Su Mo’s arrival caused the crowd of reporters to scatter at once, because they could sense it clear as day—this young woman was not someone to mess with.
“I’m sorry. I had a sudden moment of insight last night and just finished my cultivation session. I’m running late,” Su Mo said, looking genuinely apologetic.
Mr. Sato’s eyes flickered, and he quickly replied, “This is, after all, a matter for Kagawa Prefecture to handle ourselves. Miss Chiba, your mere presence here is a great fortune for us. We wouldn’t dare ask for anything more.”
As he spoke, Mrs. Sato, who stood beside him, kept her gaze fixed on Su Mo. She didn’t look away for even a moment, as if she were searching for something on Su Mo’s face.
Su Mo pretended not to notice. She glanced toward the interior of the hospital. “Has something happened here?”
Mr. Sato’s assistant stepped forward. “Last night, a female orderly was caught stealing by the department head. He intended to reprimand her, but unexpectedly, she killed him to cover her tracks and fled the scene.”
Su Mo’s expression turned icy. “What is this person’s name? How can anyone be so vicious? She was in the wrong to begin with. Not only did she show no remorse, but she went on to make things worse and take a life.”
“Watanabe…” the assistant stammered, a bit intimidated by Su Mo’s sudden intensity.
“To be able to kill a department head, she’d have to be at least D-rank in strength.”
“She was registered as E-rank, but she concealed her true power. Her actual level is indeed D-rank.”
“Alright. Watanabe, is it?” Su Mo put on a fierce scowl and turned to the four people beside her. “This Watanabe is a D-rank operative, roughly on par with your own strength. This will be a perfect chance for you to get some practical training.”
With that, she looked at Mr. Sato. “Would it be alright if my students here tagged along with the local security personnel to learn a thing or two? If it’s inconvenient, just say the word.”
“It would be an honor…” Mr. Sato forced a smile.
Just then, someone rushed over and whispered a few words into Mr. Sato’s ear. He immediately let out a sigh of relief and said, with feigned regret, “The perpetrator has already been brought to justice. I’m terribly sorry, but your students won’t be able to take part after all.”
Su Mo put on a slightly disappointed expression but still smiled. “It’s a good thing the culprit was apprehended so quickly. There will be other opportunities for learning. One missed chance doesn’t matter.”
Just then, another person came over to whisper something to Mr. Sato. He instantly put on a troubled look. “Miss Chiba, if you’ll excuse me, I must go attend to this matter right away. But… if you’re curious about it, you’re welcome to come along.”
Su Mo shook her head. “Since the killer has already been caught, I doubt I’d be of much use. I’d better not intrude.”
Su Mo knew the man was testing her, trying to gauge whether she was interested in the news that the killer had been caught.
And she didn’t believe for a second that Watanabe had actually been captured. In all likelihood, this was just a move to sweep things under the rug, scapegoating someone innocent to close the case. After all, letting the incident blow up would do Sato no favors, and it might even expose the secrets hidden within Kagawa Psychiatric Hospital.
Still, out of apparent “curiosity,” Su Mo asked to see the scene of the crime. Her stated reason was that she wanted to investigate whether the murder had any connection to the man-eating monster.
The person who escorted her this time was a different department head, temporarily assigned to the role, with a strength rating of D-rank.
Just a psychiatric hospital, and yet they have quite a few strong individuals around here…
Su Mo conducted a thorough, albeit performative, inspection of the crime scene and examined the department head’s wounds.
He had been stabbed over a dozen times in the abdomen.
“The killer was pretty brutal,” Su Mo commented, feigning professional analysis.
(Inner thoughts: These stab wounds were clearly inflicted after the fact. They’re obviously trying to wrap this case up in a hurry. If this whole charade didn’t actually work in my favor, I’d expose your lies right here and now.)
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Su Mo “toured” the psychiatric hospital once more, under the noble pretext of “comforting the patients.”
Unlike her previous visit, perhaps because the Sky Demon Stone was no longer here, there was no more inappropriate activity happening in the back garden. This spared everyone a good deal of awkwardness.
After searching the place thoroughly and finding nothing, Su Mo was now almost certain that the clues concerning the man-eating monster had to be tied to the Sky Demon Stone itself.
Although the stone had been corroded by Yin Fire until it was barely the size of a walnut, that didn’t diminish its value as a potential lead.
…
Over the next few days, no more strange incidents occurred in Kagawa Prefecture. Su Mo devoted herself entirely to studying the Sky Demon Stone.
As for the murder case at the psychiatric hospital, it was closed hastily, just as Su Mo had predicted. Yet the manhunt for Watanabe had never officially been called off.
After all, she was believed to “have” the Sky Demon Stone.
As for the stone itself, Su Mo hadn’t yet figured out much of significance, but she did discover one thing. When she had burned it with Yin Fire earlier, some of the energy that had been consumed had flowed into her Qi Sea and burrowed into the snow mountain that represented the Desire aspect of the Seven Emotions.
While this hadn’t brought any noticeable boost in her actual combat strength, Su Mo realized something else: she seemed to have become more beautiful than before.
This enhancement in her appearance wasn’t just a matter of physical features. It was far more about her overall aura.
Compared to before, she now exuded less youthful naivety and more captivating charm.
She was like the enchanting immortal Li Xiaomu. Even without trying, that woman radiated a natural allure that set her apart from most other females.
Of course, the change in Su Mo wasn’t nearly that drastic.
She held the Sky Demon Stone up to the light and examined it closely. The patterns on its surface were almost identical to those from before it had shrunk. The only difference was that the strange voice she’d heard that day had never spoken again.
It’s probably been burned to death, Su Mo thought.
Just as she was musing over this, Kuchiki Diao’s voice came from outside the door. “Miss Chiba, a letter for you.”
A letter?
Su Mo couldn’t think of anyone who would write her a letter. In this day and age, with everyone having a phone, who still used such an antiquated method of communication?
Su Mo opened the door, and Kuchiki Diao handed her the envelope. “Hoshino and I were out shopping just now… when a stranger suddenly thrust this envelope into my arms. She had her face covered and moved incredibly fast. Before I could even react, she had vanished without a trace.”
Written on the envelope were the words: To Chiba Manaka, Personal.
Su Mo pressed her fingers over the envelope to check its contents. Once she was sure it contained nothing dangerous, she opened it. Inside was just a single, short sentence: If you want to know the truth, go to the volcanic crater south of the city.
Su Mo raised an eyebrow. She immediately ruled out the Wei Yue Yan organization. Sakurai Mii also seemed unlikely. That left only one possibility: whoever sent this shared a common goal with her and wanted Su Mo to be the one to stick her neck out first.
“Heh.” Su Mo let out a scoff. She handed the letter to Kuchiki Diao. “Take a look at this. What do you think it means? Who could have written it? I want to hear your thoughts in an hour.”
She paused, then added, “Let the other three see it too. Same requirement as you.”
Kuchiki Diao realized this was a test from Miss Chiba for the four of them. She immediately took it seriously. “Understood!”
As Su Mo watched Kuchiki Diao hurry off, a private thought suddenly amused her: The feeling of assigning homework is really quite satisfying!
An hour later, the four of them returned to Su Mo’s place to submit their “assignments.”
Seeing the several-thousand-word documents each of them had sent, Su Mo raised an eyebrow. They really took this seriously, huh? Too bad the joke’s on me now. Here I am, at the ripe old age of twenty, stuck grading papers. Sigh…
She had actually just wanted them to tell her their thoughts verbally. Who would have guessed they’d turn the tables on her like this?
Alright, alright. Very good. Fine…
