Chapter 6: Do You Think He Will Come to Find Me?
Since the age of twelve, Jiang Li had been constantly losing.
First, she lost her respectful and reliable father, then her gentle mother, and finally, her benefactor, to whom she hadn’t had the chance to repay her gratitude…
It felt as if every important person who left her would never return.
Over time, waving goodbye became a formality, almost a pattern in her life.
Now, seeing Lu Yibei appear unscathed in front of her, Jiang Li for a moment didn’t know how to respond, her arms tightening around herself.
As if afraid that, after waking from a dream, he might suddenly disappear.
“Yikes—! That hurts, may I ask if this is the long-lost ‘sister-hugging killer’ from the rivers and lakes?”
It was only when Lu Yibei let out a pained cry that Jiang Li snapped out of her daze, pulling herself away from that state of sadness and confusion, her eyes turning cold.
The frail girl afraid of losing someone close was her.
But the Siye Association operative, who was decisive and serious, like a precise machine capable of “killing” with just a glance, was also her.
“Lu Yibei…”
“Hmm?” Lu Yibei softly replied, looking down at Jiang Li with tenderness in his eyes, “Are we going to watch a movie? Do you want to see ‘Monster Power Company’?”
Having just been to Du Sixian’s renovated “den,” he inexplicably wanted to see that movie… Lu Yibei thought to himself.
“No.” Jiang Li shook her head, speaking calmly, “What I want to say is, you’d better forget what you just saw. If you can’t forget, I wouldn’t mind helping you.”
After all, it would be too embarrassing.
“……”
Lu Yibei fell silent for a few seconds, slowly rising and looking around, “Strange, what just happened? Oh my! Why are you in my house, boss?”
I understand, I really understand, girls also have their pride!
If you want to act, I will play along.
Moreover, it feels right this way; a crying Jiang Li looks quite awkward, making one want to give her a mental boost punch. Lu Yibei thought to himself.
Jiang Li, suppressing the urge to laugh, stood up, tidied her clothes, extended a hand, and said seriously, “I heard you’ve been on leave for a long time, I just came to visit a subordinate.”
Is this a tradition of the Siye Association? Never seen a visit to a subordinate that takes place in bed… Lu Yibei thought, grasping Jiang Li’s outstretched hand and giving it a symbolic shake.
“Thank you for your concern, boss. You’ve worked hard.”
“Well…” Jiang Li said, “It’s been a long time, how have you been?”
Lu Yibei feigned nonchalance, shrugging, “Although I encountered some unexpected incidents and got a few injuries, overall, I’m fine.”
For now, he seemed to be a relatively stable human bomb.
“Hmm.” Jiang Li nodded in satisfaction, “I hope to rely on you more in the future [heart emoji].”
“Rely on me more [dog emoji].” Lu Yibei replied, matching Jiang Li with a knowing glance.
Then he suddenly noticed the smile on Jiang Li’s face. It was the first time he had seen her smile so naturally, without the gloomy fear that accompanied a forced grin; it was so gentle.
Like a fine wine brewed from osmanthus, sweet and hard to put down, and before one knew it, they were intoxicated.
“Jiang Li, I have a question to ask you.” Lu Yibei suddenly spoke.
Jiang Li looked at Lu Yibei, seeing his indecisive expression, and his face, flush like he was drunk, seemingly understanding something. She interrupted before he could speak, “There are some things, some promises, you’d better think clearly before saying.”
In the silence, Lu Yibei looked at Jiang Li’s cold eyes, momentarily stunned, the words that were just on his lips suddenly stuck in his throat.
“Since you won’t say it, then let me say it?” Jiang Li said earnestly, “Do you remember the benefactor I told you about?”
Lu Yibei nodded.
“I am very grateful to him. So, although I didn’t make any promises of devotion, I made a commitment to him, that if I couldn’t get married in the future, I’d just give him to my son.”
Upon hearing this, Lu Yibei lowered his head, a hint of sorrow flashing in his eyes.
“Seriously, how can someone make such an outrageous promise? Both the person who made the promise and the one who agreed to it are quite ridiculous.”
“Indeed.” Jiang Li nodded, “I think so too. Moreover, he asked me to find a guy named Yan Zu from Mudan Street. I searched for a long time and finally found him not long ago.”
“!!!”
Could she be the fiancée my dad used to talk about?
Lu Yibei’s eyes widened as he looked up at Jiang Li, about to speak when she cut in first.
“Wait a moment, let me finish.” Jiang Li said, “After interacting with that guy, I decided to honor the commitment, but not to repay a debt of gratitude, just because I wanted to.”
“However, I later found out that he was entangled with other girls, what Wang Buliu, what Calamity the King of Urban Legends… Actually, in terms of emotions, I’m quite a selfish person, and his actions make me feel very insecure, so I want to wait a little longer.”
“Wait until he deals with his matters with the Calamity girl and Wang Buliu girl, then come to find me. Do you think he will come to find me?”
