Shi Yu and Han He left the dormitory building dragging their suitcases. Police had already gathered at the entrance, and ambulance sirens sounded in the distance. The two gatekeepers watched the groups of officers in confusion, still unaware of what had happened.
Fortunately, their area was farther out, so they had been affected the least by the Evil Sin. They only felt a little tired at the moment.
Shen Bai was talking to several officers in charge. Liu Yiyi and He Siying stood together nearby, while Huo Qiuliang waited for Shi Yu and Han He at the dormitory entrance.
Seeing the two of them, Huo Qiuliang greeted them and said,
"We'll take Hu Zihao straight to the hospital in a bit, then I'll go around with you two. Since you've just expressed an interest in joining the team, we'll cover your fare home, regardless."
Huo Qiuliang raised his eyebrows at the two people holding their suitcases and said,
"Don't just stand there. Give me an address first."
Shi Yu glanced at Han He. Seeing that he had no intention of speaking, Shi Yu spoke first.
"My place is a little far away. Let's take Han He home first."
Han He shook his head, however.
"No need to take me. It doesn't matter whether I go home, but I need to get some things ready. I'll meet up with Shi Yu later."
Shi Yu froze and turned to look at Han He.
Han He's expression remained unchanged. He lowered his head slightly to look at Shi Yu and said,
"Do you have any extra room at your place? Mind if I stay with you for now?"
"I do have room... sure, I guess. We have to go to the police station tomorrow anyway... I live at North Mountain Garden, building one, entrance three, apartment 203. Call me if you can't find it. I'll write down my number for you in a bit."
Han He nodded. After confirming with Huo Qiuliang that they did not need to give statements or do anything else for the time being today, he said goodbye to Liu Yiyi and Shen Bai and left first.
By then, the first ambulance had arrived. Two medical workers walked past Shi Yu and took Hu Zihao into the vehicle.
Shi Yu let out a slight sigh of relief. Only then did he feel that the whole affair seemed to have finally come to an end.
He turned to Huo Qiuliang, who had been waiting beside him for some time, and said,
"Let's go too, then."
Huo Qiuliang patted Shi Yu's shoulder with easy familiarity, then took the backpack he was carrying and walked ahead. Shi Yu followed him.
As they passed Liu Yiyi, Shi Yu saw that her expression was still a little uneasy, so he waved first.
Liu Yiyi paused, then hurriedly waved back. After a moment's thought, she said,
"Don't overthink it! We'll talk tomorrow! You don't have to be scared anymore!"
Shi Yu nodded and headed toward the school gates with Huo Qiuliang. Along the way, some officers wanted to question them, but Huo Qiuliang explained things each time, and the two soon made it out.
Huo Qiuliang found a taxi by the roadside whose driver was watching the commotion and walked over. The driver hurried over as soon as he noticed them.
Taking Shi Yu's suitcase, the driver asked curiously,
"What happened, kid? What's going on at this school? What's with all this fuss? Police cars and ambulances everywhere."
Shi Yu had known someone would ask. He was just about to brush it off by saying he didn't know when Huo Qiuliang waved a hand slightly, stopping him.
Huo Qiuliang helped the driver shut the trunk, then walked slowly over to his side and said,
"Sir, I'll tell you, but you can't spread it around."
Realizing there was news to be had, the driver hurriedly nodded and ushered them into the car.
"Of course. Go ahead, kid. Don't worry, I won't go spreading rumors."
Huo Qiuliang and Shi Yu got into the car, and Huo Qiuliang said conspiratorially,
"North Mountain Garden. The entrance will do. Ah, sir, I really shouldn't be saying this. Most people wouldn't even believe it."
Having heard that much, the driver could hardly let the subject drop. He hastily said,
"Come on, you two are obviously students here. Of course you'd know what really happened. Stop keeping me in suspense and tell me."
As he spoke, the driver glanced into the mirror inside the car. Seeing the two boys, both still youthful-looking, only strengthened his conviction.
Only then did Huo Qiuliang lower his voice.
"I heard the school administrators joined a cult and caused a whole lot of serious incidents. Since it's a closed-campus school, they kept the news under wraps by claiming they were holding extra classes. Nobody found out until today. I heard some students even got hurt!"
"A cult?! Seriously?"
Forgetting his earlier assurances that he would believe them, the driver instinctively questioned it.
"See? I told you, and now you don't believe me. Anyway, we really did see the school administrators doing strange things. In the end, they even caused an explosion in the dormitory bathroom. Why else would so many police officers come?"
