Chapter 92: He Lian's Old Friend, Zhang Fang

  On the turbulent riverbank, an old man in a white robe held a wooden stick and leisurely stirred the bonfire. Several large fish emitting fragrance were placed on the fire, with golden color that made people drool, obviously already cooked to perfection.

  At the other end of the bonfire, a youth wearing a crimson robe was laid flat on the ground. His face and exposed skin were densely covered with scars of varying depths, and although he was unconscious, his eyebrows were still tightly furrowed, as if in his subconscious he was still experiencing some painful event.

  The old man casually picked up a roasted fish, directly tearing off small pieces with his hands and stuffing them into his mouth. The bright moon had risen to the middle of the sky, and a few dark clouds were drifting lazily by. Everything seemed so peaceful and quiet.

  Suddenly, the unconscious young man covered his right arm and moaned softly as he moved his body slightly. The old man heard the sound and quickly put down the roasted fish in his hand, turned around and walked briskly to the young man's side.

  "You've finally woken up, you were unconscious for a whole three days!" The old man smiled and held onto the young man's left arm, slowly transferring a gentle surge of soul energy into him.

  The young man was about to speak, but felt a cool soul force slowly flowing into his severely painful right arm. Almost instantly, the originally piercing pain miraculously weakened a lot, and even his dazed brain temporarily regained its clarity. The young man shook his head, hastily mobilizing his own soul force to merge with the cool soul force, carefully protecting his badly injured right arm.

  After a long time, the young man finally felt that his right arm had stopped hurting. He looked up with gratitude and said in a low voice to the old man: "Thank you, senior. If it wasn't for you, I... Hmm? You're not... aren't you the elder of the Zhang family?" Under the bright moonlight, the young man finally saw the old man's face clearly and recognized his true identity, and he couldn't help but shout out loud.

  The old man smiled ambiguously and withdrew his hand from the young man's left arm, walking slowly back to the bonfire. He picked up a large roasted fish and handed it to the young man before finally speaking in a slow and deliberate tone: "Not bad, since you can still recognize my identity, that proves your brain hasn't been completely ruined yet. There are only two of us here now, and since you already know mine, shouldn't you also reveal your origins? My Lord He Lian?"

  The young man's body shook violently as he suddenly stood up, throwing away the roasted fish handed over by the old man. He wanted to pull out the Tianlang dagger from his waist, but suddenly remembered that his Tianlang dagger had been lost in the Blood Refining Tower. Without a weapon, he could only cross his left arm over his chest and ask cautiously: "How did you know my identity? Speak quickly, who are you?"

  It turned out that this young man who had just awakened from his coma was actually Helianuo, the one who got separated from everyone during the Blood Refining Tower prison break!

  "Don't be so tense, kid. If I wanted your life, you'd already be a corpse by now! But speaking of which, your impulsive personality is really just like your grandfather He Lian's back in the day, haha!" The old man didn't even lift his head, calmly adding some firewood to the fire pit. Seeing that He Lian was still warily watching him, the old man said gruffly, "What are you standing there for? Come sit down! You haven't had a drop of water in three days of being unconscious, I'm sure you must be starving by now, haha!" The old man laughed loudly again, and once more picked up a roasted fish from the fire pit to hand over.

  "I'm not... gurgling...", He Lianuo was about to make an excuse, but his stomach wasn't cooperative and growled loudly. Seeing the old man teasingly looking at him, He Lianuo scratched his head in embarrassment, then unceremoniously picked up the roasted fish and started devouring it with big mouthfuls.

  Perhaps because he was too hungry, Helianuo felt that this roasted fish was the most delicious food he had ever eaten in his life, even better than the dishes made by Helian and Leishen. He wolfed down a large fish quickly, leaving only bones behind. The old man looked at Helianuo's unsatisfied expression and handed him another one in time.

  "Don't rush, eat slowly, there's plenty here!" The old man smiled kindly and kept sizing up Helianuo, even forgetting to eat the roasted fish in his own hands. After a long while, Helianuo finally swept away all the roasted fish on the bonfire and lay down on the ground with a satisfied belch, sprawling out in all directions.

  "What's up, had enough to eat? You didn't have some questions for me earlier? Now I can answer them!" The old man stroked his white beard, lying down on the ground in a manner similar to Helianthus, propping his head with his arm and gazing at the night sky with great interest.

  "Really, I have many questions to ask you. Old predecessor, what about those companions of mine? Did they successfully escape?" He Lianuo asked hastily as a carp jumped out of the water.

  "Good grief, the first question isn't even who rescued you, or how badly your right arm is injured, but instead it's about your companion. This young whippersnapper's temperament is indeed just like that old scoundrel Helián Huáng!" The elderly man closed his eyes in frustration.

