Chapter 42: Chapter 42: The Curator Leaves
At the foot of the hill.
Liu Ming was sitting on the stone steps at the entrance to the mountain path.
Seven or eight people were gathered around him. Some had rushed over after learning the battle was over, while others were reinforcements that had been arranged by the organization. Now, they all surrounded Liu Ming, their gazes filled with concern.
Liu Ming forced a smile and joked, "Heh, if you’d been any later, your boss here would’ve been kicking the bucket."
Hearing Liu Ming’s words,
many members of the special organization looked embarrassed.
This was, indeed, a major blunder on their part. They had assumed the Spiritual Sect had only sent a single Priest and that a combat expert like Liu Ming would be fine. As a result, they hadn’t even prepared in advance. By the time news of Liu Ming being in danger reached the organization, it was already too late for them to mobilize effectively.
But Liu Ming didn’t press the issue. He just turned his head toward Bailan, whose eyes were constantly flashing with various analysis boxes, and asked in a somewhat hoarse voice:
"Lan, can you tell who saved me?"
"It was the mysterious expert."
Bailan answered without hesitation. The residual aura on the ground was simply too familiar to her. Hearing that the mysterious expert had struck again, several organization members glanced at each other. Liu Ming pondered for a moment before speaking again:
"I knew it... Lan, do you think the mysterious expert could be *him*?"
By *him*, he naturally meant the Sword Hall’s Hall Master. Bailan thought for a moment, then tilted her head, her long, dark hair spilling to one side. She blinked at Liu Ming and said:
"Before, I also would have said it was definitely him."
"But, Su Yu sent back a message earlier saying that he’d be leaving in a while. That made me a bit suspicious. Maybe the mysterious expert really isn’t him."
"Is that so... Well, it doesn’t matter if it’s him or not."
Liu Ming rubbed his temples and let out a heavy breath, shifting the topic from the mysterious expert to the Spiritual Sect. "Wang Yu, have you found any trace of the High Priests behind these Priests lately?"
Hearing his name, Wang Yu squeezed out of the crowd and pulled out some reports. "We’ve found a few things," he said.
"But it’s all traces from before they went into hiding. Recently, it’s like these High Priests from the Spiritual Sect have vanished from the face of the earth. We can’t find anything."
Hearing this, Liu Ming fell silent for a moment before sighing in frustration. "Everyone," he said,
"the Spiritual Sect’s strength is not to be underestimated. If their High Priests have abandoned all the Priests under their command... I’m worried the Priests will band together and fight us to the death. If that happens, I’m afraid we’ll have a bloodbath on our hands."
Survival is humanity’s number one priority.
If those Priests were truly pushed to the brink of life and death,
everyone present believed they would undoubtedly try to take them down with them. It wasn’t a question of ’if,’ but ’when.’ Therefore, no one doubted the future Liu Ming described.
"I can request aid from Cang City headquarters."
"The anti-Spiritual Sect operation in northern Cang City has entered a lull. They should be able to send us quite a few Tier 3 Sequencers. Our chances of winning will be much higher then."
Upon hearing Liu Ming’s words, Bailan’s expression also grew solemn. She spoke slowly.
"I’ll have to trouble you then, Lan."
Liu Ming’s brow relaxed slightly at her words. He then asked, "Senior Li Yu, can he come help us?"
Li Yu.
Before Su Yu came along, he was the number one genius of Cang City’s special organization.
Moreover, he was a genius who had already matured. His strength was on a completely different level from Su Yu’s. If he could come support the south, all their problems would be solved in an instant.
Everyone present knew that Bailan and Li Yu had a decent relationship, so all eyes turned to her, clad in her white miniskirt.
Bailan spread her hands and said helplessly:
"You know how it is. The northern operation has only entered a lull; it’s not over yet. There’s no way he can come."
"Forget it. Let’s head back and hold a short meeting first."
Liu Ming hadn’t been holding out much hope anyway; he was just testing the waters. He glanced at Bailan and said:
"Bailan, you’ll personally return to the north. Report everything that’s happened here and bring back reinforcements as quickly as possible."
Bailan patted her chest and said, "Don’t worry, you can count on me."
"Su Yu and Shen Ruyun, you two head back to the Sword Hall. See if that old sportsman is really leaving the south. As for the details of this meeting, we’ll text them to you."
"Also... keep a close eye on Su Xing. The Spiritual Sect will definitely target him to threaten us because he’s Su Yu’s brother. You must be careful about this."
"Yes, sir!"
The crowd responded in unison, then began to disperse.
Only Su Yu, Shen Ruyun, and Bailan remained standing there.
Watching the members of the special organization leave, Su Yu suddenly found the situation a little funny. ’Me, protect my big brother? As if I have the skill for that...’ While he was lost in thought, Bailan quietly walked up beside him, patted his shoulder, and whispered:
"Yu... can you get your handsome big brother to accept my friend request? If he doesn’t, I can’t show off my eighteen schools of martial arts!"
Su Yu: "..."
...
That afternoon, the sun was shining brightly.
After finishing his online classes and putting away his equipment, Su Xing hopped straight into the shower.
As Su Xing stepped out of the bathroom, his body still slightly damp, he suddenly noticed his phone vibrate twice. He walked over to his bed, picked up the phone, and saw a message from Su Yu, sent over an hour ago.
"Bro, when you have a sec, accept Sister Lan’s friend request. I think she’s thirsty for you."
"..."
Su Xing stared at the message, stunned for a moment, then typed back, speechless, "You little brat, don’t learn that kind of stuff."
After typing, Su Xing didn’t give it much thought and immediately tossed his phone aside. But after a moment, he picked it back up, accepted Bailan’s friend request, and sent a "Hello." Then he turned the screen off again, threw the phone onto his bed, and ignored it.
Su Xing grabbed a black short-sleeved shirt, threw it on, and walked with a steady pace toward the training hall.
Nothing else to do. Time to practice the sword.
Perhaps because it was nearing dusk, neither Su Yu nor Shen Ruyun were in the training hall. There was only one person, someone Su Xing hadn’t expected to see, standing by the entrance, about to leave. When he saw Su Xing, he broke into a kindly smile and said:
"Su, here to practice your sword again?"
"Hall Master, are you leaving today? Why didn’t you tell us?"
"Ah, it’s been five or six days since I told you about all that. It’s about time I left. I didn’t want to bother you all."
"What are you talking about?"
Su Xing said, a bit displeased. He had known the Hall Master for some time and had grown somewhat fond of him, especially since the Hall Master had even given him pointers.
The Hall Master, dressed in a slightly dated brown jacket and dragging a huge suitcase, stood at the entrance. He turned sideways to look at Su Xing and said with a smile:
"Su, from now on, I’m leaving the Sword Hall in your care. If anything comes up, you can give me a call. I’ll pick up if I have time."
"Alright, no need to see me out. You should spend more time looking after your little brother. I’m going to miss my train. That’s all for now."
The old Hall Master stopped Su Xing from trying to see him out. Under Su Xing’s watchful gaze, he left the Sword Hall, step by step.
At first, his face held a gentle smile as warm as a spring breeze. The Hall Master dragged his huge suitcase along the main road, the wheels making a RUMBLE RUMBLE sound. He looked every bit the part of an old man.
It wasn’t until he was far from the Sword Hall that he slowly relaxed. His entire demeanor instantly became sharp and fearsome.
He dragged his suitcase to a surveillance blind spot, took a single step, and vanished.
...
