“Before the final registration, I only have one question.” Ruan Xian stopped outside the doors of the examination room, and Tang Yibu, who was supporting him, had to stop as well.
The odd android who claimed to be an “old model” tilted his head slightly, indicating he was listening.
“I thought Ding Zepeng and the others saved me in passing, but listening to Zhang Yazhe’s statement just now, they seemed to have an original rescue target. You asked me to replace that person, didn’t you?” Ruan Xian asked in a whisper.
“Yes.” Tang Yibu graciously admitted. “I saw the ventral cockroach devour the man’s body near the ruins. He unfortunately died. That’s why Zhang Yazhe lost the distress signal. There’s no need to worry. He won’t suddenly appear.”
Ruan Xian looked at Tang Yibu with complicated eyes.
The other person did have a handsome human appearance. The pair of golden eyes were like sunlight, serious and focused, but there wasn’t much heat. It was like observing other creatures on the other side of the glass—the distance was close, but there was a sense of incomprehensible detachment.
That wasn’t the look of a “human”.
For the first time, Ruan Xian realized so vividly that he and the other party were two different creatures—that was, if Tang Yibu could be regarded as a certain kind of creature.
His motivation for asking the question was simple—if the survivor who originally needed rescue was still waiting outside, Tang Yibu’s behavior would be tantamount to delaying the rescue. As the beneficiary of this kind of behavior, Ruan Xian didn’t think he could live with such guilt, regardless of himself.
Sighing in his heart, Ruan Xian didn’t respond to Tang Yibu’s words but only acquiesced. He leaned forward, learning from Lao Zhang earlier, and clasped the palm of his right hand on the thick door panel.
“Ruan Lijie. Visitor application approved.” It was the familiar neutral electronic voice again.
As soon as the door opened this time, a deafening fast-paced music almost knocked Ruan Xian head-on.
The examination room in front of him was a bit larger than the ward that he had just seen. If he hadn’t known in advance that this was a medical ward, Ruan Xian would’ve thought he had walked into a mechanic’s grocery store.
About one-third of the space was filled with weird mechanical parts. Huge wooden boxes were stuffed in corners, with all kinds of mechanical moving limbs stuffed inside them, and wires were tangled on the outside. In the maze of parts piled almost to the ceiling, Ruan Xian even saw a few red bubbles. There were naked “human bodies” on the sink. With the loud sound of music, the mechanical limbs on both sides of the door trembled slightly, as if they would collapse at any moment.
A thin figure was working at a desk facing the door.
In view of the fact that there was only this living person was found in the room, Ruan Xian cleared his throat and raised his voice. “Mr. Guan, I’m here to check in for my medical examination.”
The man raised his head.
Guan Haiming was wrapped in an oversized white research coat and was huddled tightly in a chair. His hair was slightly long, his figure was thin, and his complexion was frighteningly pale. He looked less than 30 years old, and his facial features were exquisite, but his too thin face and the black bags under his eyes spoiled his delicateness.
He seemed too lazy to look up as he rolled his eyes to look at Ruan Xian, and then made a tsk.
“Oh, it’s you,” he hummed lazily, reaching out and scratching on the glass table, causing the music to instantly stop.
Rubbing his buzzing ears, Ruan Xian recognized the voice. Not long ago, the owner of this voice was wearing a mechanical mask and gave him an auxiliary chip shot.
“Mr. Guan Haiming, according to the regulations, you should go to dinner now,” Tang Yibu reminded him thoughtfully.
“No. I’m already tired after being forced to stay outside for so long,” Guan Haiming said coldly, shrinking back into his chair.
“Mr. Tian He specially arranged for you to go outside for shifts for the sake of your health,” Tang Yibu continued in a tone without emotional ups or downs.
“I’ll say it again, no need. Since this guy is here to check in for a medical examination, let’s start now.”
Tang Yibu didn’t insist anymore and pulled out a chair like magic from the mechanical pile and motioned for Ruan Xian to sit down.
“The scan results are fine, and there are no lesions or spy machinery in his body. The only suspicious thing is that he’s too healthy.” Guan Haiming lowered his head. The tip of his hair was hanging down to his frighteningly convex collarbone. “According to the report, Chi Lei gave you medication. It seems that he also has doubts. Well, let me see, temporary loss of memory… How much do you remember?”
“I remember that until March 1, 2095, when the world was still normal.” Ruan Xian glanced at Tang Yibu and repeated the modified remarks. “At that time, I was a waiter in a coffee shop.”
“Well, 28 years old. 231 had submitted the report.” Guan Haiming bit his nail. “Considering the current year, the physical age isn’t quite right. Have you ever been exposed to a dormant warehouse?”
“If you were 28 years old, you should have a record in the file. Let’s take a look.” Guan Haiming knocked on the glass desktop full of pictures and text, and a light screen jumped into the air. “…Interesting.”
A simple text was displayed in the air, but looking at Ruan Xian’s side, he could only see the screen full of garbled code.
“In 2095, there were 932 Ruan Lijie registered nationwide; 10 people between the ages of 25 and 30, and 2 of them had work experience in coffee shops. There are no traces of plastic surgery on your face, and you don’t match one of them… I think there is a lot of information seriously missing.”
Guan Haiming glanced at the light screen, pulled out a blank input box out of thin air, and threw it at Ruan Xian. “Graduation school. Five names of people at the same level. The name and appearance description of the owner of the coffee shop where you work… In short, it’s the pile of questions above. Write them down.”
Ruan Xian recalled for a moment, took a breath, and tapped quickly on the air keyboard under the input box.
When he woke up twelve years later, he met an inexplicable Tang Yibu. He almost subconsciously used this fake identity to protect himself.
Back then, more and more people cultivated “legal” fake identities from scratch and sold them. In order to test the vulnerability of the identity tracking system, dozens of virtual samples, including “Ruan Lijie”, were put into the system by Ruan Xian as a comparison standard for the program to automatically detect fake identities. In a sense, they were close to the “vaccine” that trained the tracking program.
Some electronic ghosts that only exist in network records but could deceive the monitoring procedures through automatic calculations.
Even if he died, unless someone specifically canceled the authorization, this conventional long-term testing project would continue to operate normally, and the ghosts of these data piles would continue to move forward according to the planned path.
Ruan Lijie’s subsequent “life” trajectory was very peaceful and ordinary, and in all respects the most insignificant setting, which he himself compiled. In order to repeatedly test the probing process, he completed every detail by hand.
He didn’t mind telling the truth about his identity after thoroughly figuring out his own situation and making sure that he could really be safe in the shelter. However, at the moment, Tang Yibu’s surveillance was at the front, and Zhang Yazhe’s abnormal case was in the back, which only made Ruan Xian tighten every nerve.
He didn’t want to repeat his previous mistakes, and now was far from the time.
“There’s nothing wrong with your answer. Combined with the scans and the report of Zhang Yazhe’s squad, you should have entered a dormant warehouse after something happened to the general environment, and then came out half a year to a year later. Certain events have happened recently that have caused you to lose your memory for this period.”
Ruan Xian pursed his lips tightly.
“Don’t be nervous. External stimulation, certain treatments, and even self-resection of memories may achieve this effect. The world has become such that it’s better to forget more things instead. Believe me, you don’t know how many people want to do it all over again and pretend that yesterday’s world was normal. Of course, there are many people who would actually do that.”
Guan Haiming pulled the corners of his mouth and stood up.
“There’s no problem with your scan results. The results from the auxiliary chip have also come out, and all indicators are normal. As long as it’s determined you’re not an android and can’t die for the time being, my mission is over.”
“Can scanning determine whether a person is an android?” Ruan Xian asked, masking his question unintentionally.
“Coupled with the results of the auxiliary chip, the accuracy is almost 100%, unless those legendary units are willing to stoop down to our level. Any more questions? Now you can go.” Guan Haiming waved his hand impatiently, eyeing the place where the music icon was floating on his glass desktop.
However, Zhang Yazhe passed the scan and was also injected with an auxiliary chip.
Ruan Xian adjusted his breathing. “What exactly is the auxiliary chip for?”
“It won’t do anything to you. At most, record your physical condition and back up your memory. As long as you don’t run into a signal blind spot, it can also help us track your location. However, this thing will gradually deplete with metabolism, and it needs to be supplemented as appropriate after long-term strenuous exercise or heavy blood loss. Compared to the auxiliary chip, I personally prefer to call it a black box.”
“As for you, there shouldn’t be a chance to deplete it in large quantities, so let’s talk about it after a seven-day observation period first. The rehabilitation equipment has been delivered to your room. There’s no physical problem with your legs, and you’ll be able to recover soon… Shit, why again.”
Guan Haiming’s eyebrows jumped. He rubbed his temples nervously, and then clicked on the news that appeared on the glass table.
“…Okay, apply for maintenance, which will save a lot of trouble. 231, come to me at eight tomorrow morning and I’ll debug the data for you.”
“Yes,” Tang Yibu said.
“Chi Lei probably has already picked up a new machine on Xiao Zheng’s side. It just so happens that all the medical machinery is in use. You should stand by Ruan Lijie’s side first.”
“Yes.” Tang Yibu’s smile seemed to be brighter.
Seeing Tang Yibu helping Ruan Xian out of the chair, Guan Haiming breathed an undisguised sigh of relief, as if he couldn’t wait to rush the person out.
“…Mr. Guan, I have another question I want to ask.” Ruan Xian spoke again.
Guan Haiming suddenly showed a little murderous aura. “Ask.”
“Since 231 wants to be in the same room with me.” Ruan Xian’s tone was sincere, and his confusion and worry were just right. “Mr. Guan, what is the difference between an android and a human? I think he is, uh, quite human. I always feel like there’s something…”
“This question is really troublesome to explain, but it’s enough for you to remember this.”
Guan Haiming nodded his temples.
“A natural brain is human, but a cybernetic brain is not. Beyond that, nothing can be used as a criterion for judgment. The person who set up this rule is one of the founders of the refuge—”
Ruan Xian was about to nod his head and end the inquiry, but Guan Haiming’s next sentence made him stiff on the spot.
“—My teacher, Professor Ruan Xian. Since you still remember what happened in 2095, you should know this person.”
The author has something to say:
Show a mysterious smile.jpg
Kinky Thoughts:
Just some clarity. The term they use to describe Tang Yibu is (仿生人) which just boils down to a robot that looks exactly like a human. I have decided to use android as the de facto translated term for this, per Wikipedia.
Other robots will just be referred to as robots/machine unless the author specifies a term for them and will never use it when describing something that should be an android.
The scan itself didn’t take much time; about five minutes at most.
The cramped scanning rooms were close to the size of a toilet cubicle and were thoughtfully equipped with seats. Before Ruan Xian retrieved the waist bag from the shelf, he quietly tore off the label on the canned food marked “Zhang Yazhe” and hid it carefully, then used the pocket cloth to stain the blank space after tearing off the label.
“This kind of can is the refuge allotment?” Leaning against the door of the scanning room, Ruan Xian stretched out his arm to Tang Yibu, who supported him with standard movements.
“Yes. The explorers have their share of emergency food, one less for each. It stands to reason that everyone has a number.” Tang Yibu glanced at the food canister that had lost its label, and the explanation came up again. “If you pick it up outside, it’s your personal property.”
Ruan Xian frowned and stuffed the food canister back into his pocket.
Right now, he only knew that it came from the ruins. It could have come from whichever corpse was underground, or it could have fallen from the surface into the ruined hall with him when the ground collapsed.
If Lao Zhang hadn’t specifically mentioned eating the canned food, he could still assume that the other party had accidentally lost it. If the can number wasn’t unique, he could also consider the possibility that there was or had been another “Zhang Yazhe” here.
However, there was only one possibility left. Lao Zhang was lying, and this lie was pointless. He could completely say that he had lost it.
“How will the kitchen reprocess this kind of canned food?” Ruan Xian averted his gaze from the other man’s overly standard smile.
“Check for toxicity, sterilize it, powder it, and use it as a seasoning.”
Ruan Xian breathed a sigh of relief when he heard that the toxicity was checked and it was used as a small dose of seasoning. He fell silent and focused on the control of his legs as he followed Tang Yibu back to the white inspection room and then walked straight through the door.
Behind the door was a spacious hall.
There were many simple arches built around the hall, and in the middle was a circular platform. Several staff members were busy in the circular ring table, operating a huge light screen floating in the air. Scattered mechanical devices were piled up in the corner of the hall, and the light screens projected everywhere, making the space look less cluttered. There weren’t many people in the hall, but there were people coming and going, making a lively scene.
But it wasn’t just people who came and went.
Special-shaped robots of various shapes accompanied people, walking with them obediently. As soon as a tall robot with three thin legs crossed over their heads, Ruan Xian had to take two difficult steps back to make way for the camouflaged robot shaped like a headless ostrich.
The design of the mechanical joint was so exquisite that Ruan Xian’s eyes almost stuck to it until Tang Yibu firmly dragged him to the arch in the opposite direction.
In contrast, this arch was much more deserted. A steel sign carved with a snake staff pattern was nailed to the top of the arch, and the smell of medicine wafted from the corridor inside the door. The entire space was filled with an icy aura.
Within a few steps, Ruan Xian saw a familiar figure.
Lao Zhang still looked dirty. He stood in front of a door and was wiping his hands with a handkerchief. As if perceiving Ruan Xian’s gaze, he turned his face sideways and pulled out a passionate smile.
“You’re the new guy. Let’s see… Ruan Lijie, right? Hi, I almost delayed things on this trip. There aren’t many survivors who are willing to move around these days. I was supposed to pick you up, but I lost the signal. Fortunately, 231 found you. Sorry, sorry.” Lao Zhang’s smile was sincere, and he kept rubbing the stains on his palm with his handkerchief as he spoke.
“Don’t say that. It’s not easy for everyone these days, and it’s already kind enough for you to accept me.” Ruan Xian naturally continued the conversation.
“That’s true.” Lao Zhang glanced at Tang Yibu, who was pretending that he didn’t exist, and then his eyes slid back. “How’s it going? Are you uncomfortable anywhere? There may be some adverse reactions to the first injection of the auxiliary chip. You’ll need to do a physical examination, so tell the doctor if you feel uncomfortable anywhere.”
“Where’s Zhang Ge? …I just heard you came to see Chi Ge and them?”
“Yes. By the way, say hi to the boss.”
“Can I go in and have a look? Chi Ge and Xiao Ding took good care of me, and I also want to meet them too.” Ruan Xian stared closely at Zhang Yazhe’s eyes.
He felt the hand that was being held by Tang Yibu tighten slightly, but he said nothing.
“Alright. Anyways, 231 is also here. Qiu Yue shouldn’t say anything. Just don’t take too long.”
With that said, Lao Zhang finally wiped his hands and pressed his palm on the door.
“Zhang Yazhe, visitor application approved.” The door slowly opened with a neutral electronic tone.
“Lao Chi!” Zhang Yazhe laughed as soon as he entered the door and rushed to Lao Chi’s bed.
The room wasn’t small as it held five beds. Among them, three people were lying on the beds next to the fake window. Chi Lei’s bed was closest to the door, followed by Xiao Ding’s, who was sleeping. The bed in the corner had a curtain, so he couldn’t see who was inside.
There were a few pots of forget-me-nots placed on the windowsill of the fake window, which made the small blue flowers under the artificial sunlight extremely beautiful.
Chi Lei was lying on the hospital bed naked and looked a bit thin. The cut across his back had been stitched up, and a dozen spherical machines the size of glass balls were busy beside the wound. Lao Zhang clapped at the bedside, causing several small balls to almost roll down Chi Lei’s back.
“Lao Zhang?! Bastard, where have you been?” Chi Lei propped up his upper body. This was the first time Ruan Xian had seen him show a smile.
“Where else can I go? Near the wild cemetery. I heard that you have also encountered ventral cockroaches. I was going to pick up a signal, but I ran into one and almost lost my shoe running away.” Zhang Yazhe rubbed his nose. “Are you okay?”
“A small injury. One week should be enough. Anyways, the survivors aren’t everywhere.” Chi Lei glanced at Ruan Xian obliquely. “…What are you doing here? Have you done your physical?”
“Not yet. Going right away. I just came to see you guys,” Ruan Xian replied sincerely, leaving aside Lao Zhang’s reasons, this wasn’t completely a lie.
“Why are you so fierce towards young people? They care about you. Besides, there’s 231 here. What can happen?” Lao Zhang chided him. “Is your mouth light? Do you want me to give you a few pieces of salt bean cakes? Did you eat enough before you left?”
“You’re not afraid of those people in the kitchen killing you?” Chi Lei’s attention was instantly distracted.
Unsure if it was because he heard the key word “salt bean cakes”, but Xiao Ding on the next bed over smacked his mouth hard while he was sleeping.
Ruan Xian controlled his expression and smiled at Chi Lei rigidly while saying nothing.
He listened to Zhang Yazhe’s and Chi Lei’s conversation, and there seemed to be no tenseness on either side. The information was also remembered correctly as well. Lao Zhang’s enthusiasm and concern for him also felt true, unlike if he was trying to hide something.
If it hadn’t been for picking up that terrible cannister, Ruan Xian thought he wouldn’t have had half a doubt about the person in front of him.
“Zhang Yazhe?” A calm male voice came from inside the curtain.
“Ouch, boss!” Lao Zhang hurriedly straightened his waist and stood at attention. “Reporting, Zhang Yazhe survived the catastrophe and is back!”
The curtain controlled by the slider opened automatically, and a man in his forties was leaning against the head of the bed with a piece of electronic paper in his hand. The sun crossed the small pot of forget-me-nots and shone on the boney body, giving the impression that the man looked quite thinner.
“You just returned. Don’t take it too seriously. Let Qiu Yue check on you and tell her if you’re uncomfortable anywhere. You’re our best explorer, so you can’t just collapse.” The man nodded wearily.
His gaze lingered slightly on Ruan Xian, but there was no intention of speaking.
“Yes!” Lao Zhang’s waist straightened.
“Speaking of which, Chi Lei just reported to me that he hopes to change the auxiliary machine. Your team has been using 231 for almost two years. Do you have any ideas?”
“Lao Chi is the mechanic in the team, so I’ll listen to him,” Lao Zhang said immediately, then turned his head. “By the way, Lao Chi, what did 231 do?”
“Resisted orders. In addition, the medical parameters were wrong. It gave Xiao Ding an extra half dose of the soothing agent during battle. This was the first time it had failed. In my opinion, it should be returned to Guan Haiming.”
“I’ll listen to you. When Xiao Ding wakes up, we will discuss it and go to Professor Guan to replace it. Not long ago, Xiao Zheng got a few more police models, so we should be able to exchange it.”
Ruan Xian looked at Tang Yibu. Tang Yibu was still standing by his side, holding him steadily, as if he hadn’t heard anything.
“Ok. When you are done, remember to fill out the report.” The man smiled gently and put down the electronic paper.
“…I just left for a while, and you sat up again. Tian He, do you not listen anymore?” Qiu Yue walked into the room carrying a cloth bag. Her voice was full of helplessness, but there was a shallow smile on her face.
Putting the cloth bag on the small table next to the man’s hospital bed, she took out a few square boxes from it, and then raised her head. “Yo, Xiao Ruan, you’re here too.”
The leader of the refuge—or Tian He—moved his body and arranged himself into a more comfortable posture. He wasn’t sure if he was seeing things, but Ruan Xian always felt that Tian He’s eyes were looking at Qiu Yue with a bit of a complicated expression.
“Tian He, get ready to eat.” Qiu Yue’s voice was gentle. “Xiao Ruan, hurry up. The doctors are about to go to the hall for dinner now. There shouldn’t be many people left. It’s best to finish the check-up before dinner. Otherwise, you’ll go hungry into the night.”
