Invasion - Chapter 43

Chapter 43

Lin Yuan sat on the sofa, watching the tentacles draw circles on the carpet.

Time at this moment was like a slowly wriggling snail, moving exceptionally slowly.

"Why isn't he done yet? Does he need any help?"

【Yes.】

The tentacles' answers were uniform, like echoes.

"Could he have fainted? Should I take a look?"

【Yes.】

Lin Yuan covered her face, she suddenly understood why she hadn’t heard the tentacles’ voices for a while.

So, when her emotions were strong, or rather, when she was too focused, all the tentacles’ thoughts became the same as hers, their scattered wills united as one.

The noise in her mind disappeared, only a clear, single voice echoed in the vast mental landscape.

Before, most of the time, her emotions had been very light, so the tentacles had acted independently, chattering non-stop.

This intense and focused experience was a novel first for her.

Lin Yuan actually knew what was happening behind that frosted glass wall, under the cover of the sound of running water.

The arm hanging on the wall tensed, his shoulder blades pressing against the glass, a hazy flash of flesh. Water dripped from the tips of his lowered hair.

The more she saw those occasionally appearing shadows through the glass, the more images appeared in her mind, uncontrollable.

Were the corners of his eyes bright red? His beautiful brows must be furrowed together, he must be biting his lip tightly.

And the hand hidden beneath the water…

She couldn't think about that hand.

Although Lin Yuan was very young, the tentacles, constantly roaming underground, would often passively capture the strong emotions emitted by humans.

Lust and sexual desire were the most common and easily detectable emotions in the dark. They were humanity’s most primal and intense emotions.

She might know that the aloof senior on the podium was filled with sexual desire.

She might also accidentally discover that the arrogant young master getting out of the car and his female bodyguard had just done something.

Ah, it really wasn’t intentional, but that was how it was.

Compared to many of the innocent and naive Guides living in the White Tower, Lin Yuan's theoretical knowledge in certain areas was exceptionally rich.

The more she knew, the less she should look back.

Damn it, why can’t I look?!

I'm going to look.

The moment Lin Yuan turned her head,

She saw the shadow behind the glass tilt its head back. The sentinel raised his arm from the water, put his wrist in his mouth, biting down hard without making a sound, his body trembling.

Lin Yuan quickly turned her head back, motionless, staring at the tentacles drawing circles on the ground.

Having witnessed his strength, and also his fragile helplessness.

Knowing his inner pride, and the dignity he carefully guarded.

His unwillingness to show weakness, gritting his teeth, even when bruised and battered.

How could she take advantage of him, peeking at his most private moments at a time like this?

Lin Yuan honestly waited, her back to the bathroom, hugging her knees, for a long time. Until she felt that she really had to take a look.

The bathroom door finally opened.

Ni Ji pushed the door open, water dripping from his hair, wearing his soaked white shirt.

His skin was pale from the cold water, his thin lips pursed, his expression cold and calm, as if he had overcome all difficulties, returning to being the warrior who could fight on the battlefield.

The wet, white shirt clung to his body, revealing the powerful muscles beneath, the tight abs of his narrow waist.

He had regained control of his body, his core strength strong, he was even wearing those black gloves again.

His long, black fingers gripped the bathroom door frame.

Lin Yuan was momentarily distracted when she saw that hand. She remembered how she had taken off those skin-like, elastic black gloves from his trembling hands when he had been lying limply on the bed.

The flexible black fabric slowly sliding down, the skin on the back of his hand exposed, wherever she touched, the trembling extended.

Taking off a glove, like removing his armor. The long fingers, which had held blades and killed, lay limply in her hand, trembling uncontrollably, letting her take his blood.

While Lin Yuan was lost in her thoughts, Ni Ji had already walked out of the bathroom.

He paused, and sat down in a low sofa at the furthest spot from Lin Yuan.

He sat there, his head lowered, wiping the water from his face, his elbows on his knees, his hands covering his eyes.

