Chapter 64#

Wandering Photos 10#

While grumbling about Mu Yanshen under his breath, Fang Xiyu still followed him to go visit Tang Beihe.

From any angle, Tang Beihe was an utterly ordinary teenager.

His talent, personality, even his appearance—none of it stood out particularly.

Fang Xiyu hadn’t met Xiao Bai yet, so he had even less of a reference point to compare.

“Maybe it’s just chemistry at first sight,” Fang Xiyu mused, stroking his chin.

“You don’t have to force yourself like this,” Mu Yanshen said, casting him a meaningful glance.

Fang Xiyu covered his face with his hand and let out a long sigh. He couldn’t help muttering quietly, “So why is it that he can do it, but I can’t?”

No matter how he looked at it, he was at least a little more talented than Tang Beihe, wasn’t he?

And when it came to personality, he didn’t think he was the type to easily rub people the wrong way.

Yet back when they first met, when he tried to latch onto Chu Chenli’s coattails and apprentice himself, the guy always refused with a heart of stone.

That period of experience was enough for Chu Chenli to compile a whole manual of fancy rejection techniques.

Although later, once they actually became teammates and had opportunities to train together, Chu Chenli would occasionally offer some pointers—but that was only because it was for the whole team, and it was nowhere near as “gentle and considerate” as how he treated Tang Beihe.

Fang Xiyu thought he had long gotten over it, but seeing such differential treatment with his own eyes made it hard to maintain complete equanimity.

Mu Yanshen, on the other hand, appeared much more composed. He even had the spare energy to give Fang Xiyu a consoling pat on the shoulder.

Fang Xiyu couldn’t help but suspect that the guy beside him just didn’t want to be the only one feeling unbalanced, so he dragged him along to share the pain.

Seeing someone else unhappy made him feel better.

When Chu Chenli turned around and noticed them, the two were already sitting on the steps, wrestling with each other.

“What are you two doing?” Chu Chenli asked.

“…Just helping him catch his breath.” They simultaneously lightened their grip and pretended to pat each other’s chests.

“Oh.” Chu Chenli turned back as if this was nothing unusual.

Not far away, Tang Beihe stared wide-eyed at their lightning-fast change of expression, his own face twisting with complicated emotions.

By the time the day’s training ended and everyone was packing up to leave, Tang Beihe couldn’t help but quietly ask Chu Chenli, “Master, do your friends not like me?”

Chu Chenli ruffled his hair. “Of course not.”

But the way those two looked at him felt like it could bore a hole straight through him.

Tang Beihe complained inwardly but ultimately didn’t say it out loud.

If He Ziyue were here, she would probably sagely tell him not to take it to heart—this was just the ugly jealousy of certain unreachable men.

Fortunately, there was still one reliable adult present.

Fang Xiyu took the initiative to strike up a conversation with Tang Beihe. After greeting him, he pointed at his right shoulder and said, “The dodge you did just now was a little late.”

Tang Beihe blinked before realizing. “You mean during training just now?”

Fang Xiyu nodded. “Since you’re still young and new, Ah Li probably didn’t push too hard. And with his own reaction speed, that dodge was effortless for him—but it’s different for you.”

Tang Beihe was a bit surprised. “…Huh?”

He instinctively turned to look at Chu Chenli.

Chu Chenli also paused, then seemed to ponder. “Is that so.”

Fang Xiyu volunteered, “How about I help train him? On this front, I might have more experience than you.”

Chu Chenli had no objections. “But won’t it interfere with your own missions?”

Fang Xiyu smiled. “Even if there are missions, it’s not like I’m stuck day and night without a single spare moment.”

So before Tang Beihe could even react, the two had already hammered out a revised training plan.

Tang Beihe was a little dazed. For some reason, he turned to look at Mu Yanshen.

He had assumed Mu Yanshen would be disappointed or unhappy, but the opposite was true.

Mu Yanshen’s expression was light and relaxed. Watching the two discuss the training plan, the corners of his lips lifted slightly; he was practically humming a tune.

He was clearly in a good mood.

Tang Beihe didn’t hold him in deep reverence, so he slowed his steps, shuffled closer to Mu Yanshen, and couldn’t help but ask in a low voice, “Did you deliberately bring in another person to help Master train me… to split the time he spends on me?”

Mu Yanshen’s gaze dropped slightly, lips still curled, but there was a look of condescension.

Tang Beihe immediately fell silent. He slowed his pace again, putting a little distance between himself and Mu Yanshen.

When he looked up again, he realized Mu Yanshen was much taller than him.

But that oppressive aura from the height had only flashed by for that one moment.

“I really don’t like you that much. But don’t misunderstand—I don’t dislike you that much either,” Mu Yanshen said. “It’s just that whatever Ah Li wants to do, whatever the reason, we’ll support him.”

Fang Xiyu was no exception.

Compared to Mu Yanshen, or even to Chu Chenli, Fang Xiyu was the one better at guiding and training newcomers.

