High above Old Whale Flavor Food Street, a massive snow-white dove carried a young boy and girl past colorful neon signs. It folded its wings into a steep dive, finally landing in a deserted alleyway.
In the alley, Su Zimai retracted her Celestial Drive, reverting to the appearance of an ordinary high school girl.
She anxiously tied up her hair and was about to rush out of the alley when she stopped in her tracks. Turning back to Ji Minghuan, she said, "Take a taxi ho first. You don't need to wait for ."
"Alright, go on," Ji Minghuan said with a shrug. "I'll wait outside for you to head ho. Otherwise, if you get kidnapped by Ke Qirui again, Dad and Big Brother will take their anger out on ."
"Suit yourself."
Su Zimai furrowed her brows. Shoving her hands into the pockets of her hoodie, she walked out of the alley and headed straight toward a fairly large Hunan Restaurant.
Ji Minghuan leaned against the wall, coming to a halt in the alley. As he looked down and toyed with his mobile phone, he extended black restraining bands from the cuffs of his jacket.
With his Restraining Band Senses fully activated, the clamor of human voices poured in like a tsunami. He quietly observed Su Zimai's retreating figure.
Su Zimai stopped in front of the Hunan Restaurant. Ke Qirui quickly ca out to greet her. After listening to her say a few words, Ke Qirui turned her head curiously and glanced in the direction of the alley.
At that mont, Ji Minghuan deliberately turned his face to et her gaze, wanting to test whether Ke Qirui was willing to bring him along or if she planned to leave him hanging outside.
Ke Qirui slightly raised her eyebrows, sizing Ji Minghuan up from the shadow of her hat's brim. She then pulled her mobile phone out of her trench coat pocket and lowered her head to send him a ssage.
"Ke Qirui: Aren't you eating with us?"
"Gu Wenyu: No thanks, I was just dragged out by my little sister, but it turns out she forgot she had an appointnt with you."
"Ke Qirui: Alright then."
Ji Minghuan stared at the text ssage on his phone and thought to himself, 'Although I really want Black Cocoon to pull so stunts and make his presence known in front of the people from Lake Hunt, doing so would definitely arouse Ke Qirui's suspicion. After all, she has doubted
multiple tis before.'
'Moreover... the people from Lake Hunt are no ordinary figures. Not to ntion, Zhou Jiuya's temper is so eccentric. If they recognize that I am Black Cocoon, it will most likely implicate my little sister.'
Recalling the conversation he had with Su Zimai on the dove's back, Ji Minghuan understood just how serious she was about climbing the ranks in the Exorcist world, so he rely shrugged.
He thought, 'Let's just forget about it for today. I'll stake out outside and try to catch a glimpse of what the other three mbers of Lake Hunt look like, aside from Zhou Jiuya.'
However, not long after Ji Minghuan retracted his restraining bands, Ke Qirui led Su Zimai straight through the crowd and stopped at the edge of the alley.
"What's the situation? Aren't you supposed to be having dinner with so big figures?" Ji Minghuan looked up from his phone and turned to face her.
"It's just an ordinary dinner," Ke Qirui said with a smile. "We'll just be chatting about ordinary things. Since you're already here, co with us. We can't just leave Mai-mai's brother out in the cold."
'Is this dinner really that ordinary?' Ji Minghuan thought.
Su Zimai and Ji Minghuan exchanged glances. The forr sighed, while the latter spread his hands in helpless resignation.
"Don't speak out of turn later."
"Like how soone was just crying on the rooftop?"
"Shut up!"
"Crybaby."
In the end, with Ke Qirui leading the way, the two walked into the Hunan Restaurant. They ascended to the second floor, passed between two rows of slightly bowing waiters, and arrived at a private room bathed in a soft orange glow.
Upon entering, Ji Minghuan looked over. He saw two unfamiliar figures currently seated inside the private room.
The first was naturally Zhou Jiuya. Wearing a Zhongshan suit with his hair slicked back and shiny, he was resting against the back of the sofa with his eyes closed. His brow was completely relaxed, making him look as if he were sleeping quite soundly.
The second was a handso young man with a long black braid, dressed in a cyan Republic of China style long gown and riding jacket. His features were picturesque, and his eyes held a clear, sharp light akin to drawn swords.
