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When he first arrived on the Divine Mountains, Yang Jian had tried using his cell phone to contact Ye Zichen and the others, but his messages wouldn’t send. He couldn’t reach them.
Since then, he gave up on using his cell phone, and let it gather dust in a spatial ring.
In the years to come, whenever he missed his old friends, he’d pull out the phone. Just looking at it filled his mind with memories of the distant past. And yet, he’d never tried charging it with divine power, as he knew full well that there was no network here. There was no way to contact anyone.
But now Ye Zichen wanted him to turn on his phone?
Yang Jian arched his brows but didn’t ask any questions. Charging his phone was no big deal. He silently infused it with divine power, and the screen lit up.
“It’s been almost a hundred years since I last used this.” As Yang Jian turned on his phone, he smiled at Ye Zichen. “I was afraid that if I turned it on, I’d miss my old friends.”
Ye Zichen simply smiled in response. Yang Jian was fixated on his screen.
Until….
Buzz!
The phone vibrated like crazy as an endless stream of messages from the Red Packet Server popped up, one after the other.
Yang Jian froze.
His eyes filled with disbelief. Ye Zichen chuckled, then gestured for him to tap his notifications.
“Go ahead, talk to them!”
Meanwhile, within the Red Packet Server.
The group was accustomed to chatting every day, especially now that the Upper and Lower Realms were connected. The immortals asked about life on the Divine Mountains practically every day; they were eager to hear what it was like up there.
God of Fortune: Great Sage, when you take us up there to hang out for a bit?
Monkey King: Wait until I’ve gotten myself established. Then I can bring you up too.
Yue Lao: @ Monkey King When will you visit me for a drink? Old Lord Taijun says he misses you too.
Old Lord Taishang: When did I say that?
Monkey King: How could that geezer miss me? He just wants to refine me into medicine, I bet.
God of Thunder: How long has it been since then? Great Sage, you sure can bear a grudge!
Old Lord Taijun: Petty.
Monkey King: Hey, old man. It seems you want me to give you a good beating.
Old Lord Taijun: You’re going to scare this old man to death.
Just as the group was joking around, someone new entered the chat…
Howling Celestial Dog: Woof! Woof! Woof!
The chat group instantly fell silent. Everyone, regardless of whether they were still in the Heavenly Court or whether they’d already ascended to the divine mountains, stared intently at the Howling Celestial Dog’s brief, inscrutable message.
Especially the Great Sage. At the moment, he was on the Northern Divine Mountain, drinking at a tavern with Wei Jie and the rest of Ye Zichen’s subordinates.
When he saw the Howling Celestial Dog’s message, he seized up, his gaze suddenly complex as he stared unblinkingly at his screen.
“Great Sage?” Wei Jie asked, lifting his wine class inquisitively.
The Great Sage gestured for him not to worry. He touched his screen and started to type, his hands trembling.
“Why isn’t anyone saying anything?” Yang Jian, who’d used the Howling Celestial Dog’s account to send the message, waited for a while but saw no sign of a response. He couldn’t help but frown.
Ye Zichen was currently lurking in the chat group. He was used to their sudden fits of silence. “They’re probably just startled. After all, the Howling Celestial Dog is always by your side. If it’s appeared, you must be there too. But they haven’t heard from you in a hundred years; it’s only natural they’d be surprised.”
Shortly after, a message from the Great Sage appeared on screen.
Monkey King: My son?
After sending the message, the Great Sage stared unblinkingly at his screen, his Fiery Eyes of Truth filled with undisguised hope.
Until….
When he saw the Great Sage’s message, Yang Jian’s face went bright green. He typed a response at top speed.
Erlang Shen: @Monkey King, are you looking to die, you monkey? I’m your father. You’re MY son.
It really was him.
The Great Sage suddenly laughed. A hint of tears glinted at the corners of his eyes. He grinned at the message and, without the slightest hesitation, sent one right back.
Monkey King: @Erlang Shen, my son, you’ve been gone almost one hundred years! You didn’t contact me even once. You darn kid, you’re truly naughty.
Erlang Shen: Screw off!
Monkey King: Hey, kid, is that any way to talk to your elders? It’s been a hundred years since I last hit you. Are you looking for a beating?
Erlang Shen: Go ahead and come find me! I’m soooo scared!
Monkey King: Give me your coordinates!
Yue Lao: Ol’ Yang, are you really back?
Canopy Marshal: Ol’ Yang, you’re still alive?
God of Fortune: My heavens! It seems everyone’s back now!
God of Thunder: Yang Jian!
Erlang Shen: Of course I’m still alive! What, did you think I died up here? Let me tell you, even if I died, I’d drag you all down with me first.
Although that’s what he said, Ye Zichen, who was sitting beside him, could see his radiant smile.
He was definitely delighted!
It was just like before. As soon as he saw the Great Sage, he ripped right into him. The chat group’s regulars were all there too.
“Bro, what exactly is going on?” Yang Jian grinned foolishly at Ye Zichen. “When I got here, I couldn’t send messages at all!”
“I brought communications engineers up from the Heavenly Court and Underworld to establish a network here,” said Ye Zichen. “But that only happened a little while ago.”
Monkey King: @Erlang Shen, My son, send the coordinates!
The Monkey repeatedly @’d Yang Jian, going on and on about he wanted to teach him to respect his elders.
Yang Jian sneered but ignored him, then chatted happily with the others in the group. The Great Sage was infuriated that he was being ignored that he sent so many messages so quickly that they filled the entire screen.
Erlang Shen: Quit prattling. If you keep this up, you’ll just wind up in tears.
Monkey King: ?
In response to the Great Sage’s question, Yang Jian sent a only two words in response:
Yang Jian: Supreme treasure?
After sending this message, Yang Jian closed the group and tossed the phone aside, laughing non-stop. His phone buzzed incessantly. Ye Zichen peered at it and saw that the Great Sage had sent Yang Jian a private message request.
“I’m dying of laughter here! So, that blasted monkey’s still alive. We’ve got to celebrate!” Yang Jian clutched his stomach as he laughed, completely ignoring the Great Sage’s message. He wiped tears of laughter from his eyes, reached into the air, and pulled out two bottles of iced Coca Cola. He tossed one to Ye Zichen, then opened his and took a big gulp.
In the process, he laughed so hard, he choked. This was an example of how excessive happiness only leads to pain.
A long time passed before Yang Jian stopped coughing, then, still out of breath, but his drink back onto the table.
Ye Zichen looked down, then at the iced sodas.
This….
Where exactly had Yang Jian gotten this?
