“Since we decided to spend the rest of our lives with each other, we had to return here to pay our respects to our ancestors no matter what.” Lang Yilang’s voice became wearier and wearier, and also more and more sinister.
“When I told Hong Wuliang about this, he gave us his sincerest blessings. Then, he also gave each of us a Purple Crystal as a congratulatory gift. At that time, our cultivation levels weren’t high… Purple Crystals didn’t come by easily.”
“Both Xia’er and I were very grateful to him. We thought that Hong Wuliang was really someone with a lot of grace and magnanimity.”
When he said that, Lang Yilang let out two short barks of bitter laughter.
But he had finally accidentally revealed that name — Xia’er.
“And so, the three of us came back here together. I took Xia’er to pay our respects to my parents. After that, while Hong Wuliang was happily cooking, I brought Xia’er here. Under the plum blossom tree, the two of us chatted for a very long time… I will always remember that day for the rest of my life and all the lifetimes to come.”
“That day, the plum blossoms were in bloom, though a lot of them were also withering. Snow swirled above us; we leaned in each other’s arms under the plum blossom tree, until our bodies were buried in snow and plum blossoms.”
“Even now, every time I come here, it’s as if I could still smell that light plum blossom fragrance from that day…”
Lost in thought, Lang Yilang looked into the distance. Watching the sky full of dancing snowflakes, there was a dreamy tone to his voice by this point. He gazed gently and lovingly at the area in front of him to the left.
As though that plum blossom tree was there even now.
And still giving out the fragrance of plum blossoms.
And as though that woman whom he had loved so dearly was still in his arms.
His eyes became clouded over and his lips trembled almost indiscernibly. Inhaling deeply and then exhaling deeply, he repeated this process thrice before he finally continued, “That night… Hong Wuliang very enthusiastically prepared a feast to celebrate our union… I was in high spirits that day, so I drank a lot. I drank a lot!!”
When he said the last four words ‘I drank a lot’, Lang Yilang suddenly spat out every word, his face contorting.
Wei Wuyan’s expression, from the initial calm and detached one, gradually turned tense.
He knew that the story had reached an important turning point!
Toward Hong Wuliang, that Teacher of his, Wei Wuyan was keenly aware of just how much forbearance he had and how despicable he was, as well as how obscene and shameless he was. Furthermore, Hong Wuliang’s pretense had already reached a level where he could deceive even himself; it was truly one-of-a-kind!
From Lang Yilang’s narration, it was obvious that both Hong Wuliang and Lang Yilang were in love with this woman. And at this point in the story, she was already engaged to Lang Yilang and had returned to pay her respects to his ancestors…
If Hong Wuliang still didn’t take any action at this point, he wouldn’t be Hong Wuliang anymore.
“The next morning, when I woke up, I happily went to look for Xia’er, only to receive a huge shock. I actually saw Hong Wuliang walk out of Xia’er’s room!”
“Walked out of there!”
There was a grim smile on Lang Yilang’s face — The kind that someone miserable made after having his heart broken yet he couldn’t cry and could only smile.
“After that, Xia’er told me… that she had suddenly discovered that the one she loved wasn’t me… but Hong Wuliang. She begged me to forgive her and to fulfill her wish…”
“At that time, I was smiling just like this. My heart that was full of bliss and happiness made me smile, but I hadn’t even tasted enough bliss… and then I had to smile for others… The person whom I loved the most and I were exchanging vows of eternal love the day before. But the next day, she had become someone else’s woman! And she wanted me to let them be together! Together!”
“At that time, Xia’er held a cup of wine and said that if I drank it, then that would mean that I had given her my blessings. So she’ll be happy!”
“I was so f*cking stupid at that time! I was a f*cking idiot! The number one idiot in the whole world and a dimwit who deserved to die the most! That’s me, Lang Yilang! I actually just gave a tragic laugh, took the cup of wine and finished it in one gulp. I rambled a few lines of blessings incoherently and left breaking down. I went somewhere alone to cry, to vent, to curse and to go mad… I knew that I had been hurt and I swore never to forgive either of them. But at that time, it didn’t occur to me at all that… Xia’er was so much worse off than me.”
“I didn’t look back at all. I don’t know what kind of expression Xia’er who was standing behind me had on her face… Now that I think about it, what kind of expression would she have at that time? Wei Wuyan, what kind of expression do you think she had when she saw me leave so resolutely?”
Lang Yilang looked at Wei Wuyan, his weary eyes full of savage doubt.
Wei Wuyan didn’t know how to respond. All of a sudden, he was overcome with so much despondence that he couldn’t speak.
What kind of expression could it have been? Wei Wuyan absolutely believed that when that pitiful woman saw Lang Yilang leave without even looking back, the expression on her face would definitely make even the most cold-hearted and unfeeling person feel so agonized that they wouldn’t want to live anymore!
“More than a year later, Hong Wuliang and Xia’er got married. I didn’t want to go. I hated them, but I seriously couldn’t forget her… I, I… I actually went to congratulate them. I… I, I… I really deserve to die… I actually just wanted to see her again…”
“I was so full of hate at that time! But I missed her so much! I really missed her so much!! Do you understand?”
