Where Will I Sleep from Now On?

"Hey, Qingzi." "Yeah?" "A question just occurred to me." "Go ahead." "If you're the only one who can fully fuse with these Bones of Eternal Life discovered by the hidden clans... let's assume for a moment that it really is just you." Lowering his voice to a whisper to keep it from the Little Prince, Wen Jifei said, "Then can we tentatively assume it's because these bones actually belonged to that deviant Yanxiu you inherited from?" Han Qingyu turned to look at him, pondered it for a couple of seconds, and nodded. The deduction sounded entirely reasonable. "Then that raises another question." Wen Jifei's eyes widened involuntarily as he stared at Han Qingyu, speaking slowly. "Where are the bones of the other Yanxiu?!" "Or maybe not bones, but other things like shells or carapaces—where are they? Did none of them survive? Or have they simply never been found?" "Take our Xu'er's lizard bone, for instance..." he said. Han Qingyu froze on the spot. He had never considered this before, but once Wen Jifei brought it up, he realized this was a matter of monumental importance. "If this reasoning is sound, and those things truly exist, it could completely transform humanity's top-tier combat power." "Then why haven't they ever been discovered? Where are they? Azure has existed for nearly a century. Even purely by chance, someone should have stumbled onto a match before me, right?" There were no answers to these questions. As they spoke, the group had already walked past the previous battlefield. Ao Yong and Qian Daofeng were standing beside the garbage truck. When they saw Ah Jing—no, Major Qing and Second Lieutenant Wen and the others—walking toward them, they suddenly grew flustered and uneasy. Once they reached the vehicle, the injured Wu Xu and Rusty Sister boarded first, taking seats in the back row of the cab. Then Major Qing, Second Lieutenant Wen, Old Tang, and the Little Prince climbed onto the truck's roof. Wen Jifei poked his head over the edge. "What are you two standing around for? Daofeng? Xiaoyong? Let's go home... We left wine and food for you back at the house." "Ah, right!" Qian Daofeng finally snapped out of his daze. Grinning with excitement, he quickly climbed into the cab. Ao Yong thought for a moment, decided against entering the cab, and climbed onto the roof as well. The heavy garbage truck started up, turned around, and drove off through the night toward the City of Iniquity. Up on the roof, Ao Yong suddenly drifted into a daze. The scene before him felt in a blur just like it had a year ago, when they drove out of the city to pick up Ah Jing and the others. "Ah..." Ao Yong started, then stopped, giving Ah Jing an awkward smile, looking somewhat at a loss. Even though he had guessed it long ago, now that it was confirmed, Ao Yong still had trouble adjusting his mind to the reality... Ah Jing was The King! This bunch who freeloaded under their roof, took odd jobs washing cars, and occasionally helped sweep the streets—they were the very legends Azure had talked about for the past year. "Do we need to introduce ourselves again? Fine. I'm Han Qingyu. I believe I told you before; you just didn't believe me." Setting aside the thoughts swirling in his mind, Han Qingyu reached out to introduce himself. "Right." Ao Yong nodded vigorously, shook his hand a bit awkwardly, paused, and said, "Brother Qingzi." "Hey, good." Han Qingyu smiled. Then Wen Jifei reached out as well. "Wen Jifei." "Right, Brother Little Chicken." A brilliant smile spread across Ao Yong's face. Wen Jifei: "..." Fine, Brother Little Chicken it was. Not like Brother Plague Chicken sounded any better. "I'm He Tangtang," He Tangtang said. "Tang..." Ao Yong began, his expression contorting with hesitation. Tang was correct, but should he still call him Old Tang? Or Brother... Uncle? Cousin Uncle? Old Uncle? "I'm a month younger than you," He Tangtang said fiercely, glaring at him. "..." Ao Yong was utterly dumbfounded. Then the Little Prince scooted over, grabbed his arm, and said, "Just keep calling me Little Prince from now on. Don't change it... Remember, I am a prince. A real one." "Right, got it," Ao Yong nodded honestly. "Real Little Prince." "Why does that sound so weird..." He Tangtang suddenly muttered. The group on the roof burst into laughter. *** The heavy garbage truck vanished into the night, and Major Qing and his companions departed. The onlookers finally began to worry about the threat of hunting teams and prepared to disperse. Just then, the remaining hundred or so members of the Azure Dragon Gang ran over to the shore, received the dozen or so Huaxia reinforcements from the ship, formed a perimeter around them, and headed back together. The crowd kept their distance, knowing full well that there was a super combat power among them. "The Azure Dragon Gang has at least two supers now," someone whispered. The person beside him nodded. "Yeah, which is why I'm worried now. I'm afraid war might break out between the super factions next. If they really go to total war, none of us will have an easy time." "Looking at it this way... could the Huaxia Front be planning to take over our city completely?!" "Who knows?" "So, does anyone know what Major Qing and Boss Shu You were talking about out on the sea earlier?" People were deeply curious about that conversation. Not only was the content of a dialogue at that level inherently fascinating, but it was also likely to reshape the future balance of power and direction of the City of Iniquity. "And Black Hand actually planned to just leave the City of Iniquity like that—moving so many people all at once!" someone remarked to a friend after getting into a car. "Yeah!" His friend was equally astonished, voicing his amazement as he pulled the car door shut. Although Black Hand's plan had ultimately failed, it was still an unprecedented mass migration of a major faction in the city's century-long history. It wasn't that no one had ever left before, but those were invariably supers protected by their parent factions, bringing along a handful of confidants at most. Too much had happened tonight, marked by developments never seen before. Slowly, people began to realize: The world seemed to be changing. After nearly a century of order between the worlds before and behind the curtain, the future was suddenly growing increasingly uncertain. It was as though a cataclysmic disaster was looming, and every capable person was re-evaluating and choosing their own path. *** *Clatter, clatter.