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Before Yin Ren’s mind could react, his body rushed to Zhong Chengshuo’s location.
Zhong Chengshuo, with great effort, supported himself on the desk, and his face was pale like a dead person.
His chin was covered in black-red blood, and even blood was seeping from the corners of his eyes. Combined with his youthful face, he looked fragile, like a snowflake tinged with the reflection of firelight. It was evident that Zhong Chengshuo wanted to try to wipe it away, but his slender fingers were stained with speckled bloodstains. After a few seconds, he vomited a mouthful of blood and then collapsed onto the chair.
The school uniform he wore emitted a horrifying sweet and bloody scent, and the table was covered in crimson marks.
The students’ faces turned pale, and they scattered to the front half of the classroom in a panic. Their voices were filled with confusion and discussion. Several students clutched their throats against the wall, directly vomiting onto the classroom floor.
As Yin Ren looked at Zhong Chengshuo, who was covered in blood, his thoughts paused for two seconds.
The bloody scene of Mr. Qiu’s attack on that day crashed into his memory, and he could barely contain his breath.
Fortunately, Zhong Chengshuo pretended to groan and moan earnestly, showing some confidence and a rather… incomplete emotional state. As soon as Yin Ren appeared, this person’s gaze seemed to have found a target and firmly locked onto Yin Ren.
Yin Ren: “…”
Given Zhong Chengshuo’s actual abilities, pretending to have a stomach ache was out of the question. To be able to vomit so much blood in one breath, he must have eaten something he shouldn’t have.
In a daze, he seemed to have returned to a thousand years ago—when he first met that messy-looking rabbit that had no understanding of the purpose of a “mouth”. The former black rabbit used to chew on stones in front of him and even attempt to swallow the gravel.
The current Comrade Xiao Zhong was no longer in the age of indiscriminate chewing and didn’t have a greedy and ignorant character. Yin Ren gradually calmed his breathing and nodded at Zhong Chengshuo. Only then did Zhong Chengshuo retract his gaze and continue to pretend to be in distress.
Yin Ren made an effort not to look at the puddle of blood that stung his eyes. He floated back behind Zhong Chengshuo and embraced his neck. The scent of blood wafted over, and Zhong Chengshuo’s skin felt cold, with a layer of sweat.
There was a sealed bottle of mineral water on the table, which Zhong Chengshuo usually carried with him, but he had only taken a few sips. On the other side, there was a 300ml small bottle of fruit juice soda, with the cap missing and only a layer of orange-yellow liquid at the bottom.
Looking around, almost every student’s desk had a small bottle of soda, most of which had been opened and partially consumed.
Yin Ren released his hold on Zhong Chengshuo and leaned in to sniff the mouth of the bottle. Amidst the strong scent of oranges, there was a hint of a strange medicinal odor. There was no evil qi or force present, indicating that it was definitely a human-made poison.
“What’s going on? What’s going on?” The homeroom teacher arrived late, followed by the school doctor.
“It’s my fault!” Luo Chunlei tried to squeeze herself out from the mess of students. Her eyes were red and swollen.
“Teacher, I’ve been absent for too long. I missed everyone, so I ordered a case of soda… It was bought from the small shop outside the school, and the owner helped with the delivery!”
She forcefully sniffled and lowered her voice.
“I… I thought of sharing it with everyone during the break, but then Zhang San just finished drinking it and started vomiting blood…”
Meanwhile, Zhong Chengshuo, in cooperation, let out a low groan.
“You, you, and you. I know you’re carrying phones. Hand them over.” The male teacher glanced at Luo Chunlei and pursed his lips, pointing at several students. “Don’t blabber to anyone else, remember that.”
“The situation is fine. He’s stable now. No need to call an ambulance.” The school doctor made a preliminary diagnosis. “It might be an injury to the digestive tract. I’ll take him for further examination.”
The homeroom teacher visibly sighed in relief.
“Hand over the bottles you just drank. Hand them over! Luo Chunlei, come to my office. The students on clean up duty will clean up the blood. It’s nothing serious.”
Luo Chunlei: “But Zhang San…”
“Come to my office,” the teacher repeated absentmindedly as he put the bottles in a plastic bag.
Meanwhile, the school doctor helped Zhong Chengshuo up, and Zhong Chengshuo subtly nodded at Yin Ren, secretly pointing at Luo Chunlei. Yin Ren furrowed his brows, unable to take his gaze off Zhong Chengshuo’s blood-stained clothes. Unfortunately, the situation was right in front of him. The righteous Great Celestial Master eventually gestured and followed Luo Chunlei.
It was during the midday break, and there was no one in the teachers’ office.
Luo Chunlei sat on a chair, sobbing pitifully, evoking sympathy. The homeroom teacher threw the confiscated phones on the table and repeatedly examined the soft plastic bottle filled with fruit juice, unable to find any issues on the surface.
“You said you bought them from outside the school?”
“Yes, yes, I bought more than a case according to the number of people. I remember one case was unpacked.” Luo Chunlei appeared truly terrified and at a loss. “I also found two friends to help me pack the bags and distribute them. They can testify for me, teacher! What should we do now? Someone poisoned us. Should we report it to the police?”
“The school regulations prohibit bringing in a large quantity of food from outside.” The homeroom teacher stared at the screen, speaking calmly. “Now that you’ve caused a problem, it damages the school’s reputation. Zhang San seems to be fine, so let’s wait for the results from the school clinic.”
Yin Ren was floating above the two of them. His eyebrows couldn’t help but twitch.
“But poisoning is illegal. We should report it!” Luo Chunlei widened her eyes. Her tone was so innocent that it made one’s teeth ache.
“Report it? Sure, then the school will handle it officially, and you’ll face severe punishment.” The homeroom teacher’s voice became stern. “And when your classmates’ parents start causing a fuss, won’t your classmates’ studies be affected? Won’t the school be impacted because of you?”
He spoke with authority, secretly clenching his fist, causing the veins in his hand to bulge. He was even more nervous than the faux-crying Luo Chunlei. Following the teacher’s arm with his gaze, Yin Ren saw the teacher evaluation application that had been started.
“Zhang Hejun hasn’t recovered yet, and if you make things worse by posting it online, do you know how those people will criticize you? Teacher is doing this for your own good!”
Seeing that Luo Chunlei didn’t respond, the man’s spit flew as he spoke with frustration.
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Luo Chunlei’s eyes were red, and another round of tears welled up. “I… I just wanted to treat everyone to soda… I understand now…”
“Let me tell you the truth. Zhang Hejun’s parents are out of town, and her condition doesn’t seem too severe. I will contact your parents. They’ll know what to do. This is an adult matter, so adults will handle it.”
The teacher switched his tone quickly, softening his voice, and handed her a tissue.
“Alright, Teacher knows you didn’t have any malicious intent. When the time comes, apologize to Zhang Hejun and mend your relationship. It’s not a big deal. You can go now.”
“Thank you, teacher,” Luo Chunlei said softly, forcefully sniffling.
Watching this exchange between the old and the young, Yin Ren’s eyes nearly rolled to the sky. If it were in the past, he would have wished to curse both of them.