“On that night, Hong Wuliang finally got drunk. I finally got the chance to talk to Xia’er. I had also drunk a lot that night. I grabbed her and asked, ‘Why? Why? Why did you do this to me…’”
“I felt so wronged and sad! I wanted to kill somebody!”
“But Xia’er only looked at me hopelessly. She was wearing grand red wedding robes but there was only deathly stillness and hopelessness in her eyes. She asked me, ‘Do you really not know what happened that night?’”
“That goddamn Hong Wuliang had slipped poison into the food that night and raped Xia’er! He even threatened her, saying that if she didn’t marry him, he won’t give me the antidote!”
“Poor Xia’er agreed to it just like that. In that cup of wine which I had drunk was the antidote!”
“I finally knew the truth, yet it was during her wedding! Hong Wuliang had invited a lot of experts… but I couldn’t care that much anymore at that point! I wanted to take Xia’er away! I wanted to kill Hong Wuliang!”
“But I couldn’t win against so many people. I was actually captured by them. Hong Wuliang wanted to kill me… Xia’er got on her knees and begged him to let me go. As long as he let me go, she was willing to wait upon him for life. If he didn’t, she would end her life on the spot… Hurhur… Hurhurhur…”
Lang Yilang laughed miserably. After laughing a little, he suddenly started to sob, his voice low and deep. The sobs got louder and louder before it finally turned into full-out bawling!
More than a thousand years of despondence were finally released today. It was as though Lang Yilang had opened the floodgates; he could no longer shut the gates to his emotions.
Wei Wuyan looked at this elder in front of him. He was a Supreme Martial Artist and the great Master of the Law Enforcement Hall’s Interrogation Hall. Yet he was crying like a child in front of him. His heart couldn’t help but grieve. When he thought of his own wife and child, his eyes involuntarily became hot and tears rolled down his cheeks.
…
“With the rest of Xia’er’s life sacrificed, they finally set me free, as if I was a dog!”
“When I was thrown out, I was no different from a dog! A dog that had nothing at all! A dog which only got to live on because of his beloved’s sacrifice!”
When he reached this part, Lang Yilang chuckled tragically. He panted heavily, breathing so hard as though he was an ox bellowing low and deep.
Wei Wuyan sighed morosely.
Compared to Lang Yilang… He really didn’t know who was more tragic.
“Ever since then, I seized every opportunity to go against Hong Wuliang. I tried to kill him countless times! But at that time, because I had mistaken Xia’er’s so-called betrayal, I spent a very long time being down and out. Yet Hong Wuliang had been improving himself. I was already weaker than him right from the start and the period of time which I spent in depression widened the gap between the two of us even further… I was never his match. Time and time again… And every time, I barely managed to stay alive and had to escape like a dog…”
“Hong Wuliang was a great actor. He also put on the pretense of a rich man and spent lavishly. He had a lot of friends too. But the money which he squandered away… The majority of it was earned by Xia’er and me back then… This despicable knave!”
“I passed my days in a trance. Other than revenge, I had nothing on my mind. All I did was cultivated, sought revenge, got injured, then cultivated again and sought revenge again… But after a few years, when I had enough confidence to beat him and went to look for him for revenge again, I instead got the news that Xia’er had died! On the day before I went over, she died!”
“She died!”
Lang Yilang’s eyes were blood-red as he let out a thunderous roar. The reverberation caused the snow grounds within a radius of a few kilometers from where they were to be thrown into the air. With a loud boom, they disintegrated in mid-air!
“The day that I went over was coincidentally Xia’er’s funeral!”
“I ran in desperately!”
“A huge fight broke out that day… At that time, Hong Wuliang was already not my match… But he had a lot of friends. They banded together and fought against me… I was forced to leave. I snuck back that night and excavated Xia’er’s grave… And I carried her out of the coffin… I, I, I… My lifelong dream was to bring Xia’er away from Hong Wuliang and save her! I finally did it, but what I brought back was her corpse instead!”
“But I knew that even in death, Xia’er definitely would not allow herself to stay in that grave marked as ‘Wife of Hong Wuliang’! Therefore, I didn’t allow it either!”
“There were wounds all over Xia’er’s body! She didn’t die from an illness! No! She was beaten to death by Hong Wuliang! That cruel and cold-blooded scum!”
Lang Yilang panted heavily, his eyes red.
“After that, Hong Wuliang gathered experts to make things difficult for me, saying that I had shamed him… Hurhur…”
“I changed my name and went far away bringing Xia’er’s remains with me. I used every method that I could think of to join the law-enforcement officers and was unscrupulous in climbing up the ranks…”
“Hong Wuliang knew that I was planning something against him… During that time, he also cultivated madly and resorted to all kinds of methods to get experts on his side…”
“At last, when I became the second-in-command of the Law-Enforcement Interrogation Hall, I discovered a secret place and also inherited a secret legacy… Hurhur… When I fought with Hong Wuliang that time, I brutally dealt him a strike of the Purple Crystal Hand!”
“I could have killed him then but didn’t. I let him go on purpose. I wanted him to be tormented by the Purple Crystal Hand for life! Dying so simply was too easy a way out for him!”
With deep hatred, Lang Yilang laughed sinisterly. He repeated, “It’s too easy a way out! If he were to die so easily, then wouldn’t all the torture that Xia’er and I have suffered over the years be for nothing! Xia’er wouldn’t have allowed it either!”
