Chapter 347 Epilogue (I)
It was 1:50 a.m. on August 15th. It was already late at night, and the Osaka bookstore was brightly lit.
Xizel lowered his head and sat blankly in the chair, his snow-white hair covering his eyes.
"Mr. Black Pupa... is he really dead?" After a long silence, he asked softly.
But the bookstore was still dead silent, and no one responded to his question.
At this time, there were three figures sitting on the ground with their backs against the yellowed wall.
Gu Zhuoan lowered his head, placed his only remaining left hand on his bent knee, and his face was shrouded in a gloomy shadow;
Lin Yilong closed his eyes and rested with no expression on his face. Gu Qiye leaned the back of his head against the wall, his eyes empty, staring at the ceiling in a daze.
The combat uniforms of the three men were mostly in tatters, revealing long, dark blue and blood-red wounds, and some fragments had penetrated into their skin, tearing the blurred flesh.
Large amounts of blood flowed from their bodies, staining the walls and floor red.
Fortunately, at this moment, the phoenix was hovering above their heads, slowly flapping its wings, and feathers wrapped in healing fire fell down one by one.
The ochre-red flame feathers were as cold as snowflakes, falling silently on everyone's wounds.
First, the empty broken wound on Gu Zhuoan's shoulder. With the help of the Phoenix Fire, his broken right arm slowly grew out. Then came Gu Qiye's legs and hands, which were almost bony. Warm flesh and blood covered the white bones.
Finally it was Lin Yilong's shoulder blade's turn.
Because he was the least injured, only the pair of wings that were retracted into his body and the bones on his back were severely damaged. In contrast, the appearance of the two people next to him was quite exaggerated, like evil spirits that had just crawled out of a sulfur spring.
Fortunately, the three people's injuries were healing visibly at this time. After a while, their wounds were completely healed.
Brand new skin grew out and covered the gap.
Everyone seemed to be reborn and looked as if they had never been injured, which was completely different from the horrific scene of several bloody people sitting side by side just now.
If a passerby had accidentally walked in before, he might have thought that they were filming a horror movie and that he had accidentally entered a horror movie set.
Silently, César reached out his hand, and the completed phoenix folded its wings and landed on the back of his hand. He raised his other hand and gently teased the bird's chin with his fingers.
A palm-sized shark popped its head out of César's shirt pocket, observing the expressions of several people curiously, and finally looked at Su Wei.
Su Wei was silent.
He sat behind the counter of the bookstore, with his head lowered, quietly wiping his lenses with a glasses cloth. When he lowered his eyes, his eye sockets were deep and wrinkles appeared at the corners of his eyes, revealing a rare bit of old age.
It was clear that the Gu family had avenged Su Ying, Lin Yilong had captured the head of a general of the Salvation Society, and Xizel had wiped out the entire Light-Eating Bee clan as he wished, but everyone's mood did not seem as bright as imagined.
So, Yagubaru had to be kind enough to stick his head out of his pocket and adjust the atmosphere himself.
"I say, what are you guys making such a fuss about?" It waved its fins, pointing at everyone and saying disdainfully, "If a bad thing like that flutter moth dies, it's dead. What's so sad about it?!"
"Shut up or get out of my bookstore." Su Wei said in a deep voice.
"Shut up... Don't let me hear you talk again, understand?" Gu Zhuoan said hoarsely.
"Be quiet, Yagubaru," Cesar also said.
"Okay, okay, you bad guys are bullying Shark, so Shark, shut up." The little shark said aggrievedly and retracted his head into César's shirt pocket.
It stopped talking, and then silence fell among the group again.
"father in law……"
After a moment, Gu Zhuoan suddenly spoke.
"What's wrong?"
Su Wei responded nonchalantly while wiping the lenses that had already been cleaned.
Gu Zhuoan stared at the floor and asked in a hoarse voice, "Who exactly is that Black Pupa guy? Judging from his previous reaction, you should know his identity, right?"
Hearing these words, Gu Qiye came back to his senses and looked away from the ceiling. A glimmer of light appeared in his empty eyes.
Lin Yilong also opened his eyes, raised his head, and stared motionlessly at the old man behind the counter.
The three people in the bookstore were waiting for Su Wei's answer, but Xizel didn't care at all.
In Xizel's eyes, Mr. Black Pupa was Mr. Black Pupa, no matter who was behind his mask. He only knew that Mr. Black Pupa was a very good person, and if it weren't for him, he would have died in the small garden long ago.
