Chapter 1938: New Year's Eve Old Memories
Turning his gaze, Zhang Ruochen looked at the Tu Brothers before him. The reason he had used the Blazing God Leg earlier was precisely to achieve this effect—to defeat them cleanly with absolute strength and make them admit defeat wholeheartedly.
Of course, he did not become arrogant or overbearing because of this. Smiling slightly, he said, "The three of you need not be so polite. I am not very familiar with military camp affairs, so I will need to rely on you three quite a bit going forward."
"You are too kind, Commander. We three brothers were far too arrogant and have made a fool of ourselves in front of you," Tu Tian said somewhat awkwardly.
They had been full of confidence, thinking they could easily crush Zhang Ruochen and naturally take his place as commander. Who would have thought it would end like this?
Since they began their careers, they had never been defeated so miserably, especially by someone two cultivation levels below them.
Yet they did not feel angry or resentful. Instead, they greatly admired Zhang Ruochen, for he had not used any tricks or schemes but had defeated them fair and square.
True experts deserved their respect.
Zhang Ruochen said, "Sparring is a very common thing. The fact that the three of you were willing to spar with me is actually a recognition of my strength. There is no need for you to feel any discomfort."
"For the Commander to be so magnanimous only makes us more ashamed. We three brothers would like to hold a banquet to welcome you and hope you will not refuse," Tu Tian said, looking directly at Zhang Ruochen with a very sincere expression.
Zhang Ruochen smiled and replied, "Since you three have this intention, I naturally cannot refuse."
He only wanted to establish his authority; there was no need to offend the Tu Brothers over this. Having too many enemies was not a good thing.
Immediately, the formation within the training ground was deactivated, and the Tu Brothers escorted Zhang Ruochen out.
Before long, the camp tent was filled with fine wine and dishes. All the Nine-Step Saint Kings gathered inside.
Since this was a welcome banquet for Zhang Ruochen and Ji Fanxin, the more people, the better.
During the feast, led by the Tu Brothers, a group of experts came forward one after another to toast Zhang Ruochen and Ji Fanxin.
Xiang Chunan had initially looked down on the Tu Brothers, but after a few rounds of drinks, he was already calling them brothers, acting as if they had known each other for years.
By the time the banquet ended, the sky had already darkened.
Zhang Ruochen walked out of the tent alone, found a spot to sit down, and looked up at the bright moon. Many thoughts stirred in his heart.
Tonight was New Year's Eve, and snowflakes were falling from the sky, creating a beautiful scene.
If this were an ordinary household, the family would be gathered together, eating a reunion dinner and chatting about everyday matters.
Zhang Ruochen's mind conjured the image of Lin Fei. Over the years, he had gone to the Heavenly Court Realm, striving to become stronger, but he had not been by Lin Fei's side for many years.
Now that he had returned to the Kunlun Realm, he still could not spend this New Year's Eve with her.
However, with Mu Lingxi by Lin Fei's side, she would surely be happy, right?
At the same time, Zhang Ruochen thought of Chi Kunlun and Chi Kongle. Since parting ways in the Truth Heaven Domain, he had never seen them again. He wondered how they were doing now.
Whether as a son or as a father, he seemed to have failed in his duties, not fulfilling his responsibilities.
But he had no choice. Too many burdens weighed on his shoulders. If he had a choice, wouldn't he want to be reunited with his parents, wife, and children, enjoying family happiness?
Gradually, Mu Lingxi's image became clearer in Zhang Ruochen's mind.
Thinking of her, an involuntary smile of happiness appeared on his face. Over the years, no matter what situation he was in, Mu Lingxi had always been by his side. This could be said to be the greatest blessing Heaven had given him.
Unable to resist, Zhang Ruochen inscribed a Message Light Talisman and sent it to Mu Lingxi.
There was nothing important in the talisman—it merely expressed his longing for her, as they had been apart for a long time.
Not long after, a Message Light Talisman flew in from beyond the sky, and Zhang Ruochen caught it.
