Chapter 24: Silence
In the quiet mansion, only Yale, George, Reynolds, a dozen maidservants, and a few dozen guards were present. These people were mainly here for Linley.
Under the grape trellis, Yale, George, and Reynolds sat around a stone table.
"Big brother Yale, tell me, what's wrong with third brother?" Reynolds asked, his face full of confusion and helplessness.
Yale shook his head. "I don't know. Third brother has been here for ten full days now. In these ten days, he's completely lost his former passion. He doesn't train anymore, doesn't joke around with us, doesn't liven things up. He's always alone."
George nodded as well. "In the past, no matter what happened, third brother never stopped training. But now, he's like a completely different person."
"Can anyone tell me what's wrong with third brother?" Reynolds gritted his teeth in anxiety. "If I knew, that would be great," Yale sighed helplessly.
What troubled the three brothers most was that they had no idea why Linley had become like this—no longer training, no longer playing around with them. He was always alone, as if he had lost his soul.
For no reason at all, he had become like this.
As Linley's close brothers, how could they not be anxious?
"Third brother must have suffered a huge blow," Yale said in a low sigh. George and Reynolds were startled and fell silent, involuntarily recalling the scene they had witnessed ten days ago—
Thousands of people were watching, while in the center, a several-hundred-meter radius of open ground lay in ruins. Within the ruins were six terrifying pits and meteorites.
Fully dragonized, Linley had cruelly killed six violet-robed senior executors, then collapsed to the ground, crying. He cried like a child. "I've never seen third brother so heartbroken, so fragile," Yale said quietly.
George nodded too. "Third brother is very strong. Even when he broke up with Alice, after finishing the 'Awakening' sculpture, he went straight into the Warcraft Mountains to continue training."
"Yeah, even when his father died, third brother got through it. But this time…" Reynolds was filled with confusion.
They were all certain. Their good brother was very fragile right now, but they couldn't find the reason.
By the babbling stream in the backyard of this quiet mansion, Linley sat on a decorative smooth stone, staring motionlessly at the flowing water.
Bebe also stood on the smooth stone, leaning against Linley.
All was silent, except for the sound of the water flowing.
Although Linley's eyes were fixed on the stream, his mind was replaying scenes of his time with Grandpa Doehring.
Childhood days of playing with Grandpa Doehring.
His youth, under Grandpa Doehring's strict supervision.
In the Warcraft Mountains, Grandpa Doehring's tireless reminders, time and again.
Every scene he recalled brought a sense of peace to Linley's heart.
"Father died. I thought I was alone, but I didn't know that I had always been happy. No matter what happened, Grandpa Doehring was behind me, supporting me, comforting me, encouraging me, reminding me…"
"But why did I never realize all this before? Why didn't I cherish the days I had with Grandpa Doehring?" Linley's heart was filled with pain.
Grandpa Doehring had never made excessive demands of him. Yet Linley had never considered Grandpa Doehring's feelings, never treasured the time they spent together. Perhaps subconsciously, he had thought Grandpa Doehring would always stay in the Coiling Dragon Ring.
"The Coiling Dragon Ring? Grandpa Doehring stayed in the Coiling Dragon Ring, always alone. Being alone in one place must have been painful, right? Grandpa Doehring probably wished I would talk with him more often." Linley realized this only now.
But…
In the past, Linley only asked Grandpa Doehring when he encountered a problem, rarely initiating conversation with him.
He only knew how to take, not how to give.
"Why is it only when I lose something that I know to cherish it?" Linley's body began to tremble slightly. How he wished Grandpa Doehring could come back. Come back and be with him again.
But…
It was impossible.
Grandpa Doehring was dead, forever dead.
Linley felt his heart clench, as if in spasms. His whole body ached and twitched in pain. Yet there was no trace of suffering on Linley's face.
In fact, a thought arose in Linley's heart—
If he could die from this pain, it would be a release, a relief.
"Boss." Bebe's voice echoed in Linley's mind. Linley turned to look at Bebe beside him. Bebe's jet-black eyes stared at Linley, filled with worry.
"You… are you thinking about that Grandpa Doehring?" Bebe had only learned after Doehring Cott's death that Linley had once had the soul of a Saint-level Grand Magus by his side.
Linley nodded.
Bebe transmitted mentally, "Boss, can you… can you tell me about you and that Grandpa Doehring?"
Looking at Bebe, Linley nodded slightly, then pulled Bebe into his arms. As if reminiscing, he began to speak of his time with Grandpa Doehring: "That year, I was only eight. That time, two Saint-level experts appeared in our Wushan Township…"
Reynolds, George, and Yale appeared at the backyard gate, quietly watching Linley from afar as he sat on the smooth stone, holding Bebe.
"Seeing third brother like this, it hurts me too," Reynolds sighed softly.
Yale and George were silent as well.
"We have to do something," George said, his gaze suddenly sharpening. "No matter what, we can't let third brother sink into this silence."
Yale and Reynolds both nodded.
"Second brother, do you have any ideas?" Yale and Reynolds looked at George expectantly.
