CHAPTER 48: CHAPTER 45: LONG BIRTHDAY DIARY 6

Zhu Zhengwei sat on the chair, and one could see his complex emotions.

In fact, how could Zhu Zhengwei himself not have complex emotions?

He had always been uncertain about how to face them.

"After all, in his impression, he seemed mysterious and unfathomable, like an Immortal reincarnated into this world, but I am really just an ordinary person."

Zhu Zhengwei felt a slight melancholy.

He felt it was akin to a fan mentality.

Like those fans who always think their idol is a fairy sister descended from the skies: perfect, untouched by earthly grains, doesn’t defecate, exuding Immortal Energy, and every word is a philosophy of heaven and earth, a classic of the Dao — even if they do, it’s strawberry ice cream, and when they have diarrhea, it’s cheese milk foam....

This feeling, is just like a built-in filter, beauty from distance.

Although, the reasons for such a scenario are most likely as follows:

1. When he was born, he was wrapped in a cloak, holding a Divine Brush, one hand pointing to the sky, the other to the earth, saying, "Heaven above, below the earth, I’m supreme."

Yet, the reason for this was merely because he casually held a small brush when he was born.

2. Being placed on the Kitchen God’s altar by his parents?

The reason was just that lying there was more comfortable.

3. Meditating in the courtyard during infancy?

The reason was simply to exercise the body, to try if an infant could practice breathing exercises.

4. Because the village had no recreational activities, occasionally telling bedtime stories and boasting to the two brothers who played in the mud.

The reason is understood by those who know, dreams anyway aren’t taxed.

5....

Honestly, Zhu Zhengwei felt that such situations were very normal at the time.

This initial setup, shouldn’t one be a bit more flamboyant? Shouldn’t one be a bit more unrestrained?

In a dream that can feed back to reality, shouldn’t one max out stamina, martial prowess, reputation... all kinds of points when returning to childhood?

Any player who loves "character development" games would do this.

But the problem was, it was taken seriously.

"Ahem, people ultimately need confidence, perhaps in the future I can reach that Immortal level, eating qi and being cool, but right now I’m just a plain poor mortal."

Zhu Zhengwei’s mindset was quite balanced,

"Currently, I’m just founding a new ’Dream Network’ company, an on-campus entrepreneurial college student thinking about daily necessities; although I have some students working as employees, the problem is, the startup isn’t profitable at the beginning."

He was still quite self-aware.

"Although my company’s main business is simulating an extraordinary civilization world, researching future technology."

However, as he read on, Zhu Zhengwei found that Zhang Zhi also harbored this kind of hesitation.

[When the Xiaqi arrived, I hesitated several times and ultimately didn’t go over. I suddenly didn’t know how to face it, believing Ah Da would handle everything. So I played chess and gambled with an old man under a big banyan tree by the road, always winning but absent-minded, until the Xiaqi completely dissipated, with Immortal Herb singing in the sky.]

[In the autumn of 0376, I learned all the processes from the travelers, but still went to the capital once, to bid farewell in front of his grave.]

[In 0377, I began studying the Three Questions and Three Answers, greatly benefiting from it—these three great questions that Ah Da and I organized, containing the mysteries of heaven and earth, human nature and nature, and I was astonished by the responses. My long-stagnant cultivation seemed to loosen, and given some time, I will indeed climb to new heights. Indeed worthy of being my brother, and the Ancient Civilization was so prosperous, making one full of anticipation, truly like the Old Days’ Celestial Court.]

Zhu Zhengwei: "....."

You broke through just like that?

I don’t recall saying much!

You’re really a bit outrageous!

Although I did think my responses at that time were quite perfect, they were works I was proud of.

After all, besides the first question having my own thoughts, the remaining two questions drew on the 21st-century vision and perspective, cellular structure and the world, relying on the profound legacy of modern civilization in the 21st century.

Even Zhang Zhi, who had seen rural life in the 1990s, was extremely amazed.

"My image as a master has been maintained and even elevated!" Zhu Zhengwei felt a bit odd yet relieved, secretly thinking it was fortunate.

Zhu Zhengwei continued to read on.

[In 0379, I returned to the Hundred-Stone City, which has greatly changed. The Zhu You technique has been officially adopted, and cultivation and systems have been systematically organized. I discovered a new tool for testing aptitude, surprisingly the cranium of the first-generation Slave Dynasty Shiguang Changheng Emperor, which intrigued me greatly, and I tried my aptitude at night, breaking the skull in the process, so they had to put up the second-generation Shiguang Changshou Emperor’s cranium, which made me feel quite ashamed.]

Zhu Zhengwei’s expression suddenly became peculiar as he read this.

[In 0385, I once again traveled the world as a traveler, witnessing freedom and democracy, it felt like a node of a new era was setting sail. Just like when I sailed out to sea years ago, returning to the continent as a wild man to witness the revival of human civilization, it was a new era where people were born not as slaves, all men born equal, able to realize their ambitions and dreams.]

[In 0386, I returned, and saw the old house from afar in a winter snow. Unknowingly, I’ve spent countless years in this world, overlooking civilization’s history, the friends who accompanied me along the way have passed away, and at some point, my heart became shrouded in a gray mist, no longer as pure and flawless as when I first left. I sat once more in the old house’s chair, cold snow falling from the clouds wrapping me in a white coat, suddenly recalling childhood scenes of heavy snow in the courtyard, with my elder brother who wasn’t disabled yet wiping his nose while building a snowman, and the second brother meditating beside him.]

The end of the diary, as always, left a note.

"Second brother, haven’t seen you in years, I hope you’ve been well these years?"

"Ever since the Three Questions, I have had no further questions in the short term. As for what was said before, whether the world will be like three thousand years ago, with predators silently emerging from this ancient land and whether its destruction relates to the Old Civilization? I do not wish to ask and only add to worries. Perhaps in the future, the Witch Era will face them."

"Evening of February 7, 386, Zhang Zhi."

Crack!

Zhu Zhengwei closed the Long-Life Diary.

For a moment, his thoughts were filled with emotions; the little follower who had once trailed behind him and his elder brother, had grown to such an extent, filling his heart with comfort.

Suddenly, he wanted to write many things to his third brother, but for a moment, he felt a thousand words caught in his throat.

In the end, he merely wrote down a simple sentence:

"All is well, do not worry."

He closed the diary, the nostalgia with his family was over, and it was time to deal with some server issues.