Yin Que learned a lot of information from that spirit entity, the Jellyfish Sentinel.
For example, he found out that his vice commander had been on the run all these years, with the manhunt never ceasing.
And also, that his personal guard captain, after death, found no peace—the corpse was thrown into the Forbidden Zone of Shura Prison, enduring torment without rest.
Before, he wondered if there had been some misunderstanding, but after witnessing every move of Qi Sigui just now, he knew there was none.
That bouquet of curled chrysanthemums, the leaves lacking moisture and slightly withered, the roots even beginning to yellow—just like Qi Sigui’s disdain towards him.
No matter how much he feigned nostalgia on the surface, this bouquet revealed his true attitude in the details.
Given Qi Sigui’s current status, why would he send a bunch of no longer fresh chrysanthemums?
Unless that was exactly what he meant.
This was the first time Yin Que saw this side of his stepbrother.
Yes, stepbrother.
He and Qi Sigui were half-brothers with different fathers and mothers.
When he was eight, his parents peacefully divorced.
His mother was an artist who forever pursued passionate love—innocent, sincere, brave, and bold, like a rosebud waiting to bloom, needing dew and rain.
But his father was a researcher of Aberrant Species, so busy year-round he barely touched the ground, dedicating everything to his research.
He remembered his father, though handsome, was always unkempt with a scruffy beard, only his eyes remained bright like a youth.
He needed someone to prepare his three meals a day because once immersed in research, he’d lose track of time, forgetting he even had a wife and child.
In his father’s life, research was above all else.
Yin Que didn’t know how his parents came together.
His father gave the impression that he didn’t need anything worldly.
He seemed to need no marriage, no wife, no children, no family life.
But Yin Que knew his parents once loved each other, or rather, his mother had deeply loved his father, because the character “Que” (却) in his name came from the phrase “除却巫山不是云” (“except for Wushan, there is no other cloud”), symbolizing that exclusive love.
When he was eight, his mother likely grew tired of the life of rarely seeing her husband.
Or maybe her love had cooled.
She took Yin Que and married a member of Parliament.
That parliamentary official was Qi Sigui’s father.
Qi Rixiu lost his wife in middle age; his mother was young, beautiful, but divorced, and naturally, they came together.
His mother found love again, with eyes shining like a young girl’s.
Because of her, life in the Qi family was not bad.
But only just not bad.
No matter how good the Qi family was, it was not his true home.
In the Qi household, he was a guest under someone else’s roof.
At eight years old, he was introverted, unlikable, barely spoke a few words a day.
Qi Sigui was the first to reach out with a friendly hand, saying, “Little brother, I’ll take you to play from now on.”
That handshake lasted more than ten years.
They grew up together, learned combat techniques together, were driven to and from school by a driver together, and worked together for humanity’s future.
Back then, brotherhood was real.
The friendship of growing up together was real.
But the current disdain was also real.
The brother who once smiled and reached out to him had, at some point, been lost in the long river of time, becoming unrecognizable.
Qi Sigui and Xi Yan had no idea that just dozens of meters away, the very person they were reminiscing about stood there.
Separated by five long years, by a wide, winding river of time, quietly observing old acquaintances.
Five years—neither long nor short.
Yin Que was on one side of the river; Qi Sigui and Xi Yan on the other.
They had walked together for a while but eventually went different ways.
Xi Yan vaguely sensed a faint gaze—not obvious but impossible to ignore.
When he looked back, he saw only a dense crowd.
Too many people had come to remember the former commander.
Among them were students, elders, sentinels, guides, and people from various other professions.
Xi Yan did not dwell on that gaze.
With the superior vision of a Sentinel, he caught sight of a silhouette leaving the crowd.
The figure was tall, cold, lonely, seemingly standing apart from the world, walking alone, as if bidding farewell to something.
From a distance, it seemed familiar.
But the one he knew well was the least likely to be lonely.
At that time, how many people surrounded Yin Que?
Anyone could be lonely—but not Yin Que.
Especially since he had already been gone for many years.
Just as Xi Yan was about to withdraw his gaze, a clumsy-looking King’s Flower toddled toward that person.
The overwhelming loneliness of the figure vanished instantly.
The King’s Flower stretched out a leaf toward him.
He bent down and reached out to grasp it.
Xi Yan felt a strange emotion rise in his heart.
Just as he was about to continue observing, the vice commander’s voice rang out.
