Max Level Return—I'll Protect That Fragile One

Huo Wen’an’s ears turned red.

He put down the porridge bowl and said softly, ”I’m a bit tired, Little Tang, could you tidy up a room for me to rest?”

”Lord Captain, the room is already prepared. I’ll have Uncle Jin take you to rest.”

Huo Wen’an got up, taking the Divine Hidden Sword and left.

His departing figure was hurried, as if fleeing in defeat.

Song Chi watched his uncle’s retreating back thoughtfully and said, ”Is he feeling guilty or just shy?”

”Shy, I suppose.”

Shenyin Tang quickly found that ancient book.

The book was really quite old; the illustration of the Divine Hidden Sword on the cover had long been eaten away by bugs, leaving only a vague outline.

Xu Xingguang carefully read through the love letter, which was in a pitiful state from insect bites.

As Shenyin Tang mentioned, the writing was indeed unfamiliar, as it was from the Xia Country Era.

Song Chi glanced at it a couple of times, but couldn’t understand, so he gave up. ”I’m going to rest as well. You should get some rest, boss.”

After Song Chi returned to his room, Xu Xingguang sat alone by the fireplace reading the ancient book.

The author of these love letters was a learned man, with a bold and spirited handwriting.

In the first letter, the man appeared to be quite young; despite the seemingly unruly handwriting, a closer look revealed some unsteady strokes.

The letter’s author wrote: [My father has passed away from this world, and her father, too, has sacrificed himself for the country. We have both become orphans.

She stood before me, holding Marshal Lin’s ashes, with no joy or sorrow. I noticed that her fingers had more calluses, and I wanted dearly to hold her arm and tell her that I am willing to listen to her heart’s sorrows.

But the way she looked at me was as if I were just a kid.

Ah, perhaps Lin Piaopiao doesn’t like younger men.]

Xu Xingguang: ”...”

Who knew that, in his younger days, Divine Hidden Crane had such a vivid inner world.

As time went on, the man’s handwriting suddenly became sharp and fierce, each character exuding his steadiness and determination, much like the monarch he would later become.

[Yesterday at the duty meeting, I touched Lin Piaopiao’s hand. Her hand is one that wields swords in battle and snaps enemy necks, very rough and strong.

She could probably snap my neck with just one hand.]

In the third letter, the man wrote:

[I dreamt last night. I dreamed that Lin Piaopiao pinched my vulnerable spot, and in the dream, I experienced the entirety of the first time. Upon waking, I suddenly felt restless with a lonely pillow.]

In the fourth, he said:

[Manager He thought I needed a woman and sent the delicate daughter from the Fifth Family to the King’s Mansion. Her scent is lightly of lilac flowers. Without Lin Piaopiao guarding the Divine Xia Country, how could these women live such peaceful and prosperous lives?

Manager He is foolish. He guessed everything, yet couldn’t guess my affection.

Deduct a month’s salary from him.]

In the fifth, the man said: [Lin Piaopiao scolded me, criticizing me for having no taste, saying how could I not take interest in a peerless beauty like the Fifth Miss, am I aiming for a fairy?

I don’t want a fairy; I only want Lin Piaopiao.]

...

In the twenty-third: [Lin Piaopiao drank, and her lips smelled of alcohol. I stole a kiss from her, and she slapped me, cursing what kind of blind mosquito I was.

Was she truly drunk?]

In the thirty-second: [Recently, rumors have been swirling around the Lin Family Army, saying their army has a strategist, very handsome, who Lin Piaopiao is quite fond of.

Ha.

Ignorance.

In Lin Piaopiao’s eyes, there are no men. If she truly had such a fondness for appearances, would I still be unrequited to this day?]

In the thirty-third: [Lin Piaopiao is a heartbreaker, would rather play with toys herself than play with me.]

In the fortieth: [Lin Piaopiao is now thirty-five. Manager He advises me to introduce her to someone.

I truly want to introduce someone to Manager He’s elderly mother, to let him know what it feels like to have a heart pierced by thousands of arrows.]

In the forty-fifth: [Lin Piaopiao, do you have a heart or not? Why won’t you marry me, but you still kiss me?

You kissed me, so why not a second kiss?

Can’t you handle it?]

In the forty-ninth Chapter: [Xiao An, don’t go astray; you must become my most proud monarch. Lin Piaopiao, until her death, refused to admit she liked me.]

In the fiftieth Chapter: [The infected have been sealed in the Infected Zone. I chose to stay, to face the apocalypse with my infected subjects.

Lin Piaopiao, if there’s reincarnation, you should be twenty years old by now.]

In the fifty-first: [Who is Xu Xingguang?]

In the fifty-second: [Xu Xingguang, who is she?]

In the fifty-third: [Xu Xingguang, will wait for me in the future. I have to go to the future to reunite with her.]

Snap!

Xu Xingguang suddenly closed the book, her fingertips trembling uncontrollably, as she realized her face was already wet with tears.

*

Xu Xingguang went to the temporary bedroom of Huo Wen’an.

He was, of course, not asleep. He sat at the coffee table on the balcony outside the bedroom, holding the sword in his left hand, silently gazing at the Divine Hidden Sea outside Siwei Town.

There was a change in his aura, appearing even deeper now.

It was a depth that comes from experiencing the vastness of life and then returning to tranquility.

”Finished reading it?” Huo Wen’an didn’t need to turn around to know Xu Xingguang was standing behind him.

Xu Xingguang walked behind the chair, glaring down at Huo Wen’an’s back, and asked him, ”How do you know about Xu Xingguang?” She asked why, in his past life as Divine Hidden Crane, did he know Xu Xingguang.

Huo Wen’an said, ”Before the Superpower Users moved away, I returned to the Marshal Mansion and accidentally saw a line of writing you had carved under the bed.”

”Xu Xingguang, move forward, to go home.” Huo Wen’an took Xu Xingguang’s hand in reverse, looked up at her reddening eyes, and said, ”I recognize your handwriting. I found an old lady who awakened the ability of foresight and asked her to look into the future of Lin Piaopiao and Xu Xingguang.”

”The strange thing is, Lin Piaopiao has no future, but Xu Xingguang has an endless future.” Huo Wen’an showed a bittersweet smile and said, ”She said you will live in the future. So, I chose to stay in the Mortal World and choose to rebirth after Divine Concealment. I figured, I would eventually meet you.”