Chapter 23: Humble

Lu Yibei woke up drenched in sweat again. The cool breeze blew outside the window, but his sweat-soaked clothes stuck to his back.

He rubbed Acala, the Immovable’s, chest tenderly, watching the light coming through the crack of the door.

‘Dreaming in a dream? How ridiculous. She really wanted to get the message across.’

‘But did she need to make it that scary?’

He groaned and rubbed his temples, taking his phone from under the pillow to take a look.

It had been 22:01, three hours since he fell asleep. He thought of himself as somewhat mentally sane, but he felt that his mental state was about to break at any second.

The door to the room swung open, and a figure appeared at the door. The light glared, making Yibei unable to see the figure at the door.

It stood motionless at the door, and a chill ran down his back once again.

Lu Yibei immediately leaned over, grabbed the statue of Acala, the Immovable, holding it like a machine gun, and leapt off the bed.

“D-don’t get any closer! Get any closer, and I’ll kill you!”

“Jesus, it’s just me.” Sumi sighed. “Why were you talking in your sleep? I couldn’t work in peace at all! I need to restock tomorrow!”

“What?” Yibei was taken aback. “I was… talking in my sleep?”

“Yeah,” Sumi nodded with disgust. “You were moaning the name of your crush in high school! Tell me, what were you dreaming of?”

He glanced at the statue in Yibei’s hand and frowned, ‘Damn. Even bronze statues are not spared from him.’

With this in mind, Sumi rubbed his abdomen, leaned against the door frame provocatively, and winked at him.

“If you’re having trouble sleeping alone,” he purred. “I’m more than happy to sleep with you.”

“No!”

“Geez, fine,” he shrugged, but not before flashing a wretched smile at Yibei. “By the way, I got this Bai Xiaohua and Chu Xingzi book for 50 yuan. It’s really hard to find this thing!”

“Oh?” Yibei narrowed his eyes.

“That’s right! I bought it from someone for 50 yuan! Want it?”

“What do you think?”

Both of their eyes locked, and they laughed.

That night, he was satisfied, but his flesh was bruised and tired.

The next morning, Yibei found that Sumi was still sound asleep, and his thunderous snoring could be heard through the door.

Affected by the shorter days, the tourists on Peony Street basically appear at noon for one or two hours before sunset every day. Sumi usually sleeps until lunchtime before opening the shop.

He didn’t want to bother him, so he put on his clothes, carried the guitar bag with Acala, the Immovable, in it, and went out.

He was going to report yesterday’s situation to the Night Division.

Although Zhu Linglong wanted him to find the pair of scissors, he could feel the malice leaking out of her like a faucet.

He feared that there was some ulterior motive.

Surrounded by the ancient buildings while walking on the streets paved with bluestone slabs, the autumn wind bathed Yibei and washed his fatigue away.

This refreshing state didn’t last long. He felt a dull pain in his stomach not long after.

It was mild at first, but as he got closer and closer to the Night Division, the pain became more and more intense.

A strong cramping pain—like a pair of scissors were being stabbed into his abdomen.

He froze.

Could it be that Zhu Linglong…

He supported himself by the stone pillar on the street and clutched his stomach. It was still about a hundred meters away from the Night Division.

He had a vague feeling that if he endured the pain and continued going forward, or if he tried to contact anybody from the Night Division, he would be torn apart in the middle of the street.

‘Damn it, don’t they have any way of detecting this? Perhaps I’m not… close enough.’

‘That’s probably the reason why she doesn’t want me getting too close to headquarters!’

It was a coin flip—either Zhu Linglong reaches him first, or the Night Division notices him first.

He stood up and walked straight towards the Night Division. However, there was a sudden shock, and the pain intensified as he began to keel over.

The shadow of death approached gradually, and he felt his internal organs tearing apart. He couldn’t control the vomit being shot out of his mouth, and blood was present in his vomit amidst the mass of half-digested food.

The next moment, he saw stars. He fell to the ground alongside the statue. He lifted his clothes, and sure enough, a faint blood stain was present on his abdomen.

“O-okay! You win! Jesus… I won’t go to the Night Division! I’ll help you find the scissors! Just let me go!”

As soon as his words fell, the pain disappeared. “Christ. You’re powerful, and yet you need me to find the scissors for you.”

As if she were responding to him, another shot of pain burst through his stomach.

“Okay! I get it! Stop hurting me! But we have to get along with each other! Once this is over with, I’ll go back to my life, and you can move on.”

The pain began to ripple in his abdomen again, and he kneeled on the floor in pain. However, before the pain was too much, he bent his neck and sneered.

“Kill me. Let’s see how long it takes for you to find someone like me who’s willing to hear your pleas.”

The pain disappeared in an instant, and he was secretly relieved.

“Right. I’ll help you find the scissors, and you’ll leave me alone as soon as I find them for you. By the way… I think I need some compensation too. You see, I’m still a virgin, and…”

Before he finished speaking, a sharp pain, like a kick, hit him in the abdomen once again. Although it lasted less than a second, the message was clear.

“Okay. I don’t… I don’t want it anymore…” he panted.

Working for nothing in return is so crazy, he thought to himself.