Su Wei was silent for a long time, then lowered his voice and murmured:
"I'm... tired, really, a little tired."
"Father-in-law, who exactly is he..." Gu Zhuoan was interrupted by Su Wei before he could even ask.
"It turns out that people should accept their age. They have to accept it." After saying that, Su Wei slowly took off his glasses, put them back into the glasses case, then stood up from the chair with his hands behind his back and walked towards the second floor of the bookstore.
He walked unsteadily, like an old man with a bent back.
Su Wei's footsteps only stopped after he walked into the shadow of the stairs.
A hoarse voice came from the shadows, and he slowly warned the two of them, "Zhuo An, Qi Ye, the two of you should find a way to return to China. Don't stay in the bookstore for too long."
"Father-in-law, you haven't answered my question yet," Gu Zhuoan whispered, "Who is Black Pupa?"
Su Wei still said nothing about it.
He simply spoke to himself, "The people from the Exorcist Association know I'm in this bookstore. Once Hong Yi and the Association connect through the intelligence chain, they'll soon know I'm the exorcist who appeared on the island, and then they'll come looking for me in the bookstore."
Su Wei paused and said, "So, while there's still time, you should leave here quickly."
"What about you, grandpa?" After a long silence, Gu Qinye finally spoke.
"I'll come back to China in a few days to find you. You can find me by contacting the girl who contracted the train demon. Her name is 'Ke Qirui'."
"I see."
Gu Qiye nodded. He had Ke Qirui’s contact information in his mobile phone.
The situation was special when Ke Qirui appeared on the uninhabited island. Although the people of Hongyi witnessed her appearing on the uninhabited island, there was no substantial evidence in the final analysis.
Besides, Ke Qirui is protected by Hu Lie. If Hongyi's people want to go there without evidence, they will definitely be turned away by Hu Lie.
So under the current circumstances, they can only be safe by going to Lake Hunting.
Ke Qirui has a close relationship with the people from Lake Hunter, and he also knows that several of them are fighting against the Salvation Society. He will most likely take them in and help them avoid Hongyi's investigation.
"Then you guys take care of yourself. I'm leaving." Su Wei said in a low voice.
"Grandpa, aren't you going with us?" Gu Qiye suddenly asked.
"No... I want to be alone first, don't disturb me."
After saying that, Su Wei's voice faded away in the shadows and disappeared at the end of the stairs.
Su Wei left. A familiar silence enveloped the bookstore again.
"Mr. Lan Hu, Mr. Gui Zhong, Mr. Mu Long, I'll let Yagubaru give you a ride." Xi Zeer whispered, "We will leave now and return to China immediately."
"I will go back by myself, you don't need to worry about me." Lin Yilong said expressionlessly.
"What about you?" Xizel looked at Gu Zhuoan and Gu Qinye.
Gu Qinye lowered his head and was silent for a moment, then turned to meet Xizel's gaze.
"Your name is Cesar, right?"
"Um."
"Thank you for your kindness, but my sister's people said she would take us back to China."
"Okay, I understand." Xizel said, getting up from the floor, "Then I'll be leaving first. Goodbye."
After saying that, he patted the dust off his pants, then walked towards the exit of the bookstore and entered the quiet street. He could vaguely hear the faint chirping of cicadas coming from the trees.
"Dad, don't think about it, let's go too."
Gu Qinye spoke softly, raised his hand, hesitated for a moment, and then gently patted Gu Zhuoan's shoulder.
Gu Zhuoan nodded silently.
It was time to leave the bookstore, but he still couldn't understand why Su Wei was unwilling to tell them who the black pupa was.
"Does my father-in-law intend to let Black Bug die in obscurity?" he thought.
Gu Qinye stood up silently and took a look at the text message received on his mobile phone.
Ke Qirui: Is it over? Come to the abandoned train station in Osaka, and I'll take you back home.
He didn't reply, but just switched to another text message interface.
[Su Zimai: Bro, I've sent you the address of the Osaka train station. Hurry and bring them over!]
【Gu Qiye: Yes, I'll be right there.】
After seeing his sister's text message, Gu Qiye felt a lot more relaxed.
After Gu Qiye sent the message, he looked away from his phone and turned to look at Lin Yilong, "What about you, Mu Long, do you want to go with us?"
