notes

Ying Yungui took the empty soup bowl from Shi Youchen's hand, skimmed off the foam on the surface of the pot and filled another bowl.

"How do you say that?"

Shi Youchen edited the last word and sent the message. "As you expected, the District 10 Association branch has shifted the blame onto the border district."

Ying Yungui said, "They spent so many years tracking down a fugitive with no results, and it was only thanks to us that they solved the problem by accident." He placed the bowl in front of Shi Youchen. "District 10 is the worst branch I've ever seen, bar none. Even District 5 is more efficient than them."

District 5 is recognized worldwide as having the worst living environment. Not only is the climate dry year-round, but extreme weather occurs frequently, and all kinds of resources are scarce, which has given rise to a group of vicious people.

Shi Youchen put his hand on the rim of the bowl to test the temperature. "Is the regional boundary really that difficult to manage?"

Ying Yungui thought for a moment and said, "I started going on missions when I was ten years old, and I've been to all parts of the world. I've also seen a lot of situations at the junction of the two districts. The public security is indeed a bit poor, but it's far from being unmanageable."

The scene of the small town at the foot of the snow-capped mountains was still vivid in his mind. Shi Youchen lowered his eyes and said, "The power struggle between districts affects more than just one small town."

Ying Yungui propped up his chin with his left hand and asked with a smile, "Guess what I found out when I returned to City A yesterday?"

Shi Youchen raised his eyes lazily and said nothing.

"The association's archives contain mission records from 169 years ago. My current permissions only allow me to access those below S-rank, so I went back yesterday while Uncle Lu was home." Ying Yungui pointed his finger at the air, and a thick brown paper notebook landed in his right hand. "Lu Shen's early mission notes."

Shi Youchen had a blank expression on his face: "He just gave you this kind of personal belonging?"

Ying Yungui: "The relationship between Lu Shen and the Lu family is even worse than we thought. You will never imagine what Uncle Lu said to me."

The night before, at the Lu family, Lu Ming’s private reception room.

Lu Ming placed the notebook in front of Ying Yungui and said, "I don't know why you've suddenly taken an interest in my younger brother, but his things are useless at home other than taking up space. If this can help you, then it's of some value."

Lu Ming, nearing fifty, possessed the composure and steadiness of a mature man, yet also retained the spirited energy of youth. He devoted considerable attention to health preservation, remaining without a single gray hair. His gentle and refined face held a look of disdain that Ying Yungui rarely encountered.

"Ever since he was brought home by his father, he's been naughty and disobedient. It was fine when he was little, but even as an adult, he's been obsessed with hanging out in places of entertainment, bringing a lot of trouble to the family."

Ying Yungui acted quietly as a qualified listener, without saying a word.

Lu Ming took off the monocle he occasionally wore, stroked his brow with his palm, and sighed softly, "If it were just this, it would be fine, but he also likes to take on high-risk missions to emphasize his presence to his family."

"A few years ago, when my father was still in good health, I saw that he was still so dissolute in his forties, so I worried about his marriage. Who would have thought that to avoid it, he would accept the only S-rank mission that year, leave without a word, and never come back."

Ying Yungui rubbed the kraft paper cover with his thumb. There was a LS logo on the upper right corner.

As if he'd been holding back something for years, the usually quiet, refined man suddenly burst into a torrent of words. "Although he doesn't have a strong sense of family, he's still a member of the Lu family. How could my father truly be so cruel to him? After the S-rank mission casualty list was announced, my father's health completely collapsed, and he remains bedridden to this day."

Talking about Lu Ming and Lu Shen's father, Ying Yungui recalled the party three years ago when the head of the Lu family was replaced. Lu Ming, who should have been happy, couldn't even force a smile, because this change of generation was an emergency choice based on the previous head's serious illness.

With his father seriously ill and his brother dead, Lu Ming became much more haggard overnight. Fortunately, he took good care of himself and avoided a serious illness. After that, Lu Ming became more diligent in training his supernatural powers. The following year, he broke through the bottleneck of Level 7 and became the youngest Level 8 supernatural user of his time.

Ying Yungui murmured, "People with special abilities always encounter unexpected things. It's a bit like fate playing tricks on us."

Lu Ming: "So you should cherish every time you meet with Brother Ze, and don't wait until you're like me, without even the chance to listen to a word of father's teaching." Hearing him talk about Ying Xiangze, Ying Yungui was not so touched: "In this respect, you and I are different. You grew up with Grandpa Lu, but the time my father spent with me is probably about the same as the time Uncle Shen spent at home."

Ying Yungui put the notebook away. "If something happens to my dad someday, I'm afraid I won't be the first to know." He stood up and thanked him. "Thank you, Uncle Lu, for lending it to me. I'll return it to you next time you come back."

Lu Ming waved his hand: "Just take it. If you find it troublesome, just burn it." The little affection he had for his younger brother had long disappeared with his father's serious illness.

Ying Yungui didn't say anything else, bowed and left, leaving Lu Ming alone immersed in his overflowing emotions.

......

