Chapter 125.2: Coming and Going in a Haste Part 2
In this vortex stirred up by the Wasteland Assembly, some people, like Chen Yubo, never had a choice and were swept into the storm against their will. But there were also people who chose to jump in themselves, willingly sinking deeper into the mire.
Just like Ji Jue. Even though he was no longer completely broke and could live fairly comfortably now, new ambitions and desires had appeared. He wanted to become a craftsman, have his own workshop, and make something of himself.
Even more than that, he wanted to do whatever he pleased. Just like now, getting into trouble that had nothing to do with him. He had that same overestimation of himself, and that same reckless disregard for danger. So who exactly was more noble?
The small-time thugs wanted to make it big. The poor wanted to strike it rich. The bosses wanted to climb even higher. Even regional overlords, when they looked up, still coveted the supreme seats above the serpents. Even those at the very top would still fight and scheme against each other for their own goals.
The chaotic wilderness of the White Deer existed in everyone’s hearts. Once all the righteous excuses and disguises were stripped away, what remained was nothing more than naked ambition and desires too blunt to hide.
It wasn’t the White Deer that caused all this. It was simply the beasts of the wilderness chasing after the traces it left behind.
But as the White Deer looked down from above, would it feel joy at the slaughter offered in its name? The Supreme Benevolence knew no ignorance, no understanding. From beginning to end, it only bore witness.
For a brief moment, in the reflection on the floor-to-ceiling window amid the blur of neon lights and city glow, he thought he saw a faint silhouette again. It looked like a bloodstained white deer in the wilderness, turning its head indifferently and gazing at him, as if inspecting a new participant in this feast of blood.
Soon, as if disappointed, it withdrew its gaze and disappeared. Behind the white deer, something formless seemed to rise, but Ji Jue could not see it clearly.
Everything dissolved into the hazy, drifting images of a mind slipping toward sleep.
Ji Jue fell into deep sleep.
Filled with curiosity and confusion, An Ran moved without a sound on the sofa, suddenly rising and turning back to look at Ji Jue, whose sleeping posture was slowly getting worse. That fleeting aura from the wilderness just now... Was that a Supreme Benevolence’s resonance?
But it only became harder and harder to understand. Why did they come in such haste? And why did they leave just as hastily?
***
The next morning, Ji Jue didn’t get up until around seven.
If he’d been following the workshop’s routine, he would have already been in the warehouse by now, squeezing in time to use Dissociation Techniques to burn through a round of physical stamina before breakfast.
Today, he washed up slowly, brushed his teeth while yawning all the way, then went to the kitchen to make breakfast for himself and An Ran. While eating at the table, he absentmindedly scrolled through his phone.
He completely ignored Chen Yubo’s resentful stare from a sleepless night, carrying an almost inhumane air of “whether the boss lives or dies is none of my concern.”
Free service was like this. The boss only had to wait to die. But as a bodyguard, Ji Jue had to think about a lot more.
Thank goodness last night had been peaceful. There were no werewolves suddenly transforming in the villa and swallowing Young Master Chen whole. Most people hadn’t even received the news yet or hadn’t confirmed Young Master Chen’s location or condition. Amid hesitation and calculation, the night’s killing and struggle had drifted by like a tide.
The moment Ji Jue opened his messaging app, he saw a forwarded compilation from Ye Chun. When he clicked it open, it was a flood of videos and photos uploaded by various local netizens.
On a street left in ruins, sanitation workers drove water trucks through, high-pressure hoses washing over patches of dark-red stains on the ground. Even the clear water turned a faint crimson.
Like a small river, dirty water surged along the street, flowing down both sides before disappearing into the darkness of the sewers.
From fishing boats, swollen corpses slid from nets of fish onto the deck; in noisy nightclubs, chaos spread like wildfire; under neon-lit streets, gunfights of kill-or-be-killed erupted; and even high-rise buildings were sealed off by police cordons, their outer walls cracking, swaying on the brink of collapse.
At the end of the chat log was a photo.
In the South Ridge District, at the bridge over the North River estuary, a gruesome corpse hung between the guardrail and the hollow beneath the bridge, swaying in the wind.
That face, with its eyes wide open in death, unmistakably belonged to the youngest son, the Seventh, the man most favored by Lei Wuye, the boss of the largest construction materials company in the entire Cliff City before he had been admitted to the ICU!
In just one night, the winds of power had turned strongly. A raging storm had already swept through, and while most people were asleep, death and blood had already flowed into rivers.
On the first floor of the villa, in a dining room so spacious it looked like part of a hotel, everyone seated wore anxious, heavy expressions. Yet at the same time, there was also a strange sense of relief, like the second shoe had finally dropped.
