Chapter 373: Do You Think He Will Come to Find Me?

Since the age of twelve, Jiang Li had been constantly losing things.

First, she lost her respected and reliable father, then her gentle mother, and finally, the benefactor she hadn’t had time to repay…

It was as if, once all the important people left her, they would never return.

As time went on, waving goodbye became a final farewell, and in her life, it almost became a pattern.

Now, seeing Lu Yibei appear before her, safe and sound, Jiang Li suddenly didn’t know how to react. She only tightened her arms around him, pulling him closer and closer.

As if she was afraid that, upon waking from a dream, he would suddenly disappear again.

“Hiss-! That hurts a bit. May I ask, miss, is this the legendary ‘Killer Embrace Technique’ lost to the martial world for ages?”

Only when Lu Yibei let out a cry of pain did Jiang Li snap out of her daze, freeing herself from that sorrowful, lost state. Her gaze gradually cooled.

The fragile girl who feared losing loved ones was her.

But the decisive, efficient operator of The Midnight Watchers Society, who could “kill” people and hauntings with just a look, was also her.

“Lu Yibei…”

“Hmm?” Lu Yibei gently responded, lowering his head to look at Jiang Li, his eyes filled with tenderness. “Are we about to watch a movie? Want to see ‘Monsters, Inc.’?”

Having just been to Du Sixian’s remodeled “lair,” he suddenly felt like watching this film… Lu Yibei secretly grumbled to himself.

“No.” Jiang Li shook her head, speaking calmly. “What I want to say is, you’d best forget what you just saw. If you can’t forget, I don’t mind helping you.”

After all, it was just too embarrassing.

“…”

Lu Yibei was silent for a few seconds, slowly stood up, and glanced around. “Strange, what just happened? Whoa! Boss, why are you in my house?”

I get it, I totally get it. Girls need their dignity too!

You want to act, I’ll act along with you.

Besides, this feels more right. A teary, sobbing Jiang Li really does seem a bit strange-makes one want to snap her out of it with a good wake-up punch. Lu Yibei mused internally.

Jiang Li, stifling the urge to laugh, got to her feet, straightened her clothes, and extended a hand with a serious expression. “I heard you’ve been on leave for quite a while, so I came to check up on a subordinate.”

Is this some kind of tradition in The Midnight Watchers Society? I’ve never seen a boss check up on a subordinate right in their bed… Lu Yibei grumbled in his heart, but he reached out and shook Jiang Li’s hand in a symbolic gesture.

“Thank you for your concern, boss. You work hard.”

“So…” Jiang Li said, “It’s been a while. How have you been?”

Lu Yibei shrugged with a feigned light-heartedness. “Ran into some unexpected trouble, got a bit hurt, but all in all, I’m doing okay.”

For now, I’m still a relatively stable human time bomb.

“Mm.” Jiang Li nodded in satisfaction. “Then, from now on, I hope we can look after each other more. [heart emoji]”

“Let’s look after each other. [dog head]” Lu Yibei replied, matching Jiang Li’s tone and even adding an emoji with his eyes.

Then he suddenly noticed the smile on Jiang Li’s face. It was the first time he’d seen such a natural smile from her-not the gloomy, forced grin she usually wore, but something so gentle.

It was like a pot of fine Gui Hua wine-sweet and mellow, making one reluctant to put down the cup, and before you knew it, you were tipsy.

“Jiang Li, I have a question I want to ask you.” Lu Yibei suddenly said.

Jiang Li looked at him, at his hesitant expression, at his face flushed as if drunk-and seemed to understand something. She cut him off before he could speak. “Some things, some promises, you’d better think them through before saying them.”

In the silence, Lu Yibei stared at Jiang Li’s icy-cold eyes, stunned. The words that had reached his lips suddenly stuck in his throat.

“If you won’t say it, then let me.” Jiang Li said seriously. “Remember that benefactor I told you about?”

Lu Yibei nodded.

“I’m really grateful to him. So, though I never promised to devote my life to him, I did make an agreement. We agreed that if I never get married, I’d just settle for his son.”

At this, Lu Yibei lowered his head, a trace of gloom flickering in his eyes.

“Honestly, who makes such a ridiculous promise? Both the one who said it and the one who agreed to it are pretty out there.”

“Yeah.” Jiang Li nodded, “I think so too. And he told me, once I’d made up my mind, to find a guy called Mudan Street Yanzu. I looked for a long, long time, and just recently, I finally found him.”

“!!!”

Could she be the fiancée my dad always mentioned?

Lu Yibei’s eyes widened as he looked up at Jiang Li, about to speak, but she cut him off again.

“Wait, let me finish first.” Jiang Li said, “After getting to know that guy, I decided I’d keep my promise. But not out of gratitude-only because I want to.”

“But later, I found out he’s still tangled up with other girls-Wang Buliuxing, King of Hauntings Calamity… Honestly, when it comes to relationships, I’m a very selfish person. The way he is makes me feel really insecure, so I want to wait a bit longer.”

