155: Chapter 155 This Debt Is Hard to Repay

The northern district of the Imperial Capital, the old Wei family residence.

Shen Guhong stood before the vermilion gate, his collar slightly upturned by the night wind.

Two old-fashioned lanterns swayed beneath the eaves, casting a dim, yellowish light onto the black blindfold on his face, revealing no expression.

The door opened.

It was not the old steward of the Wei family who opened the door, but a young man in his early twenties wearing a dark blue training uniform. His eyes were guarded; one hand braced against the doorframe, the other hung at his side with fingers slightly splayed, a starting stance ready to unleash power at any moment.

"Who are you looking for?"

"Wei Zhuangning." Shen Guhong's voice was very flat. "I have come to see her."

Shen Guhong had no feelings for her, but Wei Zhuangning was particularly fond of Shen Guhong.

In the Dragon Nest ruins, Wei Zhuangning had used a secret technique to block a fatal blow for Shen Guhong... but in doing so, she had lost consciousness...

The young man stared at him for two seconds, his gaze sweeping from the blindfold on his face to the school emblem on his collar, his mouth corners sinking.

"You are Shen Guhong?"

"Go inside and announce me." Shen Guhong stood on the steps, his posture unchanged by the other's attitude. "Tell the elders of the Wei family that Shen Guhong from Navigator Academy is here to visit."

"No need to announce." The young man took a half step forward, blocking the gap in the door with his body. "My sister won't see you."

Shen Guhong did not move.

The night wind blew through the alley, causing the candlelight in the lanterns to flicker, light and shadow interweaving across their faces.

"How is her condition?"

"How is it?" The young man seemed to have heard something ridiculous, a muffled snort escaping his throat. "Not good at all...!"

Shen Guhong's Adam's apple bobbed.

"Let me see her."

"On what grounds?"

"I have something to return."

"Return?" The young man's voice rose sharply, his eyes turning slightly red. "What are you going to return? To save you, she sacrificed her own origin, and now she can't even regain consciousness. You're telling me you're returning something? What the hell are you going to return with!"

Footsteps echoed from inside the door.

"Wei Yang, what's the noise about?"

An aged voice drifted from deep within the courtyard.

Wei Yang gritted his back teeth and stepped aside.

An old man walked over from the courtyard, his hair completely white, his back slightly hunched.

He walked to the entrance and lifted his eyelids to glance at Shen Guhong.

That glance held no anger, only exhaustion.

"Director Shen." The old man spoke, his voice as hoarse as sandpaper grinding against wood. "Please return."

Shen Guhong lowered his head.

No student at Navigator Academy had ever seen this gesture.

"Elder Wei. Let me see her, just once."

"What good would seeing her do?" The old man shook his head. "Xiao Ning is lying in a Source Power maintenance chamber, hanging on by a single breath. Even if you go in to see her, she cannot feel it. Even if you speak to her, she cannot hear you."

Shen Guhong stood still in place.

The candlelight in the lantern flickered again.

Wei Yang clenched his fists.

"Shen Guhong, you know full well that my sister liked you..." His voice was very low, each word squeezed out from between his teeth. "Yet you gave her no answer..."

"That time at the Dragon Nest, she knew the consequences of blocking that blow, yet she still appeared in front of you..."

"She told me that Shen Guhong would go very far in the future. She said the things he carried on his shoulders were heavier than anyone else's, and he couldn't die in a place like this."

Wei Yang's voice trembled slightly.

"She had thought of everything for you."

Shen Guhong's hands hung at his sides, his fingertips curling slightly.

"Elder Wei." He spoke, his voice lower than before. "How is the Wei family's... situation now?"

The old man was silent for a few seconds.

"In the entire family, the highest combat power remaining is me, a War King Realm."

After Wei Zhuangning fell into a coma, her father went to a dangerous place hoping to find a glimmer of hope... but he has not returned yet...

The second son of the Wei family was also attacked years ago, and remains in a coma to this day...

