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Chapter 74: It wasn’t a happy past. It was even horrible.
That was a gigantic gorilla paw.
The paw seemed to have completely rotted, with bones clearly visible, and as it waved, black fragments of flesh fell off. Next, half of a skull emerged from the black mist, opening its mouth towards the area below Luquan.
Xie Zijing’s heart pounded—this was where Xie Liang’s colleagues had set up camp, the field team’s tents!
“Mom!” Xie Zijing ran back to the camp, tightly grabbing his mother, “Something’s happened; you need to run!”
Xie Zijing’s mother was just an ordinary person, confused and nervous: “What happened?”
“Something came out of Luquan!” Xie Zijing dragged her away, “Dad went to handle it…”
“What thing?” His mother was extremely nervous, “Why can’t I see it?”
Xie Zijing was stunned and immediately turned back. Behind them, a thick black mist still shrouded the area above Luquan. The gigantic paw and gorilla skull couldn’t reach the ground, and several indistinct spirit bodies were entangled with the black mist.
He suddenly understood: the giant gorilla was a spirit body, belonging to a guide!
“Mom, keep going that way! Go to Jiwusi Temple!” Xie Zijing shoved a flashlight into his mother’s hand and said, “I’ll go help!”
“You? What are you going to do?” His mother grabbed him and said, “What about your dad? He can handle it, right?”
“I’m a sentinel.” Xie Zijing reassured her, “I’m the best among my peers. Mom, go quickly; Dad and I will be back soon.”
His mother, worried but convinced by Xie Zijing’s words, stumbled away, clutching the flashlight. She wasn’t familiar with these things, but her son’s honors in the national skills competition were indeed impressive, and she believed him.
Xie Zijing turned and ran back to Luquan. The closer he got, the clearer he could see the situation at the center of Luquan.
The previously flat ground had somehow collapsed, creating a huge hole. Black mist continuously poured out from the hole, which was right next to the field team’s camp.
In addition to the airborne black mist, the heavy, tangible mist seemed to weigh heavily on the ground, making Luquan appear as if filled with black liquid, and the surface level was rising.
Xie Liang had already approached the field team. Xie Zijing saw peacock feathers glowing with phosphorescence tangled with the black mist.
The ground-hugging black mist grew thicker, and the gorilla in the air seemed to be weakening. Half of its body had rotted; the remaining half was filthy beyond recognition, covered with indistinguishable things.
A mutated spirit body. Xie Zijing realized that this spirit body belonged to a deranged guide.
The black mist gradually reached the edge of the concave pit of Luquan. Xie Zijing suddenly stopped. His heart pounded wildly, instinctively releasing his own spirit body.
A giant lion landed, shaking its mane and tail. Unlike the Barbary lions Qin Ge usually saw, it was larger and covered in shimmering, golden light, standing out sharply in the inky night.
The Barbary lion sensed danger and stood defensively in front of Xie Zijing, not moving or attacking, but assuming a protective posture.
At the edge of Luquan, just ten meters from Xie Zijing, the black mist churned. A person slowly crawled out of the mist.
He was naked, covered in wounds, with his head shaved bald. His crawling posture was bizarre, and his wrists dragged heavy iron chains.
Intense fear surged through Xie Zijing’s body and “sea area.” This person was extremely dangerous—his instincts told him so.
The man was extremely thin, with his ribs protruding and his limbs covered in old scars. Every joint was abnormally prominent. Noticing the striking lion, he slowly raised his head, his face illuminated by the lion’s faint glow.
Xie Zijing took a step back.
In Xie Zijing’s memory, Qin Ge was both shocked and fearful, shivering uncontrollably.
Xie Liang’s voice called from the center of Luquan: “Don’t worry about him!!! Run!!! Son!!!”
Run! Run quickly! Get away from this person! Qin Ge desperately wanted to grab Xie Zijing and take him away from this terrifying night.
It was Zhou You. Zhou You was completely withered and skeletal.
Instinctively, Xie Zijing turned and started to run as Zhou You stood up. Zhou You was extremely weak, unable to fully stand, his back hunched as if confined to a small space for a long time. The lion faced him, but he showed no interest in it.
“…Son?”
Xie Zijing heard a hoarse voice behind him.
He couldn’t help but look back. The rotting gorilla skull and decayed giant paw descended from the sky, lunging at him.
