Volume One, Chapter Thirty: Setting Out on the Journey Home

“In summary, I’ll be accompanying my cousin from now on, so I won’t be traveling with everyone else,” Mo De declared, face unflushed and heartbeat steady, as he spun a mediocre tale about his “eldest cousin being gravely wounded in battle and her little cousin tending to her with devotion.” Yet, he avoided meeting Su Ziwen’s eyes, feeling a pang of guilt—after all, the class monitor’s sharpness was almost frightening.

“Wow, I didn’t know you had such an impressive cousin. You’ll have to introduce her to us someday,” Wu Fan exclaimed, predictably the easiest to fool, swallowing Mo De’s story without question. Ji Keqing, on the other hand, looked doubtful—how could a seriously injured, unconscious cousin suddenly appear on the wilds outside the Safe Zone? She glanced at Su Ziwen, only to see her lower her gaze and respond blandly, “Take good care of your cousin, and stay safe.”

Mo De was momentarily taken aback, surprised that Su Ziwen hadn’t pressed him further. He didn’t dwell on it, though, and after bidding farewell, hurried back to prepare to carry Mu Qing to the vehicle.

Upon receiving the order to depart, the students immediately ceased resting, stood up, and waited to board the school bus in orderly proximity as soon as the encirclement lifted.

Su Ziwen quietly arranged her belongings, backpack secured, and queued up with the other two to board the bus. She knew full well that Mo De had no distant cousin, but she chose not to expose his awkward lie.

From Mo De, she detected a faintly familiar feminine scent, almost entirely masked by the pungent odor of blood. Someone had indeed been grievously hurt, and Mo De was going to care for her. Knowing these two things, Su Ziwen saw no reason to hinder his departure.

Even that faint trace of a woman’s scent was identical to the mysterious lady who had appeared the previous day and whisked Mo De away.

Su Ziwen had never wished to probe into the secrets Mo De kept hidden; she only wanted to be sure that this classmate—never one for docility or caution—would not be crushed under the weight of his own secrets.

That reunion after the long break—though Mo De still laughed and joked with everyone—Su Ziwen saw beneath the surface, glimpsing the sorrow and disorientation buried deep within him. It was as if someone important had left him, and he was forced to conceal his true feelings, feigning the light in his eyes while continuing to banter with the rest.

Time is the ultimate remedy, but the healing process it brings is nothing short of agonizing.

...

The car, which had been moving smoothly, suddenly jolted as if it had run over a stone. Mu Qing, who had been quietly sipping a nutrient supplement, seemed to choke and began coughing violently.

Mo De quickly set aside the water bottle and gently patted her back.

It was as if a blissful dream had been abruptly shattered. Mu Qing opened her heavy-lidded eyes, hunched over and coughing for a while before finally regaining her breath.

“I’m not dead, am I?” she remarked candidly, but Mo De could hear the exhaustion, the relief, and the joy of survival in her voice.

“What happened earlier?” Mo De helped Mu Qing sit up, letting her lean against the car door.

“How did you end up here, kid?” Mu Qing’s mind was still muddled, answering a question with a question.

“You passed out completely after slaying a fog spirit. We happened to be in the middle of a skirmish with it, so we returned to the Safe Zone with this unit.” Mo De explained their current situation in a few words, then repeated his earlier question: “What happened?”

“I’ll tell you in a bit. Can you get me some water first?” Mu Qing, looking nothing like someone who had just been gravely injured and unconscious, now seemed almost brimming with energy. Small wonder, having swallowed that impressive pill from Li Dongdong and half a secret elixir from the ‘Tide,’ the combined value nearly rivaling that of the Great Dragon-Tiger Pill she had previously consumed. While it couldn’t repair her body as swiftly as the Dragon-Tiger Pill, the potent medicinal energy suffused her, stabilizing her core vitality.

As Mu Qing began to recount what had happened, Mo De’s gaze grew increasingly strange. Even considering the bizarre black fire connected to that man, which allowed her to face a Disaster Apostle head-on, it all sounded utterly fantastical.

“What’s your current level?” Mo De stared at her as if she were a monster, making Mu Qing a little self-conscious.

“Well, the early stage of the Wishful Realm...” Mu Qing had never intended to hide her strength from Mo De; he just hadn’t asked, and she’d forgotten to mention it. Now, as the topic came up, she suddenly felt a little shy—afraid to scare him.

“How old are you, exactly?” Mo De locked eyes with her, his gaze intense.

“My twentieth birthday is in a couple of days...” Under his scrutiny, Mu Qing feigned a maiden’s bashfulness. “Why are you staring at me like that? Haven’t you seen a proper young lady before?”

“I haven’t seen a young lady of twenty breaking into the Wishful Realm.” “I’m not quite twenty yet...” she muttered, but as Mo De glared at her, she bit her tongue and fell silent.

Taking a deep breath, Mo De forced himself to calm down. So what if this girl, barely three years his senior, had reached the Wishful Realm? Was it really so shocking? Yes, it was!

Mo De pressed a hand to his forehead, nearly losing his composure. Most people at twenty were still struggling to break into the Receptive Realm or had already given up the path of the Awakened, choosing instead to join the military or seek another life within the Safe Zone. To cross the second awakening and reach the Commanding Gate Realm was enough to be called a genius by all. And this one? Genius? Monster? Mo De wasn’t even sure she was still human.