George said, "We don't know exactly why third brother became like this. But we can infer some things." George paused thoughtfully. "Third brother's family is the Dragonblood Warrior clan. As a family with a glorious history, its members must want to restore the family's honor."
Yale's eyes lit up. "Right. Third brother cares a lot about his family. For the sake of his family's heirloom, the warblade 'Slaughterer,' he even auctioned off the 'Awakening' sculpture."
"That's it."
George nodded. "Based on my guess, the reason third brother trained so hard must have been something deep inside that drove him. Restoring the family's honor is likely that reason. Third brother has worked hard for so many years; he wouldn't give up easily. Let's use this to motivate him."
"Motivate him? Will it work?" Yale was skeptical.
George said helplessly, "But do we have a better idea?"
"Let's go with this," Reynolds snorted. "I can't stand seeing third brother like this anymore. Come on, the three of us will talk to him. See what's really going on."
"Fourth brother. Let second brother do the talking. If you go, you'll only make things worse," Yale scolded.
Reynolds knew his own temperament and nodded. The three of them exchanged glances and then walked toward Linley.
Bebe finished listening to Linley's story and fell silent. He was also sad, saddened by Doehring Cott's death. Suddenly, Bebe sensed someone approaching from behind and jumped out of Linley's arms to look back.
It was Yale, George, and Reynolds.
But at that moment, Linley had just finished recounting his story about Grandpa Doehring and was completely immersed in his memories, unaware of their arrival.
Yale, George, and Reynolds exchanged glances and sighed inwardly. Linley was an expert. Under normal circumstances, he would have sensed them as soon as they entered the backyard gate. But now, the three had already walked up behind him, and Linley hadn't reacted at all.
"Third brother," Yale called out.
Linley's body trembled. Then he turned his head slightly to look at them, his eyes calm. "You're here." With that, he turned back to continue staring at the stream.
Yale, George, and Reynolds immediately walked over to the large stone.
"Third brother." Yale grabbed Linley by the shoulders, forcing Linley to meet his gaze. "Third brother, do you remember what you used to say to me at Ernst Institute?"
"I forgot," Linley said flatly.
Yale's eyes widened. "Forgot? Third brother, you used to constantly tease me, saying that if I didn't train harder, I—the tallest in the dorm—would end up the weakest."
In the past, the four brothers shared a dorm and often joked around.
But Linley remained silent.
George glanced at Yale and nodded slightly. Yale released Linley's shoulders, and George stepped in front of Linley, speaking solemnly. "Third brother, I want to ask you something. Why did you train so hard all those years?"
Linley was stunned.
His mind involuntarily recalled the days of grueling training, from childhood onward.
"For the family," Linley finally answered.
A hint of joy appeared in Yale and Reynolds' eyes. George pressed on immediately. "Then let me ask you this: Does the way you are now honor your family?"
Linley looked at George, gave a bitter smile, and said desolately, "My father is dead, my mother is dead. Tell me, what use is it to work hard for the family?"
Linley stood up and walked toward the gate.
Yale, George, and Reynolds watched his retreating figure, staring blankly at each other.
"It's useless. They're all dead. Why should I push myself so hard?" Linley's desolate voice drifted back, and then his figure disappeared through the gate.
Fifteen days.
Linley had been in this mansion for a full fifteen days. During this time, Yale and the others had tried every method they could think of, but no matter what, Linley remained the same.
Yale, George, and Reynolds drank in gloomy silence.
"What do we do? What the hell do we do? Are we just supposed to watch third brother sink into this decline and fall?" Reynolds slammed his wine glass heavily onto the table in frustration.
Yale and George shook their heads.
They had tried every idea they could think of. They asked Linley why he had changed, but Linley wouldn't say a word—just silence.
What else could they do?
"Seeing third brother like this, so silent, it really worries and pains me. This third brother, sigh…" Yale grabbed the wine bottle and poured it straight into his mouth, downing half the bottle in one go.
They had grown up with Linley, their bond deeper than brothers. How could they watch Linley like this and do nothing?
Sitting on a chair in his room, Linley stared at the Coiling Dragon Ring in his hand. He clearly remembered every time Grandpa Doehring had emerged from the ring.
But those scenes would never happen again.
On the index finger of his other hand, Linley wore a dimensional ring. After Clayde's death, this ring had become ownerless. During the battle with the six senior executors, Linley's blood had soaked the ring, and it had naturally bonded to him through blood.
But…
In these fifteen days, Linley hadn't even glanced at the ring. His mind was completely elsewhere. Even when he tried not to, his thoughts were filled with scenes of him and Grandpa Doehring—Grandpa Doehring stroking his beard, Grandpa Doehring teaching him sternly… every scene was etched clearly in his memory.
"Why, why did even Grandpa Doehring have to die?"
Having lost Grandpa Doehring, Linley felt as if he had lost his strongest pillar of support. At this moment, he was more fragile and lonely than ever before. Linley hugged Bebe tightly, staying alone in this silent room…