The once powerful Wei family, with one Emperor and two Kings... now only has Elder Wei left...

"Those people eyeing the Wei family's land and property came sniffing around as soon as they caught the scent. Last month, the Source Material shop in the west city was smashed."

"What does the Defense Bureau say?"

"The Defense Bureau." The old man smiled. "When the Wei family was at its peak, the Director of the Defense Bureau would come to pay respects during every holiday. Now that trouble has happened, the police report is queued three months out before they can 'handle it at their discretion'."

He lifted his eyelids to look at Shen Guhong.

"Director Shen, I appreciate your intention in making this special trip. But there is no need for you to worry about the Wei family's affairs..."

With that, the door closed... shutting Shen Guhong out...

Shen Guhong looked up at the sky and sighed, "This debt is hard to repay..."

He hung a palm-sized, jet-black token around the neck of the stone lion at the Wei family residence.

The front of the token was engraved with the character "Lead", and the back with a tower; it was the symbol of Navigator Academy.

He then left this place...

Wei Yang held onto the doorframe, watching the grey figure disappear at the mouth of the alley. He opened his mouth, but nothing came out.

The old man looked down at the Wei family plaque, and after a long while, sighed deeply.

"Silly girl."

He turned and walked into the courtyard, his steps slower than when he had come out.

The candlelight in the lanterns finally extinguished, leaving the night at the gate, thick as unmelting ink.

Shen Guhong walked out of the alley and stood by the street.

The streetlights stretched his shadow long, and the night wind of the Imperial Capital, carrying the clamor from afar, swept past him.

He looked up, the black blindfold facing the sky.

Shen Guhong stood by the street for a long time.

Then he turned and walked in another direction.

--- That same night, the central commercial district of the Imperial Capital.

Lu Cheng really hadn't expected that going out for a meal would turn into this.

When the three of them left the hotel, the sky had just turned completely dark. Sister Bai said there was a private restaurant nearby that was very authentic and insisted on taking him and Su Wan to try it.

Lu Cheng thought that since Director Shen had said not to run around, and it was just a meal...

As a result, they were recognized as soon as they reached the entrance of the commercial street.

"Sister Bai!!"

The first scream was like a signal flare; half the street turned to look over.

Within three seconds, crowds from all directions swarmed over.

"It really is Sister Bai! In person! Damn! Sister Bai is a hundred times prettier in real life than on the light screen!!"

A young lady holding a glow stick jumped half a meter high on the spot, the drink in her hand nearly spilling onto the person next to her.

"Bai! Bai, look here! I'm your die-hard fan! I've been listening since your debut song!"

"Sister Bai, what brand is the cheongsam you're wearing today? It's so beautiful!!"

Sister Bai was clearly used to this kind of scene. She stopped, smiled, and waved to the surroundings: "Good evening, everyone..."

Before she could finish, another voice suddenly exploded from the crowd.

"Holy crap, that's Lu Cheng!!"

The scene instantly underwent a subtle split.

The wall of people originally surrounding Sister Bai collectively turned their heads, their gazes precisely locking onto Lu Cheng, who was standing behind and to the right of Sister Bai.

"It really is Lu Cheng! I just saw him at the Arena today! He's so much more handsome in person than on the giant screen, oh my god!!"

"Lu Cheng! Lu Cheng! Your commentary was amazing!!"

"Lu Cheng, I'm a fan of your commentary! By the way, where is Navigator Academy?!!"

Several girls in school uniforms pushed out from the crowd and rushed directly in front of Lu Cheng. One of them, bolder than the others, pulled out her terminal and shoved it forward: "Classmate Lu Cheng, can we take a photo together! Just one! My classmate doesn't believe I saw you on-site today!!"

Lu Cheng's mouth twitched.

What's going on?

"Uh..."

Before he could answer, the terminal was already in his face.

With a click, the young girl hugged her terminal and ran back to her companions, screaming, while the other two immediately filled the spot.

