He was always cold, giving people the impression of being serious and proper. After a few exchanges, one could tell he was incredibly audacious. For the sake of solving a case, he casually shook the heavens and stirred things up, then honestly told them without finding an excuse. How could one not be angry? It was infuriating!
But the immortal in the light pillar seemed to be somewhat wary of Xia Jianning. After hearing his response, he didn’t become furious. After a moment of silence, he said, “Don’t do it again,” and the light pillar disappeared.
Luo Yingbai smiled and said: “Looks like our guess was correct.”
He didn’t keep them in suspense and explained: “He’s not the Greedy Wolf Star Lord, but the reflection of the Greedy Wolf Star Lord.”
There are stars in the sky and water on the ground. But this place had a locust tree gathering yin energy, surrounded by buildings, and over time, remnant souls gathered, being continuously illuminated by the Celestial Wolf Star’s light, forming a soul body. Sun Yue had coincidentally made her wish under this locust tree, which is why her wish came true.
Xia Jianning opened a transparent small bottle and collected the dark soul body, saying: “Let’s go back.”
When he said this, he was looking at Luo Yingbai, who paused and nodded.
Xia Jianning imperceptibly breathed a sigh of relief.
The group returned home. The car passed through the streets for about twenty minutes. At the end of the road was a quiet courtyard surrounded by ivy. In the dim light of the street lamp, one could see the stone wall outside the gate was engraved with the words “National Armed Special Investigation Bureau.”
Beyond the stone wall was another world.
Chapter 12: Mua
Inside the courtyard were several red-walled and black-tiled office buildings, exquisite like villas in a wealthy district. But once inside, the entire scene changed dramatically.
Near midnight, people in various bizarre costumes moved back and forth. The ceiling was filled with transforming white clouds and star formations, day and night coexisting. The walls were painted with lifelike ancient demons and monsters, seeming to burst forth.
People hurried about, conversing. Some greeted Xia Jianning’s group as they entered, and were surprised and delighted to see Luo Yingbai. However, it was the busiest time at the Special Investigation Bureau, and with the “Ice Mountain” Xia Jianning nearby, everyone had little time for chitchat.
Luo Yingbai greeted everyone with a smile and followed Xia Jianning into the elevator, casually asking: “Jianning, where’s my dad?”
Xia Jianning replied: “Teacher is on vacation, taking his wife abroad for medical treatment…”
Before he could finish, Luo Yingbai grabbed him. Xia Jianning was puzzled and turned to look: “Hm?”
In that instant, Luo Yingbai almost thought he was mishearing. He stammered: “You… what did you say? My mom?”
Xia Jianning saw his strange expression and was worried, supporting Luo Yingbai: “What’s wrong?”
Luo Yingbai gripped his hand and suddenly looked up: “Jianning, what did you say about my mom? Where is she?”
Xia Jianning answered seriously: “Madam was in a coma after being injured during that incident and hasn’t woken up. Teacher is taking her abroad to see if there are other solutions.”
In other words, Luo Yingbai’s mother, Jiang Yugai, was currently in a vegetative state. But compared to death, being in a coma meant there was hope for recovery.
Luo Yingbai never expected that this rebirth would be slightly different from his previous life. He now had a chance to see his mother again… as long as she was alive, he would do everything to wake her up!
A mix of emotions surged in that moment. In his extreme joy, Luo Yingbai hugged Xia Jianning, who had brought him this news, and gave him a fierce kiss: “Jianning, junior brother, I love you so much!”
Xia Jianning, who hadn’t had time to react, was kissed. His eye twitched as he pushed Luo Yingbai away, angrily rebuking: “Luo Yingbai!”
Luo Yingbai looked at him with an innocent face: “Why are you yelling so loud? You scared me.”
Xia Jianning felt like he had been electrified, and after the numbness, he only felt his heart and breathing completely out of rhythm, the soft touch lingering… Damn, after being away for half a year, his trouble-making index had upgraded again.
He had known since childhood that Luo Yingbai was this intermittent neurotic who would occasionally go crazy, and this time he had only forgotten to be on guard because of their long-awaited reunion.
If anyone else had done this, they would have been beaten to death by Xia Xianning on the spot, but he had no way to deal with this senior brother.
The elevator stopped, and Luo Yingbai went out first. Turning around, he saw Xia Xianning still standing inside, looking a bit conflicted. “It’s not like you’re a little girl, don’t be shy. Senior brother missed you so much after not seeing you for so long, what’s wrong with a kiss? By the way, are you still working overtime?”
The phrase “missed you so much” softened Xia Xianning’s heart. Hearing him change the subject, he could only respond: “Yes.”
“What a pity, I wanted to chat with you,” Luo Yingbai stretched lazily, draping his arm over Xia Xianning, yawning continuously. “Okay, I won’t disturb you, the busy person. I’m going to the principal’s house early tomorrow morning. Find me a place to sleep now. Make sure the bed is comfortable. Is there air conditioning in the room? Oh, and I need to take a shower.”
He was completely unrestrained, showing no sense of distance after a long separation, his old nitpicky habits unchanged.
Xia Xianning glanced at him: “Sleep in the bathroom. It’s ventilated, and there’s water.”
Luo Yingbai said: “Tsk, you’re so annoying.”
Xia Xianning didn’t respond, but a slight smile appeared on his face.
Though he said to sleep in the bathroom, Xia Xianning ultimately brought Luo Yingbai into his office. The Special Investigation Unit had good benefits, and his office had a rest area outside the work space, originally meant for convenient overtime, now perfectly suitable for hiding Young Master Luo.
Xia Xianning said: “Sleep here.”
Luo Yingbai gave him an “OK” gesture, Xia Xianning nodded and was about to leave, but suddenly stopped at the door and turned back: “Senior brother?”
Luo Yingbai responded with an “Mm.”
Xia Xianning’s gaze fell on his face, and after a moment, he said: “Before you left, you sent a message saying you were experiencing difficulties and wanted to find a new environment to adjust your mood, asking me not to look for you, and I promised. So even when I knew where you were, I never came.”
Luo Yingbai sighed: “Thank you.”
Xia Xianning stared at him and slowly shook his head: “But you also said that if you ever came back, you would never leave without saying goodbye. I kept my promise. What about you?”
“A promise is a promise,” Luo Yingbai extended his hand to Xia Xianning, smiling, “I won’t leave again.”
Xia Xianning finally smiled too, high-fived Luo Yingbai, then went to the bathroom to prepare his shower water before leaving to continue working. Only Luo Yingbai remained in the room, who finished washing and lay on the bed.
His hands were still shaking.
In fact, when Xia Xianning hugged him, he was truly startled, and his first reaction was to push him away. In recent years, Luo Yingbai had constantly reminded himself never to contact any past acquaintances, as it would surely cause a major mistake – this had almost become a habit.
But Xia Xianning’s strength was great, and Luo Yingbai couldn’t push him away. It was precisely this that made him truly realize he had escaped that curse.
After hearing that he was coming, the whole family stood at the main gate to welcome him, giving Luo Yingbai the highest-level reception.
Luo Yingbai: “!!!”
