Chapter 1665: Xin Fu's Transformation

Li Luo's laugh lingered in the dark woods filled with the stench of blood.

A moment later, the shadow wriggled as though it was alive as a thin figure strode out. He was dressed in blood-drenched black robes with a hood on his head. The shadow cast by the hood completely covered his face, but when he raised his head, his face was exposed by the dim light.

When Li Luo saw the familiar face, his smile suddenly stiffened. This was because there were countless centipede-like scars on it, each as ugly as flesh worms. The handsome and gentle face he had grown familiar with was ruined.

"It's been a while, Squad Leader," the youth said with a grin.

"What happened?" Li Luo asked.

The murderous intent that had dissipated upon wiping out Xuan Chen and his lackeys once again surged into the sky, causing the air within the forest to turn stagnant.

The numerous figures behind Xin Fu trembled in fright, not daring to move even an inch.

"I heard that after the Other Disaster, you left the Astral Sage College and returned to House Lanling," Li Luo said.

Xin Fu smiled and nodded. "That's right. I didn't want to return to that dark mountain, but I had no choice. My father gave an order and I could not disobey."

"Duke Lanling? Did he cause those injuries?"

Li Luo's gaze turned cold. Although he had never personally met that man, he would have undoubtedly turned up at the Housemeet and wreaked havoc if Mentor Chi Chan hadn't stopped him.

Thus, Duke Lanling also had to be dealt with.

Upon sensing Li Luo's chilly threat in his words, Xin Fu smiled. "There's no need to trouble yourself with him. I already killed him."

Li Luo paused. He knew that Xin Fu was the young lord of House Lanling, which meant that Duke Lanling was his father. Because of their relationship, he would have punished the Duke but wouldn't have taken his life.

Yet, Xin Fu had personally killed his father? Wasn't that patricide?

Xin Fu looked at Li Luo's confused gaze and laughed.

"Do you think I'm cruel? I was merely a kid back then, but I was able to steel myself to do such a cruel thing."

Li Luo fell silent for a while before asking, "What did he do?"

He had spent a lot of time with Xin Fu and thus understood his personality. Although the fellow was occasionally foulmouthed and preferred to hide in the shadows, he knew that his friend was sensible, kind, and had a strong sense of justice. In fact, he seemed more compatible with a light resonance than a shadow resonance.

How could someone with that type of personality bring himself to kill his own father? Something cruel must have happened that was too difficult to describe. Only something drastic could warp his personality so greatly.

Xin Fu stopped smiling. He had changed far too much over the years, while the look in Li Luo's eyes had remained the same. At the very least, his friend hadn't changed as much as himself.

Li Luo was still the Squad Leader of the Fairness & Justice Squad.

Xin Fu suddenly felt his eyes turning hot as the emotions that had been bottled up in his heart almost caused him to lose his composure.

He forced a smile and explained in a hoarse voice, "My father told me that if I wanted his position, I need a heart of stone and to be utterly ruthless. A killer didn't need emotions. I told him I couldn't do it, that I hated that place, and that he still had other children. I was just ordinary and unappreciated.

"Afterwards, he called all of the friends who I had grown up with in House Lanling and killed them right in front of me, one by one. I had no choice but to submit and live in endless agony. After that, he subjected me to endless training that left me at the border between life and death, resulting in my current appearance.

"One day, I had enough and attempted to escape in the dead of night. Alas, he chased and caught me, bringing me back."

Li Luo remembered a tall and alluring young woman—Ye Chengying, one of the Seven Astral Pillars and one that had a close relationship with Xin Fu. During the Housemeet, she had taken a mission on behalf of House Lanling to take action against House Luolan, but she had been restrained by Xin Fu and Yu Lang.

He knew that she had mostly stopped because Xin Fu had persuaded her to do so.

Just from that alone, Li Luo knew that there was something going on between Xin Fu and her. And Xin Fu's words had caused his heart to sink.

Xin Fu revealed a smile uglier than his crying face.

He continued, his voice full of agony, "My father, the House Lord of House Lanling, chopped off her limbs, stuffed her torso into a jar, and hung her above the training grounds. She spent every day watching me undergo the most cruel training, and I saw the constant despair in her eyes. From that day on, I no longer dared to disobey my father—I had to protect what was left of her life.

"I obeyed his every command and carried out countless assassination missions for House Lanling, including killing students from the Astral Sage College. I completed every single one. Over time, I regained his trust until one day, Others appeared within House Lanling and my father was injured. My opportunity had arrived. Do you know how big the smile on my face was when I severed his head? Hahahaha!"

