Chapter 129: The Third Tale!

The old man knew that when Little Fatty missed him, he would cry and secretly wipe away his tears.

When Tang Fei missed him, he would scoff, sneer, and hurl vicious curses.

The stronger the longing, the harsher the curses.

He was a fellow who never easily revealed his emotions; he looked cold-blooded, but in truth, he was quite adorable.

Little Fatty could express his feelings without any restraint, but he, acting as the older brother, could not.

He had to be mature, composed, icy, ruthless, and calculating.

Yet, longing was still longing.

They were friends who shared everything, family members who lived day and night together, a father and sons bound by ties even deeper than blood.

How could he not miss them as well?

Once Tang Fei finished venting his emotions, the old man cautiously glanced at him and asked, "Are we alright now?"

"We are not alright." Tang Fei glared fiercely at the old man and said, "If you can't give me a reasonable explanation, I'll have Little Fatty smash your dog head with his skull hammer. I'm sure Little Fatty would be more than happy to do it."

"..."

The old man looked at Lu Zhiyong and said, "Let's go sit in your courtyard."

"Alright." Lu Zhiyong replied, taking the lead to guide the way.

When they were about to leave, all the rats and red bees that had previously been in a "system-frozen" state suddenly came back to life. Moving in swarms like a tide, they retreated and vanished instantly into the boundless mountains.

Tang Fei watched this with secret alarm. To raise and maintain such a mechanical army, what kind of immense wealth and advanced technological prowess must one possess?

Such a mountain, guarded by such a massive array—even if the empire dispatched a force of one hundred thousand troops, conquering it would be far from guaranteed.

And even if they finally captured it, the casualties would likely be countless.

No wonder the Imperial Family had always remained wary of the Nine Great Families. If the other eight families possessed the wealth and resources of the Gongshu family, the Phoenix Imperial Family would probably never have a peaceful night's sleep.

Realizing that he had already offended the Shen and Qin families of the Nine Great Families, Tang Fei felt a surge of deep regret and lingering fear.

If these behemoths truly set their minds on killing him, he really would have no way to fight back...

When he got back, he would have Feng Huang step forward, invite Shen Qingping and Qin Jian for a meal, and they could all drink together to let bygones be bygones. He would promise on the spot to forgive all their provocations and insults, sweeping their past faults out of his mind...

Even if they couldn't be friends, there was no need to resort to killing each other, right?

Arriving at Lu Zhiyong's courtyard, the old man said, "Lend me your secret chamber. The two of us need to have a heart-to-heart talk."

"Alright." Lu Zhiyong agreed readily.

Although he also wanted to know what heart-to-heart talk the big brother wanted to have with Tang Fei, since the big brother didn't want him to hear, he had no choice but to stand guard at the door.

The old man led Tang Fei into the secret chamber with practiced familiarity, then closed and locked the heavy, soundproof door. It seemed the two "brothers" frequently used this place for private matters.

The old man invited Tang Fei to sit down and then hovered around him like a fawning lackey, offering to peel fruit for him one moment and pour tea the next.

Tang Fei neither ate the fruit he peeled nor drank his tea. He simply sat there quietly, his attitude abundantly clear.

If you can't give me an explanation now, I'll give you one in a moment.

Helpless, the old man let out a heavy sigh and said, "Actually, I have my own unavoidable hardships..."

"Go ahead, I'm listening. I'd really love to hear just how unavoidable your hardships are..."

"Twenty years ago, I fell in love with a young woman. She was the Emperor's favorite daughter, the most revered Princess of the Empire..."

"..."

This story sounded a bit familiar.

"She was so gentle, intelligent, elegant, and generous. She was high above, like the bright moon in the sky. And I was just an ordinary mechanic, possessing nothing except my looks... The distance between us was simply too far, far too vast..."

The old man glanced at Tang Fei and said, "The Imperial Family refused to let us be together and tried every possible means to tear us apart. But no amount of hardship or danger could extinguish the fire of love burning between us..."

"I slept with the young woman and got her pregnant. When the Emperor found out, he flew into a rage and wanted to cut me into a thousand pieces..."

"To avoid implicating my beloved Princess and her unborn child... I had no choice but to assume a fake identity and flee alone to the distant Old Soil. You already know what happened afterward..."

Tang Fei looked at the old man and asked, "Is this your unavoidable hardship?"

"Yes," the old man nodded with a deadly serious expression, "Aren't you deeply moved? Don't you feel a deep sense of shared pain and grievance? We fell in love with a princess, but did we do anything wrong? No! What does love have to do with age, national borders, gender, status, or numbers?"

Tang Fei stood up and said expressionlessly, "I'm leaving."

"Wait, wait, wait..." The old man pushed Tang Fei back down onto the sofa and said, "I have another story, I have one more..."

"Tell it."

