[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-dragon-of-a-thousand-faces":3,"chapter-the-dragon-of-a-thousand-faces-the-dragon-of-a-thousand-faces-chapter-293":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","The Dragon of a Thousand Faces",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2269939,4431,"Chapter 293: A Family With Overly Complicated Relationships","the-dragon-of-a-thousand-faces-chapter-293",293,"\u003Cp>Looking at the table where Lex was, Li En sighed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was the reason for my “awakening,” and seemingly the source of this mess before me—but did he truly do anything wrong?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No, he was neither greedy nor evil; on the contrary, he was a good man in both private and public life—except in his personal life.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He possessed an empathy far beyond his time for friends, family, and even strangers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If he had any flaw, it was that he stood at the pinnacle, wielded pinnacle power, yet lacked the capacity and inner strength to hold it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He could have done better, but lacked the ability to do so; his fate may have been sealed the moment he climbed to that position.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li En shook his head. Today was a day of parting—let the past rest here.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lex, however, glanced around, leaving only “family” behind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He removed his mask, revealing a face identical to Li En’s.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The man smiled, bitter yet joyful.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“To see you all after death— I’m stunned.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His words immediately revealed poor emotional intelligence; both daughters pouted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They knew they were posthumous children, born after their father’s death—but why say it like that? As if our birth was an accident.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was the truth: when Lex died, he had no idea his daughters were still alive—he never even imagined he’d have offspring, let alone ones so adorable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’m stunned, but I’m also happy—truly happy.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The young man set his mask aside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He sat on the steps, weary yet wearing a rare smile of contentment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The moment I saw you, I suddenly felt my life had meaning—at least, it wasn’t entirely empty.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Beneath his calm words lay emotions tightly suppressed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hela stared at him, still pouting, as if unwilling to speak—perhaps from her perspective, she could not understand this joy or satisfaction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That, in truth, was the final redemption of a failure.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A man who spent his life fighting for his family, only to be betrayed by “family”—yet when he saw his children, he found a glimmer of hope.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Regained? No, it wasn’t that simple.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was a sliver of light, a faint hope, seen after wandering too long in darkness, numb enough to deny his own life, and having rejected the call to return to the world.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I failed, yes—but at least, I still have you.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To the “daughters,” however, this was just the excuse of an irresponsible father, clumsily delivered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For Dainya, it was even more impolite—she kept her eyes fixed on the mask, unwilling to even look at her father’s face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Uh, I know I’m irresponsible… but at the end, can’t you just look at me?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The “old man” seemed truly heartbroken; his voice even carried a plea.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dainya sighed and shook her head. Unlike Hela, she held little resentment toward her father.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In her childhood memories, her Hero father remained the totem of the decaying kingdom; most people spoke well of him (except her mother), and he died for his country.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the past, one of her life’s goals was to kill the Great Red Dragon and avenge her father.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I have no grievance against you. You’re nothing like the father I imagined—I need time to adjust, so I won’t look at you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The father she imagined was an invincible hero, with the dignified, serious face of a middle-aged man.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Lex, at times, carried the demeanor and gestures of a street youth, a hoodlum.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dainya couldn’t bear to look at her father because of an unavoidable reason.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As she said this, Dainya even blushed, slightly embarrassed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You’re too much like him. When I look at you, I think of him; when I see him, I think of you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing her own knight, she thought of her father?! Seeing her father, she thought of her knight?!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was chaotic—utterly chaotic.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The fourth person, Li En, instantly became the focus. He shrugged and spread his hands, signaling innocence—but Lex still glared at him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ah.”\u003C\u002Fp>",659,"2026-06-19T21:45:42.084Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","86ed3e62c93c38fd0cbdc753e0576e4e57f48eca25a9fb759cf550d78a31e91e","the-dragon-of-a-thousand-faces-chapter-294","the-dragon-of-a-thousand-faces-chapter-292",362,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-dragon-of-a-thousand-faces-cover.jpg"]