Chapter Thirty-One: The Dragon Lurks in the Abyss

Tang Long drove in silence, while Yao Handong sat in the passenger seat, her face cold and unreadable. The atmosphere in the car grew heavy with unspoken words.

From time to time, Tang Long glanced at the stunning woman beside him out of the corner of his eye, a trace of guilt flickering within him.

“Is there nothing you want to say to me?” Yao Handong finally broke the silence, her voice frosty.

Tang Long forced a laugh, dodging her question. “So… where are we headed?”

“Do you really think running away will solve anything? If you’re that capable, just stay hidden in that godforsaken backwater for the rest of your life!” Yao Handong’s voice trembled with anger, her eyes filling with tears.

Tang Long smiled faintly and replied softly, “We all choose our own paths. Some lives, after a while, just become tiresome. There are things you must do, things you can’t avoid—perhaps it’s fate.”

“Fate, my foot!” Yao Handong snapped. She turned to the window, roughly wiping away the tears that spilled down her cheeks. “So going back to your wretched little village, settling down with that village official girl, living the cliché life of wife and kids around a warm bed—is that really your fate?”

Tang Long scratched his nose, unsurprised that this young lady had found out where he was. What made him uncomfortable was how directly she mentioned Zhang Xiue; after all, in some respects, he really hadn’t acted honorably.

“Well? No excuses? Not going to argue?” Yao Handong turned back to glare at him, her expression icy.

Tang Long gave a wry smile. “What’s there to argue? You’re right. That forsaken, out-of-the-way place called Yutou Village is my destination. The simple life of wife and children is exactly what I want.”

“Fine, Tang Long. You’ve really got some nerve!” Yao Handong’s eyes flashed with fury as she turned away again, tears betraying her bravado.

Tang Long slowed the car, exasperated. “Don’t cry. Since when did you, Yao Handong, become such a crybaby? That’s not like you at all.”

“I’m a woman, and I like to cry. Deal with it!” she sobbed.

Tang Long didn’t want to provoke her further. If it hadn’t been for his ill-advised friends goading him, he never would have gotten involved with Yao Handong in the first place.

He didn’t regret it, but if given the choice again, he’d rather not have crossed paths with her—because, in truth, they belonged to two different worlds.

Yao Handong’s background could intimidate anyone. Once, Tang Long had been fearless, a global war dragon at the pinnacle of power, heedless of gossip or threat.

But now things were different. He was just a small-town village chief in a remote place, while Yao Handong remained an unattainable, dazzling princess.

If Yao Handong were willing to stay with him in Yutou Village, he would have promised her loyalty, fidelity, and a lifetime without straying. But that was never going to happen.

Since their destinations in life diverged, why force another intersection?

“Did you curse me for being childish, tricking you out here using that village kid?” Yao Handong pouted, her voice soft.

What could Tang Long say? He shook his head with a rueful smile. “I don’t blame you. It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have turned off my phone and ignored your calls.” He was curious, though—how had this little tyrant found out that the village doctor Qiu Yuxia had brought Ermao to the provincial city for treatment?

“Hmph. As long as you understand.” Yao Handong wrinkled her nose—a rare girlish gesture few ever saw from her.

She hesitated, then said quietly, “That child’s ear can be treated, but only in Beijing. The hospitals here aren’t good enough. The specialists say they can’t do it.”

Tang Long didn’t reply. If there was hope for Ermao’s hearing, whether in China or abroad, he would never give up.

Hearing this from Yao Handong, he believed it, but Beijing was a place where all the powers of the world converged—a place Tang Long no longer wished to enter.

Life was like the martial world; once you entered, leaving was no longer up to you.

To enter that world was to lose control over your fate. If not for his ties to Yutou Village, Tang Long would have walked anywhere under heaven, fearing no force or power.

But now, things had changed.

With attachments, Tang Long was no longer the war dragon of yesterday, no longer the “Tiger of China.” Stripped of his former glory, he was just another ordinary man, bowing to the demands of daily life, unworthy of grand titles.

“Don’t push me anymore,” Tang Long said quietly.

Yao Handong asked softly, “Do you really want to spend the rest of your life in a place like that?”

“That’s where my roots are,” Tang Long answered without hesitation, a smile on his lips.

A son doesn’t despise a poor home, nor a dog a shabby kennel. Without the old village chief, without Yutou Village, Tang Long would have drowned in that little creek years ago.

Zhang Deshun’s greatest wish was to see the people of Yutou Village live well. He passed that conviction to Tang Long, who had no choice but to carry it on.

Home and country—without a home, there is no nation.

He could stand at the pinnacle of the world, renowned across the land, or he could withdraw into obscurity, root himself in the countryside, and devote his remaining years to his hometown.

Yao Handong’s voice turned gentle. “What if I wanted to stay with you?”

Tang Long frowned, then quickly smiled. “That place only just got electricity. There’s not a trace of urban excitement—barely any modern appliances. All you’ll find is plain food, black soil, marshes, hills. No makeup, no bars, no malls—only sun and wind, eating and sleeping under the open sky. The only ‘entertainment’ is, when night falls, figuring out in a mud-brick house how to make babies. One a year, and after ten years, you’ll be the mother of five or six, your skin rough and dark, a real village wife. Are you sure you can handle that? I don’t care about your family’s power—I just don’t want you to suffer with me. I know you. That kind of life, it’s really not for you.”

Yao Handong stared at him, opened her mouth to respond, but the words died on her lips. Tang Long wasn’t trying to frighten her; what he described was exactly the future she would face if she went with him.

“Why do you have to say these things? Couldn’t you just trick me into going first?” she pouted in a fit of pique.

Tang Long chuckled. “What would be the point? Would you last three months, or five?”

“Maybe I could stay a lifetime!” Yao Handong’s reply was laced with uncertainty, even to her own ears.

Tang Long didn’t respond. She wouldn’t last a lifetime, not even three or five months. At most, a week before she ran back.

He knew she had feelings for him, but he also knew her nature.

A place like Yutou Village wasn’t right for her, at least not now. And the Yao family behind her would never accept her becoming an “ordinary person” and marrying Tang Long.

Unless Yao Handong chose to give up everything—her identity, her family name.

And if she made such a sacrifice for him, Tang Long couldn’t bear to see it.

Some things are like arrows loosed from a bow—once shot, there is no turning back.

“So what am I supposed to do?” Yao Handong, unable to convince Tang Long, glared at him in frustration. “Should I just find some other man to marry? Would you be fine knowing I’m with someone else, being used and toyed with? Wouldn’t that hurt you?”

Tang Long’s brow furrowed. He didn’t want to imagine such a scene. But could he really expect her to stay alone for his sake? Never marry? Why should she?

“You have to give me an answer now!” Yao Handong demanded, teeth clenched.

Tang Long managed a weak smile. “What answer do you want, princess?”

“Do you still want me or not?” she asked.

Tang Long was at a loss. He thought of all the moments they’d shared—laughter, arguments, all the ups and downs a couple could experience.

But he couldn’t give her a promise, nor the future she hoped for.

Her family would never accept his current status, nor would they allow the two to be together.

Whether they wished it or not, it was no longer up to Tang Long, or even to Yao Handong herself.

Marriage between equals—those words were not empty.

Tang Long said, “This is awkward. Maybe… we should find a hotel, rest a bit, and lighten the mood?”

Yao Handong blushed at the thought, shooting him a coquettish glare and muttering, “You scoundrel. You don’t want me anymore, but you still want me to serve you… Let’s go to the Shangri-La. I’ve booked a room there.”

Tang Long laughed.