by N. Heller
The two headed west once again in silence.
After walking for less than half an hour, the calm and focused Qing Jiuliu faded away like an ice-cream on a sunny day. Once again, he showed his original sloth-like personality. "Is that consular officer expecting us to go on a Journey to the West expedition? How far must we walk… Why don't you carry me for a little while?"
Lin Sanjiu tossed a glance at him. There was no way in hell she would carry him.
"Once we find the consular officer, I will bring out the mattress for you," she assured Qing Jiuliu.
Mrs. Manas let out a chuckle in her mind. Lin Sanjiu didn't know why but she was suddenly overwhelmed by a strange, complex feeling that she couldn't understand. She shook her head and suppressed that emotion. Then, she remembered her [School of Higher Consciousness]. She had been distracted by that whole incident with Sunny that she nearly forgot that her [School of Higher Consciousness] was now at a secondary school level. After contemplating for a moment, she did not ask Mrs. Manas about it. She decided that she would examine her new ability in detail after she found Ji Shanqing.
Neither of them expected that they would walk until dawn.
As they continued their journey, they saw fewer and fewer of those ivy-covered, gray, damaged high-rise buildings around them. The buildings also got shorter and shorter, as if they were on a sloping graph. It was apparent that the two of them had long left the city center behind them. Based on the remaining weathered road signs, they would leave the city soon if they continued walking. However, they did not find any lake, despite looking around as they walked.
"Strange," Lin Sanjiu frowned. After walking around the area, she couldn't figure out what went wrong. "The sun is behind us, so this is definitely west. There is no reason for the consular officer to set up camp all the way in the wilderness and leave a message in the middle of the city…"
In any case, Lin Sanjiu knew she could not rely on Qing Jiuliu. After announcing that he had no affinity with walking, he would immediately slump on the ground holding a bottle of wine every single time Lin Sanjiu stopped for a moment. This time, he closed his eyes and sunk into a drunken stupor. He seemed completely uninterested in finding the consular officer.
If Sunny had not destroyed those two messages, Lin Sanjiu suspected that she could probably figure out what they did wrong—
When that thought surfaced in her mind, Lin Sanjiu was a little stunned.
"Wrong?"
"What's the matter?" Mrs. Manas asked mildly.
Lin Sanjiu did not reply immediately. She ran over to Qing Jiuliu and shook him awake so he would hear her out. "We had been walking for some time, but we didn't see any new messages. Don't you find this unusual?"
Qing Jiuliu's eyes looked like they were about to close again, he was obviously still very drunk.
"Logically speaking, if that consular officer wants everyone to look for him, he would leave more messages to direct others as they got closer," Lin Sanjiu paused and sighed. Smack. Lin Sanjiu smacked Qing Jiuliu's face to wake the latter again. "We didn't see a single message on our way here. This means that the consular officer isn't even here. We've gone the wrong way."
"What about the 'west' in that message?" Qing Jiuliu asked while he burped.
"We always assumed that the consular officer was at a place near a lake in the west," Lin Sanjiu spoke faster, "But, if we think about it, the wall has been smashed and the words were jumbled. Maybe, we got the meaning wrong. If west and lake are beside each other, wouldn't that be the name of a place!"
Qing Jiuliu wiped the tired tears at the corner of his eyes and looked up, "Your analysis of the situation sounds logical. I'm also happy for you that you are all positive and energetic about it. But, you forgot something."
"What?"
"I don't care," he replied honestly.
Mrs. Manas laughed out again.
Dumbfounded, Lin Sanjiu rolled her eyes at him and dragged him up. After that, she found a functioning van and stuffed him into the vehicle while he grumbled. Knowing that they wouldn't miss any clues on their way back, the best option was to drive a van and conserve their energy. Slam. Lin Sanjiu closed the van door and spoke to Qing Jiuliu through the window, "We're going back now."
Lin Sanjiu honestly wasn't a good driver. She was a greenhorn and had not touched a steering wheel for years. Thankfully, they didn't have to abide by any road traffic rules now, so she drove haphazardly. She even took shortcuts driving up the pavements several times.
