Me: "..."

Tang Feng looked at me and said, "Hello, Lu Chen. I’m the true person-in-charge of the VR department, Tang Feng. I sincerely apologize for what happened to you previously. You are the pride of the China server, and you don’t deserve what you’ve been forced to endure at all. It is the department and the entire server’s shame that you were exiled to a foreign land and hunted by the wolves. So tell me, what will it take to bring you back to our country? I can promise you anything."

I asked him, "Is Tang Long your brother?"

A bit of embarrassment flashed across Tang Feng’s face. "Tang Long is my younger paternal cousin."

I smiled. "What a wonderful family and nepotic department you have there. Thank you, but I think I’m okay where I am right now."

He Yi pulled my arm to stop me from talking. She was worried that I would anger Tang Feng as well and turn him into an enemy as well. If that happened, it would truly be over for us.

Spear in hand, Tang Feng shuffled about awkwardly for a second before continuing, "Lu Chen, I promise you I will investigate the story behind Purple Grape City thoroughly. In fact, the Control Yuan is participating in the investigation, and Tang Long has been suspended from his duties and is under investigation right now. Is that acceptable enough?"

I shook my head. "No, I’ve decided that I will never believe another official in my life. Unless Tang Long receives the punishment he deserves, I will never return to the Center for as long as Heavenblessed is running. I don’t want to suffer this humiliation a second time in my life, and I will not have my fate be manipulated by anyone any longer!"

Tang Feng dismounted and stared at me with determined eyes. Then, he suddenly dropped to one knee and said, "Since ancient times, it is said that an official doesn’t kneel to a civilian. But I, Tang Feng, would like to prove that saying wrong, that a wronged hero is deserving of the knee of a VR chief at the very least! I am not the one who wronged you, so I cannot offer you the humble apology you deserve. However, it is my responsibility for allowing things to deteriorate to this state in the first place, and I will not shirk from it any longer. When this matter is settled, I will turn in my resignation letter immediately! So please believe that not all crows in the world are black in color, Lu Chen. There are good-hearted officials who truly care for the people and work hard for their benefit as well!"

I sucked in a deep breath and walked up to Tang Feng. I then pulled him up to his feet and said, "Stand up. I won’t receive your knee not because I don’t deserve it after what I’ve gone through, but because you are my elder—I won’t allow any father to go through such humiliation. I trust you, Tang Feng, but it’s still not time for me to return to the Center right now, you understand? I won’t return until Tang Long is well and truly punished."

Tang Feng nodded. "I understand. I assure you that that day won’t be too far away!"

……

I nodded. Beside me, He Yi pulled my arm and said in a smiling voice, "Heehee, I thought this might happen. Tang Feng is facing so much pressure from so many angles that he had no choice but to do this."

I simply smiled at her and caught her in a sudden hug. I didn’t let go until I felt her shivering in my embrace. Judging from the astonishment on her face, she clearly wasn’t expecting me to hug her in public.

Li Chengfeng, Murong Mingyue, Chaos Moon, High Fighting Spirits and everyone else didn’t disturb us. They all knew that my choice to stay away from the China server until Tang Long was punished meant that He Yi and I would be separated for even longer. Depending on how well the investigation went, this period could be a very, very long time.

……

"Cease fire!" Meanwhile Tang Feng had walked to the frontlines to speak with the Indian players. "This fight is meaningless now. Cease fire!"

Flowing Cloud turned her angry glare on him. "Meaningless? That Lu Chen killed our VR chief right in front of us! You think we can just let it go like nothing happened!?"

A surprised Tang Feng shot me a dumbfounded look, to which I responded with a shrug. It was a moment of chaos, and I just went along with the flow. I could hardly be blamed for doing what I did.

"Very well…"

Tang Feng took another step forward and declared, "War goddess, I am the chief of Chinese VR department, and I offer you my life. Surely this will be enough to make up for Lu Chen’s action, right?"

Flowing Cloud looked surprised by this.

Before she could come to a decision though, I blocked in front of Tang Feng and plunged my sword to the ground. "My sins are my own to bear. I’m the one who killed your chief and God of War, so I’m the one you should be killing, not him. Surely you won’t use their deaths as an excuse to attack the China server, right?"

Flowing Cloud gritted her teeth. "You’re a bastard, Lu Chen! I hate you!"

Breeze and Rain had also lowered his sword, although his eyes and his words were as murderous as ever. "As long as Lu Chen has a level above his head, we will fight the China server until the bitter end!"

Li Chengfeng immediately rushed forward and pointed his Dark Blade and Breeze and Rain. "Pooh! Come on then! You think we’re afraid of you? We’ve never submitted to threats, and we never will! If you really wanna fight, then fight us now!"

I hurriedly stopped Li Chengfeng from saying anything else he couldn’t take back before continuing, "Breeze and Rain, Flowing Cloud, I’ve already returned the 20 million USD God of War transferred to my bank account an hour ago, so I no longer owe you two anything… Well, maybe I still owe Flowing Cloud a couple of things, but I certainly don’t owe you shit, Breeze and Rain. Only a fool like you could come up with the shoddy plan of using me to deal with Russia’s Frostsword City and Iron Horse City."