It was highly likely that Luo Chunlei was the one who poisoned Zhong Chengshuo, and based on the current situation, it wouldn’t reach the police.
But Luo Chunlei was just a middle school student. How could she obtain a mildly poisonous substance within two class periods? Ge Tingting and Huang Jin were guarding outside the school, and ordinary metaphysicians wouldn’t be able to come and go unnoticed by them.
…Using a gap to administer poison was plausible. Could it be the work of the Elemental spreading corruption within the school? Helping a middle school student while causing the death of a Shian staff member. Not to mention that it was completely unnecessary, like using a sledgehammer to kill a chicken.
Creating a renewable source of corruption in the school and indulging in the mischief of children. If the dominant Elemental occupying this place was indeed Mr. Le, what exactly did he want to achieve?
Yin Ren didn’t follow Luo Chunlei anymore. He swiftly flew towards the direction of the school clinic.
……
Zhong Chengshuo lay obediently on the clinic bed, covered with a neatly arranged blanket. He had an IV drip hanging beside him, and the bloodstains on his body had been wiped clean. Now, looking at him, aside from his pale complexion, there didn’t seem to be any major issues on the surface.
When Yin Ren entered the room, Zhong Chengshuo was staring at the medicine dripping down the tubing.
Sitting beside him was a middle-aged male janitor in his forties. Despite having a cheerful appearance, he had two large bags under his eyes, and his breathing was accompanied by wheezing and phlegm sounds. He seemed even weaker than Zhong Chengshuo, who was lying in the hospital bed.
The man held an outdated joke book in his hands, reading it with great concentration. The school doctor wasn’t nearby, so this person was probably here to look after “Zhang San”.
With a rustle, the janitor licked his fingertips and turned the pages of the book gently.
The bottle of water from Zhong Chengshuo’s desk had been brought over. It was still nearly full, and as the sunlight passed through the transparent plastic bottle, it created a radiant spot of light on the wall. As the janitor flipped the pages of the book, the shimmering spot of light moved and swayed like a living creature.
The temperament of this janitor was somewhat peculiar. If one had to describe it, he appeared to be alive, but there was an air of decay in his features. Every movement he made was filled with a heavy sense of depression, making him resemble an elderly person nearing the end of their life.
Yin Ren carefully investigated but didn’t detect any traces that he was a cultivator.
Nevertheless, Yin Ren instinctively tightened his own aura. He completely ceased his breathing, slowly moving closer to Zhong Chengshuo’s bed.
With his back turned to the janitor, Zhong Chengshuo curled up and mumbled a few words under his breath. He covered his head with the blanket, and Yin Ren cooperatively lowered his body. Shifting his shape had its advantages. With his hands gripping the edge of the bed, he could just see Zhong Chengshuo’s face through the gap in the blanket.
In the shadow beneath the blanket, two black hole-like eyes stared directly at him. Zhong Chengshuo didn’t immediately speak. Instead, it seemed as though he wanted to caress Yin Ren with his gaze, examining him for a while.
[I didn’t drink the soda. Luo Chunlei had opened the bottle she gave me in advance.] After a moment, Zhong Chengshuo silently mouthed the words. [While Luo Chunlei wasn’t paying attention, I poured the drink into my bag.]
Yin Ren was momentarily speechless.
…Thank you waterproof backpack specially provided by Shian. It probably didn’t anticipate that the first thing it would be protecting against wasn’t an external invasion, but an internal crisis.
[And then?] Yin Ren blinked. Zhong Chengshuo wasn’t the type to passively wait for his demise. There must be a next step in his plan.
[Initially, I planned to pretend to feel unwell and see how Luo Chunlei would react. But my body really had a problem… Before I started vomiting blood, I only drank my own water. That bottle of water was the one I took from the Shian’s temporary base. It was sealed and had never left my sight today.]
Yin Ren suddenly turned his head and looked at the crystal-clear mineral water bottle on the bedside.
Zhong Chengshuo deliberately unscrewed the cap, and the water vapor carried a slightly bitter taste, no different from other mineral waters. It didn’t emit any evil qi, and no matter how he looked at it, it was just a bottle of ordinary water.
Yin Ren glanced at the janitor, and a black hair strand silently infiltrated the bottle cap, gently dipping into the water.
It was cool and slightly sweet, tasting completely normal.
Before Yin Ren could furrow his brows, a corrosive pain suddenly surged from the tip of his hair. It felt as though his hair had been immersed in strong acid, and all his nerves were screaming in agony simultaneously. The Evil Force in his hair was forcibly destroyed as if it was being dismembered.
Such a potent poison… but it couldn’t kill him.
Yin Ren didn’t sever the hair strand. He endured the pain and continued analyzing the toxicity of the water. Under the intense pain, Yin Ren almost couldn’t suppress his aura, and his hands gripping the edge of the bed clenched into fists. Zhong Chengshuo swiftly reached out and placed his warm palm on the back of Yin Ren’s hand.
Yin Ren pressed his cheek against the back of Zhong Chengshuo’s hand, regulating his breath for a while.
He had witnessed this ability to destroy evil before. In the abandoned amusement park, Mr. Qiu had used a gun to shatter Bai Yongji’s contaminated coin.
Undoubtedly, it was the ability of an advanced Elemental, one that Yin Ren himself hadn’t mastered. The current Primordial Elemental didn’t employ sniper tactics, but its ability wasn’t inferior to Mr. Qiu’s.
Yin Ren could taste that the toxin contained a powerful biological poison combined with specially treated Evil Force.
If the person who drank this bottle of water were Yin Ren himself, they would undoubtedly suffer a gruesome and agonizing death. Zhong Chengshuo was partially immunized against the Evil Force, but he still reacted to the biological poison.
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…No, if Zhong Chengshuo was just an ordinary human, this toxin should have killed him.
What was worse was that the toxin had been handled very discreetly. Even if Yin Ren had been present at the time, he would have only watched as Zhong Chengshuo drank the water.
Despite knowing Zhong Chengshuo’s identity, a chill ran down Yin Ren’s spine. One of his hands discreetly slipped under the blanket and gently touched Zhong Chengshuo’s cheek.
[When we go back, I’ll give you some Evil Force to speed up your recovery.] Yin Ren forcefully suppressed his anger and silently responded. [The situation here is dangerous. I’ll inform Shian.]
Zhong Chengshuo closed his eyes and lightly leaned his head towards that hand. The familiar sense of rejection danced between their skins, giving a strangely comforting feeling.
“Hehe.”
With a rustle, the janitor turned to the next page of the joke book. Perhaps he found something amusing because he chuckled to himself twice.
Yin Ren retracted his hand, and Zhong Chengshuo followed suit by slipping out of the blanket. In the brilliant afternoon sunlight, the young Zhong Chengshuo pointed to his dry and wrinkled lips. Yin Ren thought that he was about to say something and instinctively leaned closer.
Taking advantage of the movement of turning over, Zhong Chengshuo subtly adjusted his posture, and his lips brushed against Yin Ren’s nose.
[See you in the afternoon.] Zhong Chengshuo solemnly wagged his finger, forming the final gesture with his mouth.