The talisman was naturally from Mu Lingxi. It contained few words but also expressed deep longing.
Just as a smile curved at the corner of Zhang Ruochen's mouth, another Message Light Talisman flew in from beyond the sky, also from Mu Lingxi.
Seeing the content of the talisman, Zhang Ruochen's expression changed drastically.
"There is news I feel I must tell you. Chen Zi's parents were both killed by Heisha Guiwang a few days ago."
Clearly, Mu Lingxi had struggled with whether to tell Zhang Ruochen this news, but after some thought, she decided he should know, as those two were once Zhang Ruochen's parents-in-law.
The news was too sudden, and Zhang Ruochen was momentarily stunned.
During the battle at the Eastern Domain Saint Prince Mansion, he had seen Chen Liuli. He never imagined that not long after, she would meet with misfortune.
Inevitably, Zhang Ruochen thought of Huang Yanchen. Many images involuntarily surfaced in his mind, all of them moments he had shared with her.
He had thought he had forgotten everything about Huang Yanchen, but those memories were so deeply etched.
In the end, he was not a heartless person. He could not truly forget Huang Yanchen, for she was the first woman to open his heart after he had been wounded by love.
But then that incident happened. Huang Yanchen had deceived him alongside Chi Yao, and in the end, she had completely sided with Chi Yao, shattering his heart and nearly causing him to seal it away again.
He should have been filled with hatred for Huang Yanchen, but in truth, he could not bring himself to hate her.
Back then, the Undying Blood Clan had attacked the Thousand Water Commandery Royal City to force him to appear, slaughtering Huang Yanchen's entire clan. Even the Thousand Water Commandery King and Queen had been captured alive. He owed Huang Yanchen far too much.
Moreover, Shengshu Cainü had once told him that Huang Yanchen had died. The dead cannot be brought back to life, so he found it even harder to hate her.
But no matter what, he and Huang Yanchen could never go back to the way things were.
"Heisha Guiwang must die."
A terrifying killing intent appeared in Zhang Ruochen's eyes.
Now that Huang Yanchen was gone, avenging her parents was something he had to do.
There was no reason—he was simply following his own heart.
Zhang Ruochen wanted to go to the Eastern Domain himself to kill Heisha Guiwang, but he could not. The battle in the Northern Domain was imminent, and he could not leave at this time.
Immediately, he sent another Message Light Talisman, this time to A Le.
Heisha Guiwang was a powerful Six Calamity Ghost King, with strength comparable to a Dao Domain realm expert. He occupied a city in the Eastern Domain and had slaughtered countless humans. Killing him was no easy task.
Although he had not seen A Le in a long time, Zhang Ruochen believed that A Le had enough strength to accomplish this task.
Moreover, A Le was currently in the Kunlun Realm, making him the best person for the job.
In a short time, A Le sent back a reply with only one sentence: "Heisha Guiwang will not see tomorrow's sunrise."
As long as one was in the Kunlun Realm, traveling anywhere was very convenient, simply by using the Merit Post substations.
Zhang Ruochen had previously avoided revealing his whereabouts by setting up a Space Teleportation Array himself to slip away unnoticed.
As it turned out, when he suddenly appeared in the Northern Domain, many were caught off guard.
After entrusting the matter to A Le, Zhang Ruochen fell silent, his mind filled with a jumble of thoughts and mixed emotions.
"Big Brother, why are you here alone?"
At some point, Feng Yan appeared behind Zhang Ruochen.
Hearing Feng Yan's voice, Zhang Ruochen's thoughts snapped back to reality.
Letting out a soft breath, Zhang Ruochen said, "Nothing, I just wanted to come out and be quiet for a while, to look at the snow."
Feng Yan could tell that Zhang Ruochen was troubled and asked, "Big Brother, what's on your mind? Why not tell me about it?"
