I'm Already the Richest Man, Why Did My System Just Arrive?

Chapter 361: Chapter 202: Ten Years

Boop~

The cat’s paw lifted from Xie Luohe’s face.

”MEOW~”

”Eee!” The little Orange Cat’s touch didn’t make Xie Luohe angry at all. Instead, she spun around in excitement, grabbed Zheng Xiu by the shoulders, and shook him so violently that his body blurred into a series of afterimages swaying back and forth.

”Husband! Husband! It, it, it’s not afraid of me!”

”Th-th-th-th-th-then y-y-y-y-y-you...” Zheng Xiu almost bit his tongue.

After finally managing to calm Xie Luohe down, Zheng Xiu rubbed his neck. ”Do you like it?”

”Mhm~ I love it~”

Xie Luohe held the Orange Cat high, beaming with delight.

”As long as you like it.”

”HISS...”

Held aloft by Xie Luohe, the Orange Cat instead bared its teeth at Zheng Xiu, its fur standing on end.

Xie Luohe asked, puzzled, ”It seems to be more afraid of you than me, Husband?”

”Er, that’s normal.”

Zheng Xiu later told Xie Luohe how he had picked this particular cat from a horde of others.

First, he bought all the cats from a cat trader.

Then he locked them all in a room.

Next, Zheng Xiu let loose a vicious dog, one the size of a small heifer.

All the other cats were so scared they scattered in every direction.

Only this one, the gutsiest of the bunch, stood its ground without moving an inch. It even calmly and composedly peed all over the floor.

Overjoyed, Xie Luohe carried the little Orange Cat on a tour around Richan Town.

On that same day, everyone in the Sun Tribe learned something new.

The proprietress of Mohe Pavilion had joyfully acquired a new cat from the Western Regions. It was a cause for celebration.

That night, a great banquet was held for the entire town, lasting all night.

The day after receiving her Mao’er, while Zheng Xiu was still asleep after their long night together,

Xie Luohe held the quiet little Orange Cat and stood before the Curved Bow on the wall, remaining there silently for a long time.

”From now on, your name is Xiaofeng. How does that sound?”

”MEOW~”

And so, the little Orange Cat’s name was decided.

By the time Zheng Xiu woke up and learned of this, it was too late.

Madam Xie and Xiaofeng were already having a great time playing in the courtyard.

...

Every year, the Sun Tribe held a grand Ceremony.

It commemorated ”Zhu,” who merged with the Scorching Sun.

Every year, the Ceremony was personally presided over by the Grand Elder.

But this year, of all years, the Grand Elder faltered at the critical moment.

About half a year after Xie Yunliu came to visit his family,

The Grand Elder had fallen gravely ill and was growing weaker by the day.

A Witch Doctor from the Tribe who specialized in herbs examined the Grand Elder and determined that he did not have long to live.

Choosing a new elder for the Tribe was an urgent matter.

Several respected elders in the Tribe nominated ”Ri Di” for the position.

One elder, who often came to Mohe Pavilion for free drinks and had become a good friend to Gongsun Mo despite their age gap, even nominated Gongsun Mo to lead the Sun Tribe. In his view, this would also allow the couple to truly become a part of the Tribe.

When Zheng Xiu learned of this, he naturally refused at the first opportunity.

Not long after, the Grand Elder, on his deathbed, summoned Xie Luohe and Zheng Xiu to his home.

After sending his children away, the Grand Elder solemnly placed an ancient Sheepskin Scroll into the hands of Zheng Xiu and Xie Luohe.

Zheng Xiu opened it and saw, in the corner, a design of a Golden Cicada. The sight made his pupils contract.

Xie Luohe glanced at it, holding her Orange Cat. Human and cat tilted their heads closer together. After studying it for a moment, Xie Luohe asked in confusion, ”The route to the Green River?”

The old man’s breath was as faint as a thread by now. He murmured, ”Legend says... back then... Lord Zhu relied on this very map to cross the Great Desert...”

Without a word, Zheng Xiu snatched the map from Xie Luohe’s hands and stared at it, wide-eyed.

”Husband, what’s wrong? Is there a problem?”

Xie Luohe had a sharp mind and sensed that something was off with Zheng Xiu.

Zheng Xiu looked at Xie Luohe with an unreadable expression. After a moment of silence, he slowly shook his head. ”Although it deviates somewhat from the current route, what’s recorded on it is indeed the path to the Green River.”

”Is that so?”

Xie Luohe nodded.

Just as the two were about to ask the Grand Elder why he had given them the ancient scroll,

The Grand Elder’s finger rose, trembling, then quickly fell. He was gone.

In all these years, the Grand Elder had never treated the Gongsun Mo couple as outsiders, even seeing them as his own family.

After the Grand Elder died, his elderly widows and more than a dozen children gathered around his body and wept through the night.

The couple stood hand in hand outside the house, listening to the sounds of crying from within, and remained there in silence until dawn.

Zheng Xiu sensed his wife’s spirits were low, so he squeezed her hand and comforted her, ”Birth, old age, sickness, and death are a part of every Human’s life. The Grand Elder lived to be one hundred and ten. That’s enough.”

”Yes, it’s enough.”

The prevailing funeral rite in the Great Desert is ”sand burial.”

It is similar in principle to the ”sky burials” popular in some other regions.

During the ”sand burial” ceremony, dozens of camels pulled the Grand Elder’s body as they, along with the others, ventured deep into the Great Desert.

When the camels became restless, it signaled that quicksand lay hidden ahead. Once the quicksand was located, everyone watched as the Grand Elder’s body slowly sank into the sand, until it was completely buried by the flowing fine grains.

After the Grand Elder’s death, Zheng Xiu handed that ancient scroll to Ri Di.

For the Great Desert Tribes, the scroll’s symbolic value was greater than its practical use. Nearly everyone in the Sun Tribe, young and old, man and woman, knew the route to the Green River by heart.

”You seem to have something on your mind.”

「One night.」

The two of them were naked, wrapped in their blankets. Xie Luohe’s finger traced soft circles on her husband’s chest. She had keenly sensed that something was weighing on Zheng Xiu’s mind, so she took the initiative to ask.

”I was just thinking, if we have a child someday, who will they take after more.”

A playful look suddenly appeared on Xie Luohe’s calm face. ”What’s this? No longer thinking about leaving?”

Zheng Xiu fell silent and didn’t answer.

He suddenly felt a sharp, piercing pain in his temples, and a wave of inexplicable dizziness washed over him.