Huo Qiuliang looked utterly certain, the opposite of his earlier secretive manner.
"That's terrifying. So what happened in the end? And what kind of cult goes after children? Those bastards deserve to die!"
Watching the driver turn a corner, Huo Qiuliang said,
"I don't know how it ended, but I heard quite a few cult members got away. The police also said the cult has been getting more and more brazen these past few years, and their methods are extremely cruel. Their victims all die under bizarre circumstances, and the bodies are a horrible sight. They said to call the police immediately if you notice anything that doesn't make sense."
"Absolutely. That's terrifying. So some of them are still on the loose... They'd better catch every last one."
Huo Qiuliang tilted his head at that and glanced at Shi Yu's faintly furrowed brow before answering the driver.
"Exactly... absolutely terrifying."
After that, Huo Qiuliang continued chatting with the driver. Though he was about the same age as Shi Yu, his personality and social skills were clearly completely different.
Huo Qiuliang seemed able to effortlessly pick out what the other person most enjoyed and wanted to hear, then keep the conversation going along those lines. He kept the driver thoroughly pleased throughout the ride, and the driver even knocked fifty cents off the fare when they arrived.
"Ah, thank you so much, sir. Sorry for the trouble this trip."
"No trouble at all. Here's my card. Give me a call if you need anything. I'll give you a discount!"
Huo Qiuliang shut the car door and waved, watching the taxi recede into the distance.
Only then did he turn to Shi Yu, whom he had left out of the conversation the entire way, and say,
"What did you pick up from that?"
Shi Yu was silent for a while at first. He pulled his suitcase forward, with Huo Qiuliang following slowly behind.
Just as Huo Qiuliang was about to mentally give this boy who might become his new colleague a low score, Shi Yu spoke.
"I'll just say what I think, then."
Shi Yu glanced back at Huo Qiuliang without stopping.
"The broad official stance is to prepare people for what's coming. They might even want to tell the public directly about supernatural phenomena like Evil Sins. But perhaps because of the current situation, or perhaps because there's a dispute between two factions, some of the leadership disagree. So they conceal those aspects and use gentler, more easily accepted explanations instead."
Shi Yu's home was in building one, in the innermost part of the complex. He and Huo Qiuliang passed along one narrow path after another.
It was autumn, before the holidays, and most of those strolling outside in the afternoon were elderly men and women. Snatches of their conversations reached the pair from time to time.
Shi Yu stepped around two elderly women out for a walk and continued,
"You could even say most people oppose revealing the existence of something so frightening and take an optimistic view of it. That's why you're trying to spread the news this way. Considering the police announcements over the years, I don't think the police would help you spread this kind of information. So the conservatives must hold an overwhelming majority right now."
"And in such a conservative climate, with an approach so conservative even toward Evil Sins, they'd probably crack down even harder on the Heirs on their own side. Never mind gifted people who inexplicably acquire abilities. Their fate probably wouldn't be any better than an Evil Sin's, would it?"
Huo Qiuliang said nothing. He only watched Shi Yu. Usually so talkative, he was now as silent as winter.
"That's also why Yiyi is so eager for us to join, right? If we don't join... so I'll be even more determined to join you, and I'll try to convince Hu Zihao to join too."
Shi Yu left the words after "if we don't join" unspoken and went straight to his conclusion.
Shi Yu turned back to Huo Qiuliang and said,
"This is also the best outcome for me. What do you think of that answer?"
The corners of Huo Qiuliang's mouth curved upward. He broke into a grin, his smile like a newborn crescent moon.
"How am I supposed to describe how much I like you right now?"
Shi Yu did not answer. He reached out and took hold of the building's entrance door.
An old residential complex, an old entrance door. There was no entrance lock to speak of; all it took was the right amount of force to pull it open.
Huo Qiuliang followed Shi Yu inside.
Clang!! The battered entrance door was always absurdly loud, as though it had devoted all its sturdiness to making noise. The sharp crash mingled with the vibration of the lock spring, buzzing through the cold stairwell and making the air quiver. It left Shi Yu's ears, which had been quiet for so long, ringing slightly.
Shi Yu sighed.
He knew that his past, his misfortune, his ordinariness, and his "luck" had all been shattered by that thunderous slam of the door-smashed to pieces.
Shi Yu climbed the stairs and spoke his last words before entering his home.
"How much is our salary?"
"You can't call it a salary. We're still minors. It's an allowance!"
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