Chapter 24 — The Abyssal King Returns

One month after the engagement ceremony amidst the cheers and congratulations of the entire U Minh Giới court, the official wedding between Nhiếp Bách Uyên and Nghê Thục Di was held, harmoniously combining the solemn rituals of the U Minh Giới royal family and the simple, warm customs that Thục Di and Chung Diệu Nga have always cherished from Vân Khê Trấn. The new Venerable Lord Nhiếp Bách Khương personally officiated the wedding, seeing this as a way to repay some of the kindness his cousin had given him.

After the wedding, as promised to himself and his daughter, Bách Uyên, Thục Di and Tiểu Yên decided to return to the human world, choosing Vân Khê Trấn as their permanent residence. Before the day of departure, Nhiếp Bách Khương expressed his wish to build a fixed spirit gate, making it easier to travel back and forth between the land near Vân Khê Trấn and U Minh Giới, so that the two worlds would no longer be completely separate as before, and at the same time so that Bách Uyên's small family could visit U Minh Giới whenever they wanted, and vice versa.

"Brother, please rest assured and live a happy life," Nhiếp Bách Khương said during the farewell ceremony at the spirit gate, his voice was full of respect. "If there's anything I need from you, I won't hesitate to come find you, but I hope it will just be something fun, like an invitation to a party to celebrate your children and grandchildren."

"You can rule with peace of mind, I believe in you," Bách Uyên replied, hugging his cousin one last time before leaving. "And I also hope that one day, you will also find your own happiness, just like I found it."

Nhiếp Bách Khương only smiled, not responding directly, but his eyes were full of hope for the good things that lay ahead for both himself and the world he was responsible for.

Returning to Vân Khê Town, the group was warmly welcomed by the disciples of the martial arts hall and the people of the town, who had been worried for many months about what had happened to their benefactor. Chung Diệu Nga was overjoyed to return to a familiar home, and quickly began to restore the martial arts school, although now she had a special reason to proudly show off to everyone about her students.

Bách Uyên used a small part of the wealth that the U Minh Giới court insisted on giving him as a dowry, building a spacious house right next to the martial arts hall, spacious enough for both his small family and the times Chung Diệu Nga wanted to visit. He also used part of it to help Vân Khê town build a small clinic, expressing gratitude to the land that supported him and his daughter in the most difficult days.

"Dad, do we have to go anywhere else?" One morning, when she woke up in her new house, Tiểu Yên asked, her voice full of hope.

"No, honey." Bách Uyên smiled and patted her daughter's head. "This will be our home, forever. You can grow up here, go to school, make friends, play, without having to worry about anything anymore."

Tiểu Yên hugged her father, then ran to hug Thục Di who was preparing breakfast in the kitchen. Her clear laughter echoed throughout the warm little house, a sound that now no longer carried the obsession of sudden pain, but simply the innocent joy of a child living her childhood to the fullest.

Life in Vân Khê Trấn gradually falls into a peaceful routine. Bách Uyên continues to work as a farm assistant and repairman for families in the town. Although he can now live much more prosperously thanks to the wealth he brought with him, he still wants to keep the manual labor habit that has stuck with him for the past seven years, seeing it as an indispensable part of his personality. Thục Di continues her role as the town's heroine, although now she rarely has to face danger alone, because Bách Uyên always stands by her side when needed.

A few years later, a handsome baby boy was born, carrying the blood of both extraordinary families - the U Minh Giới royal bloodline from his father, and the precious Tịnh Linh clan bloodline from his mother. Tiểu Yên, now a mature young woman, has become an older sister who always enthusiastically takes care of and protects her younger brother whenever she has free time after martial arts lessons with Chung Diệu Nga.

Occasionally, the spiritual gate that Nhiếp Bách Khương built would open, bringing special guests from the U Minh Giới to visit - sometimes the new Supreme Lord himself stopped by to ask for advice on some awkward court issues, sometimes Chu Bách Thành brought some gifts for the children, sometimes Diệp Uyên Thanh came to tell interesting historical stories to Tiểu Yên. Every time, the small house in Vân Khê Trấn is filled with the warm laughter of a large family, stretching across two worlds.

On peaceful afternoons, Bách Uyên often sat on the front porch, watching Thục Di teach his children basic martial arts exercises in the yard. His eyes were filled with a contentment that no throne or supreme power could ever bring him during his hundreds of years in office.

He recalls everything he has been through - from the peak of power as a Supreme Master worshiped by thousands of people, to the most difficult days when he had to learn how to live as a mortal in a strange world, and then to the dangerous journey to regain justice and save his daughter's life. Each of those turning points, whether painful or happy, led him to the right place where he belonged — not on a noble throne, but right here, in the middle of a simple small town, next to the people he loved most.

"What are you thinking?" Thục Di asked, sitting down next to him after finishing the practice session, naturally holding his arm as she had done thousands of times before.

"I was thinking, I'm the luckiest person in the world," Bách Uyên replied, turning to look at her with eyes full of love. "From a king who lost everything, I found something even more precious than the throne — a real family, a real home, and a love that I never dared to dream of after losing Nguyệt Hinh."

Thục Di leaned her head on his shoulder, looking out at the yard where her children were playing under the warm golden afternoon sunlight, in the distance was the dark green mountain range embracing the small Vân Khê Town, which had witnessed the entire journey from a chance encounter on the side of the road, to a complete happiness that lasted for the rest of their lives.

On a late autumn evening, when the whole family gathered around a cozy tray of rice, Tiểu Yên, now twelve years old, told her little brother about her parents' extraordinary journey. Even though she had heard it many times, the child still listened as eagerly as the first time.

"And then, mom used her blood to save my life, right?" The boy asked, his eyes wide and full of admiration looking at his mother.

"That's right, your mother is the bravest person I've ever known," Bách Uyên replied, looking at Thục Di with eyes full of pride and love.

"Your father was equally brave, daring to give up a throne because of his love for your sister," Thục Di responded, smiling slightly at her husband.

Chung Diệu Nga, whose hair is now completely white but whose spirit is still clear, often stops by to have meals with her small family, telling her grandchildren the stories of her youth, making the whole family burst into laughter every time she comes to visit. She sees Bách Uyên as her biological son-in-law, and sees the two children as her own grandchildren, a happiness in her old age that she never dared to dream of when she was a lonely female knight in the past.

Sometimes, on moonlit nights, Bách Uyên still took his whole family to sit on the bank of the small lake behind the martial arts hall, where he and Thục Di had their first evening holding hands under the moonlight, telling their children about the wonders of the U Minh Giới, about old friends there, and about the biggest lesson that life had taught him: that power, fame, or anything flashy on the outside, cannot be compared to the sincere love between people who know how to appreciate each other.

The story of the king who gave up the throne, in the end, does not end with a glorious victory on the battlefield or a splendid coronation ceremony, but ends with the simplest things - the laughter of children, the warmth of a home, and a love that has passed through the years, proving that, sometimes, the greatest happiness lies in the most simple things that people can find, just need to be brave enough to give up what is not really important.