"Liang, you really... came back to me." Li Jiali held the child in her arms, slowly turned to look at her husband, and felt a surge of immense joy overwhelming her. It all felt like a dream, yet it was so real.
"This, this is not a dream!" Liang stepped forward and tightly held Li Jiali in his arms, choking up, "I finally got to hold my big darling and my little darling together again."
The family hugged tightly together, for a long, long time.
"You’ve lost weight, both of you have." Li Jiali looked at her husband and child, murmuring, and after speaking, she kissed her daughter’s face, "Have you missed mom? Mom really missed you."
"I missed mom, I missed mom so much too." Li Jiali’s daughter, only five years old, clung tightly to Li Jiali’s neck, crying.
Li Jiali was almost overwhelmed by the immense surprise. Although she had never given up searching for her family, she understood in her heart how slim the hope of reunion truly was. But Kong Hou gave her such a big surprise.
"Kong Hou? Where’s Kong Hou?" Li Jiali exclaimed and then looked around for Kong Hou.
"Who’s Kong Hou?" Liang asked.
"She’s the one who brought you back to me, my other daughter." Li Jiali said somewhat flusteredly, "She’s the child I adopted, very well-behaved. Kong Hou, Kong Hou—" Li Jiali started calling loudly.
"Was she the one who brought us here?" Liang frowned slightly, the earlier event indeed seemed too incredible. He and his daughter were originally at the doorstep watching the sun outside, and the next moment they were by Li Jiali’s side. This certainly wasn’t something ordinary people could do. But who is this Kong Hou?
"Is she an older sister or younger sister?" Li Jiali’s daughter still had tears in her eyes, but upon hearing there’s another daughter her mother had, she asked curiously and expectantly, "Can there be someone for me to play with then?"
"She’s the older sister." Li Jiali touched her daughter’s forehead with her own, "She’s a very sensible and good older sister."
"Then where is sister?" Li Jiali’s daughter also glanced around and called out loudly, "Sister, sister? Sister, where are you?"
Li Jiali also called loudly, "Kong Hou, Kong Hou..."
But after calling for a long time, there was still no response from Kong Hou.
"Did she leave?" Li Jiali said softly, sadly.
"This child, she’s likely not an ordinary person. Now, she must have returned to where she originally belongs." Liang held Li Jiali and gently patted her back in comfort.
"But I haven’t properly bid her farewell..." Li Jiali said sadly.
"Perhaps, she’s afraid the farewell would make it harder to leave." Liang continued to comfort softly, "I’m really grateful to her for reuniting our family."
"I also promised that I’d buy her lots of colorful candies when I get the chance..." Li Jiali murmured.
"Yes, yes, buy them, life will get better." Liang looked up at the sky.
A brilliant sun hung high in the sky, its dazzling rays stung the eyes a bit, but it was incredibly warm.
...
Dong Xiao stood beside Tianmiao, watching the scene in the Heavenly Mechanism Mirror, where Qu Ruiqing was busy.
"Master, Lord Heavenly Dao sent a message earlier, saying you intervened too much this time and it’ll impact your performance." Dong Xiao said quietly.
Tianmiao just smiled without saying anything.
Originally, Tianmiao should not have intervened too much, only assisting Qu Ruiqing in completing the transformation. But Tianmiao directly changed the course of the world dramatically, allowing Qu Ruiqing complete relief from the burdens he was supposed to carry. Qu Ruiqing did not become a tragic hero, but instead a regular person. This was perhaps the best ending for Qu Ruiqing.
"Did Kong Hou come back?" Tianmiao asked.