"Grandpa, I’ll talk to you later. I have to go out for a bit." Lu Yuan cut short the conversation with Lu Yueping, picked up the book beside him, and hurried out.
"Are you coming back for dinner tonight? I’ll cook fish for you!"
Lu Yuan didn’t go far. He waited at the intersection at the end of their street.
After a while, a taxi stopped in front of him.
The taxi door opened, and Lu Yuan quickly went to help the girl struggling out with a bulging backpack.
Cheng Yue struggled out of the car, head lowered, a faint blush on her cheeks.
Lu Yuan said it was nothing and was about to help her pay the fare, but the taxi sped off. It had probably been paid for via an app.
Lu Yuan smoothly took the backpack from Cheng Yue, unzipped it, and saw about eight or nine books inside.
He took out her books one by one and put his own inside. As he did so, he glanced at the titles of these books.
"Geographical Changes (From Middle Ages to Modern Ages)"
"Barbarism and Civilization"
"Entering the White Mountain Era"
Most were books he intended to borrow. Judging by their titles, even the few unfamiliar ones piqued his interest.
Cheng Yue, helping him support the backpack, said softly, "Two of them were already checked out. I looked at the due dates; they should be returned around next Wednesday. I’ll call ahead and remind them then..."
"Thank you, Sister Cheng Yue."
Lu Yuan expressed his sincere thanks to Cheng Yue.
Lately, he hadn’t dared to venture far from home, so he’d asked Cheng Yue, who worked part-time at the library, to borrow books for him. Cheng Yue even went to the trouble of delivering them personally, which made Lu Yuan feel both grateful and a little embarrassed.
"In a while, I’d like to treat you to a meal, Sister Cheng Yue."
Lu Yuan said to Cheng Yue seriously, "You can pick any restaurant you like, anywhere."
"That sounds so extravagant. What if I pick a really expensive place..."
Cheng Yue couldn’t help but cover her mouth and giggle. "I’m afraid you won’t be able to afford it... little bro, still in high school."
As she said "high school," her tone unconsciously carried a hint of something—regret, perhaps—but she quickly composed herself.
"I can afford it. Seriously, pick anywhere you want to eat."
Lu Yuan emphasized once more. He then placed the books Cheng Yue was to return for him back into the backpack, zipped it up, and slung it onto his back.
"I’ll call a car for you."
Lu Yuan took out his phone and used an app to call a car for Cheng Yue.
Cheng Yue didn’t refuse. She pouted slightly, clasped her hands behind her back, and stood shoulder to shoulder with Lu Yuan.
Occasionally, she glanced toward the other end of the street, as if trying to count which house might be Lu Yuan’s.
Cheng Yue suddenly pulled out a pack of gum from her pocket and offered it to Lu Yuan.
Lu Yuan shook his head, so she popped a piece into her own mouth.
"You asked me before about ancient religions related to the crow... um. I asked my senior brother."
Cheng Yue munched on her gum while speaking to Lu Yuan.
"What did your senior brother say?"
Hearing this, Lu Yuan’s eyes lit up. He immediately put down his phone and looked at Cheng Yue.
"He said he didn’t know either," Cheng Yue shook her head. "Crows are practically a universal symbol for cults. Many strange and bizarre sects have some connection to crows. If you were to investigate them all, there are simply too many to look into..."
"Alright." Lu Yuan wasn’t too disappointed; it had only been a casual question.
Cheng Yue, however, asked curiously, "Are you researching this because of the recent explosion?"
Cheng Yue took out her phone and said, "I’m following it too. I heard that the chemical plant in the south district, where the incident occurred, was a mass grave many years ago. Many people died there. Crows got used to feeding on human flesh and have lingered there ever since. This explosion supposedly happened because workers saw something unclean while on duty..."
Lu Yuan listened to Cheng Yue, his expression unchanging.
He’d heard countless versions of such rumors over the past few days.
The large number of crows involved had cast a thick pall of mystery over the chemical plant explosion in the south district. Online rumors grew increasingly outlandish, compelling officials to step in and personally refute them. Fairly reasonable explanations were given for both the cause of the explosion and the presence of the crows.
Lu Yuan lacked the energy to sift through the truth and falsehoods online; he was merely curious.
His intuition told him the truth of the matter wasn’t so simple.
Because right before the explosion... he’d happened to see a Fly Shuttle streak overhead.
It might be related to the unsolved missing persons case...
"Plate ending in 7499..."
At this moment, a taxi stopped in front of them.
The taxi driver honked, then leaned out the window to ask.
"Yes," Lu Yuan replied, then helped Cheng Yue into the car.
Cheng Yue waved at Lu Yuan from inside the car. Her smile, tinged with a reluctance to part, made Lu Yuan momentarily see his sister, Lu Jing, in her.
He subconsciously took out his phone and opened his chat history with his older sister, Lu Jing.
[[I’ll video call you later.]]
The last message was from Lu Jing, sent two afternoons ago.
As usual, she’d flaked.
He clicked on Lu Jing’s profile. Her updates on her archaeological work and scenic photos of Xixu were frozen on a day two weeks prior.
Lu Jing, what exactly happened to you during this time?...
Muttering to himself, Lu Yuan finally shouldered his backpack in silence and headed home.
Low whooshes, as if a heavy axe were cleaving the air, were occasionally punctuated by sharp cracks like firecrackers. ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ᴛᴏ ʀᴇᴀᴅ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs, ᴘʟᴇᴀsᴇ ᴠɪsɪᴛ novel·fıre·net
Lu Yuan stood on the rooftop, eyes focused, continuously throwing punches and kicks into the air.
There seemed to be a powerful invisible opponent in front of him.
Suddenly, Lu Yuan’s gaze sharpened.
The power in his leg suddenly surged, and the low whoosh of it cutting through the air grew piercing.
This kick slammed into the massive concrete pillar like a battleaxe.
The kick landed with a dull THUD, and several long, distinct cracks spiderwebbed from the base of the concrete pillar where it met the rooftop.
It looked as if some behemoth had violently crashed into it.
Lu Yuan stopped. He bent down, gently rubbing the shin of his kicking leg, and sucked in a breath through his teeth.
HISS— A sharp intake of breath from the pain.
After my agility has improved, my Fist Strength and leg strength have indeed increased a lot. However, it seems like my physical condition can’t keep up. The Four-dimensional attribute really complement each other; every one is indispensable...
Lu Yuan touched the concrete pillar that served as his target.
He had no idea why this thing had been left here. With a diameter of two meters and a height of one and a half, and made of solid concrete, it was a perfect makeshift punching post.
He’d wrapped one side of the concrete pillar with more than ten layers of thick cardboard, quilts, old clothes, and rubber sheets, stuffing cotton wadding and sand in between as padding.
But sometimes, when he struck with too much force, it still stung.
After rubbing his leg for a while, Lu Yuan stood up.
Walking to the edge of the rooftop, he saw a child on the balcony of the fourth floor of the neighboring residential building.
The child was holding a pair of binoculars and seemed to be watching him.
He squinted, trying to see more clearly, but this seemed to startle the observer.
The child with the binoculars hastily retreated into the room, drawing the curtains shut with a SWISH.
After a while, even the lights in the room went out.