Chapter 116

Chapter 116

Looking at the tall, coolly beautiful Shen Huaizhou before her, with his utterly serious expression, Xie Qingling suddenly did not know what to say.

So that was why… he had been waiting here.

How long had he waited?

Perhaps an hour.

Xie Qingling looked at him.

Shen Huaizhou looked at her too.

Both saw the same thing in the other’s eyes: You’re impossible.

“Nothing of the sort.” Xie Qingling could not help rubbing between her brows and sighing. “I didn’t wait for you because I encountered someone from the Eleventh Realm. I fought him on the way and ran into Tang Yuanxiao too. After it ended, I took Tang Yuanxiao to the Medical Department for treatment. It delayed me a little.”

“Oh.” Shen Huaizhou breathed a sigh of relief. “I won’t leave you to be embarrassed alone again.”

Xie Qingling: “…” Did that mean he wanted to reflect on his wrongdoing in public with her again? The Director would go mad if he heard.

Still, from what he said, Xie Qingling gathered that he had thought a great deal while waiting for her and made a major decision.

“I’m tired today. If there’s anything else, let’s talk tomorrow.” Xie Qingling placed one hand on the door handle as she spoke.

Shen Huaizhou nodded. “Good night.”

With that, he was about to turn and leave.

Just then, Xie Qingling suddenly stopped him. “Shen Huaizhou.”

“Hm?”

“Have you ever seen the Director use a blade?”

The question came out of nowhere, but Shen Huaizhou still considered it seriously. After a moment, he shook his head. “No.”

“I see… Never mind. We’ll talk tomorrow.” Xie Qingling opened the door and went inside.

After washing up, Xie Qingling lay on her back in bed. She closed her eyes, but could not sleep.

Tang Yuanxiao’s words kept playing through her mind.

– Ling Fang held a guandao, his blows heavy and powerful. One man held the pass, and ten thousand couldn’t break through. He swept through the members of the other five Operations Squads and beat them all down before he silenced them.

– That Divine Envoy’s ability specifically countered Spirit Wielders. He had a needle that could dissolve the Spirit inside them. After that battle, Ling Fang could never use Spirit again and became an ordinary person.

– The Sixth Operations Squad was surrounded. Including Ling Fang, there were seven people. Apart from him, every one of them died.

A few short sentences, yet it sounded so devastating.

A squad of seven. Six dead. Only Ling Fang, the squad leader, left.

For Ling Fang, the only one left in this world, it must have been hard to accept.

No wonder… no wonder he had later become so cautious, so determined to play it safe.

All of it was a lesson paid for in blood.

The Ling Fang who set up a challenge alone and declared he would fight members of the other squads would never appear again, Xie Qingling thought.

Ling Fang no longer used a blade. Apart from his physical weakness, she wondered whether there might be something in his heart he could not get past, a psychological barrier.

Xie Qingling turned over and thought many more tangled thoughts. Drowsiness came, her eyelids began to droop, and before long she fell asleep.

–

Xie Qingling had a dream.

She dreamed of something long ago, probably when she had just joined the department.

For some reason, Ling Fang had caught her again and made her write a self-criticism.

Normally, she would have grumbled secretly, dealt with it carelessly, and dashed it off just to get it over with.

But this time, the Xie Qingling in the dream patiently finished the self-criticism, then went to Ling Fang to reflect seriously on her mistakes.

She was so well behaved that even Xie Qingling did not recognize herself.

Writing the self-criticism in the dream felt so real that, when she woke, both arms hurt – as much as if she had written ten thousand characters.

Xie Qingling frowned, feeling terribly wronged. Even in dreams, he would not let her off. Judging from the aching in her arms, this was no mere ten-thousand-character self-criticism. It had to be twenty thousand!

On second thought, though, it was not entirely the dream. Yesterday, fighting Li Yuan, who specialized in Tongbei Boxing, she had injured her wrist.

Though she had later received treatment at the Medical Department, perhaps the person who treated her was an intern. A few lingering effects would be normal.

She would have to find time to get it checked at the Medical Department again, Xie Qingling thought.

She got up, checked the time, and found it was only six twenty in the morning.

There was still plenty of time before duty. Xie Qingling fretted over what to do.

With her thoughts churning, Xie Qingling came to Ling Fang’s door. She wanted to knock, but hesitated.

So all she could do was pace back and forth, thinking.

What should she say to Ling Fang?

Reflect on her mistakes?

Say she would never dare do it again?

Or tell him she and Tang Yuanxiao had more or less made up, and he need not worry?

So difficult.

Xie Qingling paced and thought. Before she could reach a conclusion, the person inside called, “The door’s unlocked. Come in yourself.”

Xie Qingling: “…”

All right.

Her anxious footsteps must have disturbed the Director’s rest.

She turned the handle and pushed the door open.

The studio apartment was not large. Xie Qingling looked around but did not see Ling Fang inside. On his bed, she saw only…

A pair of prosthetic limbs.

They gleamed with cold silver.

The prosthetics were no different in shape from real hands. The knuckles and joints were so lifelike that, but for the unusual color, Xie Qingling would have thought a pair of severed hands had been casually left on the bed.

Beside the prosthetics lay the black leather gloves Ling Fang usually wore.

