Chapter 243 - Gone

"ARGH!" Jason Baurne grunted in frustration after the debris above him had been removed by his bodyguards. "Useless! You're all useless!" he yelled at them as they carefully pulled him out of the debris. "Humph!" he sneered as he looked at the debris around the rooftop before he coughed because of the smoke. Dust covered him all over his body. 

He turned and saw some of the people with him were also buried beneath the rubbles. He looked at one of his bodyguards whom he pulled earlier, and so his own body was only slightly hurt after a debris fell on him. His bodyguard bore all the weight and the impact of the debris and died. 

"Useless!" he spat out and kicked before he walked over his bodyguard's corpse. He walked to the edge of the rooftop where the bomb exploded and looked down. A malicious grin curled up on his lips as he looked at the small hill of debris on the ground. "Huo Ling, ah, Huo Ling. You skinny, yellow bastard! Who knows what malicious intentions you have towards my uncle. Finally, you're dead!" he said as a vicious glint flashed in his eyes.. 

However, before he could celebrate, they heard rushed footsteps behind them followed by a familiar voice that spoke. "Jason!" it was Jonathan Baurne. His face had an angry expression as he glared at his nephew with a furious, but also disappointed gaze. 

Jason Baurne's heart was stabbed by that look. The thing he didn't like to see the most in Jonathan is his angry gaze, as well as disappointed gaze. The latter is worse. "Uncle – " he called as he tried to explain. "It was him who was spying on me! It's his fault he – " 

"Shut up!" However, Jonathan ignored his excuses. "Take him away and lock him up!" he told the people behind him. 

Jason Baurne's eyes widened in shock. "NO! Uncle, you can't do this to me!" he said and tried to struggle when Jonathan's people grabbed him. He glared at his bodyguards. "Stop them!" he ordered. 

His bodyguards finally moved and was about to help him, but they froze when pierced by Jonathan's gaze. 

"Let go! Let go of me!" Jason yelled as he tried to pull his arms, but it was futile as he was rudely dragged by Jonathan's subordinates. "Uncle!!!" he screamed. His eyes are bloodshot when they took him away. 

But, it's as if Jonathan was deaf. He slowly walked over the edge of the rooftop and sadly sighed when he saw a small hill of debris on the foot of the building. "Xiao Ling…" he muttered and lowered his head. He slowly closed his eyes and uttered a prayer. 

It's as if he could still hear that loud explosion ringing by his ear earlier before his call with Huo Ling was cut. The moment he heard the explosion, he felt something in his head had exploded and his heart also burst. His whole body froze, his blood turned cold and a chill on his bones. He moment the call was cut, Huo Ling's life also ended. When he couldn't hear anything because of the ringing on his ears, he knew he could never hear Huo Ling's voice again. He couldn't see what happened, and he would never see Huo Ling again.

He fell on his knees as he wept. He felt his heart was clawed out of his chest by merciless hands. With no anesthesia, he could feel that excruciating pain. He can still remember that day he picked up Huo Ling. He wasn't ten years old, but he's still just a baby. He picked him up in District 8, but not in the wastelands, and inside a dry well instead. He can still remember that soft and warm sensation when he very carefully picked him up, afraid he would hurt that little life in his hands with just a small mistake. He was so small, but his vigorous heartbeats pulsing through his clothes and touched his heart. 

Raising Huo Ling by himself, he had grown attached to the child. He treated him like his own son. He personally taught him, since Huo Ling couldn't see the light of day because he will live in the shadows in the future. He only sends him outside during national examinations, making him earn a degree in education. That is enough. 

After teaching him academics, he taught him hand-to-hand combat, gun-handling, sniping, bomb detonating, etc.. He sent him to work in security companies to have an experience before calling him back and finally made him start to work for him. 

The child he raised for more than two decades, he was gone just like that, and because of him. He died because of him. He knew, since before he picked him up, Huo Ling doesn't deserve to live in this kind of world of theirs. Huo Ling should be in the light, living a normal life his parents couldn't live, couldn't have. Yet, because of his selfishness, Huo Ling missed the normal life he should have, and died without tasting how it is to live normally, and not live always at the edge of death. 

The moment Huo Ling entered this dark world, he already has one of his feet on the grave, even when he's just at a very young age. 

"Sir." His subordinate called. "We couldn't find his body." He told him. 

Jonathan wiped his tears and wretchedly looked at half of the building left. "I can't even bury him properly…" he cried. 

"Sir…" his subordinate could only sigh. Even he felt it is a pity for such an outstanding young man like Huo Ling to die. 

He has been by Jonathan's side for a long time, and so he had witnessed Huo Ling's growth. Even for a baby, Huo Ling is very obedient. He doesn't cry, nor make a fuss. When he grew up, he wasn't mischievous nor played pranks like the other children. When he became a teenager, he started to become withdrawn from the world, which is in line of the temperament of the people of their world. Huo Ling is also very smart, he should've gone to college. Yet, he didn't ask Jonathan for anything and continued to remain by Jonathan's side, serving him as one of his subordinates. 

He felt it is a waste for Huo Ling to choose this dark world. Yet, he couldn't do anything other than advise Huo Ling before to consider living in the other world. He knew Jonathan. Jonathan wouldn't refuse Huo Ling's request, even if it would be Huo Ling's first request. Since Jonathan also knew Huo Ling shouldn't be here in this dark and corrupted world. Even Jonathan feels he made a mistake by taking Huo Ling back with him in their dark world. 

"What will I tell to his parents when I meet them after I die?" Jonathan asked. "I couldn't even protect their child's life." He said. He knew who are Huo Ling's parents, that's why he took him in, and is protective of Huo Ling. 

Even Jason, his nephew, he isn't close to him like he is with Huo Ling. And that evoked Jason's jealousy towards Huo Ling, thus he always targets Huo Ling. Jonathan always treated their fights as little skirmishes. However, he didn't expect for things to reach this far, for Jason to kill Huo Ling. 

He knew Jason, since he also raised him together with Huo Ling. He knew Jason's personality well, thus he was shocked to learn what Jason did after Huo Ling informed with along with the evidences. Even if Huo Ling found out Jason's secret, Jason wouldn't go so far as to kill Huo Ling. And Jonathan wouldn't permit it. Thus, Jonathan knew someone must have incited Jason for a kill. 

His eyes became cold and narrowed as he looked at the distance where an inconspicuous car was moving away from their location. "Xi family!" he gnashed his teeth in anger and punched the ground. His hand bled, but it's as if he didn't notice it and couldn't feel the pain. "Damn you…! I swear I'll kill all of you!" he screamed. 

The subordinate standing on the side sighed faintly and closed his eyes as he lowered his head, pretending he didn't see the ire of his boss. After one hour more searching and still didn't see Huo Ling's corpse, they believed the explosion mercilessly didn't leave Huo Ling even just a piece of his corpse. They subtly urged Jonathan to leave, or Jonathan would've gone crazier. 

…

Yi Bing carefully placed Huo Ling down the flower bed and felt heartache when he saw the bleeding wounds on Huo Ling's body. Earlier, he had arrived on time when the grenade exploded and immediately took Huo Ling away after Huo Ling lost consciousness from blood loss and, eventually, died. 

He raised his hand over Huo Ling's body and an icy-blue light glowed in his hand. Everywhere the light touches, the wound healed and closed, and Huo Ling's dirty clothes became impeccably clean. Even the tears and holes were fixed. 

Yi Bing stared at Huo Ling's face after he fixed Huo Ling's appearance. Then, he bent down to kiss him before extracting Huo Ling's slumbering soul inside his already cold body.