Chapter 108: You Can Have Ling Yanzhi and the Others First
Shi Zhao’s expression was too grave.
Watching him, Jian Yu found herself holding her breath.
She didn’t dare to let out a single audible breath.
「Outside the door.」
Ling Yanzhi’s arm was draped over Pei Yin’s shoulder.
"We’re already out, why are you still watching the monitor? You think they’re stupid?"
He leaned bonelessly against Pei Yin and peered over. "We can all block the monitor, so Shi Zhao definitely can too."
If he didn’t notice the active monitor, or just chose to ignore it, it simply meant he didn’t take them seriously.
He made them leave purely because he couldn’t stand the sight of them.
If Shi Zhao hadn’t shown some real skill, Ling Yanzhi wouldn’t have been so accommodating.
Pei Yin shook his shoulder, shrugging the hand off. "I’ll watch my monitor, and he can block his. If he doesn’t block it, that means I can keep watching. This is my lab. Who knows if he’ll intentionally try to break something."
"Fair enough. You have a point." Ling Yanzhi straightened up and steadied himself.
He found a spot to sit, his eyes closing lazily as his thoughts began to drift.
「Inside the door.」
After sensing the area for a moment, Shi Zhao suddenly spoke. "I need your help."
Jian Yu sat before him, doing her best to cooperate. "I’m listening."
’My life is on the line, so I have to take this seriously.’
Shi Zhao brushed his fingers over his chest.
A faint wisp of mist floated above his fingertips. "Give me this. The more, the better."
Jian Yu blinked a few times, leaning in slightly.
For the life of her, she couldn’t tell what color it was.
The color was too faint. It was mostly white with a hint of pink, but from a distance, it almost looked like a pale red or lavender.
"I’ll try."
Jian Yu copied Shi Zhao’s gesture, convincingly brushing her fingers over her own chest. She secretly summoned two wisps of mist—one pink, one purple.
The mist from her index finger was pink, and from her middle finger, purple.
"Which one do you want? I probably can’t give you red. I don’t know how yet."
Shi Zhao’s pupils dilated slightly.
He stared at Jian Yu’s fingers, momentarily lost in a daze.
’Such a pure bloodline... If that incident hadn’t happened all those years ago, our people wouldn’t be so fearful of the Soul Ghost Body now.’
"The one on your index finger will do," Shi Zhao said, pursing his lips.
His gaze sharpened as he turned, meeting Pei Yin’s eyes through the monitor.
「Outside the door.」
Pei Yin squeezed in next to Ling Yanzhi. "Look at him. Does he want me to see this or not?"
"I don’t know." Ling Yanzhi was getting annoyed.
’Things are getting out of control. But for the sake of Jian Yu’s health, I can’t interfere.’
’Right now, Jian Yu’s attitude toward us is already improving.’
’If Shi Zhao and Jian Yu really are family, will she leave with him?’
’And if she does, do I stop her or not?’
’Stop her!’
Ling Yanzhi sat up, pulling one knee to his chest. ’It’s a question I already have an answer for. What’s there to think about?’
’What am I even pretending for? Have I been playing the part for so long that I actually started to think I’m a normal person?’
Pei Yin looked at him, bewildered. "If I had the answer, would I need to ask you?"
He turned the monitor screen for Ling Yanzhi to see. "I think my brain is too normal for this; I really don’t get it. It needs someone abnormal like you to take a look."
Ling Yanzhi glanced at him, then looked away, his eyes returning to the monitor.
On the screen, nothing was happening.
Jian Yu and Shi Zhao were sitting face-to-face with their eyes closed, idly chatting about the orphanage.
Ling Yanzhi’s eyelids drooped. "Have you forgotten what your own Skill is?"
Pei Yin froze.
’No wonder they aren’t saying anything important!’
"Wait a minute... Can Shi Zhao fool even us, watching from outside on a monitor?"
Ling Yanzhi couldn’t be bothered with him and closed his eyes. "Wake me when they come out."
The lab was vast, and a pink mist filled the entire space.
Jian Yu didn’t understand what Shi Zhao was doing. All she could see was her pink mist turning black as it flowed back into her body, bit by bit.
