Yu Chuanxing bowed silently and left. Chang Le hesitated at the door for a moment, then walked over quietly without making any noise under her feet.
She stopped behind Lu Yanhuai and stood silently beside him.
Lu Yanhuai stretched out a hand and pointed to the chair that had been prepared for him: "Sit."
Chang Le sat down, lowered his eyes, and remained quiet. An odd atmosphere spread between the two of them.
Finally, Lu Yanhuai spoke first, his voice hoarse: "This old man of mine is just too much of a nuisance. You young people don't like to come and see me anymore."
The sarcastic tone didn't elicit any reaction from Chang Le. Lu Yanhuai continued his rambling, "This frail body is better off with those old friends..."
"No," Chang Le suddenly interrupted.
"Not what?"
"It's not that I don't want to come see you."
Lu Yanhuai stared straight ahead and sneered, "Then I'll wait for you for months and you still won't come?"
Chang Le fell silent again.
"Now that you're standing higher, you can't see me anymore?"
Chang Le frowned even more deeply, raising her head to deny it. But as she looked up, she realized that Lu Yanhuai had been facing forward, but his gaze was fixed on her sideways.
"So either you can't see me, or you're deliberately trying not to see me?"
Chang Le looked at him and gently shook her head: "I'm very worried about you."
Lu Yanhuai's feigned anger vanished instantly, replaced by heartache and helplessness. He steadied his voice, his tone calm and casual as if in a casual conversation, and asked her, "Were those people's deaths your doing?"
Chang Le tightened his grip on his lap, but still nodded: "Yes, I killed them. They could have lived."
In fact, she deceived not only the people in the world, but even Hades himself.
She told Hades and Hua Anning that what they thought was that these people were devoured by her and that the remaining energy in the world was insufficient to support Hades' breakthrough, but the truth was that even if these people were alive, there wouldn't be enough energy.
The key to advancement has never been these people's power, but rather their connection to a different world. Therefore, ultimately, these people's lives and deaths have no moral high ground; they are simply driven by revenge.
Chang Le did not contradict Gu Yujing and Hua Anning's more rational speculation, not because she cared, but for the stability of the Ninth District. However, she did not want to hide this fact from Lu Yanhuai.
Moreover, whenever the two of them were face to face, she knew that she couldn't hide anything from Lao Lu at all.
But at the same time, she didn't want Lu Yanhuai to confirm this fact.
It was like letting someone as close as a father or brother witness her turn into a beast with hands full of sin.
She was afraid.
She was afraid that Lu Yanhuai would show disappointment, afraid that he would frown, or even afraid that he would just be surprised.
Therefore, in the end, she only checked on Lao Lu's condition with Lu Jin'an, but did not come to see him as promised.
But Lu Yanhuai still knew her psychology, and easily fooled her with a lie about being critically ill. Even so, Chang Le's anxiety far outweighed her anger at being deceived.
Facing Lu Yanhuai, the person who watched her grow up, she couldn't help but feel a mix of complex emotions, including nervousness and grievance.
She awaits Lu Yanhuai's judgment.
But in the end, she received a hand stroking her head, and heard a cheerful laugh. She looked up, startled, and met Lu Yanhuai's unrestrained smile:
"As expected of our girl from District Nine! As expected of someone who could take down Fu Guang! Well done! Beautiful! Perfect! Exhilarating! So satisfying! Little girl, you're truly amazing!"
Chang Le stood there, stunned.
She knew perfectly well that she had done something wrong.
Seeing her staring blankly with unease in her eyes, Lu Yanhuai felt a pang in his heart. He poked her furrowed brow with the hand that had been touching her head: "What's with that look? You don't think I'm going to scold you, do you?"
After receiving confirmation from Chang Le's eyes, Lu Yanhuai curled his lip and asked, "What made you have this misconception?"
You accomplished what we wanted to do but couldn't. You avenged Fu Guang, vented the anger of District Nine, and severely dampened the arrogance of District One. I'm overjoyed, how could I possibly be so ungrateful as to reprimand you?
What kind of old fogey do you take me for? Do you really think of me, Lu Yanhuai, as a soft-hearted, rigid, and foolish person?
Chang Le was scolded and dared not utter a sound. When he was panting heavily, he said, "No, but I... they are all heroes."
Chang Le is not without a bottomless soft heart, but she is also well aware of the evil she is committing.
Although Gu Lianghan and the other three were unworthy of the Ninth District, their merits and demerits canceled each other out, and they are still undisputed heroes of the Central Plains. This is the reason why Chang Le is uneasy about Lu Yanhuai.
Lu Yanhuai also knew this, and he hit the nail on the head:
"But they are also our enemies, and we are not good at being pushovers."
"Your kindness needs to have a sharp edge."
The words from the control center in the secret realm suddenly appeared in his mind, completely shattering the unease that had arisen after seeing Lu Yanhuai.
As Chang Le breathed a sigh of relief, tears welled up uncontrollably.
Lu Yanhuai sat up at some point and opened his arms to her. Chang Le threw herself into his arms, knelt on the grass, and cried silently, her clothes soaked with tears.
"Old Lu, I'm worried about Fu Guang, but I don't dare tell anyone."
—"Then tell me, I won't tell anyone else."
"I want to cry."
"Then I can lend you my arms and shield you from it."
The Jade-Faced Guanyin, the Slaughtering Buddha, the Wolf Lord Lu Yanhuai—Chang Le had seen him at his gentlest. Now, he too is using the embers of his life to try and warm the broken little girl, just like before.
When leaving the Wolf Pack, Chang Le promised to attend the memorial service with Lu Jin'an.
On the day of the memorial service, Chang Le attended as Fu Jiu.
At the meeting, Chang Le mostly stayed with Lu Jin'an, neither actively seeking out acquaintances nor being approached by any acquaintances. Amidst the numerous people who came to greet her, Chang Le spotted many familiar figures.
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