up Rune Crafting from the Jin family.”

“Runesmithing is related, but you’re right—I didn’t learn it there.” Jin Shu smiled cryptically. “I’ll explain everything later when everyone’s gathered. I was planning on it anyway.”

Chen Ai Yun nodded thoughtfully. “Let’s go, then. The girls should be arriving soon.”

As they stepped through the doors Yin’er had blown open, Jin Shu paused, taking a deep breath of the crisp air. Without warning, he turned and wrapped his mother in a tight hug.

Sun Mei’er froze for a moment, startled, before gently returning his embrace. “What’s wrong?” she asked softly, her voice tinged with concern.

“Nothing,” Jin Shu murmured. “I’m just glad to be back. Also, I wanted to tell you… I love you, Mom.”

Her laughter was warm, though tears glimmered in the corners of her eyes. “Silly boy. Mama loves you too. And I’m just as glad to have you back.”

They held onto each other for a few moments, the weight of their shared relief and affection settling comfortably between them.

Jin Shu finally pulled away, smiling. “Alright, let’s go. I’m sure Biyu and Tian Li are waiting.”

Sun Mei’er opened her mouth to say something, then hesitated, closing it again. Instead, she simply shook her head, a quiet smile playing on her lips as she watched him turn to lead the way.