Chapter 124 The Blessing of the Next Day 1
The person most affected by the battle with the monster maker was probably Zhu Shi, yet she noticed her oversights much faster than either me or Ma Zao. Perhaps it was because her professional awareness as the Luo Shan Impermanence was still in operation; in comparison, Ma Zao and I were actually still complete novices.
After realizing what had happened, she didn't call us over, but instead specifically called Lu Youxun, most likely wanting to handle the aftermath herself. As for whether Lu Youxun, who was called to work overtime late at night, would be exhausted, she probably didn't care at all.
Of course, the on-site investigation and cleanup were originally the duties of the Lu Shan patrol. It would be strange if the Lu Shan patrol hadn't taken action after such a massive incident. Furthermore, there were still some body parts scattered around the scene after the monster creators exploded; those also needed to be recovered.
Lu Youxun himself certainly wouldn't have any complaints, at least not about the work itself. Rather, in his text messages, he was quite disgruntled that we hadn't called him to participate in the operation in the first place. Having finally tracked down the creator of the monster with whom he had a blood feud, yet he couldn't get to the scene immediately—I suspect his true feelings weren't just disgruntled, he might have been wailing and lamenting.
As for the most crucial "clinic," the investigation yielded "no results."
The clinic was completely empty.
It makes perfect sense. The creator of this freakish existence must have known from the beginning that this place would be traced back to him; he couldn't possibly have failed to prepare accordingly. All possible material clues inside the "clinic," as well as the equipment and instruments used to examine the freakish individual, were removed beforehand, leaving us with an empty, desolate room. A "For Rent" sign hanging on the door wouldn't seem out of place at all.
On the bright side, even if none of us had remembered to investigate the "clinic" in time, the outcome probably wouldn't have been much different. It's just that some people clearly can't take it that way. Lu Youxun described the results of his investigation in a calm tone in the text message, yet a deep and profound regret seemed to seep through his words.
I also have some complaints about Lu Youxun. It might be because of him that every opponent I encounter is the type who's hard to kill even with their clone abilities. But if I were to complain to his face, I'd probably hit a nerve.
But is it really impossible for us to get any clues from the "clinic"?
After careful consideration, I came to the conclusion that "no".
Lu Youxun still doesn't know what Asaho's blessing power is, otherwise he would definitely realize that things are not over yet. The monster creator cleared away the clues in the "clinic" in advance—so what? As long as there were "clues" in the "clinic" at all, Asaho's blessing power can trace and uncover them.
After that, let's take Asahi to the "clinic" to investigate.
On my way to a breakfast shop near Saltwater University, I passed an abandoned construction site and couldn't help but stop and look at it.
The unfinished building, split in two, remains here for now. Starting with Detective Kong, the story unfolds with the Undying Monster, the Shadow-Changing Monster, and finally, the Monster Creator... I have experienced many battles, yet I still haven't felt the sense of life-or-death crisis that battles should bring.
According to Zhu Shi, the creator of the monster had reached the "Completion" level of power, a replica of Lu Youxun at his peak. Under the "Completion, Existence, Decay, and Emptiness" demon hunter rating system, he was already hailed as an ultimate powerhouse. However, even a powerhouse who had reached the limit of demon hunters could not pose the slightest threat to me.
Of course, there's a clear difference between the monster creator and the monsters themselves. While I can easily incinerate the monsters to ashes, I need to exert more effort to achieve the same effect against the monster creator. But does this difference really matter?
If even a "witcher at the highest level" isn't enough, then what about a genuine "witcher who surpasses the level of a witcher"?
What about the legendary "Great Impermanence"?
Just then, a familiar female voice rang out from behind.
“This building will be demolished soon,” she said. “Several detectives investigated the area beforehand and confirmed that there were no traces of strange forces inside. However, there seem to be traces of an evil spirit that once existed there.”
I turned around and saw Zhu Shi.
She was still wearing a white women's blouse and a black skirt, with a black guitar case slung over her shoulder. Her expression was quite calm. Not the kind of calm that was deliberately feigned, but rather a very natural, everyday calmness, like the calmness of someone walking down the street and greeting a friend.
I didn't know how to talk to her. After all, we had done that kind of thing last night. Even though the monster creator was our enemy, she had told me I didn't need to apologize, so I couldn't really talk to her as if nothing had happened. The guilt I felt when I killed two shadow clones in front of Chang'an not long ago, and even thought they were real people, was nothing compared to the feeling I had now.
