Chapter 144
After obtaining the clue that could untangle all her doubts, Feng Youyou said no more.
She now fully understood the cause of the whole affair. Because the mastermind’s identity involved other forces in Central City, You Xingluo had no intention of relying on the Federation’s institutions or the Noble Houses. That was precisely why he had sought Ji Qing’s help.
Feng Youyou could not help sighing inwardly. The relationship between those two was unexpectedly close.
If You Xingluo had not believed that Ji Qing would come to save him, he would not have chosen Ji Qing as the very first person to ask for help. And Ji Qing had answered that choice, coming without hesitation to this chaotic and vicious town.
By contrast… Feng Youyou cast a faintly regretful glance at the silent Xie Chang’an beside her.
Naturally, Feng Youyou could understand Xie Chang’an’s reaction just now.
From the very first time she had come into contact with Xie Chang’an, she had already noticed that he harbored a complicated mixture of admiration, longing, and inferiority toward Ji Qing. But Ji Qing very clearly had no need for that sort of admiration.
Tsk, tsk, tsk. It seemed Xie Chang’an still had a very long way to go in his idol-worshipping journey.
The room therefore fell silent as well.
Sensing that the conversation had come to an end, Ji Qing said calmly, “Now that the questions are over, let us go straight to the main issue.”
“All right,” Feng Youyou replied.
“Just say it,” Xie Chang’an added after her.
And so, after receiving those precise answers, the three of them finally began discussing the rescue operation. This night was destined to be a long one.
***
At 7:08 p.m. on the fifth day, inside Xucheng.
He He noticed that the Young Master was in an especially good mood today.
Although the Young Master had always been somewhat lively and optimistic by nature, He He still could not help feeling that something was strange. In bafflement, he thought, Why does it feel as though I am more like the hostage than he is? Can a hostage really be this carefree?
All of a sudden, he found that he could no longer understand You Xingluo.
After once again bringing dinner to You Xingluo, He He obediently moved that small stool over and sat down in the corner.
Tonight’s dinner was a bowl of rice topped with potatoes and minced meat. The potato chunks had been stewed until soft, while the scattered bits of minced meat mixed among them were pitifully few. He He stared at the sticky rice bowl in his hands, and his heart sank little by little.
Why was he alive? And why was he staying here?
Questions he had only occasionally thought of in the past now surged into his mind without warning, like sharp thorns piercing a massive hole through his already fragile heart. He He often warned himself that he had to learn to adapt to all of this, that he should think of the sky outside.
The sky beyond Xucheng had to be blue and bright.
Ever since he was young, He He had yearned for the world outside. Although he had been born in Xucheng, and although no elder had ever told him what the lands beyond Xucheng were like, he often heard the townspeople of Xucheng and the members of the Azure Dragon Gang talk about the outside world as they saw it.
That place was far more stable than Xucheng, and far freer as well.
Only…
Now that things had come to this point, and now that he had heard the Young Master’s words, He He felt that the world outside was actually no different from here.
All along, he had imagined that when he left Xucheng, he would leave as an Ability User. But what if he was not an Ability User?
Panic rose in He He’s heart.
Over the many years he had spent in Xucheng, he had also heard people who had fled there sigh that, in truth, it was all much the same. The world had always been a world belonging to Ability Users, and ordinary people were merely there to serve as their backdrop. There was no difference at all… no difference at all…
“He He, do you want the rest?”
Just as He He’s nerves were drawn taut, You Xingluo, who was sitting cross-legged on the bed, called out to him.
Only then did He He’s thoughts finally break free of that gloom. He frowned instinctively. “Can’t you finish it again this time? It may not look very good, but the potatoes and minced meat are delicious. You’ve already been giving me your dinner four days in a row.”
“But I still don’t really have much of an appetite,” You Xingluo muttered softly.
Food was all about color, aroma, and taste.
Without color and aroma, even the most delicious food looked to him like nothing more than a lump of sticky pigswill. You Xingluo felt that even bland Nutrient Solution would be far better than this dinner, but unfortunately—
In Xucheng, Nutrient Solution was actually considered a scarce commodity.
With He He’s position inside the gang, naturally there was no way he could get any for him. So You Xingluo could only force himself to swallow a little while transferring as much of the extra food as possible into He He’s bowl.
Tonight, however, he had important business to attend to, so he still had to eat a bit more.
As You Xingluo pushed the potatoes into the bowl He He held out, he thought about how he could preserve his strength for the night so that he would not become a burden. A faint sense of pride suddenly welled up in his heart. Look, he was still being very cooperative. He deserved praise for that.
He He, on the other hand, had no special thoughts about it.