The lion leaped, swiping at the gorilla with its claw. The gorilla had to retreat immediately, and Xie Zijing fell to the ground. He saw, in the center of Luquan, two giant pythons and countless peacock feathers attacking the gorilla.
They had come to save him… Xie Zijing scrambled to crawl forward, spotting a flickering beam of light in the distance.
But before he could get a clear look, someone slammed him hard on the back of his head.
Dizzy, Xie Zijing’s forehead hit the rough ground. Then, someone grabbed his hair and forcefully pulled him up.
“Are you his son?”
Qin Ge could feel Xie Zijing’s fear and anger intensely. Zhou You’s crazed eyes and half-illuminated face were suddenly lit by the flashlight. Then, a flashlight hit Zhou You’s head, and he grunted in pain.
Xie Zijing screamed frantically: “Mom! Don’t come over! Run!”
But his mother didn’t retreat. She immediately picked up a stone from the ground, throwing it repeatedly at Zhou You as she ran over.
Zhou You glanced at the woman. “She really loves you.” He laughed hoarsely, making a sound as if it came from the depths of hell, eerie and horrifying, “Disgusting…disgusting!!”
He picked up a bloodstained stone and threw it at Xie Zijing’s mother. Before the stone hit the ground, the giant gorilla paw swept towards her.
The lion clawed at the gorilla’s body, even tearing off an arm. But the gorilla’s other hand still pierced through the woman’s body accurately.
Pinned under Zhou You, Xie Zijing screamed madly. His mother had fallen without uttering a word. Zhou You’s hand clamped around Xie Zijing’s neck like a vice: “What he did to me, I’ll make his son experience!”
The trauma to his mother pushed Xie Zijing to the brink of collapse. He struggled under Zhou You, trying to crawl towards his fallen mother. Qin Ge suddenly felt a sharp pain—from the “sea area,” alerting him that Zhou You was invading Xie Zijing’s “sea area”!
Zhou You had found a breach in Xie Zijing’s “sea area,” and almost instantly, the stranger’s consciousness flooded into Xie Zijing’s “sea area.” The intense pain and nausea left Xie Zijing powerless to resist. His limbs convulsed, his eyes wide open, staring at Zhou You above him. Zhou You smiled, revealing blood-stained gums and pale teeth, like a hideous demon.
Qin Ge heard Xie Zijing’s screams. The moment his “sea” was destroyed was swift, yet the pain seemed interminably long. A storm of blood and bone swept from the horizon, everything in the “sea area” crumbled, the sky darkened, foul rain fell, all plants withered, all buildings collapsed, roads were cut off, and blood gradually flooded the streets, corroding the surface.
Just as Xie Zijing was about to pass out, a strong wave of air swept in from Luquan, flipping him and Zhou You over.
Two giant pythons slithered in, coiling around his limbs, dragging him away from Luquan. Peacock feathers pierced Zhou You’s back, and he screamed. The giant gorilla immediately turned, bringing a billowing black mist, and lunged at Xie Liang.
The pythons set Xie Zijing down and quickly returned to Luquan in a white mist, rejoining the battle. Xie Zijing’s bones trembled; regret and fear barely kept him conscious. The pain from his destroyed “sea area” made him almost pass out again. He was now quite far from Luquan, and in his narrow, shaky vision, he saw the distant sky filled with dark mist, illuminated by starlight.
He crawled towards Luquan. His mother was still there; she must have just passed out. She would be fine. Xie Zijing moved a few meters, the pain in his head making him dizzy and his limbs completely weak.
After an unknown period of time, he saw the thick mist gradually disperse. No voices, no sounds of fighting—everything was eerily quiet.
Fear brought back his consciousness. “Dad…” Xie Zijing mustered a little strength to move forward.
“Hey?” His hand hurt; someone had nudged him, “Kid, why are you lying here?”
A lama in a dark red robe, holding a lantern, squatted beside him, tilting his head to study him.
“Are you alive?” The lama poked Xie Zijing’s face.
Xie Zijing grabbed his hand. But he was already exhausted.
Just before passing out, he saw the lama raise the lantern, illuminating his face.
A complex blue-black tattoo covered the lama’s forehead.
The hospital room was eerily quiet. Lei Chi held a pen, spinning it around in his hand. Bian Han sat cross-legged on the bed, silent.
“I’ll ask one more time,” Lei Chi said. “Is there a connection between the Black Battalion and the Special Management Committee?”