Yin Ren touched his nose, and the inner fury in his heart immediately dissipated by a third. A surge of heat spread like sparks from his nose, crackling and rushing towards his ears, igniting a faint burning sensation. Perhaps they burned away his resentment, as his mind became clear as snow.
After leaving the ward, the strange sour-sweet sensation quickly dissipated, and Yin Ren directly contacted the base—
“There’s a high possibility that there’s a large Primordial Elemental hiding in the school. Be careful, and don’t let Ge Tingting and Huang Jin separate. Keep a close eye on Luo Chunlei’s home. Oh, right, is Zhang Hejun still recovering in the hospital? Don’t let her come to school.”
“Is it that serious?” Lu Xiaohe sounded somewhat surprised. “If it’s just corruption, regular Elementals can do it too, right?”
After all, Evil Force was akin to the flesh of a Primordial Elemental. As for whether it came from a mosquito’s leg or a dead elephant, no one could tell. Having a large Elemental guard this place… compared to Mr. Qiu, who started a massacre as soon as he made a move, this seemed too small-scale.
“I’m very certain.” Yin Ren emphasized his tone. “My, cough, flesh puppet almost got damaged.”
“The poisoning of ‘Zhang San’ wasn’t intentional on your part?” Lu Xiaohe actually stopped typing this time and took a breath. “I thought you deliberately arranged it—”
“No, that was a deliberate attack. Report it to Li Nian and Fu Xingchuan on your end and have them prepare emergency plans near the school.”
Lu Xiaohe calmly agreed. “Mm, since the motives of the other side are unclear, it’s better to be cautious. That’s all for now, I received a message from the hospital. I’ll go and take a look.”
“Wait, help me investigate someone.” Yin Ren stopped her. “A janitor in the middle school department, around forty years old, with a gloomy appearance despite having Maitreya-like features. Look into this person’s background.”
“Okay.”
Just as Lu Xiaohe hung up the call with Yin Ren, she hurriedly answered a video call on WeChat—it was a video request from Sun Qi’an, and she had ignored it for quite a while.
Confirming the encryption of the connection, Lu Xiaohe turned off the camera and then accepted the call.
In the video, Sun Qi’an was pushing Zhang Hejun in a wheelchair, basking in the sun in the hospital courtyard.
“Hey, Xiao Lu.” Sun Qi’an waved at the camera and smiled softly. “Sorry to bother you, but Hejun wants to talk to you… I don’t really understand your work, so why don’t you two have a chat?”
“I’m a bit busy right now…” Lu Xiaohe was about to refuse when her vision suddenly shook violently. Before she could react, the phone was already in Zhang Hejun’s hands.
“Are you Lu Xiaohe Jie?”
Zhang Hejun’s voice carried an indescribable sense of fear. Before Lu Xiaohe could speak, she started speaking rapidly.
“I… I took a nap at noon and dreamt of a very thin aunt. She was crying and shouting for ‘Lu Xiaohe’. I thought it was a nightmare, but then Sun Jie mentioned that she actually has a friend named ‘Lu Xiaohe’.”
Lu Xiaohe’s heart skipped a beat, and she reflexively covered her mouth. It took her a moment to regain her calm tone. “Hejun, can you describe the appearance of that aunt in detail?”
“She had short hair and was very thin. She was barefoot and wearing grass-green checkered pajamas… Oh, right, her eyebrows were particularly light, and there was a red mole below her right eyebrow.”
Lu Xiaohe closed her eyes.
That was her mother, He Huan.
Her mother disappeared while wearing grass-green checkered pajamas. Her mother had a particular fondness for green, and Lu Xiaohe had given her that set of pajamas as a birthday gift last year.
The hand holding the phone turned cold, and the sound of blood flowing through her ears became exceptionally noisy. Her heartbeat pounded against her eardrums. Zhang Hejun’s voice was light and soft, like warm feathers, but every word she uttered intensified the dizziness in Lu Xiaohe’s head.
“She was crawling on the ground, crying and screaming non-stop, looking particularly distressed… Xiaohe Jie, do you know her?”
“I know her. I know her,” Lu Xiaohe murmured, lifting her eyes to the flickering screen in front of her.
“Who is she?” Zhang Hejun asked. Even Sun Qi’an leaned closer, and their eyes were fixed on Lu Xiaohe.
Two gentle and melodious voices merged together—
“Lu Xiaohe, who is she?”
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With a click, Lu Xiaohe failed to hold onto the phone, and it fell onto the table. The video call was still connected, although Lu Xiaohe’s face wasn’t visible. However, those two gazes seemed to pierce through the radio waves, stabbing into the depths of Lu Xiaohe’s heart.
The two people in the video seemed frozen in the frame. In the clear sunlight, they wore smiles, motionless, waiting for Lu Xiaohe’s answer.
“…Who is she?” they repeated.
Lu Xiaohe stared blankly at her own hand.
Zhang Hejun was pitiable, and Luo Chunlei was detestable. But in the end, it was just a conflict between children that shouldn’t escalate to a matter of life and death. The atmosphere at Haigu Secondary School was strange, but it was also governed by the 1,000-year-old Great Celestial Master Yin Ren. Whether she was there or not wouldn’t make much of a difference.
She came to Shian to take a risk and earn money for her mother’s medical expenses… But now her mother was in so much pain, what was she doing? Even if Shian could open the passage to the Other Side, what could she do?
She couldn’t do anything at all. She was just a joke.
“…She is my mother,” Lu Xiaohe murmured in response.
“Oh, I see.” Sun Qi’an approached the camera to the point where her face almost stuck to the camera. The brilliant sunlight was blocked behind her, leaving only a dark, meat-brown color in the frame, along with an unmoving pair of eyes.
“Sorry, it was just a dream. Maybe this child had seen Auntie somewhere before.” Sun Qi’an spoke softly, as if coaxing a child. “Don’t take it to heart.”
Lu Xiaohe didn’t answer.
Dark thoughts, like mold, grew wildly in her mind. They emitted a deadly bitterness that enveloped all her thoughts.
Her mother had been resting inside the house, so Zhang Hejun couldn’t have seen her. The Other Side was to some extent connected to dreams, and what Zhang Hejun saw must have been her mother.
Her mother was suffering. She was left alone in the unknown Other Side, suffering every minute and every second.
Yin Ren had promised to save her mother, but now he was busy playing the Great Celestial Master on campus, showing no intention of researching how to save people from the Other Side… Since that Primordial Elemental hadn’t caused any serious trouble, wouldn’t it be better to focus on rescuing the missing people first? Why create unnecessary complications at such a critical moment?
Worry, anger, disgust, panic… Various emotions surged like a tide, and Lu Xiaohe’s vision darkened. When she realized it, she had already angrily thrown the keyboard and phone onto the ground.
She didn’t know when the video call had been disconnected. Lu Xiaohe slowly touched her cheeks, finding tears streaming down her face.
She wiped her nose with the back of her hand, slumping onto the couch. After a few minutes, she sent a message to Ge Tingting and Huang Jin, then limped back to the computer. With an expressionless face, she pulled up the information on the school janitor.
