Legend of the Dragon King: I really didn't mean to provoke them!

The phone was always busy, the company was in chaos, and the people sent out to look for him had searched all over Douluo Continent but hadn't found a single trace of him.

Xie Xie initially held onto hope, thinking that his old man must have gone out to find a way to save his mother.

He waited at the door every day, hoping that familiar figure would appear.

But as the days went by, from late autumn to early winter, the sycamore leaves outside the window fell to the ground, eventually being covered by snow, but Xie Feng still did not return.

Lin Wanqing could hardly recognize him anymore.

The woman who once stood there like a ray of light, with her eyes crinkling and a smile that could warm the whole winter, is now so thin that she's just skin and bones.

Her once jet-black and smooth hair had become dry and yellow, loosely tied behind her head, her cheeks were sunken, her eye sockets were frighteningly deep, and she didn't even have the strength to sit up.

She could only lie flat on her bed every day, her breathing as weak as a candle flame that might be extinguished at any moment.

Only those eyes still retained a trace of their former tenderness.

Every morning, just as dawn breaks, she wakes up. Then, with all her might, she turns her head slightly and gazes at the gray sky outside the window.

Her gaze was unfocused; she just stared fixedly at something for the entire day.

Lin Wanqing rarely speaks or eats. She vomits up most of the porridge she is fed.

Without Xie Feng overseeing things, all the healing-type Soul Masters would have left long ago, leaving only an old nanny at home who brews medicine and bathes her every day.

Xie Xie knew she was waiting.

She was waiting for Xie Feng to come back.

Chapter 138 When the Snow Fell, He Was a Step Too Late

(P.S.: I recommend listening to the song "Please Don't Leave Me" while reading the last two chapters.)

Lin Wanqing knew her time was running out, and she had even secretly entrusted her affairs to the old nanny, making clear arrangements for Xie Xie and Na'er's future.

But she just wouldn't close her eyes.

She wanted to see her Ah Feng one more time.

Ah Feng, who is as aloof as an iceberg in front of outsiders, but always acts like a child who never grows up in front of her.

Ah Feng, the one who gets jealous of her son, who gets kicked away by her and then hides in a corner drawing circles, and who hugs her and says, "I will fall in love with you."

On one occasion, Lin Wanqing was unusually lucid.

She took Xie Xie's hand and placed a polished platinum ring into his palm. It was a gift from Xie Feng when he proposed to her years ago, and she had worn it for over a decade without ever taking it off.

"Little Xie Xie."

Lin Wanqing's voice was as light as a feather, barely audible, "When your father comes back, give him this. Tell him I don't blame him."

"I'm just... a little disappointed."

Xie Xie clutched the cold ring, his nails digging deep into his palm, blood trickling down between his fingers and dripping onto the white sheets like blooming red plum blossoms.

He was unable to speak.

At that moment, he hated Xie Feng.

But he could only nod forcefully, holding back his tears, and say in a hoarse voice, "Mom, don't worry, Dad will come back, he will definitely come back."

Lin Wanqing smiled, a smile so weak it was like a reflection in water, fragile enough to shatter at the slightest touch.

“Yes,” she said softly, “I’ll wait for him.”

Na'er still stayed by Lin Wanqing's bedside every day, gazing at her with her eyes that could barely see clearly.

Sometimes when Lin Wanqing's hand was exposed, she would carefully put it under the blanket and cover it with her small hand, trying to give her mother some warmth.

She took out all her strawberry candies and placed them one by one on the bedside table.

She remembered that her brother wasn't sad anymore when he ate candy.

She wanted her mother to try it too, so that her mother wouldn't feel uncomfortable.

But Lin Wanqing could no longer taste the sweetness.

The Xie family mansion was eerily quiet.

There was no laughter, no talking, and even footsteps were as light as ghosts.

Only the wall clock continues its tireless ticking, each tick like a countdown.

The air was filled with the heavy smell of medicine and disinfectant, along with an increasingly strong, deathly aura.

Xie Xie sat by the bedside every day, watching Lin Wanqing's life slip away little by little, watching her breathing become weaker and weaker, and watching her eyes become more and more cloudy.

His heart felt like it was being fried in oil, the pain was so intense it was numb.

He hated the cruelty of fate, hated his own incompetence, and hated Xie Feng, who had vanished without a trace.

Xie Xie bit his lip hard until he tasted the blood in his mouth.

He looked out the window at the snowflakes dancing in the air, at the door that would never be opened, and the despair and anger in his heart simmered like a volcano, waiting for the moment to erupt.

Lin Wanqing, lying on the bed, was still gazing out the window.

Her gaze grew increasingly unfocused, and her consciousness became increasingly blurred. Yet, she stubbornly continued to stare in that direction, occasionally whispering a name.

