第34章 顾辞安的徒弟

When Jing Ci returned to the park, the old man by the lake was still sitting in his wheelchair, gripping his fishing rod.

The fish basket, however, was filled with a lot more miscellaneous junk.

"Teacher, every time I watch you fish, I feel like we don't even need to run that grocery store."

Jing Ci tucked his hands into his pockets and sighed, "Selling scrap metal alone would be enough."

The old man remained as motionless as a mountain, not even turning his head, ignoring him entirely.

"I've finished everything that needed to be done."

Jing Ci thought of something and smiled faintly, "I have to admit, that kid is truly quite clever."

The old man gripped his fishing rod, staring at the shimmering surface of the lake, and said, "You rarely praise others."

Jing Ci said candidly, "Mastering the Path of Evolution at the Zero Order—this kind of talent is indeed stronger than mine was back then, much stronger. In a sense, this kid is even more ferocious than his father. I also saw the Thunder from headquarters; his talent is nothing short of monstrous."

"Is that so?"

The old man was silent for a second, "Did the child ask what our goal is?"

Jing Ci shook his head, "He didn't ask a single word. He's probably waiting for us to explain it to him ourselves."

"He has focus."

The old man said calmly, "Not impatient, not rash. Very good."

"Teacher."

Jing Ci said softly, "The Tribunal is planning to make a move again soon. Do you think..."

"It doesn't matter."

The old man's eyes were as indifferent as mist, and his voice drifted, "I will keep watching."

Suddenly, ripples spread across the shimmering lake surface. The water seemed to boil, and the schools of fish at the bottom swam about in agitation. Accompanied by the violent churning of the water, a terrifying thunderous sound faintly erupted.

The moonlight was swallowed by darkness, yet a massive shadow was reflected in the lake.

It was the pitch-black storm clouds gathering above the firmament.

The black clouds churned and surged, as if outlining a majestic and terrifying face, looking down upon the city below.

Soft music played at the open-air bar of the Deep Sky Technology building, carried by a slow sea breeze.

"Strange, Gu Jianlin isn't an Evolver, so whose remnant aura of an Ancient God did we detect?"

Deacon Nie said suspiciously, "Could it be that person?"

Yan Wu looked down at the brightly lit night view and said in a deep voice, "I don't know. Do you dare to go and ask?"

Deacon Nie shook his head, "Of course I don't."

"The Saint's intention is for us to keep an eye on that person as much as possible. Although we need this Calamity to sit in Feng City and prevent whatever ghosts might emerge from the Kirin Immortal Palace, in the absence of danger, a Calamity is the greatest danger of all."

Yan Wu gave a cold snort, "As for the Gu family's son, do you really not know what his background is?"

Deacon Nie shook his head, "We've investigated him many times. He's clean."

"That's truly strange. The organization behind the Joker is also probing him."

Yan Wu's face was cold and rigid as he said, "We failed to recover those two Mythic Armaments today; I can only say it was bad luck. I originally wanted Yan Feng and Yan Ye to each obtain one, so they could secure a spot for an Omega in the upcoming mission to explore the undersea palace."

"Rest assured, with the talent of the two young masters, no one can compete with them."

Deacon Nie smiled, "It's a pity Thunder took that spot. After all, she is the Princess of headquarters; no one can do anything about that."

Yan Wu stood with his hands behind his back, his voice dull and stiff, "Fortunately, the Gu family's son awakened late. I heard his absorption efficiency for secret medicine is decent. If he had awakened two years earlier, he might have truly amounted to something."

"He's just a child with no background. The secret medicines in the Ether Association's resource vault have always been in short supply; it's good enough to exchange for one bottle a month. Unless he can ascend to the Omega sequence, but that's impossible."

Deacon Nie chuckled and advised, "Don't think too much about it. You only need to wait for Minister Lu to be promoted and take over the position. If I'm not mistaken, the Saint is going to conduct a comprehensive purge of Feng City, whether they are Fallen or Unclean. As for that Evolver, as long as they aren't one of that person's subordinates, capturing them will be a great merit."

Yan Wu nodded slightly and said coldly, "I didn't take him seriously. The Gu family is completely finished; he's the only seedling left, so let him be. I don't think the Joker was killed by him. I suspect it was that person."

