Chapter 240 I Would Rather Die Than Fail You

Their eyes met. There was nothing but tenderness.

At this moment, they almost forgot their age gap, and even who poisoned Master Hou. There was no resentment in his eyes. It was all gentleness.

Master Hou held out his hand and caressed her smooth face. “Silly girl. When I’m gone, the mansion will no longer be the place for you. You should not stay, neither should you return to Lord Long. You deserve to be free.”

Tears were running down her face like a river. “Why don’t you hate me?”

“Do you want to hear a story?”

Tang Xueyan nodded, “Of course. I want to hear whatever you have to say.”

“I was born into a family of academics. My father was a college professor and my mother was a psychologist. So as a child, I was good at all subjects. I was even the top scorer of science at the college entrance exam. In the year of my graduation, my parents were murdered by thugs. From then on, all I ever wanted was vengeance. Since the law could not punish them, I quit my job and joined the gang. It didn’t take long before I became their boss and made them a stronger organization. Then I killed everyone who had a part in my parents’ murder. I cut off their heads. That was when Tingchuan started following me.”

It was a bloody and horrifying story, which was in sharp contrast to the tenderness they were sharing then.

“Later, I grew ambitious. I wanted to build an empire of my own. And the biggest obstacle in my way was the Jiang Family, the most powerful group of people in the underground at that time.”

“One must know his enemies if he desires to destroy them. I started contacting this family and I got to know Jiang Qin, the daughter of their leader.”

Tang Xueyan sighed, knowing that this must be a sad story. “The girl you loved.”

“Yes. The more I spent time with her, the more I loved her. She could tell too. She also knew that sooner or later I would end up being at war with her father. She tried to convince me to leave the underground world to be with her. But I craved success. I was reluctant to let go of what I had.”

Tang Xueyan sighed, “Actually, even if you did give everything up, her father may still not have let you off.”

“True. Her father was already extremely wary of me by then and wouldn’t let me off. Later we ended up fighting. I’d intended to spare his life. But Tingchuan killed him. Jiang Qin asked me to kill Tingchuan. I refused. So in revenge, she killed herself by jumping from a building in front of me.”

Master Hou sighed, “I owe this to her. And it’ll take more than a lifetime to make it up to her. Did you think I didn’t suspect something when I took you in? I did. But I didn’t care anymore by then.”

Tang Xueyan was shocked. Incredulous, she asked, “You were already suspicious of me then?”

Master Hou looked at the girl tenderly. “I knew karma would come for me when Jiang Qin died. You do look like her. These few days that I’ve been with you, I can’t even tell if it’s you I love or I’m just regarding you as her. I’m already 43. I outlived her for almost 20 years. It’s time for me to go now.”

“If you were her reincarnation, I was willing to protect you, even offer my life to repay you. If you weren’t, I would never allow that tragedy to happen again. I would rather die than fail you.”

Tang Xueyan was weeping. Maybe Master Hou himself did not even know if he had fallen in love with Tang Xueyan or merely regarded her as Jiang Qin, the woman he loved most. But Tang Xueyan did not care. All she knew was Jiang Zihou cared about her and that was enough for her.

Unfortunately, sometimes things just won’t go the way one wants it to.

“Zihou… I would like to give you a kiss.”

Master Hou sat up and held Tang Xueyan in his arms. Then the two began kissing. It was a kiss that transcended life and death. Master Hou could feel his life ebbing from him. He knew he would not make it through the day.

Just then, Mu Tingchuan arrived at the door but was stopped by Miyamoto Shinji. Miyamoto Shinji shook his head as he noticed the worry and anger in Mu Tingchuan’s eyes. “Master Hou has ordered everyone to stay out.”

Mu Tingchuan sighed. “Is this the so-called karma? Master Hou still has so much to see to. Why must he be punished and not me, the one who caused this?”

Back then, Master Hou chose Mu Tingchuan over Jiangqin, which meant that he gave up the woman he loved for his cause. From then on, Mu Tingchuan became more and more loyal to him.

Mu Tingchuan was waiting outside fretfully when he heard Master Hou crying out, “No!”

The cry was so sudden and filled with sadness and despair. Miyamoto Shinji and Mu Tingchuan rushed in immediately and found Tang Xueyan lying on the ground, her clothes soaked in her own blood which was gushing out from the wound on her broken forehead. It turned out that after she kissed Master Hou, she crashed her head on the wall. That was when Master Hou finally understood her words earlier, to become the princess of this mansion forever. She would be with Master Hou in this mansion even after death.

