Brandon's heart was heavy as he thought of this. His regret was like a huge rock weighing on his heart, making it difficult for him to breathe.
He turned to look at Ning Yu tied to the chair, and walked over silently. With one fell swoop, the hard clasp clanged, and the specially made metal had broken into pieces in his hand… Brandon lowered his head and stared for a moment. He confirmed that Ning Yu was just temporarily weak due to being drugged, and hadn’t actually suffered any injuries.
This life, the youth was still the same… He clearly had the advantage, but in the end, he wasn’t cruel enough to harm others, only using his words to get the better of them.
Seeing this scene again with his own eyes, Brandon was finally convinced of his hypothesis completely.
If Ji Ling really had the heart to hurt people, why would he drag someone through the mud only to go soft in the end?
Brandon turned back and stared at the young man's pale face. He felt helpless inside, as feelings of pain were intermixed with pity and regret… Why hadn’t he seen things more clearly last time? How could he have been willing to hurt a person like this? As a great marshal in the army, he actually went to berate a child who didn’t know of the world.
That was really preposterous.
Brandon pursed his lips tightly, and emotion surged in his gray pupils.
When he was reborn this life, he vowed to never misunderstand the youth again, to never hurt him and to protect him well. He actually really wanted to see the youth again, but last time [they met], he had no good reason to stop him from leaving, and no appropriate excuse to go see him either.
He could only carefully trace through each of his memories to recall the youth’s appearance. That’s why he never expected… that they’d be reunited under these circumstances.
Thinking back on how he’d failed Ji Ling last life, and his impulsive behavior just now, a look of remorse flitted over Brandon's eyes. His hand that hung uselessly by his side clenched into a fist, and he felt like there was a frog stuck in his throat…
For a moment, he had no idea what to say.
Ji Ling looked at Brandon's gloomy face, then at his clenched fist, recalling the scene where he had just crushed the metal like it was tofu. He swallowed his saliva, heart panic-ridden... He still got nightmares about last life when he was beaten into vomiting blood by Brandon’s punch, and Brandon wasn’t even trying very hard. Ji Ling cried inside, and almost wanted to kneel for mercy. However, for the sake of the plot...
He took a brave step forward in the end!
Even though this was only a small step forward, it was a big leap towards being reborn back home.
What I did this time was much worse than last time. I even took out something as crazy as a gene breaker to play with. Brandon must be even angrier and raging even harder, but for your feelings of love, I risk it all!
Ji Ling lifted his eyes and looked straight at Brandon without avoiding or dodging. With a provocative look, he said through gritted teeth: “What do you want?!”
Brandon looked at him for a long time, and raised his foot…
Ji Ling’s heart thumped rapidly, and he thought that he was finally getting beaten! But at that moment, Deng Dong, who had been shivering like a quail on the side, suddenly sprang forward and desperately clung to Brandon's raised leg. Trembling, he implored, "Marshal, your greatness, please don't blame Young Master Ji... this was all my idea..."
Brandon: "…"
Ji Ling: "......"
Ji Ling really was a little touched. He looked at the shivering Deng Dong. This dog was so scared that he was about to pee himself, but surprisingly, he was still willing to plead mercy for him! This was many times more touching than what Lieutenant General Hawk did last time… But why do people keep jumping out every time I’m asking to get slapped in the face? I don't need to meet a good end!
They say, a person should take responsibility for his own actions, after all. Although Deng Dong was the one who took out the gene breaker, he himself had directed the kidnapping of Ning Yu. Although Deng Dong wasn’t a good sort of person, that was no reason to let him take this knife for him. Besides, as a vicious supporting male, it was his duty to pull aggro, and no one could steal it from him!
Ji Ling looked Deng Dong in the eye and shouted, "Get out of the way. Don't beg him!"
He stuck his chin up at Brandon and said, “As if he’d have the courage to make a move on Ning Yu. He did everything as I told him to. Come at me if you can!"