Qing Jiuliu's entire body felt very uncomfortable after experiencing Lin Sanjiu's terrible driving. He wanted to say something to her but was slightly startled when he looked up. "There's someone in front!" he shouted. Then, he grabbed the steering wheel and steered the van sharply to one side. The brake screeched as the van slid sideways. Just when they were about to hit the person, the van came to a halting stop.
The space between the stranger's shoulder and the van's windshield was just a fist-width apart.
Even though she knew that the person outside was also a posthuman that wouldn't die from a collision, Lin Sanjiu couldn't help heaving a sigh of relief. She opened the door of the van and got down.
Keeping in mind that she was still disguised as a man, she did not speak hastily. However, when she looked at the person, she couldn't help being a little stunned.
Qing Jiuliu peeked his head from the van and looked at that person. Quite uncharacteristically, he suddenly fell silent.
Lin Sanjiu had seen many different people in her life but she had never seen a woman like the one before her.
"Be careful when you drive," the woman curled her lips. There was something almost phantom-like about her beautiful bright-red lips. A lock of her golden hair slipped from her forehead as she looked at both Lin Sanjiu and Qing Jiuliu. The woman tilted her chin a little and spoke with a rasp yet gentle voice, "I'm not mad at you. However, you might meet others who will be offended."
"Ah. I'm s-sorry," Lin Sanjiu stuttered a little. At that moment, she had completely forgotten that she was disguised as a man. Momentarily, she couldn't bring herself to look away from the woman.
"She has some years on her." Lin Sanjiu thought.
When the woman turned her head, Lin Sanjiu spotted the wrinkles on the woman's slightly sagging chin. On closer inspection, Lin Sanjiu could also see the faint wrinkles on the woman's face. The woman was wearing a diamond ring. When she pointed at Qing Jiuliu with her ring finger, the hints of that woman's age suddenly disappeared from Lin Sanjiu's sight, "Come over, give me a stick of cigarette."
The woman raised her chin and blew a cloud of cigarette smoke into the air.
The woman did not say much to them. She didn't even do anything that unusual. However, Lin Sanjiu simply couldn't turn her eyes away from this woman. The only thing Lin Sanjiu could do was to stare at her, almost mesmerized. The woman seemed to have a halo-like aura. She had a m.a.t.u.r.e charm about her. She was like a bottle of glistening red wine. Aged, but smooth and classy.
The woman tidied her short golden curls and suddenly laughed without any reason.
"You," she pointed to Lin Sanjiu while her cigarette was still between her fingers. "Could you stand further away from me? I am heading in the opposite direction from where you're facing."
That sentence was undeniably rude. However, the woman said those words in such a calm and graceful manner that Lin Sanjiu couldn't get angry at her. Instead, Lin Sanjiu even felt a little impolite that she didn't move aside for the woman immediately.
When the woman saw Lin Sanjiu stepping aside, she smiled and took a step forward. Surprising, even the woman's slim and long calves could make a person stare. The woman's exquisite stilettos clicked against the ground. It was only then that Lin Sanjiu noticed the large gunny sack behind the woman's back.
"Don't take offense, dearie," the woman turned back. She flashed a dreamy smile, framed by her golden locks, at Lin Sanjiu. "I think you are a good kid but I hope you don't come too close to
me."
Lin Sanjiu could not understand what the woman meant. She hesitated and pointed at the gunny sack, "Do you need my help?"
"No," she turned her head. Her stilettos clicked as she walked further and further away from them. "How sweet." Her voice drifted in the air like an elegant melody.
She found Qing Jiuliu staring back at her. Both of them were still in a bit of a daze. After a few seconds, Qing Jiuliu commented, sighingly, "I've never seen such… such a charming woman."
Lin Sanjiu nodded in agreement. Compared to that woman, Lin Sanjiu felt like a man.
Nevertheless, this incident was just a short interlude and the two of them quickly returned to the van. This time, however, Qing Jiuliu opted to drunk drive rather than let Lin Sanjiu touch the steering wheel.
With that decided, he drove for a while and, as expected, they noticed more and more messages from the consular officer. Just as Lin Sanjiu had speculated, the consular officer was at a place called Westlake Restaurant. Following the other messages from the consular officer, the two of them found the restaurant. It was beside a small man-made lake.
