When Lin Sanjiu put on the black cloth again and tied a belt around her neck, she realized that her fingertips were trembling slightly.
Even though she had washed them thoroughly several times with water, there were still faint traces of dark blood stuck between her fingernails and between her nail creases. That sticky and greasy feeling was like sticking to her heart through her fingers.
She would never forget the feeling when she stuck her fingers deep into her severed limb.
As Qing Jiuliu emptied the bucket, the smell of gasoline in the air became stronger. Lin Sanjiu could almost taste the pungent odor on her tongue. Sunny's wet head still had the same expression she had before she died. Her eyes were wide open as she stared at the night sky in disbelief.
Compared to the petite Sunny, Queenie's 1.6 meters tall body was more suitable to be the "frame". That way, they would have an extra head and a lot of body parts that they didn't need.
Qing Jiuliu lowered his head. With one hand shielding himself from the wind, he flicked the lighter with his other hand. When the short stub of the cigarette finally lit up in the night sky, he slowly exhaled a puff of white smoke.
"Are you ready?"
Lin Sanjiu exhaled and nodded.
The cigarette butt gently drew a parabola in the air and landed in the palm of a right hand. The bright orange-red flames flickered. At first, it was just a small test. Then, the flames grew brighter, stronger, and hotter. Soon, the two people's cheeks were dyed red.
"Let's go."
Lin Sanjiu turned around and looked at the corpse not far away.
It looked like Queenie's body, but her height was about the same as Lin Sanjiu's. Her eyes were tightly shut. Her tears had long dried up, leaving behind tear stains all over her face. If one were to pull up the corpse's clothes, one would find that the skin underneath was covered with a shocking amount of thick stitches. The stitches were very clumsy, but at least the corpse was put together in one piece.
Sunny and Queenie had different skin tones, bone structure sizes, and limb thicknesses. They spent the most time deciding which body part should be connected to which body part. According to Qing Qing's request, even though it was a little asymmetrical, they still stitched Sunny's chest together. However, after they were done with the stitching, they covered Sunny's chest with new clothes. They couldn't see anything wrong with the stitching.
After wrapping a bandage around the corpse's neck, Lin Sanjiu looked at Queenie's face and turned the corpse into a card.
Although the process was a little bloody, this was the only way out. It was already very difficult to find a woman who was almost 1.8 meters tall, let alone a corpse like this.
In silence, the two of them set off towards the west again.
After walking for less than half an hour, the calm Qing Jiuliu melted away like an ice cream under the sun, revealing his sloth-like true self. "… So the consular officer wants us to go to the Western Paradise to find the Buddhist scriptures? I don't know how far we have to go … Why don't you carry me for a while? "
Lin Sanjiu glanced at him. Of course, it was impossible for her to carry him.
"Once we find the consular officer, I'll call Mattress out," she promised Qing Jiuliu.
Mrs. Manas snickered in her mind. Lin Sanjiu didn't know why, but she was suddenly overwhelmed by a strange and complicated emotion that even she couldn't identify.
She shook her head and suppressed the strange emotion for the time being. Then, she thought about her [School of Higher Consciousness]. Lin Sanjiu's mind was so preoccupied with the matter of Sunny that she almost forgot that she had just leveled up to middle school. However, she decided not to ask Mrs. Manas about it. She decided to wait until she found Ji Shanqing and everything was settled. Then, she would study her new ability.
Unexpectedly, the two of them walked all the way until the sun was about to rise.
The tall buildings that were covered in green vines became fewer and shorter as they walked. It was as if they were walking on a line that was gradually going lower. The city center was obviously far behind the two of them. Judging from the remaining road signs, they would leave the city after a while. However, no matter how hard they searched, they couldn't find a lake.