"Lu Cheng! Can I get an autograph! Sign here, sign here!" A boy wearing glasses took off his jacket, pointing to the white lining on the chest area. "Sign here! I'm going to hang this on my dorm wall!"

Lu Cheng looked at the jacket, then at the other's eager eyes.

"Fine..."

He took the pen and scribbled a few strokes on the clothes.

The handwriting was as ugly as if scratched by chicken claws.

But when the boy saw it, his eyes lit up, and he hugged the clothes to his chest as if holding some rare treasure.

Su Wan stood to Lu Cheng's left, watching this scene, a small arc curling at the corners of her mouth.

In her past life, she had also faced such difficulties, but fortunately, she didn't have any presence...

But... unfortunately, she had underestimated her own charm.

At some point, a group of people appeared in the crowd, not overlapping with Sister Bai's fans or Lu Cheng's fangirls.

There weren't many of them, but their movements were unified. A dozen people adjusted their terminal screens to an ice-blue background, with a line of light-text displayed on them.

"When the evening wind rises and the frost falls, who dares to be wrong when Su Wan appears!"

Su Wan was stunned... Run, she just wanted to get away from this place of trouble right now...

When she was famous in her past life, would any student have been so bold as to hold such a sign in front of her??

She opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but in the end, only two words came out.

"...Thank you."

Sister Bai watched this scene from the side and couldn't help but laugh out loud: "Classmate Su Wan, your fans are very enthusiastic."

The situation was completely out of control.

The crowd around the three of them gathered more and more. Sister Bai's fans, Lu Cheng's fangirls, and Su Wan's visual fans—the three groups mixed together, blocking the entire commercial street until it was impassable.

Lu Cheng turned his head to glance at Sister Bai, who had her trademark smile on her face and whispered a sentence.

"You'll get used to it."

Get used to it, my ass.

Lu Cheng pushed and shoved through the crowd, finally squeezing out a path. When the three of them ducked into that private restaurant, it was finally quiet for a while...

At least... the waiters here were professional and not that crazy.

The meal was eaten like a battle... Before the food was even served, several passersby holding terminals were already pressed against the window outside.

Sister Bai was quite comfortable, eating in a leisurely manner, occasionally waving at the window, triggering waves of screams.

After finally finishing the meal, the three of them slipped out the back door, choosing to walk through small alleys.

Lu Cheng walked in front, Su Wan in the middle, and Sister Bai bringing up the rear. The three of them walked along the wall for nearly ten minutes before they completely shook off the tails behind them.

The night of the Imperial Capital pressed down heavily.

Lu Cheng caught his breath and swept his peripheral vision.

Under a streetlight across the street, a person was standing there... wasn't that Director Shen?

Why did he look like his mother had died?

The spot he was standing in was a bit secluded, not on the main street. Three steps away from him was a half-open wooden-framed glass door, with a small iron sign hanging above it, warm yellow light filtering out from within.

It looked like a quiet bar...

Lu Cheng wanted to call out, but Shen Guhong had already pushed open the door and walked inside.

The glass door swung twice, shutting out the sounds of cars and people from outside.

The lighting in the quiet bar was very dim, with a few scattered guests sitting in front of the dark wooden bar counter.

Shen Guhong sat down in a corner spot, and the bartender quickly handed him a glass of whiskey.

He took a gentle sip... and exhaled a turbid breath...

A woman wearing a black spaghetti-strap dress stood up from the other end of the bar, holding her wine glass, and walked step by step toward Shen Guhong's table in high heels.

The woman had a great figure, her long hair draped over her shoulders, lips painted a true red, and when she smiled, the corners of her eyes lifted slightly, carrying an unmasked interest.

She sat down opposite Shen Guhong, resting her right hand on the table and gently placing her wine glass down with her left.

"Handsome."

Her voice was not loud, but in the quiet bar, it was clear enough.

"Alone?"