I tried to start a casual conversation: "What are you doing here?"
"Just taking a walk near the school to clear my head, and grabbing breakfast around here." She smiled.
"I see..." I suddenly noticed something strange. "Wait, you said there were evil spirits in that unfinished building?"
“Yes.” She nodded. “However, according to the agents’ on-site investigation, you were likely caught in the crossfire and eliminated during your fight with Agent Kong. Didn’t you notice at the time?”
I shook my head. Were there really evil spirits in that unfinished building? Then why didn't Detective Kong lure them out when he used the Soul-Attracting Talisman? At the time, I was under the influence of the "Ma Zao Broom Star" constitution; surely I wouldn't be repelled by strange things?
After much thought, it seems there's only one possibility. The evil spirit saw me before I first met Asa, specifically, in the short period between my first exploration of the abandoned construction site and my encounter with Asa, and it formed the impression that I must stay away from me.
Detective Kong had said that the spirits lurking in the abandoned construction site were likely low-level evil spirits driven only by instinct. Intelligent creatures would unconsciously ignore and avoid people like me, while those acting purely on instinct would notice me, yet instinctively distance themselves. Therefore, even when Detective Kong and I returned later, it didn't reveal itself. Because it remembered me.
As we chatted, we went to a nearby breakfast shop together, ordered two servings of xiaolongbao (soup dumplings), and then sat down in a corner of the shop.
I'm considering whether I should tell Zhu Shi some of the truth.
Witnessing the gray mist within the consciousness network of the freak, the speculation that Ying Lingyun might possess a fragment of the divine seal, the doubts about Ying Lingyun's life or death... As Zhu Shi's friend, I feel obligated to speak out about these things.
In the process, I could not avoid revealing that I also possessed fragments of the Divine Seal.
Admittedly, in the past I felt that telling Zhu Shi about possessing the fragment of the Divine Seal would greatly impact my situation, so I thought I should carefully consider the timing of revealing the truth. As for whether now is the most appropriate time, I still find it hard to judge. However, last night's experience has undoubtedly placed a heavy weight on one side of the scales in my heart. And ultimately, I'm not particularly concerned about whether my situation will become dangerous.
More than the matter itself, I care about how I should face my friends and how I should face myself when thinking about such things. I always hope to make decisions I won't regret, but now I think the consequences of concealing the truth are more unbearable than the potential consequences of telling the truth.
The only thing that makes me hesitant is whether, assuming Ying Lingyun is really dead, my irresponsible speculation that "your father might not be dead" might give Zhu Shi unrealistic expectations.
"Are you still bothered by what happened last night?" Zhu Shi asked without changing his expression.
After thinking about it, I replied, "There's no way I can not care."
"That's true."
She picked up a xiaolongbao with her chopsticks, but didn't eat it immediately. Instead, she stared at it for a moment and muttered to herself, "Why did he join the Humanitarian Affairs Department..."
“Isn’t your mother suffering from amnesia? Maybe she’s looking for a cure.” I tried to make a well-intentioned guess, but then wondered if I lacked the right stance to express that opinion.
“You don’t need to try to make me happy.” She laughed again. “Besides, how could he possibly do anything for Mom? It’s impossible. He doesn’t love Mom at all. No, I even doubt if he remembers that Mom ever existed.”
"So heartless?" I asked.
“My mother has been in a vegetative state for two years, and he hasn’t visited her even once during that time,” she said. “Not only that, he rarely even came home in the past. I’ve hardly ever seen him growing up. When I do see him with my mother, they don’t seem like a couple. He’s more like an outsider who comes back for a visit. This isn’t just my prejudice; he probably sees himself that way too.”
"You hate him?" I asked.
"I hate him... but it's not that bad. Would you specifically hate a stranger?" she said after thinking for a moment. "If I had to say, I would hate him. You see, my brother is his illegitimate son, and he's only a year older than me, isn't he? To be precise, he's about ten months older than me."
"In other words, around the time my mother became pregnant with me, my brother was born from another woman's womb. I have no problem with my brother, but Dad... he actually cheated on his wife with other women and had an illegitimate child at that time... I can't possibly have a good impression of that kind of father."
“Although you said ‘other women,’ I remember your father’s mistresses weren’t even human,” I said.
“Yes, that would be even worse, adding to the crime!” she said rudely.
(End of this chapter)
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