Chapter 91

After introducing the relationship between Meng Qiuyan and Lin Wengui, Lin Kunshan led the way inside.

Xu Qiao accompanied Meng Qiuyan in the middle.

Marshal Lin Lie walked with Qin Chi at the rear.

Glancing at Meng Qiuyan’s back and thinking of his younger son who had been personally guarded by the old man for ten years, Lin Lie sighed imperceptibly.

When his son was dating Meng Qiuyan, he was not yet a marshal. As a general, he was constantly moving between ultra-hazardous zones and coastal bases, with no energy to pay attention to his children’s private lives. By the time he got a brief vacation and returned home, the young couple had already broken up due to the old man’s opposition. Subsequently, the old man arranged a marriage for his son with the child of another S-ranked general.

Lin Lie could fully imagine the rhetoric the old man used to make his son agree, just as his two marriages were also arranged by the old man.

As a son, Lin Lie had to comply with the old man’s arrangements due to the New Era’s environment and the responsibilities the Lin family bore. Otherwise, rumors of father-son discord could affect the morale of the entire base. As a father, Lin Lie had too little time to give to his children, and even when he did, he couldn’t oppose the old man over their marriages.

Just like tonight, the only thing he could do was come over and apologize on behalf of the old man for disturbing Meng Qiuyan’s life and for forcibly asking Xu Qiao to treat his son.

The secret passage was long, and the only sound was the footsteps of the five people.

Lin Lie looked at Qin Chi beside him and broke the silence, “How is Old Qin doing lately?”

Qin Chi replied, “Thank you for your concern. He is doing well. Knowing that I was coming to the Southeast Base for vacation, he specifically advised me to keep a low profile and not trouble the seniors. That’s why I haven’t formally visited you and Old Lin before. I hope you can forgive my rudeness.”

Lin Lie said, “It’s a minor issue. You should just enjoy your vacation. If you need any assistance from the Southeast Base, feel free to ask.”

Qin Chi responded, “Thank you, Marshal.”

Finally, the five arrived at the cell holding the phoenix, standing on a platform in mid-air.

Meng Qiuyan had been here with Lin Lie over an hour ago but didn’t go down, only looking from above. When she descended with the others this time and saw the phoenix’s listless state and the scars on its body up close, she lost control again, tears streaming down her face, comparing it to Lin Wengui’s spirited demeanor from over twenty years ago.

Xu Qiao supported Meng Qiuyan, comforting her softly, while releasing a lotus spirit over twenty meters tall.

The phoenix stood up, and the lotus was so large that it ignored Meng Qiuyan’s small figure below.

Having been beaten just the day before, the phoenix seemed to guess that this flower couldn’t be pecked, so it simply watched quietly, showing neither vigilance nor resistance to the faint fragrance, as it had been confined for so long that it had seen every wall of this cell countless times. It instinctively welcomed any new thing.

As the light fragrance filled the space, the phoenix scrutinized the lotus from top to bottom several times. Just as it was about to drink from the water globules on the lotus, a three-meter-long black scorpion suddenly appeared on the ground between it and the water.

The phoenix, with fiery red eyes and golden pupils, immediately abandoned its plan to drink and fixated on the small black scorpion.

The black scorpion stood still, looking up at the phoenix.

Instinctively, the phoenix swiftly pecked, catching the small black scorpion and tossing it into its mouth.

Xu Qiao was shocked, and as Lin Kunshan and his son along with Qin Chi were about to intervene, Meng Qiuyan choked out, “Don’t move.”

Before the phoenix could actually swallow the black scorpion, Meng Qiuyan retracted her spirit and then released it again on the ground.

This time, the black scorpion ran away, but the phoenix, being so large, didn’t need to move its feet and just moved its neck to keep pace with the scorpion.

The phoenix pecked, the scorpion disappeared, the scorpion reappeared, and the phoenix pecked again. This repeated several times until the phoenix’s patience wore thin. The next time it caught the scorpion, it didn’t swallow but tossed it high into the air.