They had started fighting. In the end, they really had started fighting.
If before this, all sides still hoped that clashes would end with some kind of winner emerging so they could gain leverage in negotiations, then now, with the path of negotiation seemingly cut off by an invisible pair of scissors, all that remained was pure survival of the fittest. It was “kill or be killed.”
What was truly terrifying was Lei Yaoxing’s resolve. In just one night, after purging internal traitors and allies who were trying to jump ship into the sewer, he immediately launched an all-out war against every opponent.
Before this, I was still willing to speak to you as Lei Wuye’s heir. But since you didn’t take me seriously, then fine. Fuck it. I’m done pretending. I’m going to kill, kill, kill, kill, kill!!!
Traitors were thrown into the meat grinder, enemies were dumped into the sewers, and anyone who dared resist was hung one by one under the bridge, turned into so-called Yazhou sunshine dolls[1] swaying in the open air.
That once arrogant Golden-Tooth Leopard, who had even tried to measure himself against Lei Yaoxing, was found dead this morning in his mistress’s bed, his corpse in a horrific state.
It could be said that with just a single move, Lei Yaoxing had stunned everyone overnight.
The moment he abandoned all restraint and openly declared he would reenact Lei Wuye’s old methods, forcibly unifying the dark underworld of Cliff City, everyone finally felt the terrifying power hidden beneath the surface.
Now, with the big players gone, the small fry of South Ridge District had knelt and kowtowed with astonishing speed. They switched allegiance overnight, leaving only Lei Yaoxing as their one and only sun in their hearts.
The game of territorial coloring had begun.
Who would be next? Gracefield? North Mount? Or Dragonsea? Or perhaps that monster lurking in the swamp would turn around and swallow these ants hiding on the sidelines first?
Everyone was on edge.
Around noon, Mr. Lin, who had been missing for a long time, finally returned. He clearly hadn’t slept all night, as his eyes were bloodshot. Even a Chosen One couldn’t hide exhaustion under such overwhelming pressure. After asking about Chen Yubo’s condition, he took out a crystal ball from a case.
“An alchemical item?” Ji Jue asked, stroking his chin as he examined it with curiosity. “Aether?”
Mr. Lin nodded. “As expected of a direct disciple of Master Ye. Mr. Ji, you have a sharp eye.”
“Not at all. Things like this are obvious at a glance.” Ji Jue waved it off. After analyzing the ball’s structure through spiritual perception, he couldn’t help but feel genuinely impressed. “The rules are rigorous, and the structure is clear yet flexible. The creator’s understanding of the Aether Path is dozens, even hundreds of times beyond mine. Truly remarkable.”
After infusing enough spirit matter into it and placing it into the hands of Chen Yubo, who was very much still confused, glowing points immediately appeared on the crystal ball one after another.
Mr. Lin and Ji Jue’s expressions slowly stiffened.
“What is this?” Chen Yubo held the crystal ball in confusion, unable to make sense of it. Then, his eyes lit up with sudden excitement. “Wait... is this a talent test for Chosen Ones? So many specks of light... could it be that I’m the once-in-ten-thousand-years genius from legends?”
Ji Jue couldn’t even bear to burst his bubble. “Sorry, that’s completely unrelated. It’s a counter.”
“A counter for what?” Chen Yubo asked blankly.
“It records the disturbances and influences you’ve been exposed to from the Aether Path, then displays the data to determine how many ‘radars’ from the Aether Path are currently tracking you.” Ji Jue reached out and counted the glowing points. “In other words, since last night, about eleven Aether Chosen Ones have started tracking where you are, who you’re with, and what you’re planning to do next. Whether shots will be fired or not is another matter...”
Ji Jue sighed, laying bare the cruel reality. “You are now locked on by the scopes of at least eleven guns.”
Chen Yubo’s smile dropped, and he finally let his tears fall.
1. A “sunshine doll” (Japanese: てるてる坊主 / でるでるぼうず, romanized: Deruderubouzu, meaning “sunshine monk”), known in ancient China as sweeping sunshine maiden, sweeping sky lady, or sunshine monk, is a traditional charm that has been popular in rural China and Japan. It is a cloth doll hung under eaves to pray for clear weather.
In China, sunshine dolls are often made using paper cuttings or scraps of cloth shaped into a doll figure, usually holding a broom, with a lotus-shaped cut at the top of the head.
In Japan, they are typically made by wrapping a ping-pong ball or cotton ball in a square handkerchief, then drawing facial features on the round head. I’ve attached a picture for your reference. ☜
Comments