Chapter 63 Exposing Power 2
I understand Chang'an's emotions right now. Suddenly, two people were burned to death in front of him, and the murderer was his friend. His state of mind must be very complicated.
Even I'm not entirely unaffected by this. However, the sentimental parts can wait. Right now, I should focus on dealing with the immediate issues as quickly as possible.
"Chang'an, listen to me, I..."
Just as I was about to continue, the situation took a new turn.
Using the information transmitted by the flames, I sensed the two corpses beside me rapidly transforming into other substances. Turning my head, I saw that the two corpses had instantly turned completely charred black.
Upon closer inspection, it wasn't actually charred black from flames, but rather a jet-black color, as if soaked in ink. The two men in black suits originally had pale yellow skin, white shirts underneath, and dark blue ties. Now, all these "extra colors" were completely obscured by black.
I recognize this "blackness"; it's exactly the same as the shadowy substance released by the fallen witchers of the past.
After turning completely black, the two corpses immediately lost their shape, turning into a viscous black liquid that spread across the ground, and then disappeared into thin air like fading shadows.
"Disappeared?" Chang'an asked after a moment of stunned silence. "They...were not human?"
Finally, he glanced at me again and then breathed a sigh of relief.
"...That's what I want to ask."
I arrived at the spot where the body had disappeared, squatted down and touched the ground, but couldn't find any remaining shadowy material.
The two men who previously bound and beat Chang'an are definitely related to the Fallen Demon Hunters. Their existence reminds me of the demons that attacked me before. Looking back now, the demons I encountered in the past were likely monsters summoned by Agent Kong from the shadows, or perhaps clones of him.
But Detective Kong is clearly dead, so where did these guys come from? Could they be other people with similar powers to Detective Kong?
Is the Fallen Witcher incident still not over?
What exactly was the purpose of the kidnapping of Chang'an? Was it just to bring Chang'an out and beat him up?
I turned my head and glanced at the ropes binding Chang'an to the wooden chair. The ropes suddenly burned through, and Chang'an was freed. He struggled to sit up. He seemed a little dizzy, perhaps from the severe beating he had received earlier.
He stared in disbelief at the burned rope, then looked at me, as if he wanted to ask a lot of questions but didn't know where to begin.
"Chang'an, how did you get involved with those two guys?" I asked.
"I don't understand it either..."
With my guidance, he tried to focus his attention on his own problems.
Unfortunately, he was also completely bewildered, as the series of shocking events seemed to have left him dizzy and disoriented.
“I was just eating outside the school when suddenly someone knocked me unconscious from behind. When I woke up, I was brought here and kept getting beaten up for no reason…” He looked at the spot where the two men had disappeared and continued, “I thought it was someone I’d messed with before trying to teach me a ‘lesson,’ and I was wondering if they’d gone too far this time. I never expected this…”
Actually, I did have this thought, and now I understand why fireflies only sound their alarms so late.
As a fragment of my consciousness, "Firefly" probably shares a stereotype about Chang'an, just like me: that it's normal for him to cause trouble outside, and it's not surprising that he gets dragged out and beaten up. If those two guys hadn't seemed genuinely intent on killing Chang'an, "Firefly" wouldn't have considered it a life-threatening situation for him.
"Think again, besides the cave in the fifteenth-floor room, have you encountered any other strange things recently?" I reminded him.
"Strange things..."
Chang'an sat on the ground, arms crossed, head bowed, deep in thought.
Suddenly, his expression shifted.
I know him too well; as soon as I saw his reaction, I immediately understood what he had connected it to.
“It seems you know what you're doing. Tell me, and I'll help you,” I said.
Hearing this, he looked up at me with a complex expression: "Acheng, if I told you... what would you do?"
I said, puzzled, "Of course I want to help you. That's what I just said."
"Would you kill someone?" he asked in a low voice, "like you would kill those two just now."
“You saw it yourself, they’re not human,” I said.
“But you didn’t know they weren’t human at first,” he pointed out.
"So... what do you mean? Because I can kill people, you won't let me help you?" I had a bad feeling.
Sure enough, Chang'an became stubborn and said, "When you were in danger, didn't you refuse to let me help you? This time... I already have a clue. I can figure out a solution myself."
“How can this be the same thing? Just like you see, I have superpowers, I have ways to fight monsters. Do you have them?” I couldn’t stand idly by. “If you do, then show them to me and convince me. If not…”
However, no matter what I said next, Chang'an wouldn't listen. Once he entered this state, no one could persuade him.
