Cangnan No.
2 High School.
For the first time, Lin Qiye arrived at school without his black silk blindfold.
Seeing Lin Qiye like this, everyone was stunned, and intense chatter broke out all across the room.
Inside the classroom, only four people looked at him with noticeably altered expressions.
Wang Shao and Jiang Qian didn’t know how Lin Qiye had escaped the monster’s claws two nights ago.
However, seeing his eyes inexplicably healed, both of them immediately remembered what Lu Ming had said yesterday.
Recalling the special ability Lu Ming had displayed in front of them that night, the two realized that Lin Qiye, like Lu Ming, must possess the power to stand against monsters.
*So that’s what Lu Ming meant by that sentence.* Wang Shao and Jiang Qian exchanged a glance, confirming each other’s thoughts.
While others knew nothing of the world’s bizarreness, the two of them had experienced it firsthand.
No one knew whether these incidents would keep happening in the future, making it vital to stay on good terms with Lin Qiye from now on.
Meanwhile, Liu Yuan and Li Yifei kept darting their eyes away, their faces stiff with awkwardness.
Liu Yuan lowered his head in silence.
Two nights ago, in his desperate rush to escape, he had completely ignored the blind Lin Qiye’s survival.
He had nearly knocked Lin Qiye down, causing him to lose his best chance to flee.
He had assumed that a blind person like Lin Qiye couldn’t possibly survive the monster’s pursuit, and he had felt guilty all night.
Shaken to his core, he hadn’t come to school yesterday and had no idea Lin Qiye was actually alive.
Seeing Lin Qiye walk in today, his emotions became immensely complex—he even caught himself entertaining a twisted thought: *Why didn’t Lin Qiye die that night?* Lin Qiye’s gaze swept over the classroom, finally coming to rest on Lu Ming’s seat.
Seeing Lu Ming’s desk completely bare, a flicker of surprise flashed in his eyes…
“Lin Qiye, can you step out with me for a moment?
There’s something I want to tell you.” Li Yifei awkwardly led Lin Qiye out into the hallway and poured out all the apologies he had bottled up for the past two days.
Looking at the sincere Li Yifei, Lin Qiye found it in himself to understand.
Besides, that night Li Yifei hadn’t shoved him down in a mad dash for safety like Liu Yuan had.
“It’s only human.” Lin Qiye’s response allowed Li Yifei to heave a sigh of relief.
He then brought up the non-disclosure agreement with Lin Qiye, lamenting that he wanted to join the Nightwatchers but didn’t meet the qualifications at all.
Hearing that Li Yifei wanted to join the Nightwatchers on his own initiative, Lin Qiye looked surprised.
In their previous conversations, he knew Li Yifei was close to receiving an exceptional admission from a sports university.
Li Yifei was actually willing to give up college just to join the Nightwatchers.
“The sports academy is boring anyway.” Hearing Li Yifei’s longing for the Nightwatchers, Lin Qiye could only marvel at his innocence.
If an ordinary person joined the Nightwatchers, they might lose their life on their very first mission.
Still, everyone had their own choices, and he wouldn’t forcefully intervene.
Perhaps if Li Yifei joined the Nightwatchers, he could become someone like Zhao Kongcheng?
After a brief conversation, Lin Qiye turned to head back into the classroom when he suddenly remembered Lu Ming.
“Did something happen with Lu Ming?” Li Yifei froze for a moment, then shook his head.
“I don’t know the exact details either.
Yesterday after morning exercises, everything on Lu Ming’s desk was gone.
According to the teacher, Lu Ming took a leave of absence…” Lin Qiye’s brows furrowed.
*A leave of absence?
Why?* The image of Lu Ming sitting on the wall clutching a long sword involuntarily rose in his mind.
Could it be?
When Zhao Kongcheng found him two nights ago, Lu Ming must have been present as well.
Perhaps…
Seeing that Lin Qiye seemed interested in Lu Ming, Li Yifei lowered his voice and whispered: “Honestly, I don’t think Lu Ming took a leave of absence—I think he got expelled!
Two nights ago, as a boarding student, Lu Ming stayed out all night.
The school probably found out and ordered his expulsion, right?
