Chapter 165
Chapter 165
“This is bad, this is bad…”
“I’m finished, I’m finished…”
The thought that the United Government might seize him at any moment, interrogate him, tie him inside a sack, and dump him into a river filled Qin Lan with despair.
He had faced the United Government’s investigator calmly before because he knew the man could find no evidence against him.
Back then, he also had Lu Xingshan–one of the strongest four-star Anomaly Hunters–backing him.
But now?
Qin Lan was merely an unsupported three-star Anomaly Hunter.
The figures behind this matter would not even need to act personally. A single breath from them could crush him to death.
Well, he was not entirely without backing… He had an old man in his pocket–no, an old woman–who had once been a formidable figure herself…
But she was useless now!
And she had brought all this trouble down on him!
Qin Lan’s head throbbed. He could not help regretting the moment of curiosity that made him buy the uniform.
“I should’ve left that thing to rot in the shop. Anything would’ve been better than letting it drag me to my death…”
“Someone could’ve bought it, turned it into a mop, and left it in a bathroom for all I care…”
Qin Lan simmered with resentment.
[… You do realize I can hear your thoughts, don’t you?]
“Sigh.”
Qin Lan exhaled. “What do we do now?”
“Even if I want to run to the Fallen Zone, I still have to get out of here first… Do you have any miraculous disguise techniques?”
Qin Lan probed cautiously.
“Maybe use your mighty mental power to interfere with their perception, so when they see me, they think they’re looking at their own father?”
“Like psychic powers in those old gambling movies?”
[I could indeed have done that in my prime.]
[Unfortunately, all I can do now is curse at you through mental fluctuations–and if you get too far away, you won’t even hear that.]
The uniform inside his coat trembled faintly as Yin Manqing answered sarcastically.
[But you don’t need to be this nervous.]
[From what I know of them, they probably only have an initial suspicion that you’re connected to me.]
[Even if someone is watching the gates, they won’t be especially strong. At most, they’ll be skilled trackers.]
Yin Manqing guided him patiently. [All you need is a small disturbance to draw their attention away.]
Qin Lan relaxed slightly.
“A small disturbance? Such as?”
[Release something eye-catching at the school gates.]
[Don’t you have something suitable in your storage bracelet?]
Holy shit!
This was what she called a “small disturbance”?
Qin Lan’s face changed in horror. He assumed Yin Manqing meant the [Error Notebook], the four-star cursed artifact he had obtained from Dead Silence Academy.
A four-star anomaly appearing outside the gates of a famous academy in the Central Region?
Qin Lan shook his head immediately.
“Have you lost your mind?! Are you still trapped in that dream?”
“If I publicly release a four-star anomaly here, then even if the United Government wasn’t planning to kill me before, they definitely will afterward!”
“Besides, my cursed artifact… isn’t the kind that directly summons an anomaly!”
Qin Lan sounded conflicted. “If it were, I suppose letting one out briefly wouldn’t be impossible… But the [Error Notebook] is a spatial-type cursed artifact…”
[Wait, you’d actually consider that?]
This time, Yin Manqing was stunned. [When did I ever tell you to take out a cursed artifact and release an anomaly?]
[Who in their right mind would do something like that in the Central Region, where high-ranking Anomaly Hunters are more common than stray dogs? Huh?]
[You may want to die, but I still want to live!]
Yin Manqing clicked her tongue.
[I meant the other item inside your bracelet!]
Qin Lan froze.
Oh. So that was it.
“Ha ha. Forget I said anything…” Qin Lan laughed awkwardly and changed the subject. “Which item did you mean?”
“I brought back a lot of stuff from the other academies. I don’t even recognize some of it.”
[The pink glass ball shaped like a peach.]
[Be careful!]
Qin Lan casually took out the pink glass ball and tossed it in his hand, making Yin Manqing’s voice shoot up in alarm.
“Is this thing dangerous?”
Qin Lan shuddered and nearly dropped it.
[Dangerous?]
Yin Manqing sneered, her voice meaningful. [If danger were all you had to worry about, that would be wonderful… Once you witness its power, you will regret how carelessly you just handled it.]
Qin Lan scratched his head, not entirely convinced.
Dense wisps filled the glass sphere, resembling liquid and mist at the same time. They glowed an eerie pink.
Yet the sphere gave off very little cursed energy.
As far as Qin Lan understood, that meant it was safe.
[Head to the school gates first… By the way, do you have any enemies? Or anyone you simply dislike?]
[If so, you could ask them to meet you at the gates.]
Yin Manqing’s abrupt question came completely out of nowhere.
“Uh, not really…”
Qin Lan scratched his head.
[What a shame…]
At the time, Qin Lan had no idea what Yin Manqing meant by “a shame.”
Afterward, he found Su Xiaoyue and briefly explained the situation.
He withheld the exact details.
He merely warned her not to reveal too much of her strength. Better to be benched and forgotten than stand beneath the spotlight.
Qin Lan did not want Su Xiaoyue to become the next victim.
Until he was capable of dealing with an Ascendant, it would be best to keep her out of those people’s sight.
Su Xiaoyue obediently nodded at his warning.
Then she softly exposed his true intention.
“So you’re going to do something extremely dangerous again, aren’t you?”
“You’ve been telling me all this because you’re actually saying goodbye?”
Her gaze was gentle, but it pierced straight through the defenses Qin Lan had so painstakingly raised.
“Ha ha… I still can’t hide anything from you…”
Qin Lan looked guilty. “It’s not especially dangerous. It’s more like… a little trouble.”
Su Xiaoyue blinked her crystalline eyes. “If you describe it that way, it must be extremely dangerous.”
“Even after all this time, it’s still obvious when you’re lying.”
[Ooh~]
[This little lady understands you rather well~]
[You’re a lucky boy.]
Yin Manqing’s teasing laughter sounded inside his head.
Qin Lan stiffened. Beyond two awkward laughs, he had no idea what to say.
“All right.” Su Xiaoyue lowered her head and toyed with the hem of her shirt. “Once you’ve decided to do something, you’ll go no matter what. I probably couldn’t stop you anyway.”
“But you must protect yourself. Don’t make me worry, okay?”
As she finished, Su Xiaoyue took Qin Lan’s hand.
She only held the tips of his fingers, but the contact still shocked them both like electricity. They froze at the same time.
“Next time…”
Su Xiaoyue mumbled, her voice much quieter. “The next time we meet, we can continue…”
Qin Lan stood as stiff as a log.
“We can continue? Continue what?”
Su Xiaoyue bit her lip and avoided his gaze.
Her pretty cheeks flushed. Her skin looked so soft and delicate that a gentle pinch might squeeze out water.
“That event… can have an encore.”
Su Xiaoyue leaned closer and whispered beside Qin Lan’s ear.
Her fragrant breath brushed past him, nearly melting every bone in his body.
“An encore?”
He suddenly understood which “event” Su Xiaoyue meant.
At that moment, the wind rose, carrying drifting osmanthus blossoms over the two young people.
Qin Lan could no longer tell whether the fragrance he smelled came from the flowers or from something else.