Bian Han still didn’t speak.
Lei Chi put down the pen and sighed heavily.
“Alright, I know the answer.”
Bian Han was silent because he couldn’t speak. And the reason he couldn’t speak was that, naturally, there was a connection between the Black Battalion and the Special Management Committee.
Lei Chi recalled the first time he met Bian Han. Bian Han had told him some details about the sentinel and guide turmoil back then. At that time, Lei Chi had asked Bian Han if there were any external forces involved in the turmoil.
Now it seemed that this external force should be the Special Management Committee.
A region with so many special humans couldn’t truly be a lawless place. But the people of the Wangdu District had very strong xenophobic sentiments, so the Special Management Committee and the Crisis Management Office couldn’t just move in rashly. The Black Battalion, in its name, was an autonomous organization of the Wangdu District, but in reality, it was also under the management and control of the Special Management Committee.
If it wasn’t governed, once something went wrong, the Special Management Committee couldn’t shirk its responsibility.
The Black Battalion was established because of the turmoil, and the turmoil was caused by Zhou You. Lei Chi pondered the connections between these events for a long time without saying a word.
He got up and left the hospital room. Xiao Liu hurriedly grabbed his notebook and followed him out. Doctors and nurses entered the room to check on Bian Han’s condition, while Lei Chi and Xiao Liu walked to the end of the corridor.
The night outside was cool, and patrols of mental entities could be seen in the courtyard.
“Did the Special Management Committee know about Zhou You’s existence from the beginning?” Lei Chi suddenly asked. “What do you think?”
Xiao Liu, who had been following this case closely, understood what Lei Chi was thinking. He pondered for a moment and quickly answered, “Regarding the turmoil back then, I think the origin might not be directly related to the Special Management Committee.”
“Why?”
“Because if that turmoil wasn’t handled well, it could easily lead to a direct confrontation between the sentinels and guides on one side and the underground people and half-zombies on the other. This would make managing the Wangdu District even more difficult.”
Lei Chi nodded. “Yes, the Special Management Committee wouldn’t use such a reckless method. So the turmoil was an unexpected situation.”
“…The Special Management Committee had long wanted to implant our forces in the Wangdu District, so they must have been monitoring it all along,” Xiao Liu quickly followed his train of thought. “After the turmoil happened, the Special Management Committee should have quickly realized that Zhou You was a key figure.”
Lei Chi nodded again.
So after the turmoil ended, Zhou You was taken away.
“That adjustor was from the Special Management Committee,” Lei Chi said in a low voice. “And the sentinel who accompanied him is his potential partner.”
“…There are only five psychological adjusters in the country. We know four of them, but for the second one, we can’t find any information on him,” Xiao Liu said. “It turns out that this person’s information is with the Special Management Committee; he’s classified personnel, and we can’t access his information.”
“Classified personnel…” Lei Chi muttered under his breath. “Classified… The Special Management Committee has quite a few classified matters.”
He thought of the missing Falcon Squad and the unknown truth of the Luquan incident.
Xiao Liu touched his chin and suddenly asked, “X was taken away by that adjuster… So how did he appear again later? And why didn’t his social identity change at all?”
Lei Chi: “…He’s a criminal from the Wangdu District turmoil. Yes, he should have been imprisoned.”
Xiao Liu thought for a moment and said, “But when we checked Zhou You’s population information, there was no record of him being imprisoned.”
Lei Chi: “After being taken away, he should have been controlled in a special place. The Special Management Committee wouldn’t let him escape easily; otherwise, they wouldn’t have used such a special regulator to capture him.”
Both fell silent. There are prisons for special humans in various regions. In theory, once someone enters prison, there should be a record in their population information, and it couldn’t be erased.
“Where exactly was he taken?” Xiao Liu asked in confusion.
“Warehouse No. 1, researching mutant plants. Warehouse No. 2, researching mutant animals.” The tip of the pen glided over the paper, writing several firm Chinese characters. Cai Yi spoke as he wrote, “Warehouse No. 3, you know, researching all kinds of strange special humans and special instruments. Warehouses No. 4 and No. 5 are used for storing historical materials and artifacts related to special humans. Warehouse No. 6 started renovations last year and hasn’t been completed yet. It’s intended for the specialized research of rare special humans like sea children and tea ladies…”
“Wait, wait, wait,” Gao Tianyue interrupted impatiently, slapping the table. “You called me over to explain why you didn’t approve the cooperation request for Zhou You and Lu Qinglai and the request for key witness status. What are you writing? Isn’t this stuff we already know?”