“Ah, thank you, Qiu Jie.” Ruan Xian nodded obediently while looking at Zhang Yazhe, who was joking with Chi Lei from the corner of his eyes.
However, after leaving the room, Tang Yibu instead led him to the arch where they originally came.
“Shouldn’t I get my checkup?”
“Qiu Yue said it was a little late and the last doctor also left the room just now.”
Tang Yibu turned his back to the surveillance camera with a serious expression. “According to Mr. Zhang, there may be salt bean cakes in tonight’s meal set, but they will be gone if we get there late. I prefer to eat early than be hungry.”
“……You need to eat?”
Tang Yibu turned his head sideways. “Don’t you also need to as well?”
“But in the hall—” Those robots in the hall didn’t look like they needed to eat.
“Those are all new technologies.” Tang Yibu sounded annoyed. “As an old model, I have to consume calories to keep my body running. Salt bean cakes are a good source of calories.”
“…” This seems to be different from the android he imagined. He strongly suspected that the android in front of him had a special preference for salt bean cakes.
Unfortunately, Mr. Tang’s dinner plan didn’t work out. Before they walked out of the archway, Tang Yibu stopped, and a bit of despondency slowly appeared on his face.
“What’s the matter?” Ruan Xian held his breath.
“There’s still a doctor there.” After dinner, Tang Yibu’s standard smile seemed a bit forced. “Or maybe a part-time doctor.”
“Clinic No. 19, Dr. Guan Haiming.”
The author has something to say:
Lao Zhang is the one who was fried into meat sauce in the first chapter (gesture)
In the previous chapter, I saw a lot of speculation about hhhhhh
No spoilers! (ψ°▽°)
Kinky Thoughts:
Ironic the author says no spoilers considering she spoiled the shit out of Stray when I was translating it in her author comments. Luckily for you readers, I decided to leave those spoilers and any potential ones here out.
The sun was about to set. Ruan Xian looked up at the building in front of him and felt the sense of doom for the first time.
Earlier, while Chi Ge and Xiao Ding were unconscious, Tang Yibu moved them to a nearby cave. After waking up, the two of them didn’t look for Lao Zhang anymore, but directly dragged out three hoverbike-like machines from the bushes next to the cave and went directly back to the shelter. The exploration couldn’t continue with one of them having a deep cut on his back while the other had a broken ankle.
The floating hoverbike was extremely fast, but despite this, it still took them nearly three hours to reach their destination deep in the woods.
The appearance of the refuge was so shocking that Ruan Xian didn’t even have time to pursue Tang Yibu regarding the matter of tying him to the back seat of the car with the luggage.
“Ruan Ge, I saw you shooting at the ventral cockroaches. Do you know how to shoot?” Ding Zepeng’s ankle was swollen and looked like the size of a steam bun. He grimaced as he hopped on one foot and had a heartless smile on his face.
“It’s a hobby.” Ruan Xian allowed Tang Yibu to untie the rope on his body, still surveying the refuge in front of him. “Let’s not talk about this. Xiao Ding, this is…?”
The thing in front of him wasn’t so much a refuge, but closer to a ruined abandoned building pierced by a giant tree.
The giant tree seemed to be born in the building as its thick trunks ran through the entire building and its canopy covered the roof. The abandoned building looked rickety, and the windows without glass were dark, like the eye sockets of a skeleton. It looked unlike a habitation for humans. The sturdy tree roots were flanked by crude houses covered by strings of insulation panels, looking like a nest of mushrooms in the shadows.
“Spectacular, right?!” Ding Zepeng began to unload the cargo in the back seat of his vehicle. “Hey, Qiu Jie*, why are you out?”
*Sister (姐) When used after a name, it has the same meaning as [ge] (哥) but is used for women. Used to address older women who you are friendly with/respect.
Ruan Xian finally retracted his gaze and looked at the only exit of the cement-colored building.
The three of them stepped across the calf-high roots of the tree and drilled out of the doorway. It was headed by a woman with short hair, wearing a slate white coat, looking as if she was in her 30’s or 40’s.
“To pick you up? Your physical data isn’t normal.”
As she spoke, she narrowed her eyes and faint fine lines gathered at the ends of her eyes. “Asshole, did you fall again?”
“Heh, I was too careless.” Ding Zepeng wiped his nose. “Qiu Jie, take a look at Chi Ge. He’s still bleeding a lot…”
The woman tapped a metal ring on her wrist and several light screens appeared in front of her. “Chi Lei’s condition is okay. 231 should’ve bandaged him. As for you… Were you injected with a soothing agent?”
“I was dragging my leg to run and almost fainted from the pain. 231 gave me a shot.”
“The dose is a little high. 231’s medical instructions need to be adjusted. It’s still difficult to adapt the model. If Lao Zhang could find two more medical machines, that would be good. Speaking of which, where’s Lao Zhang? Is he coming back every two days again?”
“We haven’t contacted Zhang Yazhe. I have to tell the boss that the range of activity of the ventral cockroaches has increased. They originally wouldn’t come to the southwest district.” Chi Lei interjected. His face was still a little pale. “Lao Zhang went to pick up a survivor near the wild cemetery. There’s been no word from him for nearly a day. We had 231 go scout, but only brought back this kid.”
Seeing Qui Jie’s gaze swept over, Ruan Xian immediately stood upright and subconsciously adjusted a suitable smile. He habitually waited for a polite surprise, or a disgust hidden behind a frown.
Qiu Jie laughed. “Oh, it’s been a long time since I saw such a handsome young man. Qiu Yue. I’m in charge of medical care here. Just call me Qiu Jie.”
She generously stretched out a hand and shook hands with Ruan Xian, who was a little stunned. “Which refuge did you come from?”
“My name is Ruan Lijie.” Ruan Xian shook his head and leaned against the hoverbike, barely maintaining his balance. “Refuge… I don’t remember. Sorry, my mind hasn’t been right these past few days.”
“Memory loss caused by mental stimulation,” Tang Yibu added as he saw fit.
“It’s okay. We can arrange a quiet room for Xiao Ruan.” Qiu Yue instructed the two men behind her to help Chi Ge and Xiao Ding as she smiled reassuringly at Ruan Xian. “Now I have to go see those seriously ill. 231, put away the vehicles and cargo, then book a room for Xiao Ruan. Remember to complete registration formalities before dinner.”
After that, she tapped a few times on the light screen floating above her little arm and walked quickly back into the building.
This time Tang Yibu had no intention of using his power. He honestly pushed the three vehicles into the ruined building in turns. Several four-legged robots like high stools came out of the corners and carried sacks filled with parts.
The first floor of the refuge still looked like ruins—dusty, dim, and dirty, and the cracked floor was covered with vines and weeds. There wasn’t even a light on the entire floor, and half of it was missing. Ruan Xian scanned thoroughly and finally saw the dark elevator shaft rumbling in the depths.
Tang Yibu picked up Ruan Xian, who was looking around. “How’s your leg?”
“I’m a little used to it, but I still can’t exert too much force.”
“Nn.” Tang Yibu nodded. “There’ll be a registered medical examination later. I suggest you take a bath. The room has a bathtub, so I can help if it is inconvenient.”
“…No need.”
Tang Yibu blinked. “Do you mind my form? Then I can help you apply for a nursing robot. They have the appearance of a human woman.”
“Really no need, thank you. I will do it myself.” Ruan Xian waved his hand weakly.
Tang Yibu looked a little confused, but he still obediently helped Ruan Xian forward until they got to a clearing that was covered with particularly lush vines. Stopping, he stretched out his hand to draw a series of complex trajectories in the air. The vines on the ground flickered for a few seconds before disappearing directly into the air.
The cracks on the floor slid silently, filled with smoke and dust, revealing a downward tunnel.
“You are nervous.” Tang Yibu pointed it out, finding Ruan Xian’s body tense.
Ruan Xian, who was busy observing the environment, didn’t have time to answer him.
Underneath the ruins was a clean and tidy underground fortress. The two went all the way down, leaving the dilapidated ruins above, and the view of smooth corridor walls filled his vision. The corridors were like a maze, with square windows at the top that projected simulated sunlight and neat doors on either side.
Tang Yibu didn’t lead Ruan Xian deeper. He quickly stopped in front of one of the doors and covered the door without a door lock with his palm.
“STR-Y type 307a231, registration room 1306.”
The door slowly opened.
Inside the door was a bedroom of about 20 square meters, equipped with a simple table and chair. The ceiling was embedded with square windows similar to those in the corridor, and artificial sunlight shone down from a fake blue sky that could be seen.
“So much ample space?” Ruan Xian stepped into the door carefully.
“No, these rooms are used for isolation, surveillance, and special hospitality.” Tang Yibu opened the small door in the room and made a “please” gesture to the bathroom, which had sounds of water coming from it. “Most humans live near the deep hall.”
Fortunately, the bathroom was equipped with a partition curtain. After Ruan Xian got into the bathtub, he was relieved to find that the nearby shelf was equipped with clothes and bath towels.
This situation was a bit novel to him.
Before, due to skin lesions, taking a normal bath was a luxury for him. He had to prepare a suitable liquid for half a day before taking a bath. In order to ensure the efficacy of the medicine, the water temperature must be kept at room temperature so as not to aggravate the bad condition of his skin.
This was the first time.
Ruan Xian stretched his hand into the bathtub in front of him, and warm water passed through them. Now that the water was full, he threw off his clothes and soaked them tentatively.
“…It’s almost dinner time. We must go to the basement to complete the registration.”
An hour and a half later, Tang Yibu spoke, relatively tactfully.
Ruan Xian gathered his wet black hair together and finally managed to pull himself out of the hot water. After a series of stimuli, comfortable relaxation was particularly rare, and he almost fell asleep in the bathtub.
“This water…”
“There will be housekeeping robots to clean up.”
Ruan Xian first changed into the clothes prepared by the refuge, and then opened the shower curtain as he dried his hair. Tang Yibu stretched out a hand, politely supported him, and wrapped a bandage around his neck again.
“You’re under observation. In theory, you’ll live here for a week. The arrangement of the refuge can be viewed through the mirror. In the refuge, you don’t need to act with me at all times.”
‘There’s no repeated warning,’ Ruan Xian thought. Tang Yibu didn’t seem to be worried about him leaking information at all. This wasn’t a good sign—it meant that Tang Yibu was very confident in his control of the situation.
However, the facilities here seem to be safe and sound. He estimated that people should have been living here for a long time. If he could get enough support, he still had the opportunity to get rid of Tang Yibu and settle down here temporarily.
“I see.” Ruan Xian brought his waist bag with the food cannister and lantern, then glanced into the mirror.
He was stunned.
Over the past two decades, Ruan Xian had occasionally guessed his own appearance. His face was once covered by rashes and pigmentation caused by disease. Compared to pursuing the extravagant notion of “beauty”, he only wanted to be a normal person at best.
Even if he relied on his observation and reflexes to get acquainted with everyone in the institute smoothly, he occasionally heard expressions like “wheelchair monsters”.
“They aren’t malicious. Young people are always curious about the geniuses of their same age.” Fan Linsong once persuaded him like this. “I can’t help it, but Xiao Ruan, don’t take it personally. Do you want to try an artificial skin? The effect is average, but your current condition, the possibility of recovery… alas.”
He refused at that time.
Artificial skin could indeed make him more like a normal person, but the artificial face couldn’t connect to too many nerves, so he would lose most of his expressions. He wouldn’t even be able to make a natural smile.
Just like a robot.
Ruan Xian supported himself in the bathtub with his left hand, stretched out his right hand, and held down the cold mirror. There was no longer the terrifying-looking patient in the mirror; there was only a strange young man in a dark gray uniform.
Ruan Xian saw his real face for the first time.
It no longer had the appearance of illness. The slightly raised tail of the eyes was exposed, revealing pupils that were deep, like an ancient well, just like his mother—the mother who was a famous beauty in her hometown when she was young, who was famously known for her attractive eyes.
Although he was very similar to his mother, the parts that followed his father added a lot of heroism. From the perspective of public aesthetics, this seemed to be a face that couldn’t be faulted, but Ruan Xian couldn’t feel the slight joy. He was stared at by those familiar yet unfamiliar eyes and bitter emotions slowly filled his heart.
He stared at the face similar to his mother’s in the mirror, and the happy smile brought by the hot water completely disappeared. For a while, his expression was consistent with that of Tang Yibu, who was beside him.
“Let’s go.” Ruan Xian retracted his hand from the mirror and looked away.
The number of people who needed to be “isolated, monitored, and specially treated” was apparently small, as Ruan Xian didn’t meet anyone else along the way. A larger room opened at the end of the corridor, and the main tone was as clean as the corridor. The entire room was divided by a half-person-high isolation barrier, folded into a maze-like structure, and the width of the path could only allow two people to walk in parallel.
The staff at the entrance knocked on the table. His face was covered by a thick mechanical mask. For a while, Ruan Xian didn’t dare judge whether it was a human or a machine.
“Stretch out your arm.”
The voice behind the mask was a bit muffled and held a lot of impatience. Through thick gloves, he drew out a needless syringe, and his tone was as if he was endorsing a book. “This is the rule. Please understand.”
It seems that this was a human.
Ruan Xian slowly rolled up his sleeves and glanced at Tang Yibu. He didn’t know when, but the guy had put on the billboard-style smile again and looked straight ahead with an innocent expression in his eyes.
“Excuse me, this is?”
“Auxiliary chip,” the man responded angrily. “Haven’t you fought in a previous refuge before?”
“I…” Before Ruan Xian could respond, he was interrupted by a shout—
“Old Zhang?!” A staff member who was also wearing a mask not far away suddenly stood up.
Ruan Xian stopped rolling his sleeves and looked a few meters away.
At the entrance of another passage, a middle-aged man was clutching his hair embarrassingly. He looked a little haggard, and his whole body was dirty, covered with dirt and grass.
“Lao Chi said he hadn’t found you yet. We have to contact the boss quickly. The boss is estimated to have to prepare a search and rescue plan for tomorrow.” The staff’s voice was full of joy.
“Don’t mention it. Didn’t I rush back here in a hurry? I didn’t even dare take a bath.” Lao Zhang coughed. “How are Lao Chi and the others? Damn, I ran into a ventral cockroach two miles from the wild cemetery and broke my communicator.”
“They also encountered ventral cockroaches. Xiao Ding broke his foot and Chi Lei hurt his back. Fortunately, it wasn’t serious.” The staff took out a syringe that was exactly the same as the one in front of Ruan Xian. “Come on, Lao Zhang, take the needle chip.”
“It’s not a serious injury.” The middle-aged man stretched out his arm cooperatively without a frown.
“How about you? Are you uncomfortable? Are there any abnormalities in memory?”
“None. At the time of the attack, 231 wasn’t around. I thought I was dead, so I directly detonated the energy tank and threw it over.” Lao Zhang patted his chest pocket.
The staff member huffed loudly behind the mask.
“…Then I was lifted up by a burst of wind and was knocked unconscious in the trunk of a tree.” Lao Zhang shrugged. “It was dawn when I woke up again, but I felt fine. It doesn’t seem like I’m hurt anywhere. Speaking of which, I have to apply for another can.”
“Huh, you opened the one you had?”
“Well, if you’re weak, you can’t survive a catastrophe. I just ate a day’s worth of this stuff and it won’t last long after it’s opened, so the rest has to be sent to the kitchen for reprocessing.”
“Understood. The unique number of the can is 09274. The holder is Zhang Yazhe. Please confirm.” The staff slid a light screen in front of them. “There’s still inventory. I’ll change the ration number to 09335. Remember to go to the warehouse to collect it.”
“Confirmation is correct.”
“Old rules. Full body scan. You can go to the scanning room.”
“Where are Lao Chi and Xiao Ding? I’ll go and report later.” Lao Zhang rubbed his hands and breathed a sigh of relief.
“Medical Room No. 2. The boss is also over there…”
“Have you seen enough of the excitement?” The staff in front of Ruan Xian finally couldn’t help but speak. “Don’t dawdle. I have something urgent to do.”
Ruan Xian stretched out his arm and received the shot in silence.
“Primary perception enhancement? Not bad. I can see that your previous refuge wasn’t good. This model of nanobot was eliminated almost ten years ago.” The staff member looked at the panel jumping frantically in front of him and snorted. “Now go to the scanning room.”
Ruan Xian silently withdrew his arm, allowing Tang Yibu to help him, and moved to the scanning room about five meters away. While Tang Yibu looked elsewhere, he opened his pockets and secretly glanced at the food canister with a smiley face.
Whether it was the number or the name just mentioned, he had a faint feeling of déjà vu, and now he had found the source of that feeling.
There was a slightly faded label on the side of the can— [No. 09274-Zhang Yazhe]
It had never been opened by anyone.
The author has something to say:
Mr. Ruan is also very good-looking now! The two are about to start living together (×).
Kinky Thoughts:
Me thinks that Zhang Yazhe is not really Zhang Yazhe. Pretty sure he got blown to bits in the prologue.
She wasn’t sure whether it was her soles that were too slippery or the assistant was too impatient, but Han Qi watched as the assistant slipped forward and her face slammed against all the glass debris on the ground, and she didn’t have enough time to save her.
The screams alarmed everyone as they hurriedly rushed over to help the assistant up. The glass residue had cut her face, and the assistant was bleeding all over. Some of the glass debris had pierced into her flesh, and there was even a piece that was embedded in the corner of her eyebrow, which made her look extremely terrified.
Some girls couldn’t help but scream, while others turned away.
“My god!”
“Hurry, hurry! Call an ambulance!”
“It’s too late. Let’s drive her over. Hurry!”
Everyone didn’t wait for Han Qi to speak as they helped the assistant out. The director quickly called his driver over and asked them to rush to the hospital.
“Han Jie, are you okay?”
“Han Jie, why don’t you go back to the nanny’s car and take a break? Let us clean up here!”
“Oh, my god, it’s so scary. Why did she slip suddenly?”
“It’s the second case today. It’s something really evil!”
“I wonder if the crew will stop work…”
Chaotic voices sounded in Han Qi’s ears, but she didn’t hear a word.
Her assistant had an accident in front of her own eyes and fell so badly that everyone was distracted and didn’t notice her.
On the same day, there were two accidents in a row. The crew was terrified, and seeing that most of the starring actors were in no state to perform, the director had to order a half-day break and continue filming tomorrow.
Back at the hotel, Han Qi sat by the bed and called her agent. She asked her to go to the hospital to visit the injured assistant and then send her over a new one. Just from a look, she knew that the injury was serious, and she most likely had to undergo surgery, so she won’t be able to return to work in the short term.
The agent expressed surprise that so many things had happened to the crew in a single day and comforted her for a while.
Han Qi didn’t need these useless comforts. She asked the agent, “Do you know any reliable masters who help people with these things? I think I… The crew may need to exorcise some evil spirits!”
The agent said, “There’s an artist in our company named Liu Fei. You should know her. I heard that she usually deals with several masters, but I don’t recommend looking for her. If she opens her mouth and tells the paparazzi something, it’ll create trouble, and I’m not sure if the ones she knows are real or charlatans…”
Han Qi listened impatiently and interrupted her, “Forget it. It’s fine if you don’t!”
The agent seemed to sense that she was upset, and she whispered a few words of advice, and then said, “Do you want to ask Mr. Hong?”
Han Qi was startled.
Agent: “Mr. Hong is connected to political and economic circles and has a wide range of contacts. He must also know the masters in this field. Why don’t you ask him?”
Han Qi frowned and said, “I don’t want to ask him.”
The agent was silent for a moment: “Qiqi, tell me the truth, does he still not know about your pregnancy?”
Han Qi: “…He knows.”
Agent: “Then—”
Han Qi squeezed the phone slightly harder, and after a while, she said, in a very unwilling tone, “He asked me to come over and talk about it.”
