Chapter 260 - Ling’er

The name that sounded in his ears instantly caused a stir in his heart. The face and figure of a girl uncontrollably surfaced in his mind.

Su Ling’er, the girl who was his heaviest pain, the girl whom he was the most sympathetic for, who was also the biggest regret in his lifetime, was engraved deeply in his heart. Her eyes were forever that gloomy, as she had forever been silently caring, keeping watch, spending all efforts, and waiting for him… However, even after all the efforts that she had spent, until the moment she died, she never managed to wait for his return.

He knew that she carried a blood feud, yet, in the end, he never knew what her past was. She refused to tell him, and even until her death in his arms, she was unwilling to tell him whose deadly hands she died under… Because she was unwilling to pass on another layer of vengeance to him, who had long lost himself in his own vengeance. However, the more important reason, was still himself… If he could have cared for her more, and was more persistent in knowing about her past, he could have definitely known of her enemies much earlier.

That bamboo grove, that small, simple and crude bamboo house, that small creek that was forever so clear, the girl who stayed there, who would only wait and keep watch for him… formed all of the memories of him and Su Ling'er. She had gave her everything for him, truly, without any regrets, from the bottom of her heart. Yet he had never done anything for her, not even the simplest of promises. When he embraced her for the last time, his heart was so broken that he cried and wailed loudly. No matter how he hatefully smashed his head repeatedly against a rock, he was unable to get back the chance to repay her in the slightest.

Whenever the memories regarding Su Ling'er surfaced, he would always suffocate for a moment from the pain in his heart.

He turned his gaze and looked towards the little girl who fell on the ground, who was about to land in the hands of those three black-clothed men.

She too, was called Su Ling'er, and had exactly the same name as the Ling'er he had already lost… Yun Che stood up. Facing this little girl who had the same name as her, he was destined to not just ignore the scene. Because the name “Su Ling'er”, had toggled that forever most sensitive, and weakest nerve of his. If he had the opportunity to repay her even the slightest bit, even if he had to sacrifice half of his life, he would not hesitate in the slightest.

After the black-clothed man grabbed onto the little girl’s clothes, he instantly picked her small body up, and said with a sinister smile. “This sure is a stubborn little brat, to actually be able to run so far… Hehe, now that his daughter has landed in our hands, I really want to see if old man Su Huangshan will still be as obstinate!”

“You… You bad people! Papa will definitely save me, and then beat all of you down!” Even though the little girl’s eyes were filled with fear, she did not cry. Stubbornly holding back her tears, she struggled and shouted in the black-clothed man’s hands.

“Hahahaha!” The black-clothed man laughed out wildly. “Then that will really be the best outcome, I really hope to have him here! I really want to see if that Su Huangshan…”

Before the black-clothed man's words fell, a violent wind suddenly struck from behind.

At the most, the strength of these three black-clothed men were at the mid-level of the Spirit Profound Realm. To Yun Che, they were barely any threat. However, to protect the little girl’s safety, Yun Che still decided to silently approach them, and instantly unleash his strength once he had reached a sufficient distance. Like an eagle suddenly diving straight down to catch its prey, he charged towards the black-clothed man who was holding onto Su Ling'er, and heavily smashing the defenseless black-clothed man away. At the same time, he snatched over the little girl who was in his hands, and carried her in his arms.

“Ah——” The frightened little girl let out a shriek, and subconsciously hugged onto Yun Che’s arms tightly.

Very quickly, Yun Che steadied his body. With his back facing the three black-clothed men, he gently placed the little girl down, and then said with a smile. “Little sister, do not be afraid. I’m here to save you. With me here, you will definitely not be abducted by these bad people.”

The little girl was frightened repeatedly, and was still in a little state of shock. But, when she saw Yun Che’s warm eyes and his kindest smile, it was as though a clear wind had swept away the fear in her heart. A huge degree of the fear had dispersed in an instant, and her eyes had become watery as well. She looked at Yun Che, and strongly nodded. With her two small hands, she tightly grabbed onto the corner of Yun Che’s clothes, and hid behind his back.

“Where did this random brat come from? To actually dare to step into our Blackwood Stronghold’s business, I think you’re tired of living!!”

When he was silently attacked by Yun Che from the back at such close proximity, the black-clothed men were initially frightened, as they thought they had encountered a strong enemy. However, after inspecting and finding out Yun Che’s profound energy was only at the first level of the Spirit Profound Realm, his heart completely calmed down as his voice became low and ruthless.

Yun Che grabbed onto the little girl’s small hand and shielded her behind his back. Then, he turned his head over, and coldly laughed. “In front of a child, I don’t wish to see blood. I will give you five seconds… Scram, immediately!!”

Yun Che’s words stunned the three black-clothed men. Then, as though they had heard a funny joke, all three of them began to laugh out wildly, to the point where they could not even stand straight.

“He’s telling us to scram! He’s actually telling us to scram!? Ahahahaha!”

“Yo! This kid is actually at the first level of the Spirit Profound Realm at such a young age, it’s no wonder he’s so arrogant…”

“His talent is pretty good, but as for his brain, he’s basically not even comparable to an idiot. Death is at his footsteps, yet he’s actually telling us to scram, hahahaha…!

The three of them wilfully laughed out with ridicule, and their gaze on Yun Che was as though they were looking at a pitiful idiot. And as to how Yun Che was looking at them, it was filled with even more disdain and pity.

The black-clothed man on the left twisted his hand, took a step forward, and kicked towards Yun Che. His eyes were filled with scorn. “Come! Let this granddaddy teach you some morals!”

Yun Che narrowed his eyes. Like a flash of lightning, he greeted the black-clothed man’s kicking right leg with a smashing fist.