Cai Yi looked up, his expression calm. “Director Gao, you’re being very impolite.”
Gao Tianyue’s face lost its usual amicable expression; he was very anxious.
“Zhou You and Lu Qinglai definitely have issues. I don’t understand why the Special Management Committee didn’t approve it. Alright, special humans need protection, I get it, I’m a special human myself. But are our submitted reports and materials really insufficient? Why wasn’t I allowed to participate in your meetings when you discussed it? I’m the Director of the Crisis Office; this is a report from the Crisis Office!” Gao Tianyue’s voice grew louder and louder. “Your meeting procedures were improper! I want to file a complaint! I demand an explanation!”
“So I’m explaining it to you,” Cai Yi gestured for him to sit down. “You actually don’t know everything about the warehouses of the Special Management Committee.”
Gao Tianyue snorted, “I don’t know? Before I went to the Crisis Office, I worked at the Special Management Committee too.”
Cai Yi smiled, but his expression gradually grew serious. He turned the paper in front of him towards Gao Tianyue, “Do you know about this?”
Three hard pen strokes were written on the paper: Warehouse Zero.
Gao Tianyue was stunned, “Warehouse Zero?”
Cai Yi quickly blacked out the three characters with his pen.
“Haven’t you always been fixated on the Luquan incident?” he asked, lowering his voice, “Warehouse Zero is right under Luquan.”
Gao Tianyue’s face changed instantly. The previously sycophantic middle-aged man tightened his face; his gaze was sharp and severe.
“Warehouse Zero is a secret warehouse of the Special Management Committee, very few people know about it,” Cai Yi said. “Luquan was originally an intermittent inland lake, but it dried up due to the diversion of underground water sources. That was a long, long time ago, during the Ming Dynasty, I don’t remember exactly. When the Special Management Committee was established, the first thing they did was find a suitable place specifically to detain extremely dangerous special humans that we couldn’t handle temporarily. Luquan was perfect. So, Warehouse Zero was set up there.”
He drew a big circle on the paper.
“The underground of Luquan is hollow, a large and sturdy special prison.” At this point, Cai Yi suddenly frowned and said, “I’ve never been there, and I don’t want to go.”
“Why?” Gao Tianyue asked in a low voice.
“Such an inauspicious place; not many people have been there. Xie Liang is one of them, and among the people I know, he’s the most frequent visitor. Of course, your old classmates in the Falcon Squad can also go to Warehouse Zero.”
Gao Tianyue was shocked by his previous sentence, “Xie Liang? Xie Zijing’s father?!”
He had investigated Xie Zijing’s parents’ background but only knew that Xie Zijing’s father was an office worker at the Special Management Committee.
“He was personally recruited by Zhang Xiao, trained and approved, and serves as a psychological adjuster for the high-ranking personnel of the Special Management Committee and some special prisoners,” Cai Yi told Gao Tianyue. The prisoners detained in Warehouse Zero were mostly sentinels and guides, and these sentinels and guides were mostly escorted by Xie Liang and his potential partner.
“Xie Liang had a special ability. His spirit body was a peacock, which can release extremely sharp feather-like blades. These feathers can not only injure people but also destroy the ‘sea areas’ of sentinels and guides.”
Gao Tianyue was completely dumbfounded.
“Xie Liang calls this ability ‘cutting’,” Cai Yi said, turning over the report in his hand, “Your report says that Zhou You and Lu Qinglai can destroy ‘sea areas’. But this is a bit different from Xie Liang.”
Gao Tianyue’s face turned completely dark, “What’s the difference?”
Cai Yi almost unconsciously frowned, “‘Cutting’ is used specifically for interrogation and memory erasure. It is extremely painful, and the pain is continuous and long-lasting. Sentinels and guides whose ‘sea areas’ have been cut by Xie Liang’s ability have a hard time recovering their ‘sea areas’. Even with Zhang Xiao, it’s almost impossible.”
“…Xie Liang… such a person, don’t you control him? Does the Special Management Committee really trust him?”
“He’s controlled. Back then, Zhang Xiao was still in the country. He was Xie Liang’s mentor. Every time Xie Liang completed a task, he would visit Zhang Xiao in Warehouse 3 with his potential partner. Zhang Xiao would counsel them before they could go home.”
