Light Barrier

“Old Town, Lion Alley… It’s just three streets away. You’ll see it in ten minutes.” Crow smiled. “Have you heard of Lion Alley?”

Gu Shen’s mind stirred as he furrowed his brow.

He had indeed heard of Lion Alley!

Gu Shen grew up in the nooks and crannies of the Azure River District, in a remote place with limited access to information. He basically didn’t know much about major events… But he had an impression of the name Lion Alley.

The radio in the orphanage had broadcasted the name Lion Alley for several days in a row because of the significant impact of the case back then. Gu Shen still had an impression of this news… A big shot who had just topped the list of the richest people in the Dadu District was assassinated in Lion Alley.

“Since I was young, winter in Dadu has been very cold. Not many people go out much, but I often wandered outside. Back then, I would always smell a peculiar aroma of wine. I wanted to sneak inside to steal the wine, but I was caught red-handed.”

Song Ci smiled sadly. “That man was pretty interesting. He wasn’t angry when he caught me and even gave me a taste. This wine was so spicy that my nose ran and my eyes watered. He laughed while holding his stomach and called me a coward, so I took another big gulp. After drinking it, I blacked out right there and stayed in the courtyard for the entire night. Anyway, I was just a stinky child without parents, so it didn’t matter where I slept.

“That man’s name was Lu Cheng. I called him Old Lu.”

Song Ci’s voice was hoarse. “I thought that someone like Old Lu, who wandered around Old Town all day long, should be a worthless idler, someone old who couldn’t find a wife and became an unemployed vagrant… until I climbed over the wall and saw Lion Alley stained with blood. The scene was surrounded by hundreds of people, with police, doctors, and lawyers arguing loudly. Old Lu was lying quietly in the middle of them with a spreading pool of blood under him.

“Later, they took Old Lu away. I saw on TV that Old Lu was the richest person in Dadu. Those people were arguing because Old Lu had too much money, and everyone wanted a piece of it.” Crow looked at Gu Shen and smiled. “What do you think? Isn’t it nonsense?”

A true hermit in the city. (T/N: It means the environment shouldn’t affect one’s ability to find inner peace.)

Many people had heard of this phrase, but how many could truly embody it like Lu Cheng?

“After Old Lu died, some people called me a jinx who jinxed my parents and neighbors to death.” Song Ci shrugged and said in a low voice, “They only stopped saying those things when Little Lu came. It wasn’t because they had good intentions and didn’t want to poke my sore spot, but because Little Lu was beautiful and graceful and clearly looked like someone from a wealthy family. They didn’t dare to gossip behind her back.”

“Little Lu…?”

“In fact, they didn’t know anything.” Song Ci laughed coldly. “I named her Little Lu. After Old Lu died, the courtyard was empty, and she moved in alone, so I called her Little Lu. Everyone guessed that she was Old Lu’s daughter, but her temperament didn’t match. They could only guess that she was a distant relative… If you don’t believe me, ask them. Who knows what Little Lu’s name is?”

I’ve asked before. Gu Shen asked softly, “Why did Little Lu leave?”

“I don’t know.” Crow instantly became despondent. “Little Lu is an unpredictable person. She comes and goes as she pleases. Before she left, she didn’t even say goodbye to me… It wasn’t until Madam Nanzhi picked me up that I knew they had an argument. In a fit of anger, Little Lu packed her bags and left Dadu, saying she would never come back.”

He took a deep gulp.

Crow said angrily, “It’s fine if she wanted to leave, but why didn’t she take me with her? I can fight, endure, and bend. Did she think I was a burden?”

Gu Shen’s expression was complicated. Isn’t it because you’re too unreliable?

“Heh, women.” Song Ci waved his hand. “When she returns to Dadu, I’ll give her a chance to repent.

“After Old Lu left, there was only this bottle of wine left. Little Lu didn’t take it with her, so it’s mine now.” He invited Gu Shen to clink glasses and asked curiously, “Gu Shen, why is your alcohol tolerance so good? Don’t you feel anything?”

Gu Shen was silent for a moment before holding his forehead. “Uh… I’m about done… Another cup?”

“I’ll definitely get you drunk tonight!” Song Ci gritted his teeth and raised his cup. “Punk, you lied to me before. I bet you really ran away because you felt guilty for doing something despicable. Come clean. What immoral thing did you do?!”

“Actually, I told the truth.” Gu Shen clinked glasses and smiled wryly. “It’s just that you don’t believe me.”

Song Ci shook his head and supported his chin with one hand, barely preventing his head from hitting the table.

He tried his best to recall Gu Shen’s explanation.

A moment later.

His eyebrows furrowed deeply, and his tongue began to speak unclearly. “You said… you extorted… Cui Zhongcheng…”

“Yes,” Gu Shen affirmed lightly.

“Fuck… fuck… What did you say?” Song Ci gasped sharply. He slowly tilted his head and looked at Gu Shen in disbelief to confirm again. “Cui Zhongcheng?”

Upon receiving confirmation, he shook his head hard to get rid of his drunkenness. He laughed heartily and draped his arm over Gu Shen’s shoulder. “You really know how to brag, but… I believe you!”

It was only at this moment that Song Ci realized that Gu Shen had been drinking Lion Awakens at a constant pace, one small sip at a time. According to this speed, he had already drunk two to three times more than him.

“Punk, were you born in a wine jar?” Song Ci was anxious. While he was still conscious, he quickly protected the bottle of wine. “That’s enough drinking for today!”

Twenty minutes later, the two of them stumbled out of the alley.

To be precise, one person stumbled out while the other was forced to stumble along.

