Death… and me

Screams could be heard endlessly from everywhere. Blood was continuously whirling and sprinkling. It was dyeing the night sky in blood.

Li Chang Long looked at Tan Tan's blood-soaked body and tottering appearance… Tan Tan's eyes had become so fierce that the fierceness had become seemingly substantial. Li Chang Long's heart pounded heavily without any reason as he saw this.

Tan Tan pushed Xie Dan Feng. She staggered two steps away, but didn't escape as she had been told. Instead, she suddenly stood firm. Then, she turned around, and foolishly looked at Tan Tan's back profile. Her eyes filled with bliss and happiness.

Yes. Xie Dan Feng had no sadness, no despair, and no fear of death in her eyes in such a desperate situation. She only had bliss and happiness.

"Why haven't you left yet?!" Tan Tan irritably yelled.

"I won't go. I'm scared." Xie Dan Feng said in grief, "I'm scared. What would I do after I've gotten lost on the road to netherworld… if I don't die together with you? I'll be alone. Nobody will be there to protect me. I'll be scared even if I become a ghost.

"I've never felt this protected before. Therefore, I would never fear anything. But, I want to be protected by you now that I know…" Xie Dan Feng bit her lip. Tender feelings of love were overflowing from her eyes. The expression on her deathly pale face was faintly discernible amid the flashes of sword and saber-light flickering in the surroundings. "Tan Tan… I want us to die together.

"Such is happiness and bliss…" Xie Dan Feng sighed in a manner that made it seem as if she couldn't be happier.

"Stupid woman! Stupid woman!" Tan Tan cussed with his teeth clenched, "How can you be so stupid?"

Xie Dan Feng's body swayed for a bit. Then, she said with a smile, "I… It's good that I'm foolish. I fear that you wouldn't want me… if I turned intelligent…"

Tan Tan looked up to the sky, and bellowed. Deep-red blood suddenly spurted out of his mouth. He then yelled, "Woman, you'll die after me if we're both going to die. You must know that I don't want a bunch of ghosts to point fingers at me behind my back in the afterlife, and say things like… 'This bastard couldn't protect his wife!' Do you understand? I practice martial arts just to protect… to protect you… to protect my master… to protect my senior brother… to protect!"

Xie Dan Feng childishly nodded, "Don't worry. I'll stay alive until you die. But, I'll swallow my last breath with you when you close your eyes. You can't think of abandoning me no matter if we're dead or alive!"

Warmth welled up in Tan Tan's heart. He suddenly started to take heavy breaths. He felt as if indescribable emotions had started to accumulate in his heart. It suddenly gave him a feeling that his body would explode…

Li Chang Long was standing across from of them. But, it seemed as if they hadn't even seen this deadly enemy.

However, Li Chang Long suddenly seemed to have been struck by lightning when he heard Tan Tan's words. He felt an overwhelming pain in his heart. He felt as if a soft corner in the depths of his heart had been ruthlessly and maliciously struck…

Li Chang Long's breaths suddenly became heavy at this instant. His lofty and insufferably arrogant stature suddenly squatted. In fact, it nearly curled into a ball.

"I practice martial arts just to protect… to protect you… to protect my master…

"To protect… I practice martial arts just to protect…" Li Chang Long muttered, "So, whom do I protect? Where is the person who needs my protection right now…?"

Li Chang Long suddenly seemed to be at a loss. His body swayed as if a big mountain had been pressed down on him.

And, this pressure was making him feel suffocated.

"You can't think of abandoning me no matter if we're dead or alive!" Xie Dan Feng's voice came through. It had come from a short distance. However, Li Chang Long's ears had felt as if it had come from a very remote place. It sounded incomparably vague. Still, it was clearly heard…

It seemed as if someone else had turned towards Li Chang Long in the dark, and had said in a low voice, "You can't think of abandoning me no matter if we're dead or alive!"

[You can't think of abandoning me no matter if we're dead or alive…]

[I practice martial arts just to protect…]

….

"Ah!~~~" Li Chang Long suddenly raised his head… He had a sad expression on his face. He then bellowed towards the boundless blue sky with everything he had! The muscles of his face contorted, and his eyes filled with grief and regret. Suddenly, he clasped his head with his hands. He then madly and unceasingly yelled with his face upwards. Two lines of tears suddenly flowed out from his aged eyes.

He felt an overwhelming pain in his heart. And, he had soon drowned in that pain…

Memories of an era-long-gone had started to well-up in his heart out of the blue…

[This kind of true love…]

[I also had once! I also had once!]

[[I also had once…]

[I had been just a little kid back then. A little girl used to live in my neighborhood. She wasn't too good-looking. But, she was gentle and caring.]

[We were each other's childhood sweethearts. We grew up together. We both knew that we were going to accompany each other for our entire lives.]

[Our lives would've been ordinary if we didn't face an accident. But, it would've been full of happiness.]

[She and her father had complied when I had proposed marriage to her at the age of seventeen. I had drunk at her house on that day. I had gotten drunk in sheer happiness…]

[But, I had seen a wedding when I had come out of her house the next morning… There was a youngster riding a snow-white horse. That horse was pulling a carriage. And, his bride was inside the carriage. Moreover, there was a look of happiness and satisfaction on that bride's face…]

[I had felt very inferior at that moment. I had felt angry.]

[I had suddenly realized that the woman I liked hadn't sat in a carriage in her entire life… let alone our own carriage…]

[I had suddenly thought that I must make money… I must struggle… I must earn a carriage for the woman I love. And, I must make her happily sit in the carriage when she enters our home!]