As she scrolled through the photos, she quickly found a male who matched Yin Ren’s description.
Xin Qule, male, 45 years old, single. He used to be an ordinary office worker until the game company he worked for went bankrupt when he was 38. Unable to find a job after being unemployed, he drowned his sorrows in alcohol and ended up in the hospital. Eventually, he came to Haigu Secondary School to work as a janitor. His background seemed clean, without anything suspicious.
Lu Xiaohe stared at the photo for a while before closing the page.
……
Amidst the autumn leaves, Mr. Janitor carried his outdated joke book and slowly walked back to his office.
His office was an extremely small room that could only fit a single bed and an old desk. The surface of the desk was covered in scratches, with cold food and a plastic-framed desk mirror on top.
The janitor—Mr. Le—dragged the chair and positioned it above the mirror.
However, while his face moved away, his reflection in the mirror remained.
“How’s the situation?” asked the gentle voice.
“It’s similar to your speculation,” Mr. Le said, poking at the cold stir-fried vegetables with his chopsticks.
“A Primordial Elemental has infiltrated Shian and is currently opposing us.” His voice carried subtle fatigue. “Being able to withstand my poison, it should be a cub that’s a descendant of ‘him’. When ‘he’ disappeared, the new offspring didn’t appear for a long time. It turns out it was born on this side.”
“…Do you regret it?”
The image in the mirror remained silent for a long time, calmly inquiring.
“You are close in age to ‘Sorrow’, and compared to her, you are more influenced by humans. I want to hear your thoughts—if you were to bring this cub back now and raise it carefully, perhaps the ‘Other Side’ could return to its former state.”
“Do you regret it, ‘Joy*’?”
*Clarity: This Elemental is called ‘Joy/Happiness’ (快乐) while the alias he uses, Mr. Le (乐) which means happy (derived from 快乐).
Mr. Le didn’t answer immediately.
“I really like human games. From the early stone-throwing games to the current electronic games, I’m very fond of them.”
After a long silence, Mr. Le suddenly spoke up.
“Do you know, this body used to belong to a game developer. I have earnestly played the games he created. <The Legend of Resurrection>… You should have come across it when you were investigating Unit 9 of Shian.”
The image in the mirror remained silent.
“For humans, ‘escaping death’ is a mystery worth pursuing for thousands of years. The theme of <The Legend of Resurrection> is the same. According to the game, you have to endure countless hardships to successfully clear it.”
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Mr. Le showed a nostalgic smile.
“We have all seen the best of the world, haven’t we? Everything now is just a so-called sequel to saving the world… How can there be challengers who, after the sacrifice of their companions, don’t want to continue but instead demand to delete their saved progress?”
“… ” The image in the mirror didn’t answer, only showing a bittersweet smile.
“I understand. You don’t intend to turn back.”
The image continued to speak in a gentle female voice.
“I will contact Luo Chunlei according to the plan for the upcoming task.”
“Go ahead.”
Mr. Le put down his chopsticks and carefully put away the joke book. After tidying up the desk, the image in the mirror returned to normal. Mr. Le made a few gestures to his hair in the mirror, and strands of striking white hair scattered among his black hair.
“I am no longer suitable for this role,” he said softly.
Outside the janitor’s office, on the corridor one level below.
“After Lu Xiaohe warned us, why are you so proactive?”
Huang Jin’s plaintive voice echoed in the corridor.
“You’re investigating so diligently; be careful not to get mistaken for the thief you’re trying to find… Why isn’t there an elevator in this damn building!”
“Maybe you’re getting old. Why don’t you rest here now, and I’ll explore the upper two floors myself,” Ge Tingting coldly spat out the harsh truth.
“Bullshit, I’m still young! And didn’t Lu Jie say we shouldn’t separate?” Huang Jin retorted, gasping for breath. “And she clearly said we should take a break. Do you not understand things selectively?”
“We’ll finish patrolling this building! We can’t give up halfway,” Ge Tingting firmly said. “After the lunch break, we’ll go back.”
Mr. Le tidied his hairstyle and straightened the wrinkled collar of his uniform. He grabbed his thermos filled with sweetened water and opened the door.
He held onto the handrail and descended the steps one by one, coincidentally encountering two young people arguing.
At the sight of Mr. Le, Ge Tingting’s pupils contracted. She politely lowered her head. “Uncle.”
Huang Jin took a few steps forward and stood on the same step as Ge Tingting. He cleared his throat. “What a coincidence, you also… you also…”
Before he could finish his sentence, the thoughts in the janitor’s mind turned into a mosaic in an instant. Huang Jin hadn’t had a chance to warn them when a tremendous feeling of joy engulfed him.
He had never experienced such happiness before.
It was like soaking in warm and sweet pool water, where all worries and troubles transformed into honey coating his throat. All the weight seemed to disappear, and his body felt as light as if only his soul remained. In boundless delight, Huang Jin’s thoughts almost ceased to turn.
He only felt that his previous life was filled with pain, and at this moment, he was truly born in the true sense.
The allure of money, the joy brought by friendship and infatuation… they were nothing but sugar residue in the midst of the current sweetness. Having tasted this flavor, he would willingly die.
Supreme joy, supreme…
Suddenly, that happiness vanished without a trace.
An immensely heavy life struck Huang Jin head-on, and the bitter, sticky memories once again enveloped him. He instantly collapsed to the ground, nearly rolling down the stairs. He wanted to move, but his mind felt numb. In the midst of extreme emotional fluctuations, he was on the verge of losing the strength to breathe.
Huang Jin widened his eyes significantly. In his vision, Ge Tingting also collapsed on the ground, foaming at the mouth while experiencing epileptic-like convulsions.
And that mosaic figure slowly approached, grabbing hold of their collars and dragging them toward the office.
“Human beings are such interesting creatures.”
The words spoken came with a phlegmy tone from the mosaic figure. The voice was low, making it hard to tell if it was speaking to them or muttering to itself.
“Every time you experience happiness, you always seek stronger thrills. Your judgment of happiness is always changing, and I’ve been watching. I thought that your increasing reproduction would be a good thing for me…”
“In the past, you would be happy with simple and straightforward little things, then it became about group identity, and after that, more complicated concepts. Lately, many people have been using various chemicals, attempting to achieve instant gratification…”
Mr. Le opened the cramped office and placed the two individuals against the wall. He panted for a moment, then two gaps opened up. Shian’s communication devices flew out of their pockets and were tossed into the gaps.
Ge Tingting and Huang Jin just stared with wide eyes without moving their fingers, like soulless puppets.
The haggard “janitor” crouched in front of them and let out a long sigh. Mr. Le extended his wrinkled hand and ran it through Ge Tingting’s slightly longer black hair.
“I used to be the ‘priest’ in the group. I was supposed to be the ‘priest’ in the group.”
With unblinking eyes, Ge Tingting watched as Mr. Le sorrowfully lowered his gaze.
“It was you who turned me into the ‘Lord of Curses’ with your own hands. I can’t be blamed for that.”
“Farewell, young girl, young man.”
