Above the Galaxy
Chapter 178 - 132, Pitiful!

Chapter 178: Chapter 132, Pitiful!

"That’s your plan, not mine," Tang Fei said aloud. "I will not deceive someone’s feelings..."

"Feelings? Did you deceive her? Is your affection for her fake? The kindness you showed her, is that fake? The food and drink you gave her, is that fake? The life-risking protection you offered her, is that fake?"

"..."

"Besides, even if it’s deception, so what? Let alone feelings, you can deceive anything... Scheming is essentially the art of deception."

"Haven’t they deceived you? They sent you to the frontlines to kill enemies, to annihilate your opponents, to clear everything and everyone they dislike, claiming you are the pillar of the Empire, the deity of the military, promising you glory and wealth, to retire with the nation... All lies."

"While you were shedding blood in battle, chopping off enemy heads for them, they were drinking fine wines and plotting traps. When you were covered in wounds, when life and death hung in the balance, they were puffing on cigars, having already dug your grave... They set traps everywhere, threatening your wife and child’s lives. At that time, when people are the knives and you are the fish on the cutting board, do you think I cannot deceive?"

"What about the master? Why let the master and the others be sent to their deaths for nothing?"

"What’s the use of living?" the old man looked at Tang Fei, retorting aloud, "What’s the use of their living?"

"You..."

"If my death can serve the great cause of revenge, I hope you will not show mercy. Just hesitate for a second out of courtesy for the years of affection we’ve had, that will be enough."

"I cannot do it."

"You must do it." The old man looked at Tang Fei with a stern face and said, "This is a world of deception and mortal combat, where a single slip can ruin everything, where a moment’s carelessness can lead to a severed head. If you die, your entire family will be exterminated, and everyone close to you will have to die, even a merchant who has had a single conversation with you will be unlucky... Just like what the Tang family once suffered..."

"..."

"They won’t decide whether to kill you based on whether you’re a good person or a bad one... After they kill you, then they will think of what crime to pin on you..."

"This is war, once it starts, there must be a winner and a loser, life and death must be faced... There’s no turning back, only moving forward. What you must do is pull out all the stops... and then, achieve ultimate victory. Only the victor has the right to live."

"Must it really be this way?"

"I told you, you can choose to give up."

"..."

Tang Fei picked up the teapot and poured it directly into his mouth, gulping it down.

Listening to the old man’s stories made him feel parched.

It felt as if his brain was in a daze, like he was sick with a fever, his cheeks and body burning hot.

Too much information to digest, too many things to consider.

And the future... did he even have a future?

Thinking of how terrifying his opponents were, he felt a shiver run through his body.

It was like trying to crack a stone with an egg... and he was just an egg...

After draining the teapot, Tang Fei wiped his mouth and looked at the old man, asking, "What are the odds of winning?"

The old man did not answer.

"Eighty percent?"

"Less."

"Sixty percent?"

"No."

"Forty percent?"

"Too much."

"Ten percent?"

"Not quite certain..."

Tang Fei sat there in a daze for half the day, then looked at the old man and asked, "Can I take your surname, Lu?"

The old man looked puzzled. "What do you mean?"

"I want to sever ties with Tang Li, my father... that grudge... I cannot avenge it..."

"..."

After a moment of silence, the old man looked at Tang Fei and said, "Originally, I had no hope, but suddenly, I feel like you can do it..."

"..."

------

While Tang Fei and the old man were holding secretive talks, Lu Zhiyong was roasting a goat in the courtyard.

A whole goat was propped up on the grill, slowly rotating up, down, and sideways, driven by mechanical devices to ensure every part of the goat was evenly cooked.

The newly started roast goat was pale with a hint of red, and once fully roasted, the internal fats would seep out, turning the goat a crispy golden brown.

Crispy on the outside, tender on the inside, one bite would ooze with juices.

Seeing Tang Fei and the old man come out, Lu Zhiyong greeted them happily, "Have you two finished talking? You’ve come out just in time. I had someone bring over a mountain goat... it’ll be ready in half an hour."

"No need. Thank you."

Tang Fei responded and, without raising his head, walked towards the courtyard exit.

He regretted coming to this place, if he hadn’t followed them today...

He could have continued dreaming his supreme dream of being Xiao Bai’s pampered face.

Now, the dream was over.

Someone was forcing him to work, to perform, to change the world.

He didn’t want to move, he just wanted to lie down.

He had settled on a name, Tang Fei, Tang Fei. Why should he bear such a heavy responsibility?

"Hey, hey, why are you leaving?" Lu Zhiyong looked at his brother and said, "Didn’t you want him to try the roast whole goat from Lu Ban Mountain? I had it specially brought over, freshly slaughtered it is. The meat will be ready soon. You two haven’t seen each other for so long... a drink and some meat, wouldn’t that be great? I’ve prepared the wine."

