Chapter 45: Epiphany, The Great Sect

…

Huan Liuli woke up from her trance. What was before her eyes were the rippling waves of the sea and the scorching sunlight.

The sea breeze that was enough to make one’s skin burn kept blowing by her side.

As for her, she was lying on a plastic board.

Huan Liuli was stunned speechless.

‘Am I dreaming? Wasn’t I just spanking Ye Xiao? How did I end up in the ocean? It seems that these days, cleaning after Ye Xiao was such a miserable experience, enough so that I am starting to have hallucinations! All day long I was washing the floor like a janitor, even though I am not an obedient dog that can be trained! What kind of cat watches the house?

‘Oh, never mind, I’ll sleep a little longer.’

Closing her eyes, Huan Liuli was ready to continue sleeping. Suddenly, with a puff, a wave rolled over, instantly drenching her.

Huan Liuli instantly woke up completely and her hair stood on end in an instant.

“Meow! How did I really get to the sea? Where’s Ye Xiao? Where’s the sofa? Meow Meow Meow Meow! Help! I can’t swim!”

…

On Ye Xiao’s side, after resting for a night, he received a message from Gu Hai.

“Old Ye, I’m back. I’m having a check-up at the Second Hospital. Don’t worry.”

Ye Xiao was not too surprised. He knew that Gu Hai was fine.

The library staff sent a message stating that the library would be closed for three days to repair the damage.

It was drizzling outside that day. Ye Xiao went out for breakfast, bought some fruit and milk, then went straight to the Second Hospital.

The ward of the garrison members who had returned was isolated. There were other guards outside 24 hours a day to prevent any abnormalities from occurring among them. Only after checking and confirming that there was no threat would they be allowed to leave.

When Ye Xiao arrived at Gu Hai’s ward, Qin Yuyan and Lu Wanwan were also there. Gu Hai was dressed in a hospital gown, and he had to comfort Lu Wanwan, whose eyes were red from crying.

“Honey, I’m really fine. Look at my body. All the spare parts are fine, not even a hair is missing. Don’t cry, it’s alright.”

When Ye Xiao walked in, Lu Wanwan was a little embarrassed. She immediately turned her head away and used her sleeve to wipe the corners of her eyes.

Qin Yuyan tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear and greeted him with a gentle smile.

“You’re here too.”

Ye Xiao nodded.

He put the fruit and milk aside.

“How are you? Are you hurt?”

“I’m not hurt. I’m fine. The food is delicious. The doctor said that I’m fine, but Wanwan didn’t believe it and insisted on crying.”

“She was worried about you too. You, on the other hand, went on a mission and didn’t make a sound. You didn’t even call home.”

“I wanted to call too, but during the battle, I lost my phone. I don’t know where it went. Later on, the signal of all electronic devices was blocked, so I had no way of contacting anyone.”

Ye Xiao’s expression did not change, nor did he mention the matter of the text message. He only said indifferently,

“I told you before you went to not be too reckless. If the situation isn’t looking good, run away. In the end, you even lost your phone.”

“How would I know it was so dangerous? But this time, it’s all thanks to that mysterious martial artist of Jianghai city. If it weren’t for him, I really wouldn’t have been able to come back.”

“You’re lucky.”

At that point, Lu Wanwan felt a little nauseous. Qin Yuyan said worriedly,

“I’ll take Wanwan down to get some fresh air. You two can chat here.”

“Okay!”

After the two women left, Gu Hai said mysteriously,

“Old Ye, the two of them were here just now so I didn’t want to say anything but… Take a guess, what do you think I heard when I was on the verge of death?”

Ye Xiao shook his head.

“I don’t know.”

“I’ll scare you if I tell you but… it was your voice!”

“Are you out of your mind?”

Ye Xiao was speechless while Gu Hai chuckled.

“Isn’t it crazy? My soul was infected at that time and my consciousness was blurry! However, I didn’t hear anyone else’s voice. Be it Wanwan, my parents, or even Red Romance’s Ali’s voice. I didn’t hear any of them but I heard yours!

“What does that mean? It means that I really have a deep brotherly love for you, as deep as the sea, the sea… Anyway, you’re even closer to me than a biological brother!”

“Can you not make it so mushy? It makes me sick.”

“What’s there to be afraid of? I’m straight as a ruler. Even if I were to hug you to sleep, I wouldn’t attack you.”

“Scram.”

“Hahahaha…”

After laughing for a short while, Gu Hai’s tone started to become a little depressed, and his eyes turned slightly red.

“Old Ye, don’t take any of this seriously. I’ve been holding it in for a long time. If I don’t say something funny, I’m afraid I won’t be able to hold it in.”

Ye Xiao did not say anything else. He knew how much pressure Gu Hai was feeling in his heart. The exaggeration on the surface just now was all a cover-up.

After all, not only did he walk out of a hell on earth, he had also lost quite a few teammates.

“Do you have cigarettes?”

“There are two boxes of Zhonghua hidden in the fruit bag I bought for you just now.”

“You know me better than I do. You know that the hospital doesn’t allow smoking, so you helped me sneak in two boxes.”

Gu Hai took out the cigarette box, but after thinking for a moment, he put the cigarettes back.

“Old Li likes to smoke. In order to protect me, he was torn to shreds by the tiger demons and star beasts. I would be letting him down by smoking.”

He wiped the corners of his eyes and continued,

“I’m not afraid that you’ll laugh at me. But at that time, my pants were wet.

“Before I joined the mission, I thought that it was not much different from what was shown on TV. I only realized the dangers after I encountered them.

“At that time, I thought that if I didn’t waste my time and cultivated properly, my cultivation level would increase by two or three levels. During the battle, I could at least protect one or two of my companions. I wouldn’t become a stumbling block or a hindrance to others.

“However, the reality was that I was too useless. Not only did I not put in much effort, but I even caused Old Li’s death.

“I’m the one who deserves to die.”

“It’s good that you’re alive.”

Ye Xiao consoled him, but Gu Hai shook his head and blew his nose. His eyes revealed a hint of maturity that Ye Xiao had never seen in him before.

“I always could not understand in the past that people died all the time in the global garrison team! However, everyone still joined the garrison team one after another. Why? For what?

“But now, I understand.

“The garrison team… The garrison team was created to protect.

“It was precisely because of the garrison team that there was peace for the common people. Our family, friends, and future generations would always be able to live in peace and continue to live on!

“I’m already in my twenties. I can’t dawdle any longer.

“Old Ye, I’m preparing to go to the special training camp. I want to cultivate well and be a true man who protects his family and country!”

“The special training camp is very tough.”

“Then I want to participate! I have a wife and children. I have to contribute to this world! As long as we men do our best, wives and children can live a stable life!”

Ye Xiao nodded.

“Since you have such determination, then I wish you success.”

“Thank you. But don’t tell Wanwan about this first. I’m afraid she won’t agree.”

“Don’t worry.”

The two exchanged a few more pleasantries. Only when Qin Yuyan and Lu Wanwan returned did Ye Xiao bid them farewell and leave.

Walking out of the hospital, the pitter-patter of light rain was still falling. Ye Xiao did not use his spiritual energy to protect his body. Instead, he slowly took a step forward and allowed the rain to wet his clothes.

Gu Hai’s words made his bottleneck, which he had been unable to break through, inexplicably loosen up a little.

What was the meaning of martial arts?

What was the purpose of becoming stronger?

For fun?

For fame?

To show off his strength and make everyone submit to him?

No!

None of these were true.

A nameless fluctuation slowly began to spread from Ye Xiao’s body…