Before he could even register, his body had already betrayed him as it dashed in the direction of the two figures. It didn't take long before he was right before them.
Zou Yi hesitantly stretched his hands towards them with anticipation mixed with fear. Even though he was overwhelmed by emotion at the moment, some part of him still knew his parents were dead and had been dead for the past three years.
He was worried his hands would pass through them, then that sinking reality he didn't want to admit, would burst forth and ruin the moment.
But what if, what if the past three years were not real, or by some weird fate the Order had resurrected his parents and this was a surprise unveiling they had arranged for him?
While he had never seen people being brought back to life, he couldn't dismiss its possibility.
If cultivators could survive without their bodies, or be regrown from a drop of blood, his parents could have a chance at survival, right?
In Purple City in preparation for opening his own intelligence agency, he stumbled into a plethora of information floating around, some of which was news regarding cultivators and even mortals who had been brought back to life.
Surely among those stories, some of them might have been true. Part of the reason he and his sister agreed to join the Order was the faintest chance that they could bring back their parents.
With how big and powerful the Order was, surely, they would have a way. At least Zou Yi held out hope they could.
Once that thought took root, it slowly eroded any rationality he had left as he reached out to make his confirmation.
"It's been hard on you, little Yi,"
They were real. His hands didn't go through them as though they were specters or part of the fog. When Zou Yi made contact with their robes, his hands felt it, it was real and not a figment of his imagination.
"Mom. Dad.."
Zou Yi instantly bawled as he threw himself into their embrace. All the torment and heartache he had endured for the past three years exploded within that moment.
His parents stood in silence as they softly patted his back, with only the echoes of Zou Yi's cries echoing around. Even though he had matured over the past few years, he was still a nine-year-old kid who still needed his parents and when he saw them, every guard he had developed over the years broke.
Almost ten minutes went by before Zou Yi finally calmed down.
"What are you both doing here? Are you…" Zou Yi was hesitant to ask.
"We can talk about that later, tell us about you. How have you and your sister been?" asked his mother with a gentle smile as she used the sleeves of her robes to wipe away his tears and snort, which Zou Yi was all too glad to let her do.
"You've not met Liqin yet?" asked Zou Yi in confusion as he looked around.
"You're the first person we have seen, and in our condition, well let's say we are just happy to see our child…So how have you and your sister been?" asked his mother.
Zou Yi realized she was avoiding; however, he didn't insist on it and did as he was asked. He narrated their lives in Purple City, making a point of avoiding the few months that followed after their death. It was a horrendous time after their passing, and Zou Yi did all he could to forget that time.
So, for his tale, he focused on their lives in Purple City, how they survived, how they met the Wang couple, and the friendship they struck with them and their regulars. The tours they gave around the town, the skills they gained, and other exciting details. He avoided the dark part of their lives in the city such as being lackeys to the black viper gang and how much they suffered when they were forced to join.
Zou Yi soon forgot himself in his narration as he animatedly described the two and half years, they spent in Purple City. He got more enthusiastic about it, especially when he saw how attentive and keen his parents seemed to be on hearing the story.
An hour quickly went by before finally he reached the end of his tale which was his interaction with Yang Qing and finally getting a chance to join the Order.
"You did good," said Zou Yi's father with a look of pride on his face.
Zou Yi sniffled, tears threatening to stream down his face, with a warm but abashed smile on his face. Hearing his father's words of reaffirmation, made everything he had endured to ensure his and Zou Liqin's safety to be all worth it.
"I know both you and Liqin will do well in the test, you're our children after all," added his mother as she ruffled his hair.
"Little Yi, I'm sorry that we weren't there for you when you needed us…" said his father with a melancholic tune.
"But you're here now, and Grandpa will join be joining us," Zou Yi suddenly said as he looked up at his parents. However, his gaze froze when he saw their sad smiles. Other than the sad smiles there was something else that shook him, their robes seemed fainter, and it looked to be spreading to their bodies.
"Mom, Dad, what…" Zou Yi worriedly pointed at their misty sleeves as he tried to stitch it back up to their robes. However, his hands passed through.
"Little Yi, I know you're smart to have realized it from the beginning. It is okay. We are glad we got to share this moment with you. It's a shame that we won't get to see you and Liqin grow but I'm glad we got to have this moment with you.
We both love you very much, and you're already my pride," said Zou Yi's father.
"You're not alive, are you?" Zou Yi asked with a sad smile.
"No, little Yi," his mother answered.
"I should have known," said Zou Yi as he stared longingly at his parents trying to commit every single part of them to memory.
"I'm glad I got to have this moment with you too," said Zou Yi with an honest big smile with red-rimmed eyes.
"We love you, and you and your sister need to look after each other and Grandpa too. I hope you make many more memories, little Yi, happy ones. We love you and we are cheering for both you and Liqin," said Zou Yi's mom.
"Blaze on ahead, little clan patriarch Yi," his father added with a cheeky smile.
"I will," Zou Yi answered as he watched his parents' bodies morph into a passage.
"So, this is this is what she meant…" Zou Yi muttered to himself.
"Thank you for giving me this," said Zou Yi as he gave a solemn ninety-degree bow within the fog.
He stayed that way for a few minutes and then rose up, wiped the remaining tears from his face, took a deep breath, and walked through the whirlpool passageway.
He felt his vision change, and when he came to, he found himself lying down on the grass in a fetal position.
"Brother!!!!"
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