The gloves had been set down casually too. Xie Qingling caught sight of both things without warning.
She froze.

Xie Qingling seemed rooted in place, still in the act of opening the door. For a good three seconds, she remained silent and unresponsive.

How could…

How could it be like this?

Xie Qingling felt as though lightning had struck her head. Waves of numbness swept through her. The shock seemed to cut off outside sounds and blot out everything else. All she could see was that pair of silver prosthetics.

“Xie Qingling? Xie Qingling!” Ling Fang called twice.

“D-Director…” Xie Qingling came back to herself. Her gaze moved from the prosthetics to him.

Ling Fang stood on the balcony and turned to look at her.

He wore a black shirt, neatly fitted to his body. The one flaw was that both sleeves hung empty. The morning breeze blew through them, making them flutter and sway, and his figure seemed exceptionally frail and thin.

“Director,” Xie Qingling said again, her voice catching involuntarily.

She did not understand.

Ling Fang followed her blank gaze to the prosthetics on the bed and immediately understood. “Did I frighten you?”

“If I’d known, I’d have called you in later,” he said.

“No.” Xie Qingling shook her head and bit her lip. “I’m just… very surprised. I didn’t know…”

She had not known Ling Fang had lost his arms. She had never known.

His movements were usually so natural. He could even use a crossbow to fight monsters and ghosts.

He always arranged everything with such ease, like a completely ordinary, able-bodied person.

So it had never occurred to her that Ling Fang’s body might have an impairment that could not be healed.

Ling Fang approached and bent down, placing the ends of his arms before the prosthetics. As though alive, the prosthetics attached themselves, like magnets drawn together.

He did not put on gloves to conceal the silver surfaces. Instead, right in front of Xie Qingling, he naturally opened the little refrigerator, took out a can of coffee, and casually offered her one too.

“It’s nothing. These prosthetics are made by the Technology R&D Department. They’re very useful, no different from normal arms.” Ling Fang glanced at Xie Qingling. His expression was as calm and proudly aloof as ever. He hoped she would stop looking at him with sympathy.

Xie Qingling only remained silent.

She took the coffee but did not drink it.

Who drank coffee on an empty stomach?

Was he deliberately doing this to prove how wonderfully he could use his prosthetics?

“Director, your hands… what happened?” Xie Qingling asked. “Was it… the time you encountered the Divine Envoy…?”

Saying this made Xie Qingling’s chest tighten again, and her expression darkened.

She realized that, starting with Yu Wei, every mention of the Eleventh Realm made the hatred in her chest sharper.

Hearing her words, Ling Fang’s expression turned grave. He looked at her several times, but did not ask how she knew or question her about anything else.

He only said, “No. It was me. I chose it myself.”

“Widowerhood, widowhood, orphanhood, childlessness, disability, wealth, authority, lifespan…” Ling Fang said. “Once you practice Lu Ban’s Secret Arts, you must suffer at least one of those afflictions or deficiencies. After becoming a sorcerer, I was already prepared.”

As he spoke, Ling Fang suddenly lowered his head and gave a somewhat self-mocking smile.

“Though I can no longer confront the enemy directly, the weapons I make still work against the Eleventh Realm and against monsters and ghosts. I’ve merely chosen a path that lets me go farther. A pair of hands, that’s all. It’s nothing.”

“Let’s not talk about this. Why were you pacing outside my door so early? What did you want?” As he spoke, Ling Fang frowned again. “Have you caused trouble again?”

“…No.” Xie Qingling hurried to protest. “I really haven’t! I just… just wanted to admit my mistakes to you.”

“I feel I was too reckless before and made you worry a great deal,” Xie Qingling said. “I was wrong.”

“Mm. Good that you know.” Ling Fang nodded in wholehearted agreement.

After a pause, Xie Qingling continued, “And… you don’t need to worry about me and Tang Yuanxiao being at odds anymore. We’ve made up, and I plan to become his disciple and learn a few moves. Compared with real experts, I’ve realized I’m still far too inexperienced.”

Ling Fang nodded again. “Though I don’t know exactly what you’ve worked out, I’m very pleased.”

His eyes as he looked at Xie Qingling were clearly filled with deep gratification.

If one had to describe it, it would probably be: The child has finally grown up.

“Anything else?” Ling Fang asked.

“No.” Xie Qingling shook her head.

Something seemed to occur to Ling Fang. He walked over and stopped before her.

Looking steadily at Xie Qingling, he said, “The Eleventh Realm’s counterattacks have grown fiercer these past few days. There have been more casualties. You and Shen Huaizhou must be careful. Safety comes before everything.”

“Understood.”

Ling Fang hesitated, then added, “One last thing…”

“Don’t fight again for now,” he said. “Save your energy and strength. Apart from duty, there’s something more important to do than seeking revenge.”

In the end, he still did not entirely trust Xie Qingling’s verbal assurance.

“What is it?” Xie Qingling asked.

“The Spirit refined from an Innate Spirit is the purest offering, the richest in spiritual energy. By using it, someone can receive a deity’s second blessing,” Ling Fang explained. “If the casualties continue and Innate Spirits die, headquarters will hold a Selection Tournament to decide who ultimately receives those offerings.”

Ling Fang had an almost certain intuition that the time was not far away.