Star Gate

Chapter 160: Hou Xiaochen (II

“I am not someone who does not appreciate a favor rendered.” A morose Yuan Shuo took a moment to compose himself. “I have always kept Hou Xiaochen’s help in mind. Otherwise... do you think the Night Watchers could’ve gained so much from me over the years? But how old is he, am I supposed to call him Daddy Hou to show the depths of my appreciation?”

“......” Hao Lianchuan had absolutely no idea what to say and waved his hand instead. “Forget it, there’s nothing worth saying to an old man like you! You take advantage of your age to spout drivel!”

Yuan Shuo didn’t dignify the outburst with a response; he climbed into a car in front of him. Liu Long wanted to say something when he saw Li Hao sit in the driver’s seat. Wang Ming flicked a glance at Mu Sen and chose to keep quiet when the inspector general seemed unconcerned.

That car belonged to the Inspectorate, and it seemed to be Mu Sen’s vehicle!

Its future viability would be unknown after tonight. Wang Ming congratulated himself for not buying a car. That was a hefty expenditure and he’d be put in a tough spot if Li Hao wanted to borrow his car.

Mu Sen seemed to discover something amiss only after the car snaked its way out of the Inspectorate through a very special route. He murmured to Liu Long, “Is Li Hao driving like that to avoid being followed?”

Liu Long bit down hard on his tongue. “Yes!”

The inspector general looked skeptically at him for a while. “It’s fine, it’s just a car. I can give it to Elder Yuan. It comes out of public funds, anyway!”

“......” Liu Long was done with the situation and headed inside. Mu Sen wanted to say a few more words when the chief turned back. “This is an internal Night Watcher meeting. You can leave now, Inspector General Mu. What are you following me for?”

The hell, you bridge burner! Mu Sen actually wanted to ask Liu Long why he felt different from before. As strong as Hao Lianchuan was, he was not a martial master. Mu Sen was a martial master!

Being a fellow martial master, he was more sensitive to the changes in his peers. Something had felt off about both Liu Long and Li Hao tonight. He could ignore the young man, but when he registered something in Liu Long as well, things were certainly wrong.

“Do you have time to chat, Liu Long?”

“No!” Liu Long didn’t even look back.

Mu Sen looked at his back, gloomy and unwilling to give up the fight. C’mon now, talk to me! Have you had some sort of breakthrough? No way. A silly man like Liu Long hasn’t even comprehended the aura. What kind of transformation could he undergo?

But Yuan Shuo must have given him a pointer or two. Even so, aura could not be grasped through just one or two pointers. Not to mention that it wouldn’t make a difference if Liu Long understood the aura as the injuries resulting from his Nine Forged Force were too severe. Forcefully comprehending the aura wasn’t a good thing—it could worsen his injuries instead.

It was why Mu Sen never broached the topic with the man; he was too familiar with Liu Long. Once the man sought to perceive the aura, he wouldn’t be able to refrain from experimentation. He would be truly crippled then.

......

Inside the car.

Li Hao chattered away as he drove. “Teacher, is Director Hou really strong?”

“I’m not sure,” Yuan Shuo answered weakly, like he’d just woken up. “But he’s one of the earliest Solars of the province. He was apparently injured later on and has been trapped in Silver Moon ever since. As a result, his reputation has steadily declined. He was quite domineering back in the day—that was when the three great organizations rampaged through the province. Hou Xiaochen killed many of their members to corral them into a semblance of order. Otherwise, Silver Moon would’ve fallen to madness long ago.”

“So he’s the one who assured teacher’s safety?” Li Hao was a candid sort and he was close with his teacher. Asking these sorts of questions was fine.

A slightly complicated expression crossed Yuan Shuo’s face and he nodded after a long moment. “Yes! But I... don’t really like him!”

“Why not?”

“With who I am, of course I would be grateful to him for protecting me. I don’t think twice about completing some tasks for the Night Watchers, accepting some gigs, and exploring some ruins. It is due to him that I stand here, after all.” With that, Yuan Shuo sighed. “But the guy likes to put a price tag on everything. He decreed that I must excavate thirty sets of ruins for him before my debt is paid off. He will reimburse me for any that I explore beyond the thirty. It was a life debt, but he turned it into a transaction! In that case, I give just as good as I get. This is an official relationship then, with no talk of fellowship or gratitude.”

Hou Xiaochen...

Li Hao asked no further. He could tell that his teacher had mixed feelings about this man in every way possible other than romantic. Hou Xiaochen seemed to be an interesting person. He was so pragmatic that he didn’t care about ties of friendship or brotherhood.

I saved you, so you work for me. There’s no talk of anything else.

Honestly, that seemed like a nice mode of operation as well.

“Teacher, are we going to the ruins that the Night Watchers found?”

