Chapter 132: The Grand Reunion

"Doctor, how much longer until Tongtian can recover?" Xuelian asked the attending physician beside Tongtian's hospital bed.

"That he survived and has held on this long is, in itself, a medical miracle. But if you ask me, I fear he will be confined to this bed for the rest of his life," the doctor explained to Xuelian.

"Ah, Doctor, is there really no other way? Money is no object—whatever it costs!" Xuelian pleaded desperately, but the doctor only shook his head and sighed.

"Sigh, how truly pitiful. Such a young life, suddenly reduced to this. It’s just—sigh," the patient in the next bed lamented.

"Indeed. The moon waxes and wanes, and life brings both fortune and calamity. One can only wonder why he didn't look out for the car coming his way," the patient’s wife added.

"Li Yuqing, what is wrong with my brother exactly? You are the most authoritative expert in the country; surely you can cure his injuries?" Tianyuan, Tongtian's sister, walked in from outside and addressed the doctor.

"This—keeping him alive is already quite an achievement. Don't, don't twist my ear! I told you I would do my best!" Before Li Yuqing could finish, Tianyuan, worried sick about Tongtian, lunged forward and grabbed his ear, completely stripping the doctor of any professional dignity.

This was hardly a hospital room; it looked more like two people flirting. Fortunately, the patient in the next bed was only suffering from a minor leg fracture; had there been a cardiac patient nearby, they would surely have been kicked out.

"Yuanyuan, this is a hospital. Could you please stop tormenting me? Spare me, please," Li Yuqing begged for mercy.

"Li Yuqing, what did you promise me before? Say it again," Tianyuan demanded.

"Here?" Li Yuqing stammered.

"Yes!" said Tianyuan.

"Ah? Fine." Bowing to the pressure, Li Yuqing recited his vow: "From this day forward, I will cherish Yuanyuan for a lifetime, listen to her every word, and love only her for as long as I live."

In truth, Tongtian had long since woken up. It would have been impossible not to, given the commotion; even the dead would have risen to comment on it. Seeing his sister finally find someone she loved, the stone that had been weighing on his heart finally lifted.

"Heh, heh," Tongtian smirked, his eyes still closed.

"Who? Who is laughing?" Tianyuan asked, looking around, unable to find the source.

"Sister, it seems—it seems to be Tongtian!" Xuelian said, pointing at him.

When everyone turned to look at Tongtian's face, they realized he was indeed smiling.

"Let me see, let me see." Tianyuan, with her loud voice, stepped forward to the foot of the bed.

"Brother, how are you? Brother? How are you?" As Tianyuan spoke through tears, she heard the most beautiful words she had heard in days: "Sister, I am fine!"

The single sentence acted like a sedative, calming everyone's hearts.

"Good, good, good. That is good." Tongtian suddenly opened his eyes, and Tianyuan happily repeated the word "good" three times.

As Tongtian looked at them, several beams of purple light shot from his eyes, entering the bodies of Tianyuan and the others. As the one involved, Tongtian wanted to speak but couldn't, as the speed of the purple light was simply too fast.

"Are you all alright?" Tongtian was terrified that they might have been harmed; he would have regretted it for the rest of his life.

"We... we are fine," Tianyuan and the others replied after a moment of silence, opening their eyes to look at him.

"Oh, Xuelian, I—I missed you so much!" Tongtian whispered.

"Husband, I love you so much!" Xuelian sat beside him, gripping his hand tightly.

At that moment, Tongtian finally saw the face of the attending physician, Li Yuqing, clearly. Tongtian was stunned. How could there be someone in this world who looked so similar? Li Yuqing’s face was exactly that of Yuqing Yuanshi Tianzun!

"Sec—Second Brother." Although Tongtian knew the man before him was not his brother, Yuanshi Tianzun, he couldn't help but address Li Yuqing by that title.

To Tongtian's shock, Li Yuqing responded: "Yes, Tongtian, are you doing well?"

The words sent Tongtian into a daze. What was going on?

Li Yuqing explained: "When you sacrificed yourself to create a new Heavenly Dao, the Great Dao granted you a sliver of life to be reborn. As for me and our eldest brother—the one right there!"

Li Yuqing pointed to the patient in the next bed.

The patient chuckled and said, "Tongtian, you made us search for a very long time!"

Tongtian struggled to turn his head. Beside him sat a woman, and on the bed lay a middle-aged man. Looking closer, he realized this was the image of his eldest brother, Taiqing Taishang Laojun—only without the white hair. Everything else was exactly the same.

"What is happening here?" Tongtian asked, bewildered.

"Let me explain," Xuelian said, taking over the conversation.

"You?" Tongtian exclaimed, surprised. How was Xuelian involved in all this?

"When the Great Dao gave you that sliver of life, our eldest and second brothers cast their true forms into the Six Paths of Reincarnation to find you!" Xuelian explained.

"Then, was the Laozi in history you, Eldest Brother?" Tongtian asked.

"It was me. Indeed, it was," Taishang Laojun replied with a smile.

"And who am I?" the woman beside Taishang Laojun asked.

"You? You are my wife! I am always me; that will never change in a lifetime!" Taishang Laojun embraced his wife to comfort her.

"And I," Xuelian said with a smile, "am the jade pendant you once gifted to Lady Houtu in the underworld!"

"Could it be related to those purple beams of light?" Tongtian speculated.

"Yes, it must be the purple light!" Tianyuan, who had been silent until now, finally spoke.

"Sister, it is so good to see you!" Tongtian said with a beaming smile.

"It is my greatest happiness to be your sister again in this life!" Tianyuan said.

"What are you saying! What kind of happiness is that!" Yuanshi Tianzun grumbled, clearly misinterpreting the phrasing.

"What is wrong with you? Why is your mind filled with such naughty thoughts? Can't you think of something decent? No dinner for you tonight!" Tianyuan scolded him with a feigned temper.

"Fine, fine, I’ll listen to you," Yuanshi Tianzun said with a bitter smile.

Tongtian asked, "Sister, could you be Mother Taiyuan?"

"What do you think?" Tianyuan said, laughing.

Ah, Yuanshi Tianzun was perfect in every way, except for being henpecked.

"We are finally reunited! Ah, my back!" Tongtian tried to sit up, but having just recovered, he promptly threw his back out.

Everyone glared at him, chiding, "Serves you right!"

(End of Story)