Deacon Nie was startled.

"You mean, that student of Gu Ci'an?"

He muttered, "Ever since the Blood Moon Massacre, that girl has defected. There hasn't been a trace of her since. I thought she had long since left Feng City. I didn't expect her to dare show her face again."

Gu Jianlin killing the Joker alone was inherently illogical.

Looking at it from another angle, what if someone was helping him in the shadows?

"I once investigated the security records of Feng City. Lu Zijin once withdrew the guards protecting the Luodong Residential District for a period of time. Gu Jianlin is the only family member of an Ascender in that district. I suspect it was to facilitate that girl's movements," Yan Wu said coldly.

"Now that you mention it, that is indeed possible."

Deacon Nie pondered, "It's just a pity that Gu Ci'an protected this student too well. No one has ever known her true identity, only that she is a Fourth-Order Asura of the Ghost Slayer Path. She also has several Mythic Armaments on her; she's elusive and difficult to deal with."

"She's likely an Evolver as well."

Yan Wu licked his lips, "Too dangerous."

Upon hearing the word "Evolver," Deacon Nie instinctively became vigilant and said sternly, "These heretics who defile human faith and usurp the power of the gods should be..."

He stopped mid-sentence, his expression changing slightly as he quickly shut his mouth.

He could think such things in his heart, but he could not say them out loud.

Because he was too weak.

He shouldn't get involved in these major affairs.

"If it was that girl, then the traces of an Evolver at the scene make perfect sense."

Yan Wu said coldly, "I will have Yan Ye and Yan Feng continue to watch him, striving to find that girl."

Deacon Nie nodded, "Gu Jianlin himself is nothing much. He inherited his father's profiling talent, which is a contribution to all of humanity; no one can deny that. The most important thing is to fish out the person protecting him."

Yan Wu grunted, turned, and left.

The hospital room was empty. Gu Jianlin lay on the bed, silently enduring the tearing pain as his thoughts surged.

"There was a third person at the school, at least on the same level as Lu Zicheng?"

This was truly strange.

Before the operation, he had used profiling to identify almost every Ascender in the entire school.

Cheng Youyu was an exception; he was a student himself.

Gu Jianlin had roughly guessed back then that the fat kid's identity wasn't simple.

After all, after the Joker tortured the animals, that fat kid had warned him not to go out if he didn't have to.

Unless that third person had never appeared.

But the problem was, why would someone like that want to save him?

Gu Jianlin couldn't figure it out. Just then, his phone vibrated—it was a video call.

The caller ID read: Su Youzhu.

He quickly lay down, covered his hospital gown with the hospital blanket, and pressed accept.

The video showed the dormitory of Fengcheng No. 2 High School. Su Youzhu was leaning against the bathroom sink, her exquisite, ice-like face still expressionless, merely eyeing him with suspicion.

"It's so late, won't you wake your roommates?"

Gu Jianlin felt instinctively guilty, terrified that he wouldn't be able to fool this girl.

"No, everyone is discussing the explosion in the cafeteria; no one is sleeping yet."

Su Youzhu said calmly, "Was that... your doing?"

Gu Jianlin felt even guiltier, but once he remembered that the Ether Association's cleanup work shouldn't have any loopholes, he became much bolder, "Ahem, it was mainly the work of the criminal suspect; it has nothing to do with me. But making such a mess of the cafeteria must have been a bother to everyone. It delayed everyone's studies and meals."

As for the financial losses regarding the studies, that should be the Ether Association's responsibility.

As for other aspects, he still felt a bit guilty; after all, he had disturbed others.

"It doesn't matter. Everyone is regretting why they didn't just blow up the school directly."

Su Youzhu glanced at him a few times and said, "Stop hiding it. I know you're in the hospital."

Gu Jianlin helplessly put down the blanket and sighed.

As expected, he couldn't fool this girl.

"Are you badly hurt?"

Su Youzhu asked softly.

"Not really."

Gu Jianlin shook his head, "They just had me stay for observation as a precaution."

Su Youzhu observed him carefully. After confirming he wasn't lying, she said, intentionally or not, "I used to think you were just thin and tall, and always sickly. You didn't seem very reliable. I didn't expect you to be quite so reassuring."

