It was the evening of July 21st in the Guyimai Block of Lijing, China.
The night sky was exceptionally bright, and the cicadas in the trees chirped as if their lives depended on it.
Under the shade of the trees, three silhouettes stood before a residential building.
Controlling Host Body One, Gu Wenyu, Ji Minghuan walked at the very front, expressionlessly toying with his mobile phone.
Gu Qiye and Gu Zhuo'an stood quietly behind him, carrying their suitcases as they waited for him to open the door with his key.
Ji Minghuan's head drooped slightly. While sending a WeChat ssage to Su Zimai, he fished the key out of the schoolbag slung over his shoulder and inserted it into the keyhole.
Even though the key was in the lock, he stubbornly refused to turn the doorknob.
A second later, his body suddenly stiffened in place. His eyes glued to the phone screen as if he had just received a threatening text from a kidnapper.
"Gu Wenyu: Oh right, forgot to tell you. Dad, Big Brother, and I have already returned to the country. They want you to hurry back from Japan."
"Su Zimai: I am already at ho."
Gu Zhuo'an and Gu Qiye stared at his back, which was exuding quite a suspenseful aura, as if there was sothing unclean lurking inside the house.
Confusion gradually crept into their eyes. 'We just asked the kid to open the door, why is he dawdling so much?'
However, neither of them voiced any complaints to rush him. They knew that when dealing with a stubborn kid who responds better to coaxing than coercion, one must educate with patience, offering plenty of gentleness and tolerance.
The small supermarket across the street cast a curtain of white light outward. Soone rode a bicycle past, the shadows of the wheels rolling through the light, accompanied by the soft rustling of the turning chain.
A mont later, Ji Minghuan finally looked up from the doorknob. He turned his head and stared at the two n with a bizarre expression for a while.
The suspenseful atmosphere enveloping the trio grew increasingly heavy.
Ji Minghuan remained silent, rely shaking his head and waving his hand at them. His series of gestures looked just like a special forces operative executing a demolition mission, using silent signals to order his teammates to breach the door with a targeted explosive.
Gu Zhuo'an and Gu Qiye were still utterly baffled, but they cautiously moved closer to Gu Wenyu anyway.
Ji Minghuan also turned back, wrapping his arms around their shoulders to bring their heads close together. He then made a series of hand signs right in front of their eyes.
First, he pointed his index and middle fingers at his own eyes, then drew a hand-knife an inch across his throat, and finally threw his head back while rolling his eyes.
"Did a murderer break into the house?"
"Is there a thief hiding inside?"
Gu Zhuo'an and Gu Qiye voiced their guesses simultaneously, both maintaining perfectly calm tones and expressions.
Ji Minghuan shook his head. He took a deep breath, glanced at each of them, and slowly revealed the answer:
"Little Sister said... she already got ho yesterday."
The father and son's expressions had initially been quite relaxed, as if a burglar breaking in was nothing more than a trivial, everyday occurrence. But upon hearing Ji Minghuan's revelation, they paused, their faces visibly stiffening.
It made sense... if a bad guy had broken into the house, they would only need to go easy, limiting their physical strength to just below the level of an ordinary human world champion. They could simply subdue the intruder without causing any fatal injuries.
If the situation was slightly worse, and the thief had swiped everything of value while they were dawdling outside, they could just buy it all back. The words "lack of money" simply did not exist in the dictionaries of Gu Qiye and Gu Zhuo'an.
Gu Qiye, in particular, couldn't even finish spending the salary he had earned from the Transgressor Association over the years, not to ntion the additional inco he received from his comrcial endorsents.
But... if Su Zimai was inside the house, the nature of the situation underwent a sudden, earth-shattering change.
This Little Tyrant's status in the family was no joke.
In their eyes, Su Zimai was like a bomb. From the very first second they stepped through the door, they had to be prepared to execute a bomb disposal operation.
If they cut even a single wire wrong, she might explode on the spot, slam the door, and storm out, aning they wouldn't catch a glimpse of her at ho for the entire sumr vacation.