* Inside the familiar three-story building, the sounds of pots and pans echoed from the kitchen. In the dead of night on this New Year's Eve, while the entire city was likely in turmoil, the Little Prince personally cooked, heated up the reunion dinner, and served it. Given tonight's tense situation, none of them had unbuckled their blades. Still fully geared up and unwashed, they gathered around the table to eat a late-night meal. Fighting truly worked up an appetite. As they were nearing the end of the meal, Zhe Qiuhong walked in from outside, gave a hand gesture indicating that "Theodore survived," and walked past the table looking somewhat exhausted. She never ate late-night snacks. *Crash! Bang!* First a stool overturned on the floor, followed by a person... Behind Zhe Qiuhong, Wu Xu suddenly tumbled from his stool and fell straight into unconsciousness. "What happened?!" "What's wrong? He said he was fine just a moment ago!" "He was eating with us!" The rest rushed over in a panic, but Zhe Qiuhong held them back. After conducting a swift check on the spot, Zhe Qiuhong looked up, her brow furrowed. "Strange. His injuries clearly weren't this severe..." "Rusty Sister, carry Wu Xu inside. I need to examine him more thoroughly." Zhe Qiuhong stepped into the room. Rusty Sister lifted Wu Xu and carried him inside. The others waited outside the door. It took longer than expected. If not for the light remaining on and Rusty Sister being inside with them, Han Qingyu might have worried that Zhe Qiuhong was harvesting some critical cells from him. *Creak!* The door finally opened. The suit of armor poked her head through the crack and said, "Doctor Zhe says she's certain Wu Xu has no major issues. He just hasn't woken up yet, so she needs to watch him. She said not to worry and to get some sleep if you're tired." With that, the door closed again. Han Qingyu, Wen Jifei, He Tangtang, and the Little Prince urged Ao Yong and Qian Daofeng to go to bed first. Reluctant to stray too far, the four brought out sleeping mats from their rooms, laid them on the floor, and lay down right there in the main hall. Whether out of trust in Zhe Qiuhong or sheer exhaustion, He Tangtang's soft snoring soon started up, followed by Wen Jifei drifting off to sleep. The Little Prince burned his fingers on a cigarette butt, tossed it aside, and fell asleep as well. It was hard to tell how much time had passed. Han Qingyu was hovering groggily on the verge of sleep... when he suddenly felt someone nudge his arm. "Qingzi, aren't you asleep yet?" Having quietly approached, the suit of armor sat on the floor beside him, hugging her knees as she asked. Han Qingyu turned his head. "Did Wu Xu wake up?" "Yeah, he's awake. Doctor Zhe is asking him how he feels and taking notes," Rusty Sister said. Pensively, she folded her hands behind her head and slowly lay down as well. She lay on the floor right beside Han Qingyu, just as she used to when they slept on shared bunk mats before coming to the City of Iniquity. She remembered that in the initial days after leaving her grandfather, she could only sleep and feel safe if she lay beside Qingzi. "Qingzi," the suit of armor called out softly, looking up at the ceiling. "Yeah?" Han Qingyu turned and forced his eyes open for a moment. Seeing that she wasn't looking at him, he turned back, closed his eyes, and drifted back toward sleep. "You're definitely going back to your hometown to take a wife in the future, right?" "Of course." "Then... after you get married, can I still sleep next to you like this?" "What for?!" "Just asking. I'm afraid that if Grandfather is gone one day, I won't have anywhere to go," Rusty Sister said cautiously. "Fine, fine. Sleeping next to me like this definitely won't fly, but I can take you home with me—you and Wu Xu." Knowing the two of them really had nowhere else to go, Han Qingyu gave in to his drowsiness and yawned. "Really?!" Rusty Sister's voice carried a hint of excitement. "Really. Think of it like keeping a cat or a dog. Other families keep pets; mine will keep a robot." Han Qingyu let out a sleepy chuckle, right on the edge of drifting off. Rusty Sister was silent for a few seconds before asking, "Then... don't you want me to come out?" "I'm scared... terrified," Han Qingyu mumbled half-asleep. "...Mm." In that case, Rusty Sister decided not to tell Qingzi what Doctor Zhe had just said. Earlier in the room, she had suddenly remembered and told Doctor Zhe that she had nearly coughed up blood tonight, but had swallowed it down. Hearing that, Doctor Zhe's eyes had instantly reddened with emotion, yet she was thrilled and overjoyed, saying that she might truly have a chance to come out. Rusty Sister had originally wanted to take the risk and try. But since Qingzi was so terrified... "Never mind, then. I won't try. I'm so scared of dying."