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Before Yin Ren’s mind could react, his body rushed to Zhong Chengshuo’s location.
Zhong Chengshuo, with great effort, supported himself on the desk, and his face was pale like a dead person.
His chin was covered in black-red blood, and even blood was seeping from the corners of his eyes. Combined with his youthful face, he looked fragile, like a snowflake tinged with the reflection of firelight. It was evident that Zhong Chengshuo wanted to try to wipe it away, but his slender fingers were stained with speckled bloodstains. After a few seconds, he vomited a mouthful of blood and then collapsed onto the chair.
The school uniform he wore emitted a horrifying sweet and bloody scent, and the table was covered in crimson marks.
The students’ faces turned pale, and they scattered to the front half of the classroom in a panic. Their voices were filled with confusion and discussion. Several students clutched their throats against the wall, directly vomiting onto the classroom floor.
As Yin Ren looked at Zhong Chengshuo, who was covered in blood, his thoughts paused for two seconds.
The bloody scene of Mr. Qiu’s attack on that day crashed into his memory, and he could barely contain his breath.
Fortunately, Zhong Chengshuo pretended to groan and moan earnestly, showing some confidence and a rather… incomplete emotional state. As soon as Yin Ren appeared, this person’s gaze seemed to have found a target and firmly locked onto Yin Ren.
Yin Ren: “…”
Given Zhong Chengshuo’s actual abilities, pretending to have a stomach ache was out of the question. To be able to vomit so much blood in one breath, he must have eaten something he shouldn’t have.
In a daze, he seemed to have returned to a thousand years ago—when he first met that messy-looking rabbit that had no understanding of the purpose of a “mouth”. The former black rabbit used to chew on stones in front of him and even attempt to swallow the gravel.
The current Comrade Xiao Zhong was no longer in the age of indiscriminate chewing and didn’t have a greedy and ignorant character. Yin Ren gradually calmed his breathing and nodded at Zhong Chengshuo. Only then did Zhong Chengshuo retract his gaze and continue to pretend to be in distress.
Yin Ren made an effort not to look at the puddle of blood that stung his eyes. He floated back behind Zhong Chengshuo and embraced his neck. The scent of blood wafted over, and Zhong Chengshuo’s skin felt cold, with a layer of sweat.
There was a sealed bottle of mineral water on the table, which Zhong Chengshuo usually carried with him, but he had only taken a few sips. On the other side, there was a 300ml small bottle of fruit juice soda, with the cap missing and only a layer of orange-yellow liquid at the bottom.
Looking around, almost every student’s desk had a small bottle of soda, most of which had been opened and partially consumed.
Yin Ren released his hold on Zhong Chengshuo and leaned in to sniff the mouth of the bottle. Amidst the strong scent of oranges, there was a hint of a strange medicinal odor. There was no evil qi or force present, indicating that it was definitely a human-made poison.
“What’s going on? What’s going on?” The homeroom teacher arrived late, followed by the school doctor.
“It’s my fault!” Luo Chunlei tried to squeeze herself out from the mess of students. Her eyes were red and swollen.
“Teacher, I’ve been absent for too long. I missed everyone, so I ordered a case of soda… It was bought from the small shop outside the school, and the owner helped with the delivery!”
She forcefully sniffled and lowered her voice.
“I… I thought of sharing it with everyone during the break, but then Zhang San just finished drinking it and started vomiting blood…”
Meanwhile, Zhong Chengshuo, in cooperation, let out a low groan.
“You, you, and you. I know you’re carrying phones. Hand them over.” The male teacher glanced at Luo Chunlei and pursed his lips, pointing at several students. “Don’t blabber to anyone else, remember that.”
“The situation is fine. He’s stable now. No need to call an ambulance.” The school doctor made a preliminary diagnosis. “It might be an injury to the digestive tract. I’ll take him for further examination.”
The homeroom teacher visibly sighed in relief.
“Hand over the bottles you just drank. Hand them over! Luo Chunlei, come to my office. The students on clean up duty will clean up the blood. It’s nothing serious.”
Luo Chunlei: “But Zhang San…”
“Come to my office,” the teacher repeated absentmindedly as he put the bottles in a plastic bag.
Meanwhile, the school doctor helped Zhong Chengshuo up, and Zhong Chengshuo subtly nodded at Yin Ren, secretly pointing at Luo Chunlei. Yin Ren furrowed his brows, unable to take his gaze off Zhong Chengshuo’s blood-stained clothes. Unfortunately, the situation was right in front of him. The righteous Great Celestial Master eventually gestured and followed Luo Chunlei.
It was during the midday break, and there was no one in the teachers’ office.
Luo Chunlei sat on a chair, sobbing pitifully, evoking sympathy. The homeroom teacher threw the confiscated phones on the table and repeatedly examined the soft plastic bottle filled with fruit juice, unable to find any issues on the surface.
“You said you bought them from outside the school?”
“Yes, yes, I bought more than a case according to the number of people. I remember one case was unpacked.” Luo Chunlei appeared truly terrified and at a loss. “I also found two friends to help me pack the bags and distribute them. They can testify for me, teacher! What should we do now? Someone poisoned us. Should we report it to the police?”
“The school regulations prohibit bringing in a large quantity of food from outside.” The homeroom teacher stared at the screen, speaking calmly. “Now that you’ve caused a problem, it damages the school’s reputation. Zhang San seems to be fine, so let’s wait for the results from the school clinic.”
Yin Ren was floating above the two of them. His eyebrows couldn’t help but twitch.
“But poisoning is illegal. We should report it!” Luo Chunlei widened her eyes. Her tone was so innocent that it made one’s teeth ache.
“Report it? Sure, then the school will handle it officially, and you’ll face severe punishment.” The homeroom teacher’s voice became stern. “And when your classmates’ parents start causing a fuss, won’t your classmates’ studies be affected? Won’t the school be impacted because of you?”
He spoke with authority, secretly clenching his fist, causing the veins in his hand to bulge. He was even more nervous than the faux-crying Luo Chunlei. Following the teacher’s arm with his gaze, Yin Ren saw the teacher evaluation application that had been started.
“Zhang Hejun hasn’t recovered yet, and if you make things worse by posting it online, do you know how those people will criticize you? Teacher is doing this for your own good!”
Seeing that Luo Chunlei didn’t respond, the man’s spit flew as he spoke with frustration.
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Luo Chunlei’s eyes were red, and another round of tears welled up. “I… I just wanted to treat everyone to soda… I understand now…”
“Let me tell you the truth. Zhang Hejun’s parents are out of town, and her condition doesn’t seem too severe. I will contact your parents. They’ll know what to do. This is an adult matter, so adults will handle it.”
The teacher switched his tone quickly, softening his voice, and handed her a tissue.
“Alright, Teacher knows you didn’t have any malicious intent. When the time comes, apologize to Zhang Hejun and mend your relationship. It’s not a big deal. You can go now.”
“Thank you, teacher,” Luo Chunlei said softly, forcefully sniffling.
Watching this exchange between the old and the young, Yin Ren’s eyes nearly rolled to the sky. If it were in the past, he would have wished to curse both of them.
