novelnext Chapter 99 : Chapter 99
Chapter 99 : Chapter 99
Chapter 99
Ji Qing once again came to recognize just how powerful he was.
If his earlier awareness had been a kind of relief, then now, a faint sense of worry quietly surfaced in his heart.
Night had fully descended, and the full moon hung high in the sky.
With sluggish awareness, Ji Qing slowly withdrew his right hand from a pool of gore. A sticky sensation clung to his fingertips, while the tip of his nose caught the foul, fishy stench of blood. The moment his sharpened nails retracted, they sliced cleanly through the still-intact corpse of the Vulture Leader without the slightest effort.
Ji Qing tilted his head, mildly troubled.
His vision was gradually becoming clearer in the darkness, far clearer than it had ever been when he was human.
Standing atop the fallen leader’s corpse, Ji Qing calmly swept his gaze over the surviving vultures around him. He could sense the lingering caution in their postures. He could sense the ripples of fear in their emotions.
What a strange thing, Ji Qing thought.
Just as he had never realized before that when his Ability was pushed to its limit, his behavior would begin to lean toward something bestial. Ji Qing mulled it over thoughtfully. At this point, there was probably no need to keep guessing at his identity anymore... everything was just as he had once suspected...
Ji Qing suddenly said, “This was only an accident.”
The accident being that his original intention had been to lure the tiger away from the mountain, only to end up killing the “tiger” by mistake.
Ji Qing spoke again. “Though, to be fair, it might also have been because I was angry.”
The reason he had been angry was that he had been looked down on by an Aberrant he did not even respect. Even though he had repeatedly told himself during the fight that it was normal, the more he thought about it, the angrier he became. He had even started taking it out on Xie Chang’an, who was not even here. Good grief. How had he suddenly developed the urge to beat Xie Chang’an until his face was swollen black and blue?
Xie Chang’an was completely innocent, okay?
At last, Ji Qing said, “To be honest, I’ve got a bit of a headache over how to deal with the aftermath.”
The instant of frenzy from earlier had already slipped from his memory.
What troubled him now was how he was supposed to explain to humans that he had single-handedly taken the head of the leader of the Mutated Bird flock. Did that really make sense for an ungraduated Class S student?
Even if he was the Valedictorian. Even if he was a genius.
Just as Ji Qing tilted his head and sank into worry, the surviving birds that had made it through the aerial blockade suddenly looked at one another. And after exchanging glances for a while, one avian Aberrant whose frame was far more slender than a normal vulture cautiously crawled a few steps forward.
It did not spread its wings to glide. Instead, it awkwardly shuffled forward on its two bird claws.
Ji Qing stood where he was and watched in silence.
This avian Aberrant’s appearance was much closer to that of a goose. Though Ji Qing had earlier mocked the bizarre hybrid state of the Mutated Bird flock, what he had not expected was that after the Vulture Leader’s death, the negotiator pushed forward by the flock no longer leaned toward the vulture side.
[Since that is the case...] The Mutated Goose lowered its head humbly. [Please allow us to continue our southward migration. We will stake the survival of our family on it. We absolutely will not reveal this matter to any party.]
“You... you can talk?” Ji Qing froze for a moment.
That was actually rather rare.
So far, Ji Qing had only met one Aberrant capable of communication. This one before him was the second. For a moment, Ji Qing could not quite grasp the situation, but after thinking of the flock’s strange appearances, he suddenly understood the reason.
Perhaps the rule of victor and vanquished applied among Aberrants too...
But rather than speech, it was more like telepathy. Compared to human language, communication between Aberrants leaned more toward the frequencies of their own species, and only when dealing with other species of Aberrants did they switch to telepathy.
Ji Qing suddenly became a little curious about what species “Qing” actually was.
[Yes,] the Mutated Goose replied. [Because we have already developed a stable small-scale social structure.]
“And why should I trust you?” Ji Qing asked calmly.
[I think the reason is fairly obvious.] The Mutated Goose answered earnestly. [We are unwilling to push our Crown Prince toward other species.]
“You know who I am?” Ji Qing frowned instinctively.
Ji Qing did not understand the meaning of “Crown Prince.” What he did hear was that the other party had recognized his identity. A trace of irritation suddenly rose in Ji Qing’s heart. It seemed the mysteries he urgently needed answered had just increased by one more.
