What Happened Back Then

Lin Yun wasn't afraid of the bones at all. Relying on his night vision, he reached between them and rummaged around.

A small notebook with a black cover fell out from between the bones.

Zhang Lexuan couldn't help letting out a soft exclamation. Then she lit a fire striker and looked at the notebook by its light.

After picking up the notebook, Lin Yun opened it and began to read.

As Lin Yun turned the pages, Zhang Lexuan's expression grew more and more rigid, and her face paled.

The notebook recorded the truth about the massacre of Zhang Lexuan's family years ago.

However, it wasn't told from Zhang Lexuan's family's perspective, but from the perspective of the killer family.

Seen from a different perspective, what had happened back then took on a different shape.

In the version told by the killer family,

an unkempt old man had shown up, gnawing on a chicken leg and drinking from a wine gourd.

The old man hadn't revealed his identity. He had only displayed the strength of a nine-ring Titled Douluo.

He'd pinned every guard in the killer's family to the ground, then given the family a choice.

They could enjoy a brief moment of glory before dying, or die at his hands right then and there.

The family had naturally chosen to live for as long as they could.

But the head of the family hadn't been short-sighted.

He'd hidden away one of the children with the notebook, sending them into the family's secret passage.

What he hadn't expected was that Mu En would then strike like a bolt of thunder, slaughtering everyone in the house. The child hadn't been strong enough to break through the basement walls.

And so the child had been trapped there until death, only able to complete the details in the notebook out of hatred, hoping that someday someone would dig it up and clear the family's name.

"But one thing is strange. Why didn't Senior Mu find this secret passage back then?"

Lin Yun wasn't in a hurry. Instead, he began working out what had happened.

Zhang Lexuan closed her eyes and felt around. Then she knocked on the basement wall. Her voice carried a wistful sadness as she said to Lin Yun,

"These are Spirit Crystal Ore walls, a specialty of the Dou Ling Empire. The material is extremely fragile, and it conducts Soul Power very poorly. It isn't worth much, but it has one advantage: because it conducts Soul Power so poorly, it can block a Soul Master's perception to a considerable degree."

"The Spirit Crystal Ore walls here are probably five centimeters thick. Mu En didn't deliberately search the entire villa, and there may have been other, more urgent matters at the time. All those factors combined let this kid slip through the cracks."

Zhang Lexuan's eyes had lost their light. She spoke to Lin Yun calmly and mechanically, as though simply analyzing the matter.

Lin Yun could see that something was wrong with her, but he didn't know how to comfort her. He could only step forward and say,

"If that's the case, then everything is clear. Let's look for any other evidence or new leads, then head back."

Zhang Lexuan nodded, then followed Lin Yun as he searched the entire villa again. Afterward, they checked the various related businesses.

There was nothing relevant at the other businesses. But after carefully thinking things over, Zhang Lexuan already believed what the notebook said.

Before leaving, Lin Yun really did take the plaque down while he was at it.

In the room, Zhang Lexuan looked at the plaque, then occasionally raised her eyes to look at herself in the mirror.

Confusion and self-reproach showed in her eyes.

Lin Yun ordered some drinks and snacks from the hotel, packed them into a bag, and brought them to Zhang Lexuan's room.

Zhang Lexuan looked up at Lin Yun, then reined in her emotions a little and said,

"I really can't eat anything today. Could you go eat somewhere else?"

Lin Yun smiled and said to Zhang Lexuan,

"People can't bottle up their negative emotions inside. If they do, something will go wrong before long."

"Have a couple of drinks with me. Once you've had enough, you'll forget everything."

Zhang Lexuan gave a bitter smile, then said to Lin Yun,

"Forget it?! How could I possibly forget something like this?"

Lin Yun replied calmly,

"Didn't I forget? If we're talking about being wronged, I've been treated far worse than you. Out of nowhere, I got saddled with gambling debts. Just when I was about to awaken my Martial Soul and improve my life, my home was gone."

Lin Yun was speaking from the heart. He really did have a say in the matter. He'd worked so hard to get into university, only to open his eyes in the Douluo World. He'd even nearly been branded an Evil Soul Master and executed.

His own past had been shocking enough. Zhang Lexuan looked up at Lin Yun.

"Fine. Tonight, I'll forget about being a lady or a senior sister. I'll be a bad-girl blonde who leads a kid astray."

Lin Yun smiled, then said,

"I'm not exactly a kid anymore. Under the laws of the Douluo Continent, anyone at Soul Elder rank or higher can be treated as an adult. Only the academy stubbornly clings to age."

Zhang Lexuan poured herself a glass of wine, then said to Lin Yun,

"To hell with the academy. From now on, I don't want to hear another word about it."

After a night of drinking and toasting, Lin Yun woke up the next day to find Zhang Lexuan still sleeping beside him.

He stroked her fair cheek and looked out the window.

The sun was still shining. The city looked a little worn-down, yet its scenery held a quiet serenity.

Much like life: no matter how fierce the storm had been the night before, the morning light still appeared the next day.

It quietly shone on everyone, illuminating lives both brilliant and downcast.

Lin Yun contacted Scorpion Tiger Douluo Zhang Peng, and the three of them once again left the Dou Ling Empire through the snake's mouth.

By the time they were on their way back, Zhang Lexuan had already composed herself. A little light had returned to her eyes, as if getting drunk the night before really had eased some knot in her heart.

"I never imagined my entire life up to now had been like this—being grateful to one of my family's enemies."

Zhang Lexuan spoke to Lin Yun with a self-mocking smile.

Lin Yun smiled and said,

"You can't blame yourself. Even I find it hard to believe this was such a carefully planned scheme. I can only say that anyone who reaches the rank of Limit Douluo in this world must be a formidable player."

Lin Yun sighed with emotion. Zhang Lexuan then asked,

"What are you planning to do next?"

Lin Yun thought for a moment before answering,

"There's only so much we can do right now. We aren't strong enough on our own yet. I heard the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament is about to begin, so once we get back, I'll start preparing to compete."

"We can see how strong the different academies are and try to win some of the benefits the tournament offers. I heard first place in the academy tournament gets a Soul Bone as a reward. That's much faster than getting one by hunting for it ourselves."

Zhang Lexuan nodded, then said to Lin Yun...