Chapter 2666 - 2728: Redemption
Li Yifei had encountered Death Qi before, but it wasn’t just one entity; the aura of death is divided into many types. The Death Qi that Aliza and the Fire Sect practiced is a kind of Worm Technique. It’s hard to describe; this sect has been passed down for hundreds of years, specialized in death, aiming to master it. As a result, the whole sect ended up in a suicidal state. The techniques cultivated by such a bizarre sect are indeed not easily decipherable.
However, Aliza was unwilling to speak out, and Li Yifei couldn’t just kill him outright. He had to come up with a way to revive Uncle Bunong while figuring out what exactly happened and why Bunong suddenly collapsed.
Aliza, though not directly killing people, seemed to have a more malicious nature. Death happens in an instant, but Bunong was tormented by this Worm Technique for many days, which made Aliza even more detestable.
Li Yifei silently watched Aliza, whose body was growing weaker. In the end, Li Yifei did not kill him but took the muddy Aliza up on the giant coffin and left the whole Fire Sect. At dawn, Li Yifei took him back to the Miao Village, where people had already started to wake. The villagers were greatly surprised to see Li Yifei return, carrying a person, and put down what they were holding to come over and inspect.
When they saw who Li Yifei was carrying, they were even more shocked. Some villagers gathered around, loudly questioning Li Yifei about what had happened and why Aliza ended up like this. Some villagers who had good relations with Aliza even loudly asked if he had a personal vendetta with Aliza.
Li Yifei couldn’t understand their words, but he could comprehend the gist. He frowned and found a Miao who spoke Chinese, saying, "Help me translate and call the elders of the tribe over. Aliza has done something that requires the elders’ judgment."
"Ah? Okay, wait a moment." The man was stunned for a moment, then helped Li Yifei translate, causing a commotion among the tribesmen, sparking further discussions. Na Yi also woke up and came running over upon hearing the noise. Seeing Li Yifei and Aliza’s situation, she urgently asked, "Yifei, what happened? How did you and Aliza end up like this..."
"Dad was harmed by him," Li Yifei replied.
"What?" Na Yi’s eyes immediately widened, unable to believe what she heard. She quickly asked, "You said Dad was harmed by Aliza? How is that possible? Aliza, tell me, is this really your doing?"
In fact, the moment Na Yi appeared, Aliza was already showing extreme pain. He tightly closed his eyes, his expression filled with agony. Facing Na Yi’s questioning, he was speechless, and the less he said, the more certain Na Yi became. She seemed very unwilling to believe it.
Li Yifei then said, "Have you seen the tribesmen’s reaction, Aliza? You have one last chance at redemption, and that is to bring Bunong back to life. Otherwise, everyone in the village will spit on you and see you as a disgrace. Is this the life you want? If you do, then ignore what I said. If not, then go revive Bunong."
Na Yi covered her mouth, tears streaming down. Aliza was her childhood playmate, and a friend. She harbors friendship for him, certainly without the kind of romantic feelings that would otherwise involve Li Yifei. But a friend wants to kill your dad—how could she accept it, especially when he doesn’t want to save him?
"Aliza, please save my dad. He... he bears no ill will towards you. How could you want to kill him?" Na Yi pleaded.
Li Yifei sighed inwardly. He was temporarily at a loss against this Death Qi, but neither could he ignore Bunong’s plight. That’s why he resorted to using this method to provoke Aliza. He didn’t want to watch Na Yi cry, either. After the shock, the villagers also started criticizing or pleading with Aliza to save Bunong. Bunong was well-liked in the village; all the villagers admired him. Now they knew Aliza did it, these kind-hearted Miao were extremely angry, even though Aliza was one of their own, they still got mad.
Aliza endured tremendous pressure and accusations, seeing Na Yi crying, he finally said, "Alright, I’ll go save him. Elders, it was my stupidity and wrong. I am willing to take responsibility, now I will go save Uncle Bunong. I don’t ask for your forgiveness, nor... Na Yi’s. I just genuinely don’t want Uncle Bunong to die incongruously!"
Saying this, Aliza propped himself up to stand. Still extremely weak, he glanced at Na Yi, who was still teary-eyed, but he only gave her a glance before heading towards Bunong’s residence. The villagers wanted to follow, but Li Yifei gestured for them to wait here, patted Na Yi’s shoulder, and said, "You wait here. I can feel he is going to save him. Recognizing mistakes and correcting them is great. Let’s give him a chance!"
