In the dazzling, neon-lit city, Su Mo wandered around alone, with Cao Shanghong following not too far behind him.
Somewhere unknown to both of them, Hong stared coldly at Cao Shanghong, ready to strike at any moment.
Su Mo suddenly stopped walking, his expression stirred with emotion.
He glanced at the young dandy following him and advised, “Stop following me. If you keep this up, someone’s going to come out and give you a beating.”
Cao Shanghong didn’t believe him for a second. He just smiled calmly and was about to say something, but the next moment, his vision went black—someone had actually bagged him in a sack.
Before he could even put up a fight, he felt a numb sting on the back of his neck and lost consciousness.
Hong made a throat-slitting gesture toward Su Mo. Su Mo shook his head, so she grabbed the sack and casually tossed it into a nearby trash bin, kindly closing the lid for him.
Su Mo’s mouth hung slightly open.
“It’s only been a little while since I left, and you’ve already caught the attention of a B-grade?” The longer Hong stayed away from the Demon Territory, the more casual her attitude toward Su Mo became.
Su Mo looked left and right, then lowered his voice. “I thought you said you’d be suppressed by the laws of this world? Why do you still look like this?”
“Hold your horses. I can’t use that previous body anymore. Let me scout around for a few days first. As for the suppression—well, I’m a Seeker. My resistance to it is much higher than that of other races. At worst, my strength will be a bit limited. After all, I’ve sealed away my desires.”
“Then why don’t all of you just seal your desires…”
“Stop right there. The power of desire is a crucial part of my race’s cultivation. I can’t just go sealing it away casually. Besides, we’re trying to return to Earth, not conquer it. Of course, we want to figure out how to solve the problem at its root.”
Su Mo suddenly understood. “So that’s how it is.”
“Hey, wait a minute—why do I feel like you’re in a much better mood?” Hong said, a little skeptically.
Su Mo touched his own face. “Am I?”
(In his heart: You bet I am! Qing Yi just contacted me through a “ghly possession” out of nowhere. Otherwise, why would I have asked you to deal with that nuisance for me? I’m in a hurry to talk to her. (︶.̮︶✽))
“Sister Hong, you should probably go take care of your own business. At least get your identity sorted out first. The way you look right now is drawing way too much attention.”
“I know,” she said, then melted into the darkness and gradually vanished.
Su Mo’s face was unusually full of smiles. “Ooh, were you hiding somewhere crying just now? Why’d the line suddenly go dead?”
Just a moment ago, Ye Qing Yi’s physical perception—something she hadn’t been able to connect for an entire month—suddenly linked up. This was definitely proof that Su Mo wasn’t dead; he’d just gone through some unusual things this past month, so the connection was temporarily blocked.
But the moment she excitedly called out his name, she immediately went offline, and then there was nothing.
Now that the connection was back, her voice clearly sounded off.
“Hmph, I wasn’t crying at all! You must have misheard,” Ye Qing Yi argued unreasonably.
Su Mo was grinning from ear to ear. All his worries vanished, and he just felt warm inside.
“Qing Yi, I’ve got good news for you.”
“You’re not going to say you’ve found a way to swap our souls back, are you?” Ye Qing Yi said cheerfully.
Su Mo pouted. “No fun. At a time like this, you’re supposed to pretend you don’t know, then look all confused and ask me what it is, and finally let me explain it to you.”
As he said this, Su Mo suddenly thought of something and froze for a moment.
Over on her end, Ye Qing Yi didn’t comment on what he’d just said. Instead, she said calmly, “Su Mo, where have you been all this time? I kind of missed you.”
Then she added, “Just a little, of course.”
Su Mo smiled. “That’s important. I’ll tell you all about it in person when we meet. Anyway, I gained a lot from this trip, and most importantly, I found the secret technique to swap our souls back.”
“So, did you miss me?” Ye Qing Yi asked, not really answering his question.
Su Mo gave a doting smile. “Of course I did.”
Ye Qing Yi’s voice was delighted. “How much?”
“As much as you missed me—plus just a tiny bit more.”
“No way! I missed you more.”
“Didn’t you just say you only missed me a little?”
Ye Qing Yi immediately started being cheeky. “I did not.”
Su Mo wasn’t about to back down. “You did.”
“I did not!”
“You did!”
“I did not, did not, did not…”
“You did, did, did…”
The two of them bickered like little kids. Ye Qing Yi couldn’t win against Su Mo, so she cut the connection to stop his spellcasting.
Su Mo had already made his way to a riverbank. There was no one around, so no one found it strange—otherwise, they’d have thought he was crazy.
Su Mo grinned. “Wow, Qing Yi is so easy to tease. Next time, I’ll have to do it in person. It’s been way too long.”
His gloomy mood had eased a bit. Su Mo tried hard not to think about the Four Kingdoms Island incident anymore, but the spirits of the millions who had died clung to him like a curse, slowly eating away at his mind.
Before he knew it, Ye Qing Yi’s voice sounded in his ear again. “I knew it. You’re hiding something from me.”
Su Mo picked up a stone and threw it with perfect skipping form, but he used too much force. After just a few skips, it flew straight to the opposite bank and snapped a sign that read “No Dumping” in two.
“I don’t know what’s bothering you, but I’m sure it’s not trivial. You won’t bring it up on your own, and I won’t ask. But you need to remember—I’ll always support you. And your sister, and your uncle and aunt, too.”
Su Mo exhaled a breath of murky air, picked up another stone, and this time, his skip was absolutely beautiful.
“Qing Yi… what if I were a murderous maniac? What if I’d killed countless innocent people, including citizens of Xia country, even colleagues from Bei Dou…”
There was a long silence. Then Ye Qing Yi spoke in a gentle voice: “Who doesn’t make mistakes? If it’s already happened, let’s make it right together, okay? I’ll be with you.”
Su Mo’s eyes gradually softened, but they were still lost. “But I don’t know what to do…”
“Where are you right now?”
“Osaka.”
“Wait for me. I’m coming to find you right now.”
Su Mo wanted to refuse, but deep down he longed for it desperately. He felt like a wounded child who needed someone close to soothe his scars. He had never felt so fragile before.
“Okay.”
“I’ll have my sister bring me. That way it’ll be more discreet. No one will find out.”
“Mm.” Su Mo was like an obedient little wife—whatever Ye Qing Yi arranged, he gladly agreed to.
About an hour later, he was still sitting by the river, but Ye Qing Yi had already arrived in Osaka.
“Where are you? We’re coming to find you.”
“So fast?”
“We were already in the island nation, not too far from Osaka.”
Su Mo sent his location. In less than ten minutes, a handsome young man with a center part, wearing overalls and carrying a basketball, arrived at the riverbank. Meanwhile, Su Mo had already changed back into Ye Qing Yi’s form.
The corner of Su Mo’s mouth twitched. He looked at her with confusion.
Ye Qing Yi steeled herself and said, “I bet you can’t help but laugh now.”
Right in front of Su Mo, she gave a little self-introduction, then snapped her fingers in a very chuunibyou pose: “Music!”
As a catchy beat started playing, four words that drove Xia country citizens wild struck Su Mo’s very soul like magic:
“Jī! Nǐ! Tài! Měi!”
