Chapter 37 THIRTY-SEVEN

Chapter 37: Chapter THIRTY-SEVEN

"Just because I said you could hit me, you actually did? Seriously!?"

Xin Linhua rubs his jaw. He can’t even get angry. Just looking at Rong Yizhan who’s seething with murderous intents, he laughs instead.

"Okay, okay. My bad." He shuffles closer "Let’s get up and sit somewhere less cold. Like a couch for example."

Rong Yizhan tries to brush him off, but Xin Linhua isn’t having it. He holds him down, an innocent smile on his face.

"Just be still." He helps him on the couch "See? Much better. By the way, how did you end up like this? As far as I know, you have to use your abilities and on an insane level for you to suffer a backlash."

"It’s nothing."

"Bullshit." Xin Linhua crouches down in front of him "The institute thinks you don’t have any abilities. That’s a lie."

"...What?" Rong Yizhan’s expression changes.

"You’ve been fooling them for years now, but on the day of the exam, I figured it out."

Xin Linhua carefully watches his expression. Just as he thought, Rong Yizhan is hiding something. The way his nails dig into the cushion. How his fingers twitch slightly. He notices everything, even the facial expression.

"You can relax, I won’t tell anyone." Xin Linhua pats his knees "Truth be told, I don’t know what your abilities are, but I experienced them during the simulation."

Rong Yizhan’s expression eases softly, even his fingers straighten out. Then his expression morphes to coldness and irritation. He just got played by Xin Linhua and he fell for it!

"Hehe you’re angry?" Xin Linhua chuckles "Your face is all icy and everything. You look like you wanna kill me."

"Shut up." Rong Yizhan’s cold voice echoes.

"No." Xin Linhua moves to sit beside him "But I am curious though. What in the world did you do? That backlash could have driven you insane."

"None of your business."

"Okay, okay. Next question."

"What is this? Twenty questions?"

"This is an important one." Xin Linhua mutters.

"What is it?"

"Do you...have any relations with the Rong family?" Xin Linhua carefully asks "Like the head of the family or his siblings? Or anyone else? Literally any relations?"

Rong Yizhan stays quiet. His expression remains the same, not shifting at the slightest.

"No."

"Really?"

"I have nothing to do with your fiancee’s family."

"Oh..." Xin Linhua nods "Sorry, I must have been paranoid. That family has been after mine for a long time now. So Rong isn’t an exclusive family name, I see. But considering your Rank, your family must be powerful."

"That’s enough questions." Rong Yizhan turns him down.

"Okay." Xin Linhua raises his hands "That’s enough. I already got my answers. And for the record, she’s not my fiancee."

Xin Linhua stands and stretches his bones. He rotates his shoulders a bit.

"You should get some rest." He walks towards his bedroom door "I have to take a proper bath. I’ll leave for the training grounds once I’m done."

Rong Yizhan gives no reply, but Xin Linhua smiles regardless. He knows Rong Yizhan heard him, but he’s too stubborn to reply.

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"You’re in a good mood today." Hirano leans on the wall with his arms folded.

"Do I?" Xin Linhua raises an eyebrow.

"Yeah. You keep smiling and shaking your head even since you walked in here."

"Oh..." Xin Linhua laughs softly "That’s because I was thinking about something."

"Uhn?"

Xin Linhua finishes wrapping his hands and tucks his hood properly.

"Okay, let’s get to training." He confidently declares "I might even kick your ass while I’m at it."

"Woah." Hirano laughs "I guess I should watch out uhn?"

The two laugh and pat each other’s back as they walk towards one of the training mats at the east side of the room.

"You know..." Hirano gets into position "You’re the only guide who’s ever dared to venture into a rift, low ranked or not."

"I think of it as an expenditure." Xin Linhua narrowly evades the blow "Also, I have a few months left to form a bond with my Sentinel. With his cold attitude, that’ll take forever. I’m just speeding things up."

"I have to hand it to you, you actively seek ways to die. First you paired yourself up with Phantom, now you want to bond with him. I bet you think bonding is easy."

"Nah, not really. I have a question though."

"As long as you don’t lose focus, ask away."

"Do you know his real name?"

Hirano stops. His brows furrows slightly, his posture relaxing a bit.

"Phantom?"

"Yes. Do you know his real name?"

"The only thing I know about that guy is his face." Hirano falls back into routine "Any other thing, it’s impossible to find. His name, his identity, what family he came from, no one knows. Not even the institute."

Xin Linhua falters. The punch lands on his shoulders, but he just shakes it off.

If what Hirano says is true, then he’s the only one who knows his name. Rong Yizhan. He’s like a tangled web shroud in darkness. Difficult to figure out and impossible to find.

"I’ve known him for seven years, and you’re the first human he didn’t kill under 24 hours. That’s an achievement."

Hirano plops onto the mat, and Xin Linhua follows. They heave softly.

"I’ve never seen him like this. On some days, it’s like he’s shrouded in darkness. Other days, the aura around him makes it impossible to get close to him. You know we can sense these things so sometimes, just being in his presence makes me feel like I’m suffocating."

"I get what you mean..." Xin Linhua groans softly.

"You want to know more about him?"

"I intend to."

"I don’t have useful information."

"Anything is fine."

"Then..." Hirano leans back "Seven years, i was the one who discovered him entering that rift. It was tragic, I tell you, bodies and blood everywhere. We lost a lot of people that day, guides and Sentinels alike."

"So I’ve heard." Xin Linhua nods.

"I just got admitted back then. It hasn’t even been a week and my first encounter with a rift almost became my last. C-Rank, y’know, I was amongst the last batch they deployed. I gagged a lot that day, I still smell blood to this day. I have to say, I owe Phantom my life. If he hadn’t gone into that rift, I’d be dead by now."