“Little Brother Yan?”
The person in front didn’t respond. Chu He raised his voice and said, “Yan Lanyu!”
Yan Lanyu’s first reaction was not to turn his head, but to lower his head and quickly walk away. A trace of unease flashed through Chu He’s mind, but he didn’t think much of it and stepped forward to grab his shoulder. “Yan Lanyu!”
Only then did Yan Lanyu turn his head, a slight smile on his pale face. “Why is it you?”
Chu He looked him up and down and saw that he was only wearing a black shirt and jeans. The hem of his shirt seemed a little wet and gave off a faint smell of blood.
In that instant, Chu He’s heart stirred slightly. He took off his sunglasses and smiled. “I should be the one asking you that. Where’s Deputy Chief Yu? Where are you going?”
“Deputy Chief Yu didn’t come. I have some personal business to attend to out of town.”
“Are you sick? Your voice is so hoarse.”
Yan Lanyu covered his mouth and coughed twice, saying lightly, “Just a small cold… It’s fine. My plane is about to take off. Let’s talk when I get back to Beijing.”
He turned and strode away, but the doubt in Chu He’s heart had reached its peak. “Wait! Yan Lanyu!”
Yan Lanyu turned his head again, but the slightly impatient expression on his face and the tense lines of his body silently declared that he would turn and leave at any moment.
This is too strange, Chu He thought.
Could a person like Yan Lanyu, who had been rescued from overseas, just wander around like this? And did he report his departure to Yu Jingzhong? If he did, would Yu Jingzhong let him go out like this?
“What else is there?” Yan Lanyu said impatiently.
At that moment, Chu He’s mind was in a knot. He subconsciously asked, “…When are you going to pay me back the hundred yuan you owe me?”
·
At the restroom entrance, Zhou Hui walked out while on the phone. “What? Yan Lanyu was hijacked by a demon?!”
“The demon is using Yan Lanyu’s body as a bargaining chip. It severely injured Long Jiu and then fled to the airport in a stolen car. It should be trying to take him back to Japan.” Yu Jingzhong’s voice came from the other end of the phone. “The mirror piece he carries has always been a hidden danger. The Esoteric School won’t give up this treasure that has been passed down for hundreds of years. If we let him be captured, Yan Lanyu will surely be in great danger…”
“Damn it! They dare to touch my designated daughter for the next life!” Zhou Hui was furious. “What do we do now?”
At such a critical moment, Yu Jingzhong almost had his mouth twitch. “What’s ‘designated daughter for the next life’… Forget it. I’ve already notified the members of Team One to search various places like train stations and airports. If you can get to the airport as soon as possible, then immediately…”
“What a coincidence, I’m at the airport right now. When will my little brothers arrive?”
Yu Jingzhong asked suspiciously, “Weren’t you on vacation in hell? Why are you at the airport?”
Zhou Hui: “…”
·
Zhou Hui walked out of the restroom and back into the departure hall.
Not far away, under the departure gate sign, Yan Lanyu looked at Chu He and asked back, “When did I owe you a hundred yuan?”
“…” Chu He was suddenly speechless. As he reached into his pocket to take out his phone to call Yu Jingzhong, he thought to himself, Why did I think of this question? Did my brain short-circuit?
Yan Lanyu seemed to see through his intention to delay. “If there’s nothing else, we can talk when I get back. I’m boarding. See you later.”
Chu He shouted, “Wait!”
Yan Lanyu turned and left. Chu He hesitated for half a second and then immediately chased after him.
There weren’t many people at the airport at this time. Yan Lanyu sensed the footsteps chasing him from behind and suddenly quickened his pace, forcing his way through a few passengers in front. Just as Chu He was about to catch up, Zhou Hui suddenly rushed over from not far away in the departure hall, holding his phone, and roared, “Phoenix Four!”
A loud shout erupted, and many people instantly turned to look. Yan Lanyu and Chu He both turned to look at the same time.
Zhou Hui said sharply, “Stop Yan Lanyu! Quick!”
In that instant, as if a starting gun had fired, Yan Lanyu immediately broke into a sprint. Chu He, without a moment’s hesitation, took off after him!
“Hey!” “Hey, what’s going on!” A few passengers dragging luggage were knocked over. A tour group was knocked askew. The tour guide waved a small flag and shouted angrily at them, “Hey! Are you in a hurry to reincarnate?!”
Yan Lanyu casually grabbed an old lady still wearing a tour group sun hat and pushed her backward without looking back. The old lady tripped in panic, but Chu He caught her in time, handed her to the furious tour guide, and then leaped up, almost stepping on everyone’s shoulders and heads, and rushed forward without his feet touching the ground!
“Stop!” Chu He shouted, grabbing Yan Lanyu’s shoulder from above.