The agent let out a sigh, slightly angry. “What does he mean? Does he just want the child or does he want you to terminate it?!”
Han Qi paused. “What do you think I should do?”
The agent hesitated. “Qiqi, don’t listen to what I just said. Since Mr. Hong said that you should also be mentally prepared. If you can’t reveal the relationship, and the child’s affair is exposed, it will cause a scandal that will not be good.”
Han Qi didn’t speak, but her agent knew that she understood everything in her heart. She just didn’t want to accept the facts.
The agent sighed. “Think about it!”
Han Qi suddenly said, “Children can’t fight!”
Han Qi bit her lip and finally revealed the truth. “When I went to Thailand three years ago, I met a master. At that time, I had just broken up with Zhong Huan, that scummy man. I was pregnant then, but I didn’t tell anyone, including you, but the master saw it at a glance. Not only that, he also told me that the child would bring me great trouble. I didn’t believe it, so I had an abortion after I went back. As a result, my career soon took a nosedive after it. Several contracts that I had signed for films have been broken off by the other party without any reason. At that time, we were both at a loss. You should remember.”
“I don’t want to be reduced from the first line to second line*, let alone be looked down on by that scumbag Zhong Huan, who thinks I can’t do it without him, so I went to Thailand again and found the master. The master told me that the fetus I aborted was actually a demon fetus. It’ll continue to follow me and block my luck. If I didn’t come to him, my luck would continue to be bad until I died.”
*First line is basically the top talent of an agency that gets the most resources. To be moved from first to second would be like a demotion (she’ll get fewer resources and thus less work).
After listening to these words, the agent felt like she had jumped from the entertainment industry to a horror suspense film, but she was powerless to stop what Han Qi had already done, so she could only ask, “Then what?”
Han Qi: “Then the master helped me make a magic array that suppressed the child and turned it into a charm, saying that it could bless my future career. In addition, he told me that this year, I would meet a man and conceive my rightful child that will be blessed by the Gods and Buddhas and will bring me great wealth and honor.”
The agent was stunned. “Do you believe him?”
Han Qi asked rhetorically. “Why not? My career has indeed taken a big turn since he helped me do it last time. Originally, you know, I had already started to go downhill. Male stars in their early forties can still usher in a second spring, but many actresses will be replaced in their early thirties. However, in the past three years, my career has been smooth. Instead of declining, it has been rising steadily. Even Mr. Hong said that since I became pregnant, his career has improved, saying that it’s because of me. Doesn’t this just prove that the master is right?”
The agent lowered her voice, “But what happened to you recently, and the last time you were on the plane…”
Han Qi said, “The master said that the blessed fetus I am now pregnant with is the reincarnation of Vishnu*, which can bring me infinite blessings, but because of this, there must be many unpredictable evil things around. Even the evil fetus that was suppressed by the master may be tempted by the blessed fetus and could turn into an evil thing again. Sure enough, the master was right again… I suspect that these things that have happened recently may be those evil things that want to attack the child in my stomach!”
*One of the principal deities of Hinduism. Vishnu is the supreme being who creates, protects, and transforms the universe.
The agent was silent for a long time, and then said carefully, “Qiqi, I don’t doubt your statement, but what are you going to do now? Are you really going to give birth to this child? If Mr. Hong refuses to recognize it after it’s born, what will you do? Let it carry the reputation of not knowing its father? As you said just now, the career of an actress is very short. Do you want to risk losing your career just because of something a master told you three years ago?”
“I don’t know. I just called the master’s assistant. He said the master was in retreat and I couldn’t see him. I’m a mess now…” Han Qi finally couldn’t help it anymore and she started sobbing. “I’m afraid of the things that happened on the plane and in the crew. Just like the master said, it’s because of the child in my stomach. I’m afraid that Mr. Hong is lying to me. I’m afraid that it was the assistant this time, but next time it will be me!”
The agent was also well-informed and experienced. She had encountered many strange things over the years, but this was also the first time she had encountered Han Qi in this situation. She wanted to scold Han Qi for not being sober and being led astray by some foreign master, but things were at this point already, so it was useless to scold, and she could only try to find a solution.
“Han Qi, listen to me. Don’t think about it. These things are probably just coincidences, not monsters. Now you have to finish filming first. I’ll try to find a more reliable master in this area. Try to communicate with Mr. Hong. It’d be great if Mr. Hong was willing to get married. We can also take advantage of the new drama to announce the happy event, which will generate great publicity for you.”
Han Qi said in a low voice, “Mr. Hong won’t agree. I have been trying to convince him multiple times already. He’s smart. It’s impossible for him not to know. He said that when I give birth to the child, he’ll give me a surprise. I dare not tell him what the master said, as he’s very suspicious and will definitely investigate, so I won’t be able to hide that abortion three years ago!”
The agent couldn’t help her. At this point, the two of them were in the same boat, and all she could do was comfort her. “Don’t think too much about it. In the next few days, I’ll ask a reliable friend. You can shoot with peace of mind. People in the crew must be razzled right now. Since your assistant had an accident, the paparazzi must probably know as well. Don’t give people any more control.”
Han Qi was still upset after hanging up the phone. The room booked by the crew for her and the lead actor was the presidential suite. She originally lived with her assistant, but since her assistant had to undergo surgery at the hospital, she was the only one left. Even if the light was turned on, it still felt empty and frightening.
She flipped over and couldn’t sleep. After an afterglow flickered, she seemed to see a small hand coming from behind and resting on her stomach. She screamed in fright and jumped directly from the bed.
On the other side of the two-meter bed was a white quilt that naturally had no small hands.
Han Qi’s heart was beating wildly, and she was in shock. She carefully observed her surrounding environment and was slowly calming down. Suddenly, she saw a hand emerge from the side of the bed and grabbed her feet. Han Qi quickly shrank back, rolling out of bed in horror, not caring about putting on shoes, and ran out the door in a single breath.
Mom…
Why don’t you want me…?
Han Qi thought she was hearing things, but the voice became clearer and louder and was coming from the bathroom.
Trembling, she stretched out her hand and opened the concealed bathroom door.
Red.
Bright red eyes.
Blood was overflowing from the vanity, making the entire countertop blood red and dripping down.
There was a mass of flesh lying in the sink. The faucet was turned on halfway, and the water slowly flowed out, diluting the blood and spreading the redness everywhere.
Han Qi was stunned and hurriedly stepped back. Unexpectedly, her feet slipped, and she fell to the ground.
Mom, why don’t you want me?
A resentful and tender voice sounded in her ears, and the accumulated pressure and suspicion for many days made Han Qi couldn’t help but collapse and cry.
“Don’t come here! Don’t come here!”
The mass of flesh had already taken shape, and the little hands and feet crawled out of the sink. It fell to the ground with a plop, and blood splattered on Han Qi’s clothes.
“It’s none of my business. Don’t bother me! If it weren’t for Zhong Huan, if it weren’t for that scumbag who refused to disclose our relationship, how could I kill you? It’s all his fault. Why don’t you go to him!”
Han Qi burst into tears. “Do you think I was willing to have an abortion? What woman would be willing to abort her own child, but if I give birth to you, my career would be over! Can’t you reincarnate again. Why do you have to rely on me!”
The mass of flesh had no skin, but it already had facial features. On the small head, the organs that look like a mouth opened and closed, but they were not likeable and cute like ordinary babies. On the contrary, it was horrifically terrifying.
It was you who locked my soul in the jade charm and kept me from leaving…
She heard the ball of flesh say.
“You came to haunt me first! I was so entangled by you that I couldn’t help it, so I asked the master to calm you down!”
Mom, you listened to the words of others and wanted me to help you earn money…
Han Qi trembled and said, “Baby, listen to me. I don’t want any luck anymore. I will find the master and send you away. I’ll burn whatever toys you want in the future, and I’ll pay you back. I’ll build you a monument and buy you a feng shui treasure. I will burn lots of paper money every year!”
I don’t want money…
“Then how can you be satisfied? I can’t give you anything. You’re dead. Why don’t you let me go!” Han Qi screamed.
The ball of flesh slowly crawled towards her.
You still have my little brother in your stomach…?
I’m not leaving…
Why can he stay, but I can’t…
Han Qi opened her eyes wide, and her whole body was almost attached to the wall.
“Don’t come over! He’s different from you. He’s a blessed child. He can make his mother rich and wealthy. Only when his mother is well can he give you more things in the future. You are very sensible, you are very good, and you can understand your mother, right?”
Mom, I’m going to kill him…
Can’t let him stay…
“Don’t come, don’t come!”
Han Qi burst into tears. Her body shook like a sieve. She opened and closed her mouth, trying to shout for help, but she couldn’t make a sound.
Hui Yiguang came out after taking a shower and heard someone knocking on the door. She looked through the peephole but saw no one outside. If it was someone else, they may have thought it was a prank, but Hui Yiguang frowned and opened the door to have a look.
Not even a fly.
At this moment, a chill came from the back of her neck. It was as if someone was lying on her shoulder and breathing on it.
Hui Yiguang’s heart tensed, and her entire body froze as she slowly turned her head back.
No one.
The jade bracelet on her hand that she was still wearing just a second ago suddenly broke and fell to the ground into several pieces.
There was the sound of dripping water above her head, and a drop of liquid fell on her shoulder.
She turned her head and saw blood slowly dripping on her bathrobe. She raised her head abruptly!
Nothing.
There was no blood on her shoulder, and everything she saw just now seemed to be an illusion, except her bracelet did break into several pieces.
Hui Yiguang suddenly remembered something.
Several of their starring roles were distributed on different floors. Han Qi and the male lead naturally had the presidential luxury suite, while she and the second male lead, as well as the third female and male lead, were in the luxury suite below. Her room number was also the same as Han Qi’s, but the only difference was that the floors were different. In other words, the room above her should be Han Qi’s room.
Her face turned pale. She bit her finger and thought for a long time, and then finally made up her mind and picked up the phone.
At the same time, Dong Zhi was giving a tour of the office to Liu Qingbo and Zhang Chong.
In fact, there wasn’t much to see at all. It was mainly because Liu Qingbo and Zhang Chong were so stunned by the dilapidation of the office that they needed time to adapt.
Zhang Chong boasted, “Compared with here, the Yangcheng office is like a villa! I used to think that place was too unlucky to be near a cemetery, but now compared to it, it is absolutely a feng shui treasure!”
Liu Qingbo also complained mercilessly, “Isn’t Lucheng economically developed? How come this office is so dilapidated? Did all the money get embezzled by your predecessor?”
Dong Zhi reluctantly spread his hands. “Even if he wanted to be greedy, there’s no money to be greedy for. The main reason is that our business capabilities are relatively general, so the annual allocation is limited. They could only find such a place. In fact, I plan to sell this place, rent a shop, and do business in the front and use the back as an office. It’ll be highly concealed and more convenient. I heard that most of the offices in various places used to be located in restaurants, but I don’t know why they closed down. I think it’s a pretty good idea.”
Zhang Chong was very interested. “Then what are you going to sell?”
Dong Zhi smiled and said, “Aren’t milk tea shops all over the place now? It’ll be easy to operate without causing a lot of headaches. In the future, it could even become self-sufficient.”
Zhang Chong was a very capable person. He immediately said, “You can’t have tea without dessert. You need bubble waffles. I like rousong flavor.”
Dong Zhi estimated that an electric cake pan wasn’t expensive, so he nodded and said, “Then add an original flavor and a matcha flavor. We can look at how other stores priced it and then have an idea of how much to price our store.”
Zhang Chong said readily, “I’ll take care of it. Have you chosen the shop?”
Dong Zhi said, “Almost. It’s in an urban area, but we have to wait for a reply from the top. Mu Duo said that we had made great contributions this time, which pleased the superiors. Hopefully, they’ll allocate us more funds and lend us some more money. It’s not difficult to buy the shop first. When this old place is sold, we can pay back the money.”
Liu Qingbo listened to them chatting and talking about opening a shop and doing business, and couldn’t help but say, “Do you remember what we do?”
Dong Zhi said innocently, “The office is different from the General Administration and the Branch Office. It’s supposed to be hidden in the city. Where is your office over there?”
Liu Qingbo: “…In a footbath shop.”
Dong Zhi and Zhang Chong laughed out loud, causing Liu Qingbo’s face to turn black and blue.
Their footbath shop wasn’t really a footbath shop. It just had the sign. The shop was closed 365 days out of the year to hide from prying eyes and ears. Every time people from other offices heard about the Runzhou office, they would show a mysterious smile.
Liu Qingbo went in and out of the footbath shop every day and felt on the verge of collapse.
Dong Zhi said, “You’re new here, and you don’t have a place to live yet. You can make do for one night here, or you can stay in the place I rented for a few nights, but I only have two rooms there. It’s too crowded for three people, so I can only take one. Which one of you wants to stay here, and who wants to come with me?”
Liu Qingbo and Zhang Chong looked at each other, and they both said in unison, “I’ll go with you!”
Dong Zhi: “Rock, paper, scissors?”
Liu Qingbo said disdainfully, “As dignified practitioners, it’s better to have a fight!”
While they were still competing, Dong Zhi’s phone rang. When he looked at the caller, he felt it was a strange call. His first reaction was that it was probably a scam call, but after thinking about it, perhaps it could be He Jia, so he finally picked up.
“Hello.”
“Hello, Mr. Dong, this is Hui Yiguang. Do you remember me?”
The familiar soft female voice suddenly pulled him back to the night on the rooftop of the hospital.
Dong Zhi was slightly lost for a moment.
“I do.”
How could he forget?
For Hui Yiguang, he still had a huge question mark. He repeatedly asked himself from the bottom of his heart, reminding himself again and again that he needed to learn from it. He should be more cautious in everything in the future, because as practitioners whose powers were superior to ordinary people, their every decision may affect the lives of others.
“Miss Hui, it’s been a long time since I saw you. I’m curious. Why did you take the initiative to call me?”
“Mr. Dong, I’m sorry. If I can, I won’t bother you, but now I’m in a little trouble. Banxia seems to be in the northwest and can’t make it. She said you are in Lucheng, so I’m being very presumptuous and can only bother you.”
“What’s the matter?” Dong Zhi asked.
Hui Yiguang knew that he had never been able to dispel his doubts about her, and she would definitely not take the initiative to call him if there was nothing wrong, so he had a hunch that this time the matter might not be small.
Liu Qingbo and Zhang Chong couldn’t hear what was being said on the other end of the phone, so they could only guess what was going on from Dong Zhi’s expressions.
Ten minutes later, Dong Zhi ended the call and breathed a sigh of relief.
“Hui Yiguang, do you remember?”
Liu Qingbo nodded. “What? Is she haunted again? “
Dong Zhi felt happy. If Hui Yiguang knew what Liu Qingo said, she would probably be extremely angry.
“It’s not her, it’s their crew. She’s filming in Lucheng. Something’s going on with the crew. It seemed that there was something unclean. She went to find Chi Banxia, but she’s assigned to the northwest. She’s too far away so she had to come to us saying she wanted to invite us to take a look, for a fee.”
The Special Administration Bureau didn’t allow them to take on private jobs to make money. Many practitioners didn’t want to be bound by this kind of restraint, so they refused to join them. Before, they hadn’t officially joined, so they could still collect remuneration from Hui Yiguang in a private capacity back then, but now they can’t. However, the rules were dead, and people were alive*. Although the money couldn’t be used on themselves, as long as the amount was disclosed, reported to the above, and then used in the construction of the new office, it could be regarded as a confiscation.
*Refers to rules that should be applied flexibly according to the particular matter and could be adjusted as long as it doesn’t break the law (AKA bending the rules).
Liu Qingbo frowned. “Why do I feel that every time we have something related to that woman, nothing good comes out of it.”
Dong Zhi shrugged. “Heroes think alike, but she’s generous enough. I estimate that even if the branch allocates funds this time, the amount won’t be very large. If we add the remuneration given by Hui Yiguang, our office environment will greatly improve. Thinking about it like this, isn’t it more motivating?”
Liu Qingbo was a child who didn’t lack money since he was young, so he never expected that after he joined the Special Administration Bureau, he would have to bow down for five buckets of rice*.
*(不要为五斗米折腰) Original is Don’t bow down for five buckets of rice. It originally means to not submit to the powerful for an official salary of five buckets of rice. Now it’s a metaphor referring to having a backbone and being unyielding to others. || In this case, it’s saying since he’s bowing down, he’s lost his backbone and is submitting for that meager salary of five buckets of rice (i.e. he prefers a better working environment than the shithole they have now).
“When is the appointment?”
“Early tomorrow morning. She said she’ll take us to the crew first and then back to the hotel room.”
Liu Qingbo made a strange expression. “Why go to the hotel room?”
Dong Zhi: “She said she suspects that the problem might be someone in the crew, and Han Qi is staying upstairs.”
Liu Qingbo: “Why is this name so familiar?”
Both of them didn’t chase stars, but Zhang Chong’s eyes lit up.
“Han Qi? Movie Queen Han Qi? I am a fan! Take me, I’m going too!”
It’s because of that that I can’t take you.
Dong Zhi twitched the corner of his mouth. “You’re responsible for staying in the office or going to the police to help follow up on the progress of the Yamamoto case.”
Zhang Chong acted pitiful. “We are old acquaintances, right? Do you have the heart to treat me like this?”
Dong Zhi said solemnly, “You also know that Yamamoto is not dead yet. I’m afraid that he will make a comeback. I have to have someone as experienced and capable as you in charge of the office. I can rest assured if any instructions come from above with you here. If there’s any situation on Mu Duo’s side, you can let us know at any time.”
Zhang Chong was coaxed into a smile by him, and immediately changed his original intention.
“Well, you guys go, I’ll watch this place for you.”
How easily coaxed. Liu Qingbo rolled his eyes again.
Kinky Thoughts:
Taking bets on whether or not there’s something suspicious with Hui Yiguang.
One of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism.
Vishnu is known as “The Preserver” within the Trimurti, the triple deity of supreme divinity that includes Brahma and Shiva.In Vaishnavism tradition, Vishnu is the supreme being who creates, protects, and transforms the universe. In the Shaktism tradition, the Goddess, or Devi, is described as one of the supreme, yet Vishnu is revered along with Shiva and Brahma. A goddess is stated to be the energy and creative power (Shakti) of each, with Lakshmi the equal complementary partner of Vishnu. He is one of the five equivalent deities in Panchayatana puja of the Smarta tradition of Hinduism.
He certainly wouldn’t expect Tang Jing, who was far away in Shencheng, to mention him to Shu He, whom he had never met before.
The late autumn in the south was much warmer than in the north. He came to Lucheng wearing a coat and felt that it was too hot. He had switched to short sleeves after a while. As a result, he was injured in his fight with Yamamoto a few days ago and his immunity declined. At this moment, the aftermath came out, and he was sneezing and coughing endlessly.
Before his internal injury healed, he already had symptoms of a cold.
He got out of bed, put on a coat, and looked at his phone.
This was a habit he had developed whenever he woke up.
There was a missed call from Mu Duo.
Seeing that he didn’t answer, Mu Duo sent him a text message saying there were two things. One was Yamamoto’s whereabouts. The police have been tracking him and it seems they have expanded from Lucheng to the county province. However, she was afraid that there was little hope. The second was that two people who the branch was sending would arrive this afternoon and asked if he wanted to pick them up.
Dong Zhi replied that there wasn’t a need and to just send them the office address.
After sending out the text, he remembered that he was wandering like a headless fly on his first day in the old community for a while and felt that people of the branch should also experience this kind of taste. Maybe then, next time, they would be more generous when it comes to funding allocation.
As for the whereabouts of Yamamoto Kiyoshi, neither Dong Zhi nor Mu Duo had much hope.