The young man smiled faintly, fanning the folding fan in his hand. He turned his head to Zhou Jiuya and said, "Zhou Jiuya, your cousin is here. Are you still going to sleep?"
"It's the aftereffects of the auction..." Zhou Jiuya muttered, keeping his eyes closed. "Her group wasn't all here just a mont ago anyway. What's wrong with taking a quick rest?"
Ke Qirui took off the Luster Hat from her head and placed it on the coat rack. "Didn't you say Lin Xingshi was coming too?" she teased. "We aren't the only ones running late. You can't just excuse his tardiness just because he's the leader of Lake Hunt."
"Lin Xingshi said sothing ca up at the last minute, so he probably won't be able to make it," the handso youth said with a smile.
"That's a sha," Ke Qirui said politely. "But it is an honor to et the famous Zhuge Hui."
"Honor, my foot. This guy is at the absolute bottom of Lake Hunt," Zhou Jiuya said with a yawn.
"You really don't give any face, do you... Old Ya, I'm suddenly regretting coming out to eat with you," Zhuge Hui said. He snapped his folding fan open and swatted it toward Zhou Jiuya's face.
Without even opening his eyes, Zhou Jiuya simply extended two fingers and blocked the fan's surface. "It's one thing if my cousin acts spoiled, but you better not try acting cute with , or I really will kill you."
"You two give off the vibe of a couple of high schoolers," Ke Qirui joked.
"So... who are the little sister and little brother you brought along?" Zhou Jiuya finally opened his eyes.
He slowly turned his head, his faint golden eyes sweeping over the entrance of the private room.
Su Zimai and Ji Minghuan stood motionless with their backs pressed against the door, looking exactly like primary schoolers being punished by a teacher. The siblings were both trembling slightly.
Su Zimai was nervous because this was her first ti eting the mbers of Lake Hunt. Who were they? They were globally recognized as the strongest Exorcist team, and behind every single mber stood an Exorcist family with imnse resources and a long, storied history.
But it was an entirely different story for Ji Minghuan.
He had witnessed firsthand the terrifying might of the Lake Hunt mbers. Previously, from Xia Pingzhou's first-person perspective, the sheer oppression Zhou Jiuya exuded was like a final boss Terminator—in the auction house, Li Qingping and White Wolf had fought until the heavens fractured and the earth split, yet Zhou Jiuya hadn't even woken up. He remained completely unaffected by their battle, sitting absolutely still in his chair from beginning to end. When he finally made his move, he instantly killed two Dragon-tier mbers of the White Raven Brigade as a warning to others.
If it hadn't been for sheer luck, the one who died in the auction house that day might not have been Lan Duo Duo, but his Host Body Two. After all, to save himself so trouble, Zhou Jiuya had deliberately picked off the weakest Dragon-tier mbers, and Xia Pingzhou was one of them.
But now, overnight, Zhou Jiuya had seemingly beco an ally, casually chatting about mundane things right in front of him. This bizarre sense of dislocation made Ji Minghuan more than a little uncomfortable.
He had to constantly remind himself that he was Gu Wenyu right now, not Xia Pingzhou. He half-feared that right in the middle of dinner, a bronze pillar would suddenly crash down on his head, his vision would go black, and just like that, his Host Body One would be sent straight to Hell to keep Uncle Takikage and the Hong Kong Anecdote Envoy Lan Duo Duo company.
"This little sister is nad Su Zimai."
Ke Qirui gave a slight smile. As she introduced her, she slung an arm around Su Zimai's shoulders and then pulled a pipe from her trench coat pocket.
Holding the pipe in her mouth, she continued, "She only awakened as an Exorcist half a year ago, yet she has already advanced to the second rank. Even the President is full of praise for her, calling her a rare genius."
The corner of Su Zimai's eye twitched slightly. She felt that Ke Qirui's bragging was like playing a ga where your teammate boasts to a group of Strongest Kings, "She spent half a month grinding from Bronze to Silver! Isn't she amazing? Doesn't she have incredible talent? She's basically a gaming prodigy!"
She was so mortified she wanted to find a hole to bury her head in. In the end, she rely nudged Gu Wenyu lightly with her shoulder.
Ji Minghuan rolled his eyes at her. 'Your leader is the one torturing you, what does that have to do with ?' he thought.
