Chapter 88: Meeting Mingyue Again (2/2)

“Why do you say that?” Murong Mingyue was a bit surprised by my reaction. “You’re number two on the Heavenly Ranking, and there’s no one in Floating Ice City who doesn’t know your name. If this is just ‘passable’, then what should the rest of us do, die in shame like the noobs we are?”

I couldn’t laugh at her joke, however. I said quietly, “Sister… do you know why I didn’t let boss know that I’m still alive?”

“Why?”

Murong Mingyue stared at me in astonishment.

“Do you remember the first and last time I went out with boss? That time someone tried to murder her?”

“Of course!”

Murong Mingyue nodded and cleared things up for me. “GGS is a huge international corporation, and Eve was appointed as the Asia Region Vice President. The president of GGS passed away not long ago due to old age, and a replacement was going to be chosen among the three vice presidents. However… the vice president at Shanghai got greedy and tried to have Eve murdered. He’s in prison now, naturally. Oh right, you were hurt during that murder attempt, weren’t you? What happened to you after that?”

I gave her a painful smile and said, “I wasn’t just hurt that day. I died.”

“Died?”

Murong Mingyue was caught off-guard by my reply, but she quickly giggled and said, “What are you talking about? If you are dead, who am I talking to? Please don’t make fun of me!”

“It’s true,” I said in a calm and indifferent tone. “Can you please sit next to me?”

“Huh? Sure…”

Murong Mingyue looked a bit confused, but she still got up and sat next to me.

I took off my hat and pulled up the sleeves of my coat. These damnable patches of discolored skin reared their head again because I hadn’t been exposed to the sun these last couple of days!

Murong Mingyue was an experienced and knowledgeable woman, so she immediately recognized what the discoloration was and fell silent. She couldn’t say anything for a very long time.

After collecting herself, she muttered, “What is going on, Lu Chen?”

I leaned back against the sofa and said indifferently, “I was asleep—dead—under the soil for a whole day and night that day. Some time later after I woke up, I discovered that my body was starting to develop hypostasis. All the signs pointed toward me being dead, but after an examination it was discovered from a blood sample that an incredibly complicated virus had somehow gotten inside of me. Amazingly, it has the ability to revive a person’s dead cells continuously. It is the only reason I’m still alive right now, but… I have no idea how long this situation will continue. I don’t know when I’ll die for real.”

Murong Mingyue clenched her fists together and felt herself tearing up when she heard this. She murmured again, “What… what should we do? Lu Chen, come back with me! Eve will find a way to treat you!”

I asked, “How? I’ll die if the virus is eliminated.”

“But… but you being all alone out there is just… Eve and I will not…”

Murong Mingyue clamped a hand over her mouth and shed tears of sorrow. “We won’t allow you to die alone no matter what.”

I smiled. “I’m not alone, really. I have two amazing brothers, and I have friends like Wind Fantasy.”

“Then why won’t you return to Eve’s side?” Murong Mingyue looked at me hopefully.

I sucked in a deep breath before answering, “I don’t want her to be sad.”

“Are you serious?” Murong Mingyue abruptly rose to her feet. “Are we pretending she’s not already as sad as she could be? How will keeping this a secret remedy this?”

I stood up as well and replied to her firmly, “I’m not afraid of death, but I am afraid of making her stay with me and wait for death to overcome the both of us! That is a life neither He Yi nor I deserve to lead!”

Murong Mingyue shuddered all over as realization hit her. Finally acknowledging my stance, she nodded. “So… what are you planning to do in the future?”

I said, “I’m expecting some progress on the research of the virus in about a month or so. Once my condition stabilizes, I’ll seek out you and the boss myself. Is that fine?”

Murong Mingyue nodded again. “Alright. And what will you do before that?”

I said calmly, “I’ll fulfill my promise and help He Yi and Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls rise to the top once more. I won’t rest until Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls become a Top 3 guild in Floating Ice City, at the very least!”

“Mn. Your body is going to be fine during this time, right?”

I nodded and gave her a smile. “Yeah. This virus is afraid of sunlight, so if I catch some sunlight every day I may even be able to live forever.”

Murong Mingyue broke into a laugh. “I can’t believe you’re joking at a time like this.”

“Hehe…”

I thought for a moment before sitting back down. “Sis, seriously. Promise me you won’t tell boss about this until the time is right, please?”

“I promise.”

“I’ll work from the shadows and help boost our guild to greater heights. You and Xu Yang need to work hard as well. The entire reason I built Bloody Mercenaries in the first place is to help Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls, so I promise I will return one day. As for the rest, I’ll be counting on you and Xu Yang.”

“Mn, no problem.” Murong Mingyue smiled at me. “Eve gave me a half-a-year holiday, so my current focus is on Heavenblessed.”

“Oh right, where is Lian Xin?”

“I don’t know either. I heard she left the country some time ago, and I haven’t been able to contact her. I’m sure she’ll seek us out once she returns though.”

“Yeah.”

Murong Mingyue’s excitement finally got the better of her. “Doom and gloom aside, I’m really glad that you’re still alive. Eve will be overjoyed when she learns about this.”

I smiled. “Is that so?”

“It’s amazing you still have the heart to smile, you heartless little flirt,” Murong Mingyue said in an exasperated tone. “I’ve seen how sad Eve was after she lost you. I’m sure she’ll become the happiest woman in the world the day you show yourself to her!”

“Hehe, I will.”

“Alright, it’s a promise. And don’t you forget what you promised us earlier!”

Murong Mingyue suddenly stood up again and gave me a hug. She pressed her face to my chest and whispered, “You promised Eve you’ll walk with her, with all of us, to the very end… you’re not allowed to leave this early into our lives, you hear me…?”