Because of You Xingluo’s identity as the young master of a Noble House, He He believed from the bottom of his heart that any behavior from You Xingluo was possible. You Xingluo had certainly eaten meals far better than this bowl of rice. He had certainly lived in rooms far better than this one. He had certainly…
“Are you very happy?” He He suddenly asked.
At those words, the hand with which You Xingluo held his knife and fork paused. He looked up at He He and met the faint trace of loneliness hidden in He He’s eyes.
Was he happy?
A hint of bewilderment passed through You Xingluo’s dark eyes. He could understand why He He had asked that question. Perhaps it was because of how he had behaved over the past few days, or perhaps it was because of his identity.
To a twelve-year-old boy born into the bottom rung of Xucheng, what You Xingluo possessed itself represented “happiness.”
But could that really be called happiness?
“No, I do not think I am happy.” You Xingluo shook his head.
But after saying that, he calmly emphasized, “At the very least, for the overwhelming majority of my life, I have not been happy.”
“What do you even have to be unhappy about?” He He frowned.
“Yes… what do I have to be unhappy about?” After hearing that, You Xingluo instinctively repeated He He’s words.
If one were speaking only of the present, then he was indeed relaxed and content.
Because Ji Qing had found him, he was no longer alone. The predicament before him would soon be shattered, and he would soon be able to return to the proper track, to resume being the You Family’s Clan Head, to resume being a Federal Council Member, and most importantly—
To go back to the high school that mattered to him.
Before attending that school, You Xingluo had never felt that school was necessary at all. In the wasteland, high schools were in fact much like cram schools that handed out vocational certificates. What mattered was that diploma, not those three years of high school life.
If You Xingluo had wanted to, he could have obtained a diploma from any high school at any time, without any conditions.
But…
Someone he had once met had given him such advice: go attend school for a while. They felt that children ought to go to school before reaching adulthood, rather than deciding far too early where their future would end and worrying about a pile of strange, unnecessary things.
He had believed that, and he had gone.
And only after that did You Xingluo suddenly realize one thing: all along, he had been unfortunate.
His family’s expectations, the weight of duty, the future of his race… countless lofty and grand burdens had been binding him all this time, to the point that he could not even sit down and casually chat with friends in peace. Because in the open, countless eyes were fixed on him, and in the dark, countless hands were trying to drag him down from where he stood.
Having never experienced anything else, he naturally had never felt it.
But such matters were too obscure and difficult for a child to understand, so You Xingluo murmured, “Because every person looks at things from a different angle, and every person possesses different things. The reason you think I am very happy is because I have the things you long for, but cannot possess.”
He He fell silent.
He had to admit that You Xingluo was right. That young master of a Noble House who had called himself a “Seer” on the first day they met often said things that sounded strangely convincing, so… was the Young Master really a Seer?
Like the Seers he had seen before, the ones who appeared in the news?
A trace of confusion rose once more in He He’s heart. It was not that he did not want to believe You Xingluo. It was simply that the identity of a Seer was too easy to fake. He He had seen many people entertain that crooked thought before, and had seen many people try to swindle others by pretending.
Prophecy was the easiest Ability to fake, and also the hardest.
So He He asked, “If you really are a Seer, does that mean you can see my future too?”
You Xingluo fell silent.
That reaction only confirmed the suspicion in He He’s heart. He said in disappointment, “So you are fake too?”
He knew it. Of course it would be fake. He He sulked inwardly.
“How could I possibly be fake?” You Xingluo retorted in displeasure. “But this would not be good for either of us. And if I were to prophesy for you, what would I gain? I would gain nothing.”
“How could you possibly gain nothing from—” He He grew quite angry after hearing that, but very quickly, he could say no more.
He looked at the sticky rice bowl in his hands, and his mood sank little by little.
Just as You Xingluo had said, You Xingluo would gain nothing. This bowl of potatoes and minced meat over rice, which tasted so good to He He, was to You Xingluo no more than an unpalatable bowl of pigswill that was not even as good as Nutrient Solution.
“Many people cannot accept their own fate,” You Xingluo said in a remarkably steady voice. “It is precisely because fate is unknown that they find it worth fighting against. Even if some people can, afterward, soberly find a second road for themselves, those people are few in the end.”
“Then why can’t I?” He He asked, dissatisfied.
You Xingluo turned back to him calmly. “Because you are still too young. You have not yet grown to the point where you can accept fate. Most importantly… I no longer want to see anyone hate me because of my words, and then torment themselves and torment me as well.”
He He frowned.
Although he already understood You Xingluo’s concerns, he still felt that what You Xingluo had said was wrong.
Yes, he was very young.
