Chu Muyun

"Is it already this late...?"

Chu Muyun sat in the doorway, lowered his head to glance at his pocket watch, and let out a long sigh.

"Why isn't my brother back yet?" Chen Yan rested his chin in his hands as he sat beside Chu Muyun, staring longingly at the street beyond the door as well.

The dim sunset gradually sank below the horizon, while the blue aurora in the sky grew ever clearer... The two sat side by side as the cold wind slipped through the gaps in the wooden boards, making the kerosene lamp on the table sway unsteadily.

At last, a figure gradually came into view at the end of the aurora-lit street.

"He's back!" Chen Yan sprang to his feet and waved at the distant figure. "Brother!!"

Chen Ling dragged his exhausted body home step by step. When he saw the two people sitting at the door, his eyes narrowed slightly, but he still immediately waved back at Chen Yan.

Chu Muyun froze for a moment, then pushed himself up from the ground with both hands on his knees and waved with a polite smile.

"You are..."

"You must be Mr. Chen Ling, correct?" Chu Muyun adjusted the silver-rimmed glasses on his nose. "My name is Chu Muyun. I'm a [doctor] from Aurora City."

"Oh... hello." Chen Ling shook his hand. "Have you been waiting long?"

"Not really. It hasn't been too long."

"A long time!" Chen Yan immediately said. "He arrived right after you left this morning, Brother, then sat in the living room all the way until now..."

"He came this morning? Didn't you pour him some water?"

"I did... but he wouldn't drink it himself."

Chen Ling shifted his gaze away from Chen Yan and looked apologetically at Chu Muyun. "Doctor Chu, I'm truly sorry to have made you come all this way and wait for me so long... Actually, I'm already better. How about I treat you to dinner tonight and send you back tomorrow?"

At first, Chen Ling had been frightened by the Audience, so he had sought a doctor's help. But now, he no longer thought this was an illness, nor did he believe anyone could cure him...

Could just any doctor deal with a World-Ending-level Calamity?

Not to mention the mysterious Theater that could suppress a World-Ending Calamity.

If Chu Muyun stayed here, not only would he be unable to cure him, but given enough time, he might even discover the Calamity in his mind.

Chu Muyun was stunned.

He looked at Chen Ling for a long while before speaking hesitantly.

"Um... Mr. Chen, many times, people's bodies don't realize that they're sick. Maybe you feel better now, but you actually aren't. Perhaps you need me to give you a thorough examination."

"No, I don't."

This time, Chen Ling refused very firmly.

He did not even have a heart now... Letting Chu Muyun examine him? Wouldn't that be the same as exposing his identity?!

Chu Muyun: ...

"Doctor Chu, I'm deeply grateful that you came all the way from Aurora City... But I truly don't need an examination or treatment right now." Chen Ling noticed something off about his attitude and immediately added sincerely.

"...All right." Chu Muyun sighed. "But I might not be able to return now."

"Why?"

"The Third District has been completely sealed off. No one is allowed in or out. Didn't you know?"

"...Then how did you get in?"

"I have a friend among the Enforcers, so I asked him to make an exception and let me in." Chu Muyun smiled helplessly. "But as you know, getting in through an exception is easy... Getting out is not nearly so simple."

The Enforcers had sealed off the Third District in order to prevent Calamities from escaping. After all, some Calamities were very small and could hide in a human's backpack or even body before getting out, or fuse with humans... In short, the difficulty of getting in and getting out was on entirely different levels.

Chen Ling, who had already joined the Enforcers' reserve ranks, understood this very well.

"This..." Chen Ling was somewhat troubled.

Chu Muyun had come from Aurora City specifically to treat him, and had not even asked for any payment. Calling it charity would not be an exaggeration... Now that he was here and could not return home, Chen Ling could hardly turn cold and kick him out, leaving him to wander the streets, could he?

"Brother, I don't think he's a bad person." Chen Yan spoke at just the right moment. "That Enforcer Officer Han Meng came today, and he was really fierce. Doctor Chu helped me drive him away."

At this, Chen Ling's eyes lit up slightly.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Go ahead." Chu Muyun nodded.

"Han Meng came today. How did you make him leave?"

"Oh, I just told him no one was home, and that entering someone else's residence without the owner's permission was very rude."

"But he's an Enforcer Officer. Enforcer Officers have the right to search private homes." Chen Ling did not believe that tough guy would leave so easily.

"He listens to me when I speak." Chu Muyun answered calmly. "A few years ago, I saved his life... twice."

"...I understand."

Chen Ling nodded. "Then you can stay here until the Third District is unsealed, but I have one condition."

"What condition?"

"Without my permission, you can't perform any kind of examination on me... My younger brother too."

"Fine." Chu Muyun lightly adjusted his silver-rimmed glasses and agreed without hesitation.

Only after Chen Ling returned home did he discover that the original holes had all been patched with wooden boards. Although a little wind still occasionally leaked through, it was far better than the completely exposed house from last night.

He turned around and saw Chen Yan standing with his hands behind his back and his head slightly lowered, as though waiting for praise.

"It's all thanks to you." Chen Ling patted his head. "Otherwise, we'd have had to sleep out in the open again tonight."

"There are still a few gaps that haven't been filled properly... Tomorrow, I'll get some clay from the back hill and plaster them over." Chen Yan smiled a little sheepishly.

Chu Muyun entered the house, saw this scene, and smiled.

"You brothers have a very good relationship."

"Of course we do." Chen Yan pouted.

"You two look quite alike too."

"Do we?" Chen Ling glanced at Chen Yan. "Not really. After all, we're not biological brothers... But after living together for a long time, people really do start to resemble each other more and more."

"I think we look pretty alike." Chen Yan answered seriously.

"Oh, right. That room over there is yours. The conditions are a little rough, so please don't mind it." Chen Ling cleared out the room that had originally belonged to Chen Tan and his wife and spoke to Chu Muyun.

"It's fine. I'm not picky."

Chen Yan watched the scene from the living room, and a complicated look flashed through his eyes.

Next, Chen Ling personally went to the kitchen and began preparing dinner for the three of them... After a day of exhausting work and running around, he was starving too. Fortunately, he had developed decent cooking skills when he had been a corporate drone in his previous life, enough to keep himself fed even in another world.

Half an hour later, the hot dishes came out of the pot, and their fragrance made Chen Yan and Chu Muyun, seated at the table, swallow repeatedly.

"Mr. Chen, your cooking is excellent." Chu Muyun took a bite of sliced potatoes and could not help but sigh. "It's much better than most restaurants in Aurora City."

"Just call me Chen Ling."

As he ate, Chen Ling secretly observed Chu Muyun. Judging from his clothing and demeanor, he was a typical intellectual. Whether speaking or eating, he was refined and gentle, giving off the comfortable feeling of a cool breeze passing by.

Chen Ling had never seen this sort of temperament in either the Third District or the Second District... As expected, people from Aurora City were different.

Suddenly, Chen Ling seemed to remember something.

"Doctor Chu."

"Hmm?"

"How much do you know about the Path to Godhood?"