Judging from Breeze and Rain’s angry and embarrassed expression, my guess had been spot on. Red-faced, Flowing Cloud yelled, "So you know you owe me, Lu Chen? I’ve… I’ve never trusted anyone so unconditionally in my life, and you murdered Now and Forever and stole the City Map of Daybreak City right in front of millions! How am I supposed to remain in the India server after this?"

He Yi said with a smile, "You can join us in the China server if you want to!"

Flowing Cloud shook with anger. "No way!"

Breeze and Rain pointed his sword at us. "Whatever. All I’m going to say is this: the day Lu Chen returns to the China server is the day we declare war on Sky City. Moreover, we won’t stop pursuing Lu Chen no matter what! No matter where you run to, our braves will follow you like your shadow until you’re finally Level 0, Lu Chen!"

Tang Feng gritted his teeth angrily. "What do we do now, Lu Chen?"

I could see that Tang Feng was a man who cares about the bigger picture. China was still in its resting period, and it couldn’t afford another Nation War so soon. Moreover, the Japanese players outside White Rose Fortress were just waiting to declare war the second their grace period was over. Losing your main city would do that to you. If we were to fight the India server now, we would be the final loser no matter how well the war went, not to mention that mad dogs weren’t easy to deal with.

"I understand…"

I pulled out my sword from the ground while saying, "I won’t make the VR department’s position more difficult than it already is. I’ll leave. No need to worry about me though. I’ll be fine."

"Big bro…"

Beiming Xue suddenly walked over with shaky shoulders. Sobbing, she abruptly hugged me and said, "Big bro, I miss you so much. Please allow me to come with you…"

I patted her shoulder consolingly. "Don’t cry, Beiming. And no, you don’t have my Resurrection Art, so you’d just drop a level and respawn at Sky City if you died. Don’t worry, I’ll be returning to Suzhou very soon. I’ll stay with you for as long as you want when the day comes."

Beiming Xue nodded and looked at me with renewed determination. "Mn. Come back soon!"

"I will."

I turned around and hugged He Yi again. I kissed her beside her lips before smiling at her. "Eve, I know you’re feeling very aggrieved right now. Thank you for holding up Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls for so long, but can you hang on for just a bit longer? I’m going to have to irresponsibly fool around outside for a bit before I return. Sorry."

He Yi stared at me as her tears flowed down her cheeks. It looked like I was the only one who realized just how strained she was, and right now her emotions were threatening to explode all over.

Murong Mingyue walked up to He Yi and wrapped her arms around her shoulders.

I then looked at my guildmates and allies and nodded at them. "Brothers and sisters of Ancient Sword, may we meet again somewhere in the jianghu! Don’t worry, I will return eventually. Until then, please protect Dark Moon City and Sky City on my behalf!"

Everyone nodded in unison.

……

With that done, I made the Ancient Divine Dragon soar to the sky and pointed my sword at the Indian players. I declared with a daring laugh, "Come at me if you wish to take revenge! If you wish to vent your anger on the China server, that’s fine too! My millions and millions of brothers and sisters will fight you all in my stead!"

Breeze and Rain fumed in anger.

Finally, I looked at He Yi, Candlelight Shadow, Warsky, Song of Cloud and Water and more. "You may withdraw now!"

"Yeah!"

They nodded. While the Chinese players pulled back like the tidewater, I lingered in the air for a very long time. I spotted Purple Marquis, Clear Perfume and Nangong Lexi, but I couldn’t find Lin Yixin no matter where I looked. Her absence made me feel like there was a hole in my heart. Where did she go? This was the type of situation she thrived in, so it made no sense for her to be MIA.

A few minutes later, I gave up and made the Ancient Divine Dragon fly along the Thunder Mountain Range. The north was off limits because that was where the Center was, so I turned to the south instead. The Beast King Cavalry and Divine Elephant Cavalry tried to give chase, but they quickly discovered that they were nowhere fast enough to keep up with the Ancient Divine Dragon. Also, I was at least a thousand yards above ground Level. Not even the ballistae could hit me from the ground, much less the archers and mages.

……

I checked my level. After losing 4, I was still at Level 205. I had died 14 times during the two hours I spent running away from the Indian troops and triggered Immortality 10 times in total. The skill truly was my lucky charm!

After I had lost my pursuers, I took a turn to Final Duel Valley and spent another afternoon slaughtering Japanese players. However, I quickly discovered that there was barely anyone left in the map. When I checked the Japan forums, I learned that Red Maple had given the order for all players to stay away from Final Duel Valley. It seemed that Red Maple had figured out that they didn’t possess the player strength to defeat me in my mounted state right now.

Order or not, there were still some players left, and they turned out to be enough for me to level back to 206 and fill my bag with various pieces of equipment. It was better than nothing.

I continued flying south for almost an hour, crossing through Indian or Russian maps in the process. Finally, I found a neutral map—a barren desert to be exact—and decided to settle there. For now, my goal was to find a leveling map and grind my way up to Level 210. Hopefully, I could get some useful equipment as well. The fact that some of my existing equipment was Spirit-grade was shameful to say the least.