Lin Xiao’s cry was hoarse and desperate.
"This matter has nothing to do with my Shadow Assassins."
This time, the old Taoist priest offered an explanation: "My Shadow Assassins absolutely follow the rules. We do not disturb the weak below the Divine Realm, nor do we draw our swords against them."
"Then why did you harm my Lin family? Why did you make Zheng Aijia’s memory disappear?!" Lin Xiao questioned again.
This time, the old Taoist was silent. Then he said, "This happened before entering the Shadow Assassins at number thirty-seven. It has nothing to do with my Shadow Assassins."
"Zheng Aijia knew about my Shadow Assassins, so his memory had to be erased."
Hearing the old Taoist's words, Lin Xiao took a step forward. "So, I've come to find number thirty-seven to settle all his sins before he joined the Shadow Assassins!"
"You!" The old Taoist priest frowned upon hearing Lin Xiao's voice. This guy really wouldn't shed a tear until he saw the coffin.
"Forget it." The old Taoist priest sighed. He picked up his broom and continued sweeping the floor. "I cannot make a move against someone protected by the True Dragon Qi of the Dragon Country. However, Lin Xiao, remember this."
"This is the headquarters of my Shadow Assassins. So, if you do anything you shouldn't, I will not spare you."
"Alright." Lin Xiao nodded. The pressure on him suddenly lessened.
This Shadow Assassin organization was too strange. Why were the people in this organization so different from the assassins he knew? Not only did they reason, but they also refused to fight him simply because he possessed the True Dragon Qi? He didn't remember wrong, did he? The Shadow Assassins were supposed to be working for the Dragon Country's fortune? It was too odd.
He finally entered the main hall. More than ten people were inside, each busy with their tasks. As he entered, everyone's gaze instinctively focused on him.
"Lin Xiao." Almost in unison, everyone uttered his name.
"You know me?" Lin Xiao asked, surprised.
"The first person to find the headquarters. It's hard not to know you." An shadow, closest to Lin Xiao, said. After speaking, this shadow seemed to return to its work. They didn't seem to want to bother with Lin Xiao.
"I'm looking for Di Sha number thirty-seven." Lin Xiao glanced around. He didn't know how to identify people, so he could only ask, "Is there anyone willing to tell me where he is?"
"Cannot tell you." This was the rule.
"Fu Gui?" Wang Qiang heard a familiar voice and, upon seeing the person, exclaimed with joy. "Brother Gui! You're out? That's great! Come, come, come to my place. Let's have a couple of drinks. It's been almost three years, and you're finally back!" Fu Gui pulled Wang Qiang towards the house.
Wang Qiang still wanted to refuse, thinking about finding Zhao Yingzi, but his stomach growled. He hadn't eaten anything since returning, and he'd even been beaten. He changed his mind. Fu Gui's humble cottage hadn't changed much in three years. To be precise, the entire Wangjia Village, with its dozens of families, had grown up in these humble abodes. They lived off the mountain, and their houses were all built from adobe bricks.
Inside the house, Fu Gui prepared two flatbreads and a pot of sorghum wine.
"Fu Gui, do you know if Zhao Yingzi has been seeing other men behind my back?" Wang Qiang couldn't help but ask as soon as he sat down.
"...Brother, please don't ask about this matter." Fu Gui's expression changed upon hearing this. He quickly lowered his voice and said cautiously, "Brother Qiang, this is for your own good, really."
"For my good? Why? It's one thing for that bitch to see other men behind my back, but I just got home today and was beaten up. And now you say it's for my own good?!" Wang Qiang slammed his palm on the table, bursting with indignation. Why was this happening?! The force of the slam was so great that the solid wood table cracked! Wang Qiang hastily reached out, managing to catch the pot of wine and the bowl of flatbreads.
Fu Gui was clearly startled by Wang Qiang's outburst and quickly said, "Brother, please don't ask anymore. It's truly for your own good! Don't you trust me?"
Wang Qiang, having calmed down, placed the flatbreads and the wine pot on a nearby stool. He took a deep breath and then said apologetically, "Sorry, Fu Gui, I broke your table. I'll make you a new one tomorrow."
"It's nothing, it's nothing. Let's have a drink first, Brother Qiang. You must be hungry too, eat your flatbread!" Fu Gui waved his hand. He looked at the broken table on the ground, his eyes twitching. He felt a pang of heartache, but more surprisingly, how had Brother Qiang become so strong?
With his mind preoccupied, Wang Qiang got drunk as he drank. By the time the roosters crowed outside, Wang Qiang got up, bid farewell to Fu Gui, and staggered towards his own humble house. He hadn't been back for three years, and his house looked even more dilapidated than before. As he walked, Wang Qiang muttered to himself, "Why? I went to jail for you, and you... you left with another man..." As he walked, his muttering turned into sobs. For the past three years, hadn't his wife been what sustained him? And now, upon his return, this was the situation?
Suddenly, he noticed a figure at the entrance of his house. The figure looked curvy, especially her chest, which seemed heavy... Was that Zhao Yingzi?
"Zhao Yingzi, why... why are you back!" He pointed at the person at the door and slurred drunkenly. Taking only two steps, his feet faltered, and he lost his balance. The woman quickly walked over and caught him. Wang Qiang buried his head in her ample bosom. So big... so soft... He struggled his head and then felt a pair of hands holding his head. "Mom, he's back, he's drunk." He heard the woman's voice, which sounded somewhat familiar. Mom? Was someone else in the house? No, Wang Qiang couldn't quite grasp it. His parents had passed away long before his marriage...
Soon, he felt his body being lifted by another soft, fragrant form. "Quickly help him to bed. Oh dear, really, how could Yingzi do this?" This voice also sounded familiar... Wang Qiang felt he was truly drunk. One of his hands subconsciously rested on the woman's chest, warm and soft... He really wanted to pinch it. "Yingzi..." Wang Qiang gave a pinch, unconsciously calling out her name. "Ah!" With a soft gasp, the soft body trembled. Wang Qiang was then placed on the kang.
"Brother Qiang, please rest well." This was the last thing Wang Qiang heard before he fell into a deep sleep.