No one knew where Yamamoto’s hideout was, let alone where he would place his replacement puppet. If he was still a member of the Shinkawa sect, then the Special Administration Bureau could still settle accounts with the Japanese. The issue was that Yamamoto Kiyoshi had already rebelled from the sect as early as 20 years ago and killed his and Fujikawa Aoi’s master.
The Japanese didn’t pay attention to being a teacher for a day and a father for life*, but they were still strictly hierarchical, thus the relationship between students and teachers was the same. Yamamoto’s behavior made him a target of the Japanese onmyojis at that time. His international warrant was also the first issued by Japan. As a result, he completely severed contact with Japan. According to intelligence, he had been in Thailand, Myanmar, and Vietnam in recent years. In the past few years, he had been to Hong Kong before coming to Lucheng, and now there was also a warrant posted from Hong Kong, but there was little hope.
*(一日为师，终身为父) Metaphor referring to treating a teacher with the same respect as a father.
Although Dong Zhi failed to kill him on the spot, this person had been roaming for many years, with his hands full of blood, and possessed a perverted hobby and specialized in targeting ordinary people. This behavior was something even practitioners would disdain, but because of his cunningness, he often escaped without leaving any clues. He was afraid of the hard while targeting the soft, so generally he wouldn’t provoke a stronger practitioner than himself, thus he remained elusive to them.
When he arrived in Lucheng, he encountered Dong Zhi when he tried to make a move, making his previous accomplishment practically invalid. He probably wouldn’t be able to commit atrocities for at least a few years, therefore, the Special Administration Bureau commended Dong Zhi for his work and rewarded him with some merits.
Dong Zhi didn’t know if his master would be a little happy to hear the news of his merits and forget the old accounts.
Thinking of this, he couldn’t help but glance up at the Changshou Sword.
The illusion that night seemed to really be a dream.
However, what appeared in the illusion must’ve happened before.
He vowed to forget all feelings he shouldn’t have for Long Shen and respect the wishes of the other party, so even if he wanted to contact him again, he still suppressed his thoughts.
On the other hand, his curiosity about the Changshou Sword grew stronger with each passing day, like a grassland slowly being overtaken by wild grass. By some miracle, his finger scratched the blade of the sword as soon as it was drawn out of the scabbard.
The wound hadn’t healed yet, and he was traumatized again, and his pain doubled. Dong Zhi hissed and endured the pain as he wiped the string of blood. The sword’s body quickly changed, just like that night, and the small amount of blood turned into red light, which quickly flowed over the sword’s pattern.
Seeing the scene around him begin to change, Dong Zhi’s heart, which had tightened a lot previously, was much calmer now, and he even had a little expectation.
What kind of past would he see this time?
The wilderness, the snow, the endless white.
Moonlight, starlight, the sky and river above, and the mountains below.
Two people were walking on a snowy plain.
A monk dressed in red monk attire and a man dressed in black.
The one in black was Long Shen. His appearance hadn’t changed much. The sky was cold, and the earth was frozen. In this extremely bad weather, it was impossible for anyone to have a warm smile on their face. Long Shen looked even more cold and icy, as the snow only added to this effect.
Judging from their attire, they should still be in ancient times.
In some places, the snow was so thick that it reached the thighs as soon as one stepped on it, while in other places the snow was relatively light, it would reveal the black moss below, making the surface wet and slippery, but these difficulties didn’t affect their speed of travel at all. Dong Zhi hurriedly kept up, but he could only stay a bit behind in the distance, neither near nor far.
The wind and the snow were getting heavier, but the two of them didn’t stop for even half a step, nor did they use any climbing tools, so they approached the top of the mountain step by step.
Long Shen’s physical strength was excellent, seemingly unaware of what fatigue was, while the monk didn’t lag either. He was always around three meters behind Long Shen.
After knowing Long Shen’s original form, Dong Zhi naturally understood why he was so powerful, but the monk’s performance surprised him. The other party seemed to be very old, but unexpectedly, his physical strength wasn’t any less than that of his master.
It was unknown how long it took, perhaps half a day, or a day, as time had lost its meaning in the illusion, but the two finally reached the peak of the mountain. The monk now showed a trace of fatigue as Dong Zhi heard him speak, “That’s it!”
He had a strange tone, but being in the illusion, there were no obstacles.
Following the place he pointed to, Dong Zhi couldn’t see anything, but Long Shen’s expression moved. It was a joyous expression for something—Dong Zhi was now able to perceive the deeper inner fluctuations from the subtle changes in the other party’s expression.
Even though he was once a sword, in Dong Zhi’s heart, Long Shen had long been a person of flesh and blood; a living human.
The two walked to the direction that the monk pointed at, and Dong Zhi then saw a thick layer of snow covering it. He couldn’t see what was underneath.
The monk first lowered his body and plunged his hand into the snow, as if digging something up. Soon, the snow fell on his shoulders, and he looked happy.
“Sure enough!”
He stretched out his hands that were frozen white, but the monk didn’t care and only patted away the snow on his body.
“This must’ve been given to you by the heavens, and no one can take it away. It has been here since I left, and no one has ever found it.”
According to Dong Zhi, this place was off the beaten path, with snow that accumulated all year round and was on the peak of a high mountain where birds outnumbered people. Who would come here to find something? However, the joy on the monk’s face didn’t show any sign of hypocrisy, and even Dong Zhi was subconsciously happy for them.
Long Shen, like the monk, also ambled in and put his hand inside as the monk watched nervously to the side.
“I’m afraid it’s hard to take out. I couldn’t do it before…”
As soon as his voice fell, Long Shen’s hand had already drawn it out. A cloud of ice crystals was overflowing with white mist on his hand.
Dong Zhi thought that what they were looking for was the Changshou Sword. After all, this was an environment related to the Changshou Sword, but it turned out it wasn’t.
He looked curiously at the irregular “ice” in Long Shen’s hand.
The monk showed joy. “It’s destiny. It seems that the heart of this mountain is yours!”
Long Shen said, “Mountains and stones have hearts. They have cultivated a soul for thousands of years, forming this thousand-year old crystal. I want to refine it into a sword.”
The monk asked curiously, “What will you name it?”
Long Shen shook his head and replied, “It’ll be nameless for the time being, but I want to name it Changshou.”
Monk: “Always be true to your heart.”
Long Shen: “It will be the guard to a peaceful world.”
The monk laughed. “Then when you finish refining it, you must show it to me.”
Long Shen: “Naturally.”
The brief conversation between the two ended.
They didn’t stay on top of the mountain for long and soon descended. Seeing the two of them drifting away, Dong Zhi’s vision gradually blurred and distorted, and he knew that his dream was almost over.
Sure enough, he suddenly felt dizzy and couldn’t help but close his eyes and faint.
When he opened his eyes again, he was lying on the floor of his living room. Suddenly, returning from the ice and snow to a warm and calm setting was a major environmental gap.
Dong Zhi stayed still for a while before slowly regaining his senses.
He looked at the Changshou Sword in his hand. It lay quietly in them, speaking to him speechlessly about the spring and autumn that it had seen.
The more he knew, the more he felt that Long Shen had traveled through many ordeals; the wind, frost, rain, and snow; and the magnificent waves. To be able to see his footprints, even if they were only fragments, was a thrilling and strange encounter for Dong Zhi.
But for Long Shen, that had long been carved into his bones.
Others pursued legends, while he himself was one.
Long Shen was already standing on the top of a high mountain, looking at the snow at the peak, and his hands could touch the stars while he was still hesitating under the mountain. Like all inexperienced people who climb for the first time, he marveled at the steepness of the mountain. On the way, he stopped because of hesitation and timidity. Perhaps he would stay at the foot of the mountain a little longer because of the warmth.
Dong Zhi felt that if he were Long Shen, he might not be able to see an apprentice that was still groping up step by step. As far as Long Shen was concerned, the two of them were too far apart in terms of age and experience.
The more things he saw in the illusion, the less he felt that he knew Long Shen, but this was also interesting to approach step by step, explore, and venture deeper to see the fragments of the past of the Changshou Sword from its birth until now.
He couldn’t help but look forward to it. Next time he entered the fantasy realm, what kind of Long Shen would he see?
After standing up for a while, Dong Zhi began to feel dizzy. He braced himself against the wall for a bit before he felt better.
Feeding blood to the Changshou Sword also consumed his energy to a certain extent, and it shouldn’t be done often, so Dong Zhi didn’t continue. Instead, he got up and went to the kitchen to boil some water to drink.
His phone suddenly rang. It was Liu Qingbo, who he hadn’t been in contact recently.
Dong Zhi only knew that he had gone to Ruanzhou, and he didn’t know exactly what and how he was doing there. Liu Qingbo certainly had the ability, and as long as he could control his temper, he would certainly excel.
The premise was that their leaders could make him look good, though he didn’t know which leader would be so “lucky” to have a subordinate like Liu Qingbo.
“Lao Liu, how are you doing? Why did you suddenly call?” he asked casually.
“You don’t know?” Liu Qingbo’s voice was a bit weird.
“Know what?”
Listening to his tone, Dong Zhi guessed it shouldn’t be something big that happened, so he raised his cup and started to drink from it.
Liu Qingbo angrily said, “Zhang Chong and I are now circling around the address you gave. Where is the Lucheng office? Why is it so difficult to find!”
As soon as he finished speaking, Liu Qingbo heard the spray of water from the phone, followed by a series of coughs.
“Are you the one sent by the branch to assist us?!” Dong Zhi asked in disbelief.
“Why? Are we not welcomed?”
Dong Zhi imagined Liu Qingbo saying this with a dark face and found it a bit funny. “Of course not. Welcome! Who is the other one? Is it also from our session?”
Liu Qingbo: “No. His name is Zhang Chong. You’ll be meeting him for the first time.”
After that, he said suspiciously, “By the way, you didn’t deliberately fuck with me, right? Is the office really here?”
Dong Zhi held his forehead. “No, it’s really true. Let me take you over. I’ll meet you at the entrance of the community!”
After hanging up the phone, the more he pondered, the more he felt that the name Zhang Chong sounded familiar, but it was reasonable to say that it couldn’t be so coincidental.
“Brother, it’s been a long time since I saw you. Did you miss me?”
When Zhang Chong saw him, he jumped three feet high and rushed over and gave him a warm hug.
Dong Zhi blinked, pulled him away a little, and scanned him up and down to confirm there wasn’t anything wrong with his eyes.
“Why are you here?!”
Zhang Chong raised his chin and said, “I heard that you were short of manpower here. Don’t worry, with me here, nothing will happen to Lucheng in the future!”
Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo looked at each other.
Liu Qingbo clearly expressed doubt in his eyes, ‘Has he always been so blindly confident?’
Dong Zhi nodded helplessly.
The last time they eliminated the Archfiend in Yangchang, this guy was also full of confidence in himself, but he miscalculated and almost led to Dong Zhi being unable to save He Yu.
Though both from Mount Longhu, Zhang Heng and Zhang Chong were two completely different people. One was a poster boy for the group, while the other was kicked to the Yangcheng office. Their treatment was very different. Facts have proven that it wasn’t a matter of shady insider affairs but was purely due to aptitude.
Of course, Dong Zhi had no opinion on Zhang Chong himself. He seems righteous, and while a bit pompous and having mediocre abilities, in general, they had a good friendly and brotherly connection, as long as they weren’t on a mission together.
“If you’re here, what would the Yancheng office do with you missing?” Dong Zhi said tactfully.
Zhang Chong: “I heard that recently, because a lot of things are happening in the south, the superiors are afraid that Shengcheng will be out of reach. They plan to set up another branch, which will be on the same level as the South China Branch. In the future, Shencheng will be the first bureau of south China, and Yangcheng will be the second.”
It turned out that they were planning to upgrade and expand, so Dong Zhi joked, “Then you shouldn’t leave, so you’ll be a senior of the branch in the future.”
Zhang Chong said with traces of regret, “My cousin Zhang Heng may become director of the second bureau. After all, we’re in the same division and are related, so we have to avoid suspicion. I can rest assured that Yangcheng will be in good hands with him. Although my ability is also good, it’s still a bit worse than him.”
Dong Zhi: …Brother, I’m afraid your understanding of a little bit is way off.
Liu Qingbo listened impatiently as they caught up. “Hurry up and take us to the office. I’m going to die of thirst!”
As soon as he spoke, he was hugged by Dong Zhi without warning.
Liu Qingbo was stunned, and before he could react, Dong Zhi had already released him.
“Thank you, Lao Liu, for coming. My heart can rest easier all of a sudden. It seems that we are back to the old days when we stabbed the python in the chrysanthemum together. With you, there will be no problems in the future!” Dong Zhi said sincerely.
During this period of time, although the top affirmed their achievements in dealing with Yamamoto, the deaths of Zhou Dui and Xiao Qi, as well as the death of the weasel Lao Liu, were all weighing heavily on Dong Zhi, silently supervising him to hurry up and recover so he could avenge them.
This was also coupled with his change in relationship with Long Shen; Dong Zhi actually endured a lot of pressure in his heart. He just didn’t want to transfer this pressure to others, so he never mentioned it in front of Mu Duo.
Now, in front of his former companions, he would inevitably reveal some traces in his heart.
Liu Qingbo looked at the red eyes and smile on Dong Zhi, and his heart suddenly became mixed and sour. He was about to say something when he heard him speak about stabbing the chrysanthemum, and his face abruptly sank and became dark like the bottom of a pot.
“Stab you in the head, ah! Why are you coughing endlessly? Injured?”
Dong Zhi coughed a few times again. “It’s nothing. I’ve suffered a little internal injury before, so I just need to take it slowly.”
Liu Qingbo: “Don’t cough to death, otherwise the top will definitely let me replace you as the person in charge!”
Dong Zhi smiled. “I didn’t expect you to care about me so much.”
Liu Qingbo rolled his eyes. “I’m gloating. Where are you seeing that I care about you?”
Zhang Chong said with jealousy, “Hey, what are you doing ignoring me? I’m here to help too!”
“Okay, thank you! Come with me. I’ll take you to the office first.” Dong Zhi smiled, thinking that they would probably want to stay out for a while longer.
He took the two of them around the old building where the office was located and opened the door with the key.
Neither he nor Mu Duo had come back in the past few days, and as soon as the door opened, the smell of dust hit their faces.
Liu Qingbo and Zhang Chong were stunned.
Zhang Chong murmured, “This is worse than the office in Yangcheng!”
Dong Zhi patted them on the shoulders and said, solemnly, as a person who had already gone through it, “Just get used to it!”
—
Also in Lucheng.
In an old house in the Republic of China, the crew was in full swing on the final stage of filming.
The house was originally the residence of a foreign consul. After the liberation, the consul withdrew with the diplomatic team. It was taken over by the government and later developed into a tourist attraction. During this time, in order to make a spy war drama, the crew paid a lot of rent and contracted the house to avoid being disturbed by the endless stream of tourists.
Today was the twentieth day of filming, and the progress that should have ended a long time ago has been extended for a few days because of a situation.
With an order from the director, Han Qi settled down and walked to the side of the stairs, ready to greet the actor.
“Zhiru, why are you here?” The actor said his lines as he walked down from the second floor, in a suit and waistcoat that looked elegant.
Han Qi smiled sweetly. “Why? You’re not happy to see—”
Before she could finish, the actor missed his steps and stumbled down the stairs, tumbling and crashing towards Han Qi, who was standing at the bottom.
Han Qi was so shocked in the moment that she had no time to dodge and could only watch as the actor smashed down towards her.
Suddenly, someone next to her stretched out a hand and grabbed her arm, pulling her aside violently. In the next second, the actor fell to where she was originally standing.
“Oh my god!”
“Su Fan, are you okay?”
The filming was interrupted. The crew gathered around, helped the actor up, and then ran up to look at the stairs. They were surprised to find that the stairs that were clearly intact and had been inspected before the shooting now had cracks and had partially collapsed when the actor had just stepped on them. He lost his balance and fell down.
Han Qi was in shock. If she was hit just now, her back would’ve taken the brunt of the fall and a fracture would probably be inevitable. The most serious might be…
“Qi Jie, are you okay?” The assistant handed her a glass of hot milk, pulled her to the side, and sat her down. She then put a coat on herself meticulously and considerately.
Han Qi shook her head and looked up at Hui Yiguang, who also took a hot drink from the assistant.
“Thank you for just now.”
Hui Yiguang smiled and said, “Han Jie is too polite. It was nothing. Speaking of which, this isn’t the first time, right? Based on all the things that have happened since we joined the group, it’s like the director didn’t pray and worship God correctly when they started filming, right?”
Han Qi smiled bitterly.
Hui Yiguang wasn’t the first to say that.
She hadn’t heard any rumors of ghosts here before, but since the crew started filming here, strange things had indeed started happening frequently.
First, the chandelier above her head suddenly fell down. One of the unlucky assistant directors happened to be standing below. He couldn’t dodge it in time and was hit by it on the shoulders and was sent to the hospital with a broken bone. He hasn’t been discharged yet.
Then there was the lightning technician. After getting off work one day, he tripped over his own lighting board and smashed his head in.
Then there was the third female lead. They didn’t know whether it was due to negligence or malicious intent, but someone threw an old-fashioned pushpin on the ground. The third female lead happened to be filming an indoor scene with Han Qi that day. She was wearing long satin pajamas that reflected the style of the Republic of China that day when she stepped on something with her soft slippers and fell to the ground while hoarsely screaming. Everyone thought she was just acting on the spot. Only then did they find out that a nail had pierced the sole of her foot and stabbed her flesh. Fortunately, the sole was padded, and the injury wasn’t too serious, but she was hurriedly rushed to the hospital to remove the cold needle. Oddly enough, a lot of people were present at that time, and the lights were very bright, but somehow no one noticed it.
After these three strange events, rumors began circulating that there was something unclean about the crew.
As for why it was unclean, no one could say. Since no one had died yet, the producers didn’t want to delay the progress, so they wanted to shoot and try to finish the scene as quickly as possible to get rid of all this bad luck.
Who knew that today, something happened again?
The actor pushed away the support of others and tried to stand up, but he couldn’t help but groan in pain. His body tilted and leaned against the wall. The director guessed that he had probably twisted his foot when he saw the actor’s posture, so they hurriedly sent him to the hospital for an examination. The scenes that were to be filmed had to be put on hold again. Once again, scenes had to be rearranged, not to mention how depressed everyone was.
The actors had nothing to do. They sat idly beside each other and waited for the directors to make arrangements while chatting with each other. Han Qi was a big name, so few people usually approached her. She was currently in a daze and needed someone to relieve the pressure, so she didn’t refuse Hui Yiguang, who sat down beside her.
“How did they choose this place? It’s too unclean!” Han Qi’s assistant muttered in a low voice, expressing dissatisfaction with the successive accidents.
“I think it may not be a problem with the venue,” Hui Yiguang said suddenly.
Han Qi’s heart moved, and she turned to look at her. “What do you mean?”
“I have inquired about Du Li’s since her accident,” she said, referring to the third female lead who had stepped on the pushpin. “This house has been rented out to other crews for filming before, and there has never been a problem. It was after our crew settled here that all these frequent accidents started, so I guess it’s either that there are some new furnishings here that aren’t clean, or—”
Knowing that she was deliberately pausing, Han Qi and her assistant couldn’t help but become intrigued.
“Or what?”
“There’s something wrong with the people in it,” Hui Yiguang said softly.
Han Qi’s heart jumped again.
She couldn’t help but glance at Hui Yiguang, but the other party didn’t look at her, let alone notice her strangeness.
Hui Yiguang also knew that her words were a bit sensitive and easy to offend. After speaking, she stopped talking and lowered her head to drink her milk.
Han Qi endured and endured, but couldn’t help but say, “Actually, I think so too.”