Gao Tianyue suddenly understood, “…So when the Special Management Committee discovered another guide similar to Xie Liang in the world, they had to control him immediately.”
After speaking, he felt something was wrong, “Wait. You mean, after the turmoil in the Wangdu District, Zhou You was controlled by the Special Management Committee, and then… Xie Liang imprisoned him in Warehouse Zero? So who is this person we are now pursuing?!”
Cai Yi nodded.
“This is also the question of the Special Management Committee.”
Zhou You’s detention cell number in Warehouse Zero was B0064.
There were not many staff members in Warehouse Zero, but they submitted management reports every mid-year and at the end of the year.
For over ten years, all management reports showed that B0064 was “detained normally.”
“…Is there someone in B0064?” Gao Tianyue was stunned by one thunderbolt after another, “Or are the management staff lying?”
“That’s why the Special Management Committee suppressed the investigation request for Zhou You and Lu Qinglai. The Special Management Committee has already started a secret investigation, and on the surface, they don’t want to alarm anyone,” Cai Yi said, looking at Gao Tianyue. “Director Gao, this matter is no longer something the Crisis Office can handle. Forget it; don’t chase after Zhou You and Lu Qinglai anymore.”
“The Special Management Committee knows the truth about the Luquan incident, right?” Gao Tianyue roared, “Then tell me the truth immediately!”
“Accident,” Cai Yi said concisely, “a complete and utter accident.”
Gao Tianyue sneered, “Accident? Zhou You clearly escaped; he must have escaped through the Luquan incident! What exactly have you investigated?! The team that took on this case back then was… Wolf Fang! Yes, the Wolf Fang Squad. All investigation reports were directly submitted to the Special Management Committee. The captain of Wolf Fang was Gao Qiong, who was always thinking about slacking off or retiring. How could you trust him!”
“He was excellent,” Cai Yi smiled, “Director Gao, don’t be angry, when the time is right, we will tell you the so-called truth about the Luquan incident.”
Gao Tianyue completely distrusted him, “All the things you do are for the benefit of the Special Management Committee. Have you ever thought about the interests of special humans? Letting people like Zhou You and Lu Qinglai operate outside is too dangerous.”
Cai Yi: “But what more information can you find by continuing your investigation? You don’t even know the location of the entrance to Warehouse Zero at Luquan.”
Gao Tianyue was furious, breathing heavily. Cai Yi smiled again. “If you want to know the truth quickly, you’ll have to do one more thing.”
Gao Tianyue: “What?”
Cai Yi: “Monitor Qin Ge.”
Gao Tianyue was once again shocked, “Why?!”
Cai Yi: “We already know that he collaborated with Zhang Xiao to restore Xie Zijing’s damaged ‘sea area’. If Zhou You’s ‘sea area’ was once cut by Xie Liang, and if he finds out that Qin Ge has such abilities, he is very likely to seek out Qin Ge.”
Gao Tianyue fell silent.
“Transfer him away,” Cai Yi added, “Leave Beijing, go to the southern branch, the farther the better.”
Gao Tianyue: “If Zhou You really has his eyes on Qin Ge, any move by Qin Ge will be followed by Zhou You.”
Cai Yi smiled.
Gao Tianyue: “That way, you can more easily track his movements, right? Is Qin Ge bait?”
Cai Yi shook his head and said, “No. I actually quite like him. This is for protection.”
Gao Tianyue didn’t respond. After a moment of contemplation, he suddenly looked up and said, “Wait a minute, what about Xie Liang’s potential partner?”
Cai Yi: “After Xie Liang died, his partner resigned and left Beijing. I heard he went to live by the sea in the south.”
Gao Tianyue was taken aback.
“Director Gao, take my advice, don’t investigate further. After all, even someone at my level doesn’t know where the entrance to Warehouse Zero is.” Cai Yi lowered his voice again, staring into Gao Tianyue’s eyes and enunciating each word clearly: “Because I have never been there.”
Qin Ge sneezed several times in a row.
The wind was blowing in from the balcony. He rubbed his nose and closed the balcony door.
Tang Xing called him to sit down, “What are you pacing around for?”
It was already morning. The hospitalized patients had just had their temperature and blood pressure taken. Tang Xing was in normal condition, holding a laptop and working overtime.
