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I've also recently started a new translation, please check it out and show your support! Douluo: Seven Kill Shock the World
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Lying on the bed, Liu Erlong's gaze remained fixed on Dai Chengfeng's retreating figure, her heart filled with complex and indescribable emotions.
Just as Dai Chengfeng was about to leave the room, she finally couldn't hold back and called out to stop him.
"What is it?"
Dai Chengfeng stopped in his tracks, turning around curiously.
"Th… thank you…"
Seeing Liu Erlong's gratitude, Dai Chengfeng was momentarily taken aback. He then shook his head and smiled warmly. "You're welcome."
With that, he opened the door and left, gently closing it behind him.
The room fell silent once more.
But Liu Erlong still stared at the spot where Dai Chengfeng had disappeared, murmuring softly, "Truly… thank you, Dai Chengfeng…"
After a long while,
Liu Erlong let out a soft sigh, pulling the blanket up to cover half her face. She inhaled the faint, refreshing scent lingering on the blanket, reminiscent of Dai Chengfeng's youthful presence.
"Sigh!"
"No wonder my cousin fell for Dai Chengfeng… Despite being the noble Fourth Prince of the Star Luo Empire, with immense talent and striking looks, he can cook and is so… so…"
"Gentle and considerate…"
"If it were me…"
The thought barely surfaced before Liu Erlong startled herself. She quickly shook her head forcefully, as if trying to rid her mind of this inappropriate idea.
She slowly closed her eyes, forcing herself to sleep, but the image of that boy with a gentle smile lingered stubbornly in her mind.
---
Outside Spirit City, in an unknown valley.
Despite just experiencing Liu Erlong's "betrayal," and despite the overwhelming anger and humiliation that surged through him every time he pictured Liu Erlong embracing Dai Chengfeng, Yu Xiaogang hadn't forgotten one crucial fact:
He was no match for Dai Chengfeng.
If he wanted revenge, if he wanted Liu Erlong and Dai Chengfeng to regret their actions—to the point of groveling for forgiveness—he would need to rely on his talented disciple, Tang San.
Thus, after purchasing lunch, Yu Xiaogang found an excuse to send Yu Tianheng away.
After all, hiding in this secluded valley were Tang San, Dai Mubai, Ma Hongjun, and Oscar—whose presence didn't matter—but Tang Hao's identity absolutely could not be exposed.
Yu Tianheng, though deeply concerned about his uncle Yu Xiaogang, had no choice but to nod heavily and depart reluctantly due to Yu Xiaogang's authority.
Meanwhile,
At the entrance of the valley, a figure clad in gray-brown leather with a prominent hooked nose paced anxiously.
Every so often, he would glance worriedly up the only path leading out of the valley.
Finally, he spotted a familiar figure in black clothing and a crew cut.
"Xiaogang! You're finally back!"
Flender, who had been waiting at the entrance, breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing Yu Xiaogang. He hurried over, his tone laced with concern. "You went out just to get lunch—how did you end up taking so long?"
"I thought something might have happened to you and was considering whether I should go look for you."
Yu Xiaogang didn't respond, seemingly oblivious to Flender's worry. His hollow gaze remained fixed ahead, his expression blank as he carried the food box past Flender and continued toward the open training grounds deeper in the valley.
"Xiaogang, you…"
Flender started to ask again, but only then did he suddenly notice that his close friend's demeanor was profoundly off.
An eerie sense of lifelessness and coldness seemed to emanate from deep within him.
"What happened? Did something really occur?"
With that thought, Flender's heart tightened. He quickened his pace to catch up, placing a hand on Yu Xiaogang's shoulder. His voice was filled with concern: "Xiaogang? What's wrong? What happened?"
"Talk to me!"
Finally, Yu Xiaogang abruptly stopped, spinning around with startling intensity.
Those eyes, which had always exuded "wisdom" tinged with a hint of melancholy, were now bloodshot, brimming with an unprecedented rage, pain, and madness that Flender had never seen before.
"Liu Erlong…"
Yu Xiaogang forced the name out through gritted teeth, his voice hoarse like sandpaper scraping against stone. "She… betrayed me!"
"What?!"
Upon hearing Yu Xiaogang's words, Flender felt as though struck by lightning, stunned into silence. He instinctively protested, "That's impossible!"
"Xiaogang, are you mistaken? Erlong feels so deeply for you…"
After all, Flender knew better than anyone how devoted Liu Erlong was to Yu Xiaogang.
"How could it be impossible?! I saw it with my own eyes!"
However, before Flender could finish, Yu Xiaogang had already growled out loud, cutting him off with an intensely agitated voice.
"At her secondary residence!"
"She and Dai Chengfeng… that bastard! They were holding each other tightly like that! Liu Erlong—Liu Erlong, that wretch didn't resist at all, just leaned into his arms!"
"Their intimacy…"
Flender, still clinging to a sliver of hope, ventured cautiously, "Xiaogang, perhaps… perhaps you misunderstood what you saw. Maybe there's been some mistake with Erlong?"
"This is my lifelong shame! How could I possibly misunderstand?!"
Yu Xiaogang roared furiously at Flender, as if the image of Dai Chengfeng and Liu Erlong embracing was replaying vividly in his mind.
His veins bulged, and his eyes were nearly bursting with rage.
Seeing Yu Xiaogang's unmistakably genuine, near-collapsed expression of despair, Flender's last shred of doubt vanished.
He knew Yu Xiaogang well and understood that he would never fabricate such a story.
"Liu Erlong is actually with… Dai Chengfeng?"
In an instant, a surge of extremely complex emotions overwhelmed Flender…
Though there was anger at his friend being betrayed, more prominent was jealousy—and a deep bitterness.
After all, the woman he had silently admired for years had… had thrown herself into someone else's arms.
And that person was practically their enemy under their current circumstances!
Flender's heart felt like a jumble of conflicting emotions, utterly chaotic.
"That… that wretch…"
"She will definitely regret this! I'll make sure both her and that bastard Dai Chengfeng pay for this!"
Yu Xiaogang continued to curse through clenched teeth, each word dripping with venomous hatred.
Soon, Yu Xiaogang glanced at the small jade bottle in his arms. Then, he roughly shoved the food box into Flender's arms. "You… take this lunch to Xiao San and the others."
"I… have something to do!"
With that, Yu Xiaogang ignored Flender completely. With unsteady steps but a determined, ruthless energy, he turned sharply and strode straight toward the crude wooden hut that belonged to him, deep within the canyon.
Bam!
The wooden door slammed shut behind Yu Xiaogang with a dull thud, cutting off the outside world entirely.
Inside the cramped, dimly lit hut, Yu Xiaogang leaned back against the cold door, his body trembling uncontrollably as he gasped for air. His chest heaved like a bellows.
The humiliation of betrayal, the agony of unfulfilled desires, the towering hatred for Dai Chengfeng, and the seething anger toward Liu Erlong's betrayal—
All these emotions intertwined.
With trembling hands, he retrieved the small, smooth jade bottle.
"Debts settled? No longer indebted?"
Yu Xiaogang muttered to himself, his voice dripping with sarcasm, his eyes flashing with a crazed hatred. "Liu Erlong! Do you think this pill can make up for your betrayal? Can it erase the shame you've brought upon me?"
"Never! It will never happen!"
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