Chapter 1657: The Change in Student Xin Fu

Li Luo's laughter lingered in the dim woods, thick with the scent of blood; the next moment, the shadows in the forest writhed like living things, and a slender figure slowly emerged from the darkness.

That figure wore black robes stained with thick blood, a hood drawn over his head, the shadow of the hood completely obscuring his face; only as he raised his head slightly did his features become exposed in the dim light of the woods.

And when Li Luo saw that familiar face, his smile suddenly faded a little, for upon the other's face were scars like centipedes, these scars ugly as flesh worms, utterly destroying the once handsome and refined countenance.

"Captain, long time no see." The youth before him met Li Luo's gaze and smiled faintly.

"What happened?" Li Luo asked slowly.

It seemed the killing intent that had not yet fully dissipated from the earlier eradication of Lord Zhu Xuan Chen and others surged once more, causing the very air in this dim forest to solidify.

In the shadows behind Student Xin Fu, several dark figures trembled all over, too afraid to move.

"I heard that after the Catastrophe erupted, you left the Profound Heaven Star Academy and returned to the Lanling Prefecture?"

Student Xin Fu nodded with a smile and said, "Yes, I really didn't want to return to those dark, sewer-like mountains, but there was no choice; my father gave the order, and I dared not disobey."

"The Marquis of Lanling? Your injuries were done by him?" Li Luo's eyes grew slightly colder; speaking of it, although he had never met this Marquis of Lanling, during the Prefecture Sacrifice back then, if Instructor Xi Chan had not resigned her position as an instructor and blocked the gates of the Lanling Prefecture alone, this Marquis of Lanling would likely have come to meddle in the Prefecture Sacrifice as well.

So, if reckoning is to be made now, the Marquis of Lanling should bear his share.

As if sensing the coldness contained in Li Luo's words, Student Xin Fu smiled and said, "No need to trouble you; he... has already been killed by me."

Li Luo was stunned; he knew Student Xin Fu's identity was actually the Young Prefect of the Lanling Prefecture, and that Marquis of Lanling should have been his father; with this relationship, Li Luo would have punished him, but certainly not taken his life.

But now... Student Xin Fu had struck first and killed the Marquis of Lanling?

This was... patricide?

Seeing the shock in Li Luo's eyes, Student Xin Fu couldn't help but laugh: "Does it seem cruel? That me, who had no presence back then, could actually do such a vicious thing."

"What did he do?" Li Luo fell silent for a few breaths before asking.

Having spent so much time with Student Xin Fu, how could he not know his character? Although he was sometimes sharp-tongued and liked to lurk in shadows to spy, Li Luo knew that deep in Student Xin Fu's heart lay a strong sensibility, a warm heart, and even a sense of justice.

In Li Luo's view, Student Xin Fu was actually more suited to the Light Aspect rather than the Shadow Aspect.

Yet, a person with such a character committing such a horrifying act of patricide meant that something unspeakably cruel must have occurred.

Such things are enough to change a person's original character.

Gazing at Li Luo's eyes, Student Xin Fu stopped smiling; over these years he had changed greatly, but Li Luo's eyes remained just as familiar, at least in his eyes, they had not changed.

He was still the captain of that righteous squad from back then.

Student Xin Fu's eyes suddenly grew hot; the emotions suppressed within him for years nearly caused his mental defenses to collapse. He forced a smile with all his might, and his voice became extremely hoarse: "My father told us that to contend for his position, one must have a heart of iron and sever all emotions; he said assassins do not need useless emotions. I said I couldn't do it; I hated it there. After all, he had many children, and I was just one ordinary, unimportant one among them."

"So he killed my companions from the Lanling Prefecture, those I had grown up with since childhood, one by one right before my eyes. I could only submit, living in endless pain."

"He subjected me to countless training sessions worse than death, turning me into this state."

"Later, Sister Ye secretly tried to take me away, but he tracked us down and captured her, bringing her back."

A figure of a tall, sexy woman in black tight clothes flashed through Li Luo's mind; that was a woman named Ye Ye Chengying, who had once been one of the Seven Pillars of the Profound Heaven Star Academy and had a deep connection with Student Xin Fu.

Back during the Prefecture Sacrifice, this woman, due to her identity with the Lanling Prefecture, had accepted a mission to strike against the Luo Lan Prefecture, but at the last moment she was stopped by Student Xin Fu, Seeing Yu Lang, and others.

Of course, it was mostly because Student Xin Fu persuaded her.

From that time, Li Luo knew there was something brewing between Student Xin Fu and this sexy senior sister.

Hearing Student Xin Fu's account now, his heart sank slightly.

Sure enough, a smile uglier than crying appeared on Student Xin Fu's face, a smile filled with hysterical pain, and he hissed: "My father, the Prefect of the Lanling Prefecture, severed her limbs, stuffed her into a jar, and hung her on the training ground every day, forcing her to watch me undergo cruel training sessions day after day while she lived a life worse than death."

"From then on, I dared not disobey my father in the slightest; I needed to preserve the remnant of her life."

"I obeyed everything he said; over these years, I executed many assassination missions for the Lanling Prefecture, including even assassinating students of the Profound Heaven Star Academy."

"But I completed all the missions in the end."

