Chapter Thirty-Six: Tail (Second Update)

Chen Hongxu walked alone in the darkness. He did not bother to clean up the scene; with so many eyes watching, even if he tidied everything perfectly, those intent on killing him would still find an excuse.

This was the outskirts of the city, a desolate and abandoned place, naturally secluded, with neither taxis nor buses. After all, this was not a movie set where a fleet of cars waited on standby for you to board.

To be honest, after all that had happened, Chen Hongxu understood that everything likely stemmed from Xue Xi. Those who wanted him gone were probably coveting the position at Xue Xi’s side—just like in real life, when people discover problems and refuse to look for reasons within themselves, always blaming others instead.

He thought back to how he was once a useless nobody; ever since he acquired the Soldier’s Embryo, events had unfolded one after another, nearly all connected to Xue Xi. Chen Hongxu had asked himself whether it was worth it, whether he regretted it.

The answer was firm. After all, the Soldier Spirit had told him that warriors never die a peaceful death. If fate was destined to bring trouble to his door, then he would rather take the initiative to help the one he loved. Love, after all, was reason enough.

Moreover, Chen Hongxu was not afraid of death. If not for his parents’ hopes that he might one day attend a university, in those dark days before the Soldier’s Embryo, friendless and alone, he might have ended his life already.

He had just endured a deadly clash; many had died, yet Chen Hongxu remained calm. He had never cared much about the lives of others—most of the time, he simply didn’t bother to act.

From afar, the wail of police sirens echoed through the darkness. The officers had arrived, their response swift. Chen Hongxu was not trying to flee, but tonight he was simply tired and had no desire to spend such a night at the police station.

Not fearing death did not mean he sought it, especially not in the midst of such intrigue and scheming. His calmness came from knowing he had a fallback plan.

The night was deep, the remote path silent, not a soul in sight. Chen Hongxu walked alone, feeling uneasy, as if someone was following him. He wasn’t sure, though; perhaps he had relied too much on the Soldier Spirit’s warnings in the past.

In the outskirts, there were no streetlights. By the pale moonlight, Chen Hongxu pressed onward.

“They’re here!” Suddenly, Chen Hongxu stopped. His thin figure looked especially lonely in the faint light. A sudden intuition confirmed that someone was indeed trailing him.

Images of Su Xiaoxiao whirled through his mind—the woman who had vowed to assassinate him at any time and place. Was she finally making her move?

“You’ve followed me for so long, yet still haven’t shown yourself. This quiet night is the perfect time for you to act.” Chen Hongxu was on guard, but his voice was calm. He knew that if he betrayed even a hint of fear, Su Xiaoxiao would not hesitate to kill him.

Behind him, footsteps sounded suddenly, appearing out of nowhere, neither hurried nor slow, but each step seemed to weigh upon Chen Hongxu’s heart.

“Too many died tonight. One less—like you—wouldn’t make a difference. Killing you would take only a minute.” A woman’s voice rang out behind him, neither arrogant nor domineering, almost devoid of emotion, as if she were stating a mundane fact.

Chen Hongxu smiled and turned to face her, saying lightly, “Su Xiaoxiao, your injuries haven’t healed yet. If you were certain you could kill me with a single blow, you wouldn’t have shadowed me for so long.”

Su Xiaoxiao wore a long green dress; her brows more arched than when they first met, her appearance like the girl next door, barefoot and smiling sweetly.

“In truth, if you had handed over the Vertical Eye back then, I could have let the Blue Family’s incident slide. Their information was highly inaccurate—one hundred Gu Gesong would not be your match. And when I recall the scene at Tangzhai Temple, that woman who stole the Vertical Eye appeared so calmly, surely she wasn’t human.

Though I was wounded, my senses remained sharp. To slip past me unnoticed would be no different than killing me outright. So I suspect she was your spirit. Such spirits usually arise from inherited artifacts, but I’ve never seen you wield any magical weapons, which puzzles me greatly.

Hongxu, can you help your elder sister solve this riddle? Is it that no one is worth your true effort, or is your artifact broken, merely granting you a spirit?”

Though Su Xiaoxiao’s tone was gentle, every word was laced with murderous intent. Chen Hongxu laughed and replied, “Why don’t you guess?”

“Clever!” Su Xiaoxiao retorted, then said, “Though I don’t know what you want the Vertical Eye for, your spirit must have told you it isn’t really the Eye of Jianzhen, but a replica of Erlang Shen’s third eye, which the Buddhists once lent to Jianzhen for his teachings. For most people, it’s useless. Only a inheritor like me—”

Before she could finish, Chen Hongxu saw, perhaps as an illusion, a giant snake coiling out of thin air behind Su Xiaoxiao. Its cold, emotionless eyes fixed on him, and it flicked its tongue before shattering instantly, like a mirror smashed by a hammer.

Su Xiaoxiao, who had been calm moments before, suddenly spat blood and staggered back, collapsing onto the ground, her face filled with horror as she stared at Chen Hongxu, her lips moving but unable to make a sound.

Meanwhile, Chen Hongxu was surrounded by an ominous red aura, and the lotus flowers swirling about him appeared most bizarre.

Chen Hongxu was perplexed. He had no idea how the Soldier’s Embryo had emerged on its own. Unbeknownst to him, in both literature and warfare, warriors were always the most proud. When Su Xiaoxiao’s essence provoked it, the Soldier’s Embryo could not help but manifest itself.

The anomaly around Chen Hongxu faded as quickly as it appeared. His strength was insufficient, and keeping the Soldier’s Embryo external for too long would damage its essence. So, after suppressing Su Xiaoxiao’s inherited power, it retreated back into his body.

Su Xiaoxiao’s expression shifted rapidly between shock and delight. Staring at Chen Hongxu, she burst out laughing, muttering, “It was worth it, worth it. The Warrior’s Lineage has emerged, and I was the one to discover it!”

She scrambled to her feet, barely bothering to wipe the blood from her lips, biting them as she gazed deeply at Chen Hongxu. “You are my destiny, and will be mine for life.”

Chen Hongxu scratched his head in confusion, unsure what nonsense Su Xiaoxiao was spouting. But as he watched her dash away after uttering those words, he was certain they would meet again soon.