But what gave You Xingluo the right to decide on his behalf that he could not do it?
Feeling even more upset, He He carried the little stool to one side and began shoveling down his dinner. He silently swore that he would absolutely not help You Xingluo get rid of tomorrow’s meal, and that he would not speak to You Xingluo again either. Let the Young Master fend for himself!
Clatter, clatter…
A sudden wave of noisy voices came from outside the window, as though the entire building were boiling.
He He instinctively looked up toward the window, but there was nothing there.
Still confused, he soon heard the conversation of the other Azure Dragon Gang members behind him:
“Hurry up and go help out! Bring all the gear! Someone actually dares cause trouble on our turf. We absolutely can’t let them go!”
“But what about the hostage?” another person asked.
“What is there to worry about? He’s weak as can be. Didn’t nothing happen these past few days? Besides, isn’t that little brat still here?”
“All right, then let’s grab our weapons!”
…
With those heated voices ringing out, He He instantly understood the situation.
Someone had started trouble on the Azure Dragon Gang’s territory.
He could not say he felt any particular emotion over it, but his gaze instinctively shifted to You Xingluo. You Xingluo’s expression remained calm, as though he was unmoved by it, but He He had not forgotten that You Xingluo had tried to escape on the very first day he woke up.
I won’t make that mistake again, He He swore inwardly.
Because of what You Xingluo had just said, He He was in a terrible mood, but at that moment, another base and filthy emotion also welled up in his heart: Look, can he not still decide it after all?
The Young Master’s escape right now was in his hands.
But even if he managed to escape, he would probably be captured and dragged back anyway… As He He recalled the route conditions he had seen that morning, his heart could not help deflating again. He actually quite liked You Xingluo. Over these past few days, he had learned much about the lightness and freedom of the outside world from You Xingluo.
You Xingluo was widely knowledgeable, and he did not discriminate against him either.
If they had not met under these circumstances, He He felt that the two of them might have become friends. No, that was not right… irritation rose once more in He He’s heart. If not for this chance, how could he possibly have gotten to know a young master from Central City…
But He He realized that You Xingluo was just like him—both of them were alone.
You Xingluo could talk to anyone, yet he was close to no one. Not a single one of the names He He had heard from You Xingluo could possibly come to save him, so You Xingluo too was destined to be lonely, left to hurt in silence by himself.
A faint sense of comfort suddenly rose in He He’s heart.
“The time is almost here.”
You Xingluo looked toward the sky outside the window, his expression calm.
“You are trying to run again?” He He turned toward him with displeasure. “There is no one here who helps strangers. If you get dragged into gang fighting and die by accident, what then? And most importantly, the train station can be shut down by the gang at any time. Do you really think you can get out?”
Everything He He said was true.
As someone who had grown up in Xucheng, he understood the local situation far better than You Xingluo did. But at that moment, he could not stop himself from saying, “You should have some connections, right? Don’t even think about sending out a distress message. That is impossible. The communication network in this city has always been controlled, and the local government is spineless too.”
“Oh?” You Xingluo blinked, suddenly intrigued.
Because he had not been able to leave the room, he had known nothing about this information. But He He’s words… rather than a warning, they sounded more like a reminder, did they not? A reminder that he could not do that, that he had to avoid the wrong option?
This situation was genuinely novel.
You Xingluo could not help giving He He a few extra looks.
People born into Noble Houses all had their own pride, and even You Xingluo was no exception. He suddenly felt the sincerity in this short, dark-skinned little boy’s heart, and yet someone like him was living in Xucheng…
The negative effects brought by Active Prophecy were gradually dissipating.
From the very beginning, the prophecy he had made had only been meant to determine the rough scope of an incident. It would not affect him for very long. But the outcome of that prophecy had been exceptionally grim, and once he got out, he would have a great deal to deal with.
A faint light flickered in You Xingluo’s eyes.
He discovered that he now seemed able to see the long course of this little boy’s distant future.
Clang…
Another faint sound came from outside the window.
Because of the previous uproar, He He did not find it strange this time. However exaggerated the sounds became when gangs fought, such things were perfectly normal. After all, the main force in those clashes consisted of Ability Users, and only Ability Users could be the main force.
He He pursed his lips unhappily.
He could almost see the howling wind, a wind that should not have appeared in this season. A powerful gale made the awning hastily set up outside the building creak harshly, while the glass windows rang and rattled.
He He suddenly found himself conflicted over his present situation.
Should he leave, or should he stay?
Two choices, two outcomes, and not much time left for him to decide. So should he help the Young Master a little? Help this lonely Young Master escape?
You Xingluo quietly watched all of this, and could not help feeling a trace of melancholy in his heart.
