Chapter 295: Reunion
“Listen Zheng Jun, I understand that you are a guard but can you at least tell us why you are in such a hurry to arrive at the gates? Who is this mysterious guest?” An upset voice could be heard approaching from inside the academy. It was a voice Hui Yue could recognize anywhere. This caused the smile on his face to brighten even more, and Cai Jie’s face turned interested as he too heard the voice. His eyes left Hui Yue and looked toward the voices.
“I really don’t see why they are stressing us like this,” Another voice joined in. This voice was as gentle as a summer breeze and was a voice which, like the other, Hui Yue could recognize anywhere. The sound of steps came closer and closer, and Hui Yue could guess that they were moving on the other side of the wall. Within moments they would reach the gate, and when they did, he could only imagine their stunned expressions.
Standing still, his arms were resting on his side, and as the group turned the corner, Hui Yue saw Rong Ming and Rong Xing for the first time in years. They had both grown into fine adults. Their faces no longer contained any hint of their youth. Rong Xing had turned into an astonishing beauty whom men would fight over, while the usually foolish and clumsy Rong Ming now moved with a certain aura. An aura only found around higher nobles, those who knew just how important they were. Both twins were now impossible to be considered anything other than adults yet as soon as their eyes landed on the white-haired young man standing outside the gates, both stopped in their tracks. Their eyes widened, and their mouths were open from shock, neither of them were capable of taking even one more step; they just stared at the white-haired young man.
Seeing the twins behave as they did caused the two guards to become uncomfortable. Both of them were students at the academy, yet graduates such as the Rong twins were greatly admired. Perhaps these two odd-looking young men were people whom the Rong twins did not wish to meet and so they were very stunned. But here they were forced by the guards to met these people. Thinking like this both young guards could feel the sweat pouring from their foreheads, and their hearts sped up as they feared the worst. Neither dared to look at any of the present people; instead, they stared at the ground.
“Yue!” Rong Xing was the first to get past the shock, and she started running only to throw herself into Hui Yue’s embrace. Her face was filled with a large smile as tears appeared in her eyes. Her tears became so numerous that within moments her entire face was tear stained. It was not before then that Rong Ming came to and also rushed towards Hui Yue before he hugged with the white-haired young man and the sister who refused to let go.
Seeing the reactions these usually stoic graduates displayed left the two guards utterly astonished, and none of them said anything while they felt incredibly out of place. Looking around, they saw another person who seemed out of place. The two twins only jumped towards the white-haired man while the golden-haired one just stood behind them observing with a small smirk on his face. He did not step forward to take part in the reunion, but he was clearly here together with the white-haired young man.
“Come with us,” Rong Ming finally said as he dried his red, puffy eyes with the back of his hand. Hui Yue nodded while holding Rong Xing’s hand and with a gesture to Cai Jie to follow him, the three followed behind Rong Ming. As soon as Rong Ming started walking, his body once more straightened, and his aloofness returned; he was bursting with confidence. He had clearly changed a lot since Hui Yue had last seen him.
To Hui Yue’s surprise, the twin did not lead them deeper into the Royal Academy; instead, they went to another set of gates where they exited the grounds and walked into and through the upscale neighborhood they traveled down when coming to the academy. After walking through the streets for what seemed to be a short ten minutes, they reached a massive mansion. The mansion had guards outside its gates, and it seemed to be capable of housing at least a hundred people. Considering that Hui Yue expected them to go to a student’s dorm he was quite taken aback by the sheer size of their home. Looking at Hui Yue’s surprised expression, Rong Ming smiled with satisfaction. “You sent us so many people that we needed our own residence,” He explained causing a wry smile to appear on Hui Yue’s lips. It was indeed true that he had sent Xu Piao, Deng Wu, Sha Yun, and Wang Ju Long, and now that he thought about it, they were indeed not capable of living within the Royal Academy.
When they went inside Rong Ming sent a glance towards Cai Jie, but seeing that the golden young man paid him no attention and instead just followed Hui Yue with a sly smirk on his face, he chose not to comment. He knew that Hui Yue would introduce him eventually.
Walking up to the gate, Hui Yue saw how the guards politely bowed to the two Rong twins and opened the gate for the four of them. A few steps led up to the front door and as soon as they stepped inside a voice could be heard from the side, “How come you are back so early? I thought you were busy with the experiments at the martial arts department.” The voice said from inside a room just off to the side; looking inside, Hui Yue found a massive desk filled with papers. Behind these papers with his full attention on a pile of memory stones was the one who had spoken. Looking closely at this person, Hui Yue smiled and walked closer. He could recognize this oversized man anywhere, but the person did not lift his head, not until the shadow of Hui Yue cover the paper he was reading. Frowning the older man lifted his head, ready to complain to one of the two twins only to find a white-haired younger man there instead. Staring agape, he picked up a set of glasses and placed them on his nose as he looked at Hui Yue as if he did not believe who he was seeing. Before long he removed them once again. “Good lord, it took you forever to return,” He said with a shocked voice before he shot up from the chair with so much force that the chair was pushed backwards and fell to the ground.