Zhang Ruochen did not speak. Instead, he looked up at the bright moon and the falling snowflakes, his thoughts involuntarily drifting back to that New Year's Eve more than a decade ago. It was after that night that he and Huang Yanchen had become adversaries, gradually becoming strangers.
If that incident had not happened, he and Huang Yanchen would have lived happily, and their child might have been quite grown by now.
After a long silence, Zhang Ruochen said, "Second Brother, let me tell you a story."
"Alright, go ahead, Big Brother," Feng Yan replied as he sat down beside Zhang Ruochen.
He did not know what had happened to Zhang Ruochen or how to comfort him. All he could do was stay by his side, even if only to listen.
At times like this, the bond between brothers was most evident.
Zhang Ruochen composed himself and said, "Once upon a time, there was a prince of a weak commandery. To help his commandery through a crisis, he followed his father, the king, to a powerful commandery to seek aid. Coincidentally, that powerful commandery was selecting a husband for its most favored princess. The prince stood out with his exceptional performance, winning the martial arts tournament to select a spouse. By a twist of fate, he became engaged to the princess's elder sister. It was then that the prince discovered that the elder sister was actually his fellow disciple..."
"After many trials, the prince slowly emerged from the shadow of his past heartbreak, began to open his heart to his senior sister disciple, and eventually married her..."
"When the prince learned that the senior sister disciple he had finally opened his heart to had deceived him alongside her master and insisted on siding with her master, he was filled with rage. His heart sealed itself again. The prince cut off his robe to sever ties with her, and from then on, they became adversaries."
"The prince thought he would always hate his senior sister disciple, but when he learned that she had died, he realized that he had already let go of everything. Love, hate, and grudges had all drifted away with the wind."
By the end, Zhang Ruochen could not help but shed a tear.
Perhaps because he had finally spoken the words that had been weighing on his heart for so long, he felt much lighter.
If he could do it all over again, he might not have been so resolute back then, and she might not have faded away so sorrowfully.
After hearing Zhang Ruochen's story, Feng Yan let out a deep sigh but made no comment.
If it were him, what choice would he make?
He could tell that the male lead of the story was Zhang Ruochen himself, and the female lead was naturally that Yanchen Princess.
He had heard about the two of them before but had not realized it was so complicated.
With a flick of his hand, Feng Yan took out a wine gourd and said, "Big Brother, let's have a few drinks, just the two of us."
Zhang Ruochen did not speak. He simply took the wine gourd and took a large gulp.
He was not a heavy drinker, but at this moment, he wanted to drink. Perhaps if he got drunk, he would no longer have any worries or sorrows.
"Big Brother, you two are secretly drinking outside and didn't even call me. That's not fair!"
Just then, Xiang Chunan ran out of the tent.
A faint smile appeared on Zhang Ruochen's face as he tossed the wine gourd to Xiang Chunan and said, "You came at just the right time. Second Brother just brought out the wine. It's rare good stuff—let you have a taste too."
Xiang Chunan caught the wine gourd, grinned, and said, "Then I won't stand on ceremony."
Feng Yan shot Xiang Chunan a look and said, "Third Brother, you're wronging me and Big Brother. When have we ever left you out when there's something good? I just saw you drank quite a bit earlier and almost passed out, so I didn't call you."
"Passed out? You're joking. With my tolerance for alcohol, who can drink me under the table? I can go a few more rounds. Second Brother, hurry up and bring out all your good wine. Before the big battle, let's drink to our hearts' content," Xiang Chunan said with wide eyes.
When it came to drinking, he was absolutely confident.
Feng Yan shook his head slightly and said, "Fine, I'll indulge you today. Drink as much as you want—I have plenty. My family sells wine, after all. Am I afraid you'll drink me dry?"
Hearing this, Xiang Chunan burst out laughing. "Second Brother, you're the best!"
Looking at Feng Yan and Xiang Chunan beside him, a knowing smile appeared on Zhang Ruochen's face. With such good brothers by his side, Heaven had not been unkind to him.