When it was ti to contact his teammates, Gu Luoxin was cheerful enough to put on a broad smile, his eyes curving into crescents.
"Hi guys, I missed you so much!" he waved energetically with both hands as soon as Shen Nianzu’s small holographic figure materialized before him.
Before Shen Nianzu could speak, however, Jin Jiuchi poked his head in from the side, his tone and expression as annoying as ever,
"Ohh~ not bad, Xinxin! I thought you would be bawling and crying your eyes out after losing contact with us for two days!"
That... was annoyingly accurate.
If not because of the call from Noir and the reassurance the man had offered him all this ti, Gu Luoxin would have broken down in tears the mont he saw his teammates. He could picture himself doing that even with his eyes closed. Alas, acknowledging his own weakness was one thing, but having it pointed out by others was another thing altogether—especially if the other person was Jin Jiuchi!
He put on a sneer, "Heh, sorry to disappoint you."
"Focus on that man, you dumb husky! If he slips away, I will shave your head bald!" On the screen, Shen Nianzu rcilessly pushed the man’s fluffy head away and, ignoring the indignant wails, addressed Gu Luoxin with a smile, "Sorry it took longer than expected to contact you, Xinxin. I was quite worried about how you’re doing, but now that I’ve seen you, I can finally be rest assured. You have improved so much since day one." He showed an approving look.
Now Gu Luoxin was embarrassed to receive all that praise when he didn’t deserve it even one bit. He was still the scaredy-cat and timid Gu Luoxin, nothing about him had changed at all.
Touching his nose awkwardly, he decided to gloss over this matter and switched the topic, "No, no, that’s okay. Please don’t apologize, Xiao Shen. By the way, I heard from Senior that you caught the culprit who killed Prince Kaivia? Who is it?"
Shen Nianzu shot him a aningful look that roughly translated to, ’Oh, so it’s all thanks to Noir, huh?’ Gu Luoxin was so embarrassed that his ears flushed red, but fortunately the silver-haired man didn’t tease him further. His expression grew serious as he recounted the results of their investigation and Gu Luoxin, too, forwent his sha as anger overtook him.
"That damned Shang! H-How could he be so cruel?! He targeted not only us—but everyone in this Cycle?!" he punched the air in rage, imagining the man himself standing before him.
A soft sneer tugged on Shen Nianzu’s lips. "You’re right, he really went too far this ti."
"Luckily, you and Da Shen caught him in the end..." Gu Luoxin patted his chest in relief. "That is one hidden danger solved! But wait, did he really say that he didn’t own that prop? The one that allows the user to go through the wall?"
Seeing Gu Luoxin’s expression turning odd, Shen Nianzu perked up in an instant, "What? Do you know sothing?"
"Well..." Gu Luoxin scratched his cheek before he gave a brief run through of the situation from his side. Shen Nianzu’s expression remained serious throughout, sotis frowning, sotis contemplating. When Gu Luoxin finished narrating the conversation between Master Grinu and the doctor he had just heard word by word, Shen Nianzu pondered aloud,
"In other words, he only admitted he didn’t do the cri, but not that he was not present at the cri scene?"
Gu Luoxin was dumbfounded by the sudden conclusion drawn by his leader, feeling like his brain power couldn’t quite catch up, "Wait, you an... he was there? When Prince Kaivia was killed? But why??"
"Who knows," Shen Nianzu rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Maybe he had the sa purpose, only to be preempted by soone else? And then Jin Jiuchi and I arrived just in ti before he could leave?"
"What!" Gu Luoxin almost jumped in shock, but fortunately he still rembered to control his volu despite the disbelief and incredulity he was feeling within. "H-He wanted Prince Kaivia gone too?? But he... he doesn’t seem to have the motive, right...?" Gu Luoxin’s tone wavered in the end, turning the firm statent into one of doubt. Hesitation filled him once more. Could it be true that the doctor was the hidden boss in this Cycle?
"Well, we won’t know the answers until we ask the man himself, will we?" Shen Nianzu smiled coldly, and though he said ’asking’, to Gu Luoxin’s ears, it sounded more like he was going to extort information out of the doctor’s mouth using whatever ans there were.
Gu Luoxin couldn’t help but swallow hard. "Be careful..." he wanted to warn Shen Nianzu that the doctor was a dangerous figure and definitely not one to be trifled with, but when he spotted Jin Jiuchi’s silhouette on the corner of the screen, all the words abruptly died down in his throat.
When it ca to danger, was there anyone more dangerous than Jin Jiuchi?
When it ca to madness, was there anyone else crazier than Jin Jiuchi in this Cycle??
After all, he wasn’t even a human, but a bonafide nightmare creature!
Although Gu Luoxin had already been made aware of this fact long ago, the sense of surrealism still hit him every ti he did a reality check, even more so when such a terrifying figure was standing by their side—by humanity’s side.
A swell of feeling rose in his chest that was a bit hard to explain; it made him want to laugh, but at the sa ti, also gave him the urge to cry...
Fortunately, both his teammates did not notice him being emotional on his own, or else they would definitely tease him about it.
Shen Nianzu turned to speak to soone outside the screen, presumably Shang’s man aka the main culprit behind the current war. Cracking his knuckles, he gave a sweet smile that didn’t reach his eyes, "Let’s consider the matter with Prince Kaivia clear for now, but I still haven’t settled the account regarding Young Master Ares with you. You sure are full of guts, aren’t you? Daring to poison him and his servants... if sothing were to happen to Xinxin because of you—"
A shrill wail pierced through the air. "Ahhhh, I don’t know! I really don’t know anything about this—!"
"You still want to pretend at this point?!" Jin Jiuchi growled, swinging his bloody fist in a threatening manner. "We already know everything, even the color of your underwear!"
"Fuck... fuck you, fuck your ancestors!" the man burst out, sounding so desperate and frenzied as if he had been cornered to the point of insanity. "Don’t you dare slander just because I killed that young siren brat, bastard! Laozi dares to own up to his own actions, but I won’t sit still if you accuse of sothing I didn’t do...! Fuck you$@$¥®€✓¢5..." profanities spilled endlessly from his mouth, only to morph into another round of wails and cries of rcy when Jin Jiuchi beat him up once more.
"Wait a second, Da Shen." Shen Nianzu stopped him, and this ti his expression was more serious than ever. He questioned the bruised and battered man who was curling up pitifully on the floor, "Do you an to say that you’re not the one who killed Ares?"
"I-I didn’t..." the man broke out in tears as he gasped out breathlessly, "I didn’t do it... it’s not ! I didn’t even know who the fuck that Ares was!"
"The hell?" Jin Jiuchi scratched his head in confusion. "Does it an there’s one more killer here?"
The SJG trio exchanged glances, seeing the sa doubt, confusion, and apprehension in each other’s eyes.
The two murder cases, which they had believed to be resolved, suddenly revealed a new and terrifying possibility, as if the light at the end of the tunnel they had tracked down with much difficulty was nothing more than a mirage.
Seated in an empty bedroom, Gu Luoxin felt a wave of chill crawling up from the soles of his feet, sending goosebumps rippling across his arms. He had originally thought that the culprit behind Young Master Ares and Prince Kaivia’s deaths must be the sa person—or at least people from the sa group.
But Shang’s henchman had desperately claid his innocence. Given how miserable his current state was, the chances of him telling a lie was low. So that ant... another culprit did exist.
Gu Luoxin’s face paled, his fingers clenching atop his lap.
Who exactly had killed Young Master Ares and his servants...?
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