"It should be here," Lin Sanjiu looked around and frowned, "But, why isn't there anyone around?"
In any world, there would always be many posthumans surrounding a consular officer. However, that was not what Qing Jiuliu was concerned about.
"This looks like a high-end restaurant. There should be quite a few bottles of good wine here." Qing Jiuliu said as he got off the van. This was the first time he enthusiastically took lead to explore. Lifting the burlap curtain door at the entrance, which was covered in bloodstains, he entered the restaurant.
Lin Sanjiu followed behind. Just when she was about to speak, she looked up and immediately held her tongue.
"You two idiots came here to search for the target too?"
Irezumi stood obnoxiously at the center of the restaurant. He didn't seem that surprised to see them.
"You?" Qing Jiuliu dragged his feet lazily as he approached Irezumi. "Why are you here?"
Irezumi sighed as he looked begrudgingly at them with his serpentine eyes.
"I don't get it," he said sounding depressed, "Why are all my candidates all so stupid?"
Lin Sanjiu felt her heart in her throat.
"He wasn't a consular officer but he pretended to be one… He said that he could lure the target," Irezumi continued worriedly. "Look at this mess he created. He didn't manage to lure the target. Furthermore, another posthuman who was tricked by his message threw him into a gunny sack and took him away. Damn. I don't even know if he is dead or alive. As an arbiter, what should I do…"
Gunny sack. Lin Sanjiu suddenly felt dizzy.
Chapter 463 - The Unretrievable Ji Shanqing
Lin Sanjiu bit her lower lip as she listened to the gurgling sounds in her ears. She was using her utmost effort to stop herself from speaking. Considering everything, she was now very clear what had just happened.
After Qing Jiuliu secretly jabbed Lin Sanjiu a few times, he finally realized the gravity of the situation. "Which of your candidates have been kidnapped by someone?" he asked urgently.
"Who else?" Irezumi showed a glum expression which made his face look even longer. "Other than you two idiots, I only have a stupider fool. He looks even more like a gigolo than you."
"More than a... I'll talk to you about that later," Qing Jiuliu felt insulted in a roundabout way and quickly changed the subject. "If he wasn't a consular officer, how did he pretend to be one? If he is unable to issue a visa, wouldn't that expose him?"
"Who knows what that fool was thinking?" Irezumi frowned. He appeared rather confused by that as well. "I don't know how to maintain that facade for so long…"
Lin Sanjiu heaved a long sigh inwardly.
Irezumi might not be aware but Lin Sanjiu had an inkling about it. If one person in the whole universe could pretend to be a consular officer, the one that could pull it off would be Ji Shanqing.
"What do you plan to do now?" Qing Jiuliu asked. His eyes were bright and attentive now and no one would even suspect that he had been drinking. "As an arbiter, don't you need to look for him?"
"Well," Irezumi blinked his pair of yellow serpentine eyes, "if he dies, his name would be struck off the candidates list. No questions asked. However, at this moment, he isn't dead and the trial is not over. He is technically still active in the trial. Based on the rules, arbiters can go along with a candidate's plans but we cannot rescue them from any danger. The only thing I can do now is to check his current position and see whether he manages to escape. Sigh. I guess I have to find more candidates. This matter doesn't concern you so why are you so worried about him?"
Irezumi had probably decided to give up on Ji Shanqing. Watching him, Lin Sanjiu had to bite her tongue to stop herself from speaking.
When they met that woman, she was not using any abilities. Lin Sanjiu did not feel a powerful aura from the woman, unlike Hei Zeji and Puppeteer. The woman was so graceful and elegant, it was as if God had personally crafted every single inch of her with great care. However, she had a coldness about her. It was that same coldness that made Lin Sanjiu convinced that the woman would be far scarier than Puppeteer, Santa Claus, and others if she turned hostile.
"How long can Ji Shanqing keep his identity a secret as a hostage of such a person?"
