156. Hope Ignites After Despair

On the roof of a public restroom, Xie Wuji sat cross-legged. As expected, the spiritual energy at this point had increased explosively. It was so abundant that the dense energy had begun to flow like something tangible.

Xie Wuji kept his eyes tightly closed, savoring it all.

Gradually, the ancient mirror also began absorbing the spiritual energy around it, while the energy started nourishing the thirty-six spiritual swords in Xie Wuji’s possession.

The spiritual swords themselves even began to recover their strength. The sensation was truly extraordinary.

Once he had restored everything he could, Xie Wuji returned. After taking care of matters at the supermarket, he planned to go back to the other world.

There were many regrets involved. He would not even be able to see Zhu Feifei off on her final journey, but Xie Wuji had no other choice.

Some things were destined to be filled with regret. No matter how hard people tried to change them or how desperately they fought for a different outcome, very little could truly be altered.

Near the supermarket, however, Xie Wuji saw several people in uniform. They looked like police officers, but they clearly were not. Frowning slightly, he prepared to go around them and enter the supermarket.

Just then, one of them spoke.

“You are Xie Wuji, aren’t you?”

The speaker was a woman. There were three of them in all—two men and one woman.

Xie Wuji turned around. “I am. May I ask what the three of you are investigating here?”

“Could we speak somewhere more private?” one of the men asked.

Xie Wuji nodded. He had done nothing wrong, after all. A private conversation would not hurt.

“Upstairs, then. Please come upstairs. They are still cleaning the ground floor,” Xie Wuji said.

The supermarket floor had already begun to be cleaned. Fortunately, most of the food and vegetables had remained undamaged, so the store could continue operating normally. The drinks and other goods, however, would all have to be restocked.

When they reached the second floor, Xie Wuji brewed them some tea. The second floor served as both an office and a rest area, where the employees on night duty usually slept.

Xie Wuji set the tea on the table. “All right. You can speak freely now.”

The woman opened a document folder. Inside were unmistakable images of Xie Wuji flying through the sky, along with several photographs of him attending the party on the rooftop.

Xie Wuji was stunned. He sprang to his feet at once, fists clenched.

“Mr. Xie, please do not become agitated,” the woman said. “Hear us out first. I am Fan Yehui of the Secret Security Bureau. Only our bureau knows about these photographs. We have erased all the other records. We now know that you were the true hero behind this major case, yet you chose to leave quietly. You must have had your reasons.”

“If you know I had my reasons, then why have you come?” Xie Wuji said. “I only wanted to live an ordinary life. My former girlfriend, Zhu Feifei, was killed by those people. I merely wanted to avenge her.”

Fan Yehui smiled faintly. “Of course. We have also investigated what happened to your former girlfriend. From the moment the incident occurred yesterday until this morning, we worked through the night to uncover everything about you.”

“Wait. What did you call yourselves—the Secret Security Bureau? I have never heard of such a department.”

“We have another name: the Dragon Group. You must have heard rumors about it,” Fan Yehui replied. “Naturally, where there is a Dragon Group, there is also a Phoenix Group. However, the two departments have since been merged into one. They are directly administered by the state, and now operate under a single name—the Security Bureau.”

“You came here this time… not to arrest me?” Xie Wuji asked cautiously.

Fan Yehui laughed. “How could that be? If we had come to arrest you, would we have brought so few people, considering your abilities?”

Xie Wuji frowned. “Then what do you want? I only want to live like an ordinary person. I do not want to involve myself in so many affairs. If you dislike the way I handle things, then I will simply stop interfering in other people’s business.”

“No, no, Mr. Xie. You have misunderstood us. It is precisely because you involve yourself in such matters that things are better. There are still many problems in this world beyond the ability of ordinary police forces to handle. Take the Zou Corporation and the Inkstone Workers’ Association, for example. One specializes in commercial extortion, while the other is involved with organized crime. We have wanted to deal with both forces for a long time, but we could never find the evidence. This time, you did us an enormous favor. If you had revealed your identity then, perhaps we would have met sooner.”

“I do not like attracting attention,” Xie Wuji said.

“Haha. You are a promising young man,” Fan Yehui said. “Still, some things cannot be done simply because you wish them to be. The situation remains quite complicated. How should I put it? There are many similar places throughout the capital. If you are willing, we would be delighted to have you join us as an external member.”

“An external member?”

“It means you retain your own identity in society, which makes many things more convenient. Internal members are people like me, hidden from the public eye. Naturally, that makes it difficult for us to carry out certain special missions. We have many external members, especially people with unusual abilities like yours. Used for the right purposes, such abilities can bring great benefit to the people. Used for evil, however, they become a threat…” Fan Yehui explained.

Xie Wuji smiled. “To put it plainly, you want to win me over.”

“You could say that. You have seen the Mo sisters this time. They exploited the convenience of holding dual nationality to commit many reprehensible acts. Likewise, in this vast metropolis, quite a few groups are plotting to disrupt the city’s order. And it is not limited to this city—other cities face the same danger.”

“You make it sound so grand that I cannot afford it,” Xie Wuji said with a laugh.

“Take some time to think about it. I will give you time. If you ever change your mind and decide to join us, we will still welcome you.”

As she spoke, Fan Yehui rose to leave.

Xie Wuji stared blankly at the card she had given him. But after Fan Yehui and the other two had left, he tossed it into a nearby vase.

He did not want to do anything too conspicuous in this world.

By then, the ancient mirror had recovered some of its energy. Xie Wuji had originally intended to fill it completely, but the more spiritual energy he poured in, the more he realized that the mirror was a bottomless pit.

There was nothing he could do. After replenishing enough energy for a single crossing, he stopped.

After all, no one knew whether the mirror would ever be filled, no matter how much he continued to supply it.

After giving Manager Wang a few instructions, Xie Wuji transferred a considerable amount of money from his own account. But as he stood by the window, he saw a car slowly pass by. In the front passenger seat sat Aunt Zhu, her face blank and dazed.

Xie Wuji leaned out. He wanted to say something, but through the car window he vaguely saw a body bag inside.

It was probably Zhu Feifei.

“Alas…”

Xie Wuji stood frozen by the window, his thoughts tangled into a knot that refused to come undone.

Had he been wrong? No, he had not. And yet, despite being in the right, his conscience was deeply troubled.

Zhu Feifei had betrayed him first, but now that she had chosen to leap from a building, he could no longer bring himself to hate her. In truth, within Xie Wuji’s heart, there was more love than hatred.

For a man, first love was often like that. Even after a breakup, there might be resentment, but love ultimately outweighed it. After all, she had been the first person to enter his heart.

Yet the cruelty of reality could always leave a person hesitating, unsure whether to keep his distance or offer one final helping hand.

The person suffering most now was not Xie Wuji, but Aunt Zhu. This middle-aged woman, who had long been plagued by illness, no longer feared her ailments.

She had already experienced despair.

Xie Wuji leaned against the wall, oppressed by his emotions, and immediately opened the ancient mirror.

A flash of light appeared before his eyes, and a vast surge of spiritual energy rushed toward him. The spiritual energy of the other world was always denser than that of the present one.

Xie Wuji suddenly realized that he was standing on the roof of a house.

It was a village he had never seen before. He suddenly remembered that he had been rescued earlier, but he had no idea who had saved him.

“Big Brother Wuji!”

A familiar voice came from below the house—so familiar that he could never mistake it.

Xie Wuji lowered his head.

To his astonishment, it was Song Xiaoyu.