Hui Yiguang was a little surprised. She thought Han Qi wouldn’t pay attention to her, but she didn’t expect the other party to follow her words.
“I came here the next day after the machine was turned on. Meng Ge was also here with me at that time. That afternoon, my assistant had diarrhea,” Han Qi said. Meng Ge was the second male lead in this drama.
The lineup of this drama could be regarded as one of the best domestic TV drama lineups in recent times. Although the fame of the male protagonist wasn’t as good as Han Qi’s, he was also a very up-and-coming new actor in China. After Hui Yiguang was exposed to the scandal of betraying her former friend, she whitewashed her reputation by doing charity and public welfare work ads and was able to star in this well-known drama. Even so, she could only provide a supporting role to Han Qi. The film party naturally attached great importance to this kind of cast, so not only did they book a high-end hotel for them to stay at, but the food was also catered to everyone’s taste.
Yet when everything was ready and shooting began, they encountered so many problems.
Hui Yiguang’s expression changed after hearing Han Qi’s words.
She found that Han Qi was deliberately trying to attract the waters of disaster to the second male lead. She smiled and said, “I plan to find a master to look into this in the next few days. Is Sister Han interested?”
Han Qi was noncommitted and just showed a light smile. “There are too many charlatans nowadays, so you should be careful.”
Hui Yiguang had long been accustomed to her appearance, and she nodded and smiled when she heard those words. “Han Jie is right; I will pay attention.”
Han Qi was notoriously difficult to get close to in the circle, but she somehow became famous early, and her career had been smooth. It was rumored that she was in a relationship with a boss of a well-known investment company. No matter whether she was frosty or approachable, there would always be people who flocked to her, and Hui Yiguang was no exception.
However, the same sex tends to repel each other. Han Qi didn’t have much affection for the actresses in the circle, though she had a good impression of Hui Yiguang. After all, she was just saved by him and avoided a serious injury. Moreover, Hui Yiguang didn’t try her best to overshadow her during filming, as she recited her lines honestly.
Han Qi had something on her mind and wasn’t interested in chatting, so Hui Yiguang got up and went to find a different place to rest. The assistant took Han Qi’s milk cup and walked to the nanny car outside, ready to take it back and wash it again.
A production staff member hurriedly ran past from behind and accidentally bumped into her, causing the glass cup she was holding to fall to the ground. The assistant turned her head and glared at the other party, who was repeatedly apologizing. The assistant was about to scold them when Han Qi said, “Forget it. Go and have someone clean up the mess.”
Seeing her in a daze, the assistant didn’t dare say anything more, so she hurriedly complied and quickly walked away.
Who knew that an accident happened at this moment.
The author has something to say:
Zhang Chong is a disciple from Mount Longhu stationed in Yancheng,
Hui Yiguang… You must still remember.
Kinky Thoughts:
After conversing with some translators, I have decided to switch to pinyin for many address terms like, ge (brother), jie (sister), lao (old), and xiao (little/young) as translating them doesn’t really get across the intended meaning. I’ll try to fix the older chapters when I have time.
She’s back~ Seems like there’s more to Hui Yiguang than meets the eye. For those who forgot who Hui Yiguang was, she was the actress who almost got her body replaced by a vengeful ex-friend. (See chapter 37-38)
In any case, Dong Zhi never expected in his lifetime he would be able to watch Long Shen’s growth, let alone travel through time and space, which was only limited to a number of pictures.
He didn’t know who sounded the horn, but the outcome of the battlefield gradually became clear. On his master’s side, the burly general holding the sword won a great victory. The victorious side cheered with all their might, squandering their blood, sweat, and life that was previously sprinkled on the battlefield into a wild joy for the rest of their life in glory.
The long sword that was held aloft gleamed in the sun, piercing his eyes. Dong Zhi had to close them but the corner of his mouth couldn’t help but curl up slightly.
When he opened his eyes again, his smile hadn’t faded, but the world had suddenly calmed.
Away from the battlefield, he was in a study.
He didn’t know who was hiding in the void making little jokes, but time took another big leap. Dong Zhi intuitively felt that he was no longer in the era of the battlefield just now.
There was a man sitting at a desk with white whiskers and upright eyebrows. From the furnishing of the study and the expression of the other party, it could be seen that he had been an official for a long time, and perhaps he was still prominent.
Another person was sitting in the chair used to treat guests.
But perhaps it should not be called a human, because the figure was just translucent.
Dong Zhi was startled. “Master?”
Naturally, no one would hear his voice.
He was now watching the past, and things that had already happened would not change in any way because of his watching.
The phantom wasn’t an entity, but he could vaguely see a figure. The person had long hair that was in a bun and was dressed in a black robe. Such a simple outfit emphasized the cold and awe on him. Dong Zhi knew how lethal that face was. Long Shen’s beautiful and unique appearance was blessed by the heavens, but the intuitive feeling he left to others was by no means from his looks, but aura.
The middle-aged official seemed familiar with him, and he wasn’t surprised by such a phantom. The two were talking.
Dong Zhi heard his master ask the other party, “I have never wanted to be long-winded, but this time, I persuaded Lord Jie to think twice. Of course, if you do this, you can quickly cut through the chaos and ensure temporary stability, but those people may not accept your affection.”
Long Shen’s words weren’t very polite, but “Lord Jie” wasn’t angry and was obviously used to his tone.
Lord Jie smiled and said, “Who are those people?”
Long Shen’s expression became faint. “Everyone, including those who support you now. They have benefited now, and they are naturally grateful to you, but in the future, they may not be able to cater to speculative villains, and they’ll pull you down when they seize the opportunity. In the end, I’m afraid Lord Jie’s fate may be dozens of times bleaker than it is now.”
Lord Jie shook his head. “Who said I was for them? I’m for the people, for the world.”
Long Shen spoke impolitely, “But the world will not be grateful to you, and the people will only follow blindly. Who will stand up on your behalf if something happens in the future?”
Lord Jie didn’t get angry, but nodded in agreement, then said, “You’re right. Even if I’m dismembered by five horses* in the future, they will at most stand next to me and watch. Afterwards, a few will sigh and shed tears of sympathy for me.”
*(五马分尸) This is a form of torture and execution in ancient times where a person’s head and limbs are tied to five horses, which then tears the person apart. It’s now used as a metaphor referring to dividing a complete thing into fragmented parts.
Long Shen frowned and said nothing.
He looked at the middle-aged man, but he didn’t know that someone else was also looking at him.
Dong Zhi found that for so many years, Long Shen’s appearance had basically not changed. It really was just as Mu Duo said. For them, hundreds of thousands of years were just the difference between night and day, and this difference, for humans, was the cycle of plants and trees decaying and being reborn, and one’s hair had already turned gray.
However, although his appearance had not changed, his temperament was somewhat different.
The Long Shen in front of him showed his determination, even if he sat there without speaking. He was like a sword unsheathed, with a chilling air. In the future, Long Shen would be more like a sharp blade that returns to its sheath with a restrained edge and an unfathomable depth.
No matter which master, they were both attractive, but if he had to choose, Dong Zhi may have chosen the current Long Shen, because he was livelier and more emotional.
When he looked at Long Shen, Lord Jie said, “The people are ignorant, but justice comforts their hearts. What’s more, I don’t need them to preside over justice. Long Shen, what I guard is not the kings of a generation but the peace and well-being of the world, the integrity and backbone of thousands of years, and the iron core of ancient sages.”
Modern people had seen a lot of flamboyancy and rhetoric. Take Director Jiang, who liked to speak big and used high-sounding words. It was estimated that no one in the Special Administration Bureau could speak better than him.
This person blurted out his righteousness, but Dong Zhi not only didn’t feel that it was hypocritical but, contrary to that, felt that it was natural as his heart seemed to be steaming with heat.
A truly righteous person could infect those around him.
However, Director Jiang couldn’t hear this. After all, people like him just like to talk big during meetings, but they weren’t treacherous either.
Dong Zhi was lost in thought for a moment and didn’t pay attention to what they said. He saw the middle-aged man get up and leave. Long Shen sent him to the door, and the phantom suddenly turned into green smoke and merged into the sword hanging on the wall.
The study was restored to a deserted room.
Dong Zhi blinked. He wanted to walk over and touch the sword, but as soon as he willed his mind, the surrounding scene changed again.
He faintly guessed that these scenes were related to Long Shen, and they were probably the most impressive fragments of his master’s life.
But the Changshou Sword was not the Longyuan Sword, so how could he see these scenes when he dripped his blood on it? Was there any connection between the Changshou Sword and the Longyuan Sword?
Or did Long Shen deliberately let him see this?
The last doubt had just come out, causing Dong Zhi to immediately shake his head in his heart. His master wasn’t the kind of person who would publicize his life all over the world. What’s more, these fragments of memory weren’t something his master would want others to easily peep at.
This time it was in front of the city gate.
Dong Zhi looked up and saw the sky was dark and heavy, pressing against the city gate as if it was about to collapse at any moment.
The middle-aged man was escorted to his knees on his left and right, and an executioner stood holding a sword next to him.
He then saw Long Shen again. The other party was standing next to him, still in a black robe. In addition to Dong Zhi, they seemed to be invisible to everyone else.
“Lord Jie” was calm and even smiled slightly at them, though Dong Zhi knew that the other party was greeting Long Shen.
Immediately afterwards, an inner attendant rushed out the door to loudly proclaim, “The emperor has an order to execute!”
There was no will, nor was it at the entrance of a vegetable market. This was the strangest execution scene he had ever seen. It seemed that everyone was in a hurry for fear of being interrupted, so they were eager to solve this matter quickly. Lord Jie had become the key to solving the problem. The executioner raised his blade in front of one of the doors of the palace, and it fell. A head rolled to the side. The top of his head suddenly burst into light and thunder rolled in. The chamberlain almost jumped up without being scared, and his face showed indescribable horror and guilt.
Dong Zhi turned his head to look at Long Shen. He remained motionless and did not step forward to help, nor did he leave.
At this time, Long Shen’s expression had changed a little from the time when he was in the study. The sharpness of his spirit precipitated a bit, becoming calmer and more distant.
“Master,” Dong Zhi said softly.
No. Why did he suddenly want to call him?
Long Shen at this moment should be sad.
In just two short clips, he could see that Long Shen and Lord Jie were teachers and friends. They had a good friendship, and his friend had died peacefully for his ideals and morality. Long Shen couldn’t stop it, and he didn’t want to stop it, and he felt no remorse for doing so.
Dong Zhi had seen many such things, and no matter how soft-hearted people were, he was afraid that they would gradually develop a heart of stone and become indifferent to everything.
However, Long Shen wasn’t like this.
Under his cold and serious shell, there was still blood that gurgled and bled, so he would always stay with the Special Administration Bureau to fight for his ideals. He also took on an ordinary human as a disciple; to teach Dong Zhi what slaying evil and defending the way, and the heavy burden of responsibility.
To Dong Zhi’s surprise, Long Shen, who was supposed to be completely inaudible, suddenly turned his head in his direction as if he was aware of him.
He was taken aback and was about to say something when he saw a flower in front of him. Whether it was Long Shen or the middle-aged man whose head had fallen to the ground, everything disappeared.
The dark caves were familiar to the eye, and the faintly glowing and swaying plants in the corner made people instantly travel through time and space to find familiar memories.
“In this life and in this world, this disciple, Dong Zhi, deeply regarded Long Shen as his Master. He must respect him with love and unwavering commitment. If there’s any violation, may the heavens strike him with lightning!”
Dong Zhi, outside of time and space, stood in the middle of the group of ghouls. Just like them, he raised his head and quietly looked at the two figures on the cliff that were standing and kneeling.
The ghouls had pale faces and holes in their eyes, and their thoughts were unknown. Dong Zhi, on the other hand, was thinking about what Long Shen felt at that time. Was he also happy at the moment when he accepted a disciple?
From a peerless sword, through the sun and moon, wind and frost, and mysterious opportunities, it finally turned into a human. After thousands of years of cultivation, Long Shen had developed a mind that was unrivaled by most humans.
How fortunate was he to be able to worship such a person as a teacher?
Looking at the man half-hidden in the dark, his eyes gradually moistened. Emotion and guilt intertwined, filling his heart little by little, but somehow, all of a sudden, turned into sadness, and the pain made him bend down slightly.
He didn’t expect that in Long Shen’s memory fragments, such a trivial matter of accepting a disciple could be compared to the moment when he was born.
Dong Zhi thought, ‘What virtue and ability do you have?’
He was just an ordinary person who had no ambition, drew a few pictures a day, ate and drank without care, and occasionally went and traveled and sketched. There were no bright spots in all his life. His life trajectory had changed since then because of the experience on Changbai Mountain.
It was like a swallow catching a glimpse of a phoenix in the clouds thousands of miles away perched on a branch and was attracted by the magnificent light of the king of birds. There was also a phoenix in his heart. He not only wanted to soar into the heavens and gaze down upon the mountains and rivers, but also wanted to be side by side with the phoenix, watching the spring and autumn together for thousands of years.
A few months ago, on the cliff, Long Shen was taking the sleepy Dong Zhi into his arms. The windbreaker separated the two worlds and cut off the dangers of the outside, allowing the apprentice to rest more safely. That is the love that Long Shen never resorted with words but only expressed through his actions.
Even if it may not be love…
Ripples slowly appeared around, and the light became brighter, causing all the darkness and treachery in the cave to fade, replaced by the bright lights of a living room.
The myriad phenomena of endless change seemed to be an illusion, and only the cold and quiet square-sized world was reality.
Dong Zhi slowly slid down against the wall and buried his head in his bent knees.
He wanted to say to Long Shen, “Why don’t we start over when everything hasn’t happened? I would like to treat you as a respected Master for the rest of my life, abide by boundaries, and never cross the line again. I would keep this secret deep in my heart for the rest of my life, until I step into the Yellow River.”
It was he who had personally ruined their appropriate relationship. Looking back, it was hard to recover.
—
The capital.
The phone rang.
A white cat meowed, tilted its head, and looked at the man, who was silent, as if a little puzzled. After three rings, the man’s fingers slid across the paper and finally picked it up.
“Boss Long.”
“Tang Jing, what’s the matter?”
Tang Jing’s environment was a bit noisy, but his voice still came through clearly.
“There’s something I’d like to report to you first. It happened in Lucheng. When we were investigating a murder involving dismemberment, we found…” Tang Jing didn’t stop for a breath as he relayed the entire story.
Long Shen didn’t interrupt the other party’s words. After listening from beginning to end, he let out a sigh and said the information they had found, “Li Qing’s identity has been confirmed. His original name is Yamamoto Kiyoshi, Japanese nationality, onmyoji origin, Fujikawa Aoi’s junior brother. He later had a falling out with his teacher and ran away. Later he committed many homicides in Southeast Asia under the pseudonym of Songen. It’s suspected that he fled to Lucheng when he was in exile and forged Li Qing’s identity. Interpol has issued a red notice for him, but there may be people behind him, so we must be vigilant and arrest him as soon as possible.”
Tang Jing was taken aback when he heard this. “I just reported Yamamoto Kiyoshi’s name to you, and you already confirmed his true identity? This efficiency is too good!”
He immediately realized. “Your apprentice reported to you, right?”
Long Shen said, “He fought against Yamamoto. He used a puppet substitution technique to escape from him. He just came to ask me about the source of this technique. He didn’t mean to jump over your head to report.”
Tan Jing smiled strangely. “I didn’t say that he overstepped, yet you’re in such a hurry to defend your apprentice. They all said that Wu Bingtian is the best at protecting the weak ones, but Boss Long, I think you’re about an equal match!”
Seeing that Long Shen didn’t answer, he didn’t care and continued to laugh. “Actually, this time I have to report news to you. You’ll love hearing this. One died and one was injured in Lucheng. Only Dong Zhi and Mu Duo are able to work. I have sent two people to help them. Your apprentice performed very well this time. I plan to let him temporarily take over as the person in charge of the office. What do you think?”
Long Shen was silent for a moment. “You have the right to decide this kind of thing by yourself. You don’t have to ask me.”
Tang Jing felt that Director Long was being sullen and awkward, but who lets people be pressed to death at the official level. The corner of his mouth twitched.
“Boss Long, I’m about to get on a plane. I’ll go back to Shencheng tonight, so I’ll talk to you later.”
Long Shen said, “I want to trouble you with one thing.”
Long Shen, who had never asked for help, had a day where he needed to trouble others? Tang Jing felt that strange things were happening today, one after another.
He only heard Long Shen say, “I remember that you have a Shangqing pill from Mount Longhu?”
This kind of pill was a special elixir for internal injuries. It worked quickly, but because this kind of medicine was troublesome to refine, it was rarely produced and was rare and valuable. Not only does Mount Longhu treat it as a treasure, but it also wasn’t easily given to others and often fetched high prices on the black market.
Tang Jing thought for a moment. “It seems we do have two left.”
Long Shen said, “Please help me out and give both to Dong Zhi. His colleagues may also need to use them. I’ll resupply you later.”
Tan Jing first agreed but felt something was wrong. “Although there are few Shangqing pills, the General Administration always has inventory. Why don’t you give it directly to him?”
Although this wasn’t a big deal, as a master, shouldn’t he give it directly to his apprentice? Why go through this roundabout way and make it such a big hassle?
But Long Shen didn’t want to explain further.
Tang Jing wanted to ask what the hell was going on between this master and apprentice, but before he could say anything, the other party said, “Sorry to bother you” and hung up.
He stared at the phone in disbelief.
After hanging up, Tang Jing was still confused. He made another call to the subordinate branch and asked them to notify Dong Zhi to find a time to come to the branch office for debriefing.
Long Shen’s attitude made him quite interested in Dong Zhi. Tang Jing still remembered that when he was on the top floor of Tianyuan Building in Yangcheng, Dong Zhi didn’t know much technique, yet he dared to help He Yu set up an array to attract lightning. The performance caught his eye, but at that time, Dong Zhi was at best a little bold sheep. Was it possible that this little sheep now had horns and had become a unicorn?
In any case, he’ll test the ability of this unicorn. If it was worthy of the name, there would naturally be a corresponding position capable of his abilities. Otherwise, he’ll let him go back to Beijing to be his master’s obedient little sheep.
Tang Jing made a happy decision within a few seconds, turned off his phone, and found his seat on the plane.
Just as he was about to sit down, he was lightly patted on the shoulder.
He turned his head, and a beautiful-looking young man smiled at him. “I’m sorry. I have the window seat. Can you let me in first?”
Certainly.
Tang Jing got up and moved out of the way, and the other party thanked him as he took his seat.
Tang Jing opened a book he bought casually at a bookstore at the airport and became drowsy after reading a few pages. His neighbor suddenly asked, “Isn’t this book quite good-looking?”
Tang Jing casually said, “It’s quite ugly. It rambles on endlessly that I don’t know what it’s talking about.”
The other party continued to ask, “Is the plot too boring?”
Tang Jing couldn’t doze off anymore. He glanced at the other party. The face was so beautiful that he couldn’t afford to get angry. Tan Jing asked himself if he was a superficial person, as it was inevitable that he would be more tolerant to good-looking people.
“It’s not boring. I thought it was a mystery novel, but I just read a few pages and found that I was deceived. Basically, the male and female protagonists are already affectionate.” He shrugged. “Do you want to read it? Or have you read it and want to complain about it?”
The other party said politely, “I’m the author.”
Tang Jing: ……
Well this is awkward.
He had thick skin, so he couldn’t help but laugh.
“In fact, the writing inside is still good. Very touching.”
He looked at the author’s name again. “Your name is Ming Xian?”
The other party nodded and took out his boarding pass to show him. “My pen name is my real name.”
“Tang Jing. Tang in the Tang Dynasty, and Jing from clean*.”
*Reminder: [Jing] (净) in his name is from [gan jing] (干净) which is clean/neat and tidy.
