Volume 3 Chapter 1 Part3 (1/2)
Illusions, Lies, Truth Volume 3: In the Name of G.o.d, Part One
Original novel in Chinese by: 御 我 (Yu Wo)
Chapter 1: College Life Part 3—It Was Destined—translated by lucathia (proofread by Trespa.s.serby)
Lu Yang put away his cell phone and looked toward the person on the other side of the dining table, a bit happy and a bit frustrated.
”Is Cla.s.smate Jiang okay?” the man asked in concern.
”Yeah, he's beyond okay. He even joined a supernatural studies society. I can't believe him. Does he feel that there hasn't been enough 'supernatural' stuff happening to him?”
The man smiled a bit, his green eyes and foreign face making him look rather charismatic, with features that were startling similar to Lu Yang's, who sat across from him.
”Dad, tell me the truth. Will Mom really be able to return in the next few days?”
Lewis, whose Chinese name was Liu Yis.h.i.+, was apologetic as he smiled and said, ”Most likely not. I hear that the coffins in the tomb aren't in good condition. Your mom will have to spend a lot of time just going over how to deal with that with the team on site. That's not even considering how to actually solve the problem.”
Lu Yang stared at the roasted duck he had reserved as it sat on the table. Frustration simmered underneath his skin. He had originally thought that they would have a nice meal together as a whole family, so he had specifically made a reservation for a booth at this famous restaurant. He had been afraid they would sell out on the roasted duck, so he had reserved an entire duck, a huge one! And yet, his mom had not returned, and his grandpa had left in a fuss because of her ditching them, and his grandma could only follow after him to calm him down. He couldn't return the duck he had already ordered, so now they could only eat an entire fat duck with just the two of them, filling his stomach with duck grease.
”Sorry, sweetheart, your mom really wants to return to see you too. But the case was just too urgent. I hear that several lives have already been lost. It can't wait.”
Lu Yang viciously tore into a duck leg and said, ”Don't call your son sweetheart here in Taiwan. That's just too disgusting!”
Besides, when are the cases ever not urgent? They're always urgent. If Mom doesn't have an urgent case, then Dad does. When will we ever be able to have a meal together as a whole family?
”Yes, my baby boy,” Liu Yis.h.i.+ said to express that he knew his error and would change.
You're doing it on purpose! Lu Yang rolled his eyes at his dad, but his mood had unexpectedly grown lighter. He nagged, ”Hurry and eat the roasted duck. It won't taste as good once it grows cold.”
Liu Yis.h.i.+ nodded. After eating several slices of roasted duck, he praised his son in his heart for choosing such a good restaurant. It had been a long time since he had such a good meal. For years on end, the married couple had been out solving stacks of cases that had piled up as tall as a mountain. Often, they didn't even have time to eat a hot meal.
Halfway through the meal, he slowly said, ”That husband and wife who went by the name Jiang must be Jiang Shang and Yang Jiayin. Your mom and I knew them.”
Lu Yang's chopsticks stilled in the air, but this news was not surprising. Given that they were pract.i.tioners that even his grandpa had heard of, they must have been somewhat famous. He asked in return, ”You close?”
”Not very.” Liu Yis.h.i.+ honestly said, ”That couple kept to themselves. At the time, I didn't know why. After all, we met at several cases, and we always had a good time chatting then. Besides, we were both married couples, which is rare among our field. So, we wanted to further our cooperation and exchange of information, but they held back. I originally thought that Jiang Shang was just overly cautious, but now that I've heard about things from you, I finally understand what was going on.”
Lu Yang's voice was nearly silent as he whispered, ”The truth-see—”
”No!” Liu Yis.h.i.+'s face darkened and he said, ”Never let those words pa.s.s through your lips. You must also tell Jiang Ziya this: any and all possibility of his power getting revealed must be completely eradicated.”
Lu Yang shuddered but nodded right away and then asked, ”Then, should I not take Ziya with me on missions?”
”No, take him with you.” Liu Yis.h.i.+ instructed in detail, ”Your grandpa is right. Jiang Ziya needs to understand this world better. Besides, there are plenty of people who can see through demons and familiars, especially pract.i.tioners. As long as he is also a pract.i.tioner, that can explain why strange things happen around him. Then, other people would not grow suspicious as easily. After all, pract.i.tioners have all sorts of abilities and tools. You see, Jiang Shang and his wife had also clearly declared themselves as pract.i.tioners to conceal their innate abilities.”
Lu Yang nodded to show his understanding.
Liu Yis.h.i.+ asked, ”I wonder if the ability came from Jiang Shang or Yang Jiayin?”
”Seems to be the mother.”
Liu Yis.h.i.+ nodded. However, his encounters with these two people flashed across his mind. Jiang Shang didn't seem to be any more ordinary than Yang Jiayin…
”Dad?”
Liu Yis.h.i.+ snapped out of it. Seeing that his son was looking at him in confusion, he smiled and said, ”Let me see your Slay.”
Lu Yang blinked, suddenly feeling a bit guilty, but he still complied and summoned Slay.
The moment he saw Slay, Liu Yis.h.i.+ flinched in shock.
