The Great Creator Chapter 9 - Explosive Specialist

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The bumpy ride left everyone deep in their own thoughts. Yao Guang was mulling over Xing Wu's words, while Long Jian Lu, having taken a major step forward in his mission by finding the Priest in just a single day, was overwhelmed with a sense of unreality.

Meanwhile, the boy in the back seat sat there filled with unease, fear, and confusion.

"I'm going to throw up," he said.

"Sorry," Long Jian Lu glanced at the rearview mirror. "I'm trying to drive as smoothly as I can. I'll slow down a bit more."

"Have you ever ridden a mountain mine cart?" Yao Guang asked, smirking. "Wanna try a little thrill ride?"

"Don't tease him," Long Jian Lu said.

"Some big brothers weren’t this gentle at the start," Yao Guang countered.

"This is different," Long Jian Lu replied. "The vehicle isn’t the same either."

"What are you guys talking about?" the boy asked.

"Nothing," Long Jian Lu and Yao Guang said in unison.

The boy looked at them, confused: "?"

Long Jian Lu kept his eyes fixed on the road, carefully avoiding looking in the rearview mirror, only occasionally sneaking a glance at Yao Guang.

"Where are we heading now?" Yao Guang asked.

"To the Riverside Shelter," Long Jian Lu replied. "It's about 360 kilometers from here."

Yao Guang glanced at the odometer. Long Jian Lu was driving very slowly, barely reaching 40 kilometers per hour. "We won’t make it before nightfall at this pace," he commented.

"We’ll speed up once we get on the main road."

"Are we going to find Number 7?" the boy suddenly asked. "And what number are you?"

"I'm not a Guardian," Yao Guang said. "If I had to say, though, you can think of me as Number 42."

"I'm Number 41," the boy said. "What’s your name? Mine’s Fei Xun. What’s your ability? I don’t recall there being a Number 42."

"He’s a Prophet," Long Jian Lu answered for Yao Guang. "He only recently awakened. He knows almost everything that’s happening in the world. He’s the one who told me where to find you."

Fei Xun stared at Yao Guang, who turned his head and met the boy’s gaze.

"That’s true," Yao Guang admitted. "But it’s not like Long Jian Lu says—I’m not omniscient. My ability is… unpredictable, and I’m still getting used to it."

"Then can you tell me what’s going to happen to me?" Fei Xun asked.

"I don’t know yet," Yao Guang replied.

"You’ll come with us to the Riverside Shelter," Long Jian Lu said as he casually opened the glove compartment, pulling out a pair of sunglasses and putting them on. Through the rearview mirror, he looked at Fei Xun and added, "We’ll find an aircraft and then cross the Northern Mountains together, heading for the Shelter."

"And then?" Fei Xun pressed.

"And then we’ll gather the remaining Guardians," Long Jian Lu explained. "We’ll protect you and head to the World Tree to shut it down."

"No one will respond to your call," Fei Xun said flatly. "Haven’t you realized by now? The era of the Guardians ended with your father’s death. The mission has already been nullified."

"That wasn’t my father," Long Jian Lu’s expression darkened. His voice lowered. "It was just a clone."

Sensing the tension, Yao Guang scratched his head, trying to think of a way to lighten the mood. But before he could speak, Long Jian Lu said, "I’ll give the Guardians three days. If no one comes, I’ll go alone. Priest, will you come with me?"

Fei Xun didn’t answer.

Long Jian Lu turned slightly, giving Yao Guang a questioning look.

Fei Xun suddenly said, "I want to rest for a while."

"Or I could speed up," Long Jian Lu offered. "If I drive faster, we can reach the Riverside Shelter by 10 p.m. tonight."

"I think we should stop somewhere to rest and regroup first," Yao Guang suggested. "Driving at night before hitting the main road is dangerous."

"Is that a prophecy?" Long Jian Lu leaned forward slightly, looking out at the horizon through the windshield. "A sudden ambush?"

Yao Guang didn’t answer directly. Instead, he thought to himself that everyone needed a break to process things. After all, Long Jian Lu had been searching for the Priest for so many years. Now that he’d finally found him, his emotions were bound to be in turmoil.

The same was true for the Priest. Fei Xun had spent so long imprisoned by Xing Wu and had only just been rescued. Now he was being whisked off to fulfill a dangerous mission. He and Long Jian Lu barely knew each other.

Fei Xun might have heard that someone was looking for him, but being thrust into this situation so suddenly couldn’t feel good.

