Chapter 2

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……

Struggling to walk along the mountain path at night by the river, the muddy road made Liu Menglong fall repeatedly, but he was completely unaware of it. His hollow eyes were filled with tears, his clothes and pants torn, and his strength dwindling.

Falling down, he would get up and continue walking;

Falling down, unable to get up, he would crawl and continue walking.

The rain gradually lessened, and Liu Menglong finally crawled to the place where he had parted ways with Uncle Guan. There, Uncle Guan lay quietly, a faint smile still on his lips, passing away peacefully.

Tears streamed down Liu Menglong's face as he struggled to crawl to Uncle Guan's side. His muddy hands gripped Uncle Guan's blood-stained hand. The photo in his hand, though blurred, was instantly recognized by Liu Menglong, for Uncle Guan always carried it with him, showing his wife and daughter.

"Uncle Guan..." Liu Menglong choked, tears rolling down his cheeks and being washed away by the rain.

Boom—

A thunderclap, and Uncle Guan suddenly opened his eyes.

"Master..." The weak voice made Liu Menglong's hair stand on end.

"Ghost!" Instinctively, Liu Menglong wanted to throw Uncle Guan away, as a dead person coming back to life was terrifying. But then he remembered his own inexplicable resurrection, and the fear quickly turned to surprise: "Uncle Guan, you're alive too!?"

Too?

Though puzzled, he couldn't afford to think much about it. Uncle Guan, gripping Liu Menglong's hand, gasped, "Master, the old servant used the technique of feigned death to entrust you with something... huff huff..."

Taking a few deep breaths, Liu Menglong hurriedly said, "Uncle Guan, don't talk, I'll take you to the hospital now..."

"Master..." Uncle Guan stopped Liu Menglong, shaking his head with difficulty, "It's too late, the old servant's life is gone, only a breath remains... huff... time is short, Master... the Long family is... of royal blood, powerful and reaching the heavens, you... must not seek revenge, fortunately, Long Zongheng doesn't know your true identity... cough... in the future, marry... cough cough... and have children... cough cough cough..."

Coughing several times, he spat out a mouthful of blood.

"Uncle Guan!" Liu Menglong frantically wiped the blood from Uncle Guan's face with his sleeve, tears streaming down his face, "Uncle Guan, don't talk... don't talk anymore, I'll take you to the hospital now, it'll be fine, you'll be fine..."

Uncle Guan spat out several more mouthfuls of blood, his eyes gradually losing focus, his life fading: "Master... take care..."

As he spoke, Uncle Guan's eyes widened, dying with his eyes open.

"Uncle... Uncle Guan..." Tears uncontrollably streamed down Liu Menglong's face as he gently closed Uncle Guan's eyes. Like a wounded beast, he howled to the sky, "Long Zongheng! I will make you pay with your blood!—"

...

The sky gradually brightened, and Liu Menglong placed Uncle Guan's body in a shallow grave he had dug with his hands. Looking at Uncle Guan's pale but peaceful face, Liu Menglong, tears streaming down his face, covered Uncle Guan's body with soil: "Uncle Guan, bear with it... in the near future, I will definitely bring your remains home... one day, I will use Long Zongheng's head to honor you!"

Thump thump thump—

After three kowtows, Liu Menglong stood up, his body covered in mud, and turned to leave, carrying a burning hatred.

...

The rain gradually stopped, and the river's flow slowed. Liu Menglong stood by the riverbank, washing the mud off his body.

Looking at his smooth, jade-like skin, his star-like eyes were filled with confusion. Not only was there no wound where he had been shot, but even some old scars had disappeared.

"What happened?" Resurrection was too bizarre, and Liu Menglong, a staunch atheist, wouldn't believe in such absurdities as a passing deity saving him.

"Jade pendant!" Not feeling the dragon-shaped jade pendant around his neck, Liu Menglong was startled, "Where is it?"

It's not surprising that Liu Menglong was anxious. The dragon-shaped jade pendant was a token given to him by his mother before she died—a token to recognize his biological father. However, before he could meet his father, he was betrayed by his half-brother.

All because of his father's status.

Long Qingyun, the head of the Long family, the soon-to-be emperor of China, was Liu Menglong's biological father.

