Dual wielding volcanoes, killing through the west

Fist clash.

The heavens and earth shook.

Smoke, spices, gravel, wood chips, glass, and all sorts of other random things were swept together by the force of this punch, and then scattered with a bang.

Where the ground had been fairly flat, a large crater had suddenly appeared. Zhang Renfeng stood there calmly, his gaze towards him complex. He wasn't happy about the outcome of the battle; instead, he felt a sense of helplessness.

Zhuo Gen's entire right arm drooped down after taking the punch.

He stared at his right arm in a daze, then suddenly smiled, leaned against a wooden box, and naturally slid down to sit on the ground.

"That was awesome..."

He murmured, "That was awesome!"

……

Zhang Renfeng didn't know what to say, so he sighed, walked straight past him, and headed towards the luxury cruise ship.

Zhuo Gen's leisurely voice came from behind, seemingly displeased with his actions, "Have you always been so merciful to your enemies?"

"No." Zhang Renfeng had no interest in arguing with him. Without turning his head, he continued on his way. "Only you are like this."

……

Foreboard.

A familiar figure stood there.

Zhang Renfeng and Ren stared at each other for a long while. He believed that the other person was probably feeling no better than he was. To have to turn against their former comrades-in-arms was an ordeal for simple martial artists like them.

After a moment of silence, Jin lowered his right hand from the hilt of his katana.

"Aren't you going to have a little fight?" Zhang Renfeng asked. "You're his bodyguard, right? How about exchanging a couple of symbolic blows?"

“There’s no need for that.” Ren shook his head and said something weighty: “To him, you’ve never been an enemy.”

“He sent someone to inform me to come, and now that I’m here, he’s talking to someone else.” Zhang Renfeng’s brow relaxed slightly, but then he immediately thought of the threat from the Illumination Sect and asked, “How exactly does he plan to end this?”

"..."

"No one else."

"Huh?" Zhang Renfeng looked completely bewildered. "But those people at the door said..."

“What he places on you is far more weighty than you can imagine. His scheme began the moment he received this message. Only today has this elaborate plan he's laid out for you truly begun.” Ren stepped aside. “Ask him for the details yourself.”

----

“Then, as my successor,” Istavo clapped his hands, and Qasim, dressed in a white robe, stepped forward slowly, carrying two glasses of wine.

Seeing this, Gray was flattered and stood up—over the years, Istavo's bodyguards in public had changed to Ren, and Kasim had appeared less and less frequently in public. But this man had become increasingly mysterious among Istavo's core members. Now, his appearance represented a decisive force, and he had no choice but to stand up.

"cheers."

Istavo raised his glass to him

"Ha!" Gray hurriedly picked up his glass, his smile almost impossible to hide. "Mr. Istavo, cheers!"

……

The power, wealth, and status that were about to be acquired were swallowed down with a sip of fine wine.

Tonight, until now, Istavo, watching Gray's moving Adam's apple, finally... for the first time...

Laughed.

Chapter 568: He Never Gave Up on You

"cough……"

A moment later, Gray's face turned somewhat bluish-purple, and he coughed violently a few times.

But he still had the energy to smile at Istavo, pointing to the pigeon pie on the plate, trying to excuse himself, "Ha...it's all, it's all this pie's fault, it made me choke. Losing my composure...cough cough...Mr. Istavo, I...I am..."

He felt like he was choking, so he took another sip of the wine in his glass, trying to swallow the bit of pigeon pie stuck in his throat.

"cough---!!"

Contrary to his wishes, he spat out a mouthful of blood, which spilled onto the plate.

"?!"

Gray's face had turned a horribly bluish-purple, and seeing Ishtar's calm expression, even the most naive Gray knew what had happened. His reason had already laid out the conclusion, but his emotions couldn't believe it, couldn't accept it, because he simply couldn't understand what motive Ishtar would have to harm him. One was a seaman, the other a woodcutter; there was no conflict of interest whatsoever!

“Let me introduce you to someone,” Istavo clapped his hands.

A figure slowly emerged from the shadows at the edge of the stairs into the light.

