Chapter 3384 — Longing for Home

Song Xianghua caught sight of Song Keqing beside him and was momentarily taken aback.

"Second Grandfather, the reason I came to see you today is actually because of my own affairs," said Song Keqing, the one called Xiaorui, respectfully.

"Oh? Tell me, then—what is it you have come to me about?" Song Xianghua nodded. His manner by now was already quite amiable; had it been President He alone, he likely would not have had so many words for him.

"Let me explain!" He Dantou smiled and took over the conversation, then said with a laugh, "The matter is like this..."

So saying, He Dantou laid out the whole affair, including the business of having Song Keqing kill a certain man.

"Oh? The Central Plains of Huaxia..." A deep, dense nostalgia flickered across Song Xianghua's eyes. "It has been so long since I went back. I wonder how my family is doing? Xiaorui, this time I will go back with you!"

Hearing that Song Xianghua would also return, He Dantou was overjoyed. If Song Xianghua lent his hand as well, would Wei Zhao not be doomed beyond any doubt?

"Grand Elder Song, you will act as well?" He Dantou asked cautiously.

"I will not act. Xiaorui's strength alone is enough for that so-called trial. At my age, going to take part would only invite ridicule—and besides, this trial should have an age limit, should it not?" Song Xianghua said mildly.

Although the trial had no stipulated age limit, Song Xianghua had spoken thus, and He Dantou could hardly press him. He also saw that He Dantou was rather lacking in interest—"Very well, then. So the Grand Elder Song agrees to let Song Keqing act?"

"Xiaorui owes you a favor; acting is only proper. There is no need to seek my opinion," Song Xianghua said with a shake of his head. "Very well, President He. If there is nothing else, Xiaorui and I will be going. This time I return, I may stay rather long. Until we meet again. As for Xiaorui's mission this time, whether it succeeds or not has nothing to do with us anymore. I want her to live with me over there for a while as well, to feel the breath of our homeland..."

"That... of course, that is fine. No problem at all." He Dantou was slightly taken aback, then nodded. Though he did not wish both Song Xianghua and Song Keqing to return—and to go in such a way as never to come back, for who knew whether Song Xianghua could ever return hereafter?

But he could not refuse. Facing a top-tier expert at the peak of the late Heaven Rank, at the realm of Greater Perfection, the pressure on He Dantou was still immense. He had no confidence of victory at all; even if he kept Song Xianghua here, it would only end in mutual destruction!

Moreover, his hard-fought battle with the general manager of the Red Conch had left his injuries still unhealed; at such a time he dared not make any rash move.

"Very well, then we shall take our leave. Xiaorui, stay and help your Second Grandfather pack a few things," Song Xianghua said to Song Keqing—which was as good as giving He Dantou his marching orders.

"Grand Elder Song, then I shall take my leave. Until we meet again!" He Dantou smiled bitterly, turned, and bade farewell. "As for the details of Song Keqing's mission, I will telephone her afterward and discuss it with her privately."

He Dantou had not yet explained the specifics of the mission to Song Keqing before she was kept back by Song Xianghua; he could only choose to discuss it in detail afterward.

"Xiaorui, I never imagined that at such a young age you would already be an expert at the peak of the late Heaven Rank, at the realm of Greater Perfection. When the two of us return to the Song family this time, the Song family's standing will surely be able to set foot upon the ancient tier! The Song family becoming an ancient clan—the very thought sets my blood racing!" A look of deep yearning and remembrance suddenly surfaced on Song Xianghua's face. In his youth he had left home in single-minded pursuit of cultivation; thinking back on the resolve in his own eyes when he departed, on his elder brother's reluctance to part and his deep worry, Song Xianghua felt a sudden ache in his heart.

At that time, Song Xianghua had not known how important a Mystic Rank expert was to a secular clan—or rather, he had simply been unwilling to think of such things. What he had pursued single-mindedly then was strength and ever higher tiers of rank!

But as the years grew on him, as he joined the Overseas Cultivators' Association, as he saw and felt too many things, too much of the warmth and coldness of human feeling, Song Xianghua finally understood how bitter his brother's heart must have been then!

How hard it was for a clan without a formidable expert to stand firm! Only, he had no way to tell his elder brother of his present circumstances.

Once one enters the gates of a great house, the sea runs deep—and in truth it was the same with the Overseas Cultivators' Association. In his youth he had used the association's resources, his strength and rank climbing steadily, and in truth that was equivalent to selling himself to the association. He had lost his freedom; even though he was of the Song family, he could not go back.

It was like Tang Yuqi, who had fled without leave—the consequences were unthinkable! Only because Tang Yuqi was lucky enough to have an expert shield him did he escape; but if Song Xianghua had returned to the Song family before, what awaited him would have been a fight to the death.

So he had not let Xiaorui tell the Song family of his situation. In fact, even Xiaorui's own affairs were not well known to the Song family, for the assassin guild had its own rules: her identity must be kept strictly secret from her family!

Even if one wished to wash one's hands of it all, without a powerful figure to speak on one's behalf it was impossible; the assassin organization behind Xiaorui would never willingly let her go.

But now it was different. He had already set foot at the peak of the late Heaven Rank, at the realm of Greater Perfection, and so had Xiaorui. Now, with the two of them joined together, leaving this place and returning to the Song family in the Central Plains of Huaxia, those people—even if they were displeased—would have to reckon with the strength of the two of them!

So long as the two of them did not truly break away from the organization, neither He Dantou nor the people behind Xiaorui would dare act rashly! They could stay in the Central Plains of Huaxia for a good while, and even return for a spell each year hereafter—thus keeping the organization behind them satisfied while also raising the Song family's overall strength.

"All these years, I have failed the Song family. The Song family has perhaps had a very hard time of it? The other clans are all suppressing us, are they not?" Song Xianghua, thinking of all that had passed, was overcome with tears.

"Second Grandfather, actually... what you do not know is that my elder sister has become formidable too. She is already an expert at the peak of the late Earth Rank," Xiaorui hastened to console him.

"Oh? What? You mean Xiaoshan? She is an expert at the peak of the late Earth Rank? How is that possible?" Song Xianghua was instantly stunned! He found it hard to imagine that anyone could reach such strength in the Song family's circumstances, for the Song family's cultivation resources were far too limited. "And besides, is she not a police officer?"RS