“Yes!” Yuan Shuo answered. “But that’s not our most pressing matter. Let’s set that aside for two days. I’m going to take you to the mines...” He lowered his voice with a mysterious lilt. “There may be something unique about them. I seemed to sense the presence of sword energy, but in an even more special way as there was also the presence of blade energy. They appeared to be mixed together, but I didn’t investigate in detail.”

Li Hao’s eyes lit up!

Really?? If that was the case, didn’t that mean his sword’s energy could be replenished? He urgently needed more sword energy to neutralize mysterious power, distill the five elements, and heal wounds. His rapid pace of improvement had much to do with the sword energy. Without it, he was kept to the same process as everyone else and had to take one step at a time.

Thus, a fire rose in his heart. It burned so hotly that the car shuddered as it crashed into something.

Yuan Shuo raised a brow, then recalled that this wasn’t his car. It was Mu Sen’s, so it could run into whatever it came across. Mu Sen drove an Inspectorate car.

But his car! Ah... the kid had crashed it into the building. Well, it was scrap metal now.

“You haven’t absorbed all of the mysterious power that I traded for and now you’ve obtained a large amount of fire energy from the two of us killing that guy. Mysterious power is useful only when it’s transmuted into actual strength. I don’t need it for now, so just let me know if you need any.”

Li Hao nodded at his teacher’s reminder. Killing another Solar meant at least one thousand cubes of mysterious power. He needed to reassess the situation. Everyone apart from Liu Long had a decent share. They could talk more if Liu Long needed any.

“In addition, take this!” Yuan Shuo handed a small disc to Li Hao.

BAM!

The car had just started up again when it crashed into something else. Yuan Shuo inwardly cursed at himself. What was he doing, giving something to the kid now??

Li Hao properly stopped the car and took the disc with curiosity. “Teacher, what is this?”

“I found it on Qiao Feilong, it’s a treasure. He probably used this to conceal his supernatural presence. Since you’ve just encountered the aura and don’t have a deep understanding of it, you easily leak presence of your own. I do not as I’ve grasped the aura for many years. No one can sense mine. You’ve improved so quickly that your foundations are superficial. If you carry this on you, even martial masters will be hard pressed to discover your condition.”

Li Hao was improving swiftly and his aura in a fledgling state. It was too easy for others to discover him. Hao Lianchuan might not have noticed tonight, but Mu Sen had looked a little strangely at the lad. Perhaps he’d guessed something. That was not good.

Li Hao easily drew attention with his abnormal rate of improvement.

Delighted, Li Hao toyed with the disc. When he infused it with a surge of internal force, the round disc blossomed with faint splendor that instantly extinguished. Although it wasn’t sustained, Li Hao keenly felt something different. The disc seemed to have bloomed with a membrane of light that enveloped him.

This was very easy to use! It didn’t require mysterious power, internal force activated it just as easily.

“They probably found it in the ruins—it can perfectly conceal a Solar’s presence, possibly even stronger! It’s a wonderful object, so don’t let others is it. Emanation of mysterious power is difficult to control for supernaturals, so it’s difficult for them to hide from each other. This object isn’t large, but it can shroud the entire body. Ice crystals are less than this!”

If one wanted to use ice crystals to conceal a presence, crystals needed to physically enclose the person without a single crack. Under normal circumstances, the crystals would shatter as soon as the person moved. Thus, it was less than practical. In contrast, Yuan Shuo found this item much more useful and portable.

Li Hao was overjoyed and bobbed his head in agreement. He shoved the disc into his pocket, planning on adding to the chain that the little sword was on so he wouldn’t drop it. What a wonderful person Qiao Feilong was, this treasure was right up his alley!

One should keep a lower profile when going about business and refrain from making a fuss! Just look at the chief—the entire team knew he was a Dominator as soon as he broke through. It would probably be common knowledge before long, whereas few knew that Li Hao was a Sunderer.

......

Silver City was eerily silent on this night.

Li Hao rested well. He and Yuan Shuo were both tired after the battle; lessons were canceled for the day. The young man didn’t even make it home and slept at his teacher’s instead.

A little black dog sneakily crept inside in the middle of the night. Both occupants paid it no heed. Panther had been worried that it’d be held accountable for not helping with the black shadow, so it ran off under the guise of scouting the premises after it killed a supernatural. Li Hao wasn’t too concerned about its safety, so let it run off.

As expected, the dog slunk back later that night.

......

August 2. Morning.

Li Hao rose early, as did Yuan Shuo. The young man understood how badly his teacher was injured when he saw that the professor’s face was still pale. The Incantation of the Blade of Blood was a method of mutual destruction. Although his teacher had absorbed a bit of sword energy, it wasn’t enough. What he’d consumed wasn’t replenished at all.

This situation couldn’t be allowed to drag on. They needed to visit the ruins in the mines as soon as possible. Strictly speaking, this wasn’t Li Hao’s fault. The black shadow would’ve ambushed his teacher if not for the young man, but it was also because his life was in danger that his teacher utilized the Incantation of the Blade of Blood.