He put on a baseball cap, trying to conceal his gray skin.
He took a nail clipper, cutting till the blades chipped, barely managing to trim one nail.
Later, he simply grabbed a pair of garden shears, struggling to clip his long nails flat, then found a file to smooth them out.
It seed only this way could he gradually reclaim the dignity of being human.
Boss He was still the ticulous Boss He.
He wrote a note and left it on the table, then turned and walked out the door.
Upon leaving, he t a neighbor; the old lady saw his gray cheeks and neck and recoiled in shock.
He Jinqiu paused for a mont, then smiled and apologized.
Then, the Nine Jade Heart Swords beca one; he rode the sword and soared with the wind, crossing seas along the way.
He felt that since he had made up his mind, he should et a few people and see a few places.
...
...
Half an hour later, Zheng Yuandong, dressed in a Zhongshan suit, arrived at the safe house. He paused in surprise; the villa door was wide open as if left just for him.
Intuition told him that this safe house, once inhabited by He Jinqiu... was indeed here.
Zheng Yuandong pushed open the door and saw a handwritten note facing him: Don’t look for .
The other party had anticipated that Qing Chen would inform him and that he would find his way here, yet still left one step ahead.
Zheng Yuandong felt so worry.
He knew He Jinqiu too well. The other must have encountered a problem even he couldn’t help with, or might drag him into danger, prompting such a decisive act, unwilling to involve anyone.
He Jinqiu disliked others owing him favors, nor did he like owing anyone.
Zheng Yuandong called Qing Chen, "I think he might not be confident in resolving this on his own. Do you have any ideas?"
Qing Chen replied, "Try to keep looking for him. Boss Zheng, if he crosses over and faces death in the Inner World, where do you think he’d go? Also, I’ll hold up the main forces of Silver City for him... even try to delay the Silver City Duke, I’ll do my best."
...
...
He Jinqiu rode the wind on his sword, floating high in the sky.
On the fourth day, he crossed the ocean and saw whales surfacing in the Pacific, expelling water columns over twenty ters high from their backs, also witnessing pods of tiger whales dominating the sea, slapping turtles out of the water with their tails.
He also saw a gigantic sea turtle floating on the sea, as large as a house, surely having witnessed a powerful transcendent die near it once.
Does the Outer World also have a Forbidden Sea now?
He Jinqiu landed on the turtle’s back, drifting with it for a day.
The turtle remained calm, slowly gliding as he lay on its back, a solitary man and turtle nestled in the lonely marine world.
On the fifth day of his return, he arrived back in the holand and coincidentally t a migrating flock of wild geese. The geese slowly flew beside him, letting him break the wind as the lead bird, giving him a ride.
Growing up, everyone learned in their textbooks about "wild geese" forming the shape of ’人’ one mont, and the shape of ’一’ the next.
He Jinqiu chuckled to himself, never imagining he’d beco part of this ’人’, even becoming the lead goose.
These wild geese were very obedient, even when he reached out to touch them, they didn’t shy away.
So, he spent another day personally escorting these wild geese.
At a certain mont, he suddenly felt he had wasted his previous life, realizing there were so many intriguing things, such beautiful sights in the world.
But every day, he sched how to make Kyushu stand on equal footing with overseas forces, how to beco powerful and never be betrayed again.
He had missed it all.
Such a regret.
On the sixth day of his return, He Jinqiu went back to his birthplace, Wuhan. He bowed his head to buy a bowl of hot dry noodles and a piece of tofu skin, carrying the paper bowl as he ate.
He looked at Wangjiawan in Hanyang, where he had lived, only to feel the place had changed so much, utterly different from more than a decade ago.
Gradually, people started pointing at him on the street, as if noticing sothing strange about him.
He thought for a mont before directly flying away on his sword, many people capturing photos of him ascending the skies.
Arriving at his parents’ graves, He Jinqiu earnestly kowtowed several tis.
Having spent over a decade in the Inner World, he returned to find his parents laid to rest beneath the earth, the funeral managed by his uncle.
