Chapter 680: A Million Times for You (42)
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
The elderly lady remained quiet, feeling heartened.
“Old Madam, we’ll get going now,” said Madam Xu, poking her head in through the crack.
“Alright.”
An Xiaoning and the elderly lady saw them out of the door. After some consideration, An Xiaoning decided to get into the Xu family’s car and stared at Xu Baizhi solemnly inside the car.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” Xu Baizhi asked.
An Xiaoning lowered her voice and said, “My mentor only has a few days left to live. She initially had half a year more to go, but her lifespan has shortened because of you. I’m not trying to blame you, I simply hope you won’t let my mentor’s efforts go in vain. Please bear my words in mind.”
“You mean Old Madam is about to…?” said a dumbfounded Xu Baizhi.
An Xiaoning continued, “I’ll be staying behind to accompany my mentor for the next few days. Go home and get your life sorted out.”
Overwhelmed with a mix of emotions, Xu Baizhi nodded and said, “I’ll bear your words in mind.”
An Xiaoning got out of the car and waved them goodbye before helping the elderly lady back inside the house. She then proceeded to drive her car in.
On the way home, Madam Xu asked, “What did Ms. An say to you in the car just now?”
“She said that Old Madam will be passing away in a few days.”
“What!?!” Madam Xu gasped in shock. “Is that for real?”
“Seems like it. She said that she’ll be staying here for the next few days to accompany Old Madam. She came to tell me this mainly because she wanted me to know that Old Madam’s lifespan has been shortened because of me and she doesn’t want me to… let Old Madam down.”
Madam Xu nodded and said, “This elderly lady is really a kind soul. Baizhi, I can finally rest my mind now that your fate has been restored.”
“Father, Mother, can I discuss something with you guys?”
“What is it? Speak your mind.”
After pondering for a moment, Xu Baizhi asked, “Father, Mother, do you know what the elderly lady meant when she said that my life had gone onto an evil path after my fate was first altered?”
Military Commander Xu and Madam Xu shook their heads in denial.
“I grew up in a dark and desolate place ever since I was a child and was put through brutal and vigorous training together with other children my age. I lived life like a zombie, and I was practically a slave put up for sale. All the other children around me were orphans, and I felt like I was no different from them. I never had enough to eat or wear, and I couldn’t even keep myself warm. To make things worse, I had to undergo endless training, which was both physically and mentally exhausting. I was completely denied of my pride and dignity. When I grew older, I was assigned to complete missions and perform tasks for the organization. My life was worth nothing at all. It’s been a few years since I began carrying out missions. This was what the elderly lady meant by an evil path. I married the man with whom I trained. Although life was tough, it was still very blissful, nonetheless. But things are different now. Our feelings for each other have faded, and our relationship has gone stale. He still works for the organization and risks his life to complete missions. Just like me, there’s no way for him to escape the clutches of the devil-like organization unless he’s dead,” Xu Baizhi explained.
Both of them were filled with misery the moment they heard her story.
“Can we fake your death? We’ll just pretend that you’re dead and report it to the media so they can broadcast it all over the news. Will that help you escape their power? Or we could send you to prison and give you an indefinite sentence. Will they give you up then?” Madam Xu asked.
Military Commander Xu shook his head and said, “That obviously won’t work. Didn’t you hear Baizhi mention that the elderly lady only has a few days left to live? Even An Xiaoning could tell. Since the organization could alter Baizhi’s fate, they probably can tell whether she’s alive or not and how long her lifespan is.”
“What are we supposed to do, then? I really wonder which wicked soul was behind this cruel and relentless act. Not only did they take you away from us and put you through so much hardship, but they’ve also done something so horrid to you. My poor daughter,” Madam Xu exclaimed, tears streaming down her face like a broken faucet.
Xu Baizhi was beyond upset and felt that Heaven was being unfair to her since she did not deserve this at all.
Military Commander Xu asked, “Baizhi, do you know what it’ll take for the head of the terrorist organization to let you off? We’ll agree to the conditions he lays, as long as it’s within our means.”
“The organization has spent years training each one of its members since they were children. There’s no way the organization would give them up so easily. I’ve never asked about exchanging a deal, but I suppose, even if they were willing to lay the conditions, it’d be a huge price to pay. I don’t think it’s possible for them to ever let me off unless I’m dead. Otherwise, they would exploit me for whatever I’m worth and use me until my very last breath. That’s their ultimate purpose for training their members.”
Xu Baizhi’s answer made her parents feel extremely distraught yet helpless, for there was nothing they could do to help.
A bizarre and unsettling silence filled the air in the car.
“Hubby, how about you report this to the Autumn Palace and request for the chieftains of all the terrorist organizations in the country to be executed? That way, not only can we save Baizhi and other assassins like her, we can also uphold justice and punish those evildoers,” said Madam Xu.
Madam Xu finally said what her daughter wanted to hear. It was the only solution Xu Baizhi could think of as well. Since there was no way she could break free from the organization’s control, she could only rely on the government to annihilate them.
“Father, do discuss this with Chief of Staff Lin and Commander-in-chief Jin.”
“Which terrorist organization is this? Tell me clearly,” said Military Commander Xu.
“It’s the DK organization.”
Military Commander Xu sighed and said, “Forget it, this is a widespread terrorist organization that our country cannot eliminate on its own. Other countries are also looking to annihilate them, but there hasn’t been an effective solution yet. I can’t do anything to help.”
Well aware of how formidable and overpowering the organization was, Xu Baizhi felt even more helpless upon hearing her father’s words.
“No matter what, I won’t continue with the missions,” said Xu Baizhi.
“Baizhi, I still think you ought to communicate properly with the chieftain and find out what it takes for them to let you off. Maybe they’ll really lay some conditions.”
Xu Baizhi remained quiet, feeling utterly dejected and hopeless.
What she dreaded and feared most appeared again.
Staring at her blinking phone screen, Xu Baizhi answered, “Hello.”
“Your time is going to be up today.”
“I want to withdraw from the organization.”
“Seems like you’re tired of living, Baizhi. You didn’t accomplish the task, did you?” the man said sternly.
“Is there another way to leave the organization apart from death? Relay my request to the higher-ups,” said Xu Baizhi, completely ignoring his words.
After a few seconds of silence, the man answered, “Wait for my call.”
Xu Baizhi hung up the phone and said to her parents, “Maybe there’ll really be a miracle. He’s gone to ask the higher-ups about my request.”
Placing her hands together, Madam Xu exclaimed, “Let’s hope a miracle really happens. Heaven, please bless us.”
The car drove toward the Xu family mansion slowly. The family of three were filled with anxiety and nervousness, unsure if there’ll actually be a miracle…
——
The expectant Xu Youran headed to the hospital for a prenatal checkup with some bodyguards, for Gu Dongcheng was too busy with work to accompany her.
She did not have to queue up and could proceed to undergo the checkup upon arriving because she had already made an appointment with the specialist beforehand.
The results showed that the fetus was perfectly healthy and stable.
Xu Youran returned home after the checkup in high spirits.
She initially planned to watch a movie. However, her eyelids got heavy all of a sudden, and she dozed off right away as soon as she lay down in bed.
Time continued to feel as if it was crawling by.
By the time she woke up again, she felt extremely weak and feeble all over. She opened her eyes to find that she was in an unfamiliar place. Xu Youran sprung up in shock and sat up straight to scan her surroundings.