Otherwise, why would Lu Ming deliberately avoid us while clearing out his desk?” Lin Qiye glanced at Li Yifei.
That was likely what most of their classmates assumed, but he felt that wasn’t the real reason.
Wang Shao and Jiang Qian had both survived the Ghostface attack two nights ago.
The situation back then had been critical; logically, Wang Shao should have been dead…
Yet both were alive and well.
It was clearly connected to Lu Ming—Lu Ming must have saved them.
*Perhaps Wang Shao and Jiang Qian know something about Lu Ming’s abilities and whereabouts.* After peacefully enduring the first two periods, Lin Qiye crossed paths with Jiang Qian during physical education in the third period and voiced the questions in his heart.
From Jiang Qian’s response, he gathered clues that supported his theory.
He realized that Lu Ming had accepted Zhao Kongcheng’s invitation and joined the Nightwatchers.
…
As evening approached.
Lu Ming had practically holed up in the motel all day.
Even while Lin Qiye was at school, he remained inside the small room.
If Chen Muye knew that Lu Ming’s “work” for the entire day consisted of sleeping in a motel, he would probably deduct every last cent of Lu Ming’s monthly stipend.
However, for Lu Ming, waiting by the tree for the hare was the best strategy.
After all, in the original story, the Ghostface King appeared right in this vicinity.
As long as he stayed near Lin Qiye’s home, the moment the Ghostface King appeared, he would immediately sense the shift in Spiritual Pressure.
What surprised Lu Ming, however, was that instead of sensing the Ghostface King, he picked up on Zhao Kongcheng’s arrival.
*Old Zhao showed up here at this time?
Has he already made contact with Lin Qiye?* Lu Ming recalled that Zhao Kongcheng hadn’t forced himself to practice Jinzen yesterday afternoon, which meant he must have gone on his assignment to find Lin Qiye.
So, in the end, the plot was still proceeding along its original trajectory.
Lu Ming raised an eyebrow slightly.
Given the situation, Zhao Kongcheng would likely clash with the Ghostface King tonight.
However, with the Zanpakuto forged for him and Lu Ming himself holding down the fort nearby, Zhao Kongcheng shouldn’t be driven to the point of forcibly using Ghost-God Draught this time, right?
*Wait and see.* A gentle drizzle began to fall from the sky, blurring the streetlights against the windowpanes.
The entire street was quiet and peaceful; no one could have imagined that a monster would appear here tonight…
…
“Seven, how did you get so soaked?” Seeing Lin Qiye looking like a drowned rat, his aunt’s eyes filled with concern.
“The rain got pretty heavy on the way back, and I didn’t bring an umbrella.” “If you didn’t have an umbrella, you should’ve found a place to shelter!
Your aunt could have picked you up!
What if you catch a cold like this?” His aunt feigned anger.
Lin Qiye scratched his head, not daring to talk back to her at a time like this.
She took a towel and wiped his dripping hair, then suddenly said, “Oh, right!
A teacher came looking for you earlier.
He’s waiting in your room.” Lin Qiye was taken aback.
He hadn’t heard anything about a home visit scheduled for today.
Could it be?
The image of that middle-aged man flashed in Lin Qiye’s mind.
Hurriedly drying his hair, he opened the door and entered his room.
…
Lin Qiye had initially felt angry about Zhao Kongcheng disrupting his peaceful life.
However, upon understanding the purpose of Zhao Kongcheng’s visit today and seeing the stack of cash prepared for his family, his impression of the man began to change.
After learning about Zhao Kongcheng’s past, the man’s image grew much grander in his heart.
“May you have a bright future, Lin Qiye.” “May you one day be draped in honor and glory, General Zhao.” Zhao Kongcheng holding his black umbrella turned and departed, while Lin Qiye stood by the window, quietly watching him go.
*It seems the organization missed out on Lin Qiye this time.
It’s a bit of a shame, but Lin Qiye’s decision wasn’t wrong either.* Zhao Kongcheng fingered the crest in his pocket and sat down inside his car.
*I suppose my mission failed this time, didn’t it?* He reached into his pocket for his pack of cigarettes, intending to smoke one to ease his mood.
Right then, Wu Xiangnan’s voice suddenly echoed through his earpiece…