Yan Lanyu turned his head, a demonic smile on his face, and punched Chu He hard in the face, knocking his head to the side!
Yan Lanyu’s strength was actually ordinary. His physique and muscle density were what they were. His attacks mainly relied on curses and Onmyōjutsu. However, this punch made Chu He see stars, a sweet taste rise in his throat, and his ears ring. He almost let go.
Yan Lanyu struggled with all his might, but the Phoenix Wisdom King’s combat awareness, cultivated over thousands of years, had not been completely lost even after nirvana. In the midst of his intense pain, Chu He returned a punch. Yan Lanyu didn’t expect the counterattack to be so swift. His finger bones hit his chest, and there was even a faint cracking sound of bone. The immense force made him stagger backward!
“Who are you!” Chu He shouted hoarsely.
Yan Lanyu got up without a word and ran, but was tackled to the ground by Chu He.
Chaos erupted in the departure hall. Zhou Hui rushed over from a distance.
But at this moment, Yan Lanyu and Chu He were oblivious to everything. The struggle, though brief, was incredibly intense. Yan Lanyu landed a heavy elbow on Chu He’s temple. Chu He fell backward but held onto his throat tightly, not letting go. The force was so great that his nails dug deep into the flesh.
“…” Yan Lanyu’s throat spasmed. He seemed to curse, but couldn’t utter a single complete word.
His side neck was torn, and blood instantly flowed down his neck to the ground. Bloody foam started to form at the corner of his mouth. At the same time, his hands kept scratching at his side. Suddenly, as if he had grabbed something, he raised it and stabbed at Chu He!
From this angle, it was difficult for Chu He to see the blade glinting with a blue light, but Zhou Hui, who had arrived in time, stepped on Yan Lanyu’s wrist and then pushed Chu He away.
With a tearing sound, the blade scraped past Zhou Hui’s black jeans. Yan Lanyu, having landed a blow, staggered to his feet. His eyes suddenly rolled back, showing the whites, and two streams of bloody tears flowed down his face.
The surrounding crowd let out horrified screams. Chu He was stunned. “What is this?!”
Zhou Hui had no time to answer. He was about to kick Yan Lanyu in the chest and knock him down, but at that moment, Yan Lanyu hissed, “You take one more step and see what happens!”
Zhou Hui stopped abruptly—his blade was pointed at his own chest!
Zhou Hui said in a deep voice, “You are a demon. You must obey your master’s commands. Your master told you to bring Yan Lanyu back, but he didn’t say you could just kill him, did he?”
Chu He asked doubtfully, “A demon?”
“Yan Lanyu” smiled, a smile that looked particularly terrifying on his blood-and-tear-streaked face. “Desperate times call for desperate measures. Besides, even if Yan Lanyu dies, I can still control his body to return to Japan. It will be the same then, understand? Why don’t you let me go first? Maybe you can even get back a complete corpse later…”
Chu He took an almost imperceptible step forward, but was stopped by Zhou Hui with a raised hand.
“I can pretty much guess who your master is,” Zhou Hui said flatly. “None of you will escape.”
The demon showed a contemptuous smile.
At that moment, a commotion came from the opposite direction. A dozen or so members of Team One, all dressed in black, rushed into the departure hall first. The airport security and the person in charge also rushed in after them.
The demon glanced at them. In full view of everyone, his entire body suddenly shrank into the air, contorting into an unimaginable posture, and instantly vanished into the void!
“Boss Zhou!”
A few team members ran over, but Zhou Hui waved them off, his face slightly pale.
He plopped down on the ground. Chu He knelt by his leg, pulled up his pant leg, and looked inside. The torn skin and flesh had turned completely black.
“Yan Lanyu’s body has been possessed by a demon?”
“Yeah, Yu Jingzhong called just now, telling us to intercept him at the airport at all costs.”
Chu He bit his ring finger and dripped a drop of blood onto Zhou Hui’s wound. Instantly, the charred black skin emitted a puff of white smoke, and then the wound slowly dried up and scabbed over at a visible speed.
“What are you thinking?” Zhou Hui asked with great interest.
However, Chu He was expressionless. He reached out and, with a sudden burst of strength, helped him up.
Zhou Hui shook his injured leg and said leisurely, “A demon is a ghost refined from a captured sea of blood monster. Although it’s extremely rare for humans to be able to refine one, the strongest Esoteric School in Japanese Onmyodo might actually be able to do it. As for the rumor that a demon’s personality and aura resemble its master’s, it’s just a rumor. So if you, like me, think its scent resembles our big furball’s, you don’t have to worry too much…”
“Shut up!” Chu He finally couldn’t take it anymore.
Zhou Hui started to laugh. “Oh, you’re annoyed. I told you before that there must be something fishy about big furball leaving the sea of blood without a word. You insisted that the dead child was just on a spontaneous trip…”
Chu He slapped Zhou Hui on the head.