Ji Minghuan released his grip on their shoulders and twitched his lips, gazing with deep satisfaction at the two n weighed down by their thoughts.
'Warriors,' he thought to himself, 'bring out the sa imposing aura you used to completely suppress
at the sushi restaurant the other day. I was treated like that just for being an innocent scapegoat, so shouldn't Little Sister, the actual culprit, atone with her life?'
"Tell ... how should we hold our family eting with her?" he asked, breaking the silence with an exceptionally solemn tone.
"It's actually unnecessary. If you think about it calmly, Xiaomai rely went to Japan behind our backs," Gu Qiye said, shaking his head. "She finally made it back, so let's not pressure her right now. Let's give her so space to cool off and try to act as natural as possible."
Gu Zhuo'an kept his head lowered in silence.
The old man truly didn't have much of a say in this household. He was just thinking about how he still needed to have a chat with Gu Qiye later, and also needed to talk to Su Zimai about this Exorcist business...
With the two tasks stacking on top of each other, his brain, which only supported single-threaded processing, was already starting to short-circuit.
"Huh? Are we really not going to hold a eting with her?" Ji Minghuan instantly deflated.
"No, we'll pretend nothing happened for now and find a chance to talk to her later." Gu Qiye chuckled. "Alright, stop standing around like idiots at the door. Anyone who didn't know better would think a burglar broke into our house."
Saying this, he signaled behind them with his eyes. The supermarket owner was peering over his reading glasses, nervously observing the three of them, looking as if he was about to pick up his phone to call the police the very next second.
"Alright."
Ji Minghuan pursed his lips in profound disappointnt, turned the doorknob, and pushed the door open.
He took off his shoes at the shoe rack, changed into a pair of indoor slippers, and stepped into the living room. Turning his head, he imdiately spotted Su Zimai sitting on the sofa, watching television.
She was wearing an orange hoodie and, as usual, had her bare feet tucked under her as she squatted on the sofa to watch TV. Having seemingly just taken a shower, her slightly damp hair was tied into a high ponytail, carrying the scent of orange-flavored shampoo.
Ji Minghuan shoved his hands into his jacket pockets and silently shuffled to the right. Moving sideways like a crab, he finally plopped down right beside Su Zimai.
Taking the lead, he played the role of the bomb disposal expert, casually resting his arm along the back of the sofa as he spoke:
"Little Sister, long ti no see."
Su Zimai rested her chin on her knees and ignored him, her eyes shining brightly as they reflected the light from the television screen.
Ji Minghuan looked toward the television and continued, "I really wasn't the one who sold you out. Big Brother truly, genuinely just happened to walk into a barbecue restaurant, and then coincidentally ran into you and your teacher. It's a small world."
'Black Cocoon was the one who sold you out, what does that have to do with , Ji Minghuan?' he added in his mind.
"Get lost."
Su Zimai's reply was concise and to the point.
Seeing his warm intentions t with the cold shoulder, Ji Minghuan couldn't be bothered to continue talking to her. He secretly decided that the next ti he swapped to Black Cocoon to et Su Zimai, he would thoughtfully bring her a pack of Cheers diapers. Otherwise, how else could he demonstrate a brother's deep care for his little sister?
The sound of the door closing echoed from the entryway, followed shortly by Gu Qiye and Gu Zhuo'an stepping into the living room one after the other.
Gu Qiye glanced at Su Zimai's profile and subtly raised the corners of his mouth. Pausing behind the sofa, he gently ruffled the top of her head before carrying his suitcase upstairs.
After setting his suitcase down in the corner of the living room, Gu Zhuo'an seed unsure of what to do next. Consequently, he leaned against the wall, his back slightly hunched. He fished a cigarette out of his cigarette case and lowered his head to light it with the fla of his lighter.
Ji Minghuan ripped open a bag of shrimp crackers and suddenly asked, "By the way, can you tell ... what exactly is this 'Exorcist' thing you ntioned last ti?"
Saying that, he leaned his head back against the sofa, set down his mobile phone, and adopted a thorough Ge You slouch.