Li Luo sighed lightly when he saw the addled and distorted expression on Xin Fu's face. What had happened to him was beyond cruel.

His old friend had suffered far too much, so it wasn't surprising that he had changed so drastically.

"Is she still alive?" Li Luo asked.

Ye Chengying might very well be the very last strand of comfort remaining in his heart.

Xin Fu murmured, "She's barely holding on, but death's not too far off. I brought the people from House Lanling here to help you, since this might be the last time I can. Although, considering your current strength, there probably wasn't any need to... However, this counts as a way to make reparations for my actions in the past."

It sounded like he was leaving his last will.

Li Luo lightly sighed. "There's no need to be so despondent. Just a breath is enough."

Xin Fu's body shook. "Her flesh and blood are withered and her resonant palaces have been broken. Everyone in House Lanling has looked at her and no one has any way to save her."

Li Luo grinned and said, "Do you think anyone in that crappy place can compare to me?"

Xin Fu stared dumbly at Li Luo. He knew that Li Luo's strength had reached an incomprehensible realm. Even his father, whom he saw as an unsurmountable obstacle, was nothing more than an ant in front of his friend. Thus, he understood that what he thought was an impossibility didn't apply to Li Luo.

Thus, his withered and hopeless heart began to beat with life once again. "Li Luo! Squad Leader! Please! Please save her!"

Xin Fu's eyes welled up with tears as his legs wavered, and he was about to kneel. However, a pair of strong hands held him, filled with strength that would never waver as Li Luo lightly patted his shoulder.

"Rest assured, if I can't save her, I'll ask the Pill Saint to take action. She's currently residing within Mengmeng's body. If the Pill Saint can't help her, I'll ask my grandpa. He's a Heavenly Emperor, so he should be able to help her."

Xin Fu let out a suppressed sob. He had originally thought that all his emotions had been wiped out as a result of his brutal training, but Li Luo was like a ray of light from the rising sun, ripping through the darkness that shrouded him.

Jiang Qing'e walked up and said to him, "Your injuries are very severe."

Xin Fu looked at Jiang Qing'e, who seemed even more magnificent and outstanding than before.

He quickly wiped away the blood and tears on his face as he replied hoarsely, "Senior Jiang, I'm fine."

However, how could such injuries be hidden from Li Luo and Jiang Qing'e's perception? They could see that Xin Fu was like a spent lamp, covered in all sorts of injuries. He was on the brink of death, which perhaps was precisely what he was seeking.

Li Luo roused his water resonance, causing dark blue and gentle resonant power to surge out. The resonant power entered Xin Fu's body and healed his hidden wounds.

Jiang Qing'e activated her light resonant power, causing the entire forest to light up in a dazzling fashion, driving away the darkness and revealing many figures. They were clearly Xin Fu's men and also the assassins of House Lanling.

However, these killers were trembling in fear.

As the light resonant power shone down upon them, it entered their bodies and swiftly healed their injuries. Only then did they relax, looking at the duo with undisguised appreciation in their eyes.

Xin Fu could feel his strength returning.

"Thank you, Squad Leader, Senior Jiang."

"Do you want to return to Xia City to rest?" Li Luo asked.

Xin Fu shook his head as his expression turned dark.

"I don't have the face to meet Mentor Chi Chan. I want to return home and bring Sister Ye over."

Li Luo didn't know how to reply as he knew that Xin Fu had been tormented the whole time they had been apart. No matter what the reasons were, he had still caused harm to the Astral Sage College. Perhaps this was one of the reasons why he had come here with the determination to die.

The two then spoke for a while longer before Xin Fu led the people of House Lanling back to the depths of the forest.

Before he vanished into the darkness, Xin Fu turned and said, "Thank you, Squad Leader. That year in the Astral Sage College was the brightest time of my life."

He grinned and vanished.

Li Luo sighed as he watched him leave. In the past, Xin Fu had enjoyed stealthily spying on him and Bai Mengmeng and then painting what he saw. At that time, he thought that the fellow was courting death, trying to be some sort of voyeur. However, in retrospect, it was clear that all he ever wished for was to engrave that period of warmth and brightness onto something, in order to remind himself of better times.

Although his name was Xin Fu, he couldn't have been less fortunate.[1]

1. Xin Fu is also the way to pronounce "fortune." It's a Chinese pun that he couldn't have been less fortunate despite the homonym. ☜