Her body felt lighter and lighter, and she silently waited for Shi Zhao to finish his complex series of hand gestures.
Staring intently, Jian Yu wondered if she should try to learn a move or two herself.
Watching him made her itch to try it.
Unlike the scene on the monitor, Shi Zhao was standing a short distance from Jian Yu, not sitting across from her.
After a good while, he finally sat down next to Jian Yu.
"What do you want to know? Feel free to speak. They won’t find out."
A joyful expression spread across Shi Zhao’s face. "I’m suddenly not sure where I should begin."
Jian Yu pursed her lips.
’There was so much I wanted to know, yet at the same time, I didn’t want to know too much.’
’I was planning to coax the information out of him, but he just told me to ask directly.’
’That actually made it harder to ask.’
After a moment of thought, she focused on the one question that mattered most to her. "Do I really have a heart condition? My body doesn’t seem very healthy."
"No." Shi Zhao shook his head. "You simply haven’t successfully Awakened yet."
He mused, "Although a Soul Ghost Body severely injured you when you were at your weakest, once you successfully Awaken, your body won’t be in such a terrible state, given your Self-healing Ability."
’Soul Ghost Body.’ Jian Yu had heard the term many times but had never actually seen one.
’The things were too strange. Not only did they have Levels, but they also loved to possess the bodies of Awakeners and invade human planets.’
Jian Yu instinctively ignored his mention of a "people." "How can I Awaken?"
Shi Zhao’s lips quirked. "We don’t need to Awaken. That’s something only humans have to do."
He paused.
"Perhaps because you’ve spent too much time in the human world, you’ve passively absorbed too much negative energy that’s difficult to convert."
Shi Zhao lowered his eyes. "Your bloodline has been slow to awaken. You should find emotions you enjoy to trigger it. Finding a man would be best. You could consider Pei Yin and Ling Yanzhi... You should claim them first!"
Jian Yu choked on her own spit, coughing a few times.
Shi Zhao added, somewhat regretfully, "I switch partners every year. Thinking about it now, I should be learning from you."
He took out a Beast Fruit from his Space Button. "You should also eat more Beast Fruits. They contain the energy we need. Please, don’t refuse."
Jian Yu opened her mouth to say something, but after hearing his last sentence, she could only change her tune. "Thank you."
Her brow furrowed.
’What Shi Zhao said wasn’t much different from what Pei Yin had told me.’
’Do I really Awaken by feeding on emotions?’
’How am I supposed to find the emotions I like?’
’I like thrills, excitement, plundering...’
’I like anything that gets my blood pumping. Does that count? Maybe I should watch a few horror movies later?’
Shi Zhao thought Jian Yu couldn’t accept it.
He quickly explained, "We replenish our energy from the emotions of living creatures, just as humans can’t survive without oxygen. It’s no different."
Jian Yu slowly lifted her gaze. "I get it."
’It would be like reading a cultivation novel and then asking the author why cultivators need Spiritual Energy. Or why humans can’t live without oxygen?’
’It’s just too complicated.’
Looking at Shi Zhao’s expectant gaze, Jian Yu felt a bit awkward.
Steeling herself, she asked the next question. "So... I’m really not human?"
Shi Zhao’s chin lifted. "Of course not. Humans are a low-level species on the verge of obsolescence. How could you..."
His gaze shifted. "I actually get along pretty well with humans, usually. The Leader has said that we are true Beastmen, and we can’t be on the same front as Awakeners, who are just Half-beastmen."
As long as humans didn’t start trouble with them, they wouldn’t go looking for a fight.
A suspicion formed in Jian Yu’s mind. "Primordial Beasts?"
’A people... does that mean there’s more than one or two Primordial Beasts capable of Transformation?’
Shi Zhao nodded. "Yes. You were stolen from us. The trail disappeared on Emperor Source Star. The Leader could only sense that your aura still existed, so we’ve spent all these years searching for you."
His tone became beseeching. "The Imperial Capital Star has been trying to recruit me. At the right moment, I’ll send word to our people... and transfer to Weis Lan Noble Academy to protect you. Is that all right?"