The moment he saw him, Gray's pupils dilated and contracted. He tried to stand up, but his legs gave way, and with a "thud," he crashed headfirst into the plate on the table.

What emerged from the darkness was none other than his own face!

“Abby Gray.” Istavo waved at him and said casually, “You should be familiar with this person, right?”

"From now on, he will take over your life."

"For a short time, he will continue to operate the companies under your control according to the business plan you just mentioned. Then, at a specific time, he will disappear from this world completely due to an 'accident'—the kind of disappearance where he is neither alive nor dead. Of course, there will be a funeral, a mourning hall, and relatives crying and pleading. Don't worry."

“You… Mr. Istavo… why?!” Gray’s breathing grew increasingly labored, his eyes bloodshot, but his last strength was enough to grip the napkin tightly on the table. “…Why… ah…”

"..."

Istavo didn't answer, he just stared at him coldly until the light in his eyes gradually disappeared.

Even at the very end, Gray didn't understand why he would die that night.

"【A letter from the King of Hell】, ha." He chuckled, sat back down, leaned back in his chair, and said with a self-deprecating tone, "This way of dying is truly terrifying to the extreme."

“Mr. Istavo,” Yin’s voice trembled slightly, “you…”

“Alright, Yin, it’s alright. Proceed according to plan.” Istavo’s tone was very relaxed as he instructed, “Remember to meet with them when you have time later and explain your situation to them. Don’t let your own people ruin things.”

"It is the honor of my life to work with you."

The man disguised as Grey pursed his lips, said nothing more, bowed ninety degrees to him, and then turned and left.

……

Kasim brought over a glass of wine, replacing the one in front of Istavo. In front of Istavo, he dipped his thumb into the wine and let it soak for a moment. At the same time, a hint of questioning flickered in his seemingly emotionless eyes.

Are you sure you want to do this?

“Thank you, Qasim,” Istavo said with a smile. “I’m sorry, I promised to help you find that woman and break the curse, but I’m afraid that’s no longer possible.”

Kasim shook his head, pulled his fingers out of the cup, indicating that he didn't need to worry about it.

"Ah, finally..."

Istavo sighed softly, rubbed his temples wearily, and murmured, "Finally, it's come to this."

When he opened his eyes again, Zhang Renfeng was already sitting opposite him.

----

"Long time no see, Zhang."

It was the same familiar opening move, but this time, Zhang Renfeng's mindset had changed slightly. Even though he had been mentally preparing himself all the way, when he actually faced him, Zhang Renfeng still couldn't connect Istavo, who had saved him from dire straits, with E.U. of the Illuminati.

His curly hair already had some gray streaks.

"you're old."

“Ha…” Istavo shook his head and sighed, “I have too many things to worry about, how could I not get old?”

When did you become a member of the Illuminati? This question stuck in Zhang Renfeng's throat for a while, but he ultimately didn't ask it.

Perhaps, deep down, he was terrified of hearing the answer. If the time was earlier than he imagined—for example, "when I saved you," "when we parted at the teahouse," or "when we first met"—a flaw would be added to his otherwise perfect memories.

Like a beautiful piece of cloth, with an inconspicuous hole burned into it, no one else but yourself would know.

But in my heart, it's an insurmountable obstacle.

“I never imagined we’d be sitting here face to face, laying everything out on the table.” Istavo used his fork to pick up the noodles on his plate, not eating them, but just rolling them up into a swirling bird’s nest. “In my mind, you should be home by now.”

"Go home?" Zhang Renfeng didn't quite grasp the concept. "Go back to where? To that stable shack in Fengchuisha?"

“Go home,” Istavo said softly, “to the other side of the sea.”

……

"!!" Zhang Renfeng's expression changed drastically. He stood up abruptly, his eyes filled with disbelief. "It was you? You told my senior brother that I was here?!"

"it's me."

Istavo said in a deep voice, "Do you remember that day when we left the port?"

"Two heavy pieces of silver, enough to silence more than ten people, ultimately couldn't completely shut them down."

