Star Gate

Chapter 107: The Dragon Hidden in the Abyss (II)

Li Hao returned to the Inspectorate on foot, taking time to readjust his mental state so that he wasn’t affected by the matter. Composure gradually returned to his expression, but the ball of fire in his heart could set everyone around him aflame.

It went without saying what had happened to his parents’ bodies. They were absolutely burned to a crisp. He could treat it as being cremated, but would the enemy have burned it in a typical fashion? They must have stripped out his father’s bloodline first!

The ball of fire burned more hotly the more he dwelled on it. His emotions were so violent that he could almost feel his supernatural locks manifesting. It was only then that he barely managed to keep his temper in check and refrain from revealing anything.

……

Li Hao saw a familiar face when he returned to work, as if the person had been waiting for him. Wang Ming!

Li Hao flashed a fake smile and shuffled his steps to catch up. “Sir Wang!”

“Don’t!” Wang Ming looked on awkwardly. That sounded weird! “Just use my name!”

“Now that won’t do!” Li Hao chuckled. “Sir Wang is an extraordinary young talent of the Night Watchers, I’ve heard my teacher speak highly of you! You rival our team captain, so no matter how we look at it, I shouldn’t call you directly by your name!”

“Um…” An awkward Wang Ming asked probingly. “Has… has Elder Yuan said anything to you?”

Something about honorary disciples, maybe?

“Hmm?” Li Hao looked on blankly. “Oh, yes yes yes! My teacher says that Sir Wang is a genius and that you will surpass him one day…”

Wang Ming didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. It looked like Yuan Shuo hadn’t spoken of their agreement. That was good, it would be quite awkward otherwise. Was he supposed to address Li Hao as his senior brother?

Although he called the young man Brother Hao before, it wasn’t uncomfortable as he knew that was for the mission. But now it really would be weird. He didn’t want to acknowledge the guy in front of him as his senior brother.

“I’m off then!” Wang Ming didn’t want to mention the topic and quickly concluded their conversation.

Li Hao nodded. “As you should be. Silver City is a small place and not fit for something like you, sir!”

Wang Ming wanted to respond to that, but stopped himself. In the end, he said, “You know about the Night Watchers and the supernatural! Professor Yuan received a lot of mysterious power this time. I feel that as his student, you should try asking him for some and make the crossover as soon as possible!

“The matter of the eight families of Silver City is not yet over!” Wang Ming was gravely solemn. “Red Moon paid such an enormous price and laid plans for so many years, but came up empty-handed at the last possible step. You are most certainly still slated for mandatory elimination. They won’t stop, not like this, as you are viewed as the last heir of the eight families!

“Silver City is not a place to remain for long. It is too remote—not even Professor Yuan can reside here indefinitely. He could have before, but it is not a good idea now that he’s become a Dominator.”

Li Hao nodded with a sigh. “I know, but…”

“You should go to White Moon. With your teacher’s strength, he’ll be able to finesse a Night Watcher identity for you. We’re not all supernatural, there’s the back office as well. They handle intelligence and support. There will be plenty of suitable positions.

“You come from the proper, preferred background of humble origins and hail from the Inspectorate. I also hear that you’re possibly getting a promotion to commissioner inspector! Even if you’re demoted when you transfer to the Night Watchers, you’ll still be a first rank inspector. That remains a good job.” Wang Ming was suddenly giving advice to Li Hao.

“You might find things unfamiliar and uncomfortable when you go to White Moon, but we should always march forward. You’re young, so take your time to acclimate! Once you’re there, we count as old colleagues and even battle comrades. You can come to me if you run into any problems, but of course, I’m just a minor character in the agency and can’t help you much.”

He added a postscript to his offer to indicate that he could only help with small matters, not big ones.

“You can also go to Li Meng and Hu Hao. They love to help people, so I don’t think they’ll turn you down.”

Li Hao was rather confused and slightly surprised. So these people were this accommodating? Or was there something afoot that he didn’t know?

The young man subconsciously felt that it had something to do with his teacher. Otherwise, there was no need for a Night Watcher like Wang Ming to say anything to him. Though wild thoughts ran through Li Hao’s mind, he quickly thanked his handsome peer. “Thank you, Sir Wang!”

“Don’t call me tha—ah forget it, do whatever you want!” This wasn’t all that Wang Ming wanted to say to Li Hao. “It’d be best if you can ascend to the supernatural while you’re in Silver City! If you can’t… I can think of a way to get an induction chance for you!”

“Induction?” repeated a perplexed Li Hao. “The Demon Hunters can do that too…”

“Bullshit!” Wang Ming snorted dismissively. “You guys are just playing house, it’s an utter joke! Liu Long and the others have already undergone induction once, so there’s no problem for them to proceed in that manner. You’re different as you haven’t officially conducted energy into your body before.

