Not a detective

Page 242

He spat out a mouthful of saliva.

"Damn it, what a pity, those two should have died together."

Great.

At that moment, that was all I could think about. Luckily, Xu Qishi wasn't in the same exam room as me, and she had a private car to pick her up, so she escaped this ordeal and didn't have to suffer with me.

As long as she is safe and sound, I have found a little bit of hope and comfort.

I know where I went wrong.

After that incident, I thought about the possibility of revenge, about maintaining a good relationship with the food stall owner, and about Xu Qishi's safety—

But they didn't think about their own safety, nor did they think that they would also be targeted.

...Looks like I'm still too naive.

Was it wrong to meddle in other people's business? Was it wrong to try to be a hero and think about doing a good deed? Even if I encounter such a situation again, I still want to go this way.

I only hate that I don't have enough power to protect myself and defeat these scumbags. If I could take them all down by myself, I wouldn't care about traps or ambushes.

As long as you have enough power, you can do whatever you want.

My fingers gripped the ground so tightly they seemed to draw blood. The physical pain was no longer enough to overwhelm me; I was filled with a burning, piercing rage.

But this anger can't be transformed into anything; it can only be vented within oneself, a roar in one's heart.

I can't even defeat one person, nor do I have the chance to make one person perish.

Even shouting loudly wouldn't work. That woman was probably one of them. She shouted on purpose, but only I heard it. It probably didn't reach the outside streets.

Although the surrounding area is a residential area, this group has probably been shouting here for more than just one day. They've been making noise day and night, but no one dares to do anything about it. They probably think it's just their own self-amusing "help" cries and will ignore it. Even if I shouted "help" now, I'd probably be mistaken for crying wolf. These people are pretty smart...

I laughed sarcastically, coughing up blood that flowed back from my mouth, choking and spitting it out repeatedly.

I've always thought that using my brain can solve all problems. Like last time, I came up with a quick idea and was quite pleased with myself, thinking I'd solved it effortlessly.

This is how civilized people handle things. I'm educated... I can't solve problems with my fists like these thugs...

Looking back now, I realize I was completely wrong.

You can't do without strength. If I had to do it all over again, I would rather do what Xu Qishi said and work out my muscles properly...

"Isn't he taking the college entrance exam today? How come he got such good grades?" The leader sneered, "Break his hands."

I heard the sound of blades scraping together.

"Boss..." The younger brother seemed somewhat afraid.

"Just do what I tell you! What are you talking so much nonsense for!" He seemed to have just slapped her, and roared, "Break her legs too, I said it!"

The knife was held to my body, its coldness biting to the bone.

Sure enough, they had their sights set on this day. I thought that after half a month of peace and quiet, I had let my guard down, but I never expected that they would make their move on the day of the college entrance examination.

The thought of the exam hall so close by, the admission ticket and stationery packed in my backpack... and all those things that represent my future, makes my heart ache unbearably.

In that final moment, I seemed to hear the exam bell ringing.

The intense pain in my hand caused me to faint again.

...

Blurry, blurry.

Blurred vision, blurred consciousness, dim lighting, and vague pain.

I can't feel anything; it's as if my soul is floating shallowly outside, about to lose contact at any moment.

It felt like I was observing myself lying in a pool of blood from a third-person perspective; there was hardly a patch of intact skin, a truly gruesome sight.

Police sirens blared outside, and paramedics hurriedly lifted me onto a stretcher, connecting me to a host of medical instruments and shouting incomprehensible medical terms.

A girl broke through the crowd, ignoring the pulling and tugging, and dragged me to my bedside:

"A-Qian...A-Qian!!"

Xu Qishi cried until her eyes were blurry and her face was all scrunched up.

Judging from her appearance, she seemed to have run in a very disheveled state.

"Why aren't you taking the exam...?" I struggled, managing to make a tiny sound: "You're not taking the exam here, are you?"

"To say such things at a time like this..."

She cried even harder, her hands trembling as she groped for my body, ignoring the blood on them. "I... I felt a panic as soon as I sat down, something was wrong. I was worried about you, so I rushed out... I knew you were here, I knew you were here, I don't know why, but I'm too late... I'm sorry..."

"You're silly." I laughed. There's actually this kind of telepathic connection; it means our relationship is pretty good. "What if it's just a misperception...? Then... it's all over?"

"I hope it's just my imagination...that's all! If I miss the exam...and you're safe and sound in return..."

She buried her head deeply and whispered in anguish.

I could no longer give a decent answer; my eyes slowly drooped, and an uncontrollable heaviness dragged me down.

I could vaguely hear medical staff pulling her away, saying not to delay her treatment.

Xu Qishi let go, still desperately calling out, "Don't sleep...! A-Qian! Don't sleep!!"

But I'm sorry, it seems I can't keep this promise... as well as traveling together, going to university in the same city, confessing my feelings, proposing... everything.

In my final moments, I thought I heard her words, though I don't know if it was just my imagination.

The girl stood alone in the pool of blood, watching the ambulance drive away.

"Lu Chuanqian, let's get married?"

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The Golden Treasure Chest will be paid out in 3 days with bonus chapters, 7 chapters and 1.5 words per day, until the end.

Winter of Man: Chapter Twelve - Reincarnation

"After that, I couldn't be saved and I died."