Just as the goose was about to continue, Ji Qing coldly cut it off. “No. There’s no need to remind me of that. I don’t have much time. Tell me your solution.”
If he kept talking with the Mutated Goose, Xie Chang’an and the others would probably arrive soon.
The bizarre scene before him absolutely could not be allowed to reach their eyes. Ji Qing still could not give up his identity as the Valedictorian. Before, it had only been for the sake of influencing the manga plot more easily. But now, Ji Qing had an even more legitimate reason.
The more identities he had, the more channels of information he possessed.
The Mutated Goose’s sharp eyes suddenly turned toward the Vulture Leader beneath Ji Qing’s feet. [This was a normal family dispute. Such things often happen within our family, and to other species, it is nothing unusual. As for you...]
[If you require it, we can fight among ourselves until a new leader is chosen.]
“Oh?” Ji Qing nodded with interest.
That really was an excellent idea. At the very least, it would allow him to deceive Xie Chang’an and the manga readers perfectly. Ji Qing’s gaze toward the goose instantly turned meaningful. At times, he truly did want subordinates like this.
Because they really were capable of getting things done.
But forget it...
Ji Qing lowered his eyes, concealing the exhaustion in them. “Then do it that way.”
He was tired. He no longer wanted to think.
***
At 7:53 that evening, farther along the Yancheng-Spring City rail route.
Xie Chang’an was leading the three of them toward the Safehouse marked on the map. As he ran, he stayed alert to the changes around them, the blood-stained Tang Saber in his hand gleaming under the moonlight.
After blocking yet another Aberrant attack, Xie Chang’an instinctively looked toward the northeastern night sky.
He had not heard any movement from Ji Qing’s side for quite some time now.
Worry would not stop gnawing at Xie Chang’an’s heart. Ji Qing might be strong, but the current situation was deeply unsettling. After quickly estimating the distance between them and the Safehouse, Xie Chang’an moved closer to Gu Lingxue.
“Lingxue, how much have you recovered?”
Their long-standing tacit understanding allowed Gu Lingxue to immediately sense what he was planning.
“What are you going to do?” she asked.
Xie Chang’an answered, “I’m a little worried about the Valedictorian.”
“All right, then go.” There was not the slightest hesitation on Gu Lingxue’s face as she said bluntly, “We’ll meet again at the Safehouse.”
Xie Chang’an nodded. “Okay.”
With that, Xie Chang’an immediately flicked the blood off his Tang Saber and swiftly split off from the fleeing group.
Gu Lingxue promptly took over Xie Chang’an’s former role.
A sword of ice condensed in her left palm as she sped up and took his previous position. After doing that, Gu Lingxue did not forget to turn back and tell her father calmly, “Dad, we’ll have to walk the rest of the way ourselves. Protect Mom.”
Gu Yueqing was momentarily stunned, then replied, “All right.”
Looking at his daughter’s back, both familiar and unfamiliar at once, he thought in amazement: Lingxue seems to have grown up somewhere I couldn’t see...
Naturally, her mother felt the same.
The first thing Mrs. Gu noticed keenly was that the way Gu Lingxue held her sword looked very much like the boy from earlier. She had once viciously disparaged that lower-class boy, yet the first person to extend a hand to her in aid had been that very same boy.
That immediately complicated Mrs. Gu’s feelings.
She ought to resent her daughter for causing her parents to run into something like this, and yet, the moment she saw her daughter, the first thought that appeared in her mind was: The three of us are together again at last. Thank goodness. I can still see my daughter.
But along with relief came even more fear.
Why did she have to come save us? What if Xiaoxue dies here too? Mrs. Gu’s thoughts instantly became a tangle. She could not even explain to herself what kind of state of mind she was in now. It was her first time being a mother. It was her husband’s first time being a father too...
Maybe there really were things they had done poorly.
After all, until some things were experienced firsthand, no one around them would ever think there was anything wrong. With tangled emotions, Mrs. Gu thought: Xiaoxue... has she already found her own road...?
At 8:07 that evening, in the wilderness forest.
Xie Chang’an’s figure darted through mottled shadows beneath the trees until he vanished completely into the darkness of the forest. The farther he ran, the dimmer and blurrier the scenery before him became.