"Yifei, I... I’m so scared, what if he’s not going to save him. Then wouldn’t Dad..."
"I’ll go watch over him. You just wait," Li Yifei reassured Na Yi, and after comforting her, he followed along, walking side by side with Aliza. The latter glanced at Li Yifei, saying, "You don’t trust me?"
"Yes, but there’s no other way, otherwise I wouldn’t risk it," Li Yifei admitted.
Aliza smiled bitterly, did not sigh, and just headed towards Bunong’s residence. At the entrance, Aliza finally said softly, "You don’t really need to guard against me like this. My heart is dead, and I’ve seen some things clearly. There are people in this world naturally more fortunate or better than others—this is the natural moat. Efforts can’t alleviate this gap."
Li Yifei earnestly looked at Aliza; he seemed to really feel the other’s emotion. Unfortunately, Aliza’s words cannot sway him. Li Yifei was only slightly affected emotionally, saying, "What you mentioned isn’t due to luck, but because the direction you’ve been working towards is wrong from the start. If it’s wrong from the beginning, no matter how far you go or how hard you try, you can’t reach the goal."
Aliza’s facial muscles twitched, he turned to glance at Li Yifei, saying, "Maybe you’re right. If I didn’t like Na Yi, there might not have been previous things and this current thing. Maybe if I inherited the Fire Sect’s techniques, after some time I could lead the Miao Village, even unify surrounding rebellious ones, achieving a significant goal!"
"Since you said this, I will speak a few more words to you. You can comprehend them if you can, if not, don’t think further!" Li Yifei stared at him, continued, "Liking someone is personal, it doesn’t necessarily involve the other person. Likewise, just because you like someone, doesn’t mean the other person should like you—not even typical thought processes work that way. You love, you give, you pine away, you’re an option; these are your choices. It’s simply because you want to. If you don’t, can the other force you to do those things? Your failure is because of yourself, not others. I hope you understand this and don’t blame Na Yi or me, or even Bunong whom you harmed! This is why I am so angry I want to kill you on the spot!"
Aliza seemed to seriously consider the words, his teeth gritted, face tight with tension, and after a while, he replied, "Maybe what you said is right, I indeed shouldn’t be like this, but... things have already happened that could not be undone even if I’m aware."
"Really? Actually, as long as you revive Uncle Bunong and be a good person afterward, I and Na Yi would still forgive you. It’s just that you won’t be as close friends with Na Yi as before, but if you marry and have a family, she would probably also bless you!"
"Ha, is it?" Aliza laughed lightly, shook his head, muttering softly, yet Li Yifei didn’t catch what he said. Then he watched Aliza take steps inside, saying at the entrance, "I’ve decided to amend mistakes, revive Uncle Bunong, but if you still don’t trust me, come inside."
Should I go in? Li Yifei’s answer was affirmative. He wouldn’t trust leaving Aliza alone in there, although now it seemed if Aliza didn’t act, he had no way too but watch Bunong die.
Of course, if Aliza intended to act, Li Yifei might not intervene in time even standing nearby, but entering brings some peace of mind. He glanced back at Na Yi and others waiting from afar, faces full of anxiety and worry. Li Yifei nodded gently, stepped inside.
The door closed automatically, temporarily cutting off Na Yi and others’ view, yet their concern remained undiminished.
Inside the room, Bunong’s face was shrouded with dark qi, clearly at the terminal phase. Without effective treatment, Bunong would die any moment, leaving Na Yi one less relative in the world, or rather losing her sole blood-related kin.
Li Yifei stood silently by the bedside, if Aliza harbored ill intentions, even if he couldn’t stop him immediately, he’d take him down instantly.
While Aliza, struggling beside the bed, glanced at Bunong, showing a trace of reluctance on his face, saying, "Uncle Bunong, sorry for subjecting you to such torment. If I had realized earlier, these wouldn’t have happened. Unfortunately, there’s no redo possible; now I can only strive to save you, minimally redeem myself!"
"Begin," Li Yifei said, as Bunong might face immediate crisis, it’s unsuitable to delay.
Aliza nodded, saying, "It might be painful, but since uncle you feel nothing now, it shouldn’t hurt too much; anyway, I really suffered back then!"
At this moment, Li Yifei’s heart alerted, he hastily asked, "What method do you intend to use, tell me first."
Aliza turned to Li Yifei after hearing this, forced a faint smile, said, "You’ll soon know."