Asakawa Riku snapped out of his reverie and came to his senses: "You can stop now. I've remembered everything."

Over the past three months, this memory has been played out hundreds or even thousands of times.

It's like a never-ending, torturous nightmare.

Each time, he entered with entirely new feelings and without any prior knowledge, and each time he made the same choice, and then died.

It's like an endless cycle of time.

All the pain, feelings, sadness, anger, and humiliation were real, and Asakawa Riku experienced them repeatedly in despair, dying again and again.

This was at Asakawa Riku's own request. He wasn't trying to punish himself, but rather to recall as many details of that experience as possible.

The more detailed the better.

He no longer wanted to forget it; it was such a deeply etched memory, how could he forget it?

It can be said that this incident is the reason why he has worked so hard and devoted himself to practicing martial arts in this life, delving into it so deeply. He didn't want to experience this sense of powerlessness and humiliation again, and he didn't want to die in obscurity. He wanted to have room to fight back when faced with problems, so he was determined to hone himself and become the person he is today. This determination was indispensable.

At the same time, this is also an important origin of his becoming "Faceless Man". Asakawa Riku did not want people like him to be harmed again, and he also hated evil people. It was because of this hatred that he became the vigilante who shuttled through the city at night. Without this obsession, it would have been impossible to have such perseverance and determination to do this.

This memory was firmly etched in his mind, but it was slowly forgotten from some point onwards, which is why "Nue" was so disappointed in himself.

No, he knew when it was.

It was during the "Nue no Natsu" event in his third year of junior high school that he fought with Uta Asukai, and after that, he began to forget that memory.

So he no longer had any obsession with "Faceless Man" and just wanted to be an ordinary high school student, and that obsession was worn away.

His memory had been tampered with, once again.

"What's the point of all this?" The girl in the white dress sitting opposite me casually toyed with her hair. "What's done is done, and even God can't undo it."

The culprit is right there; she is Shii Asukai… or perhaps she should be called Shii Xu.

Asakawa Riku silently gazed at her. Even though she was the one who had harmed him to that point, and he was now lying on the hospital bed, barely clinging to life, he couldn't muster any hatred for her.

Asukai Shi is also a time traveler. She was originally his childhood sweetheart, his ex-girlfriend... the most important person to him.

He died in an accident in 2008 and then traveled through time.

Unexpectedly, Xu Qishi also traveled through time, taking the identity of Asukai Shi.

Asukai Shi is three years younger than him... does that mean she traveled from three years in the future, to 2011? No, her age seems to be easily changed and cannot be used as a criterion for judgment.

Asakawa Riku felt both confused and clear-headed.

Once this crucial clue was revealed, it seemed that many of the previous doubts were easily resolved...

This includes Asukai Shi's identity as a genius writer, because she is a time traveler; Asukai Shi's identity as a Chinese exchange student, because she is indeed Chinese; and why Asakawa Riku felt both familiar and strange when he first saw her, because he did remember that face... but his memory had been erased. Therefore, he felt both closeness and fear, familiarity and strangeness.

She is indeed the fox spirit "Tamamo-no-Mae," reincarnated from Chinese legend.

Her debut novel, "The Reincarnation of a Celestial Maiden," seems to hint at this...

However, at that time, Asakawa Riku could never have imagined it.

It wasn't until he slowly regained his past memories during the "Orochi Trial" that he remembered these fragmented pieces.

That finally gave me a reason to find [Asukai Shi].

"Finally see you."

Asakawa Riku was overwhelmed with emotion, unable to express it.

The repeated exposure to this painful memory, especially, caused his emotions to erupt almost instantly.

However, the girl sitting opposite her had a tense face and turned away: "...Why wake up? Just keep sleeping and die."

She was very cold.

It was nothing like the affectionate person I remembered; it was completely different.

So the confusing point for Asakawa Riku is, what exactly happened, and why Xu Qishi also traveled through time?

Why did her attitude change so drastically?

Why did she kill him, even turning him into that mangled state with broken limbs? So cruel and cold-blooded.

Although some of the mysteries have been solved, even more enigma has emerged, making them even more elusive.

He was still in a dream, surrounded by a vast expanse of white, with only the girl sitting in front of him. There was nothing else around him, just a hazy, empty void.

Although Asakawa Riku's body was severely injured and crippled, his soul was not dead. Thanks to Moyue's blood, he is currently in a semi-vegetative state and is still living strongly.

He wasn't incapable of doing anything; at least he was still conscious. So he forcibly activated his "fantasy" ability and pulled himself into this space.

This is where Shimi Asu hides, a safe house that seems to be between two worlds, a place no one can find.

Last time, Asakawa Riku used the [True Martial God] technique to tear through space to arrive, but that brief encounter made him remember what this place looked like and what it was like.

Thus, in this dream, he was able to follow the trail and found Asukai Shi once again, through the means of consciousness and soul.

But Shinobu Asukai didn't answer anything; she just made him watch that memory over and over again.

The two remained locked in this standoff for three months.

During these three months, Asakawa Riku could almost recite it by heart, but each time his memory was wiped clean, until this short break.

He looked at the girl in front of him: "That's enough... What I want to know is, what happened next?"

"Follow up?"

Asukai Shi raised an eyebrow slightly.

It seems we've finally managed to move the plot forward.

Asakawa Riku's contemplation was not without result; he said: