So Exciting

After the little interruption, things settled down.

Su Bai walked back to his desk.

Lin Luo took out three small boxes and handed them to Su Bai.

Su Bai opened them one by one.

A writing brush.

A bracelet.

A length of yarn.

These were no ordinary objects, of course. They were Bloodline Marks, formed when extraordinary power leaked out of extraordinary creatures upon their deaths and took physical form.

When Section Seven delivered the documents to Lin Luo, it also brought rewards corresponding to each person's individual evaluation.

For a Transcendent's bloodline to advance, they had to devour three Bloodline Marks of the same rank, or a greater number of lower-rank Bloodline Marks.

For this operation, everyone except Qingxue, whose evaluation was slightly lower, received enough resources to advance their current bloodline rank.

Although Qingxue had received only one small box, the resources she had were enough too.

After killing Jiang Long, Su Bai had given Jiang Long's Bloodline Mark to Qingxue. Once the individual evaluations came out, Lin Luo had also generously given Lin Acheng's Bloodline Mark to Qingxue.

Lin Luo carefully cautioned them:

"Although you have plenty of resources, devouring and digesting them has to be done gradually. The higher the bloodline rank you're advancing to, the longer it takes. Relatively speaking, though, advancing to an eighth-rank bloodline is still fairly simple. From devouring to digestion, it should only take about half a month."

Su Bai nodded and picked up the three objects for a look. He noticed that a faint red glow covered their surfaces.

Unless one looked closely, it was hard to notice anything special about them.

A little while later, Su Bai asked, "How do I devour them?"

In a solemn tone, Lin Luo slowly said, "Bite them to pieces and swallow."

Su Bai suspected nothing. He picked up the writing brush and bit half of it off with a crunch. It was fucking hard, and it nearly chipped his teeth. It seemed Transcendents with bad teeth couldn't even advance their bloodlines.

At the next desk, the corners of Chu Ning's mouth twitched.

Qingxue held out both hands, an innocent look on her face.

Su Bai finished eating the writing brush and let out a burp. He was just about to pick up the bracelet and stuff it into his mouth.

Lin Luo pushed up the gold-rimmed glasses on the bridge of his nose and continued, "Or you can carry the Bloodline Marks with you. As time passes, the extraordinary power contained in the objects will slowly merge into your body."

Su Bai froze in the act of gnawing on the bracelet. His face darkened at once. Fuck, you really can't guard against everything!

Well, well, Lin Luo, with those thick brows and big eyes of yours, it turns out you're the most secretly wicked one of all.

Chu Ning glanced at Su Bai, raised a thumb, and gave him a thoroughly fair assessment. "Nice teeth."

Qingxue timidly raised her hand. "Brother Su Bai, I ate one too, so..."

Because she had been caught in the rain herself, she had to stomp someone else's umbrella to pieces and throw it into a stinking ditch.

At three in the afternoon.

Pingliu Airport, on the outskirts of Suzhou.

Escorted by a group of bodyguards, Lin Xue walked into the airport terminal.

In just a few days, she had grown much thinner, and her face was terribly haggard.

Besides the bodyguards, two major shareholders of Heavenly River International accompanied Lin Xue. One was surnamed Zhang, the other Li, and both were in their forties.

"Uncle Zhang, Uncle Li, take the others back to the company. I can go through security on my own."

The two men exchanged a look, both smiling bitterly.

Heavenly River International had been sealed off. What company was left to return to?

At its height, the Hunter Guild had gathered more than seventy Transcendents and several hundred elites from the political and business worlds under its banner. But when the tree fell, the monkeys scattered. After Lin Yue's death, the Hunter Guild had completely collapsed. Nearly all its Transcendents had been arrested by Section Seven, and most of the remaining industry elites were busy protecting themselves, no longer daring to appear in public as Hunter Guild members.

Those now accompanying Lin Xue were all veteran stalwarts who had fought alongside Lin Yue every step of the way, truly loyal to the core.

"Xue'er, although we can't do business in the country anymore, a centipede may die but never falls stiff. We still have some foundations and connections abroad," the middle-aged man called Uncle Li said after weighing his words.

"Although we haven't been arrested, Section Seven is keeping a close eye on us. We can't leave Great Xia, so we can't take over the business abroad either. We've thought it over and over, and we can only send you to take it over."

