Chapter 2301 - 2299: They Died, and Ye Tianchen’s Heart Ached

Chapter 2301: Chapter 2299: They Died, and Ye Tianchen’s Heart Ached

He’s back!

When Ye Tianchen finally located Desolate Stone Village, that pair of troublemakers Little Zhu Yan and the God Beating Bowl dragged him to the foot of a great waterfall. Beneath that waterfall was a deep pool, and the strange thing was, hidden inside that deep pool below the falls was a whole other world—a secret Underground Palace. The people of Desolate Stone Village were hiding here!

Entering the Underground Palace, Ye Tianchen saw many people. Most of them were still the same old faces from the past. Little Zhu Yan and the God Beating Bowl had grown stronger, the four Disciples had also become powerful, Hu Gao and Tian Boguang were still the same pair of lunatics as ever. But the one thing Ye Tianchen did not see were those four women—the four women who had desperately defended Desolate Stone Village when he left. Not a single one of them showed up. This made Ye Tianchen suspicious, made him uneasy. When he asked about those four women, Hu Gao tried to stop Tian Boguang from telling the truth. Ye Tianchen’s heart sank. He knew something must have happened. Even so, he forced down his emotions, not wanting to reveal anything. Right now, the situation on all of Earth, the entire world, was extremely critical. If he couldn’t hold himself together, then the people of Desolate Stone Village would lose their pillar, their backbone. How would they survive then?

"Tell me, what exactly happened to them? No matter what it is, I’ll accept it." Ye Tianchen asked Tian Boguang with a faint smile.

"They..." Tian Boguang had just opened his mouth to speak, when Hu Gao cut him off again!

"Brother Tian, why don’t we... talk about it later?" Hu Gao hesitated and asked.

"Why later? I want to know right now!" Ye Tianchen said, his whole body exuding an aura that brooked no refusal.

Hu Gao frowned, and Tian Boguang also pondered for a moment. He glanced at Ye Tianchen, then smiled and said to the others, "All of you go back. Do your own thing. Tonight we’ll prepare to celebrate Brother Ye’s return. Hu Gao and I will take him to a place first."

Little Zhu Yan, the God Beating Bowl, Ming Jue, Tian Feng, Cai Meier, and the villagers around them all looked a bit forlorn and sorrowful when they heard Tian Boguang’s words. But they were very sensible; they said nothing and quietly left.

"Come on, the three of us are going to enjoy the scenery." Tian Boguang said with a bitter smile.

"We’re going to see those four women, aren’t we?" Ye Tianchen thought for a moment and asked.

"You’ll know when we get there. Right, Hu Gao, go grab a few jars of wine." Tian Boguang said to Hu Gao.

Hu Gao nodded and walked off to the side. Tian Boguang said nothing more to Ye Tianchen and simply headed forward. Ye Tianchen froze for a moment, then followed behind him.

About an hour later, Ye Tianchen, following Tian Boguang, arrived at a very peculiar place. You could say the entire Underground Palace was strange, like a self-contained small world. In this small world, besides a stone chamber where people could live, there was also a small hill, like a miniature world suitable for habitation. Ye Tianchen and Tian Boguang had come to this small hill.

"We’re here. You go in front. Every time I come here, I let someone else go ahead. It’s cruel to you, I know, but I still can’t handle this scene..." Tian Boguang looked at Ye Tianchen, his tone tinged with sadness.

Ye Tianchen took one look at Tian Boguang, his own nerves stretched tight. Tian Boguang had said he was taking him to see those four women, yet he had brought him to this part of the Underground Palace—an empty place with no inhabitants, like a barren hill. Were those four women here? Could it be... It was hard not to think of a certain kind of scene.

After Ye Tianchen walked less than a hundred meters forward, he suddenly stopped dead in his tracks. He froze on the spot, motionless, his expression indescribable. His vision blurred; he felt tears surging up, his heart aching, tears falling. A feeling he couldn’t even name suddenly rushed into his chest, choking him.

Barren hill!

Gravestones!

Lonely graves!

Those were the six words Ye Tianchen could find to describe what he saw atop the small hill!

A barren hill!

Four lonely graves!

The names carved on them were clear as day: "Grave of Shuanger," "Grave of Dongfang Meng," "Grave of Zhang Ruotong," "Grave of Liu Rumei"...

Ye Tianchen had never imagined that when he followed Tian Boguang here, what he’d see would be such a scene: a small hill with four solitary graves standing upon it, and those four lonely graves really were the graves of Shuanger, Dongfang Meng, Zhang Ruotong, and Liu Rumei!

