"...What are you people doing? I’m just a passerby."
Inside a completely surrounded airport corridor, Lin Fan’s face was expressionless as he coldly scanned his surroundings. Eventually, he fixed his gaze on the face of a middle-aged warrior striding toward him.
"...By the Old Commander’s orders, you are to leave the Imperial Capital imdiately and never to return."
Their eyes t, and both the middle-aged warrior and Lin Fan looked montarily distant. His na was Tie Hao. He had once been the personal aide-de-camp to the Commander of the three hundred thousand Hulin Guard on the front lines of the Northern War Zone. After Mr. Xia Sr. retired and entrusted the position of Commander to Lin Fan, Tie Hao had loyally followed the old man back to the Imperial Capital, becoming the captain of the Xia family’s guard.
It had been seven years since they last saw each other. Now, these old acquaintances were reunited, yet they could not acknowledge one another. They were even on the verge of ard conflict.
"Old Commander..."
Lin Fan silently clenched his jaw, a complex look surfacing in his eyes. He revered the man like a ntor, but after the great upheaval seven years ago, Mr. Xia Sr. had completely ignored him.
Night after night, Lin Fan had hoped that soone would co to Haicheng to clear his na and restore his honor. But what awaited him was the shocking news of his own death from a sudden illness, a matter settled and sealed with a state funeral.
"You should leave," Tie Hao said, his expression grave as he shook his head. "You really shouldn’t have co back, let alone shown your face."
"Why can’t I co back?" Hearing this, Lin Fan found it utterly ridiculous. "My na is Lin Fan now, just an ordinary Daxia person. Why can’t I step foot in the Imperial Capital?!"
"Because your appearance would cause a national uproar and lead to major disturbances!"
In the next mont, the ranks of warriors parted, revealing a narrow path. An old man with short, silver-white hair and a square, imposing face strode toward them.
He was the Family Head of the Imperial Capital’s Xia family.
He was the forr Great Commander of the three hundred thousand Hulin Guard on the northern front.
He was the Old Commander revered by the world as the National Guardian War God, Xia Jiangnan.
"Do you know what happened seven years ago after the news of your death spread across the country?"
As their eyes t, the corner of Mr. Xia Sr.’s eye twitched, his expression shifting through pity, nostalgia, and finally resolve. The old man sighed softly and slowly shook his head.
"Many of your staunchest followers couldn’t bear the blow. Unable to accept the reality, they chose to commit suicide en masse!
"Within the Hulin Guard, countless n wanted to appeal on your behalf, claiming you were frad and nearly causing a mutiny!
"Signs of wavering morale appeared in all major war zones, making the senior leaders extrely anxious!"
Mr. Xia Sr. took a deep breath, staring intensely at Lin Fan. "Now that you’ve suddenly reappeared, what are you to the nation and the military high command? A traitor, or a deserter?!"
BOOM!
The old man’s powerful, resonant voice thundered through the area. Many of the surrounding warriors, their fierce eyes turning red, looked away, unable to bear the sight. Tie Hao bit down hard, lowering his head and shutting his eyes tightly.
The young man before them had once been the pride of countless people in Da Xia Country. A War God victorious in every battle, a peerless prodigy of extraordinary talent.
But seven years ago, everything changed. He suddenly vanished without a trace. So said he had been bought by foreign powers for a huge sum, betraying national secrets and becoming a defector. Others said his youthful success had made him arrogant and unruly, ignorant of the ways of the world; he had made too many enemies and ultimately suffered the consequences.
Yet, deep down, everyone knew. A rising military star had fallen without any warning. It was a great loss for Xia Country and a deep, searing pain in the hearts of countless citizens.
"No! I am not a traitor, and I am certainly not so damn deserter!"
RIP!
Lin Fan’s eyes were bloodshot as he violently tore open his white shirt, revealing the lotus-shaped mark over his heart.
"I was poisoned! I almost died! I was frad!"
His heart-wrenching roar exploded like thunder. The surrounding crowd was visibly shaken. But Mr. Xia Sr., after a mont of shocked surprise, beca impassive and shook his head again.
"It’s too late. Everything is too late. When you died suddenly back then, your own father, Ying Wenyuan, personally reported you to the military.
"He claid that you and your mother, Lin Suxin, had colluded to sell national secrets and were planning to defect! He even produced irrefutable evidence, such as several large, unexplained transactions from foreign sources in your bank account.
"Several high-ranking military officials also ca forward to testify against you. They said you stubbornly refused to share the Qi Replenishing Pill formula because you were planning to hold out for the highest bidder and sell it to hostile foreign powers!"
Tie Hao’s eyes widened in disbelief, while the surrounding warriors exchanged stunned glances. They couldn’t believe there were such astonishing secrets behind what happened back then. After all, this man was the greatest honor of the Imperial Capital’s Ying family in over a hundred years. Who could have imagined that the one to backstab him was his own father, Ying Wenyuan!
"No! They’re lying! They frad my mom and !" Lin Fan’s body trembled, his fists cracking from the force of his grip. Veins bulged on his forehead as he teetered on the verge of losing control.
"That year, I was severely poisoned and on the brink of death. My mom was also frad by the Ying family, forced to take poison and fake her own death just to escape! Those animals thought we were both dead and could no longer speak for ourselves, so they frad and slandered us as they pleased!"
CRACK!
Lin Fan stomped forward heavily. A footprint an inch deep appeared in the hard floor tiles. Web-like cracks snaked forward, reaching all the way to Mr. Xia Sr.’s feet.
Tie Hao was horrified. He swallowed hard, his hand flying to his waist. The surrounding warriors erupted into motion, leveling their guns at Lin Fan as if facing a mortal enemy. No matter how much they pitied or revered the man before them, if he posed a threat to the Old Commander, he would be executed on the spot.
"Ying Bufan! What do you think you’re doing?" Mr. Xia Sr.’s face darkened as he bellowed.
RUMBLE! RUMBLE!
Lin Fan’s mind went blank. His body shuddered as if struck by lightning. This was the first ti in seven years that soone had called him by his forr na to his face—the na that had brought him countless honors and imasurable pain.
"No. I am not Ying Bufan. I have nothing to do with the Imperial Capital’s Ying family anymore." Lin Fan suddenly raised his eyes, his breath heavy as he snarled each word. "My na... is Lin! Fan!"
"I don’t care what your na is now! You are dead! You were buried by the state with the highest honors, and your soul should be at peace!"
Ignoring the alarm on Tie Hao’s face, Mr. Xia Sr. clasped his hands behind his back and strode boldly to stand before Lin Fan. His naturally imposing, square face was filled with cold disappointnt.
"The bodies of you and your mother were examined by the military. We had irrefutable testimony from your father, your stepmother Shen Yueli, and your grandmother, stating that you both committed suicide by taking poison out of guilt! The evidence is as solid as a mountain. Who could possibly overturn it?
"It was I who shalessly went around begging for favors to have your rits and derits cancel each other out, allowing us to announce to the public that you died of a sudden illness! You ungrateful kid, are you blaming for not getting you justice?"
The old man laughed in fury, puffing out his broad chest. "Co on! If you hold a grudge, then kill this old man first!"
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