[This had become my dream… And, I had begun to work diligently for this dream.]

[Then, I had found that I couldn't compute accounts. So, I couldn't do any business. Moreover, I didn't have any strength.]

[Strength… Yes. I could buy a carriage as long as I could have strength. Moreover, I could protect my woman!]

[Therefore, I started to wish for strength.]

[I started to look for opportunities from then on. And, I followed after my master without the slightest of hesitation when he appeared…]

[Pan Pan, you wait for me. I'll return to marry you after I've become a great hero!]

[These were the words I had spoken to her before I had left.]

[Pan Pan had said — I don't want you to become a great hero. I only want you to be with me, okay?]

[But, I hadn't listened to her. I had only requested, "Wait for me to return!"]

[Then, I had left!]

[Yes. I started to work hard for my woman at first… Just for her!]

[But, I don't know when I started to lose myself in this Jianghu… I felt that I wasn't strong enough, and that I couldn't protect the people who were on my side. Therefore, I continued to practice…]

[I became obsessed with killing. I became obsessed with hatred and revenge. I continued to fight unceasingly… But, I forgot that my original goal was… just a carriage!]

[Just a carriage… That's all!]

[I eventually succeeded in getting stronger. After that, I saw the errors of my ways, and returned to get married with my woman… I had already made up my mind at that time — Pan Pan, I don't care if you've turned old or ugly… I'll marry you! I'll certainly marry you!]

[But… I only saw a lonely grave when I went back. And, only two words were written on the tombstone — Pan Pan!]

[Her name meant 'hope'. But, I don't know whether her grave had been marked with her name… or her hopes of my return!]

[Pan Pan! Was it your name… or your hope?]

[I heard the villagers saying that you had never gotten married in your entire life. You had always waited for me. You had waited until your body grew weak. You had waited until your heart was hurt and your soul broke apart. You had waited until you took your last breath. You had kept holding on to the hairpin I had gifted you back then…]

[You hadn't spoken a single word of complaint until you had died. You had always remained silent…]

[You had died. But, your lonely grave had still been waiting and hoping…]

[I had already gotten a carriage at that time. Moreover, I had obtained it very conveniently. But, who could come and sit in my carriage?]

[I had the ability to protect you. But… where were you?]

[I had practiced martial arts to protect. But, who was I… going to protect?]

Li Chang Long screamed. In fact, he yelled at the top of his voice. It seemed as if he wanted to yell out all the pain and regret of his heart. So, he bellowed. But, the more he shouted, the more pain he felt in his heart. The more he felt pain, the more he wished he were dead… Teardrops welled up in his eyes.

He was witnessing lovers who were willing to protect each other without any hesitation… They were in such a hopeless situation. But, they still wanted to be with each other.

They wanted to stay with each other… whether in life or death.

Li Chang Long suddenly understood. He understood what Pan Pan had said back then. He suddenly understood what Pan Pan must've hoped for on her deathbed… How much unwillingness and regret she must've carried off with her to the afterlife when she had taken her last breath…

…as well as how much longing!

Wasn't the present Xie Dan Feng just like the Pan Pan of his past? Xie Dan Feng didn't demand her man to be stronger than anyone else. She only wanted them to stay together… and die together… even if her man couldn't protect her.

This was enough for her!

The greatest happiness is in being together!

He compared Xie Dan Feng and Tan Tan to his own mistakes, and what he had lost… And, he realized that they were much happier than him even though they were on the verge of dying.

In fact, they were ten-thousand times happier than him.

Li Chang Long curled up in pain. He suddenly felt an intense desire, [I wish I could go back right now! I wish I could go back to Pan Pan!] Weeds must have had grown over her lonely grave…

But, he wanted to go back!

He groaned, and suddenly yelled, "Go! Quickly go away! I'll kill you two if you don't!"

Tan Tan hadn't thought that this formidable enemy would suddenly assume such an abnormal stance at such a scary moment. But, he didn't have the time to think over it… He held Xie Dan Feng's hand, and they rushed away whilst tottering and staggering.

They rushed past Li Chang Long.

Tan Tan's broken arm suddenly brushed past Li Chang Long's lapel while they were rushing. However, Li Chang Long apparently didn't feel it. He just stood there staring blankly. His eyes were filled with pain…

"Come on quickly!" Xie Zhi Qiu's body shook. He was fighting with two Emperor Level Experts. Those two Emperor Level Experts were hitting this Monarch Level Expert with everything they had. And, he rolled out like a ball.

Xie Zhi Qiu spurted out blood, and rushed forward with Xie Dan Qiong on his back. He grabbed Tan Tan with his left hand, and Xie Dan Feng with his right… His eyes had become like copper-bells in anger. He broke into the forest while coughing blood. However, his feet didn't even touch the ground.

Fifty to sixty people of the Xie Clan lost their lives behind him within a quarter of an hour. The remaining less than hundred people rushed past Li Chang Long. They took advantage of the gap created by the motionless Li Chang Long, and went into the forest!

Rui Bu Tong's body was soaked in blood. He was rushing while spitting blood with Ao Xie Yun on his back.

Li Chang Long allowed the crowd to rush past him. In fact, he remained indifferent the entire time.

Someone passed by from his side with blood-shot angry eyes, and easily slashed him with a knife. However, he didn't move. Instead, he allowed the knife to stab him in his shoulder… and stay embedded in his shoulder…

….