Chapter 70 The Fungal Remains Frenzy 31 He was a doctor.
Every day, crows went to the furnace base to scout out the situation. The people fled the mother tree faster than Nanmenjue had expected. After three days, they had almost all left.
Nanmen Jue pulled out two deck chairs and placed them on the rooftop, facing the place where the two corpses were buried. He and Zhang Zhi each took one and lay down to watch the flowers sway in the wind.
The other three also stayed, because they knew that Nanmen Jue cared about Hong Chenxi, and they didn't dare to make too much of a mess on the rooftop. However, after living there for two or three days, there were still some traces of life left.
Nanmen Jue lay on a recliner, squinting as he watched the clouds drift by in the sky.
These past few days have been very peaceful, or rather, too peaceful. If it weren't for Guan Junren's missing arm, she might even have the illusion that she had returned to reality.
But this wasn't reality after all. She turned her head to look at the two people playing some kind of game at the small table, and watched them for a while.
Her gaze was so intense that the two men clearly reacted, but because they didn't know what Nanmen Jue was up to, they pretended to be nonchalant.
Nanmen Jue chuckled, then suddenly said, "If we don't go back now, we'll fall behind Deng Erhuai and the others."
The conversation on the other end stopped, and Mo Gui said, "Brother Jue, haven't you given up on kicking us out yet?"
Nanmen Jue acted as if he hadn't heard him, saying, "If the distance is too far, even if they wait for you, they might encounter danger on their way there."
Mo Gui's smile froze. He turned to look at Guan Junren, who was also tense, and stiffly cleared his throat. "Brother Jue, what are you talking about? No one is waiting for us."
Nanmen Jue glanced at him sideways, and Mo Gui's expression grew increasingly guilty. When he looked back, Guan Junren's face was deathly pale.
"Why is your face so pale? Are you constipated?" Mo Gui nudged him with his elbow. "Be normal!"
Guan Junren swallowed hard. "Um, I really can't lie..."
"You! I told you I could come by myself, but you insisted on coming along because you said you had something to say to Brother Jue. And you were the first one to mess things up!" Mo Gui jumped up. "You were definitely the one who gave yourself away first!"
Guan Junren waved his hand innocently, "Do you think your acting skills are that good? You only asked one question, and you seem ready to tell me everything."
"This is a strategy! A strategy!"
Jin Jian was completely baffled as to why they had suddenly started arguing, so he remained silent.
"Alright," Nanmen Jue said, "Stop acting."
The two people, who had been arguing heatedly, awkwardly stopped.
The two of them awkwardly pushed and shoved each other, trying to hide behind each other as they approached Nanmen Jue.
Nanmen Jue was amused by the two of them. "What are you doing? Even if you lied to me, I'm not going to eat you."
“This was all Mo Gui’s idea,” Guan Junren said preemptively. “I just responded.”
Mo Gui stared in disbelief at Guan Junren, then jumped up and climbed on him, yelling, "You old Guan! This isn't the time for you to shamelessly follow me! You're betraying your brother when things go wrong, huh? I'll break your other arm too!"
Guan Junren staggered and was about to fall on Nanmen Jue when Jin Jian couldn't stand it and stepped forward to grab them both, one in each hand, and made them stand up.
Guan Junren looked innocent, while Mo Gui glared at him angrily.
“This was really Mo Gui’s idea.” Guan Junren ignored Mo Gui and said to Nanmen Jue, “He said you’re soft-hearted and that if you let us two old, weak, sick and disabled people come here, you might take us in. That way, if anything happens, we can send a message to Sister Deng and the others, and they can help us.”
"Is that really the case?" Nanmen Jue said.
"I swear, may I be struck by lightning if I tell a single lie!" Mo Gui raised one hand, looking anxious. "Brother Jue, it's not that we want to cling to you, we're just really worried. It was indeed my idea, but they all agreed to it! I can't be the only one to take the blame. If we're going to fight, let's fight Lao Guan too!"
He closed his eyes, looking like he was bravely going to his death. Guan Junren, on the other hand, was looking at Nanmen Jue. He was better at reading people than Mo Gui and could tell that Nanmen Jue wasn't angry at all.
Nanmen Jue was simply stroking the crow in his arms.
Staring at the crow, Guan Junren understood what was going on. He smiled wryly, "I didn't know your crow was so powerful, able to gather information from such a distance."
Nanmen Jue knew about their scheme because Xiao Nuo saw Deng Erhuai and his group still there when she went to inspect the Furnace Base. She overheard their conversation, and thus the seemingly flawless plan was exposed.
Mo Gui opened his eyes, staring in astonishment at the tiny crow, speechless with disbelief.
Seeing his comical expression, Nanmen Jue couldn't help but laugh.
Her smile dispelled her tense demeanor. Mo Gui gritted her teeth and glared at Guan Junren again before running over to Nanmen Jue, squatting down beside her knees, looking up at her with her almond-shaped eyes blinking.
"Brother Jue, we didn't mean to harm you."
“If that’s what you meant, you’d already become fertilizer,” Nanmen Jue said softly.
The three of them felt a chill run down their spines, and couldn't help but glance back at the flowers swaying in the wind. They had a feeling that they were blooming even more beautifully than they had a few days ago...
