The Dust Settles
Translator: Mr Voltaire
Editor: Chlocolatte
The Long family’s residence was oddly silent in the morning. Practically no one had slept at all. Although the sun was up, the nightmare from the night before still lingered on in their hearts.
More than half of the ground in the courtyard had been destroyed, and there were craters everywhere. The largest crater had a diameter of 30 metres, and was almost 10 metres deep. The crater was filled with corpses and body parts, which no one dared to look at. Almost the entire ground and all of the walls were covered with dried blood, and although the cleaners had been cleaning for a long time, the thick stench of blood still remained.
If all of the corpses were gathered together, they would form a mountain of bodies.
It was certain that the entire ground of the Long family’s courtyard would have to be replaced. Otherwise, no normal person would be willing to even walk over it. There were also five times as many guards, as well as countless soldiers from the national army.
Long Zheng Yang did not sleep at all. The events from the previous night had turned the Long family upside down, and caused him great trauma. Although everything had finally settled down, his heart was still in chaos, and he simply couldn’t sleep. Every five minutes, he would receive texts and calls which made it even harder for him to fall asleep.
All of the intruders had been driven out, but…
A person ran in, passed the guards and came before Long Zheng Yang. Long Zheng Yang turned as he asked, “Did you find him?”
The person shook his head, “No… the person who took Ling Chen seems to have headed north. When we searched in that direction, we found large numbers of corpses of Dark Eagles. All of them were killed by guns. We deduced that they were ambushed by around 300 people, but we didn’t find a single corpse from the ambushers. Afterwards, we found five armoured vehicles belonging to the Steel Dragons that had been destroyed by an explosion. There were also 25 burnt bodies, all of whom were Steel Dragons, and a completely incinerated body. That person is most likely either Ling Tian or the one who was carrying him. Of course, it’s just a possibility.”
“Keep going.” Long Zheng Yang said in a low voice.
“Further north, we found many Blood Wolves’ and Savage Tigers’ corpses. About half of them had their throats slit and the other half were killed by the heavy firing of guns. From the blood at the scene, there were probably another 100 corpses, but they were all moved away. Not too far away, we found evidence that large amounts of corpses had been burned. We looked all over, but couldn’t find any useful information. We concluded that the enemy definitely didn’t want us to find out who they are. From the way they did things, as well as how they fought, we can conclude that they weren’t Ling Tian’s subordinates. They probably have some sort of relationship to Ling Tian, and so they helped him, but did not want us to find out who they are.”
Long Zheng Yang frowned, and thought for a while, before asking, “What about his subordinates?”
The underling immediately replied, “Those people were all terrifyingly strong, and were extremely proficient at protecting themselves. We were only able to kill one of them, and that was because he was already severely injured when he came here. There was another one who we were able to capture, due to his leg injury. He’s currently in the Xuanyuan family’s prison. After the other ones escaped… we weren’t able to catch any of them. Not only are they extremely strong, but are also skilled at hiding and counterespionage. We sent out as many of our people as possible, but we couldn’t even find a trace of them. It was as if they had disappeared from the world.”
These 20 people had all suffered heavy injuries and were exhausted after the battle. And yet, they had been able to escape from the Long family’s residence, and not a single trace of them could be found. These terrifying people had been living in Beijing for many years without them even knowing. He simply couldn’t think of where such people could have come from.
“Leader, don’t worry too much. That completely incinerated corpse could be Ling Tian’s. And even if it wasn’t him, with his incredibly serious injuries, he should be dead by now. Even if he is still alive, with those injuries, if he doesn’t go to a hospital, he’ll be dead without a doubt.” The underling said, trying to soothe Long Zheng Yang’s worries.
His words made sense, but without seeing Ling Chen’s body, he simply couldn’t be at ease. After all, Ling Chen was a monster who had defied all common sense.
“Have we finished the arrangements for the deceased soldiers? And how are Murong and Xuanyuan?” Long Zheng Yang then asked.
“The corpses have all been taken care of. Venom Eagle and Owl Wolf have been placed into their coffins. Chief Murong has yet to wake up, but he has stabilised and is not in any danger. The Xuanyuan family’s leader is in a coma, and has also stabilised. However, the doctors said that because his arm was forcefully ripped off, it is unlikely they’ll be able to reattach it… the Sword God is also resting in the hospital. He fought with Feng Xie Yu for a long time last night, and the wound on his chest has become even worse. The situation… doesn’t look too good for him. However, he is, indeed, the Sword God. With enough time, he’ll be able to recover. Leader, Murong and the Sword God won’t be around for a while, so please be careful. It’s possible that our enemies might choose this time to strike.”
