The Human Plant (15)
"If I'm not mistaken, we were invited to lift the curse on this newborn only a step after you."
Lui had phrased his question rather tactfully, but Li He didn't beat around the bush. He answered directly.
It was a brief answer, but packed with information. He almost explicitly agreed with Lui's interpretation, even acknowledging that he'd been invited for the same reason.
"Because my abilities were better suited to the task, and I had a closer connection, I was the first choice when things got out of control..."
Li He's bluntness seemed to catch Lui off guard. With such clear confirmation, Lui's mind was finally at ease, and he quickly pieced together the rest.
"After that didn't work, they took an even greater risk and asked for your help. Given your rank and knowledge, that was absolutely worth it—"
"That all makes sense. What I'm more interested in is how you ended up like this, and where's the newborn?"
Unfortunately, Li He cut off his flattery and ruthlessly moved on to the next topic.
"How I ended up like this..."
The unfortunate thing was that the man himself seemed just as confused, unable to answer.
As he muttered to himself, Lui's face twisted slightly with the effort of recalling what had happened.
"My memories after that are pretty hazy... After the last attempt failed, they were very disappointed. They even got into a fierce argument..."
"Someone insisted on coming clean to the Night Watchers, but the child's mother disagreed and wanted me to try again..."
"I didn't want to be involved any longer. I refused to make another pointless attempt, though I did promise to keep the whole thing secret..."
"But just as I was about to leave, my body suddenly started to stiffen. It