"Big Brother..." Ethan Su Wenhang sobbed uncontrollably. Even though he tried his best to restrain himself, his small body kept trembling. "Big Brother, don't say things like that. I'm scared. I'm scared."
Ethan Su Wenhang's lips quivered and his head kept shaking as he repeated the word "scared" over and over. It was clear that this sudden upheaval had frightened Ethan terribly.
Vincent Su's tears fell one by one as he held Ethan Su Wenhang in his arms, heart aching. "Don't be afraid, Ethan. Big Brother will always protect you. Ethan, you have to listen, only if you listen can I be at ease..."
"Big Brother, I heard everything you said. I—I will be okay, I will go." Ethan Su Wenhang stammered, his body no longer trembling but instead spasming. Vincent Su's heart ached, but at this moment he had no choice.
"Ethan, remember... Once you get to Feng Manor, you must go straight into the palace right away. Don't let Big Brother worry." Vincent Su let go of Ethan and opened the secret passage. "Ethan, once you're inside, just keep running forward, don't look back. No matter what sounds you hear, don't turn around. Do you understand?"
"Big Brother, I remember." Ethan Su Wenhang's face was streaked with tears, his small hands clutching Vincent Su's sleeve tightly, afraid to let go. "Big Brother..."
"Be good, Ethan. Big Brother doesn't have time." Vincent Su said gently. "Don't be afraid. I promised, I'll always protect you." Even if he wasn't here anymore, for all he'd done for Ninth Royal Uncle today, the Ninth Royal Uncle would surely look out for Ethan in the future.
The entrance to the secret passage was at the rockery. With Vincent Su's movement, the stone beneath the brothers suddenly shifted, and with a twist, they were enveloped by the fake mountain, hidden from anyone outside.
If Vincent Su wanted to leave, he could absolutely escape safely—but he couldn't...
"Ethan, let go. You have to go now." Vincent Su forcibly pried Ethan's hand from his sleeve. "Ethan, don't make Big Brother worry. Listen to me..."
"I—I’ll listen..." Ethan Su Wenhang nodded vigorously, tears streaming down as he let go of Vincent Su’s hand.
"Alright, stop crying. If Serena sees you like this, she’ll definitely say I bullied you." Vincent Su pretended to be lighthearted and tapped Ethan Su Wenhang on the head.
He knew the chances of seeing Ethan Su Wenhang again were slim. For this last moment, he wanted Ethan to remember him as a strong, protective big brother—not a sobbing fool.
Ethan Su Wenhang, you must live well.
"I don’t want Serena, Big Brother, I just want you." The more Vincent Su smiled, the harder Ethan Su Wenhang cried. At his age, he understood everything he needed to. He knew that after this parting, he might never see his big brother again.
Big Brother was Ethan Su Wenhang's only family. No matter how much he liked Serena, she could never replace his brother.
Vincent Su’s smile finally collapsed. He took a deep breath, wiped away his tears, and shoved Ethan Su Wenhang into the secret passage. "Ethan, you promised to listen to Big Brother. Now... run, don’t make me worry."
"Big Brother, I don’t want to..." Ethan Su Wenhang had agreed, but actually leaving was painfully hard. Vincent Su gave him no chance to protest—after pushing him inside, he stepped back and activated the passage mechanism.
"Big Brother..." Ethan Su Wenhang’s heartbroken cries echoed from inside the passage. Vincent Su couldn’t bear to look, so he turned away, closed his eyes, and called out, "Ethan, run... don’t make me worry."
Bang... The stone door of the passage slammed shut. Vincent Su collapsed to the ground, leaning against the rock, his face covered in tears...
Inside the secret passage, Ethan Su Wenhang stared at the tightly shut stone door. His tear-streaked face was full of helplessness and confusion.
"Ah..." After a loud cry, Ethan Su Wenhang furiously wiped away his tears and, just as Vincent Su had instructed, ran forward as fast as he could.
"Big Brother, I’ll do it. I promise."
"Big Brother, you must stay safe. I’ll wait for you, I’m waiting for you..."
"Big Brother, you’re my only family. I can’t lose you."
"Big Brother..."
Ethan Su Wenhang kept running forward, stumbling and getting back up again. He didn’t dare look back or stop, afraid that if he did, he’d turn around and ruin all of Vincent Su's efforts.
Outside the secret passage, Vincent Su, having calculated the timing, suddenly stood up, wiped away his tears, and looked determinedly at the rockery. After silently counting to three, he stepped out from the fake mountain, and then...
With a deafening boom, the Sutton Manor’s rockery instantly shattered into rubble, leveled to the ground—Vincent Su was nowhere to be seen.
There were more black-clad dead-men than Vincent Su had imagined, and they were even fiercer than he’d expected. Even the shadow guards couldn’t drive them back, only barely able to slow them down.
At this moment, Vincent Su had already set his own life and death aside. While the shadow guards held off the assassins, he rushed into the hidden chamber and burned all the records inside—especially those concerning the Former Dynasty treasure and Eastlyn’s military defenses.
Right now, Vincent Su was fiercely grateful that, thanks to Ninth Royal Uncle’s warning, he had already moved the most important documents and people. Otherwise, Liancastle would truly have wiped out their base this time.
"Liancastle actually has such powerful people. Clearly, they’ve been hiding things from Ninth Royal Uncle for a long time." Vincent Su felt deeply wronged for Ninth Royal Uncle. He had treated Liancastle’s people with true honor, but what about them?
At first, when Ninth Royal Uncle was useful, they treated him like a treasure, honored him as their master. When Jason Lan appeared, Liancastle shifted toward him, becoming ambiguous with Ninth Royal Uncle—not only refusing to be used by him, but trying to use his power to support Jason Lan. Now, they’ve ripped off their mask and are out for blood.
"Despicable and shameless." Vincent Su threw the messages in his hand into the brazier with force, his bloodshot eyes filling with tears as his movements grew more savage.
Vincent Su was anxious, unable to stop himself from cursing: "Damn you, Lance Quinn. If you don’t come back soon, I’ll be dead with no one to bury me."
At this moment, Vincent Su had no trace of a cultured merchant left—he swore without restraint.
"Damn it all—Storm Cloud Bu, you’d better hope I don’t find out you were involved, or even as a ghost I won’t let you off." Vincent Su wasn’t stupid. Though he didn’t want to suspect Storm Cloud Bu, everything was just too coincidental—so much so that he couldn’t help but wonder.
Even if Liancastle knew about his connection to Ninth Royal Uncle, without an insider leaking information, their operation wouldn’t have gone so smoothly.
"A bunch of bastards, always preying on the weak. You’d better pray I die here, or I’ll flatten Liancastle and leave it barren." Vincent Su gnashed his teeth, consumed by hatred.
He knew Ninth Royal Uncle’s expedition was unimaginably dangerous—one wrong step and he’d be trapped in the Former Dynasty mausoleum forever. But that was exactly why Vincent Su had to come back and destroy these things, to keep them from falling into Liancastle’s hands.
If these things fell into Liancastle’s hands, their power would grow—and everyone loyal to Ninth Royal Uncle, along with everything he’d built, would be destroyed.
His own death didn’t matter, but he couldn’t drag down his brothers, and he absolutely couldn’t let Liancastle get rich by stepping on his corpse.
"I’m not reconciled—I’m really not. After ten years of hard work, just when I was about to make something of myself, it’s all been smashed to pieces in an instant."
"I’m not reconciled..."
As he spoke, Vincent Su curled up, tears streaming down his face.
"Serena... If anything happens to me, please take care of Ethan Su Wenhang."