It was highly likely that Luo Chunlei was the one who poisoned Zhong Chengshuo, and based on the current situation, it wouldn’t reach the police.
But Luo Chunlei was just a middle school student. How could she obtain a mildly poisonous substance within two class periods? Ge Tingting and Huang Jin were guarding outside the school, and ordinary metaphysicians wouldn’t be able to come and go unnoticed by them.
…Using a gap to administer poison was plausible. Could it be the work of the Elemental spreading corruption within the school? Helping a middle school student while causing the death of a Shian staff member. Not to mention that it was completely unnecessary, like using a sledgehammer to kill a chicken.
Creating a renewable source of corruption in the school and indulging in the mischief of children. If the dominant Elemental occupying this place was indeed Mr. Le, what exactly did he want to achieve?
Yin Ren didn’t follow Luo Chunlei anymore. He swiftly flew towards the direction of the school clinic.
……
Zhong Chengshuo lay obediently on the clinic bed, covered with a neatly arranged blanket. He had an IV drip hanging beside him, and the bloodstains on his body had been wiped clean. Now, looking at him, aside from his pale complexion, there didn’t seem to be any major issues on the surface.
When Yin Ren entered the room, Zhong Chengshuo was staring at the medicine dripping down the tubing.
Sitting beside him was a middle-aged male janitor in his forties. Despite having a cheerful appearance, he had two large bags under his eyes, and his breathing was accompanied by wheezing and phlegm sounds. He seemed even weaker than Zhong Chengshuo, who was lying in the hospital bed.
The man held an outdated joke book in his hands, reading it with great concentration. The school doctor wasn’t nearby, so this person was probably here to look after “Zhang San”.
With a rustle, the janitor licked his fingertips and turned the pages of the book gently.
The bottle of water from Zhong Chengshuo’s desk had been brought over. It was still nearly full, and as the sunlight passed through the transparent plastic bottle, it created a radiant spot of light on the wall. As the janitor flipped the pages of the book, the shimmering spot of light moved and swayed like a living creature.
The temperament of this janitor was somewhat peculiar. If one had to describe it, he appeared to be alive, but there was an air of decay in his features. Every movement he made was filled with a heavy sense of depression, making him resemble an elderly person nearing the end of their life.
Yin Ren carefully investigated but didn’t detect any traces that he was a cultivator.
Nevertheless, Yin Ren instinctively tightened his own aura. He completely ceased his breathing, slowly moving closer to Zhong Chengshuo’s bed.
With his back turned to the janitor, Zhong Chengshuo curled up and mumbled a few words under his breath. He covered his head with the blanket, and Yin Ren cooperatively lowered his body. Shifting his shape had its advantages. With his hands gripping the edge of the bed, he could just see Zhong Chengshuo’s face through the gap in the blanket.
In the shadow beneath the blanket, two black hole-like eyes stared directly at him. Zhong Chengshuo didn’t immediately speak. Instead, it seemed as though he wanted to caress Yin Ren with his gaze, examining him for a while.
[I didn’t drink the soda. Luo Chunlei had opened the bottle she gave me in advance.] After a moment, Zhong Chengshuo silently mouthed the words. [While Luo Chunlei wasn’t paying attention, I poured the drink into my bag.]
Yin Ren was momentarily speechless.
…Thank you waterproof backpack specially provided by Shian. It probably didn’t anticipate that the first thing it would be protecting against wasn’t an external invasion, but an internal crisis.
[And then?] Yin Ren blinked. Zhong Chengshuo wasn’t the type to passively wait for his demise. There must be a next step in his plan.
[Initially, I planned to pretend to feel unwell and see how Luo Chunlei would react. But my body really had a problem… Before I started vomiting blood, I only drank my own water. That bottle of water was the one I took from the Shian’s temporary base. It was sealed and had never left my sight today.]
Yin Ren suddenly turned his head and looked at the crystal-clear mineral water bottle on the bedside.
Zhong Chengshuo deliberately unscrewed the cap, and the water vapor carried a slightly bitter taste, no different from other mineral waters. It didn’t emit any evil qi, and no matter how he looked at it, it was just a bottle of ordinary water.
Yin Ren glanced at the janitor, and a black hair strand silently infiltrated the bottle cap, gently dipping into the water.
It was cool and slightly sweet, tasting completely normal.
Before Yin Ren could furrow his brows, a corrosive pain suddenly surged from the tip of his hair. It felt as though his hair had been immersed in strong acid, and all his nerves were screaming in agony simultaneously. The Evil Force in his hair was forcibly destroyed as if it was being dismembered.
Such a potent poison… but it couldn’t kill him.
Yin Ren didn’t sever the hair strand. He endured the pain and continued analyzing the toxicity of the water. Under the intense pain, Yin Ren almost couldn’t suppress his aura, and his hands gripping the edge of the bed clenched into fists. Zhong Chengshuo swiftly reached out and placed his warm palm on the back of Yin Ren’s hand.
Yin Ren pressed his cheek against the back of Zhong Chengshuo’s hand, regulating his breath for a while.
He had witnessed this ability to destroy evil before. In the abandoned amusement park, Mr. Qiu had used a gun to shatter Bai Yongji’s contaminated coin.
Undoubtedly, it was the ability of an advanced Elemental, one that Yin Ren himself hadn’t mastered. The current Primordial Elemental didn’t employ sniper tactics, but its ability wasn’t inferior to Mr. Qiu’s.
Yin Ren could taste that the toxin contained a powerful biological poison combined with specially treated Evil Force.
If the person who drank this bottle of water were Yin Ren himself, they would undoubtedly suffer a gruesome and agonizing death. Zhong Chengshuo was partially immunized against the Evil Force, but he still reacted to the biological poison.
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…No, if Zhong Chengshuo was just an ordinary human, this toxin should have killed him.
What was worse was that the toxin had been handled very discreetly. Even if Yin Ren had been present at the time, he would have only watched as Zhong Chengshuo drank the water.
Despite knowing Zhong Chengshuo’s identity, a chill ran down Yin Ren’s spine. One of his hands discreetly slipped under the blanket and gently touched Zhong Chengshuo’s cheek.
[When we go back, I’ll give you some Evil Force to speed up your recovery.] Yin Ren forcefully suppressed his anger and silently responded. [The situation here is dangerous. I’ll inform Shian.]
Zhong Chengshuo closed his eyes and lightly leaned his head towards that hand. The familiar sense of rejection danced between their skins, giving a strangely comforting feeling.
“Hehe.”
With a rustle, the janitor turned to the next page of the joke book. Perhaps he found something amusing because he chuckled to himself twice.
Yin Ren retracted his hand, and Zhong Chengshuo followed suit by slipping out of the blanket. In the brilliant afternoon sunlight, the young Zhong Chengshuo pointed to his dry and wrinkled lips. Yin Ren thought that he was about to say something and instinctively leaned closer.
Taking advantage of the movement of turning over, Zhong Chengshuo subtly adjusted his posture, and his lips brushed against Yin Ren’s nose.
[See you in the afternoon.] Zhong Chengshuo solemnly wagged his finger, forming the final gesture with his mouth.