"The news still leaked out and your senior brother found out. After that, he became a magician, traveling back and forth between various coastal cities, performing magic tricks for people at the docks. Over time, he became familiar with almost everyone at the docks."

"While making a living through acting, he inquired about you from merchant ships coming from abroad. It was during that period that he honed his spoken English on his own."

"About two years, through wind, frost, rain, and snow, through long journeys and short stirrups..."

"He never gave up looking for you, not even for a single day."

……

Zhang Renfeng's mouth opened slightly, her nose tingled, and her eyes involuntarily reddened.

When they met at the theater, Zhu Kuilong kicked him without saying a word. Now it seems that he only kicked him once... Zhu Kuilong didn't mention a single word about the anxiety, exhaustion, and repeated expectations and disappointments he had endured over the past two years!

When discussing the source of the information, he vaguely mentioned "the sea breeze brought broken news," which completely overshadowed the suffering he endured while waiting for the sea breeze.

“Unfortunately, he didn’t take you with him in the end.” Istavo shook his head and sighed, “In other words, your will to stay in this country, and your rejection and aversion to your original country, are much more serious than I imagined.”

"Do you want me to leave?" Zhang Renfeng frowned. "Why?"

“You will die,” Istavo said in a deep voice.

Chapter 569: The Death of Hongzhong (Part 1)

“I felt something was wrong from the beginning in White Torch Town. This isn’t something someone with your brain would do,” Istavo said jokingly. “Don’t get me wrong, Zhang, I’m not mocking you.”

"You are a classic individualistic hero. In your worldview, everything is simple: justice triumphs over evil, and courage overrides everything. You have always done just that. I admire you from the bottom of my heart. Really, not everyone has the courage to fight against those evil villains."

"But the story you wrote ends after 'the hero defeats the demon,' without even 'living happily ever after with the princess.' This world is so filthy, with so many demons, how could the hero have time to get married? He still has the next demon to kill, and the demon after that... What will happen to the kingdom after that? What will happen to the village chief? The hero has never thought about it."

“I believe that you were in charge until Wendigo was killed.”

“But after that, quickly seizing the power vacuum, installing a puppet, and taking White Torch Town under your own control is not something you would do. There is a shrewd and calculating person in your team.” Istavo’s tone was slightly admiring. “Igorinacio Zolael, your strategist is a talent. It’s a pity I’m not lucky enough to have the chance to meet him.”

"What kind of talk is that?" Zhang Renfeng frowned. "If you want to see him, just come find me. What's so difficult about that?"

Istavo smiled wryly, picked up his glass, and paused slightly before bringing it to his lips.

But in the end, he still took a sip, and with great dignity, he extended his thumb and gently wiped away the spilled wine from the corner of his mouth.

“…He was very farsighted.” Istavo held up two fingers. “Twenty years.”

"what?"

“I estimate that the era of chaos, disorder, lack of regulation and order in the West will last for at most another twenty years,” Istavo said in a deep voice. “The era of gunmen and outlaws will come to an end in 1899. Before that, if you don’t make changes, the wheels of civilization will crush you.”

"Zhang, even if you have immense strength, can you stop the changing times?"

……

After a moment of silence, Zhang Renfeng shook his head firmly, already having a clear understanding of his own abilities.

Before this enormous furnace, everything else is nothing but insignificant ants.

“Your strategist doesn’t want to be someone’s pawn; he wants to get involved and become a player at the table… But there are only so many players. If you come up, someone else has to leave. Nobody wants to leave, especially since the way you’re forcing them off the table is by beating them up and then shooting them dead, making them physically disappear.”

"Initially, this was White Torch. Then it was Saint Quintak, then Windhaven, Three Horses, Dover Hill, and most recently Lagras."

"You've been killing bad guys all the way, but bad guys don't see themselves as bad guys. In their eyes, you're an ambitious player. You go all in every hand, not only wanting the chips on the table, but also the 'seat' off the table. So everyone is afraid of you."

"In a sense, you succeeded."

He took a mahjong tile out of his pocket and gently placed it on the table.

Under the lights, the character "中" (zhong, meaning center) on the mahjong tile is particularly eye-catching.