Gu Shen supported Crow and was still reminiscing about the taste of Lion Awakens. He savored the mental elements in the wine and silently recalled the ‘Lion Alley Case’ mentioned by Crow.

Ten years ago, after Old Lu’s death, the Lu family collapsed, and all their assets were annexed. If he remembered correctly, that was also the year when the Zhao family started to rise.

Gu Shen didn’t know exactly what had happened back then, but he knew that in the Adjudication Bureau, his senior sister’s name was registered as Nan Jin.

She had abandoned the surname Lu.

Crow had mentioned that the two sisters had a fierce argument. After that day, Lu Nanjin had left Dadu and had not returned since… This information was enough to infer some things.

A desperate fighter who most likely bears an unrelenting blood feud…

Then Gu Shen remembered what Chu Ling had said. [“Don’t have any bad thoughts about other people’s past experiences.”]

He helped Crow out of the alley. The latter vomited a lot in the grass. After vomiting, he reached out to get his helmet from Gu Shen and tried his best to fit his head in it.

“Are you planning to go back like this?” Gu Shen said seriously. “In Dadu, drunk driving will get your license revoked, and motorcycles are no exception.”

He wasn’t actually worried that Crow would have an accident.

“I’m not drunk.” Song Ci spat and laughed. “I only get drunk if I want to be drunk, you understand?”

Gu Shen fell silent.

His instincts told him that Crow was right.

Transcendents, regardless of what type they were, needed to sharpen their mental power. When their mental power became strong enough, alcohol could no longer dissolve their will. No matter how much they drank, as long as they wanted to sober up, they only needed to circulate their breathing technique.

With Song Ci’s strength, even drinking Lion Awakens, which contained mental elements, wouldn’t make him drunk. At least it wouldn’t put him in such a sorry and embarrassing state.

“If I’m not drunk, there are some things… I can’t say.” Crow held the corner of the wall and gestured for Gu Shen to come closer.

He laughed softly. “You’re a smart person. I just told you about the Lion Alley Case. You should have guessed something…”

Gu Shen opened his mouth, but he didn’t know what to say.

“I have never believed in such coincidences. Old Lu is such a good person. How could he have enemies? He had already hid in Old Town, but he was still targeted.” Crow laughed softly. “Who do you think did it?”

Gu Shen replied calmly, “You think it’s the Zhao family.”

“Not bad!” Song Ci patted Gu Shen’s shoulder vigorously and said affectionately, “As expected of someone Mr. Cui has taken a fancy to… You really understand me, just like a… Pfft, never mind.”

“What do you want to do?” Gu Shen asked with a peculiar look in his eyes.

“Of course…” Crow stretched out a hand and swiped it across his neck. His eyes were burning as he smiled and asked, “What do you think?”

“Who do you want to kill, Zhao Qi?” Gu Shen asked. “Or—”

“Hah… Just kidding, just kidding,” Song Ci quickly interrupted Gu Shen.

“Although many people are afraid of me… I’m actually very timid.” Crow let out a long sigh and chuckled. “Apart from having hard fists and a hard life, I don’t have any other merits. I’m not afraid of death, but I’m afraid of losing my cool and doing something rash that will implicate Madam. Do you know why I ran away the day we met?”

Gu Shen waited silently for him to continue.

“A man came to wreck my place. Before he could introduce himself, I struck first… I swear I only used one punch. I didn’t expect him to be so weak. That punch nearly sent him to see the King of Hell.” Crow laughed proudly. “That man’s name is Chen Jingtan. He’s Chen San’s nephew.”

After waiting a long time without any response from Gu Shen, Crow raised an eyebrow in anger. “Did you turn mute?”

“Chen San’s nephew…” Gu Shen said. “So what?”

“Is this your first time hearing the name of Chen San?” Crow was very irritated and a bit frustrated as well.

“It’s not the first time, but… should there be any reaction when I hear this name?” Gu Shen felt slightly awkward. “I know that Chen San is on equal footing with that MP of the Zhao family. He’s a very powerful big shot.”

Song Ci let out a long sigh, completely giving up on the idea of explaining to Gu Shen.

“Basically, it was very satisfying.

“You’ll know when you try one day… Beating up someone rich and powerful is really different from ordinary fighting. Under the framework of the fucking laws, rules, and fate, my life is worthless, but his is not. So when you throw this punch, his pain will double your happiness. It’s a pleasure that transcends the rules.”

Crow stretched out his fist excitedly, clenched it, and then loosened it, seemingly reminiscing about the feeling at the time. He looked at the calluses with rough skin and grinned. “I’ve thought about it more than once. What would it be like if these fists landed on Zhao Qi’s face?”

At this point, he made gurgling sounds again. But he had already put on his helmet, so he quickly held it in and supported himself against the wall as the world spun.

Gu Shen sighed softly and patted his back.

Suddenly!

Several people slowly emerged from the other end of the long alley about a few hundred meters away.

The leader happened to glance over when he entered the alley and saw the two people at the street corner.

He stopped for a moment.

The man wearing the helmet looked vaguely familiar, but he turned his gaze away after a glance.

The cowboy holding the shotgun looked over as well. He silently gripped the handle of his gun and asked softly, “Young Master Zhao?”

“It’s nothing… Just a couple of drunken wild dogs. They’re not worth our time,” Zhao Qi said softly. He suddenly frowned and stretched out his hand to wipe his cheek, which should have been pristine but was now stained with dirt. The grim on his palm had probably been picked up inside the abandoned factory.

He silently stared at the dirt on his palm and said softly, “There is too much filth in Old Town…”