She had really thought it through; she liked neither Calamity nor Wang Buliu, just Lu Yibei.
But she knew very well that Lu Yibei still had many matters to attend to that she couldn’t be part of. If she made a promise now, she would become Lu Yibei’s cage, just like in the wasteland outside Dream Come True Entertainment City.
No matter how good a cage is, the canary imprisoned inside will eventually grow weary.
“……”
After hearing everything Jiang Li had to say, Lu Yibei felt much clearer; indeed, this was not the most suitable moment for a confession. Not to mention, just the energy within him that could take his life at any moment didn’t allow him to make a commitment.
If he made a promise now, and something unfortunate happened, would he expect that young girl to be a widow at such a young age?
After a moment of silence, he raised his head, looked into Jiang Li’s eyes, and in the most serious tone of his life said, “I believe he will come to find you after he deals with his troubles. He definitely will!”
Jiang Li looked at Lu Yibei, for a long while, smiling silently, “That does sound pleasant to hear. So, do you still want to ask the question you had earlier?”
Lu Yibei shrugged, “Not anymore.”
“Well then…” Jiang Li tilted her head toward Lu Yibei, smiling, “Lu Yibei, can you take me home?”
“Would you mind if I rode you on a little electric scooter? Don’t worry, Water Brother helped me modify it. It’s super fast, even the boys on the street can’t beat me!” Lu Yibei said.
Jiang Li nodded, “I don’t mind at all.”
————
Twenty minutes later.
On the road not far from Amber Hall, a small electric scooter in a mirror-like purple color sped by.
The girl quietly sat on the back seat, her hands around the young man’s waist, leaning back to look at the stars, humming a tune, allowing her long hair to be blown by the wind.
She could feel the boy’s body heat right beside her, less than a palm’s distance away, and she could even hear his heartbeat and breathing.
She murmured something to the boy, and then a sharp screech of brakes echoed throughout the street.
“What? You buried it? But that’s the ‘Flower of Chaos from Parallel Worlds’! There are less than a hundred of them in the world, how could you bury it?” Lu Yibei lamented.
“Boss, look, Amber Hall is right in front! Should I just drop you off here?” Jiang Li looked at Lu Yibei and then at the nearby Amber Hall, momentarily at a loss for words.
“Please, please! I have to go to Lions Mountain Cemetery right now to deal with something!” Lu Yibei pleaded.
“……”
Jiang Li hesitated for a moment, then rested her forehead in resignation, shaking her head.
Suddenly, she truly believed that after Yan Zu from Mudan Street dealt with his troubles, he would definitely come back to find her.
Could any other girl endure him?
She would absolutely be driven mad by him, right?
————
2:14 AM, outskirts of Huacheng, Lions Mountain Cemetery.
A stonecutter and two cemetery keepers hid in the woods on a small hillside, quietly drinking peanuts and liquor to fend off the deep winter chill.
At that moment, a series of faint sounds approached, and the three exchanged solemn looks before silently pulling out their “weapons.”
A set of three short knives, the D-level spirit energy items given to them by An Qing for self-defense.
Turning towards the direction of the sound, a figure appeared, carrying a large iron hammer and holding a flashlight in their mouth. They swiftly climbed over the wall, sneaking through the eerily quiet cemetery, stopping at the area An Qing instructed them to watch closely.
Then.
That person suddenly swung the iron hammer, aiming at a tombstone, and brought it down with force.
“Bang—!” Lu Yibei smashed the hammer down, the dull sound echoing, cracks spreading across the gravestone.
Just as he raised the hammer again, ready to smash open the gravestone and retrieve the “treasure,” a series of hurried footsteps sounded from behind, and three strong flashlights locked onto his figure from different directions, followed closely by three blades pressed against his neck.
“Don’t move!” the three shouted in unison.
Seeing no reaction from the short knives, the stonecutter’s group suddenly grew bolder.
An Qing had told them that the knives would glow when encountering urban legends, but wouldn’t react if it were a human.
What’s going on? Did I encounter a fellow thief? How could they also be armed? Lu Yibei felt a rush of nerves, hastily calling out, “Brother, don’t be impulsive! I’m a good person, a good person!”
“Less nonsense, turn around.” the stonecutter growled.
When Lu Yibei turned around and saw the stonecutter’s face covered by a mask reminiscent of a gourd baby-similar pangolin, he twitched his lips, “Take off that mask!”
Lu Yibei slowly removed the mask, just revealing his handsome face when he heard a click, the flashlight’s beam quickly captured his image.
“All right, kid, I’ve got your face now, please come with us!”
“Where to?” Lu Yibei asked weakly.
“To the police station!” the stonecutter thundered.
“No, I just wanted to grab something; there’s no need for this…”
“Shut up!” the stonecutter interrupted, “Are you calling that grabbing? Taking without permission is theft! You’re a tomb raider!”
“Cut it out, stop talking, and come with me to the police station!”
Lu Yibei, “……”
(This is where I hit a wall; today’s update is a bit shorter…)
