# 578
Chapter 579: Farewell Again, Li Deyang
After he finished circling the entire underground garage, every soul wound had been healed. He turned his head toward the corner of the lot.
There, three children were curiously sizing up the man in the army greatcoat who had just walked in.
They’re awake?
Must’ve been treated by that kid Chen Han…
He paused, then walked over and crouched down, a smile rising through the stubble on his face.
“What are your names?” he asked gently.
“I’m Li Ruodie.”
“I’m Wang Jiaqi.”
“Chen Nan.”
The three answered one after another.
Li Ruodie studied his eyes. “Uncle, who are you?”
He was silent for a moment, then answered with a smile, “My name is Li Deyang.”
“Are you another superhero come to save us?” Wang Jiaqi asked timidly.
“Of course not, dummy.” Li Ruodie pointed at the oil-stained coat. “That big brother said superheroes wear dark-red cloaks. He hasn’t got one, so he can’t be!”
“But Brother Sword Saint didn’t have a cloak either!”
“That’s different.”
The three chattered on. Li Deyang raised an eyebrow and asked, “Can you tell me what happened here?”
Li Ruodie thought for a second. “Sure.”
So the children told the stranger everything they’d seen since waking: two big brothers burning with fever yet still carrying people back, claiming they specialized in killing monsters; a sword-saint brother in a blood-stained black shirt, quiet in the corner; and, at the end, seven mysterious figures leaping from the roof into the fog…
When they finished, all three shut up and looked at Li Deyang.
He stayed crouched, gaze fixed on a nearby stove. The dancing flames lit his eyes; what he was thinking, no one knew.
After a while he lifted a hand, patted each small head, and smiled. “Thank you for telling me.”
He stood, turned, and walked toward the garage entrance.
The hem of his greatcoat brushed a stove; the tongues of fire flickered. Before they could lick the fabric, a faint gleam flashed and he vanished.
The children gaped.
“See! I told you he was a superhero…” Wang Jiaqi murmured.
……
Street.
Atop a ruined building, Chen Han and Lu Yu stood on the edge of the shattered city. Wind snapped their cloaks as they watched military planes streak overhead; the weight in their chests finally eased.
“Senior Chen Han… we’re home,” Lu Yu said over the roar.
Chen Han glanced back at the ravaged city and nodded.
“Yeah. We’re back.”
Then, at the far end of the debris-strewn street, he saw a familiar figure in a worn army greatcoat treading slowly over cracked asphalt.
Chen Han froze.
He squinted, staring…
The middle-aged man seemed to feel the gaze; a smile tugged at his lips.
When Chen Han saw the face clearly, his pupils shrank and his mouth fell open, shock flooding his eyes.
“Th-that…”
The same greatcoat, the same stubble, the same weathered face—Chen Han could never forget them. But how?
He’d died half a year ago!
“What’s wrong, Senior?” Lu Yu asked, startled, then looked where Chen Han stared.
“Someone’s awake down there?”
Before the words finished, Chen Han vaulted from the rubble and sprinted like mad.
Lu Yu hesitated, then raced after him.
Chen Han’s Straight Blade slapped his hip as he ran, eyes locked on the distant Li Deyang, terrified the man might vanish if he blinked.
He skidded to a stop before the figure.
Fever and prolonged overdraft left his face pale; white mist puffed from his ragged breaths.
Li Deyang gave a helpless smile at the haggard boy.
“Couldn’t you slow down?”
“If I did… what if you disappeared again?” Chen Han’s voice was hoarse. “I thought you were dead…”
Li Deyang was quiet a long moment, then nodded. “Li Deyang did die.”
“But you’re here.”
“I’m no longer me.”
Seeing Chen Han’s confusion, Li Deyang laid a hand on his shoulder. A wisp of dim light flowed through the arm and into Chen Han’s body.
Cold flashed through him, then turned warm, flooding every limb; his exhausted mind refilled, the fever cooling.
Chen Han blinked. “This is…”
He didn’t remember Li Deyang having such power—his Forbidden Ruins was supposed to be Universal Vibration.
“These days have been hard, huh?” Li Deyang’s stubbled mouth curved in the familiar grin. “Knew you’d make a fine Night Watch… I wasn’t wrong.”
Chen Han thought of the sword-wielding figure and the seven silhouettes swallowed by fog, bitterness rising.
“I’m too weak.” He shook his head. “All I could do was watch them fight, wounded…”
“You’re wrong.” Li Deyang pointed at the ruined city behind. “Without you carrying people to the garage, lighting stoves, they’d have frozen or been crushed.
Night Watch is about ‘guarding,’ not power. The weak have their own way to protect.
You saved them all—your way.
If that’s not a fine Night Watch, what is?”
Chen Han stood stunned.
“Senior Chen Han, who is—” Lu Yu began.
Li Deyang looked at him and smiled. “Now you’re a senior too.”
“I’m far from worthy of that word,” Chen Han said wryly.
“You have plenty of time to grow. One day you’ll shoulder Night Watch’s future as a senior.” Li Deyang paused. “Until then, we old-timers will hold up the sky for you.”