Lu Youxun looked at with eyes that didn’t seem to see a human being, but rather as if waking up on a typical, uneventful morning, pulling back the curtains in pajamas, expecting to be greeted by the usual blue skies, white clouds, and sunshine, only to co face-to-face with Godzilla outside the window.
He seed to have even stopped thinking, just sitting on the ground in a sorry state, gaping at , unable to recover for the mont.
Upon seeing this, Zhu Shi was shocked and called out as she got up, "Lu Chan?"
"Are you all right?" Given that the cause of the incident seed to be my fault, I quickly went forward to help him up.
As soon as he saw approaching, his body shuddered again, seemingly reflexively wanting to stay away.
However, this ti it appeared he was also forcing his brain back into gear, halting his intention to keep his distance. I reached out my hand, and after he struggled to compose his expression, he honestly took it and stood up from the ground.
"What happened?" I asked, curious.
"Well... how to put it..." He looked at with eyes full of lingering fear, "...do you have no ill will toward ?"
"No. Why would I harbor any ill will toward you?"
In fact, I did have reasons to feel ill will toward him. In the search for Mazao, we could be said to be competitors. But on one hand, because I needed to find Mazao, I would later rely on his investigative skills; and on the other hand, his way of speaking and behaving up to this point genuinely didn’t provoke any animosity in .
"I’m glad you have no ill will toward ; otherwise, I might have died just now." There was a tone in Lu Youxun’s voice that hinted at a narrow escape from death.
"Did I do sothing wrong earlier? Like, is there so taboo with your ability to transmit information into another’s consciousness that I accidentally violated?" I asked.
"No, you haven’t done anything wrong. It’s just..." He seed still incredulous, "It’s just that your power is too strong. Such an overbearing presence creates a domain that cannot be violated. The one who really transgressed was ."
I’m too strong? Complints won’t earn you any favors from .
But Zhu Shi had said sothing similar before. As a superpower user, my power was imnse, so even creatures of the strange would go around . The "domain that cannot be violated" that Lu Youxun spoke of seed to resonate with that notion.
"It seems you lack a lot of self-awareness regarding your own power." Lu Youxun seed to slowly co to terms with what he’d encountered, and his attitude towards beca more fervent, "No worries. Unlike Zhu Shi, I have so insights into teaching and imparting knowledge. If you don’t mind, we can discuss privately later..."
"Wait!" Zhu Shi beca anxious at this.
She rushed to my side and, like a large dog guarding its food, placed her hands on my shoulders and said with high alert, "Senior Brother Zhuang... Zhuang Cheng is part of my team; you can’t steal him!"
"That’s right, I’m on Sister Zhu’s side." I felt I should cent my public allegiance.
"Senior Brother? Sister?" Lu Youxun looked at with a mix of laughter and helplessness, "Isn’t Zhu Shi your guide?"
I corrected myself, "I’m on Teacher Zhu Shi’s side."
"I’m not—" Zhu Shi seed about to reflexively deny it, then stopped herself and said with a blush, "I am!"
"All right, enough joking. We’ll talk about the private exchange later. Let’s get back to business," Lu Youxun sighed and then turned to Zhu Shi, "The whereabouts of the target monster, although I couldn’t transmit them into Zhuang Cheng’s consciousness, you should have received them. Hereafter, you’ll team up and take on that monster together."
"Wait, now that you know Zhuang Cheng’s capabilities, isn’t the evaluation unnecessary? Why does he still need to be involved in this case?" Zhu Shi questioned.
"You are after all just a young woman; it’s more reassuring to have a man of great strength by your side." Lu Youxun seed to harbor a bit of chauvinism.
Before Zhu Shi could object, he looked at again, "Zhuang Cheng, you haven’t really killed anyone before, have you?"
I thought for a mont, then nodded, "No."
Though I had fought and won before, I had truly never killed anyone. The first Fallen Demon Hunter I encountered died mysteriously of organ failure, Agent Kong blew himself up, and the two n in black suits we took down while saving Changan weren’t even human.
"Luo Mountain wants us to try to capture the monster alive if possible. There are many things about the monster’s power source that Luo Mountain still doesn’t understand. Nobody knows where those people got the power to transform into monsters," Lu Youxun explained, "But I think it’s alright if you end up killing the target monster. The battlefield is unpredictable, and no one can foresee what cards the enemy will play. Never risk your own safety by showing rcy."
"Zhuang Cheng, even you mustn’t hold back, no matter what," he warned. "According to the investigation of Luo Mountain, those who have turned into monsters have been captivated by a non-human desire to feed on souls; they’re exactly what you’d imagine ’humans turned into monsters’ to be.