The two shook hands.
For the first time, Ming Xian was ridiculed by a reader in person, and he couldn’t help feeling a little aggrieved. “In fact, this is a romance mystery novel, so there’s more focus on romance. I also wrote two other books, which are mainly plot-focused.”
Tang Jing hurriedly said, “I’ll definitely read it if I have the opportunity another day!”
Ming Xian became happy and took the initiative. “Since this meeting is fate, why don’t I give you an autograph?”
Tang Jing was happy. It was the first time he had seen a writer take the initiative to sign a reader’s book.
He felt a bit bad that he had bought the book so casually as he handed it over. “Then please.”
Ming Xian happily signed his name and said to him, “Why don’t you give me an address later, and I’ll send you the other two mystery novels?”
The beauty took the initiative to show his kindness, so Tang Jing had no reason not to accept it. He thought for a while and said, “My lease is about to be up, so I have to find a new place. I’ll give it to you when I settle down.”
The two exchanged contact information. Tang Jing asked him what he was doing in Shencheng. Ming Xian said that he was a middle school teacher and had just applied to a private middle school. The conditions were pretty good.
Ming Xian was unguarded. In just a few words, he had already completely relaxed all vigilance.
Tang Jing was surprised. “Are you not a full-time writer?”
Ming Xian blushed. “Do you think I can make ends meet by writing full-time?”
Tang Jing: …True. If he hadn’t been in such a rush just now, he would never have wasted money on this kind of book.
Still, he comforted, “I think you look very good. I do side-gigs on the weekends and help with different platforms. Are you interested in joining?”
Ming Xian stopped talking and said in embarrassment, “I’m a serious person…”
The corner of Tang Jing’s mouth twitched. “…What are you thinking? There will be an anime exhibition in Shencheng next week. A Games invited me to play as Yu Ji.”
Ming Xian was surprised. “Cosplay?”
Tang Jing nodded. “Yes. I’m purely an amateur. I’m going to help my friends. In fact, if you’re interested, you can also develop some part-time jobs in this field. After all, your appearance is quite good.”
Ming Xian’s eyes lit up. “Where will it be held this weekend? I want to see what you look like as Yu Ji!”
His smile instantly lit up the world.
Tang Jing had no resistance to this bright smile and eyes. He immediately said, “Give me your address and I’ll send you a ticket later.”
“Okay!” Ming Xian happily agreed.
The two talked all the way on the flight, and when their journey reached an end, they got off the plane and parted ways. Tang Jing found a subordinate outside the terminal to pick him up.
Shu He was already waiting outside and waved at Tang Jing.
“Boss Tang, shall we head directly to the bureau?”
Tang Jing nodded and the two got into the car separately.
Shu He started the car and saw that Tang Jing was humming a song and couldn’t help laughing. “You’re in a good mood. Don’t you have to worry about finding the stone tablets?”
Tang Jing rolled his eyes. “Keep dreaming. Japan has been very restless recently. There have been many international incidents in Beijing and Shencheng. They’re afraid that the capital is heavily guarded, so maybe they’ll try to do things in Shencheng. Keep a close eye.”
Shu He said, “Don’t worry. I have been keeping watch during your business trip. Is everything going well in the capital?”
Tang Jing: “It’s fine. It’s just that there aren’t enough people for the meeting. I just came to help. By the way, you can call the Lucheng office later and ask the temporary in charge person to come over.”
Shu He became curious. “The disciple of Boss Long?”
Tang Jing glanced at him. “You seem quite familiar with him too.”
Shu He said casually, “Not familiar, but with so many things going on in Lucheng recently, it’s hard not to know.”
Tang Jing smiled. “I almost forgot, you also wanted to worship Boss Long as a teacher back then, but it seemed you were rejected in the end, right?”
Shu He laughed at himself. “That’s why I’m curious. What kind of talent is needed to catch the eye of Boss Long?”
Tang Jing had seen Dong Zhi, but it wasn’t talent that had impressed him, but…
“To be honest, he’s better looking than you.”
Shu He angrily said, “Boss Long is not the same as you… a face con!”
He originally wanted to say shallow, but when he spoke, he quickly turned the corner to save some face for his leader.
Tang Jing shrugged. “Who knows! It’s been so long, why can’t you let it go?”
Shu He had been smiling all this time, but when his smile faded, his face showed a bit of gloom.
“Because I always felt that I was no worse than others, and I did get first in the overall score that year. Moreover, what bothered me the most was not a matter of the apprenticeship but of my father. The top kept pressing me down and refused to promote me no matter how good my performance was.”
Tang Jing: “Lao Shu, didn’t National Security come to ask you several times? You didn’t want to go. You wanted to stay at the General Administration. If you went to National Security, why worry about not having a chance for a promotion?”
Shu He was silent.
Tang Jing patted him on the arm. “In fact, you’re just unwilling. Lao Shu, don’t be obsessed. Otherwise, it will only hinder your own practice.”
“…During that period, I remember that a fairytale poem was very popular among the bards,” Nemo sighed and muttered in a low voice. “’The Hero and The Witch’, don’t tell me it’s about…”
“Yes.” Medes’ voice was like that of a dying old man. “Except for the rumor that ‘Flint is a liar who seeks fame and fortune’, that’s what the ‘truth’ looks like in the eyes of the people.”
Nemo had heard that song countless times…
[Once upon a time, there was a hero who fought bravely and won many battles. He brought countless miracles and made the people he protected very happy.]
[But this caused the enemy to be so dissatisfied that they sent a demagogic witch to his side. The bewildered hero gave up the princess that should have belonged to him and fell in love with the evil witch.]
In the illusion in front of him, Medes was still in a daze until he sat down opposite Flint.
His former commander was dressed in a simple civilian outfit, without a hint of a smile on his face. Flint just glanced at Medes’ clean and tidy image lightly and opened his mouth lightly.
“Don’t do anything stupid. Your death won’t change anything, Balthazar.” He lowered his gaze, looking as pale and thin as ever.
To Medes’ surprise, Flint’s right arm, which should have been given to the king, was still attached and moved freely.
But his commander did lose something. Medes looked bitterly at the man across the table—Flint’s eyes were dim, his face was numb with pain, and his breath bore an eerie resemblance to refugees who had lost their homeland.
They didn’t meet in the tavern. Flint chose an abandoned, dilapidated house near the capitol—he even brought two bottles of dusty bad wine and threw one bottle to Medes, who was sitting opposite.
“Let’s talk,” the former commander of the Tin Soldier said coldly.
“…” Medes pursed his chapped lips. He wanted to speak, but countless words were stuck in his throat, and he couldn’t spit out a word.
“If you don’t want to speak, I can start.” Flint sharply uncorked the bottle and gave himself a few sips of the dust. “You told the king about my situation, and I think we all know this.”
Medes gritted his teeth and nodded extremely slowly.
“I should have thought of it a long time ago,” Flint said in a deep voice. “I remember you mentioned a long time ago that your family was lifted out of poverty because of King Sampson’s innovations, and you admire him very much. To be honest, Medes, logically I can understand what you thought… but I can’t understand it from the bottom of my heart.”
“Commander… Flint, I know it’s useless to apologize to this extent. As a friend, not only can I share your pain, but I also pushed you down the abyss.” Medes closed his eyes. “But if time were to be repeated countlessly, I think I would still make such a choice and regret it forever. I can’t risk it—Flint, I can’t risk it.”
The young Medes shook so badly that he almost dropped the wine bottle in his hand to the ground. “I failed your trust, and I failed to trust you from the bottom of my heart… You can retaliate against me any way you want, in the cruelest way. That’s the punishment I deserve.”
“What did Sampson tell you?” In a tone that could be considered scary, Flint asked as if he hadn’t heard what the other party said.
“He didn’t like Miss Ramon from the beginning, but he thought you wouldn’t be serious, so—” Medes didn’t react for a while.
“So I was rewarded with a period of ‘rest time’ to amuse myself with lowly women. Isn’t that right?”
“Yes, you know, the status between the two of you…” Medes took a few breaths in pain. “The king…”
“’Flint is like a child of mine. He should be a man who knows the importance of the lesser. I know very well what he will choose in the face of personal affairs and righteousness, but he has changed. You are his friend, so you can tell. He was cursed by that woman, and she disintegrated his fighting spirit—when Alban was in urgent need of a hero, she tempted him to abandon his people and go live in seclusion’ His Majesty, no, was what Sampson would say.”
Flint gave a wry smile very lightly and clenched the bottleneck of the bottle.
“’It’s almost half a year since the end of the expedition, and it’s time for Flint to collect himself. He’s not yet thirty, and he is at the peak of his strength. He abandoned the people when Alban needed him most. A refugee of unknown origin is suspicious enough, and now what she’s doing is no different from treason.’” Medes repeated the words as if they were sharp blades.
[She wore out his will. The mighty hero could still fight, but he no longer had the will to fight. He turned his back on the people who believed in him, ignored the tragic war that was taking place, and ignored the people who were suffering because of the smoke.]
[The wise king couldn’t let his warriors be taken away. He wanted to save the confused hero, so he killed the witch.]
“It seems that the last time he summoned me, he wanted to confirm my ‘confused’ state.” Flint’s voice began to tremble a little. “This is really…ha.”
The hero, who had lost his wife, let out a smile that was worse than crying.
“I admit that he is a good emperor, Medes. No king has ever revitalized Alban as fundamentally as he did. I also understand your concerns. If I kill him now, the young princes will not be able to resist Willard’s offensive at all—if this is what you fear. I understand, but…”
“……”
“But you worship the king too much, just like everyone who has received his favor. Sampson Alastair is a great king, but it has nothing to do with whether he’s a ‘trustworthy’ person. No, it is precisely because he is too successful that he’s terrible—a gentle and benevolent person is not suitable for sitting on the throne, and he has long seen through this.”
“I thought your friendship… It was a mistake in my judgment.” Medes tugged at his hair.
“You thought he would not force me to this point for the sake of face?”
Flint put the almost empty wine bottle aside and stared at the broken clods of soil on the ground that were cracked by dryness. “Abbas once told me that sometimes a spell that does pure calculations gets a more effective strategy than a sage. Do you know why?”
“……No,” Medes lied. He knew, but the answer that should have been seen through a long time ago twisted his heart.
“Because calculation doesn’t require feelings, and people can be swayed by ‘hearts’. Sampson Alastair is more like a sophisticated machine than a human being—if you predict all threats and kill them all in its initial state, of course you can succeed. He is the ultimate form of rationality, and there is no gap between the parts left to human nature. Now I am not “Flint Lopez” to him, but ‘the calamity of Alban’.”
“After all, I didn’t see through it at first, and I was deceived by his enthusiasm.”
Flint’s grief finally found an outlet.
“In his opinion, my body is not crippled, so I can fight again… No, perhaps in yours and his opinion, right?”
“…Yes.” Medes didn’t plan to hide his thoughts anymore. “Because you are the most powerful person I have ever seen, Flint. You always have a way of pulling yourself together.”
“I’m not strong at all!” Flint roared. “You don’t even know what happened when I was at the bottom of the Abyss—”
He stopped oddly.
“Sometimes mental wounds are more difficult to heal than physical ones.” A few seconds later, Flint changed the subject, wearily. “But everyone is never willing to agree with what they can’t see. Sonia… Sonia knows how fragile I am. Only by her side can I breathe normally and collapse wantonly. I don’t have to worry about being considered a coward or a lunatic.”
The truly brave hero fell into a daze after these words, seemingly unable for a moment to accept the fact that his wife had departed.
“What do you know at the bottom of the Abyss?” Medes asked cautiously. “Maybe I can…”
“No, I won’t tell you. I won’t tell anyone. Balthazar. This is my last favor as a former companion.” Flint shook his head feebly, his eyes red. “But I’m really… very weak. Only she can see me like that. No, she can accept the weak side of everyone.”
“You have been emphasizing class and strength. Yeah, I never told you how I fell in love with her.”
Flint looked like a dead person, and he continued in a ghostly tone.
“I arrived earlier that day and heard her companion talking to her. Her friend was also worried about the differences between us and advised her not to be really tempted. ‘Flint Lopez is currently the number one powerhouse on the surface, and he won’t really fancy lowly people like us.’ Her friend said so.”
“‘The number one in fighting skills. Yes, his fighting skills are much better than mine, but compared with me, his dancing is terrible. He’s just a pretty boy with clumsy hands and feet, but I like his smile. ’–she said so.”
“At that moment, I understood that it was her. Balthazar, all this time, I could feel that my spirit was nowhere near as strong as hers. Aren’t you curious about why I refused to reorganize the Tin Soldier? I can’t fight anymore.”
“I don’t have the strength to continue fighting—not out of fear, but because when I look at the world in front of me again, I feel tired from the bottom of my heart. If it weren’t for Sonia, I might have found a quiet place to end my life a long time ago. She didn’t tempt me to turn my back on Alban. She was just saving my life… with a warm home. Saving my life.”
But everything had come to naught.
“Flint.” Medes’ tears finally gushed from his eyes.
“Disappointed in me, right?”
“No, I… I don’t know. I’m sorry.”
“Now that I have determined the king’s thoughts, I don’t have any questions.” Flint stood up and patted the soil on his clothes.
“Wait, Flint! Your right arm—”
“Oh, this.” Flint moved his right arm, which looked extremely normal. “Because it couldn’t recover normally, I asked the people from the ‘Butcher Shop’. It’s made from demon flesh.”
“…But it will corrode your body!”
“Enough for me to live until my child grows up. If he can survive, if he’s still breathing, I can continue.”
“Even if you lose your strength, your swordsmanship should be enough…”
“You know the child’s physical condition. My teacher has taught me a lot of theories about abyssal magic. With this arm, I finally have the chance to use them. If necessary, I’ll use abyssal magic to heal him… and…” Flint’s voice dropped.
“And?”
“If he can survive, I hope to be like other fathers—I can hold him with both hands while he rides on my neck to watch the fireworks.”
Outside the illusion, Oliver closed his eyes. Medes, who had already turned into dead bones, lowered his head. The red light in his eyes was so faint that it appeared to be invisible.
“Goodbye, Balthazar Medes. Thank you for giving my child a chance to live. Although it’s very sad, I understand your choice to guard the king. There is only one thing I can never forgive you—you let my child get caught up in the king’s order to hunt him down when he couldn’t survive on his own. That’s it. I think this is the last time we’ll see each other.”
Flint grabbed the empty bottle and grinned with difficulty. He repeated it again. “…Goodbye.”
[But the witch’s spell was too powerful, and the hero quickly weakened after that and passed away, leaving behind the war-scorched land.]
Nemo clenched his fists. He could feel Oliver’s hand trembling while holding him.
“Then I never saw him again.” The memory disappeared, and Medes whispered in the tumbling white mist. “That’s all I know, Oliver.”
The white mist slowly dissipated and poured back into the skull, turning back into a bright white light source.
“No wonder my father has always hated bards.” After a long time, Oliver finally spoke out. “Mr. Medes, how did you become like this?”
“After doing such a thing, no matter from any point of view, I can no longer live a normal life as a ‘human’. Perhaps in the eyes of the people, this is righteousness, but I can never forgive myself. I completely ruined him—if it weren’t for me, he wouldn’t need that demon right arm.”
The necromancer rubbed his skeleton hands. The joint colliding made a soft sound. “I was too young at the time, and I was tortured by right and wrong to the point of collapse. In these years here… I have thought very clearly.”
“Many times, there is no right or wrong between good and evil, only acceptance or not—what I want and what I don’t want, what I agree with and what I don’t agree with. Most of the time, right and wrong are just weapons.”
“But I understood it too late.”
“I am not qualified to forgive you on behalf of my father.” Oliver lowered his head slightly and saluted. “But thank you for being willing to tell me this.”
Medes smiled bitterly and shook his head, wiping the blood and tears from his face with his robe. “I don’t need forgiveness.”
“Since you haven’t left and you’re still willing to talk to me, the next step would be for me to help you figure out the condition of your body and to find a way to treat that little girl. About those things in the past, all I want to tell you is one thing… Oliver, let me be thick-skinned and advise you as an elder.”
“Never go to the bottom of the Abyss. I don’t know what your father found there, but it really changed him. Sometimes, ignorance is the greatest happiness.”
The author has something to say:
I know it’s easier to deal with conflicts by writing the emperor as a faint monarch, but… I personally prefer this kind of conflict (whisper)_(:””∠)_
————
Dad was probably suffering from… very severe PTSD + depression at that time, and he really couldn’t fight.
Kinky Thoughts:
It’s true, as they say, ignorance is bliss. I really like the morality of it all. Looking at different perspectives, there is truly no right or wrong, and things aren’t black or white. The emperor has a duty towards his country and what he did to some would be considered evil, but he has the population of Alban to protect. Life isn’t simple when things like war and strife are going on.
Still… I would raze Alban to the ground if I was Flint. After all, everyone is making choices (irrelevant of right or wrong).
Trent Plague wasn’t a disease that would wait for someone. Medes used the treasured Tin Soldiers position array to forcibly teleport himself to the nearest public teleportation array, where Flint was.
The young omni-scientist didn’t have time to clean up his appearance; stained robe, messy hair, and beard. Under the chaotic bangs, tears dripped uncontrollably through the cracked silver plate of the teleportation array.
He may never have the opportunity to use it again.
Flint looked worse than Medes. He hadn’t seen him in just five months, but Flint was frighteningly thin right now, and he no longer saw the brilliance in his eyes. It was like all his muscles and internal organs were pulled out while he was alive, leaving only a dying body behind.
Medes wasn’t sure if he wanted to hug his former leader.
“Let me see Miss Ramon,” he said simply, walking towards the simple house.
Oliver, in the illusion, suddenly clenched Nemo’s hand. Unfortunately, he could only see half his mother’s face—Sonia was reclining on the head of the bed, with a soft cloth wrapped around her eyes. She gently put one hand on her obviously large belly and had a soothing smile at the corner of her mouth. Even with only having her face exposed, the smile was still sweet.
“Mr. Medes,” she greeted politely. “Hello, this is the first time we have met. Unfortunately, I can’t get out of bed to greet you properly.”
She paused for a while. “Is there any food on the table on the left? I’m hungry.”
“Uh, there is,” Medes responded subconsciously.
“Sure enough…Flint! You didn’t eat well. What did I say last night?” Sonia’s momentum was not weakened by the illness, and although Flint looked extremely haggard, he still subconsciously shrank his neck.
“Sonia…” Flint sat down by the bed and lifted his wife’s sweaty bangs with trembling hands. “I’ll eat in a while, I promise.”
Medes stood still by the bed. A large number of arrays of different sizes were connected end to end, circling Sonia from head to toe. He was silent for half a minute. “It is indeed the Trent Plague. According to the time you contacted me and Miss Ramon’s physical condition, she’s now at the end of the… infection period. Flint, I have to talk to you alone.”
Hearing these words, their fearless leader trembled slightly.
“No need.” Sonia’s voice was brisk, and the smile at the corner of her mouth still didn’t disappear. “I don’t mind, I want to know. “
“……Miss Ramon……”
“Go ahead, Balthazar.” Flint clenched his wife’s hand. “Tell us.”
“I know you must have notified me as soon as possible, but…it’s too late.” Medes gritted his teeth. “At the end of the infectious period, the curse has begun to spread. I may have a way to slow down this process, but…”
“How long can it last at most?” Sonia asked seriously. “Flint told me about the Trent Plague. It’s about to attack me, right?”
“Generally speaking, people can still retain normal thinking on the first day after the end of the infection period. But starting the next day, the curse will begin to concentrate on destroying the brain. In the end, it will focus on your eyes and turn them into the seeds of the Croyden Blood Tree.”