The three-meter-long black scorpion was thrown high, flying past the phoenix’s eyes and head. As it reached the apex and began to fall, the phoenix opened its beak wide below.

Meng Qiuyan just watched, and the rapidly falling black scorpion didn’t struggle, quietly watching the familiar yet strange giant phoenix.

Just before the scorpion fell into the phoenix’s mouth, the phoenix’s golden pupils suddenly contracted. It then slightly lowered its head, allowing the scorpion to land in its crest and slide down its long neck into the soft feathers on its back.

Finally, the normally docile black scorpion seemed to get angry, raising its tail to sting the phoenix hard.

The phoenix, pricked by the tiny sting, shook its wings uncomfortably. Shaking, the golden pupils of the phoenix reflected Meng Qiuyan’s silently crying figure.

It was as if the scene froze, or time stopped at that moment, with the slender woman looking up high and the huge phoenix lowering its head in a daze.

Clearly, they loved deeply but had to let go. They missed each other but couldn’t get close.

No one knew that when the blood and flesh phoenix, driven mad by longing, first appeared, it only wanted to fly to Meng Qiuyan’s side.

Every attempt to escape in the past ten years was to reach Meng Qiuyan.

The abilities user had set layer after layer of restraints on himself, while the spirit only wanted to do what it desired most.

A gust of wind lifted Meng Qiuyan onto the phoenix’s back. The phoenix then soared, circling up the metal tree in the cage and landing in a nest in mid-air with its woman.

Lin Kunshan snorted and turned away.

Lin Lie, feeling a mix of emotions, stepped aside, unable to share his thoughts with the younger people due to his age.

Xu Qiao used her powers to wipe away the tears, but her vision was still blurry.

Seeing this, the tissue in Qin Chi’s hand became useless. Looking up at her, he reminded Xu Qiao, “Should you withdraw the lotus?”

Xu Qiao followed his gaze, wiping her eyes in the process, and finally saw the scene in midair clearly: the phoenix’s luxurious tail feathers hung outside the nest, and the lotus, which had previously been too afraid to approach the phoenix, now leaned towards the nest, almost touching it.

Xu Qiao immediately sent a mental command to the lotus: No peeking!

The lotus then retreated, maintaining a respectful distance.

Inside the nest, Meng Qiuyan found herself surrounded by a long-lost warmth and softness. Beneath her was a wing, and above her were the neck feathers of the phoenix.

This was something Lin Wen Gui’s spirit often did for her during their relationship.

Meng Qiuyan turned over, pressing herself against the phoenix’s fiery body, her left hand repeatedly stroking the familiar fine feathers. “Phoenix, do you remember me?”

The phoenix held her tighter.

Meng Qiuyan asked, “What about Wen Gui? Is he awake?”

The phoenix responded, He is asleep.

Meng Qiuyan pleaded, “Can you wake him? I want to talk to him.”

The phoenix answered, He married someone else. You won’t forgive him. If he wakes up, you’ll leave.

It had repeatedly wanted to find Meng Qiuyan, but Lin Wen Gui always refused with this reason. Despite longing for her more than the phoenix, he preferred to stay at the coastal base, fighting beasts daily to numb himself.

Tears streamed down Meng Qiuyan’s face. “I don’t hate him. Why wouldn’t I forgive him? Please wake him up. Seeing him like this makes me very sad.”

The phoenix asked, If he wakes up, will you be with him?

Meng Qiuyan paused in her tears, then shook her head.

The phoenix rolled over, pressing Meng Qiuyan firmly beneath it. Then let him sleep. Stay with me. I never married anyone else. I wasn’t in him when he was with that woman. I didn’t betray you.

Meng Qiuyan smiled bitterly. “Thank you, but you are him, and he is you.”

“Phoenix, Wen Gui, I know you’ve had a hard time these past years, but this is our fate. We are destined to be apart.”

