"Brother, you've been silent since you returned. Did something happen?"
It was seven in the evening in an apartment in Nanling. Ye Ziling tiptoed into Can Dao's room and asked, looking at him in his silence.
Ye Ziling was an orphan, abducted by human traffickers. She eventually escaped, and it was on her way to being recaptured that she met Can Dao.
At that time, Can Dao was utterly disillusioned with the world and had no intention of saving Ye Ziling. However, Ye Ziling's desperate pleas for help eventually moved him.
That day, Ye Ziling witnessed what true killing was, and on that day, she was reborn.
Can Dao was a very indifferent person, but Ye Ziling knew that beneath his cold exterior lay a warm heart; he was a genuinely good person.
"Ziling, get ready. We're moving."
Can Dao picked up the file bag given by Wolong with his left hand. A surge of flames erupted, and the file bag instantly turned to ash. With his right hand, he grasped the Ming Hong Dao and said to Ye Ziling.
"Moving?"
This was not an unfamiliar word for Ye Ziling. Over the years, she had followed Can Dao and moved almost every six months. This was because Can Dao had eliminated too many enemies for Lin Nianfo and offended too many people. If they didn't move, their enemies would have an opportunity.
However, the intelligent Ye Ziling sensed that Can Dao's expression this time was different. So she asked him, "Brother, it hasn't even been two months since our last move. Why the sudden decision to relocate?"
"Alright, then let's not use the word 'moving.' Let's use another word: come home with me."
Can Dao looked at Ye Ziling and said calmly.
"Home?" Ye Ziling was even more shocked. "Big Brother, I've lived with you for so many years, and I never knew you had a home. You never mentioned your relatives or friends. So you have family and friends?"
"Silly girl, I didn't pop out of a stone. Of course, I have family and friends. However, I haven't wanted to see them all these years, but now I have to."
"Pack your things. I've booked a flight for three hours from now. We'll leave Nanling together then."
"What? Leave Nanling?" Ye Ziling exclaimed in shock. "Big Brother, isn't your home in Nanling? Where are we going? Is it a very far place?"
"Not far. A few hours by plane. And the person you like is also there."
Can Dao looked at Ye Ziling and said calmly, "Haven't you always wanted to meet him? Where we're going, you'll be able to meet him."
"Brother Shen? Where is he?" Can Dao's words made Ye Ziling extremely excited.
"He's in Longdu, and Longdu is my home."
Can Dao said to Ye Ziling, "From today onwards, I will no longer be called Can Dao. My name is Qin Zangjing. That is my real name."
"Qin Zangjing?"
Ye Ziling noticed that when her elder brother uttered this name, his aura changed. At that moment, the dejection that had always clung to Can Dao was gone, replaced by a magnificent, ambitious spirit that commanded mountains and rivers. This gave her a sense of disorientation, as if the person before her was completely different from Can Dao.
"Silly girl, don't just stand there. Hurry and pack your things, or we'll miss the flight."
Qin Zangjing gently stroked Ye Ziling's cute head. He, who had never smiled, now let out a laugh.
Qin Zangjing's smile was gentle, making Ye Ziling feel as if she were basking in a spring breeze, an indescribable comfort. She quickly went to pack.
Just then, there was a knock on the apartment door. Qin Zangjing sensed a familiar aura and walked over to open it.
As the door swung open, Qin Lianyue's face met Qin Zangjing's eyes.
Seeing the person before him, Qin Zangjing's face broke into a smile. "Long time no see."
Qin Lianyue had met Can Dao before, but Can Dao had not acknowledged her then. This "long time no see" was clearly not spoken by Can Dao to Qin Lianyue, but by Qin Zangjing to Qin Lianyue.
"Big Brother, have you really decided to return to Longdu with me?"
Looking at the familiar yet strange person before her, Qin Lianyue was both surprised and delighted.
"I'm not returning to Longdu with you; I've decided to return to Longdu myself," Qin Zangjing said to Qin Lianyue. "That is my home, where my most precious memories lie. Whether they are beautiful or regrettable, I must reclaim them."
"Qin Lianyue, I intend to control the Qin family. Are you willing to pledge your loyalty to this family head?"
The Qin family already had a head and an heir. Qin Zangjing, however, referred to himself as the family head, clearly indicating that upon his return to Longdu, the Qin family would undergo a thorough cleansing.
"Big Brother, Lian Yue has always believed that only you can lead the Qin family, and only you are qualified to be the family head."
Hearing Can Dao's words, Qin Lianyue said with a serious expression.
"Good. Then let us go home. Perhaps many people will die this time, but I will make the Qin family rebuild its former glory and ascend to even greater heights."
Having received Qin Lianyue's reply, Qin Zangjing spoke with satisfaction.
An hour later, Ye Ziling finished packing her belongings and left the apartment with Qin Zangjing and Qin Lianyue. Two hours later, they departed from Nanling Airport.
In the apartment where Qin Zangjing and Ye Ziling had lived, a rusty saber remained on the knife rack on the coffee table.
By abandoning this rusty saber, Qin Zangjing was also abandoning the identity of Can Dao. From this day forward, there would be no more Can Dao in the world, only the astonishingly talented young master of the Qin family, Qin Zangjing.
After Qin Zangjing and the others departed from Nanling, at the White Horse Club, Zhou Jian was playing with a few copper coins in his hand. He tossed them into the air and let them fall to the ground.
Few would have realized that this dandy was not just playing with coins, but divining their fortunes.
Zhou Jian cast sixteen hexagrams in a row, but the omens were not what he desired.
Just then, Rong Haodong walked over and asked Zhou Jian, "Young Master Zhou, how is it?"
"The hidden dragon is dormant. We must wait and see."
Zhou Jian looked at Rong Haodong and said, "Let the waters of Longdu become muddier. When the dragon swims in shallow waters, then we will proceed to Longdu."
"Understood!"
Rong Haodong looked at Zhou Jian and said, "The Rong family's thirty-six Heavenly Spirits and seventy-two Earthly Fiends are ready and await your command, Young Master Zhou."
"Furthermore, the Sword Tomb has dispatched thirty-six high-ranking individuals from the twelve Sword Stars, twelve Fierce Stars, and twelve Malevolent Stars to follow our orders."
No one would have imagined that these two dandy figures, one from the South and one from the Northwest, had become allies many years ago. Their sole purpose for this alliance was to confront the five great families of Longdu.
These two individuals, one feigning to be a dandy and the other appearing to be unambitious, had deceived countless people.
But now, the time had come. They no longer needed to pretend. They were ready to utterly crush the five great families of Longdu.