Chapter 65 – No One Can Stay With You Forever—After All, Even Shadows…

Not long after Yu Tianqi left Happiness Residential Area.

In a hospital somewhere in Luocheng, a male doctor who had been sleeping in his dormitory suddenly opened his eyes and sat up from his bed.

He pinched his chin and murmured to himself: “So Daoist Yu Tianqi is also in Luocheng… This complicates matters.”

“If he finds my location, I’ll be lucky to escape with my life intact.”

“But the plan is already more than halfway completed. If I dare to abandon it now, the Deputy Leader definitely won’t let me off easily.”

“It seems I must accelerate my search for the ‘Sacred Seed’. After our sect sacrificed half of Luocheng to refine it, we absolutely cannot let it remain carelessly in Luocheng – it must be recovered.”

“The Sacred Seed blooms once every ten years and bears fruit once every ten years. Calculating the time, the days for its flowering and fruiting are approaching.”

“Within a year at most, the fragrance of the Black Lotus will drift through Luocheng, and then it will have nowhere to hide.”

“Before that, I must find ways to keep those old fellows in the city occupied and divert their attention.”

“Otherwise, safely bringing the Sacred Seed back to our sect won’t be an easy task at all…”

After speaking, the male doctor returned to bed and slipped under the covers.

A short while later, the male doctor woke up again.

He rubbed his groggy head and looked around with confused eyes.

“Strange… Why do I feel like I got up once? Could I really have a sleepwalking problem?”

“Never mind, I’ll ask my teacher to examine me later. Perhaps it’s just hallucinations from work pressure.”

Having said this, the male doctor got up, put on his clothes, and left the dormitory.

8 PM, Luocheng, in a dilapidated residential area in the southern part of the city.

Zhao Lu’s mother had taken leave early from the housekeeping company today because it was her son Zhao Lu’s eighteenth birthday.

She wanted to properly celebrate for her son.

After putting the specially purchased birthday cake in the refrigerator,

Mother Zhao carefully took out the phone from her pocket and nervously checked the text message that still hadn’t received a reply.

“Strange, why hasn’t my son replied to me? Today is his eighteenth birthday – he said he would come back.”

“But it’s already 8 PM, he should have been home long ago. Could something have happened on the way?”

Thinking this, after hesitating for a long time, Mother Zhao decided to call her son.

But hearing the busy tone that came after a long wait, Mother Zhao began to feel inexplicably uneasy.

She tried several more times, but the phone still went unanswered.

This made Mother Zhao’s heart grow even more unsettled.

“No, my son is so sensible – nothing should have happened to him.”

“Probably something came up at school, and he happened to not have his phone with him, which is why he hasn’t returned my call.”

“Yes, that must be it…”

Though comforting herself this way, Mother Zhao’s expression couldn’t help but become flustered.

After thinking for a moment, she first called Zhao Lu’s homeroom teacher.Upon learning that Zhao Lu had left school early during the day, Zhao’s mother immediately turned pale.

She then promptly called Bian Shouyi.

After all, at this moment, the only person she could think of who might know her son’s whereabouts was the young master Bian who had grown up with her son.

“What’s wrong, Auntie? Did something happen?”

Bian Shouyi, who had been practicing with his sword, set down his wooden sword and picked up his phone to inquire.

“Young Master Bian, has Lu’er come to see you today?”

“Zhao Lu? I haven’t seen him today. What’s wrong?”

Hearing that Bian Shouyi hadn’t seen Zhao Lu either, Zhao’s mother completely panicked, to the point of becoming incoherent.

“Th-then, Young Master Bian, it’s… it’s just that Lu’er seems to have gone missing. I asked his homeroom teacher, who said he left school during the day.”

“He clearly said he would come home for dinner today, b-but he still hasn’t returned.”

Listening to Zhao’s mother’s urgent tone, Bian Shouyi comforted her while putting on his jacket hanging nearby and walking out of the Cultivation Room.