“Ah Feng…”

“Ah Feng…”

The voice was so soft it was almost inaudible, yet it struck Xie Xie's heart like a hammer, blow after blow.

Finally, that barely audible "Ah Feng" was like the last string of a broken instrument—

Stopped abruptly.

Lin Wanqing's eyes, gazing at the doorway, slowly lost their last glimmer of light. The fingers that had been resting on Na'er's hand loosened gently and fell limply to their sides.

Na'er paused for a moment, then gently shook Lin Wanqing's arm with her small hand and called out softly, "Mommy? Mommy, wake up, it's time for your candy."

No one answered her.

Xie Xie sat on the edge of the bed, as if frozen in place.

He could feel Na'er's little hand trembling slightly as she gripped his clothes, and he could hear the sound of snowflakes falling on the branches outside the window.

But he could no longer hear the ticking of the clock.

The whole world went silent at that moment.

All sounds disappeared, all colors faded, leaving only boundless, cold blackness.

He just sat there, looking at Lin Wanqing's peaceful face, as if she were asleep, at her eyes that would never open again, at the corners of her mouth that would never curve again.

Tears streamed down silently, splashing onto the white sheets and leaving a small, dark stain.

Just then—

"boom!"

The main gate of the house was violently rammed open with all its might, causing dust to fall from the walls.

The biting cold wind, carrying heavy snowflakes, swept in, stinging people's faces.

A disheveled figure stumbled in.

It's Xie Feng.

His once-sharp black overcoat was now ripped and torn, covered in dried dark red bloodstains, with a large, shocking patch of crimson blood still seeping from his chest.

His hair was a mess, stuck to his forehead, covered in snow and mud.

His face was covered with the marks of time and scars, and his once sharp, eagle-like eyes were now bloodshot, filled with nothing but frantic urgency.

Xie Feng's right hand was tightly gripping something, his knuckles turning white from the force, and blood dripped from his wrist onto the floor as he staggered upwards.

In his haste, he slipped and fell heavily on the steps.

His knee slammed against the cold marble with a dull thud.

But he seemed oblivious to the pain, scrambling to his feet and stumbling into the bedroom.

Then he saw it.

He saw his wife lying on the bed, her eyes closed forever.

He saw his wife's cold hands hanging by the bedside.

Xie Feng froze completely.

The eagerness, anticipation, and madness on his face froze instantly.

The blood-red gem in his hand fell to the ground with a "thud" and rolled to the side of the bed.

Xie Feng's pupils trembled violently. He seemed unable to believe what he was seeing, and slowly moved to the bedside step by step.

He reached out, wanting to touch Lin Wanqing's face, but his hand trembled so badly that he missed several times.

Just one step away.

Why was it always just a little short?!

"Wanqing..."

Xie Feng's voice was hoarse, as if it had been sanded, and filled with unbelievable despair.

"Wanqing, I'm back..."

"Please wake up...please..."

The person in the bed lies quietly, no longer laughing and scolding him for being irresponsible, no longer ruffling his hair, no longer hugging him and saying, "Ah Feng, I miss you so much."

Xie Feng's knees buckled, and he knelt on the ground with a thud.

He knelt by the bed, looking at Lin Wanqing's face, his shoulders trembling violently, but he couldn't utter a sound.

Large tears fell from his eyes and landed on Lin Wanqing's hand.

A hand suddenly grabbed his collar.

Chapter 139 I hate you, and I'm sorry.

Xie Xie stared at him with bloodshot eyes, his teeth grinding together, and veins bulging on his forehead.

The despair, anger, grievances, and resentment that had been building up for three months erupted like a volcano at this moment.

"Where did you go?!"

Xie Xie's voice was hoarse, almost like a roar, and he slammed his fist hard into Xie Feng's face.

"Where the hell have you been?!"

Xie Feng's head was turned to the side after being hit, and blood flowed from the corner of his mouth, but he seemed not to feel the pain, just staring blankly in Lin Wanqing's direction.

"Mom has waited for you for three months!"

Xie Xie grabbed his collar and shook him violently, tears streaming down her face like broken beads.

"For three whole months! Every day, Mom could only lie here waiting for you! She waited for you until she died!"

"Do you know how much pain she's in?! Do you know how many days she's counting down the days until you come home?!"

"She's already made all the arrangements for her funeral! She's arranged everything for me and Na'er's future! She's just waiting for you to come back and see her one last time!"

Why are you only coming back now?!

"Didn't you love her the most? Didn't you say you'd be with her for life? Didn't you say you'd never leave her alone?!"

"Say something!"

Xie Xie punched Xie Feng repeatedly, each punch using all his strength.

"Xie Feng! You bastard! Why didn't you come back sooner!"