Qing Wuyan

Old Smokestack's stall was tucked away in a relatively secluded corner deep within the black market, piled high with all sorts of old goods whose authenticity was impossible to discern.

Behind the stall, a scrawny old man with a face full of wrinkles and a cheap cigarette clenched between his teeth was dozing.

Sun Haoran was about to step forward and, according to the plan, pose as a buyer to draw him out.

However, when the three of them approached the stall and were still seven or eight meters away, Old Smokestack, who seemed half-asleep, suddenly cracked open his eyelids and swept his cloudy gaze over Hua Yin and the others.

His eyes lingered for a moment on Hua Yin's overly young yet unusually composed face, as well as Zhao Tiezhu's unmistakably fierce build.

People in their line of work often possessed a rat-like instinct for danger.

Almost instantly, all the laziness vanished from Old Smokestack's face, replaced by utter terror!

He sprang up from his broken stool, moving far too quickly for an old man. Then he turned and darted into a narrow alley piled with junk, tearing open his raspy throat to scream with all his might:

"The cops are here—!!! Run—!!!"

The piercing shout exploded through the relatively enclosed black market like thunder!

In an instant, the entire black market erupted like cold water thrown into boiling oil!

The vendors' faces changed drastically. Some immediately bundled up their most valuable goods and fled into dark corners, while others knocked over their stalls in blind panic, causing even greater chaos.

The buyers were even more terrified, screaming as they scattered in all directions, shoving and trampling one another.

Some desperate criminals who clearly carried contraband or had criminal records flashed vicious looks and pulled out their weapons, trying to create even greater chaos to cover their escape!

"Damn it! We've been exposed!"

Sun Haoran cursed under his breath, reacting swiftly. "Chase him! Don't let Old Smokestack get away!"

Their plan to approach in secret had collapsed in an instant, and the three immediately shifted to a direct pursuit!

Hua Yin's eyes narrowed. He kicked off the ground and charged ahead like a cheetah, chasing after Old Smokestack into the alley where he had vanished!

Sun Haoran and Zhao Tiezhu followed on the left and right, responsible for clearing away any desperate criminals who tried to block them.

The alley was narrow and dim, crammed with garbage and discarded debris.

Old Smokestack knew the terrain like the back of his hand. He darted through it like a loach, using every obstacle he could to shake off his pursuers.

Hua Yin was fast, but he was unfamiliar with the environment. Several times, he nearly tripped over suddenly appearing debris or was blocked by shelves Old Smokestack had deliberately knocked down.

"To the right! He turned into the right-hand fork!"

Sun Haoran shouted from behind. Relying on the Spirit-Tracking Nose, he barely managed to lock onto the lingering scent, but tracking was difficult in such a chaotic, filthy environment.

The crowd ran about like headless flies, seriously obstructing both their view and movement.

Hua Yin watched Old Smokestack's figure flash through a gap in the crowd, about to disappear down another passage.

Just then—

"Hua Yin! Up there! The passage on the left with the rag hanging over it! He went in there!"

A familiar yet anxious shout came from behind and to the side!

Hua Yin abruptly turned his head and saw a teenager standing atop a pile of abandoned machine wreckage nearby. It was Qing Wuyan.

Qing Wuyan had somehow climbed up there. Standing on tiptoe, he urgently pointed toward an inconspicuous opening ahead on the left, covered by a tattered cloth curtain!

He recognized me? He actually noticed what was happening over here?

Qing Wuyan's directions were like a beacon in the darkness. Hua Yin did not hesitate for a moment. He immediately changed direction, lowered his body, squeezed through the panicked crowd like a fish, and rushed toward the opening!

Sun Haoran and Zhao Tiezhu immediately followed.

However, Qing Wuyan's conspicuous act of pointing out the way instantly drew the attention and anger of certain vicious men amid the chaos!

"You little brat! Mind your own business!"

A black-market vendor with a face full of flesh, who sold prohibited drugs, flashed a vicious look.