The vice commander held a black umbrella over the commander, shielding him from the scorching sun.
The umbrella cast a long shadow of Qi Sigui.
Xi Yan reacted quickly and caught up.
After the commander and his group left, students from the Guide Academy and spontaneous citizens came forward to offer bouquets and gifts to the former commander.
Their bouquets were vibrant and dripping with recently sprayed water droplets, each blossom filled with their sincerest feelings.
Among the many gifts, Ning Li’s prepared stone was crushed under countless others, unseen and buried.
After the memorial ended, Ning Li, along with classmates and teachers, went to sweep the graves of martyrs in the cemetery.
By the time everything was over, it was already dusk.
Unknown to everyone, the inconspicuous stone Ning Li prepared had disappeared from its place at some unknown time.
When Ning Li packed a portion of dinner and returned to the dormitory, the new teammate was nowhere to be found.
On the table lay a hurriedly written note from the new teammate.
The handwriting was vigorous and penetrating.
The new teammate said he had gone to find a friend, and she no longer needed to worry about previous matters; the subordinate of that Jellyfish Sentinel would not bother her again.
The last line of the note was a blessing—
“Wishing Student Ning Li academic success and safety.”
He knew her name.
Ning Li was not surprised.
Her nearby neighbors were all classmates, and occasionally when she went out, they greeted each other.
At the bottom of the note was a deep dot, as if someone had placed a pen there for a long time but never wrote, like he had so much to say but didn’t know how.
Those unspoken words gathered in that tiny dot, as if it contained everything.
Xiao Hei bawled loudly inside Ning Li’s Spirit Sea.
[He’s gone!]
[Why did he leave?]
Just before, they were still holding leaves together, basking in the sunlight.
Ning Li calmly folded the note and slipped it into a book.
She had anticipated this day.
They were partners to begin with—she resurrected him, and he, as she hoped, solved the problem with the Jellyfish commander.
Their cooperation ended here.
Ning Li’s life returned to normal.
Her monthly stipend arrived without fail.
That 10,000-yuan payment was also successfully exchanged at the official exchange point.
Life began to smooth out.
No one was troubling her, and the previous troubles seemed far behind.
Being hunted, attacked by Aberrant Species—all seemed like distant memories.
But some things had changed.
For example, a legend about a Black Shadow began spreading in Border District 191.
It was said the Black Shadow came and went without a trace—extremely mysterious.
Also, this Black Shadow was exceptionally skilled in solo combat, adept in Ancient Martial Arts.
Every move was sharp and fierce.
Unfortunately, no one had uncovered the Black Shadow’s true identity after much investigation.
Witnesses who saw the Black Shadow’s attack moves guessed it resembled an elder named Gu.
But it was well known the elder Gu had passed away over ten years ago.
So the Black Shadow could not be directly related.
Most likely, the Black Shadow was a disciple taken by elder Gu, inheriting his Ancient Martial Arts mastery, thus able to reproduce the deadly martial arts when needed.
With help from several classmates, Ning Li’s cooking class, flower arranging class, and tea ceremony class showed marked improvement.
The real reason only she knew: she was slowly mastering her spiritual power, letting Xiao Hei’s destructive power no longer show so obviously.
Yet Ning Li credited Yuan Zi and the others and treated them to a good meal.
After barely passing the final exam, Ning Li welcomed a month-long autumn break.
But before the holiday began, the homeroom teacher announced something—social practice.
Every vacation, students from the Peripheral Guide Academy had social practice courses.
Before, these meant helping out at nursing homes or orphanages.
But this time, the social practice involved guides entering the Forbidden Zones.
This was not a good sign—it meant that going into Forbidden Zones would become routine.
Many years ago, guides were a protected group.
That rule was about to be broken.
After the course content was announced, all the guides began discussing it.
Lu Shuangshuang’s eyes sparkled with anticipation, not knowing what to expect inside the Forbidden Zone, filled with the courage of a young calf unafraid of tigers.
Zhao Lan was equally eager.
Only Lu Xiao wore a worried expression.
He didn’t think it was simple.
All these changes made him anxious.
He vaguely sensed something ominous but didn’t know how to say it to the eager faces before him.
One semester passed.
The guides’ spiritual entities all grew stronger.
Yuan Zi’s original Spirit Sea was a withered rose garden, but after systematic study, a rosebud bloomed.
Lu Shuangshuang’s rosemary also grew larger, the fragrance becoming more distinct, able to confuse enemies three seconds longer.