I had no choice but to change my approach for the time being. I walked to the warehouse door and called Zhu Shi.
Zhu Shi has two phone numbers: one for everyday socializing and one for her Demon Hunter identity. She gave me both numbers.
At university, she was the gentle and approachable female student Zhu Shi; but in Luoshan, she was the strong and ruthless demon hunter Zhu Shi. The friends she made in the former knew nothing about the latter.
I don't know if it's just my imagination, but I always feel like Zhu Shi is living a double life, like a masked hero.
I am now dialing the mobile number of "The Witcher Zhu Shi".
After the call connected, a calm voice befitting a demon hunter came from the other end: "Is this Zhuang Cheng? What's the matter?"
If I had dialed "Female Student Zhu Shi's" phone number, I wondered if she would have addressed me as "Senior Brother Zhuang" at the beginning... As this thought crossed my mind, she continued, "Perfect timing, I also have something to discuss with you, it's about the Fallen Demon Hunter..."
"Does she have something going on there too?" Although I was curious, I wanted to prioritize what was happening here: "What I'm about to talk about also concerns the Fallen Witchers, and it even involves Chang'an."
"What?" She was startled at first, then quickly said, "You go first!"
I briefly explained what I had encountered here, and after listening, she immediately said, "Send me your location, I'm coming right now!"
She hung up the phone abruptly. I opened my chat app, sent my location to her in the chat window, and then returned to Chang'an.
Chang'an was still sitting on the ground resting, and it was impossible to tell how well he had recovered, as his face was still bruised and swollen.
He glanced at me, then apologized, "I'm sorry, you came to save me, but I was so rude to you just now..."
I said impatiently, "If you really feel sorry, then tell me all the clues."
"...Speaking of which, you're actually a superhuman? That really surprised me..." He changed the subject, "When did you become a superhuman? Did that cave emit some kind of strange radiation, and you awakened your superpowers after coming into contact with it..."
Seeing that he was changing the subject, I could only sigh and reply, "About four and a half years ago, at the end of my third year of junior high school."
"So early..." He paused, "...Speaking of which, you seemed to have been researching Taoist arts and magic for a while, then suddenly gave up and focused on ghost stories and urban legends...So it wasn't because of failure that you gave up, but because you succeeded..."
How does he know so much about me? I don't think I've ever talked to him about this before.
However, as he said, the reason why "lighting candles with one's eyes" was my last attempt was not because I planned to "never do it again if it doesn't work this time," but because I awakened a superpower.
Actually, I continued to collect and study materials on Taoist arts and magic after that, but only superficially, so I didn't count it as a number of attempts. Rather than continuing to "draw lots," I'd rather study the superpowers I already possess. That's what I think.
"Zhu Shi will be here in a little while. Think carefully about how to explain your current situation to her," I said.
"Zhu Shi?" Chang'an was stunned. "What's she doing here?"
I have no idea what Zhu Shi is planning to do here. According to her previous statements, she concealed her identity as a demon hunter from Chang'an. Is she also planning to come as an ordinary person this time? What can an ordinary person possibly accomplish?
Fortunately, my worries were unnecessary.
Before long, Zhu Shi came into view of me and Chang'an.
Perhaps to show her identity as a demon hunter in front of Chang'an, she specially changed into a brown-black raincoat and bamboo hat, carrying a black and red sheathed longsword, and walked in from the warehouse gate with a dignified posture like an ancient knight-errant.
For a moment, Chang'an seemed unable to recognize that it was his sister. Only when Zhu Shi got closer did he belatedly reveal his utter astonishment.
As if he had a vague premonition, he sat on the ground and tentatively asked, "Little sister, why...why are you dressed like this?"
Zhu Shi did not answer immediately, but carefully examined Chang'an's bruised and swollen face. Then he sighed, took out a white talisman from his bosom, and threw it at Chang'an.
The talisman didn't land directly on Chang'an; instead, it disintegrated and shattered in mid-air, turning into countless shimmering white dust particles. When these white dust particles came into contact with Chang'an's body, the bruises on his face began to fade inexplicably. In just a few seconds, he was completely healed, as if he had never been injured at all.
He touched his face as if in a dream, then looked up at us, his gaze constantly shifting between his friend (me) and his sister (Zhu Shi).
After a long while, he said incredulously, "So... you two are actually superpowered, and I'm the only one who doesn't know anything?"
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com