After a mont of silence, Su Zimai softly asked, "Do you really want to know? Don't regret it." "Obviously. I thought about it later, and your reaction at the ti felt very strange. It didn't seem like you were joking," Ji Minghuan said. "Then I got a little worried that it might be so kind of cult or sothing..."
He studied the side of Su Zimai's face. "Little Sister, you aren't stupid enough to get involved with that kind of stuff, are you?"
"Co with ."
Su Zimai spoke expressionlessly as she turned off the television with the remote control. She rose from the sofa and headed toward the stairs.
Seeing this, Ji Minghuan also stood up and casually tossed the remote control backward to his father. "Dad, you've been hauling luggage for so long. Have a seat and watch so TV."
After saying that, he headed upstairs without looking back.
Gu Zhuo'an reached out to catch the remote control flying toward his face. He watched the retreating figures of Gu Wenyu and Su Zimai ascend the stairs in silence, then removed the cigarette from his lips, stubbed it out, and tossed it into the trash can.
Using the remote, he turned the television back on and switched it to the news channel.
The Lijing News Channel was currently broadcasting the international sensation from the day before—the attack on the underground auction in Japan. Apart from the foreign aid invited by the organizers, not a single guest or bodyguard had survived. Imdiately following, the news host declared that the perpetrators behind this incident were the internationally notorious White Raven Brigade.
This auction incident had undoubtedly provided the Transgressor Association officials with far more intelligence regarding the brigade, particularly because hidden caras had successfully captured the faces of several mbers.
Photographs of the mbers were projected onto the television screen one by one. There were seven photos in total, displaying the appearances of Ayase Origami, Oda Takikage, Lan Duo Duo, Jack the Ripper, Blood Progenitor, Xia Pingzhou, and Qi Yuanli.
Gu Zhuo'an's gaze locked onto the photograph of the leader. As he stared into Qi Yuanli's profound, abyssal eyes, he recalled the events of that day, and his expression slowly darkened:
"Don't let
catch you next ti..."
anwhile, on the second floor of the house, Ji Minghuan followed Su Zimai into her bedroom.
Gu Qiye, who happened to be carrying a pile of dirty clothes to the washing machine, knocked on the open door as he passed by. He turned to glance at Gu Wenyu sitting on the bed and reminded him,
"Wenyu, I have sothing to take care of and need to head out soon. I've already set the tir on the washing machine. Once the clothes are done washing, do
a favor and hang them out on the balcony to dry."
"Okay," Ji Minghuan nodded, casually replying, "Go ahead."
He knew without even having to think that Gu Qiye was heading to the Transgressor Association to report on the auction incident. Given how massive a disturbance the White Raven Brigade had caused in Tokyo this ti, the Association was undoubtedly treating it with extre importance. Gu Qiye probably wouldn't make it back before two or three in the morning.
At that mont, Gu Qiye's expression flashed with a hint of surprise. He seemingly hadn't expected Gu Wenyu and Su Zimai's relationship to improve so much. Smiling softly, he carried the laundry off toward the bathroom.
Seeing Gu Qiye leave, Su Zimai glanced at Ji Minghuan and ordered without lifting her head, "Close the door."
"What are you doing? Acting all mysterious..." Ji Minghuan muttered, though he obediently shut the door.
Su Zimai sat on her bed and cast him a sidelong glance. "Didn't you say you wanted to know what an Exorcist is?"
'You're actually planning to tell ?' Ji Minghuan thought. 'Did the auction incident scare your brain into malfunctioning?'
"Then I'll ask you, what exactly is an Exorcist?"
Ji Minghuan sat down beside her as he spoke, eting her gaze head-on.
"Just like Transgressors, Exorcists are a type of superhuman."
Ji Minghuan was puzzled. "Then why haven't I ever heard anyone online discussing 'Exorcists'? Our Anomaly Science Class at school hasn't covered this kind of thing at all. You can't possibly know more than the experts, right?"
"Because... Exorcists are not like ordinary superhumans. Our work can only be conducted in the shadows. If people knew that 'demons' existed in this world, they would absolutely fall into imnse panic."