“Nn.” Sonia didn’t show fear or collapse. She nodded calmly, and the hand that was not held by Flint gently stroked her abdomen. “Then what?”
“I, uh, based on my research…”
This wandering dancer was completely different from Mede’s thoughts. She didn’t have a delicate and charming nature, and Sonia looked calm and at ease in the face of her upcoming death, but he himself began to stutter, and his throat felt a little bit bitter.
“According to my research, Flint can use his strength to temporarily suppress the curse and keep you awake for two days. But two days later, no matter how hard he tries, he will… I’m sorry. I’m really sorry. If I could arrive earlier, if I did more research before…”
“What if we don’t want this child?” Flint asked suddenly.
“Pregnancy will make her body weak, won’t it? So if we don’t want this child, can she… Even one more day…”
“Flint!” Sonia yelled.
“I’m sorry, Flint. Any external force exerted now will exacerbate the weakness of Miss Ramon’s body.” Medes’ nails, which hadn’t been trimmed for a long time, pierced his palm.
The man who killed the Demon King sat on the edge of the bed with his lower lip trembling. Ten seconds later, he finally let out a faint choking sound. It was as if he was declaring his own inevitable fate.
“Mr. Medes.” Sonia patted Flint on the back with one hand and continued to ask questions calmly. “Can our child still be saved?”
Medes stayed where he was for a while.
“According to the information I know, I have a bold speculation. This child is still part of my body now, and the main target of the curse is my brain. Even if the child is infected with the curse, the moment of the onset will be the moment he or she survives as a ‘human individual’. Is it like this?”
“In theory…” This woman was frighteningly smart.
“In other words, as long as this child can survive, it will become the first case to be detected at the earliest stage of infection.”
Sonia’s movement of rubbing her abdomen stopped. “Listening to what you just said, if you had ‘found out earlier’, there is a way. And now there is indeed a patient who was discovered early enough. Mr. Medes, tell me, is there any hope for this child?”
“Yes,” Medes replied numbly. “But that’s just a theory, and… like I just said, any external force will affect your body…”
“I still have two days to live at most.” Sonia’s voice was very firm. “My brain will rot into a pot of porridge, but I’ll still have a breathing body. I don’t want that kind of death. After I lose consciousness, just find a way to save this child.”
“I see what you mean. Balthazar, come here, we have to talk alone this time,” Flint said with difficulty, as if those words were embedded with broken glass, and he had vomited them out covered in blood from his throat. “You should take a break, Sonia.”
“Don’t go.” Sonia grabbed the corner of her lover’s clothes. “I want to stay with you for a while. We agreed with each other, my dear. We won’t hide anything from each other. Have you forgotten?”
“Sonia…”
“Even if I can’t see it, I can smell it.” She tried to make her tone relaxed. “You have something on your mind, something very serious on your mind. You see, I am not even afraid of death. Your little secret can’t defeat me. Let me guess—you know who did this, don’t you?”
“…” Flint closed his eyes in pain.
Medes drew in a cold breath. “Do you need me to recuse myself?”
“No, I believe you, brother.” Flint hugged his wife wearily.
“Balthazar, I think you should have heard of the recent war between Alban and Willard.” Flint lowered his eyes. “There has been a stalemate on both sides.”
“I know. But this should have nothing to do with you, right? Didn’t you tell His Majesty that you wanted to retire?”
“Yes, but less than a month ago, Sampson called me into the palace to talk. You know that I didn’t protect Abbas well and let him die at the bottom of the Abyss. Bringing back the bone jade was regarded as serving the country, but in personal affairs, I always felt I owed something to the Alastair family, so I went.”
Flint didn’t use the title “His Majesty”.
“Sampson’s meaning is very clear. He asked me if I had ‘rested enough’. He also said he could help me gather anyone I wanted if I wanted to make a comeback and rebuild a legendary mercenary group again, even to the point of intervening in the war.”
“…” Medes was speechless.
“Actually, that’s what I thought as well.” The necromancer was next to Oliver, who added at this moment. “Flint was still so young, so strong, that he would always start over again. To be honest, I… dreamed of him rebuilding the Tin Soldiers.”
“How foolish I was,” the dead bones said softly.
And Flint, on the other hand, continued.
“I rejected him… It’s better to say that I rejected him very firmly. I told him that I had brought back enough bone jade for Alban to use for five hundred years, and I didn’t want to rebuild the Tin Soldiers in order to intervene in the war. No one can replace my former companion.”
Flint smiled miserably. “I also told him that I had recently started looking for houses in remote villages and towns. My child will be born in four months, and now I just want to live in peace with my family. He agreed with a smile, as if it was just an old man’s whim proposal. I shouldn’t have behaved so resolutely, Sonia, it’s all my fault…”
“The people of the Alastair family did it?” Sonia pondered for a moment. “You didn’t contact your brother for the first time; was it because of this?”
“Nn. This old friend of mine is more sober, and my brother is too upright. If I ask Eman for help, and he knows the truth, I don’t know what he will do. He’s also about to be a father, and I don’t want to take him away from his child.”
Flint put his chin on his wife’s shoulder. “Emanuel is the Chief Justice of the Knights of Judgment. If he has nothing to do with this, no matter how things end up, the Pope will still have no problem keeping him.”
Medes stood stiffly, his Adam’s apple bobbed. “If I understand correctly, Flint. You mean… this was all His Majesty’s doing?”
“I guess he didn’t want me to find out about… it…”
“I’ll say it.” Sonia stroked Flint’s hair and sighed softly. “Flint went to find our future home the other day. He has always protected me very well. In order to prevent the revenge of the enemies of the Tin Soldiers, our residence is kept secret. Flint also set up magic arrays to detect powerful magic items everywhere in our residence. I’m not stupid enough to run around. At most, it’ll be to the entrance of the market.”
“I smelled a very good scent that day. Oh my god, it was an indescribable and wonderful scent. A blind old woman was selling spice bags in the tent, so I went over and took a look. I have always liked these things very much. Flint knows that His Majesty… should also know. In fact, it is quite suspicious thinking about it now. The old lady has always insisted that she wants to sell to ‘people with fate’ and has driven away several customers. And as soon as I went, she enthusiastically pulled me into the tent.”
“It’s like she was afraid I would run away.” She smiled helplessly.
“The scent of the Croyden Blood Tree,” Medes guessed dryly.
“She grabbed me, and I was immediately attracted by the smell. Like all spice merchants, she opened the spice bag in the tent to show the contents.”
“There was a shriveled fruit coated with gold powder in it. I had never seen it before. So I took a closer look for a while—during this period, she still grabbed my hand and kept pointing at the fruit, using her fingers to guide my palms. I guess it’s to ensure that my gaze was long enough.”
Flint hugged his beloved wife tightly and said nothing.
“Then my eyes started to ache, and at first, I thought it was dust—but after I got home, the pain was still there. I often go out and about, so I know what normal eye pain is. I felt something was wrong, so I immediately contacted Flint.”
“And I found the aura of the curse of the abyss.” Flint’s mood finally calmed down.
“But His Majesty… His Majesty should not have the fruit of the Croyden Blood Tree.” Medes’ voice trembled more and more severely.
“I thought so too, until I had an occasional conversation with Abbas about it.” Anger finally began to appear in Flint’s voice. “Abbas said a long time ago that he sneaked into the palace laboratory warehouse while everyone wasn’t paying attention and found the source of the disease that should have disappeared a long time ago. At that time, he wasn’t very old, and with the protection he had, he carved a smiley face at the bottom of the fruit.”
“Something is wrong with Sonia. My first reaction was to ask the palace physician for help. They quickly diagnosed the Trent Plague. The emperor told me that the old woman was a spy sent by Willard. She wanted to kill me and cause a plague in Alban, and he mourned for my loss—how reasonable he sounded.”
“’This is Zenni’s arrangement, my poor child. You’re far from the age of retirement. It’s time to return to the battlefield’… Was what he said.”
“But after that, Sonia described the fruit to me and told me there was a smiley face at the bottom of the fruit, Balthazar,” Flint’s voice trembled badly.
“Maybe it’s just a coincidence…” Medes said, struggling.
“The smiley face had two vertical lines on its mouth that looked familiar. I also took a few more close glances at it,” Sonia added with a sigh.
Abbas’ usual mark was a smiley face with two vertical lines on its mouth. The code that only his friends knew—everything was no longer an explainable coincidence.
For a while, the whole room fell silent.
“Remember our agreement, Flint?” Sonia was the first to speak out.
“Which one?”
“The one you said after the proposal—if you die as a mercenary when the child doesn’t remember, tell the child not to mention anything about you. You don’t want your offspring to have too naïve vision of this profession.”
“Nn.”
“Now it’s my request. If our child can survive, don’t tell it anything about me. Although I don’t think you will do anything stupid, I don’t want him to grow up in hatred. Promise me, Flint.”
“I…”
“Please.”
“…I promise.” The head of the Tin Soldiers Mercenary Regiment’s eyes flushed, and he looked like he was about to cry.
“Now I’m really tired. Maybe you two also need some time to talk.” Sonia clenched the blanket tightly and tried to smile at the two of them. “Go talk for a while, boys. I need to sleep for half an hour.”
But when they walked out of the room and closed the door, they could still hear desperate and suppressed cries in the room.
Flint’s tears gushed out of his eyes all at once. He gritted his teeth tightly, not daring to make the slightest sound. He didn’t dare allow himself to sob loudly until he had gone far enough.
“Flint.” Medes took a step back.
“What do I need to do next?” Finally calmed down, the most powerful man on the surface was finally able to speak again.
“Your child can survive. It’s just that there is a little hope in this theory.” Medes closed his eyes in pain. “As your friend, I advise you to give up.”
“Tell me what to do,” Flint murmured. “This is her wish.”
“A five-month fetus… You need to use your own flesh and blood and magic to keep this child alive. This still doesn’t consider the situation of the Trent Plague. If you really want to save that child, you must use your strength to suppress the curse and seal it in its heart.”
“If it’s just sealed…”
“It’s not as simple as sealing.” Under a series of desperate shocks, Medes finally collapsed and yelled, “The curse is suppressed in the heart. Although the heart will still grow, it can’t beat anymore! Listen, it can’t beat! You must additionally re-inject enough power to support it with your own strength. Do you know what that means, Flint? It’ll empty you out!”
Medes pulled his hair hard.
“I must tell you, even if you do, the chance of this child surviving is a pitiful few percent. But once your power is squeezed to the limit, it will never recover! You… You can no longer take us… with you.”
“If I can, I want to be a good father.” Flint wiped his tears away, squeezing the sentence from between his teeth. “That’s absolutely difficult, I know, but it doesn’t require the power to subvert the world.”
“You will have nothing.” The wound on Medes’ palm that was scratched is still bleeding. “You’ll really have nothing… If this child also… Please, Flint, you have always been the most rational one among us. Yes, I also feel sorry for Sonia, but you will come around. Everyone can always come around. Your future is still very long, and you’re still muddled now…”
“I won’t come around,” Flint said slowly.
“There is only one Sonia Ramon and only one Flint Lopez in this world. There will never exactly be two of the same feelings. I’m pretty sure I can’t come around.”
“Many people have had this experience. You can’t be so weak!”
“You don’t understand, Balthazar. I am going to have no home soon.”
“You will have another home, Flint… Captain!”
“No, never again. The family that belongs to me will never happen again.”
Oliver’s eyes were red, and he took a long breath, trying to keep himself breathing in this depressing illusion. He grabbed his chest with his hand, and his heart was beating vigorously in his chest.
“As you can see, Sonia was awake for two days, and then… I took you out of your mother’s body, Oliver Ramon. Our commander began to save you as agreed in advance, but the excessive injection of power was extremely painful, like peeling off one’s skin. I thought at that point, the commander would retreat, but he didn’t.”
“He was truly crazy. From the moment Miss Ramon died, he has been crazy ever since. At least I thought so at the time. He was crazy to save you. I shouted countless times until I lost my voice—‘This child isn’t even a complete person. Sonia has died and she won’t know—You should plan for yourself’.”
“Then he beat me up.” The necromancer touched the cheek that had no flesh anymore.
“I left there without seeing the result. Maybe I didn’t want to see the desperate tragedy of the strongest man in my mind. At that time, your father didn’t let anyone approach. He guarded your mother’s body, holding the Ruinous Fire with one hand and doing his best to treat you with the other. At that time, you looked like a shapeless corpse, and he didn’t even… look like a person.”
“This doesn’t sound like a big mistake.” Oliver’s voice trembled a little. “Maybe you’re blaming yourself too much.”
“No.”
The Necromancer stood in a mist and did not call out more images.
“As a coward, I have been inquiring about him from afar since then. A month later, I heard that he had returned to the vicinity of the capital of Alban with the Sword of Ruinous Fire. He didn’t bring any children but carried a coffin on his back. I thought…”
“Do you think he was going to seek revenge on Sampson?” Nemo’s voice said. He had a pretty bad guess.
“At that time, it was in a critical period of war,” the dead bones said softly. “If he kills the King of Alban at that time, Alban would be finished.”
Oliver turned his head in disbelief and stared at the necromancer beside him.
Medes held the badge of the Tin Soldiers in his skeletal hand full of runes.
“I struggled for a long time.”
“The captain is the person I admire most in the world, but I have seen the craziest and most irrational side of him… I ask myself; do I really have the right to bet the lives of the entire country on the character of a desperate man?”
Nemo closed his eyes and sighed for a long time.
“…I told Sampson. I betrayed the trust of the captain, and I told Sampson.” Blood and tears flowed from the skeleton’s eyes.
“I told him… Flint knows what you did. You have to be careful not to see him.”
“Since I’m still alive, that is to say, my father didn’t go to the capital for revenge.” Oliver took his eyes away from Medes.
“Yes. After all, he is still Flint Lopez.” Medes’ voice was full of pain and regret. “But Sampson Alastair is also Sampson Alastair. He knew that, in this way, he had completely offended Flint, a strong powerhouse… He took advantage of Flint’s weakness and issued a kill order against Flint.”
“I knelt and begged the king countless times, assuring him that Flint was no longer the unusually strong man before… But he didn’t believe it.”
“Because you are a member of the Tin Soldiers.” Ann’s tone was full of sarcasm. “He won’t believe it. He is that kind of person—the cold king who’ll nip all dangers in the bud.”
“Then another month passed, and Sampson received a gift. A gift from Flint Lopez.”
“…A gift?” Adrian frowned.
“Flint’s own right arm.” The light in Medes’ eyes dimmed. “There was only a note attached: ‘We’ll be reconciled from now on.’”
“It was cut off with complex abyssal magic and couldn’t be restored through healing. The commander also knew Sampson well… Now that I think about it, it was probably protecting you, Oliver. He wanted to eliminate his ‘threat’ and protect you from Alban’s pursuit.”
“But Uncle Ramon… No, the Flint we know has a complete right arm.”
“This is what I want to tell you, the end of the story.” Medes glanced at the silent Oliver, his voice very weak. He trembled and stretched out his fingers, summoning the last illusion.
The Young Medes was standing in the middle of the room.
A noose was hanging in the house, and Medes was standing in front of it, staring blankly at the rope swinging back and forth. He stretched out his hand and gently fiddled with it.
He shaved his beard and took care of himself neatly, and the badge of the Tin Soldiers gleamed on his chest.
A few minutes later, he sighed slightly and stood on the chair, but the communication crystal engraved with the emblem of the Tin Soldiers began to flash at that moment. Medes fell directly off the wooden chair. He didn’t even have time to stand up, and crawled directly to the crystal…
“Let’s meet, Balthazar.” Flint’s voice came from the crystal. “It’s time to end all this.”
Kinky Thoughts:
Honestly, I would raze Alban to the ground if I was Flint.
Now we also see why Flint taught Oliver the way he did.
As if he wanted to touch Oliver, Medes stretched out his hand with only bones left, but as soon as he leaned out a little bit, he took it back as if it was burning with fire. He stood quietly in place, not saying a word to the cracking sound caused by the rapid expansion of the Lock of Pain.
“Mr. Medes,” Oliver called softly, with some soothing meaning in his tone.
“Of course I can tell you.” Medes finally spoke again, though the volume was extremely low. “You have the right to know this.”
Although the necromancer had no body, Medes felt as if he had suddenly rapidly aged. “…But since you want to ask this, that is to say, Flint… he… didn’t want to tell you?”
The bone hand grasped the hem of the robe, and there was a bit more despair in the voice of the Necromancer who foresaw the answer. “Flint, is he okay?”
“My father passed away not long ago.” Oliver lowered his head. “In order to protect our town, he forcibly transferred a demon summoning ritual.”
“…Was he killed by the demon?” Medes tore the edges of the robe with bone fingers carved with black charms, as if he wanted to tear his soul apart.
“No. After the transfer ceremony, he asked me to kill him in order to send the demon directly back to the Abyss… So I killed my father, Mr. Medes.”
Medes stopped tearing the corners of his robe, he stretched out his bony hand and patted Oliver’s head cautiously—the movement was so light, as if Oliver was a fragile item that would dissipate from a touch. Their similar heights made this behavior look a little weird, but Oliver didn’t avoid it. He looked straight into the empty red eyes.
“That is indeed the Flint I know. A pure idiot.” Medes gritted his teeth as he spoke; his voice ringing out from his hollow chest. “God, he wasn’t even fifty years old yet. How can he just be like this…”
Medes shook his head. He retracted his hand, took two steps back, and sat on the edge of the stone bed, burying the fleshless skull in his palm.
“It’s all my fault. It’s all my fault—if it weren’t for me, he would still be able to deal with summoning demons.”
He was shaking badly, and there was a low whine in his throat. Compared to humans, it was more like a wounded beast whimpering.
“So, Oliver… You have an Albanian accent. If I’m not mistaken, did you embark on the path of a Black Chapter because you escaped after killing your father? It’s impossible for Flint to raise a deviant child.”
‘No,’ Oliver thought to himself and glanced at Nemo a few steps away. ‘He may already be the most deviant human in the world.’
“Partially,” Oliver replied sincerely. “As for the other part, my lover is a superior demon, and I don’t want to be separated from him.”
There was no expression on Medes’ skull. He remained motionless, sighed for a long time, and looked at Ann. “Is that so.”
The female warrior rolled her eyes very shamelessly, patted Nemo on the shoulder, and pushed him a step forward. “…I have had enough. That boy likes this. This!”
The necromancer let out a few hoarse and unpleasant chuckles.
“In terms of the strange taste of choosing lovers, you are indeed like Flint,” he said as he glanced at Nemo faintly.
“If this is your choice, and you firmly believe that this is your happiness, I’m not going to judge this time, kid. Now, since you want to know about the past and information about the Trent Plague, I can provide them to you all at once.”
Medes made a gesture, and the illuminated bones wandering above the room flipped at the same time. The mercury-like contents finally poured out. They fell to the ground and turned into fine silver smoke, instantly filling the entire room.
It was Medes’ memory, overflowing with happiness, pain, and guilt. He copied and extracted them as the only light source at the bottom of the tomb.
Unlike in the confinement room of Clementine Academy, everyone didn’t need to touch any figures and was directly wrapped in memories. But Medes’ figure did not disappear. He stood beside them, pointing to the phantoms twisting around.
“This was the first time I had heard of your mother.” Medes’ bony hands formed a complex pattern in the air, and the surrounding images began to become clear…
“I’m in love, friends!” The young man opened his arms and gestured a V toward the sky. Vitality and joy made his smile sparkle. He had just rushed into the tavern from the outside, and there were still a lot of fine grass leaves stuck to his armor.
The Sword of Ruinous Fire was hanging safely on his belt, and a little light of fire drifted around.
Oliver swallowed laboriously as he realized it was his young father. Perceiving Oliver’s abnormality in an instant, Nemo stretched out a hand and grabbed his lover’s hand vigorously.
