Chapter 091 – Making Room - Part 1
Under the pale moonlight, its glow illuminating the willow branches swaying in the breeze, Li Yuan strolled along the lakeshore late at night with Tang Qiu by his side. They were there for an honest, heart-to-heart talk.
“Old Tang, how much longer can you live?”
“Two years.”
“Is there no cure for your injuries?”
“The medicine I need is with my enemies, a family of assassins called the He Family. They won’t sell it to me.” Tang Qiu replied.
Then the man gazed off in the distance, a look of melancholy on his face. “The He Family... They targeted my family of puppet makers, wanting to seize our skills and technique to strengthen their own power. They failed, but my family didn’t come out unscathed either; my entire Tang Family is gone.
“So, Young Master Li, you don’t have to worry about them seeking revenge. For one thing, the He Family is very far away; for another, they’re no longer in a position to come after anyone. Right now, they need to worry more about being devoured by their own enemies.”
Li Yuan gave him a pensive look. “Then why did you want to sell your daughter and leave by yourself?”
Tang Qiu fell silent for a moment before speaking again, "My wife and siblings all died at the He Family’s hands. Since I won’t live long, I thought I might drag those bastards to hell with me. And if I failed, at least when I meet my wife and brothers in the afterlife, I can say I tried.”
Li Yuan raised an eyebrow. “Yet now you’ve changed your mind.”
“Because I’m still a father. Yes, my heart is brimming with hatred and regret, but there’s also my daughter, Nian Nian. When your little girl is crying her eyes out, begging you not to leave her, saying that she won’t let you die...how does a father say no to that?”
His eyes, weary from a lifetime of hardship, turned red around the edges. A faint smile touched his lips—one that was neither bitter nor simply joyful, a mix of many emotions.