"Li Jia!? What are you doing here!?" Ma Bin's terror was palpable. The entire day's escape had left him exhausted, having never experienced much hardship. His mind was preoccupied with the possibility of death. He harbored a deep fear of Xiao Yue's mysterious older brother, Li Jia, who had always seemed unfathomable yet ruthless. Now, with Li Jia suddenly appearing here and his men vanished, it was easy to assume that Li Jia had killed them. And now, he might be next!
"Elder, my suggestion is that you put down your gun, and then we can have a peaceful talk. I promise I won't kill you, how about it?" Seeing Ma Bin's trembling hand holding the gun, Li Jia slowly took a few steps forward, then sat down by the fire, stretched out her hands to warm her wet hands over the fire, and then turned to look at Ma Bin, speaking slowly and deliberately.
Looking at Li Jia's calm and relaxed expression, Ma Bin finally chose to trust Li Jia. Although he had a gun, he was also very self-aware. His skills were no better than those of the elite men protecting him. Those men had already disappeared without a trace. Besides, which of those underlings didn't have a gun?
"Alright, what do you want to know?" Ma Bin sighed, then threw the pistol aside. Even though he was completely relaxed, he still had a bit of the air of a superior. He walked over and sat down opposite Li Jia, staring into her smiling eyes as he asked.
"Hehe, no need to be so tense. I think you know very well what I want to know. You've already reached that level in the Dragon Dance Society, there's no reason for you to let it be destroyed in your hands. I want to know the reason. The real reason." Li Jia looked at Ma Bin, his tone very relaxed. If Ma Bin didn't know that he had just killed several of his elite subordinates, Li Jia's behavior would have been like that of a good friend chatting, without the slightest pressure.
"Sigh, do you really want to know?" Ma Bin's face darkened instantly when Li Jia asked the question. He sighed deeply and looked at Li Jia, his face seeming to age considerably in an instant. The melancholy and unbearable memories in his tone made Li Jia nod slightly. "Although it might sound very uncomfortable, I must know the truth. So, I absolutely must know."
A silence fell over the not-so-spacious cave. After a long while, a sigh escaped Ma Bin's lips. "Alright, since things have come to this point, I'll lay bare all the old grievances. Young man, remember your promise." Ma Bin stood up, paced back and forth in the cave a few times, and then returned to the opposite side of Li Jiadi. Looking down at the flickering sparks, he slowly began to recount his story.
Ma Bin, a native of the Dragon Dance Club, is seven years younger than its president, Ai Sihai. Forty years ago, they both fell in love with the same woman, Ai Sihai's deceased wife. Originally, the woman preferred Ma Bin, but Ai Sihai, young and impetuous, impregnated her in a drunken night. The woman had no choice but to marry Ai Sihai. However, not long after the marriage, Ai Sihai discovered that she and Ma Bin were still having an affair, so he hired someone to monitor his wife.
Until one day, a stack of photos was placed on Ai Sihai's desk. In the photos were Ma Bin and his wife, hand in hand…
Not long after, Ai Sihai's wife became pregnant. Being inherently suspicious, Ai Sihai had an DNA test done after his daughter was born. The result showed the child was not his.
Ai Sihai's anger was understandable. Later, he secretly disposed of the child, and the child's mother was also kicked out of the house by Ai Sihai. Not long after, she committed suicide by jumping into the river.
This incident sowed the seeds of cause and effect. At that time, Ma Bin was just a deputy leader of a branch hall. After this incident, he suddenly seemed to have become a different person. Ai Sihai monitored Ma Bin for three whole years before he believed that Ma Bin really had no relationship with his wife.
Over the course of three years, Ma Bin made many great contributions to the Dragon Dance Association, eventually rising from a branch deputy to a full member. Fifteen years later, Ma Bin became a candidate elder, and then three years later, he officially became an elder of the Dragon Dance Association.
After all these years, Ma Bin's pent-up emotions finally reached their breaking point. The Dragon Dance Party was a place that brought him endless pain. The entire Dragon Dance Party combined couldn't compare to the pain of losing his daughter. So, after a period of preparation, the series of events that followed occurred.
Even now, Ma Bin sat dejectedly in front of Li Jia, tears streaming down his old face. "So, the girl who was born is your flesh and blood?" Li Jia's question made Ma Bin nod, his eyes red as he stared at the fire, seemingly recalling the pain of his daughter being thrown into the Arno River before she even opened her eyes.
The events of the previous generation were indeed quite complicated. However, there was one thing Li Jia didn't understand: why didn't Ma Bin step in to stop these things from happening? When Li Jia asked Ma Bin, Ma Bin smiled and asked her, "If you were Ai Sihai, would you have let me know about these things?"
Li Jia was disheartened. Indeed, Ai Sihai's decision not to kick Ma Bin out of the Dragon Dance Club was already a huge concession, so Ma Bin's actions were within reason.
It doesn't matter who was right or wrong in the previous generation's affairs, and Li Jia is too lazy to pursue what's happening now. Li Jia doesn't care about the Dragon Dance Party; what she cares about is Xiao Yue. However, judging from the current situation, the Dragon Dance Party has probably gotten itself into a big mess.
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