âSO, HAVE YOU thought about it?â Yang Lujia interjected after hearing the exchange between the father and son.
âAbout what?â Wang Lingyun replied, still spaced out.
Yang Lujia nodded at Wang Lao and began to explain. âI am planning to extend your lifespan. However, on the condition that you will join me in my quest to come to the higher realm. There, I will be building my own organization. Your son had only awaited your decision and hasnât made a decision for himself now.â
âThis seems a bit too sudden, right?â Wang Lingyun could not process too much information at once. âCan you let me process it for a while?â
Wang Lao was the son he had believed the most. Wang Zhu was also honest, but he wasnât as reliable as his older brother. So, he didnât dare reject the request of the other party for them.
Moreover, the fact that the other party could extend his lifespan and make him live more than he thought he already had lived enoughâwas a very tempting offer for him to take..
Who would not want to live more and continue cultivating?
Even if he accepted his fate then, he wouldnât just let such an offer slip by his hand. But he had to ascertain something first.
âWhat is your name again, sir?â Wang Lingyun respectfully said.
To be able to gain the respect of his son to the point that heâd bow to this person, Wang Lingyun was sure that this young man was very strong, like he had the strength to back up his claims.
âCao Nima,â Yang Lujia replied and added, âAlso, if you donât know, both Xia Zhiguang and Bai Qian, your old friends, have already agreed on this matter. I believe you wonât doubt their decisions, right?â
âOld thing, you should accept it already. This would become the biggest opportunity of your life. We guarantee you that Chief Justice Cao Nimaâs methods and strength are a thousand times stronger than ours. Look at you, youâve become so old because you arenât able to break through to the Saint Realm. I believe Chief Justice Cao Nima could help you,â the voice of Bai Qian rang into Wang Lingyunâs head and it made his face flinch a little.
âThis old thing!â Wang Lingyun exclaimed in his mind. âWait till then. After I agree with Mr. Cao Nima, I will pummel you to the ground like before.â
âHmph! What pummel to the ground before?â
âSo, are you in?â Yang Lujia asked once more, his face still smiling.
âSir, if I fall under your care, would I become some type of pawn you are going to useââ
âI wonât,â Yang Lujia directly replied. âYou donât have to worry about being controlled. You are allowed to act of your own free will. If that act of yours will lead you to your death or for your own good, I wonât stop you. You will always have the choice to leave the organization I am going to create or kill in your name but not in the name of the organization. You just have to act in the role that I will assign to you in the future.â
Wang Lingyun thought about it and later his thoughts were drawn to his two sons. Perhaps this was the only time he could redeem himself for them. This time, instead of leading a group of people under his wing, he would rather become an underling of someone capable and take care of his sons personally.
His sons grew up alone. He definitely did not want that to happen again. With the death of their moms, especially Wang Lao witnessing it, he could not bear to let such a thing happen once more.
âAlright, Iâm in, but how about the people in Guile City?â he asked, hinting something at Yang Lujia.
Yang Lujia then looked down at the city whose peopleâs eyes were on the airships, some of them even terrified of the thought of a civil war coming. âI will not be able to save them. Moreover, the Death Purge of the Will of Da Sishen is a natural process, something that canât be altered by mere force.
âIf it can be altered in some way, then the realm should not have existed until this very day. I believe that since you are in the same generation as those two old people back there, you should have seen everything then, right?â
âIt makes sense,â Wang Lingyun agreed and nodded. âBut can I bring some of my people here, those who are very reliable of course?â
âYou may, but if they betray me in the future, their end will only be death,â Yang Lujia emphasized as he disappeared in a millisecond.
Then, he appeared by the stall on the side of the road within Guile City. There, he saw the old woman again whose son was unintentionally killed by him. With his face still the same as before, he went near the old woman and asked for some barbecue from her.
âOh, young man, it seems that youâre back!â the old woman exclaimed and hurriedly prepared some barbecue for Yang Lujia.
âOld lady,â Yang Lujia called. âIâ¦â
Yang Lujia wanted to truly tell her the truth but the words just wouldnât come out of his mouth. Perhaps it would still take a while. He could not force it if he couldnât do it.
âWhatâs the problem, young man?â
Yang Lujia smiled awkwardly and chose the barbecue he wanted to eat. âJust two pieces for me this time, old lady.â
âAlright!â She then excitedly grilled two pieces of barbecue. âThis is gonna be free for you. I am still like before, always excited about seeing young men like you.â
âNo, old lady. I will pay for it.â Yang Lujia was a bit embarrassed by now as he handed several spirit stones. âYou work hard for it. Itâs only natural that Iâll pay.â
âNo, no,â the old woman insisted and pushed back the spirit stones to Yang Lujiaâs hands. âYou donât need to pay for me. I am just excited about seeing young men like you because you bunch always remind me of my son who passed away a few months ago. He was caught up in an unknown accident and until now, no one knew the culpritââ
âOld lady, would you like to come with me?â Yang Lujia offered, cutting off the old womanâs words. He didnât know but he couldnât bear to hear anything from her about that matter. âIâll repay you for the two pieces of barbecue by taking care of you.â He smiled.