Yin Ren touched his nose, and the inner fury in his heart immediately dissipated by a third. A surge of heat spread like sparks from his nose, crackling and rushing towards his ears, igniting a faint burning sensation. Perhaps they burned away his resentment, as his mind became clear as snow.
After leaving the ward, the strange sour-sweet sensation quickly dissipated, and Yin Ren directly contacted the base—
“There’s a high possibility that there’s a large Primordial Elemental hiding in the school. Be careful, and don’t let Ge Tingting and Huang Jin separate. Keep a close eye on Luo Chunlei’s home. Oh, right, is Zhang Hejun still recovering in the hospital? Don’t let her come to school.”
“Is it that serious?” Lu Xiaohe sounded somewhat surprised. “If it’s just corruption, regular Elementals can do it too, right?”
After all, Evil Force was akin to the flesh of a Primordial Elemental. As for whether it came from a mosquito’s leg or a dead elephant, no one could tell. Having a large Elemental guard this place… compared to Mr. Qiu, who started a massacre as soon as he made a move, this seemed too small-scale.
“I’m very certain.” Yin Ren emphasized his tone. “My, cough, flesh puppet almost got damaged.”
“The poisoning of ‘Zhang San’ wasn’t intentional on your part?” Lu Xiaohe actually stopped typing this time and took a breath. “I thought you deliberately arranged it—”
“No, that was a deliberate attack. Report it to Li Nian and Fu Xingchuan on your end and have them prepare emergency plans near the school.”
Lu Xiaohe calmly agreed. “Mm, since the motives of the other side are unclear, it’s better to be cautious. That’s all for now, I received a message from the hospital. I’ll go and take a look.”
“Wait, help me investigate someone.” Yin Ren stopped her. “A janitor in the middle school department, around forty years old, with a gloomy appearance despite having Maitreya-like features. Look into this person’s background.”
“Okay.”
Just as Lu Xiaohe hung up the call with Yin Ren, she hurriedly answered a video call on WeChat—it was a video request from Sun Qi’an, and she had ignored it for quite a while.
Confirming the encryption of the connection, Lu Xiaohe turned off the camera and then accepted the call.
In the video, Sun Qi’an was pushing Zhang Hejun in a wheelchair, basking in the sun in the hospital courtyard.
“Hey, Xiao Lu.” Sun Qi’an waved at the camera and smiled softly. “Sorry to bother you, but Hejun wants to talk to you… I don’t really understand your work, so why don’t you two have a chat?”
“I’m a bit busy right now…” Lu Xiaohe was about to refuse when her vision suddenly shook violently. Before she could react, the phone was already in Zhang Hejun’s hands.
“Are you Lu Xiaohe Jie?”
Zhang Hejun’s voice carried an indescribable sense of fear. Before Lu Xiaohe could speak, she started speaking rapidly.
“I… I took a nap at noon and dreamt of a very thin aunt. She was crying and shouting for ‘Lu Xiaohe’. I thought it was a nightmare, but then Sun Jie mentioned that she actually has a friend named ‘Lu Xiaohe’.”
Lu Xiaohe’s heart skipped a beat, and she reflexively covered her mouth. It took her a moment to regain her calm tone. “Hejun, can you describe the appearance of that aunt in detail?”
“She had short hair and was very thin. She was barefoot and wearing grass-green checkered pajamas… Oh, right, her eyebrows were particularly light, and there was a red mole below her right eyebrow.”
Lu Xiaohe closed her eyes.
That was her mother, He Huan.
Her mother disappeared while wearing grass-green checkered pajamas. Her mother had a particular fondness for green, and Lu Xiaohe had given her that set of pajamas as a birthday gift last year.
The hand holding the phone turned cold, and the sound of blood flowing through her ears became exceptionally noisy. Her heartbeat pounded against her eardrums. Zhang Hejun’s voice was light and soft, like warm feathers, but every word she uttered intensified the dizziness in Lu Xiaohe’s head.
“She was crawling on the ground, crying and screaming non-stop, looking particularly distressed… Xiaohe Jie, do you know her?”
“I know her. I know her,” Lu Xiaohe murmured, lifting her eyes to the flickering screen in front of her.
“Who is she?” Zhang Hejun asked. Even Sun Qi’an leaned closer, and their eyes were fixed on Lu Xiaohe.
Two gentle and melodious voices merged together—
“Lu Xiaohe, who is she?”
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With a click, Lu Xiaohe failed to hold onto the phone, and it fell onto the table. The video call was still connected, although Lu Xiaohe’s face wasn’t visible. However, those two gazes seemed to pierce through the radio waves, stabbing into the depths of Lu Xiaohe’s heart.
The two people in the video seemed frozen in the frame. In the clear sunlight, they wore smiles, motionless, waiting for Lu Xiaohe’s answer.
“…Who is she?” they repeated.
Lu Xiaohe stared blankly at her own hand.
Zhang Hejun was pitiable, and Luo Chunlei was detestable. But in the end, it was just a conflict between children that shouldn’t escalate to a matter of life and death. The atmosphere at Haigu Secondary School was strange, but it was also governed by the 1,000-year-old Great Celestial Master Yin Ren. Whether she was there or not wouldn’t make much of a difference.
She came to Shian to take a risk and earn money for her mother’s medical expenses… But now her mother was in so much pain, what was she doing? Even if Shian could open the passage to the Other Side, what could she do?
She couldn’t do anything at all. She was just a joke.
“…She is my mother,” Lu Xiaohe murmured in response.
“Oh, I see.” Sun Qi’an approached the camera to the point where her face almost stuck to the camera. The brilliant sunlight was blocked behind her, leaving only a dark, meat-brown color in the frame, along with an unmoving pair of eyes.
“Sorry, it was just a dream. Maybe this child had seen Auntie somewhere before.” Sun Qi’an spoke softly, as if coaxing a child. “Don’t take it to heart.”
Lu Xiaohe didn’t answer.
Dark thoughts, like mold, grew wildly in her mind. They emitted a deadly bitterness that enveloped all her thoughts.
Her mother had been resting inside the house, so Zhang Hejun couldn’t have seen her. The Other Side was to some extent connected to dreams, and what Zhang Hejun saw must have been her mother.
Her mother was suffering. She was left alone in the unknown Other Side, suffering every minute and every second.
Yin Ren had promised to save her mother, but now he was busy playing the Great Celestial Master on campus, showing no intention of researching how to save people from the Other Side… Since that Primordial Elemental hadn’t caused any serious trouble, wouldn’t it be better to focus on rescuing the missing people first? Why create unnecessary complications at such a critical moment?
Worry, anger, disgust, panic… Various emotions surged like a tide, and Lu Xiaohe’s vision darkened. When she realized it, she had already angrily thrown the keyboard and phone onto the ground.
She didn’t know when the video call had been disconnected. Lu Xiaohe slowly touched her cheeks, finding tears streaming down her face.
She wiped her nose with the back of her hand, slumping onto the couch. After a few minutes, she sent a message to Ge Tingting and Huang Jin, then limped back to the computer. With an expressionless face, she pulled up the information on the school janitor.
