Chapter 1072: Chapter 1042: Outside the hall, Feng Zhixiao and others waited cautiously, fearing that a witch might suddenly attack, leaving them unprepared. Da Xia had soldiers from the Chaikefu family surround the entire hall, forming a tight defense as if it were an iron barrel, ensuring that not even a fly could enter. “How long do you think it will take for Brother Chen to come to his senses?” Feng Zhixiao, holding a cigarette, sat on the three thousand steps, and Li Tieniu beside him said, “Probably not too soon, let’s hope Brother Chen can come around quickly. The Church Court needs to be dealt with early, or if that old woman heals, it won’t be easy to handle later on!” “It’s hard to say!” Da Xia said coldly, “If you ask me, with that old woman’s abdomen stabbed, she’s probably half-dead now. Even if she recovers, she won’t be as formidable as before. If she doesn’t recover, well, that’s our revenge, isn’t it?” “You’re right!” The crowd nodded in agreement. That night, the people of Sunset City were on high alert, with everyone raising their awareness to the highest level. For the first time in its history, Sunset City elevated its alert status to red. The red alert status meant that everyone, from officers to workers and even servants, couldn’t afford to let their guard down. They were all busy at their posts, wary of potential enemy attacks. However, by early morning the next day, everyone noticed a problem: inside the palace, Ye Chen and Ms. Yan’s bodies had disappeared, as if they had never been there. This discovery drove Feng Zhixiao and others into a panic. ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ 𝗇𝗈𝗏𝖾𝗅•𝖿𝗂𝗋𝖾•𝗇𝖾𝗍 “Damn it, we close our eyes and open them again, and Brother Chen is gone?!” Feng Zhixiao exclaimed angrily, clenching his teeth: “Quick, call all the guards around the palace, I want to question each one, how could they just disappear like that?!” “Maybe Brother Chen left on his own?” Da Hei asked curiously. “Then why didn’t the guards notice?” Feng Zhixiao frowned and said, “If Brother Chen left on his own, the guards would be the first to notice, but why didn’t they have any awareness?” Feng Zhixiao’s words left everyone speechless. He wasn’t wrong, how could a living person and a corpse disappear without a trace like that? Moreover, there were no secret or hidden passages in this hall; the only exits were the main and side doors, which were the key defense points for the guards. Any slight disturbance would immediately be detected by the guards. However, Ye Chen’s disappearance was so uncanny that it left everyone breaking out in a cold sweat. The guards were called in, but unfortunately, after an interrogation, they didn’t find anything. The guards were on night duty and hadn’t closed their eyes all night but didn’t notice anyone entering or leaving. Feng Zhixiao said helplessly, “Could Brother Chen have been taken away by a superhuman?” “Zhi Xiao, let the guards search around, maybe they can find Brother Chen’s traces!” Li Tieniu hastily said. “Alright, it seems we have no other choice now!” Feng Zhixiao nodded helplessly. More than a hundred guards split into several directions to search. Feng Zhixiao and others joined the quest for Ye Chen, but unfortunately, after a round of searching, they found no trace of him. Li Tieniu and others gathered together; he glanced at everyone and said, “It’s strange; there’s not a single trace!” “Who knows!” Feng Zhixiao shook his head helplessly. The crowd had no clue about Ye Chen’s whereabouts, so they didn’t know where to start the search. They finally decided to wait for Ye Chen to take care of his affairs and return on his own. At this time, Ye Chen had already returned to Leisure City with Ms. Yan. He went back quietly without alerting anyone, as Japan sent a military plane to receive Ye Chen and brought a Crystal Coffin, with Ms. Yan lying quietly inside, her appearance unchanged. According to normal human death circumstances, the body would gradually harden after twenty-four hours, and corpse spots would slowly appear on the body. However, Ms. Yan did not exhibit such conditions, and her complexion remained rosy, as if she were still alive, with a hint of blush on her cheeks. The plane landed at Leisure City’s airport. Haozi, upon learning the news, went to greet them personally, knowing what had happened to Ye Chen in Sunset City. This time, he brought the ceremonial guard, as Haozi controlled the intelligence system in Leisure City and knew how important Ms. Yan was to Ye Chen. The ceremonial guard began playing mournful music the moment they set off. Ye Chen descended from the plane, followed by four soldiers carrying the Crystal Coffin. The soldiers’ expressions were solemn and serious, matching the mournful music played by the ceremonial band, as if they were holding a funeral. Upon stepping off the plane, Ye Chen turned to look at the Crystal Coffin and then expressed a trace of sorrow, saying, “Sister, I will take you home now. Let you rest in peace here forever.” “Big brother!” Haozi rushed over. “Haozi, get the crystal coffin at the back mountain ready!” Ye Chen ordered. “Brother, the crystal coffin at the back mountain has always been empty. You can use it without worry!” Haozi hurriedly responded. “Alright!” Ye Chen nodded, then escorted by four soldiers, he carried Ms. Yan’s body to the back mountain, personally placing her into the crystal coffin. Ms. Yan lay in the cold crystal coffin, still maintaining that serene and sweet smile. Ye Chen looked at Ms. Yan with pity, harboring resentment—against himself, against