Su Zimai went silent for a mont. "But superhumans are different. No matter what, superhumans still fall within the realm of humanity; they aren't bizarre, shape-shifting monstrosities like demons. People have an innate sense of affinity toward superhumans since they are still humans. They even idolize them, pursue them, and revere them as if they were gods."
She paused. "But demons are an entirely different story. Just think about it—if everyone knew that an alien race called 'demons' lived in this world, and that most demons possessed supernatural powers and a penchant for eating humans, how massive of an impact would that cause?"
Ji Minghuan didn't answer. Instead, he silently raised his hand and felt her forehead.
"I don't have a fever."
Ji Minghuan retracted his right hand from her forehead and propped himself up on the bed, summarizing, "So basically, what you're saying is: exposing the existence of demons would cause a catastrophic impact on the human world, so Exorcists are forced to hide their identities too, right?"
"Yes."
"And... you are an Exorcist? aning a superhuman who specializes in beating the crap out of demons?"
"Yes."
"How long have you been hiding this from us?"
"About half a year. I beca an Exorcist half a year ago, which is when I t my teacher."
"Half a year?"
Ji Minghuan murmured softly, slightly raising his eyebrows.
'So,' he thought in astonishnt, 'from awakening her Celestial Drive to promoting into a Tier 2 Exorcist, it really only took Su Zimai half a year? If that's true, the word "genius" isn't even enough to describe her growth speed, right?'
No wonder Ke Qirui took her wandering around all over the place. She had picked up a prodigy of an Exorcist.
However, Ji Minghuan rembered that Su Zimai's Celestial Drive, "Magic Hand," was evaluated by the system as having A-level potential, which was a whole tier lower than the Celestial Drives belonging to Xia Pingzhou and Ke Qirui. Yet, Su Zimai's growth rate was faster than Ke Qirui's.
Judging from this, there didn't seem to be a direct correlation between the potential of a Celestial Drive and an Exorcist's growth speed. In fact, it was entirely possible that the higher a Celestial Drive's potential, the slower the corresponding advancent rate.
But none of these rules applied to Ji Minghuan's Host Body Two. Because he was a player, not only was his growth speed phenonal, but his Celestial Drive potential was also extraordinarily high.
Taking advantage of Su Zimai's diverted attention, Ji Minghuan let his right hand hang over the edge of the bed. A restraining band slithered out from his cuff and pressed against the floorboards. His senses seeped through the floor like rainwater, revealing that neither Gu Qiye nor Gu Zhuo'an were present in the first-floor living room.
They had presumably both headed out.
"What else are you hiding from ?" Ji Minghuan asked in a low voice after a mont of silence.
Su Zimai didn't answer. Instead, she raised her right hand. In an instant, a magic glove materialized to cover her palm. Imdiately afterward, a black top hat appeared on her head, and a red cape draped down her back.
Ji Minghuan feigned a look of pure stupefaction, letting his jaw drop. If Host Body Three, Yagubalu, had been sitting there right now, its mouth would have opened wide enough to swallow the entire bed whole.
"This glove is called a 'Celestial Drive.' Everyone's Celestial Drive is different. Mine is a magic glove; everything else is just an accessory."
Su Zimai explained softly as she rose from the bed. She took the black top hat off her head and flipped it over, causing a dove to fly out. A dotted line suddenly extended from the fingertips of her magic glove, connecting to the dove's tail feathers.
In the next second, the dove flew out of the open window.
Su Zimai walked to the window, stepped onto the sill, and slipped outside. At the sa ti, she subtly pulled the ethereal strings attached to her magic glove. At that very mont, the dove abruptly mutated, expanding outside the window into a gargantuan monster with eyes gleaming with an eerie light.
She unclipped her hair, letting her black hair, which had been tied into a high ponytail, cascade down her shoulders. Then, she donned the magic top hat again and stood upon the giant dove's back, her red cape swaying under the moonlight like a bird's tail feathers.
Su Zimai cast a sidelong glance, throwing Ji Minghuan a look of disdain. "What are you still standing there like an idiot for?"
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