Chapter 147: Chapter 134: Farewell
The air after the rain was refreshing, and all of creation was brimming with life.
After the great battle, the area was a complete wreck. Han Qiubai didn’t finish tying up the loose ends until eleven p.m. on the 1st, and only then did she find Tao Lang.
When she did, she saw him kneeling on-site, lost and soul-crushed, clutching a small, red-clad corpse without a word.
Su Yue had left her a simple message, briefly explaining some of the events before and after the Grandmaster battle. Security Bureau specialists would contact Su Yue to verify the finer details.
Thus, Han Qiubai had a rough idea that Tao Lang might have known the deceased Illuminati Apostle.
Five days had passed. Han Qiubai found Tao Lang again after a meeting. He seemed to have recovered some of his composure.
When they met again today, Tao Lang was no longer in his flamboyant pink outfit, and his long, flowing hair was gone. He looked clean and neat, dressed all in black. Only his gaunt cheeks and the dark circles under his eyes spoke of his unending sorrow.
This was a melancholic, brooding man, not the campy persona he affected.
Qiangwei lay in a glass cryo-coffin. Her body had clearly been restored. With delicate makeup and a little pink dress, she looked as adorable as a sleeping angel.
"You’re here. Thank you."
Tao Lang’s voice was deep, devoid of that nauseatingly affected tone from before. It was actually quite pleasant.
Han Qiubai knew why Tao Lang was thanking her. While collecting bodies a few days prior, someone had suggested gathering all the cultists’ corpses, digging a pit, and burning them before burial. When they moved to take Qiangwei’s remains, the crowd probably thought Tao Lang had some perverse fetish involving corpses—after all, to them, it only seemed natural for a deviant to engage in even more deviant behavior.
A conflict broke out. The enraged Tao Lang almost attacked them but was stopped by Han Qiubai, who then let him handle the matter himself.
"No need for thanks. If I’m not mistaken, Qiangwei was the one who sent us the warning message. Because of her, we were able to prepare. Besides, she didn’t use lethal force that day.
Death settles all debts. Whatever her identity was before, let’s just leave it at that."
Han Qiubai was holding back with her words. Qiangwei had only injured the people at the outpost instead of killing them, but there was one exception: Zhang Yuanqiao, who was still in the hospital. If Su Yue hadn’t arrived in time to help, he would have definitely been torn into four pieces.
Besides, regardless of whether she acted passively or actively, as an Apostle, Qiangwei’s hands were already stained with the blood of innocents. The idea that death settles all debts was a hard pill to swallow.
Han Qiubai had said it to help shoulder some of the burden for Tao Lang.
"Do you have time... to hear a story?"
Tao Lang was silent for a moment before speaking in a hoarse, trembling voice.
Looking at the gloomy man, Han Qiubai placed the case of liquor she had brought onto the table.
"Let’s drink while you talk. I’m listening..."
Tao Lang smiled faintly, picked up a bottle of Yueguan Mountain, and chugged the entire thing in one go. Han Qiubai stared in surprise, then drank half a bottle herself to accompany him.
"Fourteen years ago, my sister and I were caught in a cult’s blood sacrifice..."
It was a horribly common story. Fourteen years ago, a cult priest, bored, initiated a blood sacrifice. At the last moment, the old bastard decided the brother and sister were cute and spared them. That was the beginning of the tragedy.
The two children, one six and one ten, had to face the brutal deaths of their parents and were plunged into deep darkness. It’s hard to imagine the pain they must have endured.
During one incident, the sister created a chance for her brother to escape, but she herself sank deeper and deeper. Step by step, she was groomed into a cult Apostle, becoming a "reserve ration" for the Dust Sacrifice. Because she was exposed to martial arts too early, her physical development was permanently halted at the age of ten.
Han Qiubai listened quietly as Tao Lang recounted his deepest secrets and hardships, downing the strong liquor whenever the story became too painful.
She was beginning to understand why Tao Lang had been the way he was before. Premature exposure to such darkness had long since twisted his mind, leaving only a profound hatred for cults. She’d heard that in the past, nearly all the cultists who fell into Tao Lang’s hands were tortured to death.
Ordinary people just saw him as a crazy pervert, but they didn’t know that behind every so-called deviant, there might be an even more twisted story.
"I want to bury my sister here. On every sunny day, she’ll be able to see the sky where the Dust Sacrifice was turned to ash and smoke. I think that would make her very happy."
Han Qiubai said nothing, silently finishing the liquor in her bottle.
"I’ll make the arrangements."
Tao Lang finished the last bottle, choking until tears streamed down his face.
"COUGH, COUGH... Is this liquor called Yueguan Mountain? It’s good."
And then, he suddenly started to laugh.
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Yu Zhiguo and his wife stayed at home, not daring to go out. They sat worriedly amidst a large pile of sympathy gifts. Over the past few days, all sorts of officials had come to visit, but none would say a word about Yu Fei’s condition.
All they would say was that Yu Fei was a hero, that he had saved everyone.
This only made them more anxious. That day, Yan Hai had hastily left a message saying that Yu Fei was injured and needed to go elsewhere for treatment, telling them not to worry.
But how could they not worry?
The old couple sat at home as all sorts of terrible thoughts flashed through their minds. ’Did he lose an arm or a leg? Is he crippled? Or even worse...’
"Can you please stop pacing back and forth? THUD, THUD, THUD. It’s so annoying."
In the silence, Mrs. Yu suddenly exploded, giving Yu Zhiguo a fierce scolding.
Yu Zhiguo looked like he wanted to say something but held his tongue. He silently returned to his room and dialed Yu Fei’s number, only to be met with a busy signal.
Parents don’t want their children to be heroes; they only wish for them to be safe.
"DING DONG..."
The doorbell rang. Mrs. Yu waited a moment before going to open it. Yu Zhiguo didn’t come out. They had simply had too many visitors over the last few days, and it was getting tiresome.
On the 8th, Yan Hai quietly returned to Tianning County and immediately went to visit Yu Fei’s home. He had brought Yu Fei’s injury diagnosis report and was there to explain the situation to his parents.
