Wielding the Thunders Across Two Worlds

"Wow!"

In Jinling, by Mo Chou Lake, Xiao Ya and Jiang Shishi gazed at the stone tower in the distance and exclaimed in unison, "It looks so majestic."

Gu Zhao nodded, replying nonchalantly, "It’s alright."

Jiang Shishi linked her arm with Gu Zhao’s. "Why didn’t you go?"

Gu Zhao smiled. "Because I actually quite enjoy shopping with you two."

Jiang Shishi and Xiao Ya were deeply moved. Xiao Ya nodded repeatedly and also took Gu Zhao’s hand, causing Erin, who was standing a short distance away, to roll her eyes.

’He likes shopping with his girlfriends? Yeah, right. As if I’d believe that.’

But Gu Zhao wasn’t actually lying. He usually stayed on Otherworld Mountain, a place of ancient charm, serene and silent. Now that he was back in the modern world, he naturally wanted a change of pace to experience its bustling energy.

Shopping with his two girlfriends satisfied both his need for a new environment and his desire for intimacy. Wasn’t that a win-win situation?

It was the same this time. Taoist Shen Hao had brought the Eight Vast Universe Tower back to Mo Chou Lake, shaking the entire nation. Tourists were flocking to see it. Xiao Ya and Jiang Shishi happened to have time off from their orchestra, and it coincided with Gu Zhao coming out of his seclusion, so of course, they had to come join the excitement.

One of Erin’s missions in Celestial Xia was to befriend Xiao Ya. Now that she also knew about Gu Zhao’s power, this rare opportunity to go out together was one she couldn’t miss, so she had eagerly tagged along.

But the saccharine sweetness of the trio across from her still made it hard to control her expression. After all, she wasn’t a professional agent.

Erin really wanted to ask who was stronger, Gu Zhao or Taoist Shen Hao, but after a moment’s thought, she didn’t dare. Instead, she moved closer and asked, "Aren’t you guys worried at all about the protests in Sakura Country?"

Gu Zhao glanced at Erin as if she were an idiot. "Isn’t this a good thing?"

"What’s a good thing?" Erin asked.

Jiang Shishi smiled. "When the Sakura People protest, they’re putting pressure on their own system. If their system can’t handle it, we’ll be too busy celebrating to be worried."

Xiao Ya added quietly, "Confucius said: Vengeance can be taken, even after ten generations!"

Erin couldn’t help but swallow, a little startled. Xiao Ya was usually so quiet and gentle, seeming completely detached from worldly affairs. She never thought Xiao Ya could say something so terrifying.

But thinking about what they had just seen in the memorial hall, Erin couldn’t help but clench her jaw in anger. "They really were monsters."

"Baka-yarou!"

Just then, a low curse reached their ears. The surrounding crowd reacted instantly, swiftly taking a few steps back and leaving a group of five tourists isolated in the center.

This group consisted of an elderly couple, a middle-aged couple, and a little girl around ten years old.

The elderly couple looked uncomfortable but remained silent. It was the middle-aged man who was speaking, his face contorted with anger as he muttered in the Sakura language.

He was then interrupted by the old man, who pointed toward the memorial hall and began to scold him with a stern expression.

However, the middle-aged man was not convinced and continued to argue.

The crowd kept its distance. Some walked away indifferently, some watched from afar, and a few who understood the Sakura language eagerly began translating for everyone else.

"The younger one says the Celestial Xia People are robbers, utterly shameless."

"The old one says the Sakura People were the robbers, that the stones for the tower’s base were all made from stones stolen from Celestial Xia back then."

"The old one says that the Sakura committed crimes in this city back then."

"The younger one says the Celestial Xia People are lying, that no massacre ever happened here. Son of a bitch!"

"The younger one says it’s Celestial Xia’s hate-filled education, slandering Sakura. He says it was a gentleman’s war between Sakura and Celestial Xia back then, and if Huaqi hadn’t interfered, Sakura would have unified Celestial Xia and everyone would be speaking the Sakura language."

"Is this guy looking for a beating?" someone asked, starting to roll up his sleeves.

"Hold on, the old man has some sense. His tone is getting stricter," another person said, holding him back.

"The old one says it’s Sakura that rewrites history. That’s why he brought his whole family on a trip to Jinling—so they could see the evidence and not be brainwashed by the Sakura system."

"Huh? It’s rare to see a Sakura Person who’s actually reasonable."

"Didn’t some old guy from Sakura Country come to apologize a while back? The older they are, the more likely they know the truth. Hayao Miyazaki and Fujimoto Hiroshi were both left-wing."

"Too bad it’s useless even if they know. The young people today don’t listen!"

"Decades of continuous education, over ninety percent hostility in opinion polls... It’s too late."

"That’s fine. Let them accelerate."

Listening to the translations, the group of onlookers pointed and commented with great interest. Their gazes toward the old man were relatively kind, but their looks toward the middle-aged man were filled mostly with contempt.

Yes, not indignation, but contempt, and even a hint of pity.

"He had a father who could tell right from wrong, but he didn’t appreciate it. Instead, he let himself get duped like an idiot."

"The old man is at such an advanced age, yet he still has to worry about his idiot son, bringing him all the way to Jinling to be educated, hoping to bring him back to his senses. A real case of good intentions gone to waste."

"Heh, you don’t educate your kid when he’s young, and now you’re trying when he’s over forty? Isn’t it a bit late for that?"

"The older you get, the wiser you become. The old man has probably sensed that something is wrong."

"Was it the sixth-gen fighter jet taking to the skies? Or the Type 003 hitting the water?"

"Actually, he doesn’t need to worry so much. Once Huaqi retreats to the eastern side of the Pacific Ocean and Celestial Xia launches another ten aircraft carriers, Sakura Country will have permanent peace. People won’t necessarily have to die."

"You said ’not necessarily.’ What if they do?"

"If they do... then you can only say they have bad luck."

"Um... actually, I’m kind of hoping for a scenario where Huaqi refuses to accept defeat and Sakura Country takes a desperate risk."

The old man and the middle-aged man soon noticed the strange atmosphere around them. They stopped arguing and prepared to leave, but they had only taken two steps when two young men speaking the Sakura language blocked their path.

"These two are criticizing the old one."

The newcomers weren’t speaking quietly, perhaps assuming that most people around them wouldn’t understand what they were saying.

"They’re saying that Celestial Xia only had Weimar equipment back then, that Sakura was on the side of justice, and that they ended the Pacific War together with Huaqi, facing off against Weimar, Mao Bear, and Celestial Xia..."

"They say Sakura ended the war in Celestial Xia out of humanitarian spirit, but now Celestial Xia is turning around and falsely accusing them."

"They’re saying Sakura will sooner or later return here to take this stone tower back."

"What the f—"

Before the translator could say another word, the surrounding crowd erupted in curses. Seeing this, the two young men grew scared and hurriedly turned and ran away.

Jiang Shishi crossed her arms. "We’re far too magnanimous as a great nation. I really wanted to go up there and give them a beating!"

Erin looked at Gu Zhao. "You’re not going to do anything?"

Gu Zhao said coolly, "I already did."

"Starting tonight, they will dream every night of a fellow countryman from Jinling recounting what they suffered back then, who will then transform into a Fierce Ghost to claim their lives. This will continue for about eight hundred years."

Gu Zhao took the mineral water Xiao Ya handed him, took a sip, and said indifferently, "I hope they can last a while."

Erin’s eyes widened. "Are you a devil?"

"No." Xiao Ya took the water bottle back, drank a little herself, and said quietly, "They are the devils."