After leaving the docks, Qin Fan didn’t head straight for the Qiao Family. Instead, he rushed back to Jiangzhou at full speed, pushing his Golden Core Stage abilities to their absolute limit. A journey of over a thousand kiloters took him less than an hour.
He appeared outside the Qin Family’s mansion in Jiangzhou. The once gloriously prestigious estate now lay dilapidated and desolate. Its gloomy silence was a clear testant to the family’s downfall.
Rather than pushing open the main gate, Qin Fan leaped over the surrounding wall. He glanced at the withered, neglected vegetation as he walked step by step toward the grand residence deep within the manor.
The mansion was utterly silent, the bustling sounds of life long gone. Even the staff who used to work there were nowhere to be seen, giving the impression that the building was abandoned. If not for his Divine Sense perceiving a presence within, Qin Fan would have assud it was a derelict house.
He walked up the steps and into the mansion’s main hall. The rich aroma of tea imdiately wafted toward him.
"You’re here."
In the center of the hall, Qin Jie sat in the Taishi Chair once reserved for old Master Qin. He took a sip of steaming tea and exhaled.
"Why?" Qin Fan asked, his voice stern and his face expressionless as he gazed at the man in the chair.
"Why? Don’t you know why?" Qin Jie gave a self-mocking smile, steadied the Taishi Chair, and lifted his vacant eyes to look at Qin Fan with profound sadness.
"You hate ," Qin Fan stated, the words sounding foolish even to himself.
But Qin Jie’s response took him by surprise. "No," he said slowly, shaking his head. "Honestly, I don’t hate you. This is the Qin family’s own doing, rely Heavenly Dao Reincarnation."
"Then why did you do it? You know the truth will eventually co out. The day it does is the day I co to make you pay," Qin Fan said, his gaze burning into Qin Jie.
Heh heh.
Hearing this, Qin Jie laughed—a carefree, indifferent laugh.
"I know. I understand everything. You beca famous in a single battle, a young Grandmaster who slew a Transformation Realm master atop Ei Mountain’s Golden Summit. How could I not know the consequences of my actions?
"But I had no choice, even though I don’t hate you. Qin Jiang was my elder brother, and Qin Jun was my second brother. You infuriated the old matriarch to death. Not to ntion all the descendants and relatives of our Qin family—because of you, not a single one t a good end.
"Yes, they all brought it upon themselves. I don’t hate you. But I had to do sothing, because the blood of the old Qin family flows in my veins. I’m not afraid of death. What I fear is not knowing how to face our ancestors in the Netherworld."
Facing Qin Fan’s direct stare, Qin Jie did not look away, uttering each word with slow, self-mocking resolve.
"My parents are my reverse scale," Qin Fan said, his voice cold and flat.
"Yes, I know. But is it realistic to make a move on a young Grandmaster who can kill a Transformation Realm master? It isn’t. That’s why I had to target your parents. The Japanese approached , offering a bounty of one billion US dollars to kidnap them and take them to an ocean port in Shanghai, where they would arrange for a handover. I accepted. I knew that if sothing happened to your parents, you would certainly go to Japan, where a disaster would likely await you. This was the core of my plan—I wanted you to die there.
"But I never expected you to discover it was and find so quickly. By my calculations, they should have already arrived in Shanghai. Your presence here, however, proves the crisis has been averted. It seems I underestimated you. Heh, this defeat is deserved—truly deserved."
There was no anger, no resentnt, no hatred. Qin Jie recounted everything with unnerving calm. For him, he had already seen through it all.
Since the Qin family’s downfall, with its mbers either dead or imprisoned, he had long been disheartened and disillusioned with life itself. Every day, every hour, every minute was torture. He knew that if this continued, he would succumb to depression and die from it. But before his death, he felt he had to do sothing worthy of facing his ancestors in the afterlife.
Unfortunately, he failed.
The coldness in Qin Fan’s eyes began to fade as he looked at Qin Jie, who seed to have aged decades in an instant. "I’m grateful that you and your daughter didn’t join the others in kicking my family while we were down," he said, his voice tinged with sorrow. "Why couldn’t you cherish that hard-won fortune? Isn’t it good to be alive?"
"No, it’s not good at all. This so-called life is nothing but torture for . I am in constant agony. From the mont I accepted the mission from the Japanese, I prepared for the worst-case scenario: you discovering my plot and ending my life. Now, the worst has co to pass. I have no regrets. Perhaps this was fate’s true design," Qin Jie said.
"rcy is not in my vocabulary, nor is burying the hatchet, especially when soone has touched my reverse scale. Third Uncle, this is the first and last ti I will ever call you that." Although the coldness in his eyes had receded, the resolve in Qin Fan’s gaze did not waver in the slightest.
"Thank you for calling Third Uncle. Little Fan, this matter has nothing to do with Moran. She is completely unaware. Moreover, she has already left for England. Promise you will let her go. Every debt has its debtor. The Qin family’s downfall was its own making, and my current predicant is a result of my own actions. Please, spare Moran. This is not a request; it’s a plea." Qin Jie took a deep breath, pulled a small bottle of brown liquid from his pocket, and looked at Qin Fan with pleading eyes.
"I can. As long as she doesn’t court death, she will live well. But the prerequisite is that she doesn’t go looking for it," Qin Fan said, glancing at the bottle before giving a slight nod.
"Thank you. Life and death are fated. As her father, this is all I can do for her. As for her future, that will depend on the fortunes of her own destiny." Qin Jie nodded and gave a wry smile.
With that, he unscrewed the glass bottle containing the brown liquid.
POP!
The stopper ca out. With a frank expression, Qin Jie raised the odorless bottle. He gestured with it toward Qin Fan and smiled.
"I’m tired of living. It’s ti for so release. Little Fan, farewell."
He raised the bottle to his lips and tilted his head back, draining the brown liquid in an instant.
The mont the bottle was empty, it slipped from his grasp.
CLANK!
At the sa ti, Qin Jie’s eyes shot wide open. His face turned a deathly ashen color, twisting in agony. But the pain only lasted for a few seconds.
THUD!
Losing all consciousness, his body collapsed heavily to the floor.
Without a flicker of emotion, Qin Fan slowly walked over to Qin Jie, who had taken his own life. He knelt, reached out to close the man’s wide, staring eyes, and only then did he softly utter two words.
"Rest in peace."
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