Wasn't I a Good Person?

A howl filled with grief and pain echoed in the lobby of the mansion. Director Duan's daughter had just arrived, and she raced to the coffin just to cry along with her daughters as well. Her husband kept on supporting her even though he was tearing as well.

Xu Rouguang sat at one of the aisles of the last row of seats. He had a sorrowful face, staring at the people crying for the old man in front. Director Duan Sheng was already a widower, only living his life in retirement. He retired from Jade Dragon Industries Inc. five years ago, but he was still a character that the company considered a lot. Xu Rouguang didn't have any problems with the arrangements as JDI almost did everything for him. Then again, he was still haunted by the words that left with Director Duan's last breath.

At that moment, he felt like he was hearing a woman's voice in the wind. She was saying goodbye to a Severed Glacier. He held his hands with his fingers interlocked, hoping to be forgiven by the old man's children. They had always told their father that he was the cause of their father's sickness. Duan Sheng had never denied that.

His last words had proved that Xu Rouguang sure was responsible. Even though Xu Rouguang had no idea what the last mission was, it seemed that he was there for him. Duan Sheng was nothing else but a very loyal servant to Xu Rouguang. The other man thought that he was just being too kind and thoughtful; servitude never crossed Xu Rouguang's mind.

'Have I been a good lieutenant general?' The immortal general's heart sank some more.

A hand then pat on his shoulder, and a familiar scent crawled into Xu Rouguang's nose. He lifted his face and saw Lai Mingjie standing next to him. The general stood up slowly and bowed to greet the other man. As he raised his face, he saw more men talking to other relatives of Duan Sheng. Xu Rouguang turned to Lai Mingjie who stared at the coffin upfront. "Director Lai..."

"Severed Glacier, was it?" Lai Mingjie narrowed his eyes. "That guy was so weird. Unlike other concealed immortals, he wasn't hostile to me or to Louyan. He was behaving like a normal human... such a very old soul. The world had probably broken his spirit long ago... right, he was your lackey." His face twitched. "He was annoying, too. The best tracker of the Imperial Army. Only guy who could find me everywhere I go. Dammit, you two were like wet paper under my shoes."

"He... he really is... Severed Glacier?" Xu Rouguang turned to the coffin, but he turned away when he accidentally connected his gaze with the daughter's. "It's probably not important, but... that's not a proper name, is it?"

Lai Mingjie chuckled before walking past him and sitting on the chair next to his. "Of course, it's his proper name. It's only weird because he wasn't human. He was a spirit born from a hundred-thousand-year-old glacier." He placed a hand on his chin. "Stories went like... people ended up getting slaughtered by demons living in a cave inside the glacier. The glacier grew so mad that it took on a form to rid itself of demons. The Goddess Nuwa shed a tear for his compassion and granted him a human body.

"He ended up being an excellent warrior and happened to get in the first battalion. Ah, I guess that's where you met." Lai Mingjie nodded as if his collocutor understood. "Well, they said that General Xu was aloof in one second, and then maniacally crazy the next. Only Severed Glacier managed to not get kicked in the face by General Xu... probably because he could track me down."

Xu Rouguang pursed his lips and hung his head. There seemed to be a lot of things in those memories of his. He now wondered what he did that angered the goddess and turned him into this. He looked down at his palms and stared at them. "Director Lai, wasn't I good person?"

"Who knows? You didn't seem a good one to me." Lai Mingjie noticed that the daughter was now arguing silently with her husband, and she was glancing in their direction. "Then again, for someone to serve you and wait for you to come back from the abyss? You must be very kind to him in a way. Severed Glacier is the definition of a dog, really. No way he could have done anything out of ulterior motives aside from pleasing his master." He then grasped at Xu Rouguang's shoulder... his gaze warning the woman from afar not to stride towards them any further.

The general followed Lai Mingjie's gaze, only to cower at the glare of the daughter. The director decided to stand up and reach out to the woman instead. "Miss Duan—"

The daughter slapped Lai Mingjie's hand before grabbing Xu Rouguang. "You! How dare you show up here! You killed my father, and you had the audacity to show up!" She swung her hand again to slap Xu Rouguang this time. "How can you be so shameless?! You think I didn't know he wasn't attending his check-up for months? How dare you assume you could make him any better? What did my father do to you for you to—?!"

Lai Mingjie grabbed the woman to stop her from hurting the general anymore. He tried his best to push her away. She was only held back when the husband took her away. She kept on screaming about how Xu Rouguang was a nobody that her father suddenly gave his home to. The other relatives also gave unsatisfactory faces as if they were disgusted by his existence. Well, ever since he came, Duan Sheng grew sick.

The demon king only grabbed Xu Rouguang's arm and walked him out of the lobby. The wife's screams then turned into howling again as they closed the door behind them. The general let the demon drag him even further away from the mansion's entrance. They stopped by the gates, and Lai Mingjie only made him lean against the wall. Xu Rouguang sighed before looking at the doors at a distance.

"They're in pain. Humans in pain are always like this." Lai Mingjie shook his head before leaning against the wall himself. "Trust me, I know that after living among them for a long time."

"I wonder if it is really my fault. Why did he get sick?" Xu Rouguang shook his head. "I wanted to help him, but he..."

"Don't blame yourself or Old Glacier. It's probably Nuwa." Lai Mingjie only shrugged. "She's very merciful to the humans, and yet so cruel to others. She probably made Old Glacier lose life slowly the moment he finds you. There's a chance that he asked for death in return for serving you one last time. I remember him telling Louyan that he came down in search of somebody." The director twitched and turned to the general. "Well, he probably... well... I think he believed you could make it back."

"...Jie, you need to help me find my memories. I want to remember Director Duan the way he wanted me to see him." Xu Rouguang stared at the doors. "I don't care what kind of memories were there. I still wanna know everyone in it."

"Well, I guess Duan Qing would be taking over the funeral. Don't bother with them anymore. They only knew Old Glacier as Duan Sheng. If they knew you, their faces would be on the floor all the time. You better come home with me tonight." Lai Mingjie patted his shoulder twice. "Wanna know how to survive this life? First tip is never... ever engage with humans."