Yes, Liu Menglong was the legendary illegitimate prince. Twenty-five years ago, Liu Menglong's mother, Liu Ying, at the age of sixteen, met Long Qingyun, who was serving as an official. The following year, she gave birth to Liu Menglong. However, Long Qingyun, already in his forties and with a wife, returned to Long City when Liu Menglong was two, inheriting the position of head of the Long family.

At the time, Liu Ying was only nineteen. Although Long Qingyun sent her a monthly allowance, as his mistress, she could not find another man. Long Qingyun, to maintain family stability and due to the distance, never saw Liu Ying again. Twenty-two years later, Liu Ying died of depression last month at the age of forty-one.

Before her death, Liu Ying revealed the secret she had hidden for over twenty years to Liu Menglong and gave him the dragon-shaped jade pendant—left to her by Long Qingyun—telling him to go to Long City and recognize his father.

Liu Menglong still remembered his mother's last words: "Menglong, you have suffered for over twenty years, but from now on... no one will dare look down on you, because you are Long Qingyun's son, a true royal! This jade pendant is from your father, take it and go to your father. If he doesn't recognize you, I will haunt him as a ghost!"

After saying these words, Liu Ying died with tears in her eyes.

Liu Menglong was devastated. With Uncle Guan's help, he arranged the funeral and then set off for Long City with the jade pendant to recognize his father. He never expected to be attacked by his half-brother before even meeting his father.

Liu Menglong was most heartbroken over Uncle Guan. Eighteen years ago, Uncle Guan was found by Liu Ying and Liu Menglong at their doorstep, severely injured and near death. Despite the risk, Liu Ying bravely saved him. Later, Uncle Guan voluntarily became their family servant, and though a servant, Liu Ying and Liu Menglong treated him like family.

Now, Uncle Guan, who was like a father to him, had suffered a tragic fate, and Liu Menglong's hatred for Long Zongheng was immense.

Unable to find the jade pendant, Liu Menglong was momentarily dazed but quickly recovered, muttering, "It's for the best. From now on, I have no ties to the Long family, and I can kill Long Zongheng without hesitation."

After cleaning himself, he was about to leave the riverbank when he noticed a white object floating downstream. He wasn't sure what it was.

With some curiosity, Liu Menglong looked into the distance. As the white object drew closer, he finally saw clearly.

It wasn't an object, but a person, a woman in a white dress, floating with the current.

...

Two days later, Liu Menglong boarded a train to Tianfu with a refined girl.

At the age of twenty-nine, with hair like a waterfall, a face like a new moon, and dressed in a white dress, she was as fresh and elegant as a lotus flower. This was the girl Liu Menglong had saved from the river during the heavy rain that night.

The girl had a beautiful name—Nalan Ruyue.

Nalan is a Manchu surname, and Ruyue truly lived up to her name, as elegant and beautiful as the moon, like the goddess Chang'e.

Unfortunately, such a girl was mute, able to hear but unable to speak, a condition she was born with.

Over the two days, Liu Menglong only learned this much about Nalan Ruyue. Her background and why she fell into the river were unknown, and she didn't reveal them. Liu Menglong didn't ask, but after he mentioned returning home, Nalan Ruyue insisted on following him.

At first, Liu Menglong didn't agree, but Nalan Ruyue opened the fifth-floor window, stepped out with one foot, and looked at him determinedly—take me or I jump.

Liu Menglong took Nalan Ruyue with him.

The journey from Long City to Tianfu took a day and a night. Fortunately, Liu Menglong bought a sleeper ticket. He could have flown, but Nalan Ruyue didn't have an ID, so they chose the train for safety. It was summer, and the journey would be uncomfortable.

"Cold." A bottle of chilled mineral water was pressed against Nalan Ruyue's face, and the cold made her flinch. She looked at Liu Menglong, her beautiful eyes shining, and made a gesture, taking the water.

The gesture meant "thank you," and Liu Menglong had learned some basic sign language from the girl over the past two days.

"You're welcome."

The weather was clear, and the sun shone through the window onto their faces. Holding a novel to pass the time, he couldn't focus on reading.

In recent days, he had encountered too many things that were hard to let go or explain. In the past twenty-five years, he had never experienced anything as thrilling and complex as these few days—his mother's death, being attacked by his half-brother, Uncle Guan's tragic fate, his own resurrection, and saving Nalan Ruyue from the river...

Each event was like a scene from a blockbuster.

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