Chapter 57 Rao Manor

Rao Zhengsheng sheathed his sword and rushed towards Xue Horan. He held Xue Horan and said, "How do you get here?"

Xue Horan said, "We accidentally found a tunnel, which led us here." He looked around. "Da shixiong, what is this place?"

Rao Zhengsheng said, "Rao Manor." He looked at Xue Horan. "Hoa'er, why?"

Xue Horan asked in confusion, "Why? What?"

Rao Zhengsheng said, "Why do you decided to stay down there?"

Xue Horan, "I don't know, I think it's for the best."

Rao Zhengsheng said, "We were going to come and find you, but Cao Wenyan heard that Cao Yanmei had come to rescue us, so he came. We had to hide here first." He held Xue Horan's hands. "Hao'er, you don't have to listen to Dong shushu, he can't make decisions for me."

Xue Horan pulled away his hands, took a step back, and stood beside Yongzheng. He said, "I know. He didn't force me to stay. I asked for his opinion, and I decided to stay." He smiled and looked at Yongzheng. "But we accidently find a tunnel that led us here." Rao Zhengsheng looked at Yongzheng and said, "Diwei."

Yongzheng said, "My name is not Diwei. You can call me by any name, but you can't call me by that name."

Rao Zhengsheng said, "Yongzheng, don't be angry with Dong shushu. When you jumped off the cliff, his heart was broken."

Rao Zhengsheng led Yongzheng and Xue Horan into a small room. Sitting inside the room where Dong Shun, Dong Lanying, and Yuan Xiurong. The three of them were shocked when they saw Yongzheng and Xue Horan.

Dong Shun quickly asked, "How do you two get out?"

Yongzheng said, "You have lived down there for almost twenty years, don't you know there is a secret passage?"

Dong Shun, "I don't know there is a passage below." Dong Shun looked at Yongzheng and Xue Horan. "Did you two find anything below?"

Yongzheng said, "A lot of skeletons." He looked at Dong Shun. "Do you know why there are so many skeletons below, all of adults and children?"

Dong Shun, "I don't know, there is a secret passageway from the Rao Manor."

Yuan Xiurong said, "Rao gege, when we rebuild the Rao Manor, we should give those people down there a proper burial."

Rao Zhengsheng nodded.

Yongzheng asked, "When are we leaving this place?"

Rao Zhengsheng said, "I am not running away anymore."

Xue Horan said, "Da shixiong, it will cost a lot of money to rebuild this manor."

Yuan Xiurong said, "Don't worry, I have already sent a message to my father, and he will come soon."

Later that night, Yongzheng and Xue Horan sat on the roof to watch the stars.

Xue Horan said, "I don't know that Rao Manor has a good view of the starry sky." He turned to Yongzheng. "Yongzheng, this is the fourth times we watched stars together."

Yongzheng looked at Xue Horan and smiled, "Horan, do you want to ask me why I don't like the name Diwei?"

Xue Horan said, "Let me know when you are ready."

Yongzheng said, "There was a four-year boy named Xie Diwei."

Xue Horan said, "What happened to him?"

Yongzheng said, "He died." Yongzheng looked at Xue Horan. "I killed him."

Xue Horan was shock. He asked, "Why?"

Yongzheng said, "Do you remember when we were on Butterfly Island, Cao Fengge and the man in black called me by what name?"

Xue Horan said, "I don't remember."

Yongzheng said,"Many years ago, there was an organization called the Man of Thousand Faces. The people in this organization were all master assassins, doing things that others dared not do, killing those whom others were afraid to kill. Inside the organization, these top one hundred famous assassins have no name. I should say none of these assassins have no name. So, these unnamed assassins tried their best to climb the stairs and reach the top." He paused, then continued. "Xie Diwei's father, Xie Changpu is the fifth top assassin in the organization. His name is Number Five. One day, a rich man came and hired an assassin to kill the Yao family. The information was given to Number Five. When Number Five met the Yao, he fell in love with their daughter, so he changed his name to Xie Changpu, married her, and fled the organization. Fifteen years later, the new head of the organization found Number Five and his family. The new leader went to the Xie Manor and killed the entire Xie Family. He ordered his ten followers to burn the Xie Manor to the ground."

Xue Horan, "Why, he has already run away, why won't the organization not let him go?"

Yongzheng said, "Because once you become a member of the organization, you are a member for life."

Xue Horan then said, "Xie Changpu's name is number five, how do you call the chief?"

Yongzheng closed his eyes and sighed, "Number One."

Xue Horan said, "It makes sense, but this Number One is too heartless."

Yongzheng looked at Xue Horan, "Do you think so?"

Xue Horan said, "He shouldn't kill so many people."

Yongzheng said, "If he was raised among ruthless people before he learns how to speak, would you still call him ruthless?"

Xue Horan, "I don't think so, I think it depends on the environment in which he grew up."

Yongzheng said, "To Number One, the people he killed are like objects, but Xie Diwei's last words before his death changed Number One's heart."

Xue Horan, "What did he say?"

Yongzheng said, "If you bully me, aren't you afraid, your mother will scold at you? But Xie Diwei didn't know that Number One has no mother or father, he was raised as an animal and kept in a cage. He was trained as an assassin since he can remember."

Xue Horan asked, "What happen to Number One?"

Yongzheng said, "He has been dead for a long time. His last mission is to kill the son of some general, but he failed because he met a Taoist. The holy Taoist opened his eyes with wisdom, and he decided to become a Taoist. He destroyed the organization to repent his mistakes. He tries to do as much good deeds as possible, so when he goes to hell, maybe his punishment will lessen."

Xue Horan asked, "Yongzheng, how do you know so much in details about this organization, when many martial artists don't know anything about it?"

Yongzheng looked at Xue Horan and said sadly, "Horan, because... I am Number One."

Xue Horan was taken aback. His lips were shaking. Looking at Yongzheng, he felt both pitiful and scared. He swallowed down his saliva. His voice trembled with fear, "You are Number One?"

When his eyes fell on Xue Horan's innocent eyes, he saw the disgusting eyes that all the people he killed would stare at him before they died. Yongzheng knew that the moment he told Xue Horan his dark secret, Xue Horan would look at him differently. Yongzheng stood up and said, "Rao Zhengsheng's shushu are right. No matter how I deny it, I am still the bloodthirsty demon in human skin." He jumped off the roof and started to walk to his room. "You are also right too, in reality you can never choose me, nor should you choose me."