As she scrolled through the photos, she quickly found a male who matched Yin Ren’s description.
Xin Qule, male, 45 years old, single. He used to be an ordinary office worker until the game company he worked for went bankrupt when he was 38. Unable to find a job after being unemployed, he drowned his sorrows in alcohol and ended up in the hospital. Eventually, he came to Haigu Secondary School to work as a janitor. His background seemed clean, without anything suspicious.
Lu Xiaohe stared at the photo for a while before closing the page.
……
Amidst the autumn leaves, Mr. Janitor carried his outdated joke book and slowly walked back to his office.
His office was an extremely small room that could only fit a single bed and an old desk. The surface of the desk was covered in scratches, with cold food and a plastic-framed desk mirror on top.
The janitor—Mr. Le—dragged the chair and positioned it above the mirror.
However, while his face moved away, his reflection in the mirror remained.
“How’s the situation?” asked the gentle voice.
“It’s similar to your speculation,” Mr. Le said, poking at the cold stir-fried vegetables with his chopsticks.
“A Primordial Elemental has infiltrated Shian and is currently opposing us.” His voice carried subtle fatigue. “Being able to withstand my poison, it should be a cub that’s a descendant of ‘him’. When ‘he’ disappeared, the new offspring didn’t appear for a long time. It turns out it was born on this side.”
“…Do you regret it?”
The image in the mirror remained silent for a long time, calmly inquiring.
“You are close in age to ‘Sorrow’, and compared to her, you are more influenced by humans. I want to hear your thoughts—if you were to bring this cub back now and raise it carefully, perhaps the ‘Other Side’ could return to its former state.”
“Do you regret it, ‘Joy*’?”
*Clarity: This Elemental is called ‘Joy/Happiness’ (快乐) while the alias he uses, Mr. Le (乐) which means happy (derived from 快乐).
Mr. Le didn’t answer immediately.
“I really like human games. From the early stone-throwing games to the current electronic games, I’m very fond of them.”
After a long silence, Mr. Le suddenly spoke up.
“Do you know, this body used to belong to a game developer. I have earnestly played the games he created. <The Legend of Resurrection>… You should have come across it when you were investigating Unit 9 of Shian.”
The image in the mirror remained silent.
“For humans, ‘escaping death’ is a mystery worth pursuing for thousands of years. The theme of <The Legend of Resurrection> is the same. According to the game, you have to endure countless hardships to successfully clear it.”
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Mr. Le showed a nostalgic smile.
“We have all seen the best of the world, haven’t we? Everything now is just a so-called sequel to saving the world… How can there be challengers who, after the sacrifice of their companions, don’t want to continue but instead demand to delete their saved progress?”
“… ” The image in the mirror didn’t answer, only showing a bittersweet smile.
“I understand. You don’t intend to turn back.”
The image continued to speak in a gentle female voice.
“I will contact Luo Chunlei according to the plan for the upcoming task.”
“Go ahead.”
Mr. Le put down his chopsticks and carefully put away the joke book. After tidying up the desk, the image in the mirror returned to normal. Mr. Le made a few gestures to his hair in the mirror, and strands of striking white hair scattered among his black hair.
“I am no longer suitable for this role,” he said softly.
Outside the janitor’s office, on the corridor one level below.
“After Lu Xiaohe warned us, why are you so proactive?”
Huang Jin’s plaintive voice echoed in the corridor.
“You’re investigating so diligently; be careful not to get mistaken for the thief you’re trying to find… Why isn’t there an elevator in this damn building!”
“Maybe you’re getting old. Why don’t you rest here now, and I’ll explore the upper two floors myself,” Ge Tingting coldly spat out the harsh truth.
“Bullshit, I’m still young! And didn’t Lu Jie say we shouldn’t separate?” Huang Jin retorted, gasping for breath. “And she clearly said we should take a break. Do you not understand things selectively?”
“We’ll finish patrolling this building! We can’t give up halfway,” Ge Tingting firmly said. “After the lunch break, we’ll go back.”
Mr. Le tidied his hairstyle and straightened the wrinkled collar of his uniform. He grabbed his thermos filled with sweetened water and opened the door.
He held onto the handrail and descended the steps one by one, coincidentally encountering two young people arguing.
At the sight of Mr. Le, Ge Tingting’s pupils contracted. She politely lowered her head. “Uncle.”
Huang Jin took a few steps forward and stood on the same step as Ge Tingting. He cleared his throat. “What a coincidence, you also… you also…”
Before he could finish his sentence, the thoughts in the janitor’s mind turned into a mosaic in an instant. Huang Jin hadn’t had a chance to warn them when a tremendous feeling of joy engulfed him.
He had never experienced such happiness before.
It was like soaking in warm and sweet pool water, where all worries and troubles transformed into honey coating his throat. All the weight seemed to disappear, and his body felt as light as if only his soul remained. In boundless delight, Huang Jin’s thoughts almost ceased to turn.
He only felt that his previous life was filled with pain, and at this moment, he was truly born in the true sense.
The allure of money, the joy brought by friendship and infatuation… they were nothing but sugar residue in the midst of the current sweetness. Having tasted this flavor, he would willingly die.
Supreme joy, supreme…
Suddenly, that happiness vanished without a trace.
An immensely heavy life struck Huang Jin head-on, and the bitter, sticky memories once again enveloped him. He instantly collapsed to the ground, nearly rolling down the stairs. He wanted to move, but his mind felt numb. In the midst of extreme emotional fluctuations, he was on the verge of losing the strength to breathe.
Huang Jin widened his eyes significantly. In his vision, Ge Tingting also collapsed on the ground, foaming at the mouth while experiencing epileptic-like convulsions.
And that mosaic figure slowly approached, grabbing hold of their collars and dragging them toward the office.
“Human beings are such interesting creatures.”
The words spoken came with a phlegmy tone from the mosaic figure. The voice was low, making it hard to tell if it was speaking to them or muttering to itself.
“Every time you experience happiness, you always seek stronger thrills. Your judgment of happiness is always changing, and I’ve been watching. I thought that your increasing reproduction would be a good thing for me…”
“In the past, you would be happy with simple and straightforward little things, then it became about group identity, and after that, more complicated concepts. Lately, many people have been using various chemicals, attempting to achieve instant gratification…”
Mr. Le opened the cramped office and placed the two individuals against the wall. He panted for a moment, then two gaps opened up. Shian’s communication devices flew out of their pockets and were tossed into the gaps.
Ge Tingting and Huang Jin just stared with wide eyes without moving their fingers, like soulless puppets.
The haggard “janitor” crouched in front of them and let out a long sigh. Mr. Le extended his wrinkled hand and ran it through Ge Tingting’s slightly longer black hair.
“I used to be the ‘priest’ in the group. I was supposed to be the ‘priest’ in the group.”
With unblinking eyes, Ge Tingting watched as Mr. Le sorrowfully lowered his gaze.
“It was you who turned me into the ‘Lord of Curses’ with your own hands. I can’t be blamed for that.”
“Farewell, young girl, young man.”