"That's weird," Lin Sanjiu frowned. She turned around but couldn't figure out what was wrong. "The sun is behind us, so we are indeed in the west. It doesn't make sense for a consular officer to set up camp in the wilderness and return to the city center to leave a message … "
She couldn't count on Qing Jiuliu anymore. He claimed that his body wasn't compatible with walking. The moment Lin Sanjiu stopped, he immediately slid to the ground with the bottle in his hand. After a while, he closed his eyes in a drunken stupor. He didn't seem to be interested in finding a consular officer at all.
If Sunny hadn't destroyed the two messages, she might have figured out what was wrong.
Just as this thought surfaced in Lin Sanjiu's mind, she froze.
"That's not right."
"What's wrong?" Mrs. Manas asked softly.
Lin Sanjiu didn't answer immediately. She walked over to Qing Jiuliu and shook him awake so that he could listen to the conversation as well. "Don't you think it's a little weird that we haven't seen a single new message along the way?"
Qing Jiuliu was obviously still intoxicated by the alcohol. His eyelids were about to close again.
"The consular officer hopes that everyone will look for him. Logically speaking, the closer we are to his location, the more information he will leave behind." Lin Sanjiu sighed. She slapped Qing Jiuliu's face to wake him up. "Since we haven't seen a single message, it can only mean that the consular officer didn't come here and we are on the wrong path."
"Then … how do you explain the word 'west'?" Qing Jiuliu asked as he yawned.
"We always thought that the consular officer was in the west, probably near a lake," Lin Sanjiu sped up. "But when we think about it, the wall is broken and the order of the words is messed up. Maybe it doesn't mean that. What if the words' west 'and' lake 'are connected together? Wouldn't it become a place name? "
Qing Jiuliu wiped the tears from the corner of his eyes and raised his head. "Your analysis makes sense. Also, seeing you so energetic, I'm very happy for you, but you forgot the most important thing. "
"What?"
"I don't care," Qing Jiuliu said sincerely.
Mrs. Manas chuckled in her mind.
Lin Sanjiu rolled her eyes. She picked Qing Jiuliu up and found a car that could still start. She shoved him into the car as he grumbled. Now that they didn't have to worry about missing any messages, driving was the best way to conserve energy. She closed the door with a bang and said to Qing Jiuliu through the window, "Let's go back now."
Frankly speaking, Lin Sanjiu was a newbie. She hadn't touched a steering wheel for a few years, so her driving skills weren't that good. However, now that there were no traffic regulations and no other vehicles, she could drive recklessly. There were a few times when she even drove onto the sidewalk to take shortcuts.
Qing Jiuliu felt uncomfortable all over. When he raised his head and wanted to say something, he was startled. He shouted, "Someone's there!" He hurriedly grabbed the steering wheel and swerved to the other side. With a screech of brakes, the minivan swerved and finally came to a stop just before it hit the person in front of it.
The windshield was about a fist's length away from the stranger's shoulder.
Even though Lin Sanjiu knew that the stranger was probably a posthuman and wouldn't be killed by a car, she still couldn't help heaving a sigh of relief. She opened the door and got out of the minivan.
She remembered that she was in a man's appearance, so she didn't make a sound. However, when she raised her head again, she was stunned.
Qing Jiuliu, who had stuck his head out from the other side, suddenly fell silent when he saw the person.
Lin Sanjiu had met many people, but she had never seen a woman like this.
"Watch the road."
The corners of the woman's lips curled up slightly. Her bright red lips were like a moving phantom. A lock of curly blonde hair slid down her forehead. She looked at Lin Sanjiu and Qing Jiuliu. Then, she raised her chin slightly and said in a husky yet gentle voice, "I won't be angry, but that might not be the case for others."
"Ah, I-I'm sorry," Lin Sanjiu stammered. Lin Sanjiu replied with a stutter. She had completely forgotten that she was still a man. She couldn't take her eyes off the woman for a moment.
"She seems to be older."
