Her eyes flickered with confusion. "A monster?"
Luke’s shoulders slumped. His voice dropped, heavy with exhaustion and bitterness.
"This ti, my brother produced a dical report. It says he has heart disease. He needs a transplant."
He let out a shaky breath. "And my heart happens to be highly compatible."
Lana’s breath hitched.
"He even asked my parents to transplant my heart directly into his body," Luke continued. "They refused... for the first ti."
A mocking smile curved his lips.
"Not because they were afraid I’d die, but because if I died, they wouldn’t know where to get more blood or organs for their golden child."
Lana clenched her fists so hard her nails dug into her palms. She forced herself to breathe, suppressing the violent surge of anger rising in her chest.
Luke lowered his gaze and spoke again, his voice bitter.
"All that demon and disastrous-star nonsense? It started after that. My brother invited celestial masters and priests who suddenly declared a curse."
Sothing in the story felt wrong.
Lana lifted her eyes to him, her gaze sharp. "There’s more, isn’t there?"
Luke nodded slowly, a bitter smile tugging at his lips.
"They were bribed," he admitted. "Every single one of them. Fake prophecies, fake statents."
He looked at her then, searching her face. "Did you notice sothing strange?"
Lana tilted her head back slightly, staring at the dim sky above them.
"The strange thing," she said softly, "is that your older brother sounds more like the demon your parents are talking about."
Luke blinked at her in surprise.
"It’s unnatural," Lana continued calmly. "Even soone without humanity wouldn’t repeatedly target his own brother’s organs unless two things were involved. The first is jealousy... but you don’t have anything he’d be jealous of."
She paused, her eyes narrowing. "The second is that he wants to completely destroy the Everhart family. Either he’s possessed... or he was swapped at birth."
Luke stared at her for a mont, then lifted his trembling hand and gave her a weak thumbs-up.
"You’re one of the smartest people I’ve ever t," he said honestly.
After a brief pause, curiosity flickered across his face. "So what do you think? Swapped... or possessed?"
Lana answered without hesitation.
"Swapped," she replied calmly. "If it were possession, he wouldn’t wait fourteen years to act. Sothing else is pushing him... sothing that’s making him impatient."
Luke nodded slowly.
"The company," he said quietly. "It’s been rising lately. My brother couldn’t stand it. He kept making mistakes on purpose. The family’s profits dropped eight percent, and then he brought in the celestial master. It was like he was laying the groundwork."
Lana nodded in understanding. As strength slowly returned to her limbs, she closed her eyes and carefully regulated the healing energy within her body, letting it circulate smoothly through her ridians.
When she finally felt steady, she reached out and placed her hand gently on Luke’s head.
Luke flinched instinctively, and Lana noticed but she didn’t pull back. Instead, she pressed her palm more firmly against his hair and channeled her healing energy into him.
Warmth flooded Luke’s body instantly. The dull ache in his chest eased, and the constant exhaustion weighing him down felt lighter. His eyes widened as he stared at her in shock.
Lana smiled faintly. "You guessed right," she said softly.
By now, Luke had already ford a clear conclusion in his mind.
Lana had used several different strands of energy earlier, energies that closely resembled mystical power, yet because of their unusual color, no one had imdiately connected the dots.
However, the mont she used healing energy, everything beca undeniable.
Throughout the entire world, there was a widely accepted truth: if a person possessed both mystical energy strands and healing abilities, then there was a ninety-nine percent chance that they were a mystical cultivator.
Luke looked at Lana again, his eyes filled with astonishnt. ’So she’s really...’
At the sa ti, Lana felt slightly taken aback.
’Didn’t he issue a mission?’ she wondered. ’Shouldn’t he already know that I’m a mystical cultivator?’
As if sensing her unspoken question, Luke let out a quiet sigh, his shoulders relaxing a little.
"I actually commissioned that mission through one of my online friends," he admitted.
"I didn’t expect much help, to be honest. I just wanted to try my luck." He smiled faintly.
"I never thought the person who ca would be a mystical cultivator. Looks like I really was lucky... and my friend didn’t betray ."
Hearing that, Lana nodded slowly, understanding dawning on her face. "You chose a good friend," she replied sincerely.
With that, she pushed herself up from the ground, dusting off her clothes and rolling her shoulders as lingering fatigue faded from her body.
She then extended her hand toward Luke.
"Co on," she said gently. "Do you want to go with ?"
Luke paused for a mont, hesitation flickering across his face. Then he reached out, took her hand, and allowed her to pull him up.
His grip was careful, as if afraid she might disappear the mont he let go.
Lana led him toward the car, but halfway there, a thought crossed her mind. She stopped, turned toward him, and looked at him curiously.
"Can you mark the mission as complete?" she asked. "I’ve already rescued you."
Luke’s fingers tightened around his phone, and a subtle sadness surfaced in his eyes. ’So... it’s really over,’ he thought.
The mission ending ant that their paths would separate. Most likely, Lana would drop him off at a hotel, just as planned.
Still, he couldn’t deny the ache in his chest. From the very first mont, he had felt safe around her. She was one of the very few people, adult or otherwise, who made him feel protected.
’I don’t think I’ll forget her... not even after a long ti,’ he admitted to himself.
Suppressing those emotions, he sent a ssage to his friend and lifted his head with a small smile. "I’ll do it right away."
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