Seeing that familiar figure, Fang Xin was completely stunned.
The figure sitting on the living room sofa was looking down at the coffee table.
On the coffee table was also a photo of his aunt, Fang Huilan.
The old man was visibly haggard.
Hearing the sound of the door opening, the old man turned his head and looked at Fang Xin.
He smiled slightly at Fang Xin, waved him over, and patted the sofa next to him, signaling Fang Xin to sit down.
"Grandpa?" Fang Xin quickly walked over after seeing the old man.
"Where have you been all this time?"
Fang Qingdi shook his head, not answering Fang Xin's question, but instead changed the subject, "Has your aunt's body been brought back?"
"It has!"
Fang Xin's spatial ring flashed, and a huge ice block appeared. Inside the ice block was the body of his aunt, Fang Huilan.
The moment he saw his daughter's body, Fang Qingdi's eyes turned red. He raised his hand and placed it on the ice block. The ice block mysteriously cracked open in the middle, slowly pushing apart to reveal Fang Huilan inside. Fang Qingdi raised his hand and gently smoothed Fang Huilan's hair, looking at his daughter with complex emotions.
After an unknown amount of time, Fang Qingdi sighed, "Where is Xiao Cha?"
"Her plane won't land for another hour!"
Fang Qingdi nodded, re-covering the ice block. "When Xiao Cha returns, we'll bury your aunt!"
On the way back, Fang Xin had already contacted the funeral home, and they would send someone to arrange the specific funeral procedures later.
However, Fang Xin hadn't expected to see Fang Qingdi after returning home.
"Grandpa, where have you been all this time?"
Fang Qingdi opened his mouth and his lips moved, but no sound came out. Fang Qingdi couldn't help but shake his head, pointing to his mouth, indicating that he was constrained by some rule and couldn't speak.
"Xiao Xin, you've made rapid progress. I heard you even killed a Church squad in the God and Demon Ruins?" Fang Qingdi asked.
Fang Xin nodded, "Yes."
At this moment, Fang Xin was full of questions. Fang Xin organized his thoughts, "Grandpa, you..."
Fang Qingdi raised his hand, interrupting Fang Xin's subsequent words. "Xiao Xin, actually, I'm just a clone! The place where my main body is, you saw it just now. Because of the rules, I can't tell you, nor can I write it down."
These words immediately made Fang Xin stunned. The Fang Qingdi in front of him looked exactly like the grandpa Fang Xin had lived with day and night.
Fang Qingdi explained, "My Talents are Penetration and Blood Demon, both top-tier SSS-rank, so you can't tell the difference between me and my main body. This clone was condensed through the Blood Demon Talent. Your Slaughter Talent can also condense clones. As for how to do it, you can ask the 'you' in the mirror."
Hearing this, Fang Xin then asked another question, "Grandpa, how do you know these details about the Slaughter Talent?"
Fang Qingdi smiled, looking at Fang Xin, "Because... because there were other Slaughter Talent users before you. I've seen and interacted with them!"
"Grandpa, in the video you sent me before, I heard you running away. Were you hiding from something?"
After saying this, Fang Xin clearly saw a hint of apprehension flash in Fang Qingdi's eyes. He pointed to his mouth again, indicating that the rules prevented him from speaking.
"Then you sent me to the No. 9 God and Demon Relic to find the Qilin?"
"Yes! And no. According to calculations, the Qilin was created by Professor Shang, and its lifespan wouldn't be very long. By the time you went, the Qilin had likely already died. My main purpose in sending you to the God and Demon Ruins was to get you to meet Situ Shenshu. When I first had you contact the Kou Family Army, it was because I predicted that the Kou Family Army would definitely send you to search for the bodies left in the forbidden land. After you went, you would surely enter the Thunder Sound Hall, and you would inevitably be attracted by Situ Shenshu inside!"
Fang Xin was stunned, not expecting that all of this was within Fang Qingdi's predictions.
"Then what is your specific relationship with the Eternal Night Army?"
"Xiao Xin, you should remember that I told you countless times that those who stand in the light are not necessarily good people, and those who stand in the dark are not necessarily all bad people. Those people from the Church claim to be descendants of light, representing the purest sanctity in this world, but I think you've already interacted with them. Not all people in the Eternal Night Army are bad either. There is no absolute good or bad in this world."
Having experienced various things, Fang Xin particularly agreed with Fang Qingdi's words.
Fang Qingdi continued, "I have a good relationship with some people in the Eternal Night Army, even to the point of being friends!"
At this point, Fang Xin remembered what Li Tai'an said yesterday, "Grandpa, after the internal struggle within the Church, why did you stop trying to overthrow the Church?"
Fang Qingdi stared into Fang Xin's eyes, and after a long silence, said, "Because, among the Reformists at that time, some very strange people had infiltrated. On the surface, they seemed normal, but in their bones, they were even more extreme than those in the Church. Even if the Reformists ultimately won, within three to five years, the Reformists in power would become the new Royalist Faction! So, it was a meaningless endeavor!"
Fang Qingdi paused, then continued, "Moreover, even though these people were part of the Reformists, they had their own small group, and they even resolved that after the Reformists overthrew the Royalist Faction, they would eliminate all other Reformist comrades, making their own group the sole power. Their discussions about this small group were overheard by me. Rather than saying I defected, it's more accurate to say I discovered them, and they wanted to kill me!"
"Then didn't you explain to anyone else at the time?"
Fang Qingdi explained, "There were many of them, and some were even old comrades. So many of them claimed I had defected. At that time, the Pope indeed sought me out to negotiate peace, which also led to misunderstandings. I was unable to defend myself, and they were eager to kill me. I was forced to fight, and then I abandoned a clone to escape the Divine Court!"
At this point, Fang Qingdi continued, "Xiao Xin, everything I've told you so far is what I can say. As for the rest..."
Fang Qingdi pointed to his mouth, indicating that his main body was constrained by rules, and his clone could not continue speaking.
Since these things couldn't be said, Fang Xin changed the subject, "Grandpa, do you know about the Nili Hall?"
Fang Qingdi nodded, "It seems you've also been investigating your parents' affairs. It was indeed the Nili Hall that did it! As for where the remaining forces of the Nili Hall are, I don't know either. Since the Nili Hall was purged last century, its remnants have disappeared without a trace! You can try to maintain a relationship with the Kou Family and ask them if they know any clues."
Hearing this, Fang Xin's eyes flickered, as if he remembered something.
"Oh, right, Grandpa, Zhuge... that white-haired guy from the Ninth Division, he told me that if I saw you, he said he really wanted to meet you."
"I must return to my main body within three days! So, tell him I can't meet him for now!" Fang Qingdi shook his head.
Fang Xin continued, "He also said that if you refused, he wanted me to relay a message to you. He said, 'Imperial Court Jade Liquid Wine!'"
The moment he heard this, Fang Qingdi's pupils constricted.
"What did he say?"