If she didn't need to know what Irezumi was planning next, Lin Sanjiu would not even choose to stand there dumbly, listening to that man. Now that she knew that he wasn't going to be of any help, she did not want to waste any more time. She tugged Qing Jiuliu's sleeve lightly and wanted to set off immediately—
"If you plan to just drive back and search for him, you'll just be looking for a needle in a haystack." Mrs. Manas spoke unexpectedly before Qing Jiuliu turned back to look at Lin Sanjiu.
She spoke to Lin Sanjiu in a slow and calm tone, "You need to depend on this serpentine-eyed arbiter. You can only find your friend through that tracking device of his."
"But I have to go out and search for him myself precisely because he refuses to do anything!
"With regards to that, I have a suggestion."
"What suggestion?" Lin Sanjiu asked anxiously.
"He can't do anything now because the trial is still ongoing. As an arbiter, he can't take the initiative to help his candidate, right?" Mrs. Manas seemed to have noticed Lin Sanjiu's anxiety, so her voice became gentler. "In other words, all you have to do is to end this trial, isn't it?"
"End—" Lin Sanjiu muttered.
"If you hand over the corpse you have, this trial would end with Qing Jiuliu and you being the successful candidates. A candidate would only lose his candidacy after he fails three trials. Your little friend had only failed one trial so he will still be a candidate," Mrs. Manas's voice sounded a little amused when she noticed Lin Sanjiu's sudden excitement after she said that. "As an arbiter, Irezumi would have to inform his candidates about the next trial. So, he would have to inform them face-to-face no matter where they are.
"If that's the case, Irezumi will have no choice but to look for Ji Shanqing!" Lin Sanjiu picked herself up quickly. Her previous gloom-and-doom reaction almost disappeared completely. "Yes, when Irezumi makes the announcement for the next trial, I will follow him and I'll definitely find my grand prize!"
Mrs. Manas chuckled and did not say anything… because at that moment Qing Jiuliu had lost his patience after waiting meaningless for some time. He jabbed Lin Sanjiu, "Brother Lin? Are you daydreaming?"
Lin Sanjiu nodded. She couldn't tell if he understood what she meant. She raised her hand and a card flew out from under the black cloth she was wearing. When it was about to land on the floor in front of Irezumi, the outline of a corpse suddenly fell on the floor, appearing out of nowhere with a snapping sound.
It had only been one day but the corpse had already turned greenish and her pale lips were like a dead fish. The rigid corpse fell to the floor and her arms splayed outward in an awkward manner as they were joined
properly to the body. However, other than the ones who created it, it was almost impossible to notice that tiny detail.
Irezumi looked at his two candidates, slightly puzzled. Then, he looked at the corpse in front of him and his eyes immediately widened, "Huh? Is this the target?"
"Why did you suddenly bring that out?" Qing Jiuliu turned to Lin Sanjiu and grumbled softly. "We only worked out some parts of that story—"
"Is this really the target?" Irezumi interrupted Qing Jiuliu's frustrated ramblings. Both of them fell silent instantly. They watched as Irezumi crouched beside the female corpse. His face was full of disbelief, "Both of you completed the trial? Let me check…"
Lin Sanjiu and Qing Jiuliu couldn't help feeling a bit nervous when Irezumi started to examine the corpse. They secretly gulped.
To hide the sewing stitches on the corpse's body, they intentionally put on many layers of clothes for it. They tore off some material from the clothes for the spots that did not show any stitches. They did that to try to make the corpse look as natural as possible. However, that was an assembled corpse after all, and they were afraid that they might be exposed by something they might not have even noticed.
It was very hard for them to tell from Irezumi's yellow eyes what he was currently thinking.
He looked up expressionlessly and stared at the two of them. He took a second look at the corpse below him. The atmosphere froze around them. After quite some time, he suddenly reached into his pocket and started digging, "Wait for me. I forgot what were the criterions to check for verification."
Lin Sanjiu's heart was in her mouth.
"Yes, her height is about 1.8m," Irezumi held a crumpled paper in his hand. Every now and then, he would look at the paper and then at the corpse. "Bandages, checked. Hair length around collarbones, checked…"
Lin Sanjiu trimmed Queenie's hair based on her own hair length.
"Her physical characteristics match the information I have," Irezumi folded and stored the paper. "Next, I will ask you some questions. First question, what is her name?" Irezumi asked with a serious tone.