Everyone had grown.
The homeroom teacher clapped his hands to draw attention.
“This time, the Flower Arranging class will go to the Forbidden Zone of Withered Bones.”
He suppressed his worries.
“This Forbidden Zone has existed for a long time.
Though its name sounds frightening, it is almost without danger.
Years ago, this zone’s restrictions were lifted.
Our visit is mainly for experience.
Safety first; everyone must follow orders and avoid acting alone.”
“We will depart in two days.
Use these days to prepare, such as bringing change of clothes.
This journey will take about half a month.
The Withered Bones Forbidden Zone is said to be cold year-round.
Remember to bring plenty of warm clothes.
Food is not a concern; there are stores nearby.”
Two days passed in the blink of an eye.
Afterward, Ning Li, classmates, and the teacher set out for the Withered Bones Forbidden Zone.
After three days and nights on a bus, the group approached the zone nearly two thousand kilometers away.
The zone belonged to Zone 107, much more bustling and prosperous compared to the desolate and remote 191 District.
District 191 had a permanent population of over 300,000; 107 District had more than 2 million.
Stepping into 107 District, a roar of lively voices greeted Ning Li and the others.
Discount saleshorns, bargaining voices, children whining for cotton candy, all mingling into a vivid picture of lively city life.
For Yuan Zi and the others, it was their first time leaving their hometown, stepping into a different area.
They were like curious children, touching and looking everywhere.
Everything was new to them.
This time, students from the Guide Academy would visit more than ten Forbidden Zones.
Besides the Flower Arranging class going to Withered Bones, the Beast class was heading to the Forbidden Zone of Contract, and the Cute Beast class to the Forbidden Zone of Sun and Moon.
These were all old zones, relatively low risk but with some casualties.
Entering meant caution was necessary.
This was Ning Li’s second time entering a Forbidden Zone.
The first time had been the new zone, with her new teammate.
Ning Li rarely thought about the new teammate, but Xiao Hei often said he missed him.
More than a month passed.
Where was the new teammate now?
He should have found his friend by now.
They no longer owed each other anything; perhaps they would never meet again.
Contrary to Ning Li’s assumption, Yin Que had not reunited with his teammates.
During this past month, Yin Que had been searching for Vice Commander Ting Rui.
To evade relentless pursuit, the best hiding place was within Forbidden Zones.
Some zones were stable, unchanged for a decade, with patterns well known.
Others were newly formed, with chaotic, complex internal situations.
These were perfect for hiding and escaping pursuit.
From what he knew of Ting Rui, he must have been drifting through various Forbidden Zones.
Since leaving the Peripheral Guide Academy, Yin Que had entered no less than ten zones.
He left secret messages in these zones, known only to him, the vice commander, and the personal guard captain.
As long as Ting Rui was alive, he would come when he saw these signs.
Yin Que’s current base was the Forbidden Zone of Bright Moon.
This zone was the last one he, Ting Rui, and Pei Yujiu had visited.
It held special meaning.
They had spent half a month there and knew the area well.
He left a message telling Ting Rui to meet at Bright Moon.
He planned to wait ten to fifteen days.
If Ting Rui didn’t show up by then, it meant his situation was dire, too bad to come.
That was the worst outcome.
Today was Yin Que’s first day waiting in Bright Moon.
When alone, he would occasionally take out that stone and toy with it.
Clearly, it was an ordinary stone, commonly seen anywhere.
But its former owner had given it a different meaning.
“My admiration and longing for him is as steadfast as this stone.”
Memories.
Lies.
Those days of peaceful life at the Peripheral Guide Academy felt like a dream.
Now the dream had woken, leaving nothing behind.
Only the brief stints on the frontlines, dropping into Forbidden Zones from time to time—that was the life Yin Que was familiar with.
Those moments of comfort and peace could never stay with him for long.
His spirit Kismet quietly stretched out—a petal, secretly watching him.
Kismet was Turkish for “destiny.”
His spirit’s name was given by his poetic, romantic mother.
She said, “Look, your cosmic rose, so romantic, so beautiful. When you meet your destined person, then…”
Then what?
That day, she didn’t finish the sentence because he was called away on a sudden mission and left hastily.
What did she want to say?
While playing with the stone, Xiao Hei taught little K, who wandered around, that he discovered a secret message.
The message was from Ting Rui.
It was left just one day ago.
Premium Chapter
Login to buy access to this Chapter.