Ling Cage: Twelve Talismans? I have everything I need.

Chapter 72 The Truth
Time seemed to freeze at this moment.

The shouts and clamor of the training ground, the commands from Ulan Aodeng, the cool touch of the fingertips of the wine-singing singer…

All sounds and sensations vanished from Hongkou's world in an instant, leaving only that distant figure, etched deep into her soul like a brand.

That fiery red hair, that familiar silhouette, that face that appeared countless times in her nightmares and was forcibly suppressed deep in her heart when she was awake...

"Red...Red Heron...Sister...?"

Hongkou's voice was hoarse, her pupils contracted sharply, and her body trembled uncontrollably.

impossible! This is absolutely impossible!

My sister is clearly dead.

But the person in front of her... was alive and well, standing in the sunlight, wearing unfamiliar clothes, staring intently at her with those eyes that she knew so well, yet were now brimming with tears of excitement.

"This must be an illusion... It must be an illusion..." Hongkou subconsciously took a step back, her feet felt unsteady, and she almost tripped.

"Sister Hongkou?!" Jiuge was startled by Hongkou's reaction and quickly tried to support her.

She couldn't understand why the appearance of a stranger would cause Hongkou to lose her composure like this.

But Hongkou couldn't sense the presence of the wine song at all.

She abruptly shook off Jiu Ge's hand, which was trying to help her up. The force was so great that Jiu Ge staggered, his face full of astonishment.

"Red Cocoon!"

Dawn rushed forward immediately and saw the woman in the distance as well.

My mind went blank.

Why would the city's garrison commander, who had already sacrificed his life, appear here?
"sister!!!"

A heart-wrenching scream instantly shattered the noise of the training ground.

Ulan Aodeng's command came to an abrupt halt, and all the prepared Awakeners stopped in surprise, their eyes turning to the pair of fiery red figures.

Red egrets had already opened their arms wide, tears streaming down their faces.

When Hongkou slammed into her arms with tremendous force, the real, warm touch made her body tremble violently. She instantly tightened her arms around her sister, using all her strength to hold her tightly, as if she wanted to meld her into her own bones and never be separated again.

“Hongkou…my sister…” Honglu’s voice was broken and scalding tears flowed out and dripped onto Hongkou’s shoulder.

She greedily inhaled the scent of her sister's hair, repeatedly confirming that this was not a dream.

Hongkou buried her face in the crook of her sister's neck, her voice choked with sobs: "Sister...is it really you...is it really you?"

"...But...but didn't you sacrifice yourself to protect the lighthouse?"

She looked up at the red egret with teary eyes, her expression a mixture of urgency and confusion.

That night, when she saw that Honglu had not returned for a long time, she wanted to go out to look for her, but she was stopped by the city defense soldiers.

The next day, all that could be heard on the radio was that the lighthouse had been attacked by an unknown monster, and the hunters and the city's defense forces fought back desperately, suffering heavy casualties.

Honglu, the commander-in-chief of the city's defense forces, also sacrificed his life while protecting the lighthouse.

She went to Morgan to ask, and received the same answer.

"Sacrifice? Protecting the lighthouse? Ha..."

The tears on Honglu's face were still wet, but she raised a smile that was extremely mocking and cold.

"The lighthouse...is that what they told you?"

"That's true. Dead people can't talk, especially dead people who were thrown off the lighthouse."

She raised her hand and gently wiped away Hongkou's tears with her fingertips: "Hongkou, listen to me."

"I was executed by my teacher—no, by Morgan, by the Three Laws."

“When Morgan was about to promulgate the Three Laws, I was one of the opponents. That very night, those of us who opposed the laws were shot and executed by the city garrison and the hunters, and the lighthouse was thrown down.”

"what?!"

Hongkou was struck dumb, her pupils dilated instantly, and she even forgot to cry.

She looked at Honglu in disbelief; she had always believed her sister was a hero who had died a glorious death in the line of duty…

So, he died at the hands of his own people?!

At this moment, Po Xiao rushed forward and just in time to hear Hong Lu's earth-shattering words.

He also couldn't believe that the heroes who defended against the attack of the unknown monsters were actually killed on the orders of Lord Morgan!

"That's right, that's the truth."

Honglu's voice was resolute: "Because we refuse to accept that inhumane law, because we try to rebel, because we want to reveal the truth about the Devouring Beasts to the public."

Her gaze swept across Dawn, then returned to Red Hair's face, her eyes softening.

"But now, none of that matters. What matters is that I am alive and I can see you again."

Honglu hugged Hongkou tightly again, and after a while, she loosened her embrace slightly.

He cupped Hongkou's face in his hands, examining it carefully, as if trying to make up for all the time he had missed over the years.

She finally asked the question that had been lingering in her mind:

"Hongkou, tell your sister, how did you end up here? How did you travel so far to the surface and end up in Dragonbone Village?"

Hongkou's emotions calmed down slightly in Honglu's warm embrace, but her eyes were still red.

She took a deep breath, feeling the warmth from her sister's palm.

She didn't answer immediately, but turned her head slightly, her gaze falling on the man behind her who was also filled with concern and complexity in his eyes.