The faint starlight was nowhere near enough to illuminate this area.
Broken, rustling sounds reached Xie Chang’an’s ears from time to time, and every one of them was enough to make the hair on his body stand on end. Darkness and the unknown had always been the two things humanity feared most. Yet he still kept running with clenched teeth.
Compared with darkness and the unknown, Xie Chang’an feared losing his companion even more.
His relationship with Ji Qing had only just begun to improve a little. Xie Chang’an’s thoughts were in disarray. He had not yet become the Valedictorian’s friend in the true sense. He had not yet told the Valedictorian how he felt about the help he had once given him. He, he...
He still had so many regrets left undone.
The shadows of the trees along the way shifted from sparse to dense, then sparse again.
Light appeared before Xie Chang’an’s eyes once more.
Though the starlight was still dim, it was far better than the pitch-black forest from moments ago.
After a long run that felt like torment to the heart, Xie Chang’an finally caught sight of the Mutated Bird flock. The flock was locked in internal battle, and he was just about to draw his blade and join the fight.
At that moment, Xie Chang’an did not even have time to think about why the flock was fighting among itself.
Just as he was about to leave the shelter of the trees and charge toward the light where the birds were fighting, a brutal force suddenly yanked him away from where he stood. Xie Chang’an was thrown into a sideways free fall in the forest, from left to right.
His limbs instantly stopped obeying him.
Before he could tighten his grip on the Tang Saber and forcibly interrupt his own “fall,” a large hand ruthlessly clamped onto the back of his head and shoved his entire face into the swamp.
“Shh.”
Ji Qing’s hush came down from above.
Not only had he pinned Xie Chang’an into the swamp one-handed, he had even used the exact posture a police officer would use to subdue a criminal, directly eliminating any possibility of resistance. Ji Qing’s tone was tired and helpless as he said, “You really are an absolute blockhead.”
“Whine, QAQ.”
Completely dumbfounded, Xie Chang’an struggled to lift his head, only to have his face shoved back into the swamp again.
The Great Demon King Ji Qing had not an ounce of sympathy for him.
“Couldn’t you tell? They’re fighting among themselves.” He stated the obvious expressionlessly. “And you still wanted to rush in under those circumstances? You really are looking to die.”
Knowing he was in the wrong, Xie Chang’an said nothing more.
But after saying that, Ji Qing stopped restraining him.
Like a shadow, he retreated a few steps and returned to the crack in the dead tree where he had been hiding moments before. Leaning half his weight against the trunk, Ji Qing quietly closed his eyes, plainly looking like he had no desire to deal with anyone.
Caked in mud, Xie Chang’an suddenly sensed that something was wrong with Ji Qing.
He quickly walked over to Ji Qing and asked in a tense whisper, “Valedictorian, are you all right? Are you hurt anywhere?”
The Valedictorian who had mocked him for being unreliable before they split up had now suddenly fallen silent. Xie Chang’an was absolutely certain something was wrong here. Something had definitely happened that he did not know about. But before he could ask a second question, Ji Qing coldly cut him off.
“Don’t talk.”
“Oh. Okay.” Xie Chang’an’s tone instantly returned to normal.
This was the Valedictorian he knew, the one who always seemed ready to throw a dark look at him. Though something had clearly happened to the Valedictorian, that single sentence—that single sentence—made Xie Chang’an feel as though he had come back to life.
What the hell, are you a masochist?! Xie Chang’an viciously cursed himself inwardly.
Ji Qing, who still had his eyes closed, did not notice the odd expression flickering across Xie Chang’an’s face at all. Leaning against the trunk, he sounded tired and drowsy.
“I’m just a little tired. Let me rest for a while.”
The mental fortitude he had been forcing himself to maintain gradually began to crumble in front of someone he knew.
Other good options:
“They’ll leave in a bit. Wake me when that happens.” Ji Qing struggled to rouse himself, but his voice grew weaker and weaker all the same. “Remember to protect me.”
With that final sentence, Ji Qing’s consciousness finally blurred completely.
At that moment, the hidden consequences brought on by losing control burst forth in full.
Now, all that remained in the swamp was the rustling sound of the wind passing through the reeds.