“The Night Watchers do it in a different way. Not only do we absorb mysterious power, but there are also some other steps that make ascension easier. Otherwise, it’s not like the rich merchants can’t afford to buy mysterious power. Why do they fight tooth and nail for a Night Watcher spot?”

It made sense to Li Hao upon further thought. He didn’t ask for specifics, however.

“Thank you, sir.” The young man smiled. “But I can already tell that each spot must be very valuable. I think I’ll give it a try myself so I don’t waste one! I’ll walk the path of martial masters like my teacher if I don’t succeed. I feel that I’m not too far away from Slayer of Tens.”

“You don’t understand, your worldview is too small!” Wang Ming sighed. “Martial masters are strong—ridiculously strong if they’re like Professor Yuan. But you shouldn’t limit yourself like that. Keep in mind that it’s only been twenty years since the supernatural rose. We already have existences beyond Solar! It continues to develop swiftly, no one knows where the limits are. Martial masters, on the other hand, have already found their boundary!”

Li Hao nodded. He knew all this because his teacher had mentioned it, but he didn’t dwell on it. If his teacher said not to attempt the crossover and focus on martial dao, then that was what he would do. Of one thing Li Hao was certain of, and that was that his teacher wouldn’t say this for no reason. He must have his considerations.

Of course, this didn’t need to be explained to Wang Ming.

“Thank you, Sir Wang! I'll remember all of this and if I reach the end of the road, I’ll be sure to be thick-skinned enough to visit you!” thanked Li Hao. The handsome young man was quite generous to explain so much and promise to try and obtain a spot for him.

“Have it your way!” Wang Ming couldn’t be bothered with further persuasion given that Li Hao didn’t seem inclined to leave Silver City. He waved his counterpart off. “I’m leaving today! My final words are that Silver City is seriously too small, there’s only a million residents here. Thirty million reside in White Moon and while Sunderers like Captain Liu Long lead the pack in Silver City, they can be found everywhere over there! Everything is superior in White Moon, whether opportunity, chance, treasures, secret methods, and secret arts.”

“Mmhmm, I understand! Thank you!” Li Hao waved back at him and sent Wang Ming off. The Night Watcher had completed his mission and looked like he gained a fair bit for it. If he was leaving, then Hao Lianchuan should also be leaving soon, if not already!

Li Hao suddenly decided to return to the Institute when his thoughts traveled here. He wanted to bring his teacher with him when collecting the scarlet shadows. They revealed their true form after he poked them with the jade sword. What would he do if the shadow suddenly started attacking? He needed to bring his teacher along.

And what if someone discovered him?

With his teacher present, the professor could observe the premises and see what the shadow was made of. Li Hao hadn’t planned on concealing this matter in any case. His teacher had long since guessed that he could see the scarlet shadow and simply didn’t bother questioning Li Hao about it.

……

Night.

The church.

The cordon had been removed, mysterious power collected, and corpses disposed of. The blockade of this area was over. With even Hao Lianchuan and the others gone, no one cared about this part of town.

Liu Long and the team knew that there had been monsters here, but they all thought that the monsters were a supernatural ability. Since the supernaturals were dead, then their abilities were likewise terminated.

Inside the church.

Yuan Shuo quietly casted his senses around the premises and pointed in one direction after a long while. “Here?”

Li Hao’s gaze flickered and he nodded.

“How obscure!” Yuan Shuo took a deep breath. “I wouldn’t have made such a careful sweep if you hadn’t said something. It’s impossible to discover them without a detailed probe. No wonder these things are so mysterious and flew under my radar when they came to kill Zhang Yuan! I was not yet a Dominator then and wouldn’t have discovered them if they weren’t right next to me.”

Li Hao took out the jade sword without another word and pinched it between two fingers.

“Don’t you find that position unnatural?” The professor rolled his eyes. “Aren’t you afraid of other people taking note if you keep using it like that? I need to figure out a way to hide this thing inside another weapon. You’re a Sunderer now, but I have nothing good to give you. Tell me what kind of weapon you want and I’ll make one for you. Put this thing inside it, that’ll make it more convenient to use.”

Li Hao thought for a bit. “The weapon will need to stay on me because I’ll use it often. If I put it inside a weapon, it’ll be suspicious when people see that I sleep with it. This is good enough, teacher! But can you make a weapon with a small notch in the front? I can put the jade sword inside at critical moments and leave just the tip showing.”

Yuan Shuo found a lot of sense in these words. An item like this did indeed need to be carried on the young man’s person.