"I regained my father's trust until one time, when an Abnormality appeared in the Lanling Prefecture and my father was injured; then, I finally got my chance."

"Do you know how intense the smile on my face was the moment I severed his head? Hahaha."

Li Luo looked at Student Xin Fu, whose expression was in a state of madness and distortion, and sighed lightly; what had happened to the other was absolutely horrific.

Over these years, those who were once familiar had all experienced much and changed much.

"Is she still alive?" Li Luo asked the most important question; that Ye Ye Chengying was likely the last shred of comfort in Student Xin Fu's heart now.

Student Xin Fu murmured, "She still has a breath left, but she is almost as good as dead. I brought the people of the Lanling Prefecture here this time only to offer you a little final help, although with your current status and strength, you might not need it..."

"But it can be considered a small compensation for what I have done over these years."

In his words, there was already a hint of the will to die.

Li Luo sighed slightly and said, "Don't be so despairing; as long as there is a breath left, it is fine."

Student Xin Fu's body trembled; he stammered, "Her flesh and blood have withered, and her Ph Palace has been shattered. Everyone in the Lanling Prefecture has seen it; there is no possibility of saving her anymore."

Li Luo laughed: "Can the people of that broken place speak with more authority than me?"

Student Xin Fu stared blankly at Li Luo; he knew that Li Luo's strength had now reached an unimaginable realm; even his father, who had once seemed unattainable in his eyes, was like an ant before Li Luo, so he understood that his own vision could not compare to Li Luo's.

What he considered a certain death situation might not be so in Li Luo's eyes.

Thus, that withered heart, nearly dead, seemed to beat once more at this moment.

"Li Luo, Captain! Captain!! I beg you, save her!" Tears rolled down from Student Xin Fu's eyes; his legs went weak, and he was about to kneel.

But a powerful hand supported his arm, an irresistible force lifting him up; Li Luo gently patted Student Xin Fu's shoulder and said, "Rest assured; if I cannot save her, I can ask the Pill Saint to act. Coincidentally, she is currently hidden within Bai Bai Mengmeng's body. If the Pill Saint cannot save her, I will find my grandfather; he is Li Li Tianwang; he should be able to save her."

A suppressed, choked sob came from Student Xin Fu's throat; he had thought that through these years of cruel cultivation, his emotions had been completely eroded, but when this person appeared before him, he saw the morning light tearing through the darkness.

Behind Li Luo, Jiang Jiang Qinge finally stepped forward; she glanced at Student Xin Fu and said, "His injuries are also severe."

"Senior Sister Jiang, I am not in any serious danger." Seeing Jiang Jiang Qinge, who was even more magnificent than in the past, Student Xin Fu hurriedly wiped the blood and tears from his face and said in a somewhat hoarse voice.

But how could such concealment fool Li Luo and Jiang Jiang Qinge's perception? In their eyes, Student Xin Fu at this moment was like an oil lamp running dry; various injuries accumulated together had brought him to the brink of death; perhaps this was also because he himself already harbored the will to die.

So Li Luo activated his own Water Aspect; deep blue, moist aspect power flowed out like water, directly entering Student Xin Fu's body to heal his injuries.

Jiang Jiang Qinge also activated her Light Aspect power; in an instant, dazzling bright light rose in the dim woods, driving away all darkness; then, in the areas where the shadows dispersed, many dark figures appeared.

Clearly, these were the troops following Student Xin Fu, also assassins from the Lanling Prefecture.

However, at this moment, these assassins all cast fearful glances, trembling and too afraid to approach.

But as the Light Phase force seeped in through every crack and shone down, wherever the light reached, the wounds on their bodies were rapidly healed.

So they gradually relaxed, casting grateful looks toward Li Luo and Jiang Jiang Qinge.

"Thank you, Captain, Senior Jiang." Student Xin Fu felt the power gradually recovering within him and said softly in thanks.

"Should we head into Daxia City first to rest and regroup?" Li Luo asked.

Student Xin Fu shook his head, his expression dim as he said, "I have no face to face Instructor Xi Chan. I want to return immediately, and then bring Sister Ye here."

Li Luo didn't know how to answer. He knew that Student Xin Fu's heart was constantly in torment. Whatever his reasons, in the end he had caused harm to the Saint Astral Star Academy.

Perhaps this was also one of the reasons why he had come with the resolve to die.

So Li Luo spoke with him a while longer, then stopped trying to keep him. Student Xin Fu, with the team from Lanling Prefecture, rose and headed off into the depths of the mountain forest.

Just as his figure was about to vanish into the shadows of the deep forest, Li Luo saw Student Xin Fu turn around and call out to him from afar.

"Captain, thank you. That year at the Saint Astral Star Academy was the brightest moment of my life."

He smiled, turned, and disappeared into the shadows.

Li Luo gazed in the direction he had vanished and let out a soft sigh.

Back at the Academy, Student Xin Fu had always liked to secretly observe him and Bai Bai Mengmeng in all sorts of situations, then paint and carve them onto steles. At the time he'd felt the kid was simply courting death, but looking at it now, it was clearly that he wanted to leave some traces of those rare, bright moments worth cherishing in the future.

His name is Student Xin Fu, but over these years, he has not been happy at all.