Yellow Raincoat

The black coupe sped out of the Rain Alley Home Community, racing through the curtain of rain.

"What's wrong?" Deng Yuxiang asked, glancing at Lu Ran beside her in the passenger seat as she drove.

Lu Ran's expression was grave, and he looked preoccupied.

"Nothing's wrong," Lu Ran snapped back to attention, smoothing his rain-soaked hair with one hand.

"Nothing's wrong?" Deng Yuxiang chuckled. "You look like you've lost your soul. All you remembered was to bring your saber, you didn't even put on a raincoat?"

Lu Ran felt a pang of embarrassment at her words.

Just now at home, the Immortal Sheep's words had truly startled him.

Lost in his thoughts, he didn't even remember how he'd gotten into the car.

"Don't worry," Deng Yuxiang's voice was unusually gentle. "I'm here."

Lu Ran looked at the overbearing heiress driving, his expression filled with surprise.

They had known each other for over a month, and this was the first time he'd heard the Great Nightmare speak so softly.

Deng Yuxiang: "July 15th is indeed unusual, but you really don't need to put too much pressure on yourself. If I can't even protect you, then you deserve to die."

Lu Ran: "Huh?"

Deng Yuxiang shrugged. "At least you wouldn't die in vain."

Lu Ran: "..."

I just thought you were being gentle, and this is what I get?

Lu Ran had experienced the Great Nightmare's way of comforting people many times before. But each time, Deng Yuxiang managed to say something even more astonishing.

"You..." Lu Ran sighed, adding in his mind: She always finds new ways to surprise me.

"What about me?" Deng Yuxiang shot him a glance.

"You're beautiful," Lu Ran turned to look out the car window, watching the streetlights blur past in the rain.

The weather forecast said it would rain for the next few days. He feared he wouldn't be able to see the moon on this Night of the Fifteenth.

The luxury coupe sped on, soon reaching a desolate area and entering the Wulie Riverbank community.

As the car came to a halt, Deng Yuxiang said, "I have a spare raincoat in my trunk. Wait here, I'll go get it for you."

As she spoke, she had already opened the door and gotten out.

Lu Ran was genuinely bewildered. Has the Nightmare changed her ways? She's too nice!

Click.

The passenger door suddenly opened, and Deng Yuxiang held up a yellow raincoat. "Put it on."

"Thanks," Lu Ran reached out and took the yellow raincoat. A thought popped into his head: Am I the nightmare myself?

Lu Ran and Deng Yuxiang were similar in height, and the raincoat was already oversized, so it fit him perfectly.

As Lu Ran got out of the car, Deng Yuxiang suddenly reached out and adjusted his collar. Such a gentle gesture made Lu Ran feel particularly uncomfortable.

Deng Yuxiang frowned slightly, her expression displeased. "What's with that look?"

"Sis," Lu Ran was speechless. "Don't be like this. You're making me feel like I won't see tomorrow's sun. Hurry up and go back to normal, I can't handle it."

Deng Yuxiang glared at Lu Ran with a smile and raised her hand, lightly tapping the brim of the raincoat's hood. "Stop the nonsense!"

Lu Ran let out a deep sigh of relief. Ah, that's better~

"Keep up!" Deng Yuxiang turned and walked away.

Lu Ran took the Xiaguang Saber from the back seat and quickly followed.

They arrived at the central residential building in the community and climbed all the way to the rooftop.

On the dilapidated rooftop, his three teammates were already there. As for the mysterious Captain Ge Bin, Lu Ran still hadn't seen him.

"Report!" Deng Yuxiang called out loudly.

Sun Zhengfang looked at the two "little yellow people" and pointed towards the stairwell entrance. "Go get the gear. In half an hour, we'll patrol the area again."

"Yes!"

"Yes." Lu Ran and Deng Yuxiang turned and returned to the stairwell, picking up the stealth earphones, headlamps, and other equipment from a dilapidated wooden table.

Behind the table, another Horse-Severing Saber leaned against the corner of the wall.

That was Deng Yuxiang's weapon. It looked like ordinary steel, but Lu Ran knew very well it was made of extremely expensive Tianchen Steel!

The saber was astonishingly long, with the hilt alone being seventy to eighty centimeters.

The blade itself was nearly 2 meters!

