Volume One, Chapter 33: I Want to Be with You

Lu Jinye had both hands in the pockets of his suit trousers, looking rather at ease.

Indeed, this was one of the rare moments of leisure he had enjoyed since returning to the country.

For him, simply wandering off to have a meal had existed only during his university days.

He turned to look at Jiang Li, whose gaze had not yet had time to withdraw.

There were too many emotions in those eyes: sorrow, unwillingness, and perhaps... love?

If Liu Sian had truly gone to ask Ye Qingting, and then brought up the question of whether he and Lu Jinye were close, how would he have answered?

Lu Jinyang wiped the tears from his face, then raised his head and looked straight at Sun Yifan, savoring Sun Yifan’s words.

“It rained on the day of the funeral. We all went. Qilin and the others came too, along with many of our university classmates.

“Although the matter shocked me—and even made me doubt whether I had truly understood Zhang Ze after all those years—we were still familiar with one another in the end. My former understanding of him had been overturned, but I still knew what kind of person he was.”

Just then, the bedroom door opened as well. To everyone’s surprise, Xiao Ruyue emerged in her pajamas. When she saw me, she was so frightened that she covered her mouth and screamed.

A few days ago, things had not yet become so serious, and Xiang Benzhai had still been able to hold on. But now, he was truly helpless. He had tried investing money, of course, but the several hundred million he had poured in amounted to no more than a cup of water thrown onto a blazing fire. It was like skipping stones across a lake—without even raising a ripple.

The ground floor of bamboo houses like this was always left empty. People lived on the second or third floor and above. It kept the rooms from becoming so damp, and it was safer as well, since there was no need to worry about wild beasts launching an attack.

The more carefully one considered those words, the more holes they contained. But at that moment, she genuinely could not think of a better excuse.

After all, Lü Xining was only a young woman in her early twenties. Overwhelmed by emotion, she had to offer her beloved man her blessing; that she should speak through tears, choking and incoherently, was not so difficult to understand.

Dozens of submachine guns opened fire at once. The fierce, densely packed bullets enveloped the red sports car almost simultaneously. Sparks flew from its armored body as countless rounds struck the vehicle, and the glass of its windows immediately filled with a dense web of cracks.

The uproar that had filled the air abruptly became absolute silence—a silence so cold that it chilled the heart. The moonlight flowed like water, its pure radiance lingering over the land and drawing everyone’s shadows out long: lonely and desolate.

At that very moment, Jun Hao broke free of his restraints and, taking advantage of the Taoist-robed elder’s distracted state, launched a ferocious counterattack.

“Heavenly Sword Form!”

As Long Xuan’s deep shout rang out, sword aura suddenly surged across the sky. In midair, it transformed into two vast vortices of sword energy, one black and one white, sweeping grandly upward until their force seemed to pierce the heavens. His figure rose slowly like the morning sun. Thunderclouds churned across the sky, lightning serpents crisscrossed, and the overwhelming momentum filled all who witnessed it with dread.

Even though he believed it only seventy percent of the time, he still had to say that he believed it, because he was Diabolo’s “apostle.” Merely bearing that identity meant he had no choice but to say so.

In truth, the road ahead was no longer as dangerous as before. They had already picked up a signal here, and Bai Wanqing immediately called the towing company, asking them to come for her car. Naturally, actually towing it out at that moment was unrealistic; she was merely placing the call.

The situation had now changed. With several thousand ground troops having successively landed on that Ariana island by airlift and troop transport ships, he knew that the time had finally come for his ground forces to enter the battle.

As he spoke, a sudden thunderous rumble came from ahead. Then the two terracotta warriors, each standing more than ten feet tall and holding axes, who had been stationed motionless on either side, abruptly strode forward and charged toward Zhang Jin’an and the others.

His cultivation had now reached the peak of the ninth level of the True Martial Realm. As for the tenth level, which symbolized complete mastery of the realm, he had not the slightest clue. For a time, Chen Zong had no idea how he could break through and could only proceed gradually.