With a solemn expression and a moment of deep thought, the old man gritted his teeth and said, "You know, I was originally a mechanical genius of the Gongshu family. I became famous at a young age, drew the attention of the industry, and was a key focus of the family's cultivation. Everyone knew that, barring any accidents, I would be the next head of the Gongshu family..."

"Yet, predictably, an accident happened to me. One day, I suddenly couldn't make any creations at all—not even the most ordinary little wooden birds. Make one, and it breaks; make one, and it ruins... The younger generation in the family looked down on me, calling me a fool and a good-for-nothing. Some even questioned whether the works I made before were all plagiarized, paid for and commissioned from others..."

"..."

This story sounded very familiar, too.

"The elders in the family also constantly lectured and belittled me, trying to strip away my right to inherit the headship. And what was even more hateful was the girl I loved... We were childhood sweethearts who grew up together, yet she actually took the initiative to come find me and break off our engagement."

"Breaking off an engagement—how heavy a blow is that to a man? My pride, my dignity, my expectations and dreams for the future were all shattered! I ran away, fleeing to the Old Soil like a coward. I didn't dare face anything on the New Star, and could only eke out a miserable existence in an unfamiliar place where I knew no one."

The old man covered his face, his voice beginning to choke with sobs.

Tang Fei stared at the old man's head and said, "If you don't have a third story, I'm leaving."

"Don't, don't, don't..." The old man grabbed Tang Fei's arm and said, "How can you leave? It's been so hard for us to finally meet; we have to share a meal no matter what. Don't you like to drink? I have good wine here, centuries-old Qinghua Fen..."

"No need." Tang Fei looked into the old man's eyes and said, "I have to go back and cook for Little Fatty."

"I'll have someone bring Little Fatty over, and we can all get together! Doesn't Little Fatty like to eat meat? I'll send someone to hunt a wild mountain goat... You should try the goats on Mount Luban; they have red coats, and their meat is tender, juicy, and exquisite—truly one of a kind."

Tang Fei shook his head and said, "No need. I'll tell Little Fatty that you're still alive, and that you're doing very well..."

With that, Tang Fei stood up to leave.

"Tang Fei," the old man called out.

Tang Fei turned to look at the old man and said in a deep voice, "When I first saw Lu Siyu, when she asked me if I knew about the 'Heart of Nothingness,' and when the operational techniques she displayed had so much in common with the mechanical knowledge you taught me... My heart was filled with doubt, wondering if there was some connection between you two."

"Time and time again, I took the initiative to get closer, probing again and again, even seizing opportunities to tail you... I thought to myself, if you were on the New Star, I had to find you. Because you are... family to me and Little Fatty, our dearest relative..."

"We didn't know what trouble you had gotten into, but I thought, no matter what happened, we would bear it, face it, and resolve it together with you..."

"I even wondered if you had offended the Gongshu family, stolen their technology, or crossed some incredible big shot. If that were truly the case, perhaps having Feng Huang step forward to intercede could restore your freedom. I still have some savings left; if worst comes to worst, we could just pay everyone off..."

Tang Fei looked at the old man and said, "I don't know if you were the first person I saw when I opened my eyes, but for as long as I can remember, the person bustling around in front of me was always you."

"You fed me, helped me bathe, patched my shoes, and sewed my clothes—though you weren't actually good at sewing and poked your own hands several times. Later on, you started doing odd jobs for others or traded snacks with people in exchange for shoes and clothes..."

"When I got a little older, you took me hunting, taught me how to find caves, recognize wild beasts, understand the behavioral traits of every mutated creature, and how to kill them with a single strike. The first trap I ever made was taught to me by you, hand over hand, and my first machete was sharpened by you..."

"Every single thing I experienced in the past was closely tied to you. I called you Master, but you wouldn't allow it. You said you hadn't taught me anything..."

"You told Little Fatty and me to call you Godfather. Little Fatty did, but I never did. The reason I didn't call you that wasn't because I didn't want to, but because I felt..."

"I felt..." Tang Fei lowered his head, refusing to meet the old man's gaze, "You weren't my godfather; you were someone far more important than that title."

"..."

"After Little Fatty and I came to the New Star, every time we ate something delicious, we would think about how wonderful it would be if you were here. Every place we visited, we would think about how wonderful it would be if you were here. Even when lying in our big beds, Little Fatty would say how wonderful it would be if you were here... We made plans together to return to the Old Soil and find you when we had time, and no matter what, bring you up to the New Star this time."

"Because apart from you, the two of us have no other family left in this world..."

"We treated you as family, but you... you kept running away from us all this time."

"If keeping in touch brings you trouble, we can make it so we never contact each other again."

The old man returned to the sofa, sat down, and downed the tea in the cup before him in one gulp. Then he finished the cup he had poured for Tang Fei as well. Only then did he look up at Tang Fei and speak: "I have a third story... Do you want to hear it?"