32: Chapter 32 Thunderhorn Rhino Quest Completed

The noon was hot, but as the sun set, the afternoon wind gradually carried a hint of chill, blowing through the few weeds.

Chen Xing stepped on Li Tan's head, looking down at Xia Qinger with lowered eyes.

Actually, there was his influence in this too, because Xia Qinger had taken his words to heart and chose to give it her all in that moment.

Without the power of the Origin, Xia Qinger's life would quickly wither; even without Li Tan's blade, she would still have died.

"However," Chen Xing spoke slowly, his tone cold, as if delivering a judgment.

"The one who killed her is still you. Why should it have nothing to do with you just because she was going to die anyway? Weren't you the one who stabbed the blade? Aren't you the culprit?"

"What do you mean she was bound to die, so it would be the same without you? You want to brush off your responsibility with a simple sentence?"

"If it weren't for you, she wouldn't have died at all!"

Chen Xing was finally enraged this time. He stomped down hard, applying the Light-Speed Leg Technique to his foot.

"Pa!"

Without a Magical Artifact for protection, there was no suspense; Li Tan's head exploded, and he died completely.

Two members of the Evil Path met their end just like that.

Chen Xing glanced to the side and said nothing, silently using the Light Technique to heal the two of them.

Lu Xuan was fine, with not many fatal injuries, but Lu Wu was no different from a half-dead man.

Ordinarily, such severe injuries would make it impossible to stay conscious, yet Lu Wu managed it.

It was for no other reason than because he cared about Xia Qinger. In the depths of his heart, he still loved this girl and could risk his life for her, holding himself up through sheer willpower.

The injuries improved, but Lu Wu remained unmoved because the psychological wounds were still aching.

He stepped forward, hugging Xia Qinger tightly and sobbing silently.

"From now on, just follow me; I'll help you get revenge."

He remembered back then, when he accidentally saw a destitute, ugly girl picking up trash on the side of the road. Feeling pity, he gave her some charity.

Later, through conversation, he learned that the girl's parents had been killed, leaving her in poverty.

This made Lu Wu feel a sense of shared misfortune, as his own mother had passed away early and his father was cold and unloving, so he felt a surge of compassion.

He didn't care about this ugly girl's looks. He settled her in and then sent people to find the killer.

After Xia Qinger was taken care of, her nutrition improved, and she washed away the filth, only for him to discover she wasn't ugly at all; on the contrary, she was a great beauty.

"Why did you hide your face?" Lu Wu asked, puzzled.

"Because... Mom and Dad said that a girl alone on the streets is easily targeted by bad men, so I had to make myself look ugly." Xia Qinger nervously rubbed her index fingers together.

Lu Wu was stunned. He understood. In this day and age, if a beautiful young girl lived alone or wandered the streets, she could easily be targeted by some perverts.

To protect herself, Xia Qinger made herself look ugly every day, to the point where she eventually believed she really was ugly.

Even so, some perverts would still harass her, scaring her into running to the police station for help, but she still felt unsafe.

"Then why did you wash yourself clean?" Lu Wu asked again.

"Because... you are a good person," Xia Qinger said, unable to help lowering her head, her face flushing slightly.

"Aren't you afraid I'll eat you?" Lu Wu joked.

"N-no... I'm not afraid," Xia Qinger whispered like a mosquito.

"..."

After that, Xia Qinger lived in the Lu family for a while.

At that time, the Lu brothers had not yet awakened their abilities. As the eldest son, Lu Wu was good at his studies and martial arts, capable in both literary and military fields, and was seen as the successor.

But as the younger brother, Lu Xuan was different. Because he lacked parental care since childhood, he was starved for love and suffered from low self-esteem.

His clansmen would sometimes mock him and refuse to play with him, which kept him feeling inferior and led him to start giving up on himself.

Lu Xuan went out to recruit lackeys, find women, and play around with everything just to vent his emotions, causing a lot of trouble.

After the father, the family head, found out, he just remained silent, thinking that since he had failed them over the years, he would suppress those misdeeds and let the victims suffer instead.

Until one day, Lu Xuan discovered his older brother had brought home a beautiful girl. Initially, he felt very inferior, fearing she would also despise him.

But Lu Xuan found that Xia Qinger was very gentle; she didn't despise him and was willing to chat and be friends with him.

Later, Lu Xuan realized he seemed to have fallen in love. He recklessly confessed to her, but his frantic appearance frightened Xia Qinger.

Xia Qinger stated plainly that she would only ever love Lu Wu and would never love anyone else in her life.

This made Lu Xuan sad for a long time, until the day he awakened his ability. He was in high spirits, becoming the clan's second A-Rank Esper!

And that older brother, who had been given so much hope, was actually one rank lower than him.

At that moment, the jealousy hidden in Lu Xuan's heart exploded. He could finally step on this so-called older brother!

Little did he know that all these years, Lu Wu had been the one taking care of him and accompanying him, yet he returned kindness with ingratitude, treating it as the other's charity.

After his rise to prominence, Lu Xuan suppressed Lu Wu in various ways and finally even proposed to Xia Qinger.

But he was wrong; Lu Xuan knew he was completely wrong.

This girl never loved that place or that status; she simply loved Lu Wu the person and wouldn't leave just because he had fallen into hard times.

This was also what made Lu Xuan most frantic and jealous. Why? Why could Lu Wu get such a wonderful person?!

"The matter is settled. Let's go back. Bury her; don't let her die in a foreign land," Chen Xing said at this time.

"Xiao Xia told me at the end... she wants to go home," Chen Xing whispered into Lu Wu's ear.

This brought Lu Wu back to his senses. He gritted his teeth, his face covered in tears.

"Yes... we're going home, we're going home!" He walked forward, holding his beloved girl.

"Qinger..." Lu Xuan's pupils shook; he reached out blankly, wanting to hold the girl.

"If you really love her, you should respect her choice instead of constantly forcing her," Chen Xing said coldly, stopping him.

Lu Xuan pursed his lips and ultimately chose to remain silent.

Lu Wu walked along the road, somewhat lost in thought, remembering the past again. He murmured as if talking to the now-unhearing Xia Qinger.

"Qinger, it's not that I didn't like you. I... I just didn't want to hold you back."

"High hopes were placed on me since I was a child. Everyone thought I was the Golden Crow Awakener, even Father would occasionally look at me, but... I disappointed everyone."

"Back then, I felt like a piece of trash who shouldn't hold back a girl as good as you. You deserved someone better."

"Sometimes I would think, if only my cousin were a boy, at least she could marry you... Though, even if she were, she probably wouldn't, right?"

"..."

Chen Xing watched his back and said nothing.

He checked his Storage Device; there were already thirteen Thunder Horns, which was a sufficient number.

"Let's head back."

...

Wenling Domain.

The Lu brothers were picked up, remaining silent the whole time.

Chen Xing returned to the train, where the great beauty Li Qingyi received him and served a cup of hot tea to warm his soul.

"Boss, do you need to soak in the hot spring?" Li Qingyi asked.

"Yes," Chen Xing nodded, seemingly a bit tired.

"I just met a few interesting people. In a while, the young master of the Lu family might hold a small funeral. Can you send condolences on my behalf?"

Li Qingyi was puzzled. The Lu family? Was it the famous Lu family from the neighboring Shengyuan System she was thinking of? When did the Boss get involved with them?

However, as an assistant, she shouldn't ask why; she just had to do as told.