"We’re not eating. He has no appetite." The old man could understand Tang Fei’s feelings and said, "Send him out in a car."

Tang Fei drove an unmanned vehicle into Lu Ban Mountain, and the car had long been smashed into scrap metal by the Mechanical Beast.

If he was not escorted, he would not be able to walk out of this mountain alone...

"Really not going to eat?"

"Really not going to eat."

"Alright then." Lu Zhiyong handed the sauce brush to the old man and went to arrange transportation for Tang Fei.

The old man took the brush, dipped it in sesame oil, and repeatedly brushed it over the surface of the goat meat.

Lu Zhiyong came back quickly, taking back the brush rights from his elder brother, brushing oil while speaking, "What did you two talk about? Why isn’t he saying anything? He won’t even respond when I speak to him... He looks quite distressed."

"I told him a few stories," said the old man.

"Definitely not any pleasant stories," Lu Zhiyong said with a smile.

"Yes, not any pleasant stories," the old man said as he looked up at the sky.

The sky was dim, and the clouds were thick.

Today was not a good day either.

At that moment, someone knocked on the courtyard door.

The old man’s expression froze, and Lu Zhiyong’s hand stopped brushing oil.

"Shall we see them?" Lu Zhiyong asked aloud.

"Let’s avoid it for now," the old man said, turning to walk into the inner room.

After the elder brother hid himself away, Lu Zhiyong went to open the courtyard door. Looking at Lu Siyu standing at the door, he said with a smile, "Siyu, you’ve come at just the right time, your second uncle is roasting a lamb. It’ll be ready soon, and you’re in for a treat today..."

Lu Siyu walked in, examining the huge roasted whole lamb in the courtyard, and asked, "Is second uncle going to eat a whole lamb by himself?"

Lu Zhiyong paused, then responded with a smile, "How could I eat it all by myself? I was planning to send some over to you all once it’s roasted..."

"Then why didn’t you invite everyone over? With second uncle’s huge yard, wouldn’t it be a wonderful occasion to roast the lamb and drink together?"

"Hahaha, I’m using an old-fashioned way of roasting lamb, and you young people don’t like the smoky flavor... I figured I’d just have someone deliver the meat to you once it’s done, so you can eat it while it’s still warm," Lu Zhiyong explained, making up excuses with all his might.

Thinking to himself, thank goodness he was quick-witted and clever.

Ordinary people would have been flustered by such a surprise attack.

"So, who activated the Lu Ban Array and who turned it off?"

Lu Zhiyong looked surprised at Lu Siyu and asked, "You knew about that?"

"I was the one who led the people in, and now you’re asking me if I know?" A mocking smile crept upon Lu Siyu’s face as he spoke.

"..."

Lu Zhiyong felt very uncomfortable.

He thought he should remove the "Zhi" (wisdom) from his name.

What are the brains of young people made of these days?

"Tang Fei left, he left again. Did you send him away?"

"Yes."

"Do you two know each other?"

"Sort of..."

"Let him come out," Lu Siyu said, his gaze piercing through Lu Zhiyong’s body and looking toward the inner room. "If he doesn’t come out today, then he should never appear before me again."

"This..." Lu Zhiyong struggled to speak, "I already told you last time, he hasn’t come back..."

The elder brother had instructed that without his permission, Lu Zhiyong absolutely could not tell Lu Siyu that he had returned.

Lu Zhiyong was an honest man; a promise made was to be kept.

So even at this point, he still had to put on a thick face and deny having seen him...

"Siyu..."

Behind him, a hoarse male voice rang out.

Lu Zhiyong turned to look, then quietly stepped aside.

At this point, what he said no longer mattered.

Lu Siyu looked at the man before him, dressed in a thick robe, appearing very afraid of the cold.

Hunched over, aged, his face lined with wrinkles, and his black hair mixed with a lot of white.

This was not the father he had imagined...

Nor the father from the legends.

In various rumors, his father was one of the Empire’s Gemini stars of that era, the Gongshu Family’s most talented mechanical designer.

At that time, the King had even praised: With this man, one could defeat an army.

He was proud and unrestrained, elegant and debonair, three times he declined the King’s offers of promotion, wishing only to be a designer at the Mechanical Department...

He refused the noblewoman arranged for him by the family, resolutely marrying the female doctor who saved his life on the battlefield...

For that, he did not hesitate to sever ties with the family, casting himself out of Lu Ban Mountain.

He was so brilliant and outstanding.

He was supposed to be a man of boundless pride, a true gentleman...

Was this emaciated, puny old man really his father?

Lu Siyu had harbored endless grievances and endless hatred in his heart, but seeing him suddenly appear before him...

Suddenly, Lu Siyu felt all the hate and grievance vanish, replaced by a sentiment called pity.

Yes, he was pitiful.