Chapter 41: Cover of wind and rain
"Here she comes! It's Fia!"
Sharp-eyed Jenny was the first to spot Su Su approaching in the distance, along with the Chinese man beside her.
Mark and Joey only noticed them after she pointed them out.
Su Su stood out in any crowd, and the Chinese man beside her also had a presence that was impossible to ignore.
Judging purely by appearances, the three of them had some trouble telling Chinese people apart, but this gray-haired man was unmistakable even in a crowd.
The strange thing was that, before spotting Fia, they hadn't noticed such a conspicuous figure among the crowd at all. Only after they spotted her and confirmed that he was with her did things change.
That impossible-to-ignore presence emerged, gradually overshadowing even Fia, who was both a beautiful woman and their friend.
But this wasn't the time to dwell on it. They called out toward Su Su.
"Fia! Fia, over here!"
The three waved to the approaching girl and her companions.
Su Su smiled and waved back, then turned to Qin Xiaoxia.
"Mr. Qin, those are my friends. My grandmother's old house is vacant, but it hasn't been cleaned in ages, so we'll stay with them while we're in Los Angeles."
Qin Xiaoxia smiled behind her, trying to ease his nervousness over his first trip abroad. Doudou followed him closely, not daring to stray.
The moment Qin Xiaoxia saw Mark and Joey, he knew they were among the people he needed to see.
Ordinary people had no magic power, but their souls were a substance relatively close to it.
At that moment, Mark and Joey were giving off an "aura of fear," leaving them mentally drained and their souls trembling.
Of course, the most conspicuous thing was that faint trace of an "ominous aura."
Some of the invading substances from another world were surely beneficial-Doudou, for instance. They simply hadn't discovered any others yet. So far, though, most undoubtedly brought harm.
Because ordinary people's souls were relatively "frail" by nature, contact with such things could easily leave traces of contamination, even without any conscious involvement.
From outward appearances, Mark and Joey had merely been exposed to the aura. It would only affect their mental state and sleep quality for a few days, disappearing within a week at most thanks to their souls' natural immunity.
Still, this confirmed that the crystal mine Su Su had mentioned was indeed abnormal.
His brief deliberation lasted only a few seconds before ending as the two groups drew together.
Su Su rushed up and warmly hugged the red-haired girl, then exchanged high fives with Mark and Joey.
Then she led them over to Qin Xiaoxia.
"Let me introduce you. This is Qin Xiaoxia, Mr. Qin, and this is Doudou."
Only then did the three notice the toddler following behind Mr. Qin.
Qin Xiaoxi might not be able to speak English, but beings with magic power could "understand" any ordinary language on a fundamental, spiritual level once their magic power grew strong enough.
Language was, after all, an expression of one's consciousness, carrying emanations of the mind that were easy to receive and comprehend.
So as Su Su introduced them, he and Doudou both nodded at the appropriate moments.
Su Su had long since stopped finding this strange. She then introduced her friends to Qin Xiaoxia.
"Mr. Qin, Doudou, this is Jenny, this is Mark, and this is Joey. They're all good friends of mine!"
Qin Xiaoxia stepped forward and shook hands with each of them.
His handshake with Jenny was brief and polite, but as he approached Mark and Joey, they suddenly felt warmth drawing near.
It was like feeling warm sunlight when chilled to the bone, wonderfully soothing.
Once they finished shaking Mr. Qin's hand, the trembling unease that had plagued them for days vanished in an instant.
"Evil will always melt away beneath the light of Dawn."
Qin Xiaoxia's quiet words carried a faint vibration of magic power as they sounded beside their ears, lifting their spirits.
Then came a sense of hope mingled with intense excitement! It was much like Su Su's state when she first encountered Qin Xiaoxia.
On the drive back from the airport, Jenny finally couldn't stand Mark and Joey taking turns fussing over Mr. Qin and catering to his every need.
Even if it was a little rude, she shouted back from the driver's seat.
"Are you two ever going to stop? Mr. Qin and Doudou just spent more than ten hours on a plane. Can't you let them rest?"
Sitting in the front passenger seat, Su Su could actually understand how Mark and Joey felt, but she deeply resented the two of them squeezing her out of the back seat and into the front.
Although Su Su really wanted Qin Xiaoxia and Doudou to stay with her at Jenny's place, Mark and Joey's excessive enthusiasm had erupted into an overwhelming display of hospitality.
They even brought up the importance Chinese people placed on propriety between men and women, arguing that he should stay at their place.
This made Qin Xiaoxia genuinely want to punch them both.
If he could stay with Su Su at Jenny's place, he would have been interested in spending a night there first. Staying at Mark's place held no appeal.
At Qin Xiaoxia's request, they took a detour and drove once around Old Ode's scrapyard.
Within his field of vision, a hazy, smoke-like substance was spreading its aura around the crystal pit.
He could also sense a heartbeat-like rhythm.
He exchanged a glance with Doudou.
There's no mistake. It really is a Corrupted Crystal Mine, and it's still at an early stage of growth!
While the others gazed at it from a distance, Qin Xiaoxia, who had remained silent all this time, suddenly spoke.
"I don't know how quickly this crystal mine digests things. Time is short. I'll act tonight."
After nightfall, Su Su, Mark, and Joey shamelessly insisted on tagging along with Qin Xiaoxia and Doudou. Even Jenny couldn't resist her curiosity and came with them.
"Why do we need to bring these?"
Jenny pointed at the bag Mark was carrying. Apart from food, it held nothing but umbrellas and raincoats.
The question was naturally directed at Qin Xiaoxia. Though the others were curious too, they all shot her looks that said, "Be quiet."
The sky had gone completely dark, and the small grove around them began to sway gently after standing still.
In the guard booth by the distant mine pit, the police officers on shift kept yawning.
Night duty here was always chilly, and it left them unusually tired. Few officers at the station were willing to take the shift.
But with Hercules, Old Ode, and the police higher-ups pressing them over the case, along with the value of the crystal mine itself, the night watch would probably continue for some time.
"The wind's picking up, huh?"
An officer carrying a cup of coffee entered the guard booth and spoke to his two colleagues.
One of them looked at the sky outside the window. At some point, dark clouds had swallowed the starlight.
Qin Xiaoxia stood in the grove, on the other side of the wire fence.
The magic power surrounding him flared into resonance with his surroundings, turning his pupils completely purple in the darkness.
Wild magic power spilled madly in every direction. For the first time since the river incident, Qin Xiaoxia fully unleashed his magic power, which had grown by an unknown number of times.
Centered on his body, the surrounding air and sky began to undergo pronounced changes.
Two kilometers. Is that my current limit?
This was the limit of his current magic power combined with the world's special response to him.
The rhythm of magic power sounded from his mouth like a trembling vibration.
"Hedis, Gillandoa."
The strands of magic power, woven into their completed structure, flashed and vanished. In hundreds of places among the clouds, sharply angular white symbols appeared in an instant.
Whoosh!
Torrential rain poured down, mingling with fierce winds until no one could see even ten meters ahead.
At the same time, Qin Xiaoxia fixed his eyes on the guard booth. With a bang, the recoil from his feet blasted a large crater into the soil, and he vanished in an instant.
The three officers in the guard booth stared dumbfounded at the sudden downpour outside. Before they could say anything, the booth shook with a bang, as though struck by something heavy, and began to teeter.
"Run! Take shelter at Old Ode's place! The booth's going to collapse!"
I'll make up for the second chapter tomorrow!