On his exposed wrist, where a deep scar already existed, there was now a fresh, bloody bite mark.

A thin trickle of red blood flowed from the bite mark, down his pale wrist, into his wet shirt sleeve, staining it a bright red.

Adding a touch of color to the man, his head lowered, his body soaked, nestled in the sofa.

He lowered his head, his black fingers covering his eyes, silently.

Lin Yuan reached out, and before her hand could touch his water-soaked hair, he turned his head away, burying it in his hands.

"Don't… touch me."

【Hug, hug me.】

Two voices rang out almost simultaneously.

Lin Yuan froze for a moment before realizing what had happened.

The first, hoarse and low, had been spoken, heard by Lin Yuan's ears.

The second wasn’t speech, a strong and intense emotional consciousness, directly transmitted into Lin Yuan’s mind.

Before Lin Yuan’s mind could even decide which one to listen to, her arms, along with the tentacles, had already reached out, giving the sentinel, whose body was as cold as ice, a hug.

...

Both of their bodies were stiff.

Lin Yuan’s rational mind returned. Was this a little awkward? Did he really think that? Could she have misheard?

The sentinel’s wet head rested on her shoulder, the muscles in his back tense.

But soon, his back, which had been stiff as iron, relaxed. Lin Yuan heard a soft sigh.

Lin Yuan hesitated for a bit, and gently patted his cold, wet back, realizing he was slightly trembling.

The tentacles wrapped around, hugging the sentinel tightly, touching his head, which he had rested on Lin Yuan’s shoulder and hadn’t lifted.

【Thank you.】

Lin Yuan heard a voice.

She couldn't tell whether she had heard it with her ears or felt it through the tentacles.

Lin Yuan didn’t bother figuring it out, tightening her arms, hugging the trembling body, biting his lip.

She knew he had suffered grievance and torment, she knew he wanted a hug like this.

That was enough.

Time became thick, she didn't know whether it was flowing or frozen at this moment.

After who knew how long, Ni Ji finally recovered.

The thick tentacles of their mental bodies tightly wrapped around the two of them. The narrow space was filled with sweet fragrance, cold water vapor, and some indescribable scents, making it easy for them to understand each other's emotions.

【You, you don’t have to force yourself like this.】

Lin Yuan said in her mind.

As if he had heard the words in her heart,

A very soft voice came from her shoulder.

"I often dream of them," the voice was very low, as if he had a stuffy nose from being drenched in water.

Lin Yuan immediately knew who "them" referred to.

"In my dreams, they open their eyes, look at me, ask me when I'm going to avenge them."

"I can't, I can't let it go," his voice became even softer, almost like he was talking to himself. "As long as they can rest in peace, it doesn’t matter what I become."

The images in her memory became vivid in Lin Yuan's mind.

The boy hugging his dead sisters, crying, unwilling to leave the world. The close friend, standing, dead amidst the smoke and dust.

Blood everywhere, and endless injuries, the only surviving captain, unable to leave the flames of hatred, burning himself to pieces, bruised and battered.

Lin Yuan sighed softly in her heart.

She had now learned how to sigh.

"They wouldn't want to see you like this," Lin Yuan said. "They liked the old captain. The sentinel who liked to smile, who was sunny, who lived freely. I think, they would rather see you like that."

Lin Yuan didn't know if her comforting words were right, she wasn't good at comforting people.

She could only take out her truest thoughts and tell them to this wounded person.

Ni Ji, on her shoulder, didn't speak for a long time. The body in Lin Yuan’s arms gradually relaxed, his breathing becoming even.

A small tentacle emerged from the sofa, clearly seeing Ni Ji’s hand reaching forward several times,

Wanting to return the hug, yet quickly retracting, pulling back.

The little tentacle stared at the black-gloved hand, at those hesitant, slender fingers, finding it a little cute.

【Come on up, we like you too.】

The tentacle wrapped around his palm, tickling it, enticing him to be bolder.

As if electrocuted, he quickly put his hand behind his back, his hands tightly clasped together.