Qin Ge had snuck downstairs while Xie Zijing was asleep. He went to Bian Han’s ward, where Lei Chi told him he was no longer needed and suggested he go home to rest. But Qin Ge wanted to talk to Xie Zijing when he woke up, so he stayed at the hospital. In the morning, he saw Tang Cuo buying steamed buns in the hospital cafeteria, carrying a heavy laptop.
Tang Xing had been bedridden for days, and the finance department was extremely busy, with everyone running around in circles. She was feeling much better now and found watching TV and playing games boring, so she asked Tang Cuo to bring her laptop to organize reports.
Tang Cuo went to fetch some water, and Qin Ge chatted with Tang Xing.
“Working overtime in the hospital doesn’t come with overtime pay; the Special Management Committee is really exploiting people.”
Tang Xing laughed, “Yes, but our department is already shortstaffed. They’ve been working overnight for a week. This year’s budget management is particularly tight. Every expense has to be itemized and matched to get the funds. Even old accounts need to be checked. Sorting all these things is making us dizzy.”
“So what are you organizing now?”
“Some subsidy lists.” Tang Xing asked, “By the way, did you know that potential partners can receive state subsidies?”
Qin Ge was surprised, “No. Potential partners get money too?”
“Yes.” Tang Xing rubbed her chin, “Adjusters get subsidies, and so do potential partners. It’s to encourage everyone to take the exams so suitable partners can be matched.”
She laughed, “For example, this sentinel named Jiang Yong, he’s quite old. Even though his potential partner record hasn’t been updated for many years, he still gets a 2000 yuan subsidy every year.”
Something suddenly clicked in Qin Ge’s mind.
Potential partners are the most loyal companions of adjustors, but Qin Ge had never heard of Jiang Yong. Zhang Xiao’s potential partner was Gao Qiong, his own partner was Xie Zijing, and Qin Shuangshuang and Lu Qinglai did not have fixed partners; they would only find temporary partners when faced with difficult tasks.
Jiang Yong was already registered, which meant he had a fixed partner.
Qin Ge tightly pursed his lips; this was an unexpected discovery. Jiang Yong was Xie Liang’s partner.
When Xie Zijing woke up, it felt like he had had a long dream. He was tired, weak, and lethargic.
This was not a pleasant patrol; Qin Ge had delved too deeply, unearthing memories he had buried so deep he didn’t even want to recall them.
In the nightmare at Luquan, he realized he was saved by Qing Meizi.
An hour was too short; he wanted to know more about his past. But there was no one else in the ward besides him.
Xie Zijing couldn’t stay there. He got out of bed and slowly walked out of the ward. Taking advantage of the morning rush, he slipped into the elevator.
He couldn’t find Qin Ge, but he really wanted to see him. That was not a happy past. It could even be called terrifying.
Xie Zijing sat on a stone bench in front of the hospital’s history museum, staring blankly at the lush canopy above him.
A hospitalized child was playing on the grass with his released spiritual form. His mother scolded him: “You said you didn’t like dogs before; now you hug them all the time. You were hospitalized because of your allergy to dog fur.”
“It’s not a real dog,” the child muttered, hugging the shepherd dog’s neck. “I won’t hug other dogs anymore, just this one.”
After the child walked away, Xie Zijing raised his hand slightly. A white mist flowed from his body and slowly fell to the ground. A majestic lion stood up from the grass, its golden eyes meeting his gaze.
Its mane shimmered with fine light, exuding an aura of dignity. The lion didn’t yawn or lie down; it just looked at Xie Zijing quietly.
Xie Zijing hugged its neck, and the lion raised its tail and flicked it. He saw Qin Ge walking towards him.
“…My lion,” Xie Zijing said.
Qin Ge nodded, reaching out to touch the lion’s shimmering mane. “It’s beautiful,” Qin Ge said. “More majestic than before.”
Xie Zijing smiled at him. Qin Ge hesitated for a moment, then patted his head a couple of times. “Are you tired?” he asked. “If the ‘sea area’ isn’t comfortable, we can continue tomorrow.”
“It’s okay,” Xie Zijing replied.
As soon as he finished speaking, he buried his head in the lion’s mane.
Whether it was because of Qin Ge’s touch or because he had seen his long-lost parents in the “sea area,” gratitude and guilt filled him with unease. Qin Ge sat beside him, silently accompanying him. When he sensed this bit of kindness, Xie Zijing’s tears fell into the Barbary lion’s fluffy, shiny fur.
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