Wu Changkong stared at him, as though trying to see right through him.
His eyes were also full of disbelief.
Qing Linyun let him look, perfectly at ease.
The lie was seventy percent truth and thirty percent falsehood.
The Death Arena really existed, and his injuries were real. The bandages over his shoulder blade were still wrapped tightly beneath his clothes.
Only the claim that "the Dark Hummingbird is still alive" was false.
As the saying went, an outright lie was easy to see through, but a lie mixed with truth was not.
Yet that one lie was the only thing that could save Wu Changkong right now. As long as it kept Wu Changkong alive, they could deal with what came afterward when the time came.
The method was a little immoral, but Qing Linyun had no choice. Every man for himself, or heaven and earth would strike him down.
Besides, Qing Linyun had a system. Nothing that appeared in its shop would be surprising. What if something that could resurrect Long Bing appeared one day?
Senior brother, I'm sorry.
Qing Linyun silently said in his heart.
You need him alive. You need to kill him with your own hands. You need that goal to keep living.
Wu Changkong stood where he was, his chest rising and falling several times before he suddenly laughed.
It was a fierce laugh, the kind he hadn't given in a long time.
"It's good that he's alive."
At that moment, Wu Changkong's smile was almost manic.
"As long as he's alive, I still have a chance. He's lost an arm and hasn't recovered from his severe injuries. This is my best chance. Once I break through to Titled Douluo, I can kill him and avenge Long Bing!"
As he spoke, he looked out the window. Qing Linyun followed his gaze. Outside was the training ground, and farther away was the direction of the East Sea.
"Long Bing was the gentlest person I've ever met."
Wu Changkong spoke suddenly. The fierce look in his eyes vanished, leaving behind a tenderness he couldn't conceal.
"When she smiled, her eyes curved. She liked practicing swordsmanship at night. When she was done, she'd lean on the windowsill and talk to me. She said she wanted to travel all over the continent and see the sights I'd never seen."
Qing Linyun didn't respond, only listened quietly.
"On the day she died, I didn't even get to see her one last time."
Wu Changkong's voice was soft, but Qing Linyun could clearly sense the anger he couldn't suppress beneath it.
"By the time I got there, all that was left was blood all over the ground. The Dark Hummingbird was standing beside her. He glanced at me, pinned me to the wall, and then left."
"Why didn't he kill you?"
Qing Linyun couldn't help asking.
"I don't know."
Wu Changkong shook his head.
"I investigated for years, but I never found out. Maybe she just happened to get in his way, or maybe he wanted me to have a taste of loss."
"So, junior brother."
Wu Changkong turned back to look at Qing Linyun, his gaze calm.
"I have to take this revenge myself. Not for some righteous cause, but because I owe it to her. That time, I couldn't protect her."
"Senior brother, can your body hold up in its current state?"
"I know."
Wu Changkong interrupted him. "Old injuries, and Evil Qi blocking my meridians. But I've already waited many years. A little longer won't matter. Once I've recovered from my injuries and pushed my strength higher, it'll be the day he dies."
Seeing the spark rekindled in his eyes, Qing Linyun nodded. "Then I'll wait for your good news, senior brother."
"Mm."
Wu Changkong took a deep breath, raised a hand to straighten his collar, and rubbed his face.
He walked toward the door, pausing as he passed Qing Linyun:
"Junior brother."
"Mm?"
"Thank you."
Qing Linyun was taken aback. "What are you thanking me for?"
"Thank you for coming back alive."
Wu Changkong looked at Qing Linyun and spoke with complete seriousness.
"If you'd really died in the East Sea, I wouldn't have anyone left who knew where my enemy was."
Qing Linyun opened his mouth, but said nothing.
Wu Changkong pushed open the office door. Sunlight poured in from outside, falling on him. Long Hengxu was still keeping watch at the door. When he saw him come out, he nearly burst into tears. "Teacher Wu! You've finally come out!"
"Director Long, have the teachers go back to their classes," Wu Changkong said. "I'm going to the classroom."
