Hearing what Flender said, Yu Xiaogang said little more, but his utterly lost expression had already laid his feelings bare.
"I don't know either. Perhaps she really has met someone worth entrusting the rest of her life to." Yu Xiaogang sat limply in his chair, his words steeped in sorrow.
"Yu Xiaogang, what are you saying? Don't you know what Erlong is like? How could she just casually find someone? When she wrote back to me earlier, she even said she was going to hunt for her Seventh Soul Ring. She never mentioned any true love."
"If you ask me, she just wanted to upset you and make you go find her. That's why she deliberately said that. This so-called true love doesn't actually exist."
Seeing Yu Xiaogang like this, Flender immediately tried to comfort him.
Although his comforting words carried a measure of indignation, they were undeniably effective. At least, Yu Xiaogang's mood improved considerably at once.
Just as Yu Xiaogang began to think Liu Erlong had done this deliberately, he suddenly remembered what Flender had just said.
"Flender, you said Erlong wrote to you earlier saying she'd reached level seventy and was going to hunt for a Soul Ring alone!" Yu Xiaogang sprang to his feet, clamped his hands on Flender's shoulders, and demanded an answer.
"Yes. With Erlong's strength, hunting for a Seventh Soul Ring would be a breeze. What are you worried about?" Flender said with a light chuckle.
"Wait, you mean... impossible, absolutely impossible. Someone strong enough to defeat a Soul Beast at least thirty thousand years old would have to be several decades old himself. How could Erlong fall for some old fellow several decades old whom she'd only just met? She might as well fall for you instead!" Yu Xiaogang shouted in anguish.
Hearing Yu Xiaogang's words, Flender went numb.
What do you mean, she might as well fall for me? Am I, Flender, really that terrible, not worth even a little of Liu Erlong's affection?
But since Yu Xiaogang had gone this far, Flender could hardly say anything else, lest he drive Yu Xiaogang into a mental breakdown and leave him psychologically unbalanced.
Hearing the argument inside the room die down, Li Ye sighed helplessly.
Although what had happened between him and Liu Erlong had been an unintentional mistake, the thought that he had shattered Yu Xiaogang's heart left Li Ye feeling inexplicably uncomfortable.
But it had already happened, so Li Ye naturally had no reason to withdraw.
Besides, Yu Xiaogang was already getting on in years, and his soul power was low. Could he really enjoy a second spring?
Rather than let Liu Erlong shed tears again, he might as well play the villain.
In short, he did not care whether Yu Xiaogang cried, but Liu Erlong could not.
Hehe, my dear teacher, from now on, we can each use our own terms of address. I'll still call you Teacher, and you can call me brother-in-law.
At that thought, Li Ye could not keep the corners of his mouth from rising. Even his steps as he ran off to find Xiao Wu grew lighter.
As for Yu Xiaogang, he ignored Flender's attempts to dissuade him and resolutely wrote Liu Erlong a farewell letter.
Now, he wanted to devote himself wholeheartedly to raising Li Ye and could no longer linger over romantic attachments.
So whether Liu Erlong was lying to him or not, he wished her a lifetime of happiness with the person she loved.
Yet before he had even finished the farewell letter, his tears had already blurred the words on the paper.
"Ah, Xiaogang, why put yourself through this? Erlong might really just be trying to upset you." Flender sighed mournfully, his heart aching.
With his understanding of Liu Erlong, he naturally knew she could not possibly be lying.
If Liu Erlong said she had found true love, then she must have found it.
He had said those things earlier more to comfort Yu Xiaogang-and himself.
There was no denying that having a girl as adorable as Xiao Wu sit beside you and watch you eat made all the difference.
Not only did it lift your spirits, but even food that had not tasted particularly good would become delicious before you knew it.
Tang San: Motherfucker, you really have brought death upon yourself! If you're eating, just fucking eat properly! What, is the food going to get stuck in your throat? Can't muster the strength to swallow unless you're holding hands?
Phew... calm down. I need to calm down. The Silent Sleeve Arrow can't kill this fucker. Just wait until I make the Buddha's Fury Tang Lotus. I'll hurl it at this bastard and kill him.
Over the course of a single meal, Tang San felt his blood pressure soar, and even his temper grew explosive.
He could hardly be blamed. Anyone would find it unbearable to eat beside a couple who did nothing but flaunt their affection instead of eating.
Fortunately, Tang San had cultivated a patient, forbearing disposition over both his past and present lives. Otherwise, he would already have launched a Sleeve Arrow.
"Hey, Xiao San, you've been cultivating at the academy for so long. Have any girls confessed to you?" After finishing the last mouthful of food in his bowl, Li Ye could not resist asking Tang San.
At this, Tang San immediately blushed. Although he was not as handsome as Li Ye, his looks were hardly bad. Moreover, he was young, had a high cultivation level, and was a healing-type support Soul Master, so naturally, quite a few younger and older female students came to him to have their injuries treated.
Even if those girls were not as pretty as Xiao Wu, this was still the first time he had encountered anything like this across two lifetimes. Naturally, he struggled to handle it, and those pretty girls would take little liberties with him from time to time.
Had he not considered that they all attended the same school, how could he possibly have agreed to go to their dormitories to treat their injuries? It was terribly embarrassing, all right?
Seeing Tang San's embarrassed expression and beet-red face, Li Ye immediately understood. Tang San looked as pure as ice and jade, yet who would have thought he got up to so much in private!
Tang San: Fuck off, you dog! Could you stop slandering an innocent man? I only went to help treat those girls' injuries. How is that getting up to anything?
Li Ye: Are you sure you were only treating injuries? No giving injections or anything?
Of course, although Tang San had a soul over thirty years old, he was still a complete novice in romance and knew absolutely nothing about relations between men and women. Besides, his body was only a little over eight years old, so it would not allow him to do anything out of line.
Once he had finished the farewell letter, Yu Xiaogang had also wiped away his tears. He handed the letter to Flender, hoping he could help deliver it to Liu Erlong.
The letter poured out all the bitterness he had endured along the way, but it was also filled with his blessings for Liu Erlong.
If we cannot grow old together in this life, perhaps seeing you live the rest of your life happily will be my final happiness.
"Xiaogang, have you really decided? Once this letter is delivered, there truly won't be the slightest chance left for you and Erlong. Are you sure you won't go find her and ask her face-to-face?" Faced with Yu Xiaogang's expression of acceptance, Flender felt deeply unsettled.
No one understood the feelings between Yu Xiaogang and Liu Erlong better than he did. However cowardly Yu Xiaogang might be, back then, he had still been willing to risk his life to save Flender and Liu Erlong when an enemy was about to gravely injure them.
He had watched them every step of the way, from meeting to understanding each other, and then falling in love. Even though he also loved Liu Erlong, he was hardly much better off than Yu Xiaogang.
Who could have imagined that the first heart-wrenching event of middle age would be bidding farewell forever to the person one had once loved?
"Flender, you really don't need to persuade me anymore. We both know Erlong's temperament. Since she's found true love, let's wish her happiness. This also lets me focus entirely on training Xiao Ye. Making Xiao Ye the strongest Soul Master on the entire continent will be my final endeavor for the rest of my life."
"In that case, I won't say anything more. I'll deliver the letter for you. But once Xiao Ye graduates from Nuoding Academy, you must bring him and Xiao San to my Shrek Academy. Together, we'll carry Shrek forward and make it bigger and stronger."
"All right. I promise."
Before you continue