“How many times is this now?” A brown-haired mage sitting at the table propped his forehead with both hands, with a slightly helpless smile on his face.
Nemo’s mood suddenly became heavy—the deputy commander of the Tin Soldier Mercenary Regiment, Abbas Alastair.
Ann, who was standing not far from them, didn’t say a word.
“The one hundred and forty-ninth time. Come on, captain, if you work hard to lose your love, you will soon be able to usher in the 150th this spring.” Balthazar Medes, who still had his flesh, was covering his face with a book. “Who is it this time? The youngest daughter of the tavern owner? The incense girl in the shop? Or a peasant girl selling potatoes? Abbas, you have to tell him—this man has no idea what true love is. Someone has to tell him that one-sided compliments behind people’s backs don’t work.”
“Flint is just livening the atmosphere. Don’t take it seriously.” The second prince of Alban looked rather bemused.
“How can you say that to my deputy commander?” Flint yelled in discontent. “Well, I was just praising their beauty in that way before. After all, lovely girls are the most precious treasures in this world. You have to admit that.”
“Yes, yes.” Abbas humored him as he added some milk to his hot tea. “Would you like some tea?”
“I’m really in love this time,” Flint announced solemnly.
“You said that last time, and the time before last, and the time before last. Your ‘love’ is to send a flower to someone, dance, and then say goodbye happily.” Medes coughed hard and dryly.
“This time it’s different.” Flint grimaced and raised his middle finger at Medes. “My angel is a wandering dancer. God, she’s so cute. She even kissed me! Yes, I have a hunch that I will definitely marry her!”
“Oh,” Abbas replied calmly.
“Oh,” Medes snorted.
Oliver stared at this strange father. Although the father in his memory was equally as cheerful, he was always missing something compared to the “Flint Lopez” in Medes’ memory.
“The captain isn’t a frivolous person, Oliver. He respects every woman he meets. The Tin Soldiers have always been on the front lines of all kinds of danger, and now it seems that they are praising a lovely girl to enliven the atmosphere. You can see this more thoroughly than me.”
Medes, who had now become dead bones, spoke as he stared sadly at the long-gone past.
“…We didn’t take it seriously at the time, but he was indeed serious. We didn’t see Sonia Ramon then, but since then, they have been communicating by letter, or using a communication crystal from time to time.”
“To be honest, we still didn’t think the two of them would make it. Flint was a hero all over the world, and Miss Ramon was just an ordinary wandering dancer. I personally even suspected that her motives were impure.”
The necromancer lowered his head, sighed, and used his fingers to make a few virtual strokes in the mist.
The scene becomes a room at night.
“Balthazar, I won’t take you on the expedition. The list has been handed in, and your name is not on it.” There was no smile on Flint’s face. He read Medes’ name very seriously, and he paused.
“Captain!”
“I know you are unwilling, but the bottom of the Abyss is really dangerous. Your physical condition doesn’t allow it. This is an order.”
The young Medes slammed on the table. The double crutches leaning on the edge of the table fell crookedly to the ground with an unpleasant crisp sound.
Flint looked at his comrades-in-arms quietly, showing a little sadness. “And I have a bad feeling, Balthazar. In case we don’t come back…”
“Shut up.” In the memory, Medes’ voice became a little angrier. “Don’t say such things!”
“I know, just in case.” Flint smiled reluctantly. “Don’t get angry. Don’t get angry. It’ll only hurt your body.”
“Even if Ulysses killed all four generations of the expeditionary army, we still have the best elf archer, the most powerful dragon warrior… We have you. Captain, if the Tin Soldier can’t kill it, I can’t imagine who else can defeat it,” Medes murmured. “His Majesty, who is so shrewd and cautious, is willing to let Abbas go with you, so everyone should be fine.”
“But I occasionally think about some strange questions.” Flint picked up Medes’ crutches and gently put them back in place. “Balthazar, you know a lot of strange knowledge, right? Do you think our expedition behavior… is considered an invasion?”
“…What nonsense are you talking about?”
“In order to prepare for the expedition, I collected a lot of information,” Flint sighed fiercely. “The scope of the Abyss has never expanded, and the Demon King has never been to the surface, but the expedition on the surface has lasted for thousands of years. There is no indication that the demons are destroying the surface at its behest.”
“The damage caused by subordinate and intermediate demons is no different from that of surface beasts. Most of them have no brains and rarely act together. Except for the different power systems, they are no different from ordinary animals. Needless to say, the superior demons must find collaborators on the surface, and their actions seem to be very self-contained. Compared with the joint destruction of mankind, they are more like exploring and enjoying in their own way. It is human beings themselves who established the Abyssal Church, and the guardian who maintains the balance of power is a superior demon ‘Aurorae’… All in all, their behavior seems to be unaffected by this so-called ‘Demon King’.”
“But for a period of time after the Demon King is defeated, the Abyss will be closed, and the actions of all demons on the surface will be slow for a period of time. This—this is to protect mankind.” Medes’ tone rarely stumbled.
“That’s just a few short years, so it’s okay to fool ordinary people. In fact, people have long been accustomed to dealing with subordinate and intermediate demons. On the other hand, although the closure of the Abyss will weaken the superior demons, compared to the power gap with humans, this weakening is almost negligible.”
“What are you trying to say, captain?”
“I rummaged through all the history and found only one motivation—to obtain bone jade. Kill the Demon King and get the valuable resources at the bottom of the Abyss.”
Flint Lopez began to pace up and down the room. “Let me make an analogy, Balthazar. It’s just like a few Garlanders killed someone in Alban. Alban will directly declare war on Garland. We’ll lead an army into Garland, execute their royal family, bring back the wealth accumulated by the Garland royal family for many years, and declare this to be ‘justice’.”
“But we have to go, Captain. Alban needs bone jade more than ever, and Willard’s research on weapons is far ahead of us. If they cannot obtain enough bone jade to deter them, Alban will lose the war. This is not the time to care about the Demon King’s mood. After all, the Demon King is just a monster…”
“I understand.” Flint smiled and shook his head. “I’ll go. But… Balthazar, just because the opponent is stronger than us, doesn’t mean that it’s justified to attack them. I don’t like this idea very much.”
“You’re human.” Medes looked at his leader seriously. “Whether it’s justice or not, you have your position, captain. At least now, you are carrying the fate of this country.”
“…I know.”
“Well, what were you going to ask me for?”
“If I don’t come back, can you transfer my share of the property to Sonia?”
“Captain…”
“I proposed to her yesterday, and she agreed.”
“At this time?!”
“We’re both conscious of each other and don’t want to leave regrets.”
“…Okay, I understand.”
Nemo’s palms were cold and full of sweat. Oliver held his lover’s hand with his backhand, trying to help the other party regain some temperature with his warm palm.
“Flint is such a weirdo,” the necromancer said lightly. “The expedition had lasted for thousands of years, and the surface had already widely accepted this concept, but he was still thinking about this kind of problem before he left. At that time, I was almost disgusted with Sonia Ramon, and I admit that this was my prejudice. Because she was really… Sorry, her status was much too low compared to the captain. I assumed her goal was to steal his property.”
“Anyone with some common sense knows that as long as the leader of the group can survive, he will inevitably marry the daughter of a nobleman… or even a woman of the princess level. When did you ever hear that the Hero marrying a migrant?”
“And he survived,” Oliver whispered.
“Yes.” Medes nodded.
The smoke surged, and the figure of the young version of Medes reappeared. This time, his complexion looked a lot better, and his double crutches were replaced with a cane.
But his eyes were terribly swollen, his face had a full beard, and he didn’t seem to have taken care of himself seriously for many days. Medes’ hand clenched the communication crystal carved with the Tin Soldier emblem, and he looked blankly at the blue sky outside the window, completely ignoring the messy room full of garbage around him.
The crystal began to flicker, he muttered in his throat, and eagerly turned on the communication.
“Balthazar.”
“Captain…” Medes responded with a desperate desire.
“Balthazar, help me.” Flint didn’t bring the good news he wanted. For example, telling him that the destruction of the Tin Soldier was just a nightmare. For example, telling him that everyone just played a bad prank on the unflattering Balthazar Medes.
Flint sounded helpless and desperate.
Their leader was always full of courage and could face any difficulty with a smile. But the sound coming from the crystal was almost as fragile as the crystal itself.
“Captain… Flint, you said…” Medes forced himself to calm down, and he directly bit his lower lip, causing blood to spill.
“Sonia’s situation is very bad.” Flint’s voice trembled a little. “It’s the Trent Plague, Balthazar. It’s the Trent Plague… I’m going to lose her, right?”
“I’ll be there soon. There will always be a way.”
Medes repeated numbly, eagerly sweeping the messy pile of books on the table with his hands, and then scratched his dirty hair.
“…There will always be a way, believe me.”
The author has something to say:
Ann: I want to write “I’m not interested in the Lopez family” on my face.
Ann: Or write “This is our captain’s lover” on Nemo’s face.
Ann: …Or write “I’m gay” on Oliver’s face and let them guess.
The ancient royal family and nobles always stored some treasures in their graves. In case their descendants fell, using the passcodes passed down, useless descendants at any rate could take some of this treasure from the graves of their ancestors and exchange it for money.
However, considering that passing down from generation to generation would lead to a loss of information, in order to prevent the descendants of the tomb owner from being killed by mistake, the Lock of Pain would accept vague answers of likeness. Although Nemo didn’t know how Adrian did it, their knight commander did get the correct answer…
Seeing that the group had no intention of moving forward, the Lock of Pain flattened itself into a palm-sized thick layer and quietly pressed itself into the cold and hard tunnel of the tomb. Sticky chunks of flesh covered the delicate reliefs on the walls of the tomb tunnel, and several crimson eyeballs were still staring at Adrian.
It was now that the narrow passage suddenly became a lot wider.
“Mr. Cross, how did you know the answer?” Oliver asked directly.
“Speculation,” the knight commander said softly. “If the information you provided wasn’t wrong, then Medes came here alone after the death of Sonia Ramon and sealed himself in the tomb. Coupled with the attributes of this Lock of Pain, I thought it was worth a try.”
“I haven’t heard anything about those old men from the Laddism Church digging up people’s graves. Where did you get the information on the Lock of Pain?” Ann used her fingers to quickly wipe away the pieces of flesh stuck on the wall.
“Given your previous identity, it’s normal you wouldn’t have access to it.”
Adrian lowered his gaze. “Once upon a time, it was popular for the low-level church to breed modified Lock of Pains and make folk monks carry them for penance. It’s more sensitive to human pain than any living thing, and some people call it ‘The Priest of Penance Who Doesn’t Speak’.”
“However, this method belongs to the folk sect that was deviant. Once the Lock of Pain grows too large, it becomes dangerous to humans. After the current Pope took office, this practice was expressly banned. Nowadays, this form of practice probably exists only in remote areas. I have dealt with many tragedies caused by the Lock of Pain getting out of control.”
Nemo didn’t care much about the source of information. “In other words, Medes ‘betrayed’ Oliver’s father or mother?”
“At least Mr. Medes himself thinks so and suffers greatly for it.” The knight commander led the way through the corridor covered with remnants of the Lock of Pain. The sole of his hard boots crushed sticky pieces of flesh. “It seems that he doesn’t mind talking to visitors who ‘understand his pain’.”
Fortunately, Tumbleweed had members that could detect traces of life, which saved them a lot of time in their exploration—Medes didn’t lock himself in the main tomb of this ancient tomb. The necromancer obviously didn’t want to disturb the rest of the original owner of the tomb, so he chose a dark and narrow room from the bottom of the main tomb.
When Nemo stood in front of the narrow door, he even doubted his judgment for a moment.
“Mr. Medes, we want to talk to you.” Oliver tried to push the stone door open.
Dark light blue flames jumped on the stone platform protruding from the wall. Skeletons dressed in simple clothes wandered in silence, performing their duties while tacitly ignoring them. Oliver’s voice echoed in the dim corridor. Mixed with the click of bones colliding, the atmosphere became a little gloomy.
No response came from the stone door.
“His reaction is too quiet.” Nemo probed carefully. “Mr. Medes seemed… motionless, and the magic fluctuations emitted are very gentle.”
“Which means our necromancer is sleeping?” Ann sneezed in the muddy and cold air and rubbed her nose.
“This door is unlocked.” Jesse knocked on the thick slate casually. “Look, Mr. Ramon, this is what I should be doing as my job.”
“Mr. Medes, there is a young girl who is suffering from the Trent Plague. We know that you have dealt with this disease.” Oliver hesitated for a moment and decided not to reveal his identity first. “Can you hear me, Mr. Medes?”
However, only silence answered him.
“Jesse is right, this door is unlocked, and it doesn’t look like a trap.” Nemo took a deep breath. “Ollie, he still doesn’t seem to be awake… I’m going in.”
Nemo commanded the black shadow to go into the gap in the stone gate. With a loud sound of stone rubbing, the stone gate slowly slid open. To his surprise, there was a little dim light through the door, as if someone had put a pale candle in a dark room that was about to go out.
“I’ll explore first.” This time, Nemo’s voice revealed an unquestionable taste, and Oliver nodded calmly.
Trying to ignore his heartbeat, Nemo gritted his teeth, grabbed the staff with both hands, and cautiously squeezed into the small room.
Then he shivered in place.
The interior of the stone chamber exudes a strong sense of incongruity…
This room was about 50 square meters in size. Two-thirds of the place was a normal masonry floor, while the farthest third from the door was filled with a rectangular pit, which was densely packed with countless bones.
The part on the floor was much more normal. There was a simple stone bed and a stone table that could be used as a desk. Thick parchment paper was still piled on the stone platform, white quill pens were looming in the shadows, and a weird fishy smell emerged from the long-dried ink bottle.
Adjacent to the stone platform, two small bedside cabinets made of dead bones lay quietly by the bed, one of which had a rough brown clay vase on it, and the flowers inside had already dried up. A coat rack made of branches stood quietly by the white bone pit, and about three dark long robes of indistinguishable styles were loose on it.
In the part of the “normal room”, there were three things that emitted a strong abnormal aura.
The light object here wasn’t a magic lamp, but a skull slowly floating in the air. The skull had no jaw and hung upside down in the air. Its cranial cavity was filled with liquid silver light. It floated like a ghost over the room, and the “light” that one couldn’t distinguish whether it was liquid or solid shook slowly inside of the skull, but it didn’t leak or drip from the eye holes.
This luminous substance was a bit subtly familiar. It was very similar to the books that recorded thoughts in the confinement room of Clementine Academy.
Another unexplainable thing was two dark stone cylinders. Nemo could smell a strange aroma floating inside—it gave off the smell of something pickling, but from time to time, it made the sound of water being stirred, and there was even a slight pulsation.
He decided not to think about the contents for the time being.
The last one was Medes himself.
Perhaps it wasn’t accurate to say “himself”. The thing lying on the stone bed didn’t resemble a normal human. The skeleton was scattered on the stone bed, and there was a ghastly incantation written all over the pale bones. There was a faint red light in the hollow eyes of the skull, and it seemed like it was breathing.
The remaining four members of Tumbleweed slowly stretched their heads into the room. Nemo quickly made a gesture to ask his companions to retract their heads. The room was really weird, so he decided to wake up Medes first to determine the other party’s situation.
“Mr. Medes.” Nemo stretched out his hand hesitantly and lightly poked the skull’s humerus.
The skeletons on the stone bed trembled slightly, but the bones didn’t have any intention of gathering.
“Hello, Mr. Medes.” Nemo raised his voice.
Finally, the skull with blood-red light in its eyes turned around. The red light inside was still weakly flickering. Its lower jaw opened slightly and spat out a sentence.
“…Five more minutes…” The necromancer of the Tin Soldier responded vaguely.
Nemo: “……”
He took a deep breath and simply tapped on the humerus that he had just poked. “Mr. Medes, we have something important to talk to you about.”
“Don’t look for me. Go to Flint for outside affairs of the group. I’m sleeping again…” As soon as Medes spoke this time, he woke up. The bones scattered on the stone bed flew up on their own and formed a complete skeleton, and the red light in the eye sockets of the skull flared up…
Balthazar Medes woke up.
“Oh, visitors.” After waking up, his voice became a lot more hollow. “What can I do for you?”
“There’s a young girl who has the Trent Plague, and her condition is currently suppressed. We learned that you had treated a similar case, so we came here…”
“Well, thank you for coming here. Hm, let me get dressed first.” Medes opened his jawbone with a click and interrupted Nemo, but it didn’t sound like he was angry. “I don’t like talking to people naked.”
Nemo turned around speechlessly.
Three minutes later.
“As you can see, there are no chairs for guests and no tea.” Medes put on his robe, and the badge engraved with the Tin Soldier’s mark flickered on it. “Sit over there, young man. Your companions can also come in and sit down—since you’re able to come here, I won’t do anything to you.”
He coughed dryly and raised his frame. “But you must be prepared to be disappointed. I do have some research on the Trent Plague, but I never found a cure. To be honest, young man… If I’m not wrong, the most I can do is suppress its onset.”
“How do you know that…” Nemo’s eyes kept floating in the direction of the white bone pit as his companions squeezed in one by one, like groundhogs squeezing out of a cave. Perceiving that all of Tumbleweed had crowded into the room, Nemo subconsciously turned his gaze to Oliver.
Oliver stood in the shadow and smiled at him.
“Because I am a genius and have never stopped studying it,” Medes answered Nemo’s question in a rambling manner, sounding quite proud. “Okay, don’t look at that pile of bones. That’s the funerary corpse I collected from the main tomb. It’s not fresh—if that’s what you’re worried about. Now tell me the situation of that little girl and let me see what I can do.”
Before Nemo could speak, Ann spoke up first. “She said she needs to drink a potion nine times a day to survive, and the onset of the Trent Plague is fixed at the stage of infection.”
“…If it’s a cure you want, there’s nothing I can do to help her. Granted, my research is in a different direction. If you have the formula of the medicine in your hand, I can reduce the number of potions to three times or less, so that the little girl will suffer less.” Medes tapped his skull with his knuckle. “Trent Plague is a terrible thing. Once it infects, no one can escape.”
“Someone once escaped.” Oliver spoke calmly in the corner.
“That’s mostly a rumor.” Medes waved his hand impatiently. “Since the first year of this disease, there have been so many scammers who have been deceiving others under the guise of healing.”
“No, I meant myself. I was a patient.” Oliver took a step forward.
Medes turned his gaze in Oliver’s direction for the first time, and the silver skull leaned close to Oliver, illuminating his face.
Then he was silent for a long time. After a long period of silence, the red light started dimming in the hollow eyes of the dead bones. “Your name?”
“Oliver Ramon,” Oliver sighed as he pulled Jesse, who was standing in front of him, away. He stood in front of the necromancer and performed a standard battle salute.
“…Or Oliver Lopez. The only child of Flint Lopez and Sonia Ramon. Mr. Medes, I’m sorry we didn’t explain all our intentions from the beginning. Besides the information about the Trent Plague, if possible, I want to know what happened that year.”
Medes didn’t answer him.
The languor, flair, and lack of tone of the necromancer vanished in a flash, and he just stared at Oliver. No emotion could be seen on the face that had long been devoid of flesh.
At the same time, there was a loud noise not far above their heads, and Nemo hurriedly launched a probe.
The size of the Lock of Pain skyrocketed three times more than when they first met, directly filling half of the corridor and causing the sound of cracking in the solid wall.
“Praise Zenni,” Medes muttered. His voice was choking, but the bones that had lost their flesh failed to shed tears.
“…How completely wrong I was in the first place, captain.”
The author has something to say:
Members of Flint’s Tin Soldier: Looks cool, but actually is very normal.
Members of Oliver’s Tumbleweed: Looks normal, but actually… (……
Kinky Translations 