the heavens, against the injustice of the world. If it weren’t for him, Ms. Yan wouldn’t have died; if it weren’t for this unfair world binding Ms. Yan to a life as an orphan, she wouldn’t have had to join the Church Court. He resented the world’s injustice; why do villains live a thousand years while good people have short lives? “Sister, I will save you. Even if it costs my life, I will bring you back!” Ye Chen ground his teeth, his face twisted with determination. Just like he once resurrected Li Ruo, he now decided to use the same method to awaken Ms. Yan. Even though the Ancient Lava Cave poses a threat to life, Ye Chen won’t be deterred. Ms. Yan was fearless for his sake; how could he now seek survival cowardly? Ye Chen tenderly touched Ms. Yan’s smooth, cold skin, expressing a trace of tenderness, then said, “Sister, I’m sorry for putting you through such injustices. Yet, why didn’t you tell me… why didn’t you tell me you were Ms. Yan? If you had told me earlier, this wouldn’t have happened…” As Ye Chen spoke, his mind replayed the scene from that night. Ms. Yan stood on the city wall, deeply gazing at him, and asked, “Do you love Yun Yan? What do you love about her? Why do you love Yun Yan?” Now reflecting back, it was all premeditated; it turns out the Red Robed Sect Leader back then was Yun Yan, was the Ms. Yan whom he secretly cherished. Many times, on many occasions, he had already discerned too many similarities and connections between the Red Clothes Great Master and Ms. Yan, yet he had never considered the possibility. Unexpectedly, due to his oversight, it led to Yun Yan’s death. Ye Chen’s heart was filled with deep remorse, anguish, and regret. That night, Ye Chen fretted until his hair turned white; in that night, he was exhausted; in that night, he felt the pain of life and death separation. His mind was full of Ms. Yan’s alluring and charming visage, full of scenes of her and him reveling together; everything was as it used to be except the person who is already in the realm of life and death separation. Ye Chen, with tears in his eyes, held Ms. Yan’s cheeks in his hands, tears dripped onto Ms. Yan’s face, and he gently murmured, “The beautiful carvings remain, but the rosy face has changed, alas… the rosy face has changed!” Rosy face has changed, rosy face has changed, the rosy face is no more. The most tragic thing in the mortal world is mutual affection that cannot endure forever. Ye Chen mournfully gazed at Ms. Yan in the crystal coffin, his face haggard, his hair white. That night, he understood the most painful thing in the mortal world. Far across the ocean in Sunset City, Feng Zhixiao and others received a call from Leisure City, with Haozi informing them that Ye Chen had already returned to Leisure City, telling them not to worry. Once the group learned of the news, they instantly relaxed; as long as Brother Chen was alright, everything could be dealt with, but if Brother Chen had no word, that would be problematic. “At least now we can breathe a sigh of relief!” Feng Zhixiao sighed. “Indeed, we’ve exhausted ourselves looking for him, turns out Brother Chen had already returned to Leisure City!” Li Tieniu helplessly shook his head and said, “If Haozi hadn’t told us, we’d probably search till tomorrow without finding anyone!” “Alright, as long as Brother Chen is safe, we can relax!” Da Xia waved his hand and said, “Return to your posts and get back to your work!” “Okay!” Everyone immediately dispersed. Jimmy curiously looked at the group and then laughed, saying, “I never quite understood, isn’t it just one Ye Chen missing? Why are you all so anxious and fretful? If this were in the United States, missing a leader, you just replace them, why let one person hold everyone up?” American perspectives differ greatly from the group, or rather, ever since these people followed Ye Chen, they’ve seen a great distinction. Every little brother following Ye Chen is warm-blooded; every brother is loyal and righteous. Feng Zhixiao gave Jimmy a glance, disdainfully saying, “Clearly, you’re an American; I’ve heard that Americans have the least sense of loyalty, capable of killing their own brothers on the battlefield, is it true?” “Hm, isn’t that to avoid burdening the team?” Jimmy glanced at Feng Zhixiao and said, “When there’s an injured member within a team, and there’s no way to evacuate them, the only option is to eliminate them; this way, it doesn’t burden the team, nor does it let the injured become captives if caught by the enemy.” “So?” Feng Zhixiao looked at Jimmy and said, “Then let me tell you, in our team, no one is ever abandoned, even if injured, even if crippled, they are never deserted. Brother Chen has risked his life countless times for his brothers. Twice attacking the police station, thrice rescuing dozens of brothers from the Japanese. For his brothers, Brother Chen has accumulated numerous wounds. Heh, I can’t expect you to understand because these are things heartless Americans don’t grasp!” “Uh…” Jimmy didn’t understand Ye Chen; of course, he didn’t. In his thought process, collective interests come first, personal interests must be shelved, anything happening on the battlefield must follow the principle of prioritizing collective interests. No one can harm collective interests for personal gain. He laughed blandly, then shrugged and said, “Alright, I don’t understand!” “You were never meant to understand!” Feng Zhixiao and the others raised their middle fingers toward Jimmy. Jimmy awkwardly smiled. Ye Chen’s whereabouts were found, and everyone went back to their work positions.