It was actually so distinct, practically like a real sword, just that it was surrounded by faint fog.
Lu Yang himself knew that Slay wasn't in good condition… Well, ”good” was the wrong way to put it, as he should say Slay was in ”super good” condition, but it was excessively good, so much that he was alarmed!
Uneasy, he said, ”Ever since Ziya looked at Slay, Slay's shape has become clearer and clearer. It's become more and more shocking the more time pa.s.ses. When Gramps saw it, his complexion was terrible too. I asked him what was going on, and he only told me the three words, 'It was destined.' I really don't understand, but Dad, you know how Gramps can't reveal too much.”
”It was destined?” Liu Yis.h.i.+'s face darkened.
Does it mean it's bad? Lu Yang thought of how his grandpa and his dad both had terrible expressions. Neither reaction seems good.
Liu Yis.h.i.+ thought about it for a long while before he finally said, ”You have an innate familiar spirit. This is quite rare. It's probably only second to Cla.s.smate Jiang's power.”
Lu Yang nodded. He had known. Had he been born to a normal family and not Qing Wei Gong, he would probably have been kidnapped by some pract.i.tioner a long time ago. Luckily, these powers were usually hereditary, or else kidnapping cases would occur a lot more than they did already.
Liu Yis.h.i.+ frowned and said, ”You two both have rare abilities, yet you met and drifted together. I'm afraid that the result will either be great fortune or great misfortune.”
Hearing that, Lu Yang's head began to hurt. He would rather they ended up in the middle. He didn't want to gamble on it turning out to be great fortune or great misfortune. Unfortunately, there was never a choice with these matters.
Liu Yis.h.i.+ seriously said, ”Xiao Yang, what if I told you to stop hanging out with him?”
Getting asked such a question, Lu Yang froze. Stop hanging out with Ziya?
He frowned in consideration. Truthfully speaking, he and Jiang Ziya were cla.s.smates who had only gotten to know each other in high school. They were merely second years in college right now and had only known each other for no more than five years. Of course, their friends.h.i.+p was strong, but now that they were faced with great fortune or great misfortune that could endanger their lives, wasn't this question actually asking if he would be willing to give his life for Jiang Ziya?
At this time, Lu Yang recalled what had happened already and abruptly felt that he was being stupid. He had already made such a decision! All the recent things that had happened had been out of his depth. If it weren't for other people b.u.t.ting in to help, he'd have kicked the bucket. And only now was he wondering if he would be willing to give his life for Ziya? He was being too stupid.
Lu Yang scratched his face and calmly said, ”I don't want to tell Ziya that I'm not going to be his friend anymore. Is there no other way?”
Liu Yis.h.i.+ blinked his green eyes and admitted, ”There is. Don't listen to me. I was just asking.”
”…” What should I do? I suddenly have the urge to beat my dad up?
Liu Yis.h.i.+ admitted, ”If staying together means you will meet great fortune or great misfortune, then staying apart might mean going down the paths of great misfortune or great fortune. What difference does choosing make?”
Lu Yang frowned. Were Ziya and I destined to meet? It feels so disturbing, as if it were arranged. I hate this feeling.
”Can you explain it a bit more?”
”Of course, I'm not your grandpa, but since I'm not him, my words won't necessarily be accurate. I'm just making a guess based on my experiences. You must make your judgments based on your own situation.”
Lu Yang nodded. Gramps saw too clearly, which meant he could not easily reveal what he knew, or else he himself would be pulled into the fray, and he would cause things to change. Even if originally the options were great fortune or great misfortune, once the situation spun out of control, with alterations added, only one option might be left. Moreover, what one feared was what would come true—more often than not, the result left would be great misfortune.
”You have Slay, and you have martial talent. If not for barrier dimensions, there would be few pract.i.tioners who could be your equal. Moreover, Jiang Ziya has helped strengthen your Slay. He himself is an expert at dismantling barrier dimensions. If the two of you partner up, you would have no weaknesses.”
Liu Yis.h.i.+ gave his own conjectures, ”This is most likely what your grandpa meant by 'it was destined.'”
Lu Yang nodded. This should indeed be the case. ”Then by great fortune and great misfortune, it should mean whether I can protect him, so both of us will survive, or whether we'll die together, right?”
”I don't know, son. I really don't know.”
Liu Yis.h.i.+ looked at his son yet was unwilling to say more.
A destined meeting between the truth-seeing eye and an innate familiar spirit—is this only for the sake of surviving or peris.h.i.+ng together?
There must be something even larger than that, an even heavier burden, an ordeal with unknown results still awaiting these two young men.
”Following this, your mom and I will try our best to take turns staying in Taiwan, at least one of us.”
Liu Yis.h.i.+ could not bear letting his son face this unknown ”destiny.” Even though Gramps was at home, Master Ah Lu had too many restrictions. There was little he could help with.
However, he didn't dare say too much either. His wife had always been more accepting of unpleasant matters. She might even respond with, ”If it's destined to be, then we're probably useless anyway.” Or she might say something along the lines of, ”Who knows when something will happen? Do you plan on guarding our son his entire life?”