Feeling her gaze, Po Xiao immediately stepped forward and stood beside Hong Kou.

He met the questioning gaze of the red egret, his eyes calm and resolute.

Hongkou grasped Poxiao's hand before turning back to look at her sister, Honglu.

Her voice was still a little hoarse. "Sister, just like you were back then... even the three laws of the Lighthouse can't tolerate us."

She paused, her gaze sweeping over Dawn's resolute profile: "We couldn't accept the Three Laws, so we volunteered to go on a long journey and came down from the Lighthouse."

She raised her head and looked directly into her sister's eyes.

"As for why it was in Dragonbone Village..." She gripped Dawn's hand tighter.

"It was Boss Yang who found us and rescued us, bringing us back to Longgu Village."

"Boss Yang?" Honglu was taken aback.

What a coincidence! This group of people was also brought back to Longgu Village and saved by Yang Chen.

Now he has brought his younger sister back with him.

Hongkou's gaze fell gently on Poxiao again, filled with complete trust and reliance, and she whispered to Honglu:
"His name is Dawn."

Red Heron's gaze instantly sharpened as it scrutinized Dawn.

She saw the undisguised emotion in her sister's eyes, and she also saw the unwavering devotion in Dawn's eyes.

"Silly child"

It seems that after my death, the Three Laws proceeded as planned, but Hongkou violated the Three Laws afterward.

Given Morgan's approach, it would be impossible for him to let those who try to defy the laws live, even if that person is his student.

This is unlike his usual style of eliminating all threats.

Was it because they voluntarily applied for the trip that they were given special consideration?

"Sister, how did you survive?" Hongkou asked, wiping away her tears.

She couldn't imagine the horrific scene of her sister being shot and thrown off the lighthouse, nor could she comprehend how her sister could come back to life and stand alive in front of her.

Honglu's voice was deep: "It's Boss Yang."

"Boss Yang?" Hongkou and Poxiao exclaimed almost simultaneously, both showing expressions of shock.

Honglu explained to the two of them.

Hongkou and Poxiao held their breath as they listened.

Printing a body? Re-injecting life essence?
This sounds like a fantasy. They knew Yang Chen possessed incredible abilities, but they never imagined that these abilities could bring people back to life.

Ulan Aodeng glanced at the three people not far away, and silently waved his hand, signaling all the stunned prospective Awakeners to continue their training.

But Bai Yuetian appeared beside Wulan Aodeng again at some unknown time.

He reached out and put his arm around Ulan Aodeng, asking him a question.

"What are they doing over there? A family drama?"

Ulan Aodeng was taken aback by this sudden intimacy. He turned his head to look at Bai Yuetian's radiant face and asked in surprise.

"Bai Yuetian? What are you still doing wandering around the village?"

Bai Yuetian released him, put her hands on her hips, raised her chin, and retorted confidently.

"Hey! What are you talking about! What do you mean 'still in the village'? I contributed to the establishment of this village back then. What, now that I have a body, can't I live and stroll around on my own land?"

Ulan Aodeng was speechless for a moment after being choked by his words, and could only shake his head helplessly.

Bai Yuetian ignored Wulan Aodeng and his curiosity was drawn to the red-haired sisters. He strode towards them to see what was going on.

After explaining her resurrection experience to her sister, Honglu's emotions calmed down a bit.

She was intently watching her younger sister, Hongkou, feeling the warmth of their rekindled family bond, when out of the corner of her eye she caught sight of a figure casually walking towards them.

When her gaze was fully focused on the man's face
Time seemed to stand still in the red egret's perception.

The smiling face before her instantly overlapped with the photograph she remembered.

She saw the photo by chance in Morgan's study during her time as the city's garrison commander.

Grey Weaver, the first lord of the Lighthouse?

The man in the photo looks almost exactly like the one walking towards us.

The only difference is that the person in front of me looks younger.

Her lips trembled as she cried out:

"Lord Gray... Lord Gray?!"

This exclamation instantly shattered the warm atmosphere of the Hongkou sisters' reunion.

Hongkou and Poxiao looked up in surprise at the same time, following Honglu's astonished gaze to Baiyuetian, who was walking over with a bewildered expression.

Lord Gray?

Isn't this the person I met that night? Bai Yuetian, Boss Bai's older brother.

Hongkou immediately recalled that it was no wonder the person looked familiar when she saw him before; he was indeed exactly the same as the first city lord.

Bai Yuetian was also stunned, stopping a few steps away from Honglu.

He blinked, pointed to his nose, and the inquisitive smile on his face was replaced by astonishment.

"Huh? You mean me? Gray?"

His face suddenly turned pale, and he muttered under his breath, "That bastard Gray, he's been using my handsome face to leave marks everywhere. He should have taken his body back sooner when Orange came."

He then looked at Honglu: "I think I vaguely remember you."

"You are...you are the one Orange brought back back then, right? The one from the lighthouse."

　I just finished watching episode 12, and I feel like Cranios should be dead by now. His life essence is attached to Mark, and back then, Gray found little Mark using the coordinates Krotto gave him and brought him back to the lighthouse.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)