#1278 - Chapter 1278 No Other Way

But little did I know that over the years, that sentence had become an empty echo.

Li Tanhua also left and never returned, and no one in the world knew of his whereabouts. Even Ye Kong searched for him many times later, but to no avail.

Just as he was thinking, the young man jumped off his horse, pointed to a thatched hut in front of him, and said, "We're here."

This ordinary thatched hut was no different from other thatched huts, not even a few more straws, nor was it much bigger. Who could believe that Tanhualang now lived in such a place?

Ye Kong dismounted and stood in front of the thatched hut, hesitating for a long time, unable to take a step forward.

"Please!" The young man was extremely enthusiastic at this moment.

As soon as the young man finished speaking, the wooden door of the thatched hut creaked open. Wearing a white fur coat with a fox fur collar covering his pale cheeks, an extremely gentle voice sounded, "Brother Ye Kong, you've come."

Ye Kong stared at Li Tanhua, finding it very difficult to associate the frail man in front of him with the high-spirited Tanhualang in his memory.

Ye Kong felt something stuck in his throat. He tried hard to clear his throat to make himself look calm, "Yes, I came to see you."

"Then come in quickly, it's cold outside." Li Tanhua said, instructing the young man, "Yu Hai, quickly invite the guest in."

Yu Hai led the way, and Ye Kong stepped onto the creaking wooden steps one step at a time. The creaking sound made it seem like they could collapse at any moment.

But Ye Kong kept staring at Li Tanhua, and the greeting he had hesitated for so long was still held back in his mouth.

The thatched hut was lit with a dim kerosene lamp. It was clean and tidy inside, but it was just a simple table, a chair, and a bed.

Ye Kong sat down next to the table. Li Tanhua brewed a cup of tea for Ye Kong and handed it over, "I'm not a good host, I hope Brother Ye Kong won't mind!"

Ye Kong picked up the teacup and took a sip. The tea leaves had been stored for too long, and the bitterness was stronger.

Li Tanhua watched Ye Kong put down the teacup after taking a sip and said self-deprecatingly, "It seems that it was impolite of me to bring you to my humble abode."

"There's nothing good or bad, I don't care." Tanhualang said indifferently.

Didn't care?

Was this still the Tanhualang who would change thirteen rooms because there was a speck of dust in the room?

He was completely different from before.

Ye Kong didn't have time to think about why Tanhualang had changed so much and quickly asked, "Why did you so urgently seek me out?" Ye Kong looked at the current Tanhualang, who didn't seem to be contending for anything.

"You should know about the news of the successive extermination of the two major families, right?" Tanhualang opened his mouth.

Ye Kong nodded.

"I know who did it." Tanhualang's words startled Ye Kong.

"What, you know?"

"Yes, and I also know which family will be exterminated next!" Tanhualang said one shocking thing after another with an indifferent expression.

Ye Kong stood up directly. He knew that the truth was very close to him, but he suddenly didn't want to know this cruel truth.

"Then, who is it?" Ye Kong slowly opened his mouth.

"I won't tell you directly. Ye Kong, although we met many years ago, in this world now, the less you know, the better." Tanhualang advised in a kind manner.

"Okay, so you're deliberately whetting my appetite here?" Ye Kong wanted to laugh a little. Could it be that everyone had changed so much over the years?

"No, Ye Kong, don't be anxious, I will tell you. But now, the next family to be exterminated is the important thing." Tanhualang was a little anxious.

"Important? To me? Anyway, it must not be the Taichu Academy, and the other sects have nothing to do with me, Ye Kong. And..."

Ye Kong looked at Tanhualang, "The matter of the ambush on Ye Kong in the Liusha Valley has long spread throughout the Upper Realm, you should know something about it, and know that I am irreconcilable with those famous families."

Their life and death had nothing to do with Ye Kong.

Now, he was being asked to abandon his past grievances and come to the rescue.

Ye Kong thought of Hu Yishao, whom he had just met today, who had saved his life in the Zongpai hierarchy competition, and then what? Seeing him, he still looked like he had seen an enemy, extremely jealous.

There was really no need for him to attract any more hatred.

Tanhualang stood up directly and put a hand on Ye Kong's hand. The cold touch made Ye Kong shrink back. Years of medical experience allowed Ye Kong to determine in an instant that Tanhualang was now living on borrowed time.

"Is this how you treat yourself?" Ye Kong put his hand back on Tanhualang's pulse. The intermittent and faint beating was captured with difficulty at Ye Kong's fingertips. The internal energy was also depleted, and blood circulation was no longer smooth. It was impossible to imagine how bad the internal condition already was.

Ye Kong couldn't describe the feeling. He didn't expect Tanhualang to be so anxious now. Was it because he didn't have long to live and wanted to entrust his orphan to him?

Tanhualang's weak appearance was pitiful. Even if Ye Kong didn't want to get involved, considering Tanhualang, he still sat down and said, "Tell me, which family is it?"

"Do you still remember Fengming Mountain?" As soon as Tanhualang spoke, Ye Kong remembered that he had first met Tanhualang on Fengming Mountain.

On Fengming Mountain, large patches of fiery red maple leaves were in full bloom. Tanhualang, dressed in red, galloped past on horseback and stopped in front of Ye Kong. He jumped off his horse generously and extended his hand, "My name is Li Tanhua, let's get acquainted?"

Ye Kong directly knocked away his hand and pushed it back with a palm.

Tanhualang was not to be outdone. His footwork was quite good, dodging and evading at fixed points in front, behind, left, and right of Ye Kong, and occasionally interfering with Ye Kong, using guerrilla warfare to explode.

The two fought from bright daylight to dusk under the moon, and from a dark and windy night to the first rays of sunrise.

Finally, they stopped when both of them were tired.

The two could be considered to have become acquainted through fighting.

Thus, they completed the mission together on Fengming Mountain. Later, when the mission was settled, Ye Kong learned that this person was the top-ranked Tanhua Li Tanhua in the Upper Realm.

It was just a fleeting glimpse, and then there was no news. Even later, when Ye Kong passed through Fengming Mountain and walked the same route.

He only saw the rustling falling maple leaves, but not the beautiful Tanhualang.

"This family has been kind to me. You may have heard about what happened back then. I left the Upper Realm, and it wasn't glorious." Tanhualang looked regretful.

Ye Kong's mind suddenly went blank, "No, I haven't heard anything."

"But it doesn't matter anymore. In short, when I knew that the next family to be exterminated was them, I knew I had to intervene. But I am now..."

Tanhualang smiled bitterly, feeling powerless, "So, I thought of my best friend, who is also the now famous Ye Kong in the Upper Realm, that is, you, to help me with this favor."

"I know I shouldn't bother you, but I have no other choice."