Tang Beihe inexplicably felt a pang of shame.

“But,” Mu Yanshen raised an eyebrow and smiled, “splitting up the time was indeed one of the reasons.”

Even if it was the most trivial reason.

Tang Beihe was left speechless.

Mu Yanshen reached out, pressed a hand on his shoulder, and lowered his voice, enunciating each word: “For Ah Li’s sake, you absolutely, absolutely must not die, got it?”

…

After sending Tang Beihe back, the three of Chu Chenli received a call from He Ziyue summoning them to the tavern.

She claimed it was a welcome-back feast to rid Fang Xiyu of bad luck after finally being released from the medical quarters—though sixty percent of the time she was just looking for an excuse to eat.

The first time she’d visited, she’d accidentally discovered that the tavern’s chef had good skills.

Ever since, she’d been a regular. Others came for the drinks, ordering a few small dishes to go with them—she came just to eat (and always paid properly, of course).

She also added that she happened to run into Xiao Bai.

Before Chu Chenli could ask if this meant there was another “job,” they had already reached the mouth of the alley. Someone brushed past them and hurriedly ducked into another path.

A moment later, someone else burst out of the tavern in a fluster, nearly crashing into Fang Xiyu.

Chu Chenli reached out and grabbed the person by the back of the collar. “Xiao Bai?”

Xiao Bai looked up in surprise, his face lighting up. “Ah Li?”

Chu Chenli glanced behind him. “A job?”

Xiao Bai shook his head. “Something came up and I needed to find the boss—ah, damn it!”

Suddenly remembering his original purpose, he craned his neck to look behind Chu Chenli, but only saw an empty street. No sign of any figure.

“Lost him…” Xiao Bai sighed.

Chu Chenli thought of the person who had brushed past them just now.

That was plenty of time for him to find a hiding place.

“He stole something from the shop. I noticed him when he was already running out,” Xiao Bai explained, a little regretfully.

The tavern owner pushed aside the curtain and called to Xiao Bai, “No need to chase it. It wasn’t anything important—oh, your friends are here too?”

He spotted the people behind Xiao Bai and enthusiastically invited them in.

Since the downstairs seats were all full, he led them upstairs.

He Ziyue was already sprawled on the sofa, nearly blackout drunk. The area around her was a mess—possibly from her drunken rampage. Many things had fallen out of the cabinet, and Si Yue and Hua Jin were crouched nearby, tidying up.

The owner scratched the back of his head, a bit embarrassed, and told them to leave it, he’d handle it.

They had originally just wanted juice, but he’d accidentally served them newly brewed fruit wine, which was quite strong. By the time they realized, He Ziyue was already drunk. She’d mistaken the cabinet for a companion and headbutted it, causing the carnage.

Basically, she’d knocked herself out.

Fortunately, no serious damage was done. Hua Jin felt guilty about the mess and insisted on helping pick things up. Not knowing how to sort them, they crammed everything into the open cabinet for now.

As the owner helped organize, he mentioned what had been stolen.

It was just some old junk he’d been planning to throw away.

A couple of days ago, he’d noticed the cabinets upstairs were tilting—likely because the wooden legs had worn down over time, worsened by the humid weather lately. He’d decided to take everything out, set aside what wasn’t needed, and wait for a sunny day to fix the cabinet legs and reorganize.

The unwanted items had been carefully packed and temporarily placed behind the counter downstairs.

A customer who’d been turned away earlier due to lack of seating might have been spiteful, or thought the package contained something valuable, so he snatched it and ran.

Xiao Bai had chased after him without thinking.

The owner had only belatedly caught on and told him not to worry.

After clearing up, the owner brought out a plate of bean cakes, saying they were for Xiao Bai.

Xiao Bai had tried them last time and seemed to like them a lot, so the owner remembered.

Xiao Bai’s eyes lit up. He thanked the owner and took the plate, chatting with him in a way that showed they were already quite familiar.

This was Fang Xiyu’s first time meeting Xiao Bai. He didn’t stare—that would be rude—but quickly got a sense of what kind of person he was.

A little timid, not particularly brave, but very fond of meddling in others’ affairs, curious about everything. He didn’t seem very bright, but his words and actions had some measure.

All in all, not an annoying person.

Xiao Bai didn’t notice Fang Xiyu’s scrutiny. He was engrossed in his conversation with the owner. Hua Jin, however, noticed and glanced at him, then asked Fang Xiyu, “Interested in him?”

Fang Xiyu shook his head. “They seem pretty close. Did they know each other before?”

Hua Jin shrugged, indicating he wasn’t sure—they didn’t have much communication. “Probably only been a few months since they met. But the owner really likes him. He once mentioned that Xiao Bai reminds him of an old friend—maybe it’s love for the person extending to him.”

The owner was warm to all customers from the Central Base, but his care for Xiao Bai was in a league of its own.

But things involving the past weren’t appropriate to pry into.

Fang Xiyu turned back to continue discussing Tang Beihe with Chu Chenli.