"No, I’m just hungry," Yao Guang said, using an excuse to avoid explaining further.

Long Jian Lu: "…"

"And I’m soaked through," Yao Guang added. "We’ve all just escaped and look like a mess."

With a resigned sigh, Long Jian Lu turned the wheel and headed off the beaten path. Soon, a small, vine-covered abandoned building hidden among the rocks came into view.

Fei Xun got out of the car and took a deep breath, looking around.

"It’s been a long time since I left a shelter," he said, wandering into the waist-high weeds.

"Be careful," Long Jian Lu called after him. "There might be snakes in the grass."

Fei Xun turned to look at him from ten meters away, his gaze steady. Long Jian Lu seemed to hesitate, as if he wanted to approach.

Yao Guang, standing behind the car and rummaging through the trunk, watched the scene. He thought Long Jian Lu might walk over and give the Priest a hug.

But after a few seconds, Long Jian Lu did nothing. He simply turned and walked back toward the vehicle.

"You should talk to him," Yao Guang said quietly. "I’ll look for supplies."

"There’s a camping stove in the car," Long Jian Lu replied. "Probably something Xing Wu used for fishing trips."

Without warning, Yao Guang snatched the sunglasses off Long Jian Lu’s face.

"Hey! Don’t mess around!" Long Jian Lu protested.

"It’s almost evening," Yao Guang said, examining the glasses. "Why are you still wearing these?"

Then he looked at Long Jian Lu’s reddened eyes.

But what surprised him more was something else.

"Wow," Yao Guang said, laughing. "I can’t believe I actually managed to snatch something from you."

"I don’t activate my abilities to guard against people close to me," Long Jian Lu replied, helplessly. "Satisfied? Now give it back."

But Yao Guang didn’t hand the sunglasses over. Long Jian Lu moved swiftly, and before Yao Guang knew it, the glasses had vanished from his hand, as if by magic, and reappeared in Long Jian Lu’s grasp.

This time, though, Long Jian Lu didn’t put them back on. Instead, he tucked them away.

"Don’t change the subject," Yao Guang said. "You should talk to the Priest."

"I don’t even know what to say," Long Jian Lu admitted, glancing toward Fei Xun, who was wandering not far away. "What do you want me to say to him?"

"You’re great at charming people, big brother," Yao Guang teased. "Tell him how long you’ve been searching for him. Pour your heart out. Use that famous charisma of yours to win him over. Go!"

"Ugh…"

"Go on!" Yao Guang gave him a shove, spinning him around.

Long Jian Lu hesitated for a moment, then slowly walked over to where Fei Xun sat on a rock, staring up at the sky.

Yao Guang rummaged through the trunk and found a camping stove, some ready-to-eat packaged food that only required water and heating, and a few cans of food.

Realizing he was genuinely hungry, he set up the camping stove behind the wall of the abandoned building.

This was an old outpost, likely built as a temporary observation post for tracking the movements of the mechanical army. It wasn’t ancient, and inside, there were dusty cots scattered about.

Yao Guang unfolded a collapsible bucket and headed to a nearby river to fetch water, passing by the outpost where Long Jian Lu was standing behind the Priest.

The evening breeze picked up, and neither of them spoke.

"I’ll do it!" Long Jian Lu called out from a distance.

"It’s fine," Yao Guang replied. "I promise I won’t step out of your sight."

Long Jian Lu remained behind with the Priest, while Yao Guang deliberately gave them some space, hoping to foster a bond between them. But the two didn’t interact at all.

When Yao Guang returned with the water, Long Jian Lu had kept his eyes fixed on him the entire time. A moment later, Long Jian Lu approached.

"Just leave me be," Yao Guang said.

"He won’t talk to me!" Long Jian Lu exclaimed. "What am I supposed to do?"

"Did you make some stupid joke and upset him?" Yao Guang asked.

"I didn’t do anything!" Long Jian Lu protested. "Since meeting him, I’ve barely said more than five sentences to him."

"If someone came up to me and started talking about a mission or tried to get me to accept some predestined fate," Yao Guang said, "I wouldn’t want to talk to them either."

"Can we just stop talking about him?" Long Jian Lu snapped, visibly irritated. "I need some time alone."

"Alright," Yao Guang said, raising his hands in surrender.

Seeing Long Jian Lu’s expression, Yao Guang knew he was serious. He handed everything over to Long Jian Lu and stood up.

But before he could walk away, Long Jian Lu said, "You stay here."

"I thought you wanted to be alone?" Yao Guang asked, puzzled.

"Just sit here. Don’t talk," Long Jian Lu replied.

"...Fine."

The situation became strangely awkward. The Priest sat alone in the distance, while the Prophet and the Knight remained silent by the camping stove, where the Knight was busy preparing food.

Long Jian Lu boiled the water, filtered it, and poured it into the packaged meals, letting them cook until the color-changing strips on the packaging signaled the food was ready.

"Go call him to eat," Long Jian Lu said.

"No, you go," Yao Guang replied, noting Long Jian Lu was still in a foul mood.

"Are you a child?" Yao Guang asked, then sighed and got up himself. He walked toward the stone where the Priest was lying down.

"Dinner’s ready, Fei Xun," Yao Guang said, gently rousing him.

The sky had grown almost completely dark, and stars were beginning to shimmer faintly on the horizon. Fei Xun followed Yao Guang back to the camp, where Long Jian Lu handed them spoons. The three of them sat around the fire and began eating.

The atmosphere remained heavy and quiet.

"You’ve been confined by Xing Wu ever since you woke up, haven’t you?" Yao Guang asked, feeling the need to break the silence.

Fei Xun had eaten quite a bit, clearly starving.

"You’re the Prophet," Fei Xun retorted. "Shouldn’t you already know what happened to me?"

"He already explained," Long Jian Lu interjected. "His predictions are random."

Perhaps because Long Jian Lu’s tone came off stern and a bit intimidating, Fei Xun seemed wary of him. On the other hand, he didn’t seem as guarded with Yao Guang and replied honestly, "No, I woke up on my own."

"What?" Yao Guang was taken aback.

Long Jian Lu stopped eating and listened closely as Fei Xun began his story.

"I used to be a volunteer from the central region," Fei Xun explained. "I participated in Dr. Shan’s modification program. The modifications were tailored to each individual’s specific traits."

"What were you before the modifications?" Yao Guang asked.

"Just an ordinary person," Fei Xun said. "I don’t even know why I became the Priest. My older brother was one of the researchers for the genetic modification project. He was supposed to be the Priest, but the procedure caused a problem during his transformation—his neural synapses burned out. I was just the backup option."

Long Jian Lu stared at Fei Xun without saying a word.

"They implanted the entire firewall decryption code into my subconscious," Fei Xun continued. "The code is extremely complex—it can’t be transferred through documents or spoken language. I can only access it under certain conditions, specifically when I’m connected to the Tree at the central control terminal..."

"After I woke up, the war had just ended," Fei Xun added. "I heard the Knights disbanded, and only one member remained..."

"You were looking for me?" Long Jian Lu asked.

"No, I was looking for my family," Fei Xun replied.

Long Jian Lu nodded.

"My family from before the modifications—my mother and my younger sister. I went back to my old home, to what used to be the Vast Marshlands Region, now called the Marshland Shelter. But there was no trace of them. The shelter had relocated multiple times, and my old neighbors were gone too. After that, I found Number 2, ‘The Mage,’ Xing Wu."

"He promised to help you find your family but ended up imprisoning you?" Long Jian Lu asked.

"Yes," Fei Xun confirmed. "That’s exactly what happened. I stayed at the Marshland Shelter for two years. Occasionally, Xing Wu would take me out for walks, but we never found any news about them."

"Do you remember everything from before your modifications?" Yao Guang asked.

"Of course," Fei Xun replied. "Those memories have always been there."

The conversation trailed off, and the three of them lapsed into silence again, staring into the campfire.

The wind picked up on the plains, and the temperature began to drop, growing colder as night deepened.

"Let’s get some sleep," Long Jian Lu finally said. "I’ll set up beds for the two of you. We’ll make do for the night."

He went into the outpost and started tidying up. From the car, he brought blankets and laid down a simple bed. Fei Xun went straight in to rest, while Yao Guang leaned against a low wall, idly fiddling with his pendant in the firelight.

Long Jian Lu glanced at him, his expression asking: Aren’t you going to sleep inside?

Yao Guang gestured at Long Jian Lu, then at the outpost, silently implying: You should go keep him company.

Long Jian Lu waved him off, signaling "forget it," and sat down next to Yao Guang instead.

After a long silence, Long Jian Lu said, "I know of a place where you could recover all your memories from before you woke up. Maybe even learn the origins of your abilities."

"Where?" Yao Guang asked, his eyes lighting up.

"The World Tree. Its central control terminal," Long Jian Lu said. "The core database holds the past records of everyone who’s ever gone into stasis."

Yao Guang nodded thoughtfully. "We were planning to go there anyway, weren’t we?"

Long Jian Lu hesitated. "No. Originally, I was planning to take you to Lu Shan after finding the Priest. You’d stay at the Riverside Shelter while I carried on alone... Maybe there’s another way..."

"I have to go," Yao Guang said firmly. "You’re right. The Tree might hold the answers to everything. But even if I get there, how would I access those records?"

"The central control area is the only human-operated space left," Long Jian Lu explained. "The Tree has never been able to shut it down. But that’s not important. If you trust me, I’ll try my best to connect and retrieve the information for you. I just can’t promise it’ll have all the answers you’re looking for."

"What are you even saying?" Yao Guang said sharply. "How could I let you go and do that alone?"

Long Jian Lu didn’t respond.

"And besides," Yao Guang added, "even if it’s not about my memories, I..."

Long Jian Lu turned to look at him.

Yao Guang hesitated. He wanted to say, Even if it’s not about my memories, I’ll still go with you.

"And you what?" Long Jian Lu asked.

"Nothing," Yao Guang replied.

Long Jian Lu chuckled and reached out as if to ruffle Yao Guang’s hair, but Yao Guang dodged, scowling in annoyance.

"Thank you," Long Jian Lu said. "This mission is for me and the Priest—it’s not your burden to bear. You’ve already done so much for me, and I’m truly grateful. I mean it, Yao Guang. Listen..."

"And I mean it too," Yao Guang interrupted, turning to look directly at him. "If you keep saying things like this, I’ll get angry."

After a few seconds of silence, Long Jian Lu said, "You’re staying at the Riverside Shelter. That’s final. No more arguments."

"And I mean it too," Yao Guang said again. "Can’t you understand? You’re the only person I know in this world. Since waking up, I’ve been with you every step of the way. You’re my only friend. Even though we haven’t known each other long, I... I... I can’t imagine doing anything else. You found me in that lab, and maybe that’s the reason I exist—to give you, the last person still holding on to this mission, some imperfect guidance. No matter what, I can’t let you face this alone."

It was Yao Guang’s seventh day since waking, and by now, he understood most of what was happening.

“Thank you,” Long Jian Lu said earnestly. “I’m truly moved, Yao Guang. You’re the only one who understands me.”

But then, Long Jian Lu added, “You’ll like Lu Shan. He’s a good friend of mine. And Number 5—you might even fall in love with Number 5.”

“This is different!” Yao Guang snapped, his patience wearing thin. Sometimes, Long Jian Lu’s stubbornness bordered on absurdity. He practically shouted, “Listen to me, Long Jian Lu!”

“Don’t hit me with the stove!” Long Jian Lu flinched, trying to stop him.

“Fine.” Long Jian Lu smoothed his short hair, looking somewhat troubled. “Let’s drop the subject and get some rest.”

Yao Guang’s blood pressure spiked, and it took him a while to calm down.

But then Long Jian Lu smirked mischievously and asked, “Are you jealous? Did I guess right?”

Yao Guang glared at him. “Are you trying a new way to get beaten up?”

“You told me to take the Priest and leave,” Long Jian Lu continued, “but you didn’t expect me to come back for you. You’re clearly jealous. You think now that I have the Priest, I won’t care about you anymore, don’t you?”

“That’s your precious mission, isn’t it?” Yao Guang shot back, unable to resist the jab despite knowing it wasn’t fair. After all, it was Long Jian Lu who provoked him first.

Long Jian Lu didn’t respond. He simply spread his legs slightly, plucked a few blades of grass from the ground in front of him, and after a moment, glanced at Yao Guang.

In that moment, his gaze was filled with a depth of emotion that could make anyone falter.

Yao Guang’s heart unmistakably skipped a beat. He knew exactly what Long Jian Lu wasn’t saying—that he couldn’t bear to lose him.

They had met amidst the ruins, entrusting their lives to each other. During the days when Long Jian Lu had nearly given up, Yao Guang had brought him a glimmer of hope and helped him gradually see through the fog.

In turn, Long Jian Lu had been unwaveringly protective and caring, embodying both strength and gentleness. These traits, perfectly balanced, made him stand out in this collapsing world. For Yao Guang, who had no one else to rely on, Long Jian Lu had become a pillar of support.

At that moment, both of them experienced a tangle of emotions. For Yao Guang, who had lost all memories—including those of love, family, and friendship—his connections to others were merely subconscious imprints, impossible to articulate.

