The instant spiritual energy flooded into it, the space-compression talisman at my fingertip dissolved into a streak of flowing light that coiled around my wrist. That dizzying sensation of compressed space and stretched time washed over me again — though unlike the first clumsy time I'd used one, channeling spiritual energy through a talisman was second nature now. The scenery before me blurred like an ink drop falling into water, bleeding outward before snapping back into focus.

One moment the walls of the Yanking Xuanmen Bureau were still dimly visible behind me; the next, the familiar old residential complex stood right before my eyes. The afternoon sun slanted across the railing of our third-floor balcony, the laundry Jade Lin had hung out swaying gently in the breeze — River's Ultraman pajamas impossible to miss.

"Haah."

I let out a long breath. Coming home this time felt nothing like the previous two. This was relief — bone-deep, genuine relief. A full year. From losing my job and hitting rock bottom, to getting tangled up in the storms of the cultivation world. From being hunted by Baizhen Pavilion like a stray dog, to holding my own against the upper echelons of Xuanmen. The road I'd walked this past year had been more harrowing than the first forty-two years of my life combined.

The bronze ring grew faintly warm. The Old Man of the system spoke in his usual languid drawl: "Rookie, you're almost home — why are you just standing there spacing out? Scared your kid River's gonna make fun of that face full of stubble?"

I rubbed my chin. The stubble scratched my palm. I let out a wry smile. This past year of running from place to place — forget shaving, a single night of uninterrupted sleep had been a luxury.

At the door of the third-floor flat, I drew a deep breath, raised my hand, and knocked.

"Who is it?" Jade Lin's voice came from inside, carrying a thread of wariness.

"It's me. Your husband."

The door creaked open a crack. Jade Lin peered out. The moment she saw me, she froze — then her eyes went red in an instant. She didn't say a word. She just wrenched the door open, grabbed me by the arm, yanked me inside, and pulled it shut behind her.

Watching that reflex — the way her body had learned to be afraid — made my chest ache.

"Dad!" River's voice burst from the living room. He'd been sprawled over the coffee table drawing, but he looked up at the sound, and when he spotted me his eyes went round as saucers. "Daddy! You're back!"

The little guy launched himself across the room like a cannonball. I bent down and scooped him up. Last time I'd come home I'd been so strung out with nerves I hadn't even noticed — he'd grown quite a bit since the year before. He wrapped his arms around my neck and rubbed his little head back and forth against my shoulder. "Daddy, where did you go this time? How come you were gone so long?"

Jade Lin stood to the side, arms crossed, eyes still pink at the rims. When she finally spoke, her voice came out hard and flat: "Back pretty quickly this time, aren't you."

I looked at her — that careful performance of composure — and felt a warmth move through me. I stepped over and put my arm around her waist. "I'm sorry. I made you both worry."

Jade Lin went rigid for a moment, then softened. She gave me one quiet knock on the chest. "You're home. That's what matters. You're home."

"Daddy, did you bring me a present?" River wriggled down from my arms and tilted his face up, eyes full of hope.

"Of course I did." I grinned and reached toward the small pouch-sized qiankun bag at my hip. The interior wasn't large — a cubic metre or two at most — but it was more than enough for personal effects. No more lugging a stuffed canvas pack around like a refugee.

Jade Lin eyed the bag curiously. "That pouch of yours…"

"Watch." I left her in suspense, and with a nudge of my intent, drew out a palm-sized conch from the qiankun bag. No ordinary shell, this — I'd found it near Tingtao Residence on the Eastern Sea. A Mingling Conch: infused with spiritual energy, it produced a melodious sound of ocean waves and carried a calming effect on the mind.

"Wow!" River's eyes lit up. He took it and turned it over, examining it from every angle.

I reached in again and produced a chunk of jade the size of a fist, pure white throughout, its naturally formed veining the spitting image of a landscape painting. "This is a Calm-Spirit Jade. Keep it by the bed — it helps you sleep."

Jade Lin took the jade. It was warm and smooth to the touch. She stared at me, astonished. "This… what is this? It doesn't look ordinary at all."

"There's more." I smiled and drew out a bracelet strung with coloured shells. "This one's for River — the shells are Cailingbei from the Eastern Sea. Wearing it keeps illness away."

Next came a sealed crock of braised beef in sauce — made by hand by Elder Kai himself — followed by several stalks of spirit herb with leaves that shimmered gold, Condensed-Dew Grass, meant to nourish Jade Lin's constitution. I drew them out one by one from the qiankun bag. River's jaw dropped further with each item; he clapped his hands and crowed: "Daddy can do magic!"

Jade Lin's expression was one of pure shock. She had known, in a general way, that I'd set foot on an extraordinary path — but seeing these things with her own eyes, things that defied all common sense, she still couldn't quite find her footing.

End of Chapter 66: The Space-Compression Talisman