He murmured softly, “Perhaps I should believe you once.”
“Hm?” He He turned around in surprise.
“Didn’t you say that you would be the kind of person who could clearly find a second road?” In You Xingluo’s eyes, as still and silent as the night, He He’s small figure was reflected back. For some reason, at that moment, He He suddenly felt that You Xingluo carried a trace of divinity, a trace of that peculiar unreality unique to a Seer.
Looking at He He’s bewildered expression, You Xingluo let out a quiet sigh.
But he still pronounced the verdict clearly, word by word. “You do not have an Ability, nor will you awaken one. Your father deceived the Azure Dragon Gang. Your mother was merely an ordinary person without an Ability, and no matter how hard you try, you will never become the Ability User you dream of becoming.”
“Abandon those extravagant fantasies.
“Leave as early as you can, while you still have a choice. The Azure Dragon Gang will not be your home.”
He He’s eyes widened instantly.
The moment You Xingluo spoke that first sentence, his heart had already sunk to rock bottom. The words that followed shoved him straight into an icy hell. He He shot to his feet in anger. “Don’t tell me that kind of nonsense! I don’t believe it at all!”
He absolutely did not believe it!
But when furious He He met You Xingluo’s pitch-black eyes, he suddenly fell silent. In those eyes, He He saw his own twisted expression, one that looked exactly like those adults he had mocked in the past—those who, after being abruptly exposed, flew into a rage out of shame.
What difference was there between him and them now?
Seeing that, You Xingluo said regretfully, “That is exactly why I do not say it.”
Not everyone could accept that their fantasies about the future were false. If one had to be precise… what You Xingluo saw was far more than only that much. He could see that He He’s future was exceedingly ordinary, whether in Xucheng or after leaving Xucheng.
The reason was very simple, because He He himself was merely an extremely ordinary boy.
His dreams of rising above others, of building a successful career, and the like might very well have nothing to do with him at all. He might not even be able to attain a peaceful and healthy life in his later years, surrounded by children and grandchildren. And for a twelve-year-old boy whose heart was full of fantasies, such a future was truly cruel.
So You Xingluo sighed softly. “Then take this as a curse spoken before parting. If you truly can break free of the fate I saw and carve out your own second road, then when we meet again next time, I will offer you a solemn apology.”
They still had one more chance to meet, the last and only one.
You Xingluo rose and walked toward the window.
Although Ji Qing had never once made his presence known, You Xingluo could still tell that Ji Qing was standing just beyond this wall, waiting for him to finish his conversation.
It was a very strange thing.
If one were speaking of breaking free from fate, then more than He He himself, You Xingluo hoped that Ji Qing would be able to break free from the fate he had seen for him. Because that would mean his prophecies were not entirely correct, and because that would mean he could still see Ji Qing again.
You Xingluo did not want to end up never seeing Ji Qing again, but he also knew—
Ji Qing had his own road to walk.
In the end, the two of them were not traveling the same road.
“Wait, wait, wait, you are not planning to climb out the window, are you?” He He hurriedly tried to stop him after suddenly realizing what was happening. “Even if you are escaping, you cannot choose this route. Also—I already hinted that much to you. Are you really still planning to run today?”
“Heh-heh~” Hearing that, You Xingluo turned his head back and revealed a triumphant smile. “Because I am not alone, so naturally I do not need to trouble myself over what one person can or cannot do. In any case, thank you for taking care of me over the past few days.”
“Until we meet again, He He.”
After saying that, You Xingluo used both hands and feet and climbed out through the window.
“…” He He stared blankly at the sight.
Although what You Xingluo had said earlier had sounded extremely cool, it did not change the fact that You Xingluo’s physical condition was terribly weak. Who said a whole string of mysterious and profound words, only to start climbing out the window right in front of the person he had just lectured?
Hey, hey, your clothes are about to get snagged!
Just as He He stood there at a complete loss, he suddenly caught sight of a left hand that had appeared out of nowhere, pulling on You Xingluo.
After noticing He He’s gaze, a beautiful white-haired youth with a frigid aura swept him with an indifferent glance. And with no more than that brief look, a killing intent as sharp and bone-piercing as a blade instantly soaked through He He’s spine.
He was strong—very, very strong.
He He’s heart immediately plunged like a winter stone cast by an ignorant child into an icy, biting cold pool.
Even as he felt happy for You Xingluo, a trace of bitterness could not help but rise in his heart as well. Ah… so the Young Master really did have someone who would come save him… so he alone was the one who was truly, utterly alone…
Their encounter had been so brief.
Two people who should have been nothing more than parallel lines had now returned to their own separate tracks.
