Chapter 171 Illusion

In the dim collection room, Qin Jiawang looked at him with his dusky eyes. His hoarse voice, which was originally filled with fear, now became calm and indifferent. "When did you find out?"

“At first sight.”

“…”

"Qin Jiawang" stopped talking. His whole body melted away like an ink painting that came into contact with water, revealing his original appearance. He was a young woman who looked to be in her early twenties, with delicate features. She was the same woman who had given Qin Jiawang a painting in the hall before. The only difference was that her eyes, which were as calm as dead water, had turned amber from the usual black.

Looks exactly like Jiang Wu.

Han Zhong tightened his grip on the gun, and glanced at the window with broken glass on the ground. The real Qin Jiawang was sitting on a chair against the wall, looking at him with horror, but for some reason he couldn't speak.

There was no Black Crow in the room at all. If he had fired just now, the only person he would have hit would have been Qin Jiawang.

"It's easy to kill him with your ability. There's no need to use my help."

"He must die by your hands."

"Why?"

"This is the only way you can be abandoned by the Han family."

Han Zhong's heart suddenly shook, and countless guesses flashed through his mind in an instant, and all the things were connected together, "...the fire ten years ago was also because of this."

"Yes." The girl looked at him expressionlessly, "Also for testing."

Han Zhong was about to ask what the test was about when he suddenly noticed that her amber eyes were gradually covered by black, and even the whites of her eyes turned pure black. He felt a chill in his heart and pulled the trigger without hesitation.

"Bang!"

Gunshots rang out, deafening. Bullets carrying gunpowder smoke brushed past Jiang Mi's hair and shot into the wall behind him.

On the verge of life and death, the girl named Jiang Mi did not even blink, and her pair of dark eyes looked at him like the abyss, quiet and empty.

Han Zhong said, "If you move again, the next bullet will penetrate your skull."

However, the girl seemed not to hear his threat. She raised her hand to her waist and said, "Spells really don't work on you."

Han Zhong watched her take out a dagger from her waist and hold it horizontally in her palm without hesitation. He raised his gun and shot. This time there was no deviation and the bullet went straight towards the girl's forehead.

Just as the girl was about to be shot and fall to the ground, a strange scene happened.

The bullet that was flying at high speed actually slowed down in mid-air, and finally stopped silently in front of Jiang Mi's forehead, gently brushing a strand of her hair in front of her forehead, revealing her dead amber eyes.

At this moment, the girl in front of him and Jiang Wu, who was sixty-six years old in the painting, inexplicably overlapped.

The bullet hit the ground with a crisp sound. The girl had already stabbed at him with a dagger. Han Zhong turned the gun around and used the metal body of the gun to block the knife. The opponent obviously did not expect him to think of this move. She sank her wrist and slashed at his wrist with the blade.

Han Zhong did not try to dodge, but instead kicked the girl in the abdomen. The girl could only turn sideways to avoid the kick. Han Zhong took the opportunity to clamp her wrist and twist it hard, trying to take the knife. However, the girl did not let go of the dagger because of the pain. Instead, she stabbed at Han Zhong's left hand that had taken the knife.

"Ding-a-ling——"

The cold blade pierced into the skin, and the red rope on the wrist got stuck in the peace buckle. A crack appeared on the translucent jade buckle, and the nine-layer copper bell hanging under the red rope suddenly made a crisp sound.

The clear ringing sound echoed in the dark and empty room, and the two people who were fighting moved at the same time.

The girl looked at the red rope on his wrist, and her eyes, as dead as water, finally showed a trace of imperceptible ripples. She raised her eyes to look at Han Zhong's heart, then suddenly pulled back the dagger and stabbed it into his heart.

Just as the blade was about to pierce Han Zhong's heart, a golden-red light wrapped in a powerful spiritual force suddenly appeared, throwing the dagger and the girl onto the wall.

“Hmm!”

The girl slid down the wall with a groan and spat out a mouthful of blood.

She raised her hand to wipe the blood from the corner of her mouth, only to find that her wrist bone was raised high, obviously dislocated. She calmly pressed the wrist bone back into place, then looked up at Han Zhong in front of her, or rather, at the two words floating on Han Zhong's chest, with lines as complex as flowers and birds, emitting powerful golden-red spiritual power.

"Jiang... Wu..."

She slowly pronounced the two words, and her amber eyes seemed to be tinged with a hint of warmth by the golden-red light.

Han Zhong was surprised by the sudden appearance of two strange patterns in his body. After hearing her voice, he suddenly remembered that Jiang Wu once told him that he had left a soul mark on him. He thought it was something invisible and intangible, but he didn't expect it to be his name.

He reached out and touched his heart. His heart was beating violently through his chest. There was nothing unusual, but he seemed to be able to feel a familiar feeling, like the sense of satisfaction that Jiang Wu usually felt when he was by his side.