  "This... isn't it obvious? Since Senior is here, I must have been saved by you! As for the injury on my right arm, sigh... I'm very clear about it myself. Ling Xiao's Ice Fire Flowing Star has already destroyed all the bones and meridians in my right arm, and I'm afraid it will never recover this lifetime... Ah, Senior, you've mentioned my grandfather He Lian Zong Xiang several times, do you know him?" He Lian Nuo rubbed his nose awkwardly, curiously asking the old man back.

  "Is Helian Bohai alright? That old fellow, speaking of which we can be considered as friends who grew up together from childhood. Since young, he has always been better than me in every aspect, even when we grew up, he still managed to surpass me steadily. What a pity! He was loyal and righteous his whole life, but unfortunately met an unscrupulous ruler. Although he held the prestigious title of Tian Xiang Military God, he ended up with a tragic death by self-immolation. What a pity!" The old man slowly shook his head, revealing a somber expression on his face.

  Mentioning his own grandfather, Helian Nu's heart also ached. Seeing the old man's sorrowful appearance, he couldn't help but softly comfort him: "Elder, don't be too grief-stricken. Although my grandfather is dead, the bloodline of Helian still exists. I heard that my father, Helian War, has seized power from Tian Xue, which can also be considered as avenging my grandfather's death..."

  The old man slowly opened his eyes, turned his head to look at Helianuo and said: "That's also true, we old guys should retire from the historical stage, the era of young people has arrived, and we should take a rest too! By the way, your fellow escapees have successfully escaped from the Blood Refining Tower, at least according to the information I've received so far, they haven't been caught yet!"

  "That's great, I knew they would definitely succeed! Ling Xiao, you probably didn't think we could really escape from the airtight Blood Refining Tower, did you?! On that day, you crippled my arm, and one day, I'll make you pay with your life!", He Lian Nu fiercely pounded the ground. Originally, his companions' safety was what he worried about most, but now that the old man had personally said they were fine, a huge weight in He Lian Nu's heart could finally be lifted.

  "Unfortunately, you won't have that chance anymore, because Ling Xiao is already dead!", the old man picked up the wine jug hanging from his waist and took a small sip, the spicy white wine flowed down his throat, but the expression on his face was extremely satisfied and contented!

  "What? How did Ling Xiao die?" He Lianuo asked loudly, in his memory, at the moment he fell into the river, Ling Xiao seemed to be still chasing and killing people wildly!

  The old man told Helian Luo about the process of Lingyun sacrificing himself to pull Lingyun down from the city head, and after knowing the whole story, Helian Luo fell silent for a while. He thought back to some fragments of his contact with Lingyun, and involuntarily admitted in his heart that human nature is really the most unpredictable thing in this world. Some people may be good all their lives, but a slight deviation in thought may make their entire life fixed in an evil color. And some people, even if they are evil all their lives, can completely change their dark life with just one correct choice!

  The old man looked at Helian Nuo's thoughtful expression without disturbing him. After a while, Helian Nuo finally turned his head and smiled slightly before saying in a low voice: "Senior, thank you. If it weren't for you, I'd probably still be worried about the safety of those companions. But I have one more thing that makes me wonder - aren't you the elder of some business family invited to watch the beast fight at the Blood Refining Tower? Why did you lend a hand to save me in such a critical moment, and how could you evade everyone's attention and bring me to a safe place?"

  "After talking for half a day, you finally got to the point. You once asked me how I knew your identity, now I'll tell you, it's because of the Heavenly Wolf Sacred Mark on your chest!" The old man put away the benevolent smile on his face and became solemn.

  He Lian lowered his head and took a look, the clothes on his chest had been damaged beyond recognition in the intense battle, the blue wolf's piercing gaze could be seen clearly through the tattered clothes, apparently, the old man had confirmed his identity as He Lian's son through this.

  Seeing Helian'nuo's sudden realization, the old man nodded slightly and continued to explain: "Young one, you are called Helian'nuo, right? Calculating that during the Tianfeng Rebellion, you were only less than a year old. Do you remember if your grandfather Helian Zong had entrusted anything before escaping?"

  "Grandpa once said that we should go through the underground tunnel to the Giant Tree Empire, and then find one of his old friends for help... Wait, you... You can't be the old friend Grandpa was talking about, can you?" Helianuo's eyes widened in shock, with an expression as if he didn't dare believe his own guess.

  "Not bad, I am the old friend your grandfather spoke of, Zhang Fang, the elder of the Giant Tree Empire's Zhang family!" The old man slowly stood up, his voice stern yet loving.