【I suddenly feel a little suffocated.】

【Me too.】

【Were we stupid just now?】

【Thinking about it now, it really was stupid.】

【I want to touch the fish.】

【Me too.】

【We didn’t cherish such a good opportunity.】

【The main brain had a stroke, dragging us down with her.】

【I want to rub and rub and rub.】

【I want to do whatever I want.】

【Hey brat, release the big fish.】

【One rub cures all illnesses, you won’t have time to be sad anymore.】

Just at this moment, a hurried knock came from the door.

“Open the door! Royal Guard inspection!”

Before Lin Yuan and Ni Ji could even stand up, the door was opened from the outside with a spare key.

A team of fully armed sentinels pushed the door open and charged into the room.

The guard leading the team looked around the room.

The messy room was filled with scattered tools, the sofa and bed wrinkled and messy, water everywhere.

Used syringes were discarded on the table, the bathroom door was open, a pair of twisted handcuffs hanging by the bathtub, water everywhere.

They didn't even need to ask, they knew what had happened between these two, and it couldn’t have been a short time.

Scenes like this were everywhere in this residence. They had searched all the way here, almost every room they opened was like this.

Drunk people, burning expensive perfume, making a mess of the room.

They weren’t here to deal with this, they were here to find the assassin who had dared to assassinate the Minister of Military Affairs.

Minister Jiang Yimei had been assassinated in her bedroom, not long ago.

Her personal bodyguard, highly skilled and always alert, had also died alongside her.

What kind of vicious assassin could silently sneak into Jiang Yimei’s heavily guarded bedroom?

Killing these two without a trace.

This assassin must be a sentinel, a high-level one, with powerful combat abilities and meticulous planning skills, and also on the banquet's invitation list.

Their superior had given a strict order, they had to find the murderer. All the sentinels who attended this banquet were suspects.

The guard’s eyes narrowed, looking at the sentinel in the room.

The sentinel before him was tall, his eyes sharp with vigilance.

Only, his clothes were messy, with handcuff marks on one hand and a clear bite mark on the other, greatly diminishing his valiant image.

The Royal Guards’ eyesight was excellent, their observation skills top-notch. He could tell at a glance that although this sentinel had quickly stood up, his steps were unsteady, his face was pale, and the corners of his eyes were still red.

On the other hand, the Guide with him was dressed neatly, her expression clear, her posture stable and calm as she stood up, only the corners of her clothes were slightly wet.

He couldn’t help but categorize these two, inwardly sneering, “A useless guy, suppressed by his Guide.”

With this preconceived categorization, he mostly eliminated his suspicion of Ni Ji.

He would just ask a few routine questions.

The guard took out his notebook and started recording.

Where were the two of you tonight? How long have you been in this room? Did you leave at any point?

Before Ni Ji could speak, Lin Yuan gently nudged him, stepping forward to face the guard, answering all the questions one by one.

The slender Guide, her temperament gentle, definitely couldn't be the murderer, and she even spoke to him politely, smoothing her skirt.

The Royal Guard, searching for the murderer, felt a shadow pass through his mind, inexplicably relaxing his vigilance.

The young Guide had answered all the questions he asked.

He felt that these two were very cooperative, and there wasn’t anything suspicious about them.

During this time, the naive Guide occasionally asked him a few questions after answering. Things that shouldn't really be said.

But somehow, he let a few things slip, it didn't seem like a big deal.

"Did something happen?"

"Oh dear, an assassin? How scary."

"When did it happen?"

"So that's it."

"Yes, the two of us were together."

"How could we know about this kind of thing?"

Just as they were leaving, ready to search elsewhere,

An imperial sentinel in a neat uniform, with a golden badge on his shoulder, walked in, pushing through the crowd outside.

The man had a very young and noble face, when he saw Lin Yuan and Ni Ji standing together in the room, his entire expression instantly darkened.

"Xiao Yuan?" Jiang Yangshuo asked, his face grim. "Why are you still here? Who is this person?"

VerseVoyage