Long Jian Lu stood up, glanced into the outpost, and when he came back out, he wasn’t wearing his coat.

Yao Guang lay down on the ground with his eyes closed. Long Jian Lu used his arm as a pillow, staring up at the starry sky as the light from the camping stove gradually dimmed.

“Am I too stubborn?” Long Jian Lu asked.

“You’re persistent,” Yao Guang replied, also resting his head on his arm and lying on his side. “Persistence and stubbornness are two sides of the same coin. It’s a good thing.”

“What if I actually manage to do it?” Long Jian Lu asked.

“Do what?” Yao Guang asked, keeping his eyes closed.

“Shut down the Tree,” Long Jian Lu said.

“Then you’ll have saved the world,” Yao Guang replied.

“I mean, what happens after that?” Long Jian Lu asked.

“After?”

“Maybe even the Creator didn’t plan out the next chapter,” Long Jian Lu said.

“The world will go back to normal,” Yao Guang replied. “The mechanical killers will shut down, people will come out of the shelters, and everyone will live their lives under the sunlight.”

“The Guardians’ duty will end too,” Long Jian Lu added. “And when that time comes, what will you do? I used to think about this a lot when I was wandering alone.”

Yao Guang opened his eyes and turned away, facing his back to Long Jian Lu. “You’ll probably want to find a comfortable place and spend the rest of your life with the Priest, right?”

“I did think about that,” Long Jian Lu admitted. “You’re jealous again, aren’t you?”

“Shut up,” Yao Guang snapped.

Long Jian Lu reached over and patted Yao Guang’s shoulder but said nothing more.

Under the vast expanse of starlight, Yao Guang drifted off to sleep.

He didn’t particularly enjoy sleeping outdoors. The constant vigilance against potential dangers in the wilderness meant he could never fully relax. Even after a night’s rest, the fatigue never truly went away.

The next morning, Yao Guang groggily woke up. At some point during the cold night, he had ended up clutching Long Jian Lu’s warm body for warmth, and Long Jian Lu had generously pulled him into his embrace.

“We still have over 200 kilometers to go,” Yao Guang mumbled. “Shouldn’t we get moving?”

Long Jian Lu, who had used too much of his energy the previous day and hadn’t fully rested, still seemed a bit tired.

“Why are you unbuttoning my shirt?” Long Jian Lu asked. “Were you sneaking a feel of my chest muscles in the middle of the night?”

“Can you be serious for once?” Yao Guang snapped. “Where’s the Priest? Where’s the Priest?”

The outpost was empty. The small barracks inside were deserted, and Fei Xun was nowhere to be found. All that remained on the bedding was Long Jian Lu’s coat.

The two of them rushed to the car. Long Jian Lu put on his coat and said, “He left on his own. There were no enemies here last night.”

“How do you lose track of an actual person?” Yao Guang demanded.

“You should ask him why he ran!” Long Jian Lu retorted. “I didn’t do anything to him!”

Yao Guang was at a loss. In truth, Long Jian Lu’s heightened vigilance only activated against attacks, never against his own people. Besides, they hadn’t anticipated that the Priest would escape. In the wilderness, wandering off alone was practically suicidal. And considering Fei Xun’s importance, falling into the hands of the mechanical army would only lead to his death.

“What about your prediction?” Long Jian Lu asked.

“I don’t know. I didn’t foresee this,” Yao Guang admitted.

Long Jian Lu started the car, analyzing the terrain as he drove toward a nearby forest.

“How do you know he went that way?” Yao Guang asked.

“Anyone would head into the forest for cover, then try to slip through it,” Long Jian Lu explained. “The plains around here are too open and make it easy to be tracked. He must’ve climbed out through the outpost’s back window.”

“No wonder he spent all afternoon yesterday sleeping,” Yao Guang said. “He must’ve been preparing to make a run for it.”

Long Jian Lu found traces of Fei Xun’s trail. Following the edge of the forest, he spotted a piece of cloth snagged on a bush. Flooring the gas pedal, he pushed the car to its top speed.

Once they had a lead, tracking someone by car was just a matter of time.

“I think you two really need to have a proper conversation,” Yao Guang said.

“What’s there to talk about?” Long Jian Lu snapped, clearly agitated. “He knows exactly what needs to be done.”

“What if he doesn’t want to go?” Yao Guang asked.

Long Jian Lu fell silent, his face darkening.