He raised the corner of his mouth, picked up the gun and shot the girl's left leg. Blood splattered on the white leg, which soon turned bright red.

The girl's pretty face twitched violently, but still no sound came out. It was obvious that it was not that she didn't feel the pain, but that she could just bear it more.

Han Zhong was not surprised. If the opponent was strong enough, he could have stopped the bullet the moment he fired. Or he could have been more ruthless and let the bullet explode, killing one of his hands directly, instead of waiting until the bullet got to him to stop it. The only explanation was that her ability did not allow it.

Now that she was injured, she could no longer control the speed of the bullet.

"Your purpose."

“…”

The girl was covered in blood, sitting against the wall, looking up at him with her head slightly tilted, without saying a word. Her amber eyes were clear and pure. Han Zhong looked into those familiar eyes and asked again, "You recognize those two words on my body, but do you know the owner of this name?"

The girl still didn't say anything, just looked at him quietly, like a beautiful rag doll that had lost its soul.

Han Zhong was helpless and reached out to knock on the mini Bluetooth headset next to his ear, intending to ask Rong Anzhou to come over to help, but there was no response from the other end. He knocked a few more times and even pressed the emergency call button on it, but still no response.

This is the latest Bluetooth headset developed by Huayue's R&D department. It is directly connected to the artificial satellite launched by South Korea. As long as the other party is still on this earth, there will be no signal, unless the chip is destroyed.

His heart suddenly sank, and he stared at the mysterious girl in front of him, "Where is the other person who came with me?"

"He's too much of a nuisance. He's already trapped. He's been looking for you for a long time. You can't let anyone get in the way."

he?

Han Zhong immediately asked, "Who is he?"

The girl stopped talking again.

Han Zhong frowned and stared at her for a while, then changed the question, "Before in the corridor, you said you knew what happened to Jiang Hegui that year. What did you mean?"

This time the girl did not remain silent, "That was a lie, I didn't know."

Han Zhong was silent for a moment, and once again felt that this unreasonable yet calm attitude was exactly the same as that of a certain little fool.

He scanned the girl's increasingly pale face and the bleeding gunshot wound on her calf, tore off the tie from her neck with one hand and threw it in front of the girl, "Bandage it yourself."

The girl looked up at him, not seeming to understand why he did this.

Han Zhong met those familiar amber eyes, pursed his lips, and said, "You look a lot like a friend of mine."

"The one who left a spiritual mark on your heart?"

"Um."

"You are friends."

“I guess so.”

Han Zhong said this, but he didn't know if Jiang Wu would forget about him when he realized that he couldn't give him the secret of ascension.

The girl looked at the self-mockery that flashed across his eyes and slowly said, "Friends don't leave soul marks, nor do they leave names."

Han Zhong was startled. Just as he was about to ask her what she meant, he saw her pointing at the golden bracelet on his left hand. A clear voice echoed in the dark room, "The reincarnation knot is for the lover."

“…”

The room was silent for a moment. Han Zhong's voice was hard due to the tightness in his throat. "My love?"

Love, is that what he understood?

He knew it was impossible and he shouldn't believe the words of a girl of unknown origin, but he couldn't help but feel great joy in his heart, and at the same time, he had despicable thoughts that he couldn't express.

He hoped that Jiang Wuneng would like him and even be willing to give up his ascension for him.

Yan Zhong had spent eighty years trying to accomplish something he had not been able to do, but he actually wanted to accomplish it. But who knew if he would succeed? Who knew if Jiang Wu would one day in the future, when he looked up and saw his destiny star, he would remember that he had met someone like him?

"Yes, I will think of you."

A familiar voice suddenly sounded from behind him without warning. Han Zhong's breathing stagnated and he turned around subconsciously, "Jiang——"

“Puff——”

The sound of the dagger piercing flesh suddenly broke the silence in the dark room. Han Zhong slowly lowered his head and looked down, only to see a sharp blade on his chest. Blood was flowing out from the blood trough, dripping onto the ground, and the white shirt on his chest was gradually stained scarlet.

The belated pain finally spread throughout his body. He swayed and fell forward. The yellowed painting on the wall was torn down and fell to the ground with a thud. Blood dripped onto the painting, staining the corners of the person's clothes red.

Han Zhong looked down at Jiang Wu in the painting and suddenly realized that the place he looked up at was not empty, but because it was too long ago, the yellowed spots covered it.

It was a vast starry sky, and he looked up at the brightest star among them.

[I like palaces where I can see the stars]

He stared blankly at the person in the painting, his lips trembling slightly, and finally with great difficulty, he pulled up a little arc, and transparent tears slid down his cheeks onto the painting. All those despicable thoughts disappeared, leaving only the inextinguishable heartache and sadness.

"Little fool..."

Have you been alone on the Star Picking Tower looking at the stars for more than a hundred years, waiting for the day when they will light up again?