Chapter 240 I Would Rather Die Than Fail You (1/2)

Their eyes met. There was nothing but tenderness.

At this moment, they almost forgot their age gap, and even who poisoned Master Hou. There was no resentment in his eyes. It was all gentleness.

Master Hou held out his hand and caressed her smooth face. “Silly girl. When I’m gone, the mansion will no longer be the place for you. You should not stay, neither should you return to Lord Long. You deserve to be free.”

Tears were running down her face like a river. “Why don’t you hate me?”

“Do you want to hear a story?”

Tang Xueyan nodded, “Of course. I want to hear whatever you have to say.”

“I was born into a family of academics. My father was a college professor and my mother was a psychologist. So as a child, I was good at all subjects. I was even the top scorer of science at the college entrance exam. In the year of my graduation, my parents were murdered by thugs. From then on, all I ever wanted was vengeance. Since the law could not punish them, I quit my job and joined the gang. It didn’t take long before I became their boss and made them a stronger organization. Then I killed everyone who had a part in my parents’ murder. I cut off their heads. That was when Tingchuan started following me.”

It was a bloody and horrifying story, which was in sharp contrast to the tenderness they were sharing then.

“Later, I grew ambitious. I wanted to build an empire of my own. And the biggest obstacle in my way was the Jiang Family, the most powerful group of people in the underground at that time.”

“One must know his enemies if he desires to destroy them. I started contacting this family and I got to know Jiang Qin, the daughter of their leader.”

Tang Xueyan sighed, knowing that this must be a sad story. “The girl you loved.”

“Yes. The more I spent time with her, the more I loved her. She could tell too. She also knew that sooner or later I would end up being at war with her father. She tried to convince me to leave the underground world to be with her. But I craved success. I was reluctant to let go of what I had.”

Tang Xueyan sighed, “Actually, even if you did give everything up, her father may still not have let you off.”

“True. Her father was already extremely wary of me by then and wouldn’t let me off. Later we ended up fighting. I’d intended to spare his life. But Tingchuan killed him. Jiang Qin asked me to kill Tingchuan. I refused. So in revenge, she killed herself by jumping from a building in front of me.”

Master Hou sighed, “I owe this to her. And it’ll take more than a lifetime to make it up to her. Did you think I didn’t suspect something when I took you in? I did. But I didn’t care anymore by then.”

Tang Xueyan was shocked. Incredulous, she asked, “You were already suspicious of me then?”

Master Hou looked at the girl tenderly. “I knew karma would come for me when Jiang Qin died. You do look like her. These few days that I’ve been with you, I can’t even tell if it’s you I love or I’m just regarding you as her. I’m already 43. I outlived her for almost 20 years. It’s time for me to go now.”

“If you were her reincarnation, I was willing to protect you, even offer my life to repay you. If you weren’t, I would never allow that tragedy to happen again. I would rather die than fail you.”

Tang Xueyan was weeping. Maybe Master Hou himself did not even know if he had fallen in love with Tang Xueyan or merely regarded her as Jiang Qin, the woman he loved most. But Tang Xueyan did not care. All she knew was Jiang Zihou cared about her and that was enough for her.

Unfortunately, sometimes things just won’t go the way one wants it to.

“Zihou… I would like to give you a kiss.”

Master Hou sat up and held Tang Xueyan in his arms. Then the two began kissing. It was a kiss that transcended life and death. Master Hou could feel his life ebbing from him. He knew he would not make it through the day.

Just then, Mu Tingchuan arrived at the door but was stopped by Miyamoto Shinji. Miyamoto Shinji shook his head as he noticed the worry and anger in Mu Tingchuan’s eyes. “Master Hou has ordered everyone to stay out.”

Mu Tingchuan sighed. “Is this the so-called karma? Master Hou still has so much to see to. Why must he be punished and not me, the one who caused this?”

Back then, Master Hou chose Mu Tingchuan over Jiangqin, which meant that he gave up the woman he loved for his cause. From then on, Mu Tingchuan became more and more loyal to him.

Mu Tingchuan was waiting outside fretfully when he heard Master Hou crying out, “No!”