Deng Dong originally rushed over through gritted teeth in case something happened to Ji Ling. If something really did happen, then Archduke Carlos would definitely make him suffer. Although both Carlos and Brandon were people not to be offended, Deng Dong still felt that Carlos was a little more terrifying... After all, Brandon would just kill him at worst, whereas Carlos would make him go through living death…
But he hadn't expected Young Master Ji would be someone who’d stand up for his companions like this. In the face of the furious Marshal Brandon, he was unexpectedly willing to defend even a casual friend like him. Deng Dong was immediately moved to tears.
He looked at Ji Ling’s stubborn and defiant expression, then at the watery-eyed and trembling Deng Dong... In fact, he hadn’t been prepared to do anything to Ji Ling from the start, so how could he be willing to hurt Ji Ling over something so trivial? But why did people always think that he wanted to hurt him?!
He looked at Deng Dong...
A cold expression showed through his lidded eyes.
Plus, wasn’t this bastard likely the true culprit? Ji Ling was just a willful child. He had no intention of hurting anyone, and was sincere at heart. It was only because he lived in such a depraved aristocratic society and was surrounded by a gang of scoundrels, that he was led astray into doing these kinds of things.
And Ji Ling was so kind that he even protected this trash, Deng Dong. How could someone who did that bring out something like a gene breaker? Deng Dong must’ve been the one to take it out. Who knows how many bad things the Deng family’s boy had done? A few of his deeds had even reached Brandon’s ears, but he was too lazy to care since Deng Dong had never fallen into his hands before.
It was all because of people like Deng Dong that such a good youth would be brought astray down the wrong path. It was all because this kind of people poisoned him...
Brandon suddenly brimmed with killing intent. His bursting rage all fell on Deng Dong. His manner was piercingly cold, and he coughed out a low, “Move aside,” as he kicked Deng Dong out in one fell swoop!
Deng Dong flew backwards and crashed into the wall. He lay on the ground and spat out a mouthful of blood. Then, he was so weak that he lay motionless.
Brandon only gave him a cold leer, and withdrew his gaze again.
Then, he stepped forward, and crushed the gene breaker that had just fallen to the ground to dust. The crisp sound of glass breaking in the quiet room sounded like a thunderclap on a quiet night, preceding heavy winds and stormy rains. That made all the hairs on Ji Ling’s head stand up in fear.
Ji Ling stared at the man in front of him like a deer in headlights. Fear made him forget to move for a moment.
An iron-black military uniform wrapped around the man's tall figure. His face was cold and his thin lips were tightly pressed together. His jaw line was hard, and his dark red hair seemed to be the color of dried up blood. He made people tremble from their core just by standing there motionless. This was someone who had made countless foreign nations quake in their boots… the Imperial God of War.
Ji Ling felt this very clearly at the moment.
And Brandon was even more terrifying this time than last time.
Ji Ling’s face was stiff and pale. He wanted to cry inside, but couldn’t. He quietly glanced at Deng Dong, who lay on the ground, unsure of whether he was dead or alive. He secretly wondered if he could block Brandon’s thunder-like strike. He wouldn’t really be beaten to death, right…?
He had to get himself out of Brandon’s pace.
Brandon looked at the dazed boy in front of him, and slowly calmed his anger from just now. He didn’t have the heart to criticize the boy in the slightest, so he vented his anger out on Deng Dong without holding back at all.
But looking closely, he was afraid that his actions just now had frightened the youth, making him think he was angry with him.
Brandon felt so vexed inside. He looked at the young man's beautiful blue eyes, and recalled all kinds of things that happened last life. Finally, he came to that dangerous sea of flames. The youth had appeared in front of him, his eyes, bright and burning like dazzling stars. This sight had already been engraved in his soul, causing him to regret and suffer for countless years.
Everyone only misunderstood him because of how he behaved in his everyday life. Even he hadn’t been able to see the truth until after the youth’s death.
Now, the boy was still alive at the moment.
There was still a chance to redeem everything...
As Brandon thought of this, his heart, that had long been as calm as the sea, and as hard as stone, began feeling a mood he’d never felt because of anyone else before. This time, he wanted to get closer to the youth in a good way.
He loosened his clenched fist and tried to put on what he believed was a gentle expression, trying to appease the frightened boy.
But he had just taken a step forward…
when he saw the youth suddenly pale and stagger backwards again and again. His blue eyes were full of uncontainable horror.