"They're still waiting for you, aren't they?" Nanmen Jue's voice drew their attention back. "Go back. Ordinary dangers can't threaten me, and even if they could, your presence wouldn't help."
Mo Gui frowned in annoyance. "That makes sense, but you can't act like that, Jue-ge. You've risked your life to save us so many times. If you knew what you would face and did nothing, I would despise myself."
Nanmen Jue looked up at Guan Junren and asked, "What do you want to say to me?"
Guan Junren was slightly taken aback. He swallowed nervously and stood up straight, like a new recruit being inspected by his superior.
“Nanmen, I… I can guarantee that I have never killed anyone on purpose, not anyone.” He glanced at Zhang Zhi, who was sitting quietly in the back and probably couldn’t hear them, and lowered his voice, “Before, I did think like everyone else that these worlds were fake, but ever since you said that, I’ve been carefully trying to feel them, and now I think maybe you’re right.”
Nanmen Jue looked up in surprise.
Seeing her reaction, Guan Junren felt a surge of courage. His voice was soft, but his tone was even more firm, "I also believe they are real people, not just because I believe you, but also because I believe my own feelings."
Nanmen Jue asked instinctively, "How do you feel?"
"I'm a doctor!" Guan Junren raised his head and looked directly at Nanmen Jue. This was probably the most honest and courageous he had ever been since he met Nanmen Jue. He spoke of his profession with pride, carrying a brilliance completely different from his usual weakness, just like when he confidently guessed Nanmen Jue's age in the car. "In the emergency department, I've come into contact with so many people, the injured, the sick, the healthy. I'm very sensitive to their auras. Actually, when I first entered the world of reincarnation, I doubted that all of this was real, but everyone told me it wasn't. Now you say they are real, then I believe you."
Nanmen Jue looked at him with an unprecedentedly soft gaze.
The young man, who had said he believed her from the beginning and kept asking her for an answer, ultimately did not disappoint her.
He is a doctor.
Nanmen Jue thought of his parents and sister. When they talked about their professions, they had the same expression as Guan Junren: proud, determined, confident, and composed. They had shouldered the responsibilities that came with being a doctor and were worthy of the title.
After saying this, Guan Junren's rare courage quickly vanished. When he met Nanmen Jue's gentle gaze, he looked away as if he had been burned, his entire face and neck, including his collarbone, turning bright red.
Mo Gui whispered, "Old Guan, you look like a perfectly cooked prawn."
Guan Junren: "..." Suddenly I really want to stab this guy to death.
His expression changed from awkward to displeased.
Mo Gui said, "Brother Jue, I'm a bit slow on the uptake. Whether this world is really like this or not, I've always been indifferent. Since you say it's true, then I'll believe you. So, how could I believe others but not you?"
Compared to Guan Junren, his reasons were much more casual, and Nanmen Jue didn't care. She wouldn't force the approval of a minor high school student to give herself any comfort.
Guan Junren's plea did bring her some comfort. She had a knot in her heart about Guan Junren, and she was stubbornly unwilling to explain. Now he had personally untied that knot.
Nanmen Jue lowered his head and smiled.
“Go back,” she said.
Guan Junren and Mo Gui's expressions were both frozen.
Mo Gui: "No, Brother Jue, are you still trying to get rid of us? These are the truth, we really didn't lie to you!"
“It’s precisely because you trust me that you can’t follow me.” Nanmen Jue raised his hand to stop them from saying what they were about to say, but his tone was not commanding. “I’m not a cold-blooded killer without feelings. Do you want me to just watch you get hurt, like I watched Hong Chenxi get hurt? Don’t be so cruel to me.”
Both of them fell silent, and Jin Jian's face showed a hint of emotion.
It was so unexpected for Nanmen Jue to say such words, especially for those who were truly sincere to her. Sincerity had been reciprocated, and Mo Gui and Guan Junren even felt an urge to cry.
It wasn't just touching, but also a sudden pang of heartache.
It turns out that Nanmen Jue was in so much pain from the departure of those around her; she was begging them not to be so cruel.
All the words I had prepared beforehand lost their meaning at this moment. There was no need to say more; no amount of words could compare to the weight of this sentence.
How could they bear to do that?
Nanmen Jue calmly looked away, and only the crow could sense that her fingers, nestled in its thick feathers, were trembling slightly.
Nanmen Jue's emotions are far from as calm as they appear on the surface.
"Go back." She repeated the words softly and stood up.
"Brother Jue..." Mo Gui didn't know what to say, and just stammered out a name.
"We'll meet again," Nanmen Jue said gently.
Suddenly, her gaze changed, and she quickly pulled Mo Gui, who was standing in front of her, behind her. The scalpel slid between her fingers, and her eyes, like those of a hawk, stared straight at the building opposite.
"Zhang Zhi!" she called out, "Come here."
Everyone was stunned by this sudden accident. Nanmen Jue squinted and looked into the distance. A figure was standing on the rooftop five buildings away. She could vaguely see that the person was wearing a long cloak and was looking at them.
Nanmen Jue drew his gun in that direction and fired a shot into the sky.
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