In fact, back when Tian Boguang’s words had grown vague and Hu Gao had tried to stop him from speaking, Ye Tianchen already had a bad feeling. But he’d never thought it would be four lonely graves—that these four women, who had such deep ties with him, such entangled love and hate, would all be dead!

One can well imagine what sort of relationship Ye Tianchen had with these four women, what kind of bond. They had been through life and death together, their feelings so deep they needed no words. They loved Ye Tianchen deeply, and Ye Tianchen had always kept them in mind, day and night. To Ye Tianchen, his heart already carried guilt; he felt he owed these women too much. No matter what he did, it would never be enough to make up for it. Yet before he had any chance to make amends, the four of them were dead. For a moment, Ye Tianchen truly could not accept it...

"It’s been over a year. Hu Gao and I buried them here with our own hands. After that, we never came back. Even if we passed by, we’d deliberately avoid this place. We..." Before Tian Boguang had finished speaking, Ye Tianchen almost collapsed to the ground!

Pff!

A mouthful of blood sprayed out. Ye Tianchen’s face turned deathly pale, his whole body on the verge of collapse. Tian Boguang rushed forward to support him, speaking solemnly, "Brother, it’s already happened. They’re already gone. Hurting yourself won’t change anything!"

Ye Tianchen clenched his teeth. He didn’t know why he hurt so much right now—his whole heart felt like it was being ripped apart, a pain that couldn’t be stopped, spreading to every part of his body. He didn’t even have the strength to stand. Only now did Ye Tianchen realize just how deeply he loved these four women. He had always loved them; he just hadn’t felt it clearly. One thing after another had overwhelmed him, leaving him no time to think of this. Only now did he understand that the love had long since taken root in his heart!

"Brother Tian, help me over. I want to take a look." Ye Tianchen sighed.

"Brother, they’re already..." Tian Boguang wanted to talk him out of it, but saw Ye Tianchen struggling forward step by step. He froze for a moment, then finally understood just how important these women were to Ye Tianchen. He said nothing more, and simply helped Ye Tianchen walk on.

They climbed the small hill and came to the four lonely graves. Seeing the weeds on the mounds, Ye Tianchen paused, then simply sat down on the ground before the four gravestones. Staring at the names carved into the stone, he wiped the tears from his eyes. They say real men don’t cry easily—unless they reach the point of utter heartbreak. As a decisive Martial Artist, as a tough man, he wasn’t supposed to cry. But people all have feelings. Those truly devoid of all emotion aren’t strong—they’re Devils.

"I’m back. I really am back..." Ye Tianchen said with a bitter smile to the four gravestones.

Tian Boguang stood off to the side. Though he was an unreliable sort, he wasn’t heartless. He knew Ye Tianchen was deeply hurt right now, that any words would be useless. This was something Ye Tianchen had to think through and comprehend on his own.

"You must have waited for me for a long time, right? Ever since I left, you must have been thinking of me, worrying about me. But I crawled back from the brink of death, and you... Why did you end up like this? Why didn’t you wait for me to come back?" Ye Tianchen said, clenching his fists tight.

Hu Gao walked over and handed Ye Tianchen a jar of wine. Ye Tianchen didn’t say a word, just opened the jar and began drinking in great gulps. He hurt, he felt awful, and it seemed that only by downing this wine could he dull the pain a little, at least gain a fleeting moment of cold clarity.

"Brother Ye, don’t drink too..." Hu Gao wanted to speak, but stopped halfway, not knowing what to say.

"What exactly happened? What the hell went down?" Ye Tianchen frowned and asked quietly.

Tian Boguang came over, glanced at Hu Gao, and motioned for him to sit to the side. Then Tian Boguang sat to Ye Tianchen’s left, and Hu Gao to his right. The two of them looked at Ye Tianchen, then each opened a jar of wine and started drinking. None of them spoke at first. Maybe this was the way of brotherhood between men—you didn’t need many words, just shared the pain.

"A bit more than a year ago, before the Magic Law of Earth changed, before the Magic Laws of the Martial Arts World had invaded, those Spiritual Medicines you had those Demon Beasts deliver did indeed save my life. But the Nine Netherworld and the Blood Killing Organization still kept coming after us. Desolate Stone Village remained extremely dangerous. And then one day..." Tian Boguang looked up at the opening in the ceiling, his eyes filled with rage.

So that’s how it was!

Over a year ago, after the Nine Netherworld failed to wipe out Desolate Stone Village that time, the Blood Killing Organization once again found the village. One can imagine how deeply Ye Tianchen had offended these two Dark forces—they wanted nothing more than to slaughter everyone in Desolate Stone Village. In such circumstances, the village’s plight was obvious. Worst of all, that old undying bastard from the Blood Killing Organization, the one they called the "King of Killers," took action personally...