Chapter 651: 627_2

Returning to the Mainland with Gu Zhun was a young man, but he had always been cautious. Upon arrival, he separated from the others, fearing that any troubles would implicate himself.

Unexpectedly, this young man fell in love with a local girl, and the two eventually got married. Gu Zhun was happy for him. However, as Gu Zhun was preparing to leave the small town, something shocking happened.

The woman the man married was the daughter of a renowned local Witch. Just days after the wedding, the young couple disappeared without a trace, with nobody knowing where they went. Only the Witch stared at Gu Zhun with a somber expression.

Newlyweds in the village began disappearing one after another.

Later, the Witch proclaimed that such outsiders had brought disaster to the village, and the villagers were quick to judge, ready to burn him alive. On the day of the execution, Gu Zhun was taken away, but the village was nearly massacred.

Gu Zhun was brought to a valley, where he saw all the missing young people, though they were preserved in large jars as if asleep, yet their appearance was eerie.

Gu Zhun didn’t think being here was any better than being burned to death, fearing that this time he would certainly perish in the flames. A wildfire, starting from an unknown source, engulfed everything in a sea of fire.

The young couple took Gu Zhun and fled. The three of them hid in the mountains for a long time, never daring to return to the village.

Afterward, the woman gave birth to a child and passed away, and the man soon followed in a lover’s suicide.

“This couple were Ling Rong’s parents. Ling Rong was born with a mane of red hair, like a little red imp who enjoyed playing with fire. Ling Rong’s mother, knowing she was pregnant, summoned great strength to draw the wildfire and saved me.”

The memories were pale and painful, but impossible to forget.

“But how could Ling Rong’s mother summon a wildfire?” Ye Tian asked curiously. “What exactly did those people want to do?”

“They were researching a new type of human.”

Ye Tian was stunned. Could it be the mutants?

“As for how Ling Rong’s mother could bring about the wildfire, I later found out that Ling Rong’s grandmother was a Witch. She was a miraculous person who could see through people’s hearts with just one glance. The one who died last time was her grandmother. It’s hard to imagine, isn’t it? She never changed from the way I saw her.”

Ye Tian felt a chill run down his spine, realizing that Ling Rong’s family had basically all died by his own hands.

“At that time, holding Ling Rong, I didn’t know what to do, and finally, I returned to Taiwan. No matter how much I missed my homeland, I couldn’t return. Ling Rong might have been affected by something during her mother’s pregnancy, her eyes always harbored a calamitous presence. I didn’t know how to tell her about her past and could only hope for a wise person to remove it.”

“It’s a pity that this was something carried from the womb, there’s no such possibility, right?”

“Yes. In the end, I destroyed myself. Had I known, it would have been better to tell her.”

“Ling Rong said, even if she were to die, please let her know,” Ye Tian said gravely.

“Mm.”

The old man’s silhouette was desolate and lonely, his once straight back now bent overnight as if crushed by something.

Ye Tian then began to ponder. Could these mutants have started their operations more than twenty years ago? Could they have really done so much? This was not the act of a nation’s soldiers, not serving to protect the country but harming their own compatriots instead.

Ye Tian scoffed. No wonder he was also going to die, probably because he knew too many secrets.

Whose condemnation does such disappointment represent? Is a country that uses people for experiments truly worthy of his loyalty?

Ye Tian slowly closed his eyes, utterly exhausted, not knowing who his adversary was, yet feeling like a mouse caught and toyed with by a cat.

Unfair!

In a certain mansion hidden in the shadows, two people were conversing.

“How is Ye Tian now?”

“Nothing special noticed. Is that object really on him?”

“I have checked thoroughly, and it’s indeed the last thing they approached. Everyone died, we have examined, and found nothing; it must be on him.”

“Good. Then I’ll continue to look for it.”

“Mm.”

One man left, leaving the other alone, deep in thought, yet there was a playful smile on his lips.

“Ye Tian, do you think you can escape death by hiding the object? But you, such a small figure, I’ll just watch you play, to see how much of a wave you can stir up. Do you know what’s more uncomfortable than death? It’s watching everyone around you die. You’ve suffered once already, this time I’ll let you enjoy it again!”

The man’s index finger was curved, tapping slowly on the table, the sound murky yet rich, resembling more of a death march than anything.

If it were before, Ye Tian would have stayed in the hospital, whether to rest or to flirt with the pretty nurses, he would have liked the hospital in general. But this time, his injuries were far more serious than before, leaving him with no desire to stay.

That evening, Ye Tian sat cross-legged on the bed, dividing the Gang Qi in his body into five types, corresponding to wood, fire, earth, metal, water, directed to his head, hands, and legs, respectively. The five streams of Qi turned into colorless dragons, circulating continuously in the small cycle within his body to heal the meridians shattered by that man.

The blockage and rupture of the meridians weren’t too severe, but Ye Tian had expended too much energy previously. Despite staying up all night, he couldn’t completely clear them.

At dawn, when Ye Tian opened his eyes, he exhaled a long breath. His face showed no signs of fatigue, only his eyes appeared clearer than before.

Ye Tian detested his current state because he loathed not knowing who had harmed him. He felt as if he had been completely stripped bare, then made to dance lewdly for everyone’s amusement. The person in the shadows didn’t reward him but also mocked him in various ways.

Such things, Ye Tian swore never to experience again, yet here it was happening once more.

Ye Tian’s fist slammed fiercely into the wall, dust falling from the ceiling.

“What are you going to do?”

Ye Tian, stepping out the door, didn’t expect to be stopped so quickly. The owner of the voice was none other than Zhang Liang.

“I’ve already left the Sixth Group because of the responsibility for this incident.” Ye Tian was not afraid of taking responsibility. A responsibility one can bear is no responsibility at all.

“Whether you’ve left the Sixth Group is not for you or me to decide, but the higher-ups.” Zhang Liang’s voice was as cool as a millennium-old iceberg, unchanging no matter what.

“I don’t want to play this game anymore, all right? You said if I felt I couldn’t adapt, I could leave anytime.” Ye Tian didn’t look back.

“I think you’ve adapted quite well.”

“Well? Do you think that by killing Ling Rong, I made my mark?” Ye Tian ridiculed, unsure if he was mocking others or himself.

“You never needed to prove yourself. We need a solid person, someone who knows what they’re doing at critical moments, who knows how to act to minimize the cost, not someone who is swayed by emotions.”

Perhaps Zhang Liang didn’t hold much hope for Ye Tian. His heart harbored a flame; he had been indecisive, and he regretted his plans causing many people to lose their lives. But sacrifices are inherent in battle.

Some may mock Zhang Liang, saying he doesn’t charge into battle, only directing from behind, yet nobody considers that without him strategizing, more people would get hurt due to unguided passion and bravery.