Bang!!

The loudness of the sound of this exchange, was completely out of the three black-clothed men’s predictions. Following that, an incomparably clear “crack” resounded, and the black-clothed man’s wild laughter stopped as his face distorted completely. His entire body was sent flying far away, as though he was a scrap bag being blown away by a hurricane, and accompanying it was an incomparably sharp scream that went further and further away...

Yun Che’s arm strength was that freakish. If not for the need to mind about the little girl behind him, if he had used more of his strength as a pushing force, that black-clothed man’s right leg would have shattered into fragments on the spot.

Seeing that terrifying black-clothed man actually being sent flying away like a huge bird, the little girl’s mouth was wide open in an “O” shape, and she even let out a subconscious “Waah” sound.

With this single exchange, the wild laughter of the two other black-clothed men were completely stucked in their throats as well. Their eyes sank inwards, their expressions paled in aghast. Even if they were idiots, they should be able to realize how terrifying that one strike Yun Che threw out earlier was. The strength of the youth in front of them, was unimaginably stronger than what they had thought by several times; he was someone whom they were not even worthy of offending.

The two people’s gaze on Yun Che changed from that of scorn, to fear. At the same time, they began to retreat. Seeing that Yun Che did not have the intention to chase after them, without even daring to utter another word, they ran far away for their lives, and very quickly, they disappeared from Yun Che’s sight.

He did not know what identities these people held, so naturally, he would not have the intention to ruthlessly slaughter them. Since they fled, Yun Che did not bother to chase after them. He turned around, looked at the little girl who had the same name as Su Ling'er, only to realize that she was currently raising her small face and looking at him with her watery eyes that were filled with little stars.

Yun Che had originally wanted to say something, but when he looked at her small face, the words that he was about to let out were suddenly sealed in his throat, as his entire being stood there in a daze...

The little girl looked about ten years old. Her little face was snow-white and refined, her make-up made her look even more beautiful and cute, and her pair of pupils sparkled like the stars in the night sky. It could be expected that when she grew up, she would definitely be a beauty at a catastrophic level.

And what made Yun Che absent-minded was that this little girl’s features, were filled with… Su Ling'er’s reflection!

Her contours, eyebrows, nose, lips, chin… all of them were so very similar to Su Ling'er’s. When they were joined together, she looked so much like a smaller and younger version of Su Ling'er. Only her eyes were evidently not the same. Because, the eyes of his Su Ling'er were always so dim, and were always filled with sadness that could cause one’s heart to ache. While this little girl’s eyes were sparkling even brighter than a gem, and even more spirited than a stream, as though they had gathered the purest of spiritual energy between the heaven and earth.

“Ling… er…”

Su Ling'er’s face surfaced in front of him. Within his blurry vision, it slowly overlapped with the little girl’s. He subconsciously reached out his hand, and gently stroking the girl’s tender cheeks with quivering fingers and soul. This action of his did not incite the little girl’s rejection. She looked at Yun Che strangely, blinked her eyes, and politely said. “Big brother, thank you for saving me… Big brother, you’re so incredible, you instantly sent the bad guy flying towards the sky, just as… you’re just as incredible as my Papa!”

The little girl’s words woke Yun Che up from his hallucination. Realizing his loss of decorum, he hurriedly regained his senses and revealed a smile on his face. “There is no need for thanks, bad people should always receive punishment… You’re called… Su Ling'er, right?”

“Mn!” The little girl nodded. She was stronger than Yun Che had imagined. Seeing her current expression, it seemed that her fear earlier had completely disappeared, and she no longer needed him to console her. She tilted her head. “Big brother, how do you know my name?”

“I heard it when they shouted for you. Then… little sister, how old are you this year?” Yun Che asked with a smile.

“Ten years old!” The little girl reached out her two hands, stretched her ten fingers, and said with a huge grin. It seemed as though, to her, reaching ten years old was a very incredible achievement. She then asked him back. “Then, big brother, what’s your name?”

“Me? I’m called Yun Che.” Yun Che answered directly without hiding anything.

“Yun… Che?” The little girl blinked her eyes, and said softly. “Such a strange name… Uuu… Why does it sound strange…”

After Yun Che reported his name, the little girl suddenly entered into a state of deep thought. With her finger pressing on the side of her chin, she tilted her head as she looked at Yun Che, as though she was trying hard to recall something.

“What is it? Is my name that strange?” Yun Che laughed.

The little girl strongly blinked her eyes again, and then, with thirty percent confusion, and seventy percent seriousness, she asked. “Big brother, have we met before in the past? Why do I feel as though I have met big brother somewhere… Even big brother’s name, has a little… sense of familiarity to it.”

“Haha!” Yun Che laughed, he could not help but hold onto the girl’s little face with his hands. “Me too! Not only is little Ling’er’s name the same as someone who is very important to me, you even look very similar. This sort of very mysterious feeling, is called fate. It means that little Ling'er and I have a strong fate, and we will become very good friends.”

“Fate?” The little girl mulled over this word very seriously, and following after, her thin eyebrows smiled into two slender crescents. “Mn! As long as big brother doesn’t hate me, I’m willing to become very good friends with big brother!”

……………………………………

Author Note: In the initial story settings, Azure Cloud Continent and Illusory Demon Realm each had their own unique division of their profound strength levels. When comparing their big realms and small realms with Profound Sky Continent, only their names are different. In the earlier parts of the story, it had been casually mentioned as well… But after thinking about it later, so as to not cause confusion to everyone and myself (the key point is myself), it’s still best to use one universal set of names!! Everything is: Elementary, Nascent, True, Spirit, Earth, Sky, Emperor, Tyrant, Sovereign, Divine, Saint!