“I’ll wait until he’s sorted out things with Calamity and Wang Buliuxing. When he’s ready, he can come find me. Do you think he will?”

She had truly thought it through calmly-what she liked wasn’t the Calamity, nor Wang Buliuxing, it was just Lu Yibei.

But she knew very well that Lu Yibei still had many things he needed to do, things she couldn’t walk alongside him for. If she made a promise now, she would become a cage for Lu Yibei, just like that time on the barren land outside Dream Come True Entertainment City.

No matter how good the cage is, the canary inside will eventually grow weary.

“……”

After listening to Jiang Li’s words, Lu Yibei sobered up quite a bit. Now really wasn’t the best time to confess. Not to mention anything else, just the energy in his body that could kill him at any moment wouldn’t allow him to make any promises.

If he made a promise now, and something happened, was she supposed to become a young widow for the rest of her life?

After a moment of silence, he raised his head, looked into Jiang Li’s eyes, and said with the most serious tone of his life, “I think after he’s dealt with his troubles, he’ll come to find you. He definitely will!”

Jiang Li gazed at Lu Yibei for a long time, then silently smiled. “That sounds quite nice to the ears. So, the question you wanted to ask just now, do you still want to ask it?”

Lu Yibei shrugged. “No need.”

“Then…” Jiang Li tilted her head at Lu Yibei, smiling, “Lu Yibei, will you take me home?”

“Mind if I take you on my little electric scooter? “Don’t worry, Shui-Ge helped me modify it. It’s super fast—even the Ghostfire boys, the fastest scooter crew on these streets, can’t outrun me!”

Jiang Li nodded. “I don’t mind. I really don’t mind at all.”

Twenty minutes later.

On the road not far from Amber Mansion, a little electric scooter with a mirror-finished porcelain purple paint job sped by.

The girl sat quietly on the back seat, her arms wrapped around the boy’s waist, head tilted up, watching the stars and humming a song, letting her long hair flow in the wind.

She could feel the boy’s warmth, right by her side, less than a palm’s width away. She could even hear his heartbeat and breathing.

She murmured something to the boy, then a piercing screech of brakes rang out, echoing along the entire street.

“What? You buried it? That was The Flower of Chaotic Parallel Timelines! There are less than a hundred in the world-how could you bury it?” Lu Yibei exclaimed in anguish.

“Boss, look, Amber Mansion is just ahead. How about I just drop you off here?”

Jiang Li looked at Lu Yibei, then at Amber Mansion, already close at hand, momentarily at a loss for words.

“Please, please! I have to go to Lion Rock Public Cemetery right now and dig up a grave!” Lu Yibei pleaded.

“……”

Jiang Li hesitated, then held her forehead and waved her hand helplessly.

She suddenly had a strong faith that after Mudan Street Yanzu finished dealing with his troubles, he would definitely come back for her.

If it were any other girl, could she tolerate him?

She’d absolutely be driven mad, right?

2:14 a.m., outskirts of Hua City, Lion Rock Public Cemetery.

The stonemason and two gravekeepers hid in the woods on a small hillside, silently drinking strong liquor and eating peanuts to fend off the biting cold of deep winter.

At that moment, a faint rustling sound approached. The three exchanged glances, their expressions turning serious, and quietly drew their “weapons.”

Three short knives-D-grade psychic artifacts given to them by An Qing for self-defense.

They looked in the direction of the noise. A figure, carrying a large iron hammer and holding a flashlight in his mouth, swiftly vaulted over the wall, sneaking and skulking through the chilling graveyard, stopping right in the area An Qing had told them to watch closely.

And then-

The man suddenly swung his iron hammer, aiming at one of the graves, and smashed down with all his might.

“Bang-!” Lu Yibei struck with his hammer, a muffled echo spreading, cracks sprawling across the tombstone.

Just as he raised the hammer again, ready to smash open the gravestone and claim his “treasure,” a flurry of rapid footsteps approached from behind. Three strong flashlight beams locked onto him from different directions, and in the next instant, three knives were pressed to his throat.

“Don’t move!” the three shouted in unison.

Seeing that the short knives didn’t react abnormally, the stonemason and his crew grew bolder.

An Qing had told them, the knives would glow if they encountered a haunting, but not if it was a human.

What the hell? Did we run into a peer? Why does he have a knife? Lu Yibei was startled and quickly shouted, “Brothers, don’t be rash! I’m a good guy, a good guy!”

“Cut the crap. Turn around,” the stonemason growled.

Once Lu Yibei turned around, the stonemason saw the pangolin mask on his face and his mouth twitched. “Take off your mask!”

Lu Yibei slowly took off the mask. As soon as his delicate face was revealed, there was a click-the flash went off.

“Alright kid, got your face on camera. You’re coming with us!”

“Where to?” Lu Yibei asked weakly.

“The police station!” the stonemason barked.

“No, I just wanted to take something, it’s not necessary-“

“Shut up!” the stonemason cut him off. “Take? Taking without permission is stealing-grave robbing!”

“Hurry up, less nonsense, come with me to the police station!”

Lu Yibei: “……”