She was naturally referring to what happened in the cafeteria.

Gu Jianlin didn't know what to say, "In any case, I'm glad I didn't get you involved."

Su Youzhu stared at him earnestly, "Is Uncle Gu's business really that troublesome? Will people like that come looking for you again? Or did you join that organization to go after them?"

Gu Jianlin was startled, not knowing what the people from the Ether Association had told her.

"That person named Lu Zicheng told me everything."

Su Youzhu had the tone of someone who already knew what he had done.

Gu Jianlin's heart tightened.

However, the next sentence nearly made him lose his composure.

"You joined S.H.I.E.L.D.?"

Su Youzhu asked seriously.

Gu Jianlin put a hand to his forehead, "What did Lu Zicheng tell you?"

"Lu Zicheng said that S.H.I.E.L.D. is real and has branches in our country. Uncle Gu was a senior investigator for S.H.I.E.L.D., which is why he provoked so many criminals. S.H.I.E.L.D. is supposed to be confidential, but because you are a direct relative, they made an exception and recruited you because you can profile."

Su Youzhu said with a straight face, "And as a family member, I also have the right to know, but I must keep it confidential."

Gu Jianlin waved his hand, "Don't listen to his nonsense."

Su Youzhu gave him a suspicious look.

"Our organization is called the Justice League."

Gu Jianlin said with a straight face.

Su Youzhu was silent for a moment, then burst into laughter, like a frozen river thawing.

Gu Jianlin knew this girl was beautiful, but she rarely laughed.

Laughing like this made her even more beautiful.

It was obvious that she didn't believe in either S.H.I.E.L.D. or the Justice League.

She probably just assumed he had joined some special department.

As long as it wasn't something like the Dragon Squad, she could think whatever she wanted.

"Anyway, I won't tell my mother about what happened today for now."

Su Youzhu stopped laughing and said softly, "But you must pay attention to your safety. You can't keep going on like this. This time was very dangerous. What would you do if there was another slip-up and something happened?"

Gu Jianlin thought to himself that, of course, he would do it again next time.

But he couldn't say that, so he brushed it off, "Don't worry, there shouldn't be any more incidents in the future. I'll probably stay in the hospital for a day or two, then go help the school teachers with the independent recruitment work."

Su Youzhu was just about to say something when there was a knock at the door; it was probably the dorm supervisor coming to check the rooms.

"That's good. I'll wait for you at school."

She said calmly, "Hanging up."

Gu Jianlin said, "Goodnight."

The video call ended.

Phew, finally managed to fool her.

He didn't know why, but even though he was being managed by someone, he didn't feel annoyed at all.

Instead, he felt a faint sense of warmth.

"She's a good girl, so I can't drag her down. The organization behind the Joker hasn't been caught yet."

Gu Jianlin whispered, "I can't slack off."

His brain began to ache again, and his body followed suit.

If he were still an ordinary person, he would have likely passed out long ago.

Since becoming an Ascender, many things had changed. For instance, he found that his energy had become much fuller, his thinking ability had become increasingly powerful, and even his nerves were more developed.

Consequently, his ability to endure pain had also increased.

That was the side effect of transforming into a Kirin.

Gu Jianlin endured the pain, picked up the reagent on the bedside table, and drank it in one gulp.

This secret medicine had a bitter, herbal taste. After it went down his throat, it felt like swallowing a piece of ice. The cooling sensation spread throughout his body, and even that tearing pain was alleviated significantly.

A cool sensation flowed deep into his soul, gathering into a trace of spirituality.

It was indeed very little, probably only one-tenth of his total spirituality.

But it was enough.

The Soul-Pacifying Bell could enslave souls.

He wanted to see what the Joker was actually trying to do.

To be safe, Gu Jianlin first activated the Non-Existent Lock. He saw the silver-white chains tremble, float into mid-air, and weave around him, forming a barrier.

The presence of the entire hospital bed was erased.

Only then did he take off the Soul-Pacifying Bell and inject a trace of spirituality to awaken it.

Within the clear, resonant ringing of the bell, a black halo spread out like mist, and a shattered soul was faintly visible.

The Joker's soul.