“Auntie, don’t worry. I think Zhao Lu must just be busy with something, so he hasn’t returned yet.”

“I’ll go out now and contact people who might know him. I’m sure we can find him. You don’t need to worry too much.”

“O-okay, thank you, Young Master Bian.”

“Don’t worry, Auntie, it’ll be fine. Zhao Lu isn’t a child anymore. Nothing will definitely happen to him.”

“Mmm…”

After hanging up, Zhao’s mother stood in the dim, old living room for a long time before finally grabbing the bicycle keys by the door and hurriedly leaving home.

Although Bian Shouyi had been comforting her, she couldn’t shake a strange sense of unease.

Zhao Lu’s father had died in the great chaos ten years ago, and she had raised Zhao Lu alone all these years.

It could be said that Zhao Lu was her entire world. She didn’t dare imagine what would happen to her if something happened to Zhao Lu, or whether she could continue on.

So Zhao’s mother decided to go out and search herself.

The first place she would go was Luocheng High School No. 3, where Zhao Lu attended.

Boom!

Just as Zhao’s mother rode her bicycle out of the residential area, a sudden clap of thunder roared from the sky.

Soon after, raindrops as large as beans began falling from the sky, shrouding the entire Luocheng in a hazy curtain of rain.

Having left in too much of a hurry, Zhao’s mother hadn’t had time to check the weather and hadn’t brought any rain protection.

She rode on, letting the cold rain strike her face.

The heavy rain made it difficult to keep her eyes open, forcing her to squint as she hurried along.

Just as she turned a corner from a Pedestrian Street, a bright light suddenly appeared beside her.

The next moment, she only heard a screeching sound of tires skidding nearby, followed by a sensation of the world spinning before she was thrown backward.

In her dazed state, she vaguely saw many people suddenly gathering around her.

They surrounded her, their faces filled with panic, shouting something repeatedly.

But what they were panicking about, what they were shouting—Zhao’s mother… couldn’t hear any of it.

Two days later, Bian Shouyi and his parents appeared at a funeral.

Bian Shouyi looked at the photo of Zhao Lu’s mother on the tombstone, his face still wearing its usual, perpetually expressionless mask.

After an unknown length of time, Bian Shouyi suddenly turned his head to look at his father.”Father, have Uncle Mu and the others still not found Zhao Lu?”

Father Bian shook his head and said, “No. They checked the surveillance cameras near the school and found that Zhao Lu seemed to be deliberately avoiding them. After running alone to the southern suburbs of the city, he hid and disappeared.”

Hearing this, Bian Shouyi seemed to think of something and whispered, “Alright, I understand.”

With that, he turned and walked out of the cemetery.

Seeing him like this, Mother Bian, standing beside him, seemed to want to say something.

But before she could speak, Father Bian beside her directly pulled her back and shook his head, signaling her not to do anything unnecessary.

Only after Bian Shouyi had walked far away did Father Bian speak up: “Our son has grown up. He knows right from wrong in some matters. Let him do it.”

“But Captain Mu said, that Zhao Lu…”

“Don’t worry, I’ll have someone follow him discreetly.”

“And Captain Mu said that a big shot from the Shanhai Bureau has also rushed to the southern suburbs. Shouyi will be fine.”

As he spoke, Father Bian watched Bian Shouyi’s receding figure and slowly said, “Shouyi has had things too smooth sailing. I hope that after experiencing this, he’ll gain some insight…”

“Let’s not have him suddenly realize one day, walking along this path of cultivation… that he’s the only one left.”

Even though Father Bian had spoken to this extent, Mother Bian still seemed hesitant, as if wanting to say more.

Seeing this, Father Bian immediately raised his only arm—his left hand—and patted her shoulder, comforting her: “Alright, let’s go back. Our son… he won’t disappoint us.”

“Alright…”

In this world, no one can accompany you forever—not even your shadow… is absent on cloudy days.

So some things, some people, once missed… can never be made up for.

(End of Chapter)