“Not everyone is like you, willing to fulfill their so-called destiny…” Yao Guang continued.

The off-road vehicle came to a sudden, screeching halt. Yao Guang was nearly thrown against the dashboard.

Standing on the open road ahead was Fei Xun, panting as he emerged from the tall grass onto the main road.

He spotted the off-road vehicle and stopped in his tracks. Realizing he’d been caught, he gave up resisting. Wasting an entire night’s energy was pointless—surrender was the wisest option.

“You have something to say to me, don’t you?” Long Jian Lu asked, his tone heavy. “You clearly have a lot of opinions about me!”

Fei Xun turned around to face him.

Yao Guang got out of the car but didn’t approach. Long Jian Lu stopped a few meters away, standing opposite Fei Xun.

Fei Xun remained silent, eyeing Long Jian Lu warily.

“Why?” Long Jian Lu asked. “Give me a reason.”

Fei Xun replied, “Tell me, what do you want me to do next?”

Long Jian Lu’s tone simmered with anger. “You already know. Do you really need to ask me?”

“I want to hear it from you,” Fei Xun said. “Say it. Knight.”

“Go to the Riverside Shelter,” Long Jian Lu said. “Get ready. Then, return to the Shelter and gather the remaining Guardians.”

“And then?”

“Then we’ll head to the Tree,” Long Jian Lu said. “Use your ability to break through the firewall and shut it down.”

“And do you know how to shut it down?” Fei Xun asked. “From your perspective, getting me to the Core Console, plugging me into the Tree—that’s all there is to it, right? Number 3?”

Long Jian Lu’s expression hardened. “This is the power you were born with. It’s your mission. Listen to me—I understand your grief over your brother’s death, but my duty is to protect you until you reach the Core Console. I know it’s dangerous, but I will do everything in my power to keep you alive. If you trust me, I’ll even give my life to protect yours.”

Fei Xun cut him off coldly: “And then what? Supervise me as I upload my consciousness, so I can die along with that supercomputer?”

Long Jian Lu’s face changed.

Yao Guang: “!!!”

He took a step forward but quickly stopped himself.

“Why should I?” Fei Xun demanded. “You want to save humanity, so you force me to die? Is my sole purpose in life to die with the Tree? No, I won’t do it! Why don’t you sacrifice yourself instead?”

“Wait—what?” Long Jian Lu looked utterly stunned. “No one told me that. There’s no other way? It has to be like this?”

Fei Xun stared at Long Jian Lu in silence.

Long Jian Lu, now more lost than ever, instinctively turned to Yao Guang for some kind of affirmation, then looked back at Fei Xun. After a moment, he steadied himself and said, “I understand now. So this is why you refuse, Priest. Is that correct?”

Fei Xun didn’t respond.

“Give me some time to think of another way,” Long Jian Lu said. “There must be another way.”

“And if there isn’t? If the outcome stays the same?” Fei Xun’s voice trembled with anger. “What then? You’ll still expect me to die for humanity, won’t you?”

“Fine,” Long Jian Lu relented. “If you don’t want to die, I won’t force you. Is that good enough? Let’s set this aside for now. But listen to me—if you end up in the hands of the Mechanical Army, things will be far worse.”

Fei Xun took a step back.

Long Jian Lu stepped forward cautiously.

“I understand,” he said softly, his tone soothing. “Come with me. I won’t hurt you, I promise. I swear.”

“Liar,” Fei Xun spat.

Long Jian Lu sensed something was wrong—but it was too late.

In an instant, Yao Guang shouted, “No!”

A blinding flash erupted from Long Jian Lu’s coat pocket. He had no time to react—Fei Xun had set a trap for him!

This morning, Fei Xun had discreetly placed a remote-controlled explosive device in Long Jian Lu’s coat pocket.

Even in the face of danger, Long Jian Lu’s reflexes kicked in. As the explosion unfolded, he instinctively twisted his body, grabbing at the front of his coat and tearing it off. Time seemed to slow as the blast was redirected, sparing his chest from the brunt of the explosion.

“BOOM!”

The deafening blast echoed across the plain. Long Jian Lu fell to the ground, a gaping, bloody wound torn into his lower abdomen and left side, his body a mess of blood and torn flesh.

As soon as Fei Xun detonated the bomb, he turned and sprinted down the road, fleeing as fast as he could.

“Long Jian Lu!” Yao Guang screamed, his voice raw with desperation, as he raced toward the fallen knight.

——

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Translated by ELast.