He pulled an inconspicuous iron pellet from his pocket, its edges sharpened to a frightening degree, and hurled it toward Qing Wuyan above with all the strength in his arm!

Swoosh—!

The sound of something slicing through the air rang out!

All of Qing Wuyan's attention was focused on guiding Hua Yin. He never expected someone to attack him from behind.

The next moment—

His cheek suddenly went cold, followed by searing pain!

"Ah—!"

He screamed, lost his balance, and fell straight from the nearly three-meter-high pile of wreckage!

"Wuyan!"

Hua Yin caught the sight from the corner of his eye, and his heart clenched!

But at the same time Qing Wuyan screamed and hit the ground, Zhao Tiezhu's huge body crashed through the cloth curtain like a tank.

Then, with a standard tackle, he violently brought down Old Smokestack, who was about to crawl into a deeper passage, pinning him firmly to the ground!

"Got you!"

Almost simultaneously, piercing sirens and amplified commands rang out from every entrance to the black market. "Special Affairs Bureau enforcement! Everyone, put your hands on your heads and squat where you are! Any resistance will be punished severely!"

Captain Wang arrived in time with a large group of reinforcements and began a full-scale sweep to bring the situation under control.

Hua Yin did not spare a glance for Old Smokestack, who was pinned down by Zhao Tiezhu. He immediately turned and rushed toward where Qing Wuyan had fallen.

When he reached the spot where Qing Wuyan had landed—

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Qing Wuyan was lying atop a pile of torn burlap sacks, clutching his bleeding left cheek. He bared his teeth in pain, his face pale.

The iron pellet was deeply embedded near his cheekbone, and the wound looked horrifying.

"Don't move!"

Hua Yin crouched down and pressed down Qing Wuyan's flailing hand.

He quickly checked him over. Fortunately, aside from the injury to his face and abrasions from the fall, there were no serious issues such as broken bones.

The surroundings were still chaotic, but Special Affairs Bureau personnel had already begun bringing the scene under control.

Sun Haoran and Zhao Tiezhu escorted Old Smokestack over. When they saw Qing Wuyan's injury, both frowned.

Hua Yin took a deep breath, recalling Elder Li's words.

He raised his right hand, palm facing the wound on Qing Wuyan's face.

With a slight shift of his thoughts, the exquisite phantom of the Pale Bewitching Butterfly within him gently fluttered its wings.

A warm, gentle pale radiance, unlike the dangerous power it had displayed before, slowly gathered in his palm.

Then several tiny phantom pale butterflies, seemingly formed from the purest light, drifted out from his palm and lightly settled on Qing Wuyan's wound.

The instant the light butterflies touched flesh and blood, they melted into it.

Immediately afterward, Qing Wuyan felt a cool, tingling sensation spread through the wound, replacing the burning pain from before.

Then he widened his eyes in shock and stared at Hua Yin.

Under the astonished gazes of Sun Haoran, Zhao Tiezhu, and several nearby Special Affairs Bureau agents who had begun maintaining order, the iron pellet embedded in the flesh was slowly pushed out by a gentle force and dropped to the ground.

The flesh around the wound visibly squirmed, grew, and closed together!

The bleeding stopped, and the damaged skin smoothed over, leaving only a faint red mark that soon vanished as well!

The entire process was silent and swift, lasting only a dozen seconds or so.

"It's... healed?"

Qing Wuyan touched his smooth, restored cheek in disbelief, looking at Hua Yin with shock and delight. "Hua Yin, you... this..."

Sun Haoran and Zhao Tiezhu exchanged a look, and both saw the shock in each other's eyes.

As teammates, they naturally knew that Hua Yin's ability was the Pale Bewitching Butterfly. Before this, they had only witnessed its combat side.

But who could have imagined that this pale butterfly, a symbol of death, could heal wounds so efficiently, so... gently?