Xu Piao rushed forward and gave Hui Yue a great hug. He seemed as though he was focused on working, but Hui Yue could easily guess that this man was intentionally burying himself in work so that he did not think too much about what he lost in the dungeons as they tried to escape.
Seeing Xu Piao again was bittersweet. The two of them had been through many things together. Xu Piao sold information about him to the Dragon Corps, but then in the end decided to follow him out of the dungeons into a new world. A decision that had, sadly, cost him his best friend and partner. Many things had happened between them, but Hui Yue was surprised to find himself this happy to once more meet Xu Piao. There was not even a hint of a grudge between them. He had been so busy with the beast’s army that he had no time to think about his emotions concerning Xu Piao, and now after more than two years since he last saw the older man, he felt a warmth inside of him. A warmth equal to the one he felt when he saw the Rong twins, and he found that he had long since forgiven the hard working older man.
“It seems you have caught up with me when it comes to rank. How on earth did you become a King within such a short time?” He asked with a smile on his face. Although he smiled, pain was evident in his eyes. Hui Yue realized that although Xu Piao was happy to see him once again, the meeting made him remember his last moments with his beloved. Even worse was that he never understood his emotions until it was too late, and afterwards, these mixed emotions created turmoil within Xu Piao. Hui Yue placed a hand on his shoulder, “Believe me, I understand your emotions,” He said with a sad smile as he remembered how he had loved Li Fen. He could only think about her now as a friend, but his heart ached as he knew the matter between them was still unresolved. He needed to tell her what he had felt back then, but also make her understand that those feelings were a part of the past. Sighing he contemplating for a moment before he looked towards Xu Piao again. “I have some news you might want to know,” He said while thinking about every single word he used.
“You understand that when someone dies their soul will usually enter the Netherworld where Yanluo governs them until all their memories of their previous life have vanished and they are ready to be reborn.” He explained the words Lan Feng had told him so many years ago when the two of them were sharing an infant’s body. “When souls are in the Netherworld it is possible to pick them up if one is capable of entering the Netherworld and finding them.” Every word Hui Yue said caused Xu Piao to look at him as though he had fallen from the sky.
Clearing his throat and with a trembling voice, Xu Piao asked, “Are you saying that I can enter the Netherworld and find her. That I am able to bring her back with me?”
Hui Yue nodded his head, and although Xu Piao was filled with hope with shining eyes and a rapid pulse, the young man knew what arduous journey he had just set him on. “There is one problem,” He said frankly, and his words instantly turned Xu Piao quiet. His expression turned sour as if someone had dumped a bucket of cold water on him.
“Of course,” He mumbled, “There is no way that it could be easy to take someone under the watch of Yanluo, the sovereign of death.” His eyes flashed with hopelessness, but he quickly manned up, and his eyes which had been filled with pain, were now filled with determination. He showed a decisive expression as he turned to Hui Yue. Both his hands gripped the younger man’s shoulders, “Tell me! Please tell me what I need to do to save her and bring her back. I am willing to do anything to get her back!” He spoke quickly, almost stumbling over his words as he was entirely focused on the information that Hui Yue shared with him. A wry, slightly mocking smile appeared on Hui Yue’s face as he watched how Xu Piao was as desperate as he had once been. The two looked at each other for some time before Hui Yue sighed. He knew that this man would become solely focused on training after being told that rank was what mattered, but he felt that it was better than allowing his friend to be filled with guilt for the rest of his life. “To enter another world, one need to be a God ranked expert.” Hui Yue said straightforwardly, and his words caused the determination in Xu Piao’s face to waver slightly but moments after he steeled himself.
“Thank you for telling me,” He said with a fractional bow, “I will excuse myself for some time. I really need to start training if I want to have a chance of reaching the rank of God before she is given a new life.”
Hui Yue smiled slightly as he leaned back against the wall and watched Xu Piao leave through a door on the opposite side of the room. Now that he had helped his friend, he felt great, but he was still holding back. Deep within him was a bubbling excitement which could not be tamed before he once more saw Wang Ju Long. Just thinking about her was enough to make his heart beat erratically and longing could be seen in his eyes as he turned around. When turning around he heard someone descending the stairs in the entry hall, the hall right next to the office he was in. Was this truly his Wang Ju Long?