In the end, the person who had organized the welcome party was still unconscious on the sofa, and Si Yue had to haul her up and take her home.

Hua Jin was about to leave with them, but turned to see Chu Chenli still standing there.

“Ah Li, aren’t you coming back?”

“I’m going to walk Xiao Bai home,” Chu Chenli said. “You two go ahead.”

Fang Xiyu glanced between them, waved to Chu Chenli and Mu Yanshen, then left with Hua Jin.

As they went downstairs, they overheard the owner muttering to himself, “The photo… I can’t find it…”

Xiao Bai said, “Maybe it accidentally ended up in that bundle.”

The owner smacked his forehead and sighed. “Probably.”

But he hadn’t even seen the customer’s face, and had no idea where to start looking.

Xiao Bai eagerly volunteered to help.

Fang Xiyu and Hua Jin closed the door behind them, and the voices faded.

“Is he always this…?” Fang Xiyu searched for the right word.

“Meddlesome,” Hua Jin supplied bluntly. “But sometimes it’s not a bad thing. He’s helped Ah Li a lot before.”

“No wonder Ah Li is so attentive to him,” Fang Xiyu said, understanding.

“Ah, that… it’s not just that.” Hua Jin’s expression turned complicated. “This Xiao Bai, he’s… how should I put it? He has a kind of accident-prone constitution.”

There was a certain distance between the city district and the base, but for the safety of ordinary citizens in the city, there were many sentries and patrols along the way. In theory, it was a very safe road.

Yet even walking such a road, Xiao Bai often encountered all kinds of unexpected incidents.

Running into Awakened appearing out of nowhere was common enough. There had been patrollers falling ill right in front of him, and arguments or even robberies happening on the road—several times already.

He’d gotten various injuries, none too serious, but it seemed more like luck than anything else.

The first couple of times, it could be dismissed as bad luck, but the frequency of Xiao Bai’s accidents was high enough that even Hua Jin, who didn’t interact with him much, had heard of it.

Chu Chenli was also afraid something might happen to him along the way, so whenever they met on the road, he would walk him an extra stretch.

Fortunately, the district Xiao Bai lived in wasn’t too far from where they stayed.

Fang Xiyu couldn’t help but exclaim, “That’s really tough.”

He meant for Xiao Bai.

As for Chu Chenli, being able to ensure that his friends were safe within his line of sight was something that made him happy.

Hua Jin gave a perfunctory reply. “Yeah.”

Fang Xiyu looked at him again. “But you know what? Maybe you should get out more, make some new friends.”

Hua Jin said absentmindedly, “We’ve had a lot of wounded lately. I don’t have much free time.”

Fang Xiyu asked, “Aren’t there other people in the medical department?”

Hua Jin said, “Everyone’s busy.”

Fang Xiyu: “Excuses.”

Hua Jin was silent for a moment. He had actually been spacing out, not fully absorbing Fang Xiyu’s words, but he could feel the worry behind the reproach.

“Let’s talk about it after this busy period. You should know that the number of Awakened has been rising sharply. Fortunately, there are a few new healing ability users—they need time to train too. Once things settle down, I’ll consider expanding my social circle. For now, occasionally going out with you all is enough to relax me.”

Fang Xiyu patted his shoulder. “Don’t push yourself too hard. We’re still here.”

Hua Jin nodded, his tense shoulders relaxing a little.

They slowly walked into the depths of the night, catching up with Si Yue ahead.

…

Fang Xiyu had expected he’d be seeing Xiao Bai often from now on.

But he didn’t expect the second time he saw him to coincide with one of the “incidents” Hua Jin had mentioned.

He was on his way to find Tang Beihe when, just as he reached a crossroads, Xiao Bai came charging out of a side path and crashed into him, knocking all three of them to the ground.

Thud—

A dull sound, and they all tumbled to the floor.

Rubbing his forehead, Fang Xiyu sat up first. When he saw Xiao Bai, he couldn’t help frowning. He had intended to dodge, but the command “Stop!” that rang out in his consciousness startled him so much he almost thought Mu Yanshen was nearby.

In that moment of shock, his feet were nailed to the ground, making him a human roadblock.

Xiao Bai quickly snapped out of it, fumbling to stuff his work badge into his collar while endlessly apologizing to Fang Xiyu.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I didn’t think anyone would be here. Are you okay? Do you need to go to the hospital?—”

The other victim—a youth on a skateboard—had already scrambled up and was about to slip away, but Xiao Bai, still drowning in guilt, hadn’t noticed.

Fang Xiyu reached out and grabbed the youth by the back of the collar.

“…” The youth’s face flushed red. Eventually, unable to bear the choking pressure, he flailed and twisted his head back like a turtle on its back.

“Let—let go of me!” the youth rasped.

Fang Xiyu obediently let go.

The immense force gripping his neck suddenly disappeared. The youth, who had been struggling fiercely, fell flat on his face.

—Face down.