Some black-market operators and vendors who had been restrained but were still secretly watching also saw the scene. Their eyes widened as if they had seen a ghost.

They might have heard of S-rank ability users, but an ability with such miraculous healing power—

They had never heard of it!

Hua Yin ignored the reactions around him. After confirming that Qing Wuyan was fine, he withdrew his hand and quietly let out a breath, though his breathing was slightly unsteady.

Clearly, while the healing had not consumed much power, precisely controlling that healing force took no less mental energy than straightforward combat.

"It's good that you're all right."

"Don't be so reckless next time. This place is dangerous. Stay away from it in the future."

Before long, Captain Wang walked over. Seeing that the scene was under control, Old Smokestack had been captured, and Hua Yin's side was fine, he nodded. "Good work. Head back!"

On the ride back, Hua Yin leaned against the rear seat and silently took several Lower-Grade Spirit Stones from the storage ring Elder Li had given him, holding them in his palm.

As he absorbed their gentle spiritual energy to recover from the expenditure, he also soothed the hunger within him, which had begun faintly stirring again.

Sun Haoran in the passenger seat and Zhao Tiezhu, who was driving, were still excitedly discussing Hua Yin's "healing technique" in low voices, their tones full of amazement.

Qing Wuyan, meanwhile, squeezed in beside Hua Yin. Suppressing his lingering fear, he wore an excited expression and chattered without pause:

"Hua Yin! You're seriously incredible! That move just now was like magic! You healed me in one go, and my face doesn't hurt at all anymore!"

"Hey, did you know something happened at school last time? We were all trapped in the classroom, and we could hear rumbling outside, along with snakes hissing. It scared us to death!"

"Later, I heard that a young Special Affairs Bureau agent descended from the sky with white wings of light on his back and cut off that snake demon's head in one slash!"

"Was that you? Was it you?! I guessed it was you back then! You suddenly stopped coming to school, so I figured you must have awakened!"

"And, and, you're officially a Special Affairs Bureau agent now, right? Which department? The Operations Department? Do you fight demon beasts every day? Is it exciting?"

"Oh, right, were those guys just now your coworkers? That big guy, that brother is insanely strong!..."

He chattered nonstop, as though he had endless questions, livening up the slightly gloomy atmosphere inside the vehicle.

Hua Yin occasionally gave brief replies. Most of the time, he simply listened quietly, watching his friend's lively, animated face. The taut string in his heart, tightened by Qing Wuyan's appearance in the black market, relaxed a little.

At least Qing Wuyan was still Qing Wuyan—cheerful, reckless, and endlessly curious.

After returning to the Special Affairs Bureau, Qing Wuyan was taken away to give a brief statement as a witness at the scene and a good citizen who had acted bravely.

His explanation for appearing in the black market was that he had "heard there were interesting old parts and strange books to dig up there, so I got curious and went to take a look."

Though that excuse was rather far-fetched, considering his usual personality and status as a student, along with the fact that no illegal activity or connection to black-market forces had been found, the Special Affairs Bureau did not pursue the matter further. After giving him a warning, they let him go.

As he was leaving, Qing Wuyan clung to the doorframe and looked at Hua Yin with sparkling eyes. "Hua Yin, are you free tonight? My treat! The usual place, that beef noodle shop! We haven't seen each other in ages, so let's have a proper chat! You're a big shot now, so you wouldn't refuse me, would you?"

Looking at his friend's expectant eyes and remembering that Qing Wuyan had indeed helped today and even gotten hurt, Hua Yin nodded. "All right. See you tonight."

"It's a deal!" Qing Wuyan waved happily and ran off in a flash.

Watching his friend's cheerful departing figure, a trace of complexity flickered through Hua Yin's eyes.

Qing Wuyan's appearance was like a thread, briefly connecting him once more to that ordinary world filled with the warmth of everyday life.

He hoped Qing Wuyan truly had gone to the black market simply out of curiosity, just as he had said.

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