When Ying Yungui finished retelling, Shi Youchen happened to receive Jiang Yu's reply -

"I'll go to the association for a follow-up checkup in a few days. The doctor I met last time was very responsible and added me as a friend. I've been feeling a bit unwell these past few days, but it's not a big deal and won't affect my normal life. It's just that Luo Zhao hasn't been in a good mood recently, but the checkup showed nothing wrong."

The two of them saw the last sentence at the same time and looked at each other.

Ying Yungui: "That girl is in a bad mood? That's quite rare. Is it because her internal injuries haven't healed yet? That doesn't seem likely."

Shi Youchen thought of what the female doctor had said and became a little worried: "Could it be that he hasn't adjusted mentally yet after the shock he received last time?"

Ying Yungui tutted twice and waved his index finger left and right. "Then you don't understand her. I wasn't thoughtful enough to avoid her at the time, so I must have been quite upset. But based on past experience, the nausea and discomfort usually lasts for two or three days, and then some stimulation like food and games will make it better."

"But it's been over a week..."

Shi Youchen suddenly asked, "I heard that Luo Zhao doesn't have any special abilities?" He thought about how those people at Luo's house that night had spoken openly about the association, "Then your mother and aunt don't have any either?"

Ying Yungui: "Luo Zhao certainly doesn't have one, but my mother and aunt are both psychics. They both inherited my grandfather's abilities, but their focus is not on the association but on the family business." He looked up and thought for a moment, "My parents seemed to have met at the association's headquarters."

Shi Youchen asked doubtfully, "Then why did Luo Zhao..."

Ying Yungui: "Because my uncle, Mr. Fu is just an ordinary writer, and even his three generations of ancestors don't have a trace of supernatural bloodline. Back then, Ms. Luo Han eloped with him and went to District 10, and my grandfather was so angry that he expanded his business territory there. Unexpectedly, my mother also ran away to District 10 because of her unhappy marriage, and it turned out to be the center of the Luo family's business." As he spoke, he couldn't help smiling, and the corners of his eyes curved into crescents.

Shi Youchen was somewhat surprised, both by Luo Han's youthful madness and by Mr. Luo's deep love for his daughter. He glanced at Ying Yungui, wondering if this man's occasional madness was inherited from the Luo family.

After Ying Yungui finished eating, he asked, "Are you full? Let's take a look at Lu Shen's notes together?"

Shi Youchen looked at the almost empty plates, nodded, and took the initiative to clean up the tableware.

The dormitory designed by the association actually has a dedicated study, but Shi Youchen doesn't like it. He feels that the study is too closed and dull, at least for him, and not conducive to thinking, so he always studies and meditates at the low table by the window.

After Ying Yungui moved in forcefully, the single low table was forced to retire and replaced with a double one.

At that moment, the two of them sat shoulder to shoulder by the window, reading the same notebook. Winter had officially arrived, and the temperature had dropped for several days. To keep his brain cells active, Shi Youchen, after asking Ying Yungui's permission, left a crack in the window. His fingers tucked into his sleeves, only darting out briefly and quickly to turn the page.

The room was silent for a long time, and the two of them tacitly kept silent until they finished reading the last page.

"It's almost the end of the year, and I finally got an S-rank mission. It happens to be in Area 9, and I heard there will be a lot of people above Level 6 going together. No matter what, I will succeed this time. I hope the gods will bless me. - 169.10.20"

The notes stopped here. According to information from Lu Ming and the archives, Lu Shen died in this S-level mission, so there was no way to complete the content after the mission like before.

only--

Ying Yungui: "It's hard to tell what his personal life is like from this, but he does like to take on missions that are difficult and offer high points and rewards."

Shi Youchen: "Especially from 150 to 152, we were almost doing missions non-stop." Ever since Ying Yungui accidentally mentioned the key to the years last time, he has been paying special attention to these.

Ying Yungui didn't notice this. He slowly flipped back and confirmed as he said, "Yes, during this period, the longest gap in his missions was only one week. Districts 9, 8, 9, 10... The missions in District 9 accounted for a very high proportion."

Shi Youchen glanced at the gloomy sky outside the window and said, "The S-level mission in 169 happens to be in District 9."

Ying Yungui flipped back to the end, staring at the simple line of words and saying, "He seems very persistent about the mission in Area 9? What does 'this time it will definitely succeed' mean?"

Shi Youchen put his hands together in front of his mouth, exhaled lightly, and said sullenly: "I don't know, but I didn't find anything related to the fugitive in here." He started searching for keywords of mental invasion or content related to women's emotions from the first page of the notes, but unfortunately there was no clue.

"That woman doesn't speak the language of District 8. Could it be that Lu Shen provoked her during his mission in District 10?" Ying Yungui asked.

Shi Youchen: "Lu Shen was a registered psychic in the association back then, and a member of the Lu family. There was no reason for him to provoke a fugitive, especially one who was in debt of love." The scene of the black-robed woman screaming hysterically flashed through his mind, "Did she say..."

——"Great, what a good person trained in that kind of place! A good teammate!"

"What can you get in return for your sincerity towards a man?"

"Have you ever tried to make a wish to God? Wish that you two can be together forever, forever?"

Ying Yungui raised one eyebrow: "It seems that it is not as simple as provoking. I am afraid that..."

"There was also an unforgettable experience."