Deep in the night in a villa located in the suburbs of Shanghai.
I was sitting at a lonely hall with a cup of cold coffee in my hands. Despite having come to the home of the legendary Shusheng, Ling Yue and Ling Xue, I didn"t even get a room to myself. Well, I supposed that this was a part of the price I had to pay to get what I wanted.
There was a couplet hanging on a wall, and I rose to my feet to give it a look. Illuminated by moonlight, the powerful brushstrokes joined together to form the words: The snow moon is eternal, its domination unchallenged!
Oh! Was this the start of that legend?
……
“Not bad, right?”
A sweet, female voice broke out behind me, and I turned around to see that it was Ling Xue. She was holding a thick blanket and saying, “Sorry to make you pa.s.s the night here. Turn up the heat so you don"t catch a cold, alright?”
I nodded. “Thanks.”
Ling Xue set down the blanket, but didn"t leave right away. She stared at me for a time before asking with a smile, “Is that girl really that important to you?”
I exhaled once before confirming her suspicion. “Yeah. I owe her too much already…”
Ling Xue smiled. “You should let go of your obsession. If she really does love you, giving up everything for you is a kind of happiness to her as well. You know that, right?”
I smiled. “I know, but I still want to do something for her, and getting back her account is the first step toward reparation, I think.”
“Love is not a business. You can"t make up for it just by way of compensation.”
“I love her.”
Ling Xue seemed surprised by my calm declaration. A second later, she broke into a smile and said, “Forget I said anything then.”
After that, she turned her back on me and waved her hand lazily, “Alright, I"m going to bed. You should get some rest soon!”
“Ling Xue, wait…”
“What is it?”
“Is there really no chance to recover Lin Yixin"s account at all?” I asked earnestly.
A troubled expression appeared on Ling Xue"s face as she answered, “It"s not that we don"t want to help you, but our own HQ has no intention of taking a risk with something this major, do you get me? Restoring Lin Yixin"s account is technically easy, but it means going up against the HQ and facing the criticisms of the CEOs of USA, Korea and Vietnam branches.”
I gritted my teeth in frustration. “But... there"s no one else who can help me besides the three of you.”
Ling Xue walked up to me and patted my shoulder consolingly. “Lu Chen, remember what I said about letting go of your obsession? You"ve already given it your all, so you shouldn"t have any regrets no matter the result. I"m sure Lin Yixin herself will forgive you. She is a stubborn yet understanding girl, and it is the love the two of you share that saved Dawn City. Do you know how amazing that is? I sincerely wish that the two of you will go far~~”
All I could do was nod in agreement. I supposed that there truly was nothing I could do at this point.
……
The next day, early in the morning.
“Big bro Shusheng, are we heading out today?” A girl"s voice came from the corridor.
Shusheng was holding a bouquet of white flowers and walking toward the front door. He nodded. “Are you coming with us, Summer?”
“Of course.” The girl"s smile looked as bright as the sun itself. “It"s been half a month since I saw you guys, since Sister Iced Tea left! Are you visiting sister"s grave, big bro?”
“Mn.” Shusheng nodded again.
While this was going on, I sneakily went out of the back door, called a cab and traveled back to the HQ. Then, I grabbed by X12 and drove back to Suzhou. By the time I reached home, it was past 10 am already. I dialed He Yi"s number, and the call connected.
“Are you in the workshop now, Eve?”
“No. Mingyue, Beiming and I are at the flower shop beneath the apartment right now. We"ll wait for you here!”
“Okay!”
When I walked inside the store, I saw He Yi clutching a bouquet of flowers and wearing a black dress. In fact, Beiming Xue and Murong Minyue were wearing black dresses and looking very serious as well.
“What"s going on?” I asked while walking up to them.
He Yi shot me an unfathomable look before saying softly, “Lu Chen, I told you before that I wasn"t the one who founded Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls, but I never actually told you anything about the true founder of the guild, did I? Well, today is the day I reveal that to you!”
“Ah?” Her words confused me greatly.
Before I could say anything, Murong Mingyue grabbed my wrist and pulled. “Come on. Don"t worry, you"ll know it once we reach our destination. Lil Beiming doesn"t know about this either.”
“Okay…”
……
We all entered my X12, except He Yi was the one who was driving this time. We pa.s.sed through the city center and stopped next to a public cemetery. As we all got out of the car, He Yi led the way and walked right into the cemetery with the bouquet of flowers in her hands.
“Seriously… what on earth is going on here?” My confusion was growing instead of decreasing.
“You"ll know right away.” Murong Mingyue chuckled.
We walked for about five minutes before stopping in front of a row of gravestones. Then, He Yi put down the bouquet of flower on a grave with a small coconut tree planted in front of it. The aged photo on the gravestone showed an image of a young girl. Who would"ve thought that someone so young would pa.s.s away so soon?
Grave of Xu Yan, my sister.
A bit of surprise jolted in my mind as I read the inscription.
Kneeling quietly in front of the grave, He Yi beckoned me to her side, “Come here and kneel with me, please…”
Despite my confusion, I obeyed her command and knelt next to her. The deceased deserved respect no matter who they were.
“What"s going on, Eve?” I asked.
