Chapter 217: Lan Ze's Perspective (Part 2)

Sang Yan was stunned for a few seconds, then slowly smiled. His gaze carried sorrow, yet his smile was very warm.

"It has been a long time since I heard anyone call her name in front of me."

"What do you mean by that?" Lan Ze's breathing became rapid, and he had an ominous premonition in his heart. "Where is she?"

"Aosilan Diguo."

Lan Ze let out a sigh of relief; he was just about to ask how she was doing now, but upon seeing Sang Yan's expression, he froze in place.

Sang Yan looked at the drifting clouds on the horizon and said, "The day of her ceremony, the weather was just like this."

His appearance had not changed much, but his entire temperament was much more composed and reserved than it had been ten years ago. At this moment, following the motion of raising his head, he slightly covered his reddened eyes to keep the tears from falling.

Lan Ze's fingertips trembled slightly as he asked, "Did something happen to her? What exactly is wrong with her?"

Even though ten years had passed, Sang Yan still felt unbearable heartache when speaking of her. He pretended to be indifferent as he picked up a flower to sniff, then opened his palm to place a crystal-clear gemstone he had been clutching in his hand onto the back of the Tianya Haijiao Stone. Lan Ze saw that it was already piled with colorful gemstones.

"She is dead."

"Laiboli has her body frozen in the top floor of the castle in the Huangting, and he doesn't allow anyone near it except for Zongfang. He stubbornly believes that Sui Sui is just sleeping, but we all know that she has no breath or heartbeat left."

"I cannot see her, so every year on this day, I come here to bring her the most beautiful gemstone, as well as the flowers she likes."

"Actually, I originally had no plans to take in the Rebel Army, because with the strength the Freedom Alliance had at the time, it was impossible to contend with the Federation, but once I thought that this might be something Sui Sui cared about, I just did it."

Sang Yan spoke intermittently for a long time; his tone was extremely calm, but every sentence struck Lan Ze like a thunderbolt.

"Why is it like this? How could it be like this..." Lan Ze did not believe it; he refused to believe it. "I will return to the Huangting immediately, even if I have to kneel and beg Laiboli, I will..."

"It's useless. He is insane." Sang Yan's eyes revealed sorrow as he said, "Laiboli is terminally ill, tortured by headaches for over a decade, and has gone completely mad. Moreover, with your own strength, you cannot enter the borders of Ausilan. Because of his years of constant warfare, he has provoked dissatisfaction from many countries; they are now joining forces to attack Ausilan, and by now, they should have already surrounded the Huangting."

"Then what about Sui Sui?" Lan Ze asked urgently, "She is still in the Huangting, isn't she?"

Sang Yan said, "I have already negotiated with those countries; the Freedom Alliance will assist them in attacking Ausilan, on the condition that I only want her body."

A gust of wind blew by, and Sang Yan looked up and opened his arms to feel it. "She likes the sky, she likes freedom; I want to bury her in the most beautiful place, to let her rest in peace."

Lan Ze shook his head in a daze, murmuring to himself, "It's not true... she isn't dead... she is just not in this world anymore..."

He could not let Sang Yan bury her.

If Sui Sui came back and found herself in the cold, dark earth, how afraid would she be?

Lan Ze clenched his fists, forcing himself to calm down.

He feigned, "Since that is the case, take me to bring her back; I haven't seen her for the last time yet."

Sang Yan did not refuse him, only saying, "Before that, I need to go to one place first."

Sang Yan brought Lan Ze to the Southern Battlefield.

On the vast, boundless ground stood a Baijian Tree, its branches and leaves lush, the green of the vines intertwined with the brown of the bark. The canopy towered into the clouds, like a giant green umbrella, standing straight on the endless plain.

Sang Yan stroked the thick trunk, a smile of slight doting on his face. "She planted this casually. Zongfang told me she hid a secret here. I didn't peek, afraid she would be angry."

Lan Ze asked, "Why come here?"

"Because someone is buried here. You might know them too."

Lan Ze frowned in confusion, puzzled, "Who is it?"

"Anubis."

On the eve of Sang Yan's departure from the Aosilan Diguo, Zongfang had rarely come down from the top floor to find him. He had asked him to do one thing before returning to the Freedom Alliance: to bury Anubis in the Southern Battlefield, because his father's brothers and the bones of the dead Rebel Army were there.

"He said, if they could not reunite in life, they must be reunited in death," Sang Yan said.

"Why didn't he come himself?" Lan Ze had felt it was strange since just now; Laiboli and Zongfang's possessiveness were on par with each other, how could they tolerate one another? Sang Yan's pitch-black pupils darkened, and after a long silence, he said, "You will know when you see him."

When Lan Ze entered the Aosilan Diguo with Sang Yan, the sky had already turned dark.

But neither of them had any intention of resting, so the team accompanying them had no choice but to continue the journey.

Passing by a magnificent manor, a young man in the group who had never left the Freedom Alliance exclaimed, "The architecture here is just too beautiful."

Someone explained to him, "Getting a taste of the world, aren't you? Let me tell you, I come here often. They say this is called... what was it... the Leguo Palace. I heard it was the former residence of the Ausilan Empress, and now it has been confiscated and turned into a tourist spot. Lots of people are checking in outside the gates."

Another person interrupted, "That's wrong, that's wrong. You don't know a damn thing; this is clearly the Biegong of the Sword of the Empire."

The young man's eyes widened, and he exclaimed, "Ah? Is that the fallen Sword of the Empire, Luka Xikesaisi?"

"That's the one. It's a pity; such an Excellent Beastman, and a family heir at that, committing suicide."

At this moment, Lan Ze, who was standing at the very front, stiffened. He looked at Sang Yan in disbelief, and after receiving a slight nod from the other party, he stood frozen in place.

The few young men behind him were still chatting away.

"I heard this wasn't his first suicide attempt. It seems like five or seven years ago, he tried to commit suicide several times, but for some reason, he never succeeded."

"It must have been for the children. At that time, the four children hadn't held their coming-of-age ceremonies yet."

"Sigh, I guess so. It's rumored outside that the dignified Colonel died in a bathtub in the Biegong."

"Ah? Why a bathtub?"

"Who knows."

"Then the Huangting we are going to later, is it even more impressive than this Leguo Palace?"

"That goes without saying, let me tell you..."

The young men talked and laughed with great interest. The pity they expressed for the Sword of the Empire sounded like nothing more than a discussion about everyday trivialities, mentioning it only with vague keywords. Perhaps in a few more years, young Beastmen will no longer know that the Aosilan Diguo once had an outstanding figure known as the Sword of the Empire, and the rumor left behind with him was that of a man who died for love. And they will never understand how real the pain was behind those rumors, day after day, or what kind of feelings he held during those struggles and hesitations as he hovered on the edge of life and death time after time.

Lan Ze felt heartbroken to the extreme. He was suddenly afraid of Sui Sui returning; if she found out about all this, what would she do? The final ending is HE, rest assured and keep reading. Is Zongfang appearing tomorrow? Let's check the vote count. (End of chapter)