Master Hou shouted desperately, “Someone call the doctor! Save her!”

Tang Xueyan’s eyelids got heavier and heavier. But she managed to lift them to look at Master Hou as she spoke in a faint voice, “Lord Long promised that if you died, he would spare my family, but it doesn’t matter if I lived or died. Though I’m not Jiang Qin, I can still accompany you out of… this world… We will be together on the other side.”

It was too late for the doctors to save her. She hit the wall with all her strength. Soon her eyes closed forever. Master Hou opened his eyes wide. It was the second time he’d watched the woman he loved dying. He felt as if all his strength was drained from him. What was the point of conquering the world when he could not even protect his woman?

Mu Tingchuan felt a little sad as he witnessed the scene. He sighed and said, “Mater Hou… Let us take you to the hospital.”

Master Hou shook his head and spoke calmly, “Please call Xiao Bing for me.”

Mu Tingchuan’s heart sank, but he called Xiao Bing immediately. On his way here, he knew nothing could be done for Master Hou as the poison had already entered his vital organs. So he stopped trying to convince Master Hou. Besides, Tang Xueyan’s death strengthened Master Hou’s resolve to die.

Obviously, Master Hou summoned Xiao Bing and the others here to announce his will. No matter what, he wanted to work for this man for the last time. He intended to leave after he fulfilled Master Hou’s last wishes. He was also tired after years of serving Master Hou and killing for him.

Xiao Bing was shocked when he was told that Master Hou was about to die. He sped to his mansion immediately.

When Xiao Bing arrived at the mansion, Master Hou was sitting in the hall, smiling. A servant had brought him tea. If it weren’t for Master Hou’s purple face, Xiao Bing would not have believed that Master Hou was a dying man, because he was as imposing as usual.

Pointing at the teacup on the table near Xiao Bing, Master Hou smiled, “Xiao Bing, sit down and have a taste of the tea. It was specially brought from Jing Du.”

Xiao Bing had never regarded Master Hou as his friend, yet he didn’t consider Master Hou as an enemy either. He merely looked upon Master Hou as a partner, or just someone he admired. If it weren’t for the need of dealing with the Long Family, perhaps Master Hou could have had Xiao Bing killed. No one knew that better than Xiao Bing. Maybe Xiao Bing had considered Master Hou as his biggest foe since he was on his path, like Ye Bancheng, the former leader of the Ye family, had considered Master Hou.

Xiao Bing even wondered if they would talk peaceably like this when the Long family was eliminated. Would Master Hou still suffer him to live? Would there be war between them? Yet before that could happen, here was Master Hou about to draw his last breath.

Xiao Bing somehow felt upset as he observed this man, who was not his friend specifically, talking amiably with him with a faint smile. Whether he was Xiao Bing’s friend or enemy, Xiao Bing still deemed this man respectable. Because he could still be so calm after knowing he would soon say farewell to this world.

Maybe if he wasn’t about to die, he was really stronger than Lord Long.

“Why should I be so sad when he’s not?”

Xiao Bing picked up his teacup and found the tea no longer very hot. He blew on it gently and took a sip. It was refreshing. “The tea is really good.”

Master Hou grinned, “Good tea needs to be savored by good people. You and Tingchuan can share the rest of the tea leaves later. I’m sure that Miyamoto doesn’t need it. He doesn’t have the interest. Haha!”

Miyamoto Shinji’s eyes reddened. It was hard for others to imagine that someone so hard-hearted would one day reveal his emotions.

Master Hou continued, “Xiao Bing, I knew you were no ordinary man the first time I saw you. And it turned out I was right. The wisest thing I have ever done is to ally myself with you. To tell you the truth, I hated your guts when you killed the Peony Fairy. Don’t believe that every king is cold-blooded. Every human being has feelings. It’s just that some are good at hiding them.”

Xiao Bing answered, “I understand. That’s why I was not sure if you would do me any harm. It was a huge gamble, given how short-handed and weak I was. You would definitely have succeeded in killing me had you wanted to.”

“Do you know why I didn’t have you killed? It’s not only because I needed your help, even though that’s a very important reason.”

Nonplussed, Xiao Bing asked, “So what other reason is there?”

“Because I was told that to make friends with your enemy is harder than killing one. But it will make one stronger. So I decided to try.”

Xiao Bing was taken aback. Then he pondered for a bit. A moment later he looked impressed. “Master Hou, you really are an ambitious man who deserves my admiration!”

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