"AHHHHHHH!!!"

  　　He found himself engulfed in flames, the fire reaching every part of his body, burning his skin and melting his blood.

  　　"Stop…stooooopp!! Pains…burning…"

  　　He flapped his arm towards Bojing urgently and desperately, begging him to save him.

  　　"Bojing…please save me…I don't…want to die…please forgive me…"

  　　The flames reached higher and higher matching the pitch of his screams and cries. Being burned alive was one of the most excruciating deaths one could ever suffer. On top of that, Li Dong was beaten so badly that he couldn't walk or run around to find any source of water, not that Bojing would have let him find it anyway.

  　　He could only flail his body miserably as the flames burned him, the smell of charred skin seeping into the air. Lying helpless on the floor, he could only bear the fire leading him to his death slowly and gradually.

  　　In his final moments, he could only regret and lament on his actions that led him to his doom. He thought he had won by destroying the Lu clan. His mortal enemy that separated him from Bojing's mother.

  　　But the last descendant had risen to make him pay the price of his vicious and heinous crimes that he had committed over the years.

  　　His screams turned dimmer and lower until they completely stopped. The base was filled with silence and the only sound of Li Dong burning in flames reverberated in the air.

  　　Bojing had tortured him just like how he had experimented countless innocent people and snatched their lives.

  　　He made him breathe his last in a fire just like how Li Dong had forced that brutal death upon his clan.

  　　Bojing got his revenge. He avenged his family and his mother. With a blank gaze, he watched Li Dong's body turn into ashes, a feeling of satisfaction and contentment enveloping his heart but at same time, a melancholy filled his chest.

  　　The light in Bojing's eyes gradually returned, signalling that he was coming out of his dangerous and violent state. His senses returned but with an emptiness in them.

  　　His whole clan…His mother was gone. He never met his family. He was never going to meet them.

  　　He already knew of this fact. But somehow today, he didn't know why but his heart missed them.

  　　His clan…Where he was born…
　　He didn't know what the members of his family looked like. He wished he could meet them just once.

  　　A long time later, Li Dong was finally turned into dust. Bojing stood the whole time, staring at his burning body.

  　　Suddenly, he felt a soft hand on his shoulder. Bojing ever so slowly turned and slightly widened his eyes.

  　　Lihua silently stood beside him, her gaze and expression solemn.

  　　He stared at her and his eyes teared up. "Y-you….you are okay…"

  　　She slowly nodded.

  　　Bojing threw a quick glance at her from her head to toe. It felt like a long time since they met.

  　　Big drops of tears plopped from his eyes, and he shook hard. "I-I am sorry…I failed to protect you…I didn't want to leave you a-alone-"

  　　"Ssh," she hushed. "I just came here, and you are already blaming yourself. Didn't I tell you not to ever do that?"

  　　Seeing Lihua after a long time made the dam within Bojing burst. His tears spilled out rapidly, and he hugged her. He only thanked God that Lihua and her child were fine and safe.

  　　"H-How are you here? Aren't you at…"

  　　The memories before and during Bojing flipped were a little hazy.

  　　Lihua softly said, "I will tell you later. Forget about me. How are you? I…came to know about your mother…" her eyes got hazy. She still couldn't believe that Bojing's mother would have suffered so much at Li Dong's hands and had a painful death.

  　　The burning smell was making her nauseous, but she wanted to be at Bojing's side. He quickly pulled her arm. "Y-you shouldn't be here. You will fall sick here…"

  　　Lihua purses her lips. "Why are you thinking about me when you are in pain?"

  　　"Be-because…" he trembled. "I have a-already lost my one family…" his voice was feeble with no strength in it. "I don't want to lose anybody else precious to me…"

  　　Lihua stiffened.

  　　"I want to s-see you and your child safe. It's my job to protect you," he sniffled and wiped his cheeks. "I will d-do it until the end."

  　　Her eyes teared up even more. She jumped to hug him and broke down. Bojing turned pale. "A-are you okay?"

  　　"I-I am not. Bojing, you always have me by your side, okay? You have got a big family! And I-I am proud of you. You took revenge from Li Dong. You avenged your family. Now, their souls will be finally resting in peace."

  　　Bojing shook. Thinking of how his family died and his mother gave up her life for him welled an incredible sadness within him.

  　　Really…? Are you finally at peace now? I-I am sorry for making you wait for so long…
　　Bojing cried harder and harder, the loss of his family and clan hitting him violently and crushing his heart into pieces.

  　　He missed them. He missed them terribly. He hugged Lihua back and buried his head in her shoulder.

  　　Mingshen's guards who were patrolling outside, too couldn't help but find their eyes getting misty.

  　　One of the guards gruffly said, "Idiot. Wipe your tears! If Boss sees you like this, you are gonna be so dead."

  　　"Tell that to yourself first! Look how your whole face is wet. Boss will straightaway make you his research subject!"

  　　They argued and bickered as they cried.

  　　A few moments later, Bojing withdrew and suddenly felt a shiver on his neck. "I-I am sorry! I shouldn't have hugged you…" he cried. "Mr. Jiang will kill me if he sees me…I didn't do it on purpose!"

  　　Lihua stared at him and chuckled, tears pooling in her eyes even more.

  　　"He won't kill you, Bojing…He cannot…at least for sometime…" she whispered weakly.

  　　Bojing blinked. "I don't understand."