At this length, the blade didn't appear wide, only thin and long.

It was double-edged, like a saber or a sword, resembling a heavy weapon used by ancient cavalry, yet Deng Yuxiang used it as an infantry weapon.

"Interested?" Deng Yuxiang, having put on her gear, noticed Lu Ran's gaze.

Lu Ran nodded silently.

Deng Yuxiang was indeed indulging Lu Ran today: "Take it to the terrace and play with it."

"What's its name?" Lu Ran didn't stand on ceremony, stepping forward and gripping the divine weapon with both hands.

"Night Severing."

"That fierce?" Lu Ran raised his hand, lightly stroking the cold blade.

Others had names like "Demon Slayer" or "Devil Vanquisher," but this one, it even severed the night?

Although the Night Severing saber was wiped clean, Lu Ran could faintly smell a hint of blood.

He wondered how many living beings it had slain in Deng Yuxiang's hands.

"Is it very fierce?" Deng Yuxiang asked casually.

"Of course. Huh?" Lu Ran's fingertips trembled, and he quickly withdrew his hand.

Seeing this, Deng Yuxiang's face showed a hint of a smile.

"This Night Severing saber..." Lu Ran's eyes lit up, and he turned to Deng Yuxiang, "has a blade spirit?"

Just now, as Lu Ran's fingertip brushed the blade, he clearly sensed a killing intent.

This dangerous feeling made Lu Ran's temples throb!

"The Night Severing saber, like me, is just one step away from breaking through."

As she spoke, the smile on Deng Yuxiang's face gradually faded, and a sense of helplessness arose in her heart.

She was at River Realm, Stage Five, only one step away from what the world recognized as a "Great Being."

Her Night Severing saber was also only one step away from achieving sentience.

However, this seemingly close goal, neither the person nor the saber had achieved for a long time.

"If we sever tonight, maybe we'll succeed!" Lu Ran comforted her.

Deng Yuxiang didn't respond, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.

Lu Ran suddenly reached out and lightly flicked the edge of the Night Severing saber.

"Ding~" a crisp sound rang out.

Lu Ran looked at the silent woman: "You heard that? The Night Severing agrees too."

"Heh heh." Deng Yuxiang chuckled, "Where did you learn such self-amusement tricks?"

The Great Nightmare was considerate enough not to call Lu Ran delusional.

"Life."

The brief two-word response stunned Deng Yuxiang.

Lu Ran, holding the Night Severing saber, walked towards the terrace.

A more accurate answer would be: a life of living alone from a young age.

On the terrace, the Wei brothers felt a flicker of anticipation when they saw Lu Ran appear with the large saber.

However, when Lu Ran started swinging it, both brothers wore strange expressions.

What a letdown!

Lu Ran had no experience with such "heavy weapons"!

He felt top-heavy and found it incredibly strenuous to wield!

Lu Ran also personally realized how terrifying the power of the Great Nightmare was!

In the end, it was Deng Yuxiang who saved Lu Ran, taking the Night Severing saber back into her hands.

It wasn't that she was stingy, but rather she was afraid the Night Severing saber would be unhappy.

Deng Yuxiang truly hadn't expected that Lu Ran, who had always shown himself to be astonishingly impressive, would falter and display such an abstract swordsmanship.

His footing was clumsy, his body swayed unsteadily, like a lame man trying to shake dates from a tree.

Deng Yuxiang felt a surge of anger, wanting to kick his good leg.

The daylight hours passed by, bit by bit.

Lu Ran followed the Moon Watcher squad, proceeding methodically, patrolling their jurisdiction round and round.

Until night fell, and Rain Alley City sank into a deathly silence.

Lu Ran stood at the empty intersection, rooted under the streetlight.

The dim, yellow light matched the color of his raincoat quite well.

In front of him, On both sides of the street were some shops: a car repair shop, a hardware store, a locked-up supermarket, and a brightly lit pharmacy.

Behind the shops were residential buildings. Looking up, one could see the warm lights on in various households.

Behind him, There was desolate land that had been left untouched for a long time, as well as dark, silent abandoned residential complexes.

The intersection did have a streetlight illuminating it.

But the figure standing in the rain seemed to be on the dividing line between light and darkness.

The rain, It began to fall harder.

As if foretelling something.