After founding Kyushu, he secretly relocated his parents to avoid the possibility of soone seeking revenge.
At this mont, He Jinqiu finally felt he was an unfilial son. Once he left ho, he found that place particularly unpleasant and didn’t want to stay a minute.
After enlisting, he joined the Reconnaissance Camp to avoid going ho, then later joined the Peacekeeping troops to avoid returning upon discharge.
Now reflecting, he realized he was truly too selfish.
He sat before the grave, softly recounting all he had experienced since enlisting to his parents, not caring whether they could hear.
As he spoke, He Jinqiu fell asleep in front of the grave. This ti he surprisingly didn’t dream, sleeping especially soundly.
It’s been nearly twenty years since he felt such peace.
The moonlight covered him like a quilt, as if his mother quietly ca to the room before a long journey, gently caressing her child.
Boss He wasn’t afraid of ghosts, for if there were ghosts in the cetery, they should fear him.
On the seventh day of his return, he flew to Shamao Town in Hannan, gently landing on the riverbank.
Back in the day, they fought floods and managed ergencies here. There were no concrete riverbanks then, just mud everywhere.
The rain was too cold, so sotis when carrying sacks, stepping into the mud made the ground feel more comforting.
He Jinqiu didn’t know why he chose this place for his last stop.
He just vaguely felt this was his most arduous yet rewarding period, repeatedly revisiting it in his dreams.
He Jinqiu had enlisted without completing high school.
Years later, he listened to Kyushu mbers discuss how they still dread about returning to high school, studying, taking college entrance exams.
Recalling that terrifying yet beautiful ti.
He Jinqiu realized that his morable ti was spent on this riverbank, though back then surrounded by tens of thousands of comrades, now leaving only him.
Yet at night, footsteps ca from behind.
He Jinqiu smiled, "Didn’t I tell you not to co after ?"
Zheng Yuandong sat on the riverbank too, "When did a rookie get to boss around the squad leader? You say not to co, so I don’t?"
He Jinqiu chuckled, "Makes sense."
"So, what’s the plan?" Zheng asked.
"I’m currently shackled by my clavicle hanging from the ceiling, what plans can I have?" He Jinqiu retorted.
Zheng Yuandong said, "Cut the crap, what’s the plan."
"Of course, it’s to kill everyone who plotted against ," He Jinqiu narrowed his eyes slightly, "They think trapping there renders helpless, but they underestimate my resolve."
"As long as there’s a plan," Zheng nodded, "Qing Chen said he led away the nine people in the Black Knights. Currently, the Silver City Duke is sitting in the city, along with the Tenth and Twelfth Knights. The Silver City Duke is a demigod, probably outmatches you."
"How do you know until you try?" He Jinqiu calmly said, "You see, I’ve turned into this ghostly appearance, yet, where there’s a gain, there’s a loss. With a cost, naturally cos a reward."
He Jinqiu continued, "I’m quite surprised actually. I never thought Qing Chen would help so much. When I first t him, I thought he was like : selfish, cautious. But after experiencing the mouse tide in City 10, I realized our lives were the opposite. I was initially passionate but was extinguished, while he was gradually awakened to sincerity."
He Jinqiu sighed, "Truly envious... oh, do convey my thanks to him."
"Hmm," Zheng Yuandong nodded, "I’ll try to get over there, but the Key of Gate is unpredictable. I’m not sure how many attempts it’ll take to succeed."
"No worries," He Jinqiu laughed, "I know what to do."
"What do you need to do now?" Zheng Yuandong glanced at the countdown on his arm, close to traversing.
He Jinqiu held up his hands, "Use your Black Knife to cut off my hands. Once I reach the Inner World, I can go on a rampage."
In the Inner World, he was bound by a vine, unable to use his strength or abilities.
The solution to breaking free from this vine was very straightforward. However, the Black Knights didn’t think He Jinqiu had it in him.
But he truly did.
...
There’s another Chapter in the morning, but I think this Chapter is quite important, so it might not be finished until around eight or nine in the morning. So everyone, don’t stay up waiting, see it when you wake up.
User Comments
0 comments from readers