"Gone?"
Jiang Hou was stunned as he watched the projection turn into snowflakes.
At this moment, the screen changed, and a towering purple vortex appeared, with a modern building at the bottom, half of which was disappearing into the vortex.
In front of the building, a woman in uniform stood on a dimly lit, sci-fi styled radio platform.
"Sorry, Jiang Guardian Envoy, due to irresistible forces, your call connection with General Jiang Ruochan has been disconnected, and you cannot contact her."
"It's fine; it's normal for unexpected incidents to occur in such places." Jiang Hou nodded and hung up the call.
It was already five-thirty, about time to get off work.
The telephone on Jiang Hou's desk rang, and the receptionist's voice came through: "Minister, there's a package from Dragon City for you. Should we leave it at the front desk or have it sent directly to your office?"
Due to numerous titles, people had various ways of addressing Jiang Hou.
"Leave it at the front desk; I'll come down to get it later."
"Alright."
The package contained scriptures Jiang Hou bought this morning. As for why he bought them from that post, it's because the scriptures came with annotations from the cute-faced bandit.
These ancient texts can't be understood just by recognizing the words.
Everyone may recognize the individual words, but when combined, most people find them incomprehensible.
"General!"
"Minister."
In the first-floor lobby, many staff members leaving work watched Jiang Hou emerge from the elevator, all respectfully saluting.
Jiang Hou nodded slightly to them, then, under the slightly nervous gaze of the front desk staff, stored the large package in his storage space.
After work, Jiang Hou did not take the official car but walked home slowly along the pedestrian path.
However, things seemed busier today; Jiang Hou's phone buzzed slightly just as he left the base, with Zong Zheng Nan Mo @ him in the group chat.
"Jiang Hou, where are you now?"
Jiang Hou: "Just got off work, why?"
"Haha, I just finished my club activities too."
This tone made Jiang Hou feel that this guy was a bit excited and proud, yet somewhat strange: "Why are you going to school?"
"Uh... as a third-year high school student, going to school is normal, right?" Zong Zheng Nan Mo seemed confused by the question.
Alright, Jiang Hou also realized that with so much happening lately, he had forgotten about his student identity.
Then Zong Zheng Nan Mo shared today's gossip with Jiang Hou: "Jiang Hou, after going to school today, many classmates asked me why you didn't go to class."
"These guys never played with us before, but now they want to butter up to me, haha." Zong Zheng Nan Mo was a bit smug.
"Oh, by the way, today Li Mengwu also went to school, and within a day, seven boys confessed to her at different times. She politely rejected them all."
"You should've seen those eager puppy-like guys, impatient as if they'd miss the chance if they didn't confess immediately."
For this guy's ranting, Jiang Hou merely watched. He knew that even if he didn't reply, Zong Zheng Nan Mo would keep talking until today's gossip was all said.
It was rush hour, the roads were bustling with traffic, and the auxiliary road was packed with motorcycles roaring past.
Even the sidewalk under the shade trees was full of pedestrians, lively, bustling, plus Zong Zheng Nan Mo's constant gossip made Jiang Hou feel somewhat disoriented.
He had an illusion that all the ruins, monsters, and the revival of the Demon God were fake.
In this world, there was no Extraordinary Power, nor were there reincarnations, Divine Weapon Power, nor transformations into giant beasts; it was all just his imagination.
Fantasy! Jiang Hou's somewhat dazed gaze swept across the billboard ahead.
The billboard on the rooftop displayed a snarling beast underneath which was the promo for a new movie titled [What Are You Doing When the Apocalypse Arrives?]
Boom! Jiang Hou's consciousness shook, his eyes instantly sharp, exuding a terrifying aura.
Whoosh!! A vigorous wind surrounded Jiang Hou, his black hair fluttering, and a hint of aura leaked from him, causing nearby pedestrians to tense up, with trembling legs.
Luckily, the aura flashed past.
When Jiang Hou left, those pedestrians returned to normal, albeit with expressions of shock and fear.
At the distant street intersection, while waiting for the lights, Jiang Hou wore a serious expression because he had almost lost control of his mind earlier; what was the reason?
The Yama Prison Demon Blade had already erased the accumulated grievances of evil spirits, and the Dharma Era's pollution, akin to many people chanting Buddhist scriptures in his ear, unknowingly weakened by forty percent.
It felt like in about ten days, the brutal and violent instincts of the giant beast could engulf and erase these distractions completely.
So where did the influence earlier come from? External, or from within? Jiang Hou's gaze was solemn, realizing for the first time the terrifying impact of uncontrolled pollution.
Intangible material, untraceable, yet it could affect consciousness at any moment causing breakdown.
No wonder so many Tier Seven, Eight, and even Nine Demigods ended up losing control and mutating.
"Jiang Hou, you're back." As Jiang Hou opened the door, the girl crouching in front of the sofa turned around upon hearing the sound, smiling joyfully.
A pile of snacks filled the sofa in front of Qin Siyu.
Seeing the girl smiling radiantly, the gloom in Jiang Hou's heart instantly dissipated mostly, and he joked, "Did you coax your classmates into feeding Feitong again?"
The girl immediately wrinkled her nose: "Hmph! This time I didn't coax them; they wanted to give it to me on their own, saying they saved them for over a week while I was on leave."
Meow~ protested the white kitty on the sofa armrest.
The snacks were supposedly for it, but Qin Siyu and Jiang Hou ended up eating them while watching TV.
Besides, it wasn't interested in those things.
"Alright." Jiang Hou chuckled.
As usual, after dinner, dishwashers washed dishes, bathers took baths.
Past seven
With Qin Siyu in sleepwear sitting cross-legged on the sofa, tuning the TV channel while awaiting the start of the lame TV series, Jiang Hou joined her.
"Huh, Jiang Hou, you're not going to work today?" Qin Siyu asked, surprised.
"No rush, I can go later just the same."
Said Jiang Hou flipping his hand to take out a scripture with a new cover, casually asking, "Siyu, where's the TV plot at now?"
"You mean 'The Ultimate Love Across Time and Space?'"
Talking about it, Qin Siyu excitedly recounted, "Yesterday's plot was Long Ao arriving at Demon Sea, unexpectedly meeting his never-seen grandpa while rescuing Bai Susu, and then reconciling."
"Wait, since Long Ao never met his grandpa before, how did they reconcile?" Jiang Hou was puzzled.
"It's simple: Long Ao looked exactly like his mom and was recognized by his wealthy grandpa at first glance."
Even that works, do these screenwriters assume the audience's stupid? Jiang Hou complained inwardly, feeling a heightened sense of déjà vu with the plot.
Highly similar to what happened during his trips to the Demon Sea.
This TV series' creator seemed familiar with him, even possibly an acquaintance, otherwise they wouldn't be so well-informed about his experiences lately.
Jiang Hou pondered thoughtfully.