"Don't be so pretentious. You have no right to talk to me." Lin Yilong said in a deep voice, "Once the matter with the Salvation Society is over, we will have to settle our accounts."
After saying this, he stretched out his right hand, picked up the blood-stained knight's helmet, and put it on his head.
Mu Taki slowly stood up from the wall, dragged his tattered cloak and walked out of the bookstore slowly, disappearing into the shadows of the street. Gu Qinye stood by the wall, tilted his head, and silently watched him leave.
The building is deserted.
In the end, there were only two people left in the bookstore.
After a moment, Gu Qinye withdrew his gaze from the dim street and turned to look at Gu Zhuoan who was sitting dejectedly on the ground.
"Dad, Xiaomai is still waiting for us at the station."
"Well, let's go home."
Half an hour later, inside an abandoned train station in Osaka, Japan, Platform 7.
The sound of dripping water from the old tracks never ceased, and large patches of moss crawled on the yellowed pillars. In the moonlight, it looked like the devil's claws were spreading towards the sky.
Gu Zhuoan and Gu Qiye, carrying their suitcases, stood on the platform, silently waiting for Ke Qirui's arrival.
The former found a pillar to stand on, smoking with his head down; the latter sat on an old public bench, opened the address directory on his mobile phone, and found the contact information of "Black Pupa".
After hesitating for a moment, Gu Qinye raised his hand, typed on the screen, and clicked send.
Then he stared at the screen in a daze, as if expecting the other party to reply to his message as quickly as before.
He thought, even if a text message suddenly popped up on the screen saying "This is just a joke, I'm actually alive and well, Mr. Blue Arc", it would be fine. However, he was in a daze for a long time and the phone interface was still empty.
There is only the text message that I sent hanging on it.
【Gu Qiye: Are you okay? 】
At this moment, the train demon was rumbling out from the inside of the tunnel, its headlights cutting through the night sky, illuminating the mottled rails, and then stopped on the track.
Gu Qiye looked up from his phone and looked at the brightly lit train.
The carriage door opened from the inside, and a step extended downwards and landed on the platform.
Su Zimai stepped on the pedals and rushed out of the car quickly, his body as light as a rabbit.
She put her hands on the car door and stuck her head out. She first looked up at Gu Qinye, then turned her head to look at Gu Zhuoan, and finally breathed a sigh of relief.
In the dead silence, she slowly lowered her head, and her eyes suddenly turned red.
Gu Qinye raised the corner of his mouth at her and smiled gently.
"Xiaomi, let's go back..." Before Gu Qinye could finish his words, Su Zimai suddenly hugged the two of them and put their heads together.
Gu Zhuoan and Gu Qinye were both stunned.
After a while, Gu Zhuoan belatedly and awkwardly hugged his daughter.
Gu Qiye raised his hand, gently touched the top of Su Zimai's head, and then, leaning against her head, he finished what he had not finished saying:
"Xiaomi, we are back."
"Dad, brother... I'm glad you're okay. I was really worried to death." She said softly, her voice a little hoarse.
Su Zimai sniffed and continued babble, his voice tearing, "I made a bet with my master that you guys can definitely take down those bad guys from Hongyi. Oh no... the Salvation Society. Oh, and where's my brother? Why can't I see him?"
After saying that, she suddenly let go of the two of them, raised her head, turned her head and looked around, not knowing who she was looking for.
Gu Zhuoan and Gu Qinye looked at her with a mixture of amusement and surprise.
Before the two people at the station could speak, Su Zimai looked up at them and asked suspiciously:
"I'm asking you guys, where's your brother?"
"What brother?" Gu Qinye was stunned.
"Oh, I see. He must be hiding it." Su Zimai sighed and acted like a famous detective. "I knew he liked it that way. He always suddenly reveals it and scares people. He's a master of bad taste."
"What are you talking about? Where is your brother hiding?"
Gu Qiye raised his hand and gently touched her hair, then lowered his head and looked into her eyes with a sense of amusement, "My dear sister, am I not right in front of you?"
"Come on, I'm not talking about you, I'm talking about that other guy." Su Zimai raised his head and glared at him. "Tell me, is he trying to scare me again? And you're still cooperating with him?"
Gu Qinye was stunned.
It took him a long time to slowly realize what Su Zimai was saying.
"Wenyu?" He murmured, then slowly raised his head to look at Su Zimai and asked in a strange tone, "Hasn't he... stayed at home all the time?"
(End of this chapter)
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