"Cast aside all reservations and kill the enemy."
Zhu Shi frowned as he listened but offered no objection, simply responding, "I rember you possess a Divination Skill that allows you to gather information from the brains of the dead. If we obtain the heads of the monsters, could you glean any useful leads from them?"
"No, when monsters are about to die or detonate themselves, the source of their power vanishes from their bodies and automatically destroys any spiritual information within," Lu Youxun explained, shaking his head. "If obtaining intelligence was that simple, Luo Mountain would have unraveled the secrets of the monsters a long ti ago."
"Is that so..." Zhu Shi pondered. "Then, we should set out now."
"Good luck," Lu Youxun wished them.
-
After leaving the teahouse, Zhu Shi and I took a taxi together to our target area.
It was still early evening when we got into the car, but by the ti we disembarked, the sky had grown dark. We arrived in the old district of Saltwater City and proceeded on foot. Along the way, Zhu Shi told that Lu Youxun had divined a "potential future route that the target monster may take," and that we were now headed towards that route.
No wonder Zhu Shi believed the clues from Changan to be of little importance. I had to admit, with such a convenient thod, efficiency was indeed much higher.
I pulled out the clue photos I had received earlier and repeatedly examined the one of Mazao.
In the photo, Mazao’s left wrist still sported an undamaged red GPS bracelet. Clearly, Mazao hadn’t realized the bracelet’s true purpose; otherwise, it would likely have already been discarded or destroyed. So why couldn’t I receive a GPS signal?
And, if Lu Youxun had access to such a convenient Divination Skill, able to predict even the future movents of targets, why couldn’t he pinpoint Mazao’s exact whereabouts?
Perhaps it could be explained by the requirent for Lu Youxun’s Divination Skill to collect preliminary clues to be activated effectively—that’s what I had thought before. But walking the streets and thinking it over again, it still didn’t seem quite right. Luo Mountain was so vast; surely there were a few more powerful diviners? Were they unable to track Mazao’s movents as well?
Zhu Shi suddenly turned around and said earnestly, "Zhuang Cheng, if we really encounter that girl with soul loss later, don’t tell Lu Chan about her."
I put away the clue photos. While Zhu Shi’s suggestion aligned with my wishes, I still had to ask, "Why?"
"You’ve seen the thods employed by the faction that Lu Chan belongs to, haven’t you? They impersonate police officers to snoop around, fabricate cris, and slander her; they hardly seem concerned about the girl’s basic rights," she said. "I too wish Luo Mountain would study the girl with soul loss and discover a cure, as my own mother suffers from the condition.
"But, this must be predicated on the girl’s voluntary cooperation, not by treating her like a dignified animal in experints.
"It’s likely that Lu Chan’s faction sees a great benefit in that girl with soul loss, which is why they’ll stop at nothing to exploit her. I absolutely will not partake in such actions.
"So, Zhuang Cheng, you may find my thoughts naive..."
She slowed down, seemingly contemplating how to phrase her next words, but I preempted her.
"That’s what I’ve been telling you from the start," I said. "I don’t care about this faction or that, but I’ll stand with you. Since you think we shouldn’t tell Lu Chan, then I’ll do as you say."
At my words, she appeared moved and nodded vigorously.
I felt a pang of guilt; after all, my agreent wasn’t for Zhu Shi but for Mazao, and at the root of it, for myself.
"Speaking of which, are you very familiar with Lu Youxun? You seem to know quite a bit about him," I said, seeking to change the subject.
"To say familiar wouldn’t be quite right; we just have so acquaintance," Zhu Shi shook her head. "Lu Chan was once an ’Evil’ of ’Cheng’ rank, and as a demon hunter, his skills were second to none. He was always very kind to his colleagues, and many Evils have been ntored by him, myself included.
"Moreover, in the past, he didn’t believe that demon hunters should beco slaves to the Gods of the mortal world working on behalf of those factions, but belonged to the sa sect that I’m currently a part of."
I asked, puzzled, "If he was so powerful, why isn’t he at the forefront now?"
"Because he lost his forr powers..." she said with complicated emotions, "There are many organizations beyond Luo Mountain, so of which harbor a hatred for Luo Mountain, believing the world should continue to be ruled by ordinary people. They think Luo Mountain wants to use the power of the strange to dominate the world, so they decide to strike first—capturing and imprisoning demon hunters of Luo Mountain, submitting them to inhumane experints in an attempt to use science and technology to unravel their powers.
"Two years ago, one of the largest underground organizations targeted Lu Chan at his weakest mont. After spending countless resources and paying a heavy price, they finally captured him and subjected him to study and containnt for a full eight months."
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