Deep breaths. Deep breaths. Mo De struggled to steady his shaken resolve. “Are there any others your age at this level?” Maybe she was just an anomaly, a rare prodigy, he comforted himself.

“There are, but none as strong as me.” Mu Qing yawned, looking tired again.

“People like me just started the foundation earlier. In fact, I think your one-day breakthrough is even more unbelievable.” Something occurred to her, and she asked, “By the way, do you have your phone on you?”

Numbly, Mo De handed his phone over, still replaying her earlier “there are” in his mind. He’d thought the ‘Tide’ had already shown him enough wonders, but here was someone who shattered his limits of comprehension once more.

So there really were such freakish talents in this world, and by her tone, she wasn’t even the only one.

“Hey, Dad? Yeah, I’m fine, still alive, still breathing. No need to come over. By the way, I got into a fight here in Qin City... No, not in the city, in the Qinhuang Mountains. Make sure to clean up the mess over there for me, would you? Who was I fighting? Well... just happened to run into a Disaster Apostle...”

By the time Mo De had finally calmed himself, he found Mu Qing holding the phone to his ear.

“What?” startled by her sudden proximity, Mo De backed away, but he noticed that her finger, as she handed him the phone, bore faint blood stains seeping through the bandage.

“My dad wants a word with you.” Mu Qing pressed the phone against his ear.

“Oh, um... Hello, Uncle.” Flustered, Mo De took the phone and greeted him stiffly.

“Is that young Mo De? Thank you for saving Qing’er. That girl’s never behaved since she was small...” Before he could finish, Mu Qing snatched the phone back.

“You heard him, someone’s looking after me, so don’t worry. If you have time to fret, you might as well erase any trace of that fight for me. Now that you’ve quit your job, I don’t want to be summoned back for questioning... Okay, okay, that’s all, I’m hanging up now. Bye, bye! Give my regards to Mom!”

Staring at the young woman bantering with her family, Mo De suddenly felt she wasn’t quite so monstrous after all.

“So you really are human.” As he took back the phone, Mo De couldn’t help but remark softly.

“What’s with you...” Mu Qing grumbled, trying to pinch his cheek, but the movement tugged at her wounds. “Ouch...”

“Just get some rest. When we get back to Qin City, I’ll take you to the hospital for a check-up.” Tucking her back under the blanket, Mo De fetched an apple from a nearby box and began peeling it for her. After all the commotion, Mu Qing was feeling weary again, drowsiness overtaking her.

“Where do you live, anyway?” she asked, forcing herself to stay awake while munching on apple slices.

“Qinghe District.” He carefully fed her another slice with the knife tip, answering blandly.

“Be specific.”

“What for?”

“How else am I supposed to come over after my check-up? Don’t think you can back out now, remember our agreement!” Mu Qing sounded anxious. After that battle deep in the Qinhuang Mountains, she was more certain than ever that her black flames came from a higher power reigning from the throne. The black fire that had so easily consumed the grey mist was now a docile black cord in his hand. The boy before her intrigued her beyond measure.

Seventeen years without awakening, the vanished bronze buckle on the black cord, that insane one-day breakthrough, not to mention his close ties with that man.

This boy was the key to all the answers. Mu Qing’s intuition grew only stronger.

“I haven’t backed out. I’ll go with you for your check-up and bring you home afterward.” Mo De sighed. If he’d known this girl was even more troublesome than he’d imagined, he wouldn’t have agreed so easily to her persistent requests. But it was too late now. He’d just have to tidy up the room where Li Changsheng used to live and let this troublemaker move in. “Remember to pay me back. I’ve already helped you once with the fire.”

“Yeah, yeah, you penny-pincher...”

“I’ll have to report to Sister Xi and Sister Dong, too,” Mo De muttered under his breath, but the nearly exhausted Mu Qing still caught it. A flash of intuition sparked in her mind, but fatigue quickly drowned it out.

“Haah... You have sisters?” eyelids heavy, Mu Qing still managed to ask.

“Xi and Dong are my landladies. If you’re moving in, I have to give them notice. Go to sleep—you’re already half out,” Mo De said, tucking her in again.

Finally, unable to resist any longer, curiosity buried under exhaustion, Mu Qing drifted into deep slumber.

She was so tired this time that she even began to snore softly.

Mo De finished the rest of the apple, wiped the knife clean, and put it away.

Gazing at Mu Qing’s sleeping face, he fell silent.

Seventeen years old. Nineteen years old. Inspiration Realm and Wishful Realm. The gap between them was enough to suffocate him, but remembering that he had only recently stumbled onto the path of the Awakened, his battered confidence recovered a little.

Break through Inspiration, reach the Receptive Realm, cross the second awakening... The physical body could offer little more advancement now; if he wanted to grow stronger, he would have to continue down the path he had only just begun to open—the road of the Awakened.

I want to become strong—strong enough to stand alongside this woman, strong enough to hold my own in the ‘Tide,’ strong enough, one day, to become someone others can rely on.

He raised his wrist and looked quietly at the black cord hanging from it, his expression calm but resolute.

Outside the window, the city skyline drew ever closer.