The latter’s hair, which had been styled with two kilograms of hair gel, immediately collapsed.
A few team members finally managed to deal with the airport manager with official documents, and then went to arrange for announcements and calm the crowd. Two of the more senior young men walked up and respectfully greeted Team Leader Four, then asked, “Boss, what do we do now? Deputy Chief Yu said if we can’t find little brother Yan, everyone’s bonus will be deducted. What should we do?”
“He’s gone to Japan.” Zhou Hui raked his hair sullenly. “He doesn’t have a passport or a visa. I don’t know how he’s going to get on the plane… Also, there might be people from the Esoteric School here to meet him. Everyone be careful.”
“We will immediately send people to monitor all entrances and exits of the airport, and apply for a warrant to have the control tower monitor all flights to Japan.” The team member paused and then asked with concern, “Boss, how are you? Do you want to go back to the unit to rest first?”
Zhou Hui and Chu He looked at each other.
“If he boards the plane now, it will be too late. Tell Yu Jingzhong we’re going to intercept him on the plane first!”
·
Although the commotion in the departure hall was loud, it was quickly suppressed and did not cause a major disturbance. The nearest few flights were not delayed because of it, including a flight to Tokyo, Japan. The plane was already on the tarmac preparing for takeoff. It was too late to apply for a warrant from the higher-ups to delay the flight.
Zhou Hui encouraged as he ran, “Quick! We can still make it if we mix into that flight!”
Chu He panted, “No… listen to me. The demon knows it’s been exposed. It might not get on this plane…”
“The others all require a transfer. This is the fastest one! It won’t dare to delay at the airport!”
“We… we can’t make it…”
Zhou Hui turned around and scooped up Chu He. A team of airport security guards followed close behind, their momentum like an army crossing the Yalu River. As they rushed down from the control tower, passing staff members stopped in amazement.
Two of the Team One members carried the chubby airport manager, whose feet weren’t even touching the ground. He was sweating profusely and shouting into a walkie-talkie, “Ground control center? Listen to me! There’s a special situation!…”
Zhou Hui rushed down the stairs, burst through the glass doors, and saw a silver passenger plane on the tarmac in the distance, slowly turning toward the night sky.
“Damn it!” Zhou Hui was furious. “Tell Deputy Chief Yu to get an expedited red-headed document to the airport control tower and closely monitor any suspicious individuals on the plane!”
“It… it might not be on this plane.” Chu He was being held too tightly. He rubbed his ribs while panting. “And what if it angers the demon and causes a plane crash?…”
Zhou Hui muttered a curse. He was about to have someone check the next direct flight to Tokyo, Japan, when he suddenly paused.
He seemed to have remembered something. He thoughtfully rubbed his chin and looked at Chu He. “Darling—”
Chu He: “………………”
They looked at each other. For a long moment, no one spoke. The group of team members behind them looked on, bewildered.
“Just this once,” Chu He said after a long while, his face expressionless. “I’ll need compensation for emotional distress afterward.”
Zhou Hui immediately made a delicate gesture with his hand. “My lady! Isn’t all of my humble self’s property already yours?!”
·
Five minutes later, in an inconspicuous corner of the airport runway.
A golden-red halo rose into the night sky, like a veil dancing in the wind, or like the ever-changing aurora, displaying a breathtakingly magnificent posture.
In the halo, the young man’s body transformed into countless points of light, then reassembled into the form of a phoenix, spreading its flame-like wings in all directions.
Zhou Hui grabbed the phoenix’s feathers and flipped himself up, straddling its back steadily. He looked down and shouted, “Darling, can you do this—!”
The phoenix said coldly, “If not, can I ride you instead?”
“Darling, that’s not the right way to put it—! If my original form could fly, I would be very happy to have you ride me—!” Zhou Hui pointed to the sky and swore an oath. “You must have forgotten after nirvana. I used to encourage you to ride on top, but you were too shy and would never move on your own—!”
The phoenix suddenly spread its wings and soared into the high sky.
Zhou Hui’s powerful voice still echoed in the mid-air for a long time. “If you don’t believe me, I’ll let you ride me back when we get to Japan—! Ride me for as long as you want, in whatever position you want. As for that demon, let it go to hell…”
The phoenix’s long tail feathers flicked, scattering millions of tiny dots in the night sky, converging into a brilliant stream of light.
Then the light pointed directly east, drawing a majestic river of stars toward Japan.
__
Author’s note:
The couple discovered during their fight that the scent on the demon was a bit like Maha’s. Because the demon is a specialty of the sea of blood and has the characteristic of being tainted with its master’s aura, they deduced that the demon was refined by Maha, and that their dead child had a hand in this matter.
