Chapter 685 – Return (1/2)

Pebble wiped away his snot and tears. “My mum said that I have to be like my uncle. I have to become someone impressive!”

Li Long rubbed his head and crouched down. “I’ll take you to see him, alright?”

“M- m- my dad and mum are dead, right? Just like Old Yellow?” Pebble asked in fright.

There was nothing Li Long could say in response. He sighed. He wondered how his master and everyone else was doing. With their skill, the fire should not have taken their lives, riht?

At this moment, a group of people appeared in the ruins on the other side of the village. Spotting the two of them, the person at the front rushed over.

“Master!”

Li Long’s eyes lit up. These people were the disciples of the Iron Fist school being led by Liu Hong, as well as many villagers.

As it turned out, after the great fire had been lit, Liu Hong had led the disciples of the Iron Fist school to evacuate all the villagers, fleeing into the mountains nearby. Only when the sun had risen up and the flames had subsided did they find the courage to return.

“As long as you’re fine!”

Liu Hong eased up, while Wang Lei’s gaze towards Li Long became filled with reverence. The great fire that filled the air last night was basically the legendary handiwork of immortals. If it were not for him, probably everyone in Crouching Ox village would die.

The villagers found their ruined homes with their family. Many of them sobbed. Pebble finally understood that his parents had suffered the same fate as Old Yellow. They would never be returning again. He began to wail loudly.

Li Long was relieved that at least his battle had not been meaningless, but he was unable to cheer up inside. He said to Liu Hong, “Master, it’s time for me to go back.”

“Aren’t you going to wait until the burial?”

“My father’s soul has already returned to the netherworld. All that remains is but a shell, and probably even this shell doesn’t exist anymore!”

Li Long gazed at Li Hu and Li Bao from afar. When the fire started, they could not even run away in time, so why would they still care about a dead corpse? It had been reduced to ashes with the courtyard of the Li family.

It was strange now that he mentioned it. They were clearly brothers connected by blood, from the same mother and father, yet he found them to be so distant right now. It was as if they lived completely different lives. The so-called returning home gloriously had become meaningless.

Once he left this time, he would probably never return to this hamlet again. Li Long thought of Li Qingshan again. Had he anticipated this already, which was why he was so resolute?

“What a huge river! What a huge boat!”

Pebble leaned on the railing and widened his eyes, gazing at the raging Clear river. He gulped. He probably had yet to properly understand the meaning of death. He had already recovered some liveliness, enamoured by this wondrous sight he had never seen before.

Instead, Li Long’s heart still weighed rather heavily. As he gazed at Pebble from behind, he felt worried. Back then, he had acted on impulse to say that he would take him to see Li Qingshan. Li Qingshan had already severed his ties with the Li family. With that man’s resolve, it definitely was not just for say. The fate of this pitiful child probably would not be so optimistic.

The boat followed the flow of the river. By the time they arrived in Clear River city, it was already dusk. Clear River city blazed with light.

Together, Li Long and Pebble disembarked from the boat. Everyone around them avoided them with faces of disgust. Li Long still seemed as rustic as ever, while Pebble was even worse off. He was as dirty and filthy as a young beggar. Li Long had not even given him a basic clean, let alone changing him into a new set of clothes.

Pebble could not help but cower under the disdainful gazes, but when he saw Li Long striding ahead calmly, it brought him great ease.

After disembarking, Li Long visited the Hawkwolf Guard to ask about Li Qingshan’s whereabouts, learning he was holding a banquet in the Parlour of Cloud and Rain. As a result, he brought Pebble to the blazing Parlour of Clouds and Rain. Pebble raised his head and did his best to look up.