He Yi murmured, “My older cousin, Xu Yan, left Suzhou a long time ago to build her guild in the north. She is the one who founded Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls, and I was just a noob who had no idea what I was doing back then. It has been nine years since she pa.s.sed away, but I can still remember the day she took me to kill goblins as clear as yesterday…”
He Yi"s tears flowed down her cheeks as she continued, “Sis always said that she wanted to make Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls one of the best guilds in the entire world, but… she didn"t live to see her dream come true…”
I sucked in a deep breath before asking, “How did she die?”
“She died because of a heartless man…”
“...”
He Yi wiped her tears before grabbing my hand. She then looked at the gravestone and said, “See this guy here, sis? He"s Lu Chen, the strongest player of Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls and the second best active CGL Hall of Famer of China. Not long ago, Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls defended Dawn City and became the guild with the highest contribution points in the entire Nation War. Today, we are one of the best guilds in the entire China. Can you see what we"ve achieved, sis?”
I wrapped an arm around He Yi"s shoulder as her emotions poured out of her uncontrollably. I pulled her into my chest and said, “I"m sure she saw everything, Eve.”
Beiming Xue also grabbed He Yi"s arm and whispered softly, “Sister Eve…”
Not far away, Murong Mingyue leaned against a tree and watched out backs quietly. Her eyes were filled with tears as well.
……
Suddenly, a young man carrying a bouquet of fresh white flowers appeared behind us. He shuddered in surprise when he saw who we were. “You…”
I turned around and exclaimed in surprise as well, “It"s you?”
The young man walked up to the grave, confirmed that it was the right grave and put down the flowers. “Hi, sis…”
He Yi immediately looked at him in astonishment.
“Who… who is my older cousin to you?” He Yi asked.
The young man looked just as surprised as she was. “I"m the one who brought her ashes back and buried her here. You"re… From Water of Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls? Why… why are you here?”
He Yi asked, “You"re Shusheng, aren"t you? How did you know my sis?”
The newcomer was none other than the vice president of the southern HQ of Eternal Moon Corporation, Ding Shusheng the Frivolous Scholar. Still in shock, he answered, “11 years ago, when sis was still in northern China, she was the one who taught me everything about the game. Two years later, after she committed suicide, I brought her ashes back to this city of her desires for burial. From Water, are you really her younger cousin?”
He Yi wiped her tears and nodded. “Mn. Sis is the one who founded Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls. I"ve always dreamed of realizing her dream to make Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls world famous!”
Shusheng dropped to his knees and let out a sorrowful sigh. “Sis, is… is this the guild you once talked to me about? Heavens… I can"t believe I"ve never known about it until today!”
Shusheng then turned around and faced He Yi. “I want to do everything I can to reduce sister"s regrets as much as possible. Are there any problems you"re facing right now, He Yi? Tell me, and I, Ding Shusheng, swear to do everything in my power to solve them!”
He Yi nodded and said, “In that case, please restore Lin Yixin"s account. It is my one and only request to you. Lu Chen already owes her too much as it is.”
Shusheng immediately rose to his feet and declared, “Got it. I"ll fly to the New York HQ tonight and get this done! I promise I"ll restore Lin Yixin"s account, no matter the cost!”
“Mn. Thank you!”
“No need. You"re her sister, which means we"re family. It"s only natural for family to help each other out!”
“Mn.”
……
Shusheng then looked at me and gave me an approving nod. “Lu Chen, I"m aware how strong you are. There are only a handful of people in the entire world who can beat Candlelight Shadow, so give it your all. The rise of Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls depends on you!”
“I will,” I replied quietly.
Shusheng turned around and left just like that. He beckoned his girls to follow him, went into his car and left as quick as lightning.
“Do you guys think he can be… trusted?” Beiming Xue asked while staring at the direction Shusheng had vanished to.
Murong Mingyue chuckled. “He"s the same type as Lu Chen; stupid to a fault, but exceptionally reliable. What do you think?”
Beiming Xue broke into a smile. “Does that mean... that Sister Lin Yixin"s account might get restored after all?”
“Yep!”
“Hehe! That"s great!”
……
It was at this moment my phone rang. The number belonged to Sun Qingqing—
“Lu Chen!”
“Mn. What is it, Qingqing?”
“I have some good news to share!”
I perked up. “Oh yeah? What is it?”
“Yiyi"s mom has finally awakened! Hehe!”
“Really? That"s… that"s awesome!”
“Also, Yiyi is coming back on an afternoon flight. She"ll be staying at her father"s place!”
“Then, her number…”
“She told me to keep it a secret. I"m already kinda breaking my promise to my best friend by telling you all this, so don"t even think about it!”
I said urgently, “But Qingqing, I really, really miss Yiyi… so please give me her number…”
Sun Qingqing hesitated for a moment before declining, “No way. Yiyi"s account got deleted because of you! Do you know how much effort she poured into that account? You keep saying that you miss her, but what did you ever do to show it, you heartless b.a.s.t.a.r.d? No, I don"t believe you. There"s no way I"m giving you her number!”
I gritted my teeth. “I"m doing my best to recover Yiyi"s account…”
“Really? Then call me after her account is officially reinstated. Otherwise, don"t even think about it!”
“Got it!”
I hung up the call. All that was left to do was wait for Shusheng"s good news.