"Yes! All right! All right!" Long Hengxu agreed repeatedly, then called out, "Teacher Wu, your health comes first. Classes can wait!"
"No need."
Wu Changkong looked back at Qing Linyun, then turned away again.
"I've missed a day's lessons. I'll make them up."
Wu Changkong left.
Qing Linyun stood in the office, cold as an ice cellar, watching his retreating figure. He couldn't put what he felt into words.
I hope this lie holds until he gets better.
He thought.
The Dark Hummingbird is already dead, without even a corpse left behind. When he's recovered, if he finds out his enemy has been gone all along, how am I going to explain it to him?
He looked down at his right arm. It held the 700,000-year-old Dark Demon Evil God Tiger Right Arm Bone, and Undying Body was still on cooldown.
I'll take it one step at a time.
Watching Wu Changkong's straight yet somewhat lonely figure, Qing Linyun even wondered whether his senior brother had long since guessed something and simply couldn't bring himself to say it.
Wu Changkong walked in silence, his back still straight, but his heart was a wasteland.
The explanation Qing Linyun had just given him made perfect sense. By rights, he shouldn't have doubted it. After all, how could a Seven-Ring Soul Sage possibly kill a rank 98 Super Douluo who was also a Three-Word Battle Armor Master?
But... he too had been a genius, and he had a genius's intuition of his own.
If Qing Linyun's talent was the bright moon, then he was a firefly in midsummer. How could a firefly rival the radiance of the bright moon? How could it fathom the moon's light?
Yet Qing Linyun had spoken with such certainty and sincerity that Wu Changkong began to doubt whether his intuition had failed him.
Shrek City, Heaven-Supporting Pillar headquarters, top-floor reception room.
Ye Lingling had just made a cup of coffee when someone pushed the door open from outside.
"Well, Sister Lingling."
Na Nali walked in barefoot, the bells on her ankles jingling all the way. She plopped down on the sofa and crossed her legs. "You're looking well."
Leng Yulai followed behind her. Her purplish-red eyes swept over Ye Lingling, and she snorted. She stood at the door with her arms folded, without entering, merely leaning against the doorway and gazing coldly at Ye Lingling.
Holding her coffee, Ye Lingling smiled. "What brings you two sisters here today?"
These two cats have caught the scent of fish. They definitely haven't come with good intentions.
"We were passing by."
Na Nali yawned.
"And we thought we'd ask where the boss slept last night."
Ye Lingling's smile froze for a moment, then quickly returned. "The boss rested at the villa last night."
"The villa, hmm." Na Nali drew out the words. "The boss's villa, or the villa the boss shares with someone?"
Ye Lingling said nothing.
Na Nali stared at her, then suddenly smiled even more broadly. "Sister Lingling, you didn't do a good enough job covering that red mark on your neck."
Ye Lingling instinctively raised a hand to cover her neck, her face turning red in an instant. "Na Nali! What are you doing?!"
"Oh, someone's flustered."
Na Nali's bells jingled as she rocked with laughter. "I'm teasing you. But seriously, was the boss really at your place last night?"
"What's it got to do with me where the boss rests?" Ye Lingling said, forcing herself to hold firm.
"It has everything to do with you."
Leng Yulai suddenly spoke, her voice icy.
"You're his secretary. The boss's daily needs are your responsibility. And somehow, while taking care of them, you ended up in his bed."
"Leng Yulai!"
"Am I wrong?"
Leng Yulai walked over, dark purple flames flickering in her purplish-red eyes. She was clearly furious to the extreme.
"Was the boss with you last night?"
"I see your Soul Power has gone up another rank, to rank 96. And that presence of a light-attribute Soul Bone on you-you've just fused with it, haven't you? A hundred thousand years old, I suppose. A gift from the boss?"
Ye Lingling opened her mouth.
"You certainly are lucky."
Leng Yulai turned her face away, her voice muffled.
"One night with the boss, and you get a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone. We knights risk our lives, and we don't get so much as a hair."
Why should she?