Chapter 44: Eve

“Pfft!”

Almost instantly, Xia Yin nearly spat his soy milk in Old Gu’s face, swallowing it just in time with a sound akin to retching.

“…”

He didn’t speak, fixing Xueqiu with his dead-fish eyes. She felt something new in his gaze—a sigh at her uselessness, or perhaps, “Didn’t I tell you to just do what I said?”

“That settles it then. Newbie or not, with us A-ranks covering, you think ghosts will gobble up tender students like you?” Old Gu stood, clearly someone who lingered over breakfast. A small mountain of eggshells had quietly piled up.

Ou Ziyun and Su Xi left their seats. Su Xi whispered something to Xia Yin before going, but Xueqiu caught none of it.

Did I make the wrong choice? Xueqiu doubted her decision.

As Xia Yin said, staying behind wouldn’t cost her anything. Her Contract was ‘Mirror Demon,’ currently mimicking ‘Hakutaku.’

But even with ‘Hakutaku,’ she’d had little professional training. From auditing classes, she knew Youdu wasn’t a park anyone could stroll through.

“Ahem, ahem…” Xia Yin coughed, still recovering from his earlier choke.

“Sorry, Senior,” Xueqiu said, breaking their brief silence with an apology, though she hadn’t figured out what to say.

Since forever, she’d struggled with decisions—whether to run for class rep, join the school sports meet, or sign up for competitions.

More often, she followed others, like during that not-so-distant physics competition with Jiang Cheng and Su Qingyuan.

Now, she and they were like people from different worlds.

Her indecision, to put it harshly, remained even as a girl, always led by Xia Yin.

If he one day said, “I need a girlfriend, so be mine,” she might not find a reason to refuse quickly.

But this time, she hadn’t followed his advice.

“Want to get stronger? Nod if yes, shake if no. If you do neither, I’ll assume yes,” Xia Yin said dryly.

His tone was flat, partly from his empty soy milk cup, chewing a bun while side-eyeing her.

Xueqiu paused, instinctively wanting to shake her head but nodding slightly.

It was true, though unspoken—she didn’t want to stay this way.

She was leagues stronger than when she enrolled, in stamina, habits, even picking up some fighting skills from Xia Yin.

But Xueqiu was still Xueqiu. Xia Yin could play mentor, but turning an ordinary person who’d just glimpsed the world’s dark side into a cold-blooded ghost slayer in months was tough.

“I figured you’d say that. This isn’t exactly high-risk, but… I just feel accidents happen,” Xia Yin said.

“Like in urban fantasy novels—first mission with a newbie, the big boss shows up, the senior goes ‘snap’ and dies, and the newbie vows revenge. I’m your senior now, so are Su Xi and Ou Ziyun.”

He swallowed the last bit of bun, glancing around to ensure no eavesdroppers.

“I…”

Xueqiu wanted to say, “I shouldn’t be so willful” or “It’s my fault,” but Xia Yin wasn’t done.

“Don’t overthink it. I’m not some villain blocking the heroine’s growth…”

“I mean, skipping this won’t lose you anything, right? But going’s fine too. Who at the Academy wants to be a loser? Except maybe Chang Mu. When I joined, I was hell-bent on getting stronger because my mentor was the school’s best.”

Seeing no reaction, Xia Yin gestured for her to follow him out.

The dining area led two ways—one to the dorms, the other where Old Gu had gone.

Xia Yin took her toward the latter.

Xueqiu wondered why they seemed new yet familiar with this place, as if everyone but her—pure as blank paper—knew something about the Investigation Team.

—

On the mountain road from Qingtan to Ting’an

The sunset painted the trees, rocks, and passing car roofs, leaving deep or shallow marks.

It was nearly 6 p.m., yet the sky was so bright Li Feng thought it was morning.

He sat in the back of a white Mercedes.

He swore he hadn’t wanted to get in.

He recalled the rest of that night—not a boy, but a beautiful girl with long black hair.

In her early twenties, slim, hair past her waist, dressed in a black uniform—a classic long-haired, uniformed beauty.

She said her surname was Lu, telling Li Feng to call her Miss Lu.

At first, he thought it was a whim, but in the following week, Miss Lu kept finding him.

First dinner after work, then movies, an amusement park, and once, drunk, she clung to him, laughing nonstop.

As if she wasn’t the one who’d invited him that night, just someone he’d met by chance.

Today’s trip? Her excuse was “a trip to the neighboring city.”

“Miss Lu, you’re not into human trafficking, are you?” Li Feng asked, seatbelt feeling like a rope binding him and the boy beside him.

The boy, in a black suit with fluffy hair, looked oddly familiar and had been there before Li Feng boarded.

Today, Miss Lu wore a black suit too. Their outfits screamed funeral, not trip.

Li Feng had wanted to refuse this “trip”—it was too weird.

Leaving at noon meant staying overnight in Ting’an. They’d known each other barely two weeks—wasn’t traveling together odd?

Yet somehow, he’d gotten in the car, dazed, like a guided chess piece.

“‘Chariot’?” the boy asked softly.

Li Feng let out an instinctive “hm” but realized the boy was addressing the driver, Miss Lu.

“He’s already there. ‘King’ told us to bring this guy too,” she replied.

“‘Chariot’ ditched us again?”

“He never follows plans, always going off. Sometimes I have to save him,” Miss Lu said softly.

Her voice lacked the warmth and gentleness it once had, as if they’d never existed.

Li Feng was dumbfounded. Why was he stuck with these shady characters?

He had work the day after tomorrow.

Then, the boy lifted his head.

For a moment, Li Feng’s mind nearly exploded.

Wind chimes rang incessantly in his ears.

Everything he saw gained a faint red filter.

The boy’s eyes, like they’d been smeared with rouge, glowed red.

ps: The last ripples of the feature and heart have faded. Book stats and rankings are dropping. Hopefully, it’ll pick up.
Double updates are posted together. Thanks to everyone still following. Double update continues tomorrow, same time.
Haven’t begged for monthly tickets in a while—please, I’m begging! (Loud hiss)