“I was sick too, but Xu Qiao healed me. I’m doing well now, so I hope you can be healed and start a new life.”

The phoenix didn’t respond, simply refusing to let Meng Qiuyan leave.

Suddenly, Lin Kunshan’s stern voice came from below, “Wen Gui, if you’re awake, turn back. I have something to say to you.”

The phoenix spat a large ball of fire downward, which Lin Lie intercepted.

The phoenix continued to hold Meng Qiuyan.

Meng Qiuyan said helplessly, “He called me here to help treat you. If you don’t cooperate, he won’t let you see me again.”

The phoenix’s body stiffened.

Meng Qiuyan stroked its neck feathers to soothe it.

The phoenix asked, If you’re not going to be with him, what’s the point of waking him up if it means more pain for him?

Meng Qiuyan said, “So you want to stay locked up here forever and make me worry about you both for the rest of my life?”

The phoenix tried to respond, but Meng Qiuyan struggled to break free. “You were the one who pursued me first. When I was ready to marry you, your family treated me like that. You couldn’t change them, and I didn’t want to compromise myself. We agreed to part ways and never contact each other again, but now you’ve done this to yourself and pulled me back into your life.”

She looked into the phoenix’s eyes, smiling bitterly. “You and Lin Wen Gui, if you really care about me, then turn back and face him yourself. Don’t let him trouble and humiliate me anymore.”

The phoenix sensed her pain. Old and new grudges flared in its eyes.

It swooped down, aiming its sharp claws at Lin Kunshan’s back.

In an instant, a fifty-meter-tall phoenix emerged from Lin Kunshan’s body.

The phoenix spread its wings, impacting the entire prison space.

Xu Qiao quickly withdrew the lotus, and Qin Chi, holding her, navigated through the space between the two phoenixes’ wings to the nest where Meng Qiuyan was hiding. A fire dragon wrapped around the tree branches, blocking the stray attacks.

Feeling safe, Xu Qiao nervously looked down, seeing the fifty-meter-tall old phoenix pressing the twenty-meter-tall phoenix to the ground, its sharp claws digging into its wings as punishment.

“Enough!”

Another fifty-meter-tall phoenix appeared, angrily pushing the old phoenix aside.

For the first time in his life, Lin Kunshan faced defiance. Retracting his spirit, he angrily glared at Lin Lie. “You dare strike me?”

Lin Lie stood in front of the fallen phoenix, weariness etched on his face as he faced his father’s questioning. “Wen Gui’s downfall is all your doing. Are you really going to continue being stubborn?”

Lin Kunshan shouted, “I did it for whom? Isn’t it for the base?”

Lin Lie closed his eyes, taking a deep breath before reopening them. Determined, he said to his father, “Then it’s time for you to step down. As the current commander of the Southeast Base and as Wen Gui’s father, I have the right to decide his treatment.”

With that, he shattered the surrounding A-level protective shield and said to his injured son behind him, “Wen Gui, go out, but don’t fly too far. There’s still treatment to be done.”

The phoenix tried to stand, raising its injured wing, and flew upwards.

Passing by the nest on the giant tree, its fiery eyes looked at Meng Qiuyan standing beside Xu Qiao.

Meng Qiuyan, holding back tears, nodded.

The phoenix, unburdened, spread its wings and flew away.

The A-level phoenix’s flames erupted like lava, melting through the hundred-meter-thick ground. Amidst the blazing light, the giant phoenix broke free from its cage.

Underground, Lin Lie blocked Lin Kunshan’s path, and Qin Chi brought Xu Qiao and Meng Qiuyan to the surface.

At the same time, countless people in the Southeast Base were drawn by the familiar cry of the phoenix. They either opened their windows or ran outside.

They all looked up simultaneously to see a phoenix streaking across the dark night sky, its magnificent tail feathers trailing brilliant, dazzling flames.