194: fable

The Old Dean looked at Lu Chuan, who was still pretending to be calm, and shook his head.

“You don’t need to be too wary of me; I don’t have any ill intentions towards you.”

However, it would have been better if the Old Dean hadn’t said that. As soon as he did, Lu Chuan became even more restless.

He had heard a saying: the more a person lacks something, the more they will emphasize it. This phenomenon is also known as “compensatory psychology” in psychology.

By the same logic, if the Old Dean said he had no ill intentions towards him, then he must have the greatest malice.

Lu Chuan still remembered the fierce, sharp palm strike the black shadow delivered from behind him, clearly aiming to kill. How could that possibly be an act?

“System, you’ve truly made me suffer! You found such a dilapidated house and dug such a huge pit, waiting for me to jump into it!”

Of course, he also blamed himself for being greedy, insisting on completing this mission.

If only he had noticed something was wrong at the time and given up the mission earlier… Lu Chuan felt bitter, already imagining how the Old Dean would persecute him next.

The deeper he delved into his imagination, the more bitter his expression became. Slowly, he gradually slumped in his chair, like a salted fish who had lost its dreams, or a miserable worker who had been relentlessly tormented by his boss after a day’s work.

The Old Dean looked at the wilted Lu Chuan with a strange expression and couldn’t help but ask,

“What’s wrong with you?”

Lu Chuan gave a wry smile and waved his hand.

“Indeed, the older ginger is spicier. You probably already knew that I had my companion hide on the second floor, intending to ambush the shadow you mentioned, right? So you played along, letting that shadow lure him away, and then you could do whatever you wanted to me.”

“Tell me, what exactly is your purpose? There’s no need to hide it anymore; I admit defeat.”

After saying this, Lu Chuan truly gave up all resistance, sliding half his body out of the chair into a classic ‘Ge You slouch’ pose.

The Old Dean couldn’t help but frown upon hearing this, but seeing Lu Chuan’s appearance, he smiled helplessly.

“Little fellow, put away your little tricks. Are you perhaps still hiding some trump card, waiting for me to lower my guard before suddenly making a move?”

Lu Chuan heard this and still waved his hand dejectedly, as if saying, “Think whatever you want.” But inwardly, he was incredibly shocked.

Just as the Old Dean said, he had already communicated with the system, preparing to exhaust all his appetite coins to exchange for a killing move, just waiting for the Old Dean to get close before delivering a heavy blow.

But he hadn’t expected the Old Dean to be so shrewd, actually guessing his thoughts.

Seeing Lu Chuan remain silent, the Old Dean let out another soft chuckle.

However, to Lu Chuan, this laughter sounded full of mockery.

“Alright, stop acting. Sit properly and listen to me finish.”

The Old Dean reined in his smile a bit, then lightly tapped the table with his finger, producing dull thudding sounds.

Invisible sound waves traveled through the air, making Lu Chuan wince and quickly sit up straight.

“First, let me emphasize again, this old man truly has no ill intentions towards you, and certainly doesn’t want to do anything to you. Don’t be so narcissistic.”

The Old Dean rested his hands on the table, his body straight, looking at Lu Chuan with a half-smile. After a pause, he continued,

“Secondly, I want to confirm, is your companion’s name He Jingrui?”

Hearing the Old Dean call out He Jingrui’s name, Lu Chuan’s pupils couldn’t help but constrict. Now he could no longer pretend to be calm.

After all, this was truly beyond his expectations.

The Old Dean looked at Lu Chuan’s expression, first nodding, then shaking his head.

“It seems so. The affairs of this world are indeed a cycle of cause and effect. Fate is truly wondrous and ineffable!”

Watching the Old Dean shake his head, Lu Chuan couldn’t help but ask,

“Do you know He… bah, bah, bah, of course you know him. Who exactly are you? How come I’ve never heard He Jingrui mention someone like you?”

Seeing Lu Chuan’s impatient look, a hint of a smile appeared in the Old Dean’s eyes, and the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes deepened a bit.

“You two have a good relationship. It seems Little Ruirui didn’t make the wrong friends.”

“Little Ruirui?”

Hearing this intimate address, Lu Chuan was first stunned, then a flash of insight crossed his mind, vaguely guessing the Old Dean’s identity.

“Could it be that you are He Jingrui’s…”

The Old Dean nodded, admitting,

“That’s right, I am He Jingrui’s Old Dean…”

“Could it be that you are He Jingrui’s dad…”

Lu Chuan shouted out at the same time.

“…Dean.”

“…dad.”

The long lingering sounds stretched in the air, then transformed into a silent bridge connecting the two.

The two looked at each other in silence.

“…”

“…”

After a long while, the Old Dean, somehow, without leaving his seat or extending his arm, managed to reach across the wide round table and flick Lu Chuan’s forehead.

“Ouch, ouch, ouch…”

Lu Chuan pressed his hands to his forehead, tears almost welling up.

The Old Dean glanced at Lu Chuan, then snorted.

“I don’t have a simpleton son like He Jingrui. And now, you believe I have no ill intentions, right?”

Lu Chuan didn’t want another flick to the forehead from the Old Dean, so he nodded repeatedly and said,

“I believe you, I believe you…”

The Old Dean stood up, walked to the calligraphy and painting hanging on the wall with his hands behind his back, and while looking at the works he had created in his youth, he said,

“It’s actually right for you to be wary of me. After all, the shadow responsible for guarding this shop does have hostility towards you. If I hadn’t restrained it in time, a real fight wouldn’t have been impossible.”

Lu Chuan looked at the Old Dean’s thin back, not speaking, just listening quietly.

His mood now was completely different from the beginning; at this moment, it was filled with a strong desire for gossip, anticipating that the Old Dean would reveal many, many things that interested him.

If only he had some soda and melon seeds now.

Lu Chuan thought so.

The Old Dean, or rather, He Jingrui’s Old Dean, or even more accurately, Hu Xuan, who had escaped from the research institute, recalled past events with his hands behind his back for a while before saying,

“It seems you and He Jingrui also have some kind of destiny. You actually awakened your Gourmet Cells before the two realms completely merged, and your awakening rate doesn’t seem low.”

“Since that’s the case, there are some things that you two are now qualified to hear about.”

“But before that, there is a prophecy; listen carefully.”

Lu Chuan quickly nodded, the light of gossip in his eyes growing deeper.

The Old Dean still had his hands behind his back, but his expression had become a few shades heavier.

“Prophecy: The apocalypse is nigh, all spirits revel; two realms merge, one dominates; strange monsters run rampant, humanity loses its place; heaven and earth overturn, ascending to immortality.”