When the woman turned her head, Lin Sanjiu could clearly see the wrinkles on her neck. When Lin Sanjiu took a closer look, there were also fine wrinkles on her face. However, when she extended her hand that was wearing a diamond ring and pointed at Qing Jiuliu with her ring finger, the so-called age suddenly disappeared in front of her, "Here, give me a cigarette."
Qing Jiuliu didn't even ask how she knew. He carefully passed the cigarette to her and lit the cigarette for her.
The woman raised her chin and puffed out a puff of smoke.
She didn't say anything and didn't do anything special, but Lin Sanjiu couldn't take her eyes off her. She could only look at the woman with fascination. Every movement of the woman seemed to have a halo of light. It was like a bottle of wine that had been aged for a long time. Under the crystal lights, it shone with a mature red color.
After the woman combed her short curly blonde hair, she suddenly smiled inexplicably.
"You," she pointed at Lin Sanjiu with the cigarette still between her fingers, "I hope you can stand further away. The direction I left in is behind you. "
Admittedly, that was a very rude sentence. However, Lin Sanjiu couldn't get angry at the woman's graceful and calm demeanor. She even felt that it was rude of her not to move away in time.
Seeing that Lin Sanjiu had retreated to the side, the woman smiled and took a step forward.
Lin Sanjiu couldn't help but stare blankly at her tall and slender instep until the woman's delicate high heels made a soft sound on the ground. Only then did Lin Sanjiu realize that the woman was dragging a large cloth bag behind her.
"Don't mind me, dear," she turned her head and smiled at Lin Sanjiu through her dreamy blonde hair. "I think you're a good child, but I still don't want to get too close to you."
Lin Sanjiu didn't understand what the woman said. She hesitated for a moment and pointed at the large cloth bag, "Do you need help?"
"No," she turned her head. As the sound of her high heels faded away, her voice drifted into the air like music, "How sweet."
Lin Sanjiu watched until the woman disappeared around the corner. Then, she exhaled slightly and turned her eyes.
Qing Jiuliu was also looking at her. Both of them seemed to be in a daze. After a few seconds, Qing Jiuliu sighed and said, "I have never seen such … such an attractive woman."
Lin Sanjiu nodded her head in agreement.
Compared to that woman, she felt like she was a man.
Regardless, this was just a small interlude. Both of them quickly returned to the car. However, this time, Qing Jiuliu would rather drive under the influence of alcohol than let Lin Sanjiu drive.
After driving for a while, the consular officer left behind more and more information. Just as Lin Sanjiu had guessed, the consular officer was at a place called "West Lake Restaurant" and not in the west. Following the information left behind by the consular officer, both of them quickly found the restaurant with a small artificial lake.
"This should be the place," Lin Sanjiu looked around and frowned, "But why is there no one around?"
No matter which world they were in, consular officers would always be surrounded by posthumans.
However, that wasn't Qing Jiuliu's main concern.
"This is a high-end restaurant. They should have a few bottles of good wine." He jumped out of the car. For the first time, he took the initiative to lead the way. He pulled up the blood-stained linen curtain and walked into the restaurant.
Lin Sanjiu followed behind him. Just as she was about to say something, she looked up and bit her tongue.
"… You two fools also found this place?"
Irezumi stood in the middle of the restaurant. When he saw the two of them, he didn't seem surprised.
"You?" Qing Jiuliu dragged his feet lazily as he walked closer, "Why are you here?"
Irezumi sighed. His yellow snake eyes were filled with helplessness.
"I don't know what's going on." His tone was almost sad. "Why is it that all the candidates I've found this time are so stupid?"
Lin Sanjiu's heart jumped to her throat.
"He isn't a consular officer, but he pretended to be one … He said that he could attract the target of the trial," Irezumi said worriedly. Irezumi said worriedly, "… In the end, he didn't manage to attract the attention of his target. Instead, the posthumans that he tricked came knocking on his door and took him away with a cloth bag. Sigh, this is neither life nor death. As an examiner, what exactly should I do …? "
Cloth bag.
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