Uncle Zhang nodded and added softly:

"Xue'er, don't be afraid. We've already taken care of our connections abroad. Once you get to New York, someone from Quark Company will meet you. They'll help you manage the business your father left behind. As long as we get through this period, our Hunter Guild can still rise again. When that happens... there'll be hope of avenging your father and your family."

Revenge?

Revenge against whom?

Chu Ning or Su Bai, or the other Grave Keepers?

Or the entire Transcendent system of Great Xia?

Lin Xue gave a self-mocking smile and said nothing.

She lowered her head, her fists clenching slightly.

She recalled Sister Hong's final, soft murmur before she died: "Miss... run."

A sword through the heart. How much pain Sister Hong must have been in then.

"All right, I'll remember."

Outside the airport.

A fiery red Bugatti Veyron sat quietly by the roadside.

Through the car window, Su Bai gazed silently at the midsize Boeing passenger plane flying toward the clouds, his face showing neither sorrow nor joy.

Chu Ning suddenly asked, "Do you like her?"

Su Bai lowered his head and fell silent for a moment, then said softly:

"Actually, that night, the moment she stood on the stage and said, 'I accept,' I suddenly wavered. The world seemed to shatter. At that moment, I really wanted to rush onto the stage and tell her it was all a scam, then throw everything aside and take her to the ends of the earth.

"But the very next moment, I realized how childish and ridiculous that thought was. Dreams are beautiful, but in the end, we all have to return to reality. Some people come into our lives only to... slip through our fingers."

Chu Ning shrugged. "Looks like you really do like her quite a bit."

Su Bai smiled. "Liking someone isn't worth much. I can like anyone, but not just anyone will like me back. That's why there are regrets. But that's normal. It's the same for everyone."

"Everyone?" Chu Ning glanced at Su Bai and frowned. "I don't understand."

Su Bai rested his head on his hands and took one last look at the plane cutting across the sky. He sighed softly. "That's good."

Late at night, all was quiet, the moon surrounded by countless stars.

Chu Ning drove Su Bai to her private villa. After they entered, she casually pointed at a room on the second floor and said, "Go wait for me in that room."

Su Bai was taken aback and blurted out, "Damn, so exciting?"

Noticing Su Bai's strange look, Chu Ning frowned and said, "I mean, I'll take a shower first, then come upstairs and talk to you."

Su Bai swallowed. Well, damn, that's even more exciting.

Half an hour later, Chu Ning entered the room wrapped in a bathrobe. Su Bai sat with his head lowered and his eyes fixed straight ahead, the picture of an upright gentleman. She said to him:

"Captain Li said you're in a fairly dangerous situation lately, so he told us to stay close and protect you. Lin Luo and Sister Yan have to sort through the documents and can't spare the time, Qingxue isn't strong enough, and Gu Jiuge goes clubbing and drinking all over the place. He gets so drunk he could even lose himself, so we had no choice but to leave you with me."

You could've said so earlier! I went through tens of minutes of mental struggle for nothing!

Su Bai breathed a sigh of relief and casually asked, "Who's Sister Yan?"

"Sister Yan is a colleague from Section Seven. She's specifically responsible for liaising with the Suzhou Grave Keepers. She's the one who provides the documents and information every time we go on a mission. She's one of us."

Chu Ning rummaged through drawers and cabinets, pulled out an ancient-looking longsword, and tossed it to Su Bai.

"Firearms are quite practical, but their killing power is limited. Gu Jiuge gave me this as a welcome gift when I joined the Grave Keepers two years ago.

"He said it's an alchemical weapon forged from the bones of a fourth-rank extraordinary creature by the Tomb Sweepers responsible for researching equipment. It has the unique attribute 'burn.' I forgot its name. Take it for self-defense for now. Oh, right, remember, whatever you do, don't..."

Su Bai reached out to catch the sword and suddenly felt as though half his palm were being burned by fierce flames. The stabbing pain made him pull his hand back instantly. When he looked again, a large blister had already formed on his palm.

Resting her chin on her hand, Chu Ning said thoughtfully, "Whatever you do, don't touch the blade with your hand. You'll get hurt."

Fuck.

If I can't touch the blade, you should've said so earlier! Even if you didn't say it earlier, you shouldn't have just tossed it over!

Dark lines covered Su Bai's forehead. He shook his hand and said, "Shouldn't something this dangerous be kept in a scabbard or a sword case when it's not being used?"

Chu Ning explained, "I used the scabbard to prop up a table leg. It's downstairs. You can find it yourself tomorrow."