Hearing the name ‘Feng Xie Yu’, Long Zheng Yang’s expression suddenly changed as he directly asked, “Where is Feng Xie Yu? Have you found out why she decided to help Ling Tian?”
What baffled Long Zheng Yang the most wasn’t why would Ling Tian hate the Long family so much, but why Feng Xie Yu had acted in that way! She had not been outside the Long family or the Xuanyuan family’s residences for years, so it would be impossible for her to know Ling Chen. Why did she suddenly save him? If it wasn’t for her, Ling Chen would already be dead. Moreover, in order to give those people time to escape, she had actually attacked Xuanyuan Dao…
“Feng Xie Yu and the Sword God both suffered heavy injuries… when Ling Chen’s subordinates left, she also left with them. We don’t know where she went, or why she helped them…”
No matter if it was the Long family or the Xuanyuan family, none of them could comprehend what was going on in her head.
Long Zheng Yang essentially received no information from that report, and he instead became even more agitated. He pondered for a while before saying, “Take me to see the person you captured. Immediately!”
The Xuanyuan family’s residence was designed in an ancient-chinese style. As the strongest family specialising in cold weapons, their culture and traditions were quite old-fashioned. Underneath their residence was a prison. This prison was reserved only for their most important and secret prisoners.
The person they captured last night was locked up in the region with the highest security.
On the way, they passed through three thick, steel doors. Within the cage, a person sat on the ground. He was covered in blood, and his legs looked badly mangled. Even so, there were at least ten, thick chains tying him up… it was evident how much they feared and hated this person. After all, these people had left too much of a shadow in their minds. The only reason they had been able to capture him was because he had taken many bullets to his legs before arriving.
He was sitting with his head down, and his hair was in a mess. However, Long Zheng Yang was able to tell that this person was still in his early twenties… the other ones from last night were all about the same age, and the oldest one of them would be around his late twenties. To be so terrifying at such a young age… Long Zheng Yang wondered if they were demons who had escaped from hell.
“What’s your name?” Long Zheng Yang expressionlessly asked. The person in the cage slightly swayed- he was probably awake.
Hearing Long Zheng Yang’s voice, he looked up… his young face was filled with hatred and ridicule. He coldly laughed as he slowly replied, “My first name’s Father, and my last name’s Dearest. You can call me Father Dearest, hahaha…”
“You!!” Long Zheng Yang’s guards were furious. Long Zheng Yang was the highest political figure in China, and no one dared to insult him like this. Long Zheng Yang held up his hamd, and walked forwards. He maintained his calm expression as he said, “I know you won’t betray your comrades. If I asked you where they are, I’m sure you wouldn’t tell us anything, even if we tortured you to death. So I won’t waste my time asking you that. All I want to know is one thing… why did Ling Tian, also known as Ling Chen, attack my Long family? What sort of enmity exists between him and my family? Surely you can tell me this.”
“Hahahaha…” The man coldly laughed. He looked into Long Zheng Yang’s eyes, his expression filled with disgust and hatred, “You? You have the audacity to ask what enmity exists between master and your family? Back then, it was your family who forced him into hell. If it wasn’t for his strong desire to live, he would have died, all because of your family!!”
“Although he lived, those years were spent in constant pain and agony. If any of you had to experience what he went through, you would have died thousands, if not tens of thousands, of times! The reason master stayed alive was because of the person he deeply cared about, as well as to take revenge. However, when he came back, the person he cared about was already dead!! And it was because of your family! And so, six years ago, he attacked your Long family!
“Afterwards, he met a girl, who changed his heart. She became the most important thing in his life, and he even started to forget his hatred for the Long family. But you… it was your family who caused that girl to die last night, right in front of master!! You, Long Zheng Yang, you and your entire family are worse than animals! What you owe my master can never be repaid, not even in a hundred lives! And you even ask what enmity there is between you, pei!!” The man furiously yelled as he spat on the ground.
As he yelled, his expression became more and more vicious, “Get out of my sight! I don’t want to see you anymore, you dirty trash, otherwise my eyes will rot! You better kill me right away, otherwise I’ll kill more and more of your people, hahaha! Piss off! Go away!!”
“You!!!” Long Zheng Yang’s guards were unable to control themselves anymore and raised their guns. They prepared to shoot him, but were once again stopped by Long Zheng Yang. His expression had darkened, but he still needed to keep this person alive. All of the shouting had not answered his questions, but had instead raised even more questions. However, he did not ask any more questions. He knew that if he stayed any longer, all he would receive was more cursing and insults.
“Let’s go… and also, don’t let him die.”
After giving his instructions, Long Zheng Yang walked out with a heavy heart. As he silently walked, he tried to think of the people who might have died because of him.
However, the correct answer was one that he never thought of.