"Impressive!" Zhuge Hui smacked the table with his folding fan. "Even our leader, Lin Xingshi, took almost a year to reach the second rank. This girl's future is definitely going to be extraordinary."
He paused, then turned to look at Ji Minghuan. With a smile, he asked, "And who might this be?"
"Mai-mai's older brother, his na is Gu Wenyu." As she spoke, Ke Qirui found a seat in the private room and sat down, resting her cheek on one hand. "Gu Wenyu just happened to be out shopping with her, so I invited him along."
"Oh... does this little brother know about the affairs of Exorcists?" Zhuge Hui asked.
Ji Minghuan nodded. "I know, although I'm just an ordinary person."
"That's good, that's good," Zhuge Hui said.
"What are you two just standing there for? Find a seat," Ke Qirui said, turning to the siblings.
Thus, Su Zimai sat next to Ke Qirui, and Ji Minghuan sat down beside Su Zimai.
Both of them sat impeccably well-behaved, their heads slightly bowed.
"What exactly is Lake Hunt? Are these two really that strong?" he leaned close to Su Zimai's ear and whispered.
"Extrely strong," Su Zimai replied, keeping her voice equally low. "Lake Hunt is basically the equivalent of Rainbow Wing among Transgressors. They are the absolute strongest organization among Exorcists. The difference is that they only have four mbers, while Rainbow Wing has twelve... If you used the Superhuman rating system, then every single mber of Lake Hunt would be Calamity-Tier, and possibly even stronger than that."
"So if Lake Hunt and Rainbow Wing fought, who would win?" Ji Minghuan raised his eyebrows and continued asking.
"Lake Hunt," Zhou Jiuya interjected out of nowhere, before continuing to rest with his eyes closed.
"Could you not eavesdrop on what the little brother and sister are whispering about? Where are your manners?" Zhuge Hui demanded.
"I just don't understand why everyone puts Rainbow Wing on such a high pedestal," Zhou Jiuya stated.
"Don't say that... I feel like if we really clashed with Rainbow Wing, victory wouldn't be guaranteed. Especially against that Qi Yuanliuli; her ability is a hard counter to mine," Zhuge Hui said, waving his fan.
"That's just because you're weak," Zhou Jiuya shot back. "After all, as the one at the absolute bottom, no one expects anything from you."
Zhuge Hui was entirely disapproving and began to ramble, "Aren't I the one always scheming and devising strategies? Otherwise, how could you three brutes have survived until today? Wouldn't you have kicked the bucket ages ago? You don't treat your tactician like a human being, do you? What you're doing is devaluing my efforts."
As the two bickered, Ji Minghuan, sitting across from them, froze slightly. The na of the Rainbow Wing mber Zhuge Hui had just ntioned echoed continuously in his mind.
'Qi Yuan... liuli?'
He muttered the na in his heart, suddenly recalling the announcent he had heard that day at the Salvation Society.
"Calamity-Tier Superhuman, ID Number 10059—Qi Yuanliuli requests to et with the Tutor."
'Wait a minute,' Ji Minghuan's heart skipped a beat. 'Does that an... among the twelve mbers of Rainbow Wing, there's a Calamity-Tier Superhuman who secretly belongs to the Salvation Society? Has the Salvation Society's influence already infiltrated Rainbow Wing?'
He pondered further. 'And... more importantly, why does this surna sound so familiar?'
At that exact mont, the na of the White Raven Brigade's leader flashed through Ji Minghuan's mind:
—"Qi Yuanli."
'The leader's surna? Is there so sort of connection between Qi Yuanliuli and Qi Yuanli? Assuming they are related, does that an the leader is also connected to the Salvation Society?'
'But looking at it from another angle... if there really is a connection between them, wouldn't that beco a clue I could exploit? The leader might not know about Qi Yuanliuli's relationship with the Salvation Society. He might not even know that Qi Yuanliuli is a mber of Rainbow Wing.'
'When the ti cos for Black Cocoon to et Qi Yuanli, I'll casually bring her up. First, I'll see if the leader actually knows this Qi Yuanliuli, and then I can deduce whether he has any ties to the Salvation Society...'
Thinking of this, the corners of Ji Minghuan's lips curled up slightly. 'If things are exactly as I suspect, then after I kill Jack the Ripper, I'll have yet another perfect bargaining chip to save my life.'
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