Huai Shi returned home earlier than most people expected, but later than some others had anticipated.
Uncle Fang, waiting at the door, bowed and reported, "Miss Ai visited this evening. After learning the young master was not in, she left a message saying to stop by the Astronomical Society when you have time."
Huai Shi paused, scratching his head involuntarily. She must have caught wind of something...
So much for the flawless plan; it's leaking all over the place.
Wasn't I supposed to remain concealed in my contributions and achievements?
"It is about remaining hidden, yes."
In the basement, Raven shrugged. "Look, Director Fu just wants to mess with you, and Ai Qing might just suspect you for now. So relax. We've been careful, there's no evidence. If anyone talks, we can accuse them of slander!"
Where exactly did you learn these TVB-style crimes?
Huai Shi rolled his eyes and sat down on the chair, once again becoming a salted fish.
He didn't want to move a muscle.
Actually, Fu Yi cried for a bit, then wiped away her tears. There wasn't the anticipated shoulder to lean on, nor any display of vulnerability. After rubbing her eyes, she lifted her head, finished her cigarette, and left.
But Huai Shi still felt uncomfortable inside.
"You have to look on the bright side. You're not the only one who's deceived her, right?"
Huai Shi couldn't help but roll his eyes again. "You can't think that trust is cheap just because there are a lot of liars, right? Besides, if I..."
"If you hadn't messed things up, Director Fu might have gone, and her mother still wouldn't have come."
Raven looked at him with pity. "This isn't something that a dinner or a meeting can change. Some things, once they happen, can never be changed.
So, put away that sense of responsibility, Little Brag. It's not time for you to be responsible for others yet. Or are you really planning to marry her and spend a lifetime together?"
"..." Huai Shi was stunned for a long time, scratching his head. "We're too familiar; it's awkward to make a move."
"That's right. As her close confidante, her good buddy, just dutifully fulfill your mission as a negative energy receptor. You're not supposed to be a Goblin or a bootlicker, so why all the melodrama?"
Raven looked behind her. "Compared to that, shouldn't we... check the goods now?"
She looked at the small box on the table, excitedly rubbing her wings together.
"I hope it's worth the price."
Huai Shi sighed, opened the box, and gingerly took out the yellowed fragment.
It didn't look like paper but something else. To think it hadn't degraded over such a long period was astonishing. Could it be some kind of magical beast skin?
"Stop imagining things. It's just plastic."
Raven cast a glance at him as if looking at an idiot.
"Plastic?" Huai Shi was astounded, incredulous. There was plastic back then?
Called plastic, Huai Shi looked carefully and found it really was plastic... A plastic sheet?
Raven shrugged. "Alchemists, you know, always come up with strange things. Count St. Germain claimed this was an essence sifted from petroleum, useful for convenient writing and storage, more durable than paper..."
"So how exactly is this thing used?"
Huai Shi was amused. Is this some kind of ultimate secret manual that needs to be practiced according to instructions? Or do we need to find the materials to recreate what's on it?
"It's not that complicated. In fact, it's quite straightforward."
Raven flapped her wings, and the heavy Book of Fate spontaneously appeared, landing on the table and opening itself. The pages turned without wind, directly to the middle section, revealing several torn paper fragments.
It was as if they were the remnants of being torn off. Huai Shi tried to match them, and they fit together seamlessly... It was as easy as plugging a USB drive into a computer.
He let go, and the formula automatically fell from his hand, drawn towards the Book of Fate, merging with the fragments until they became one.
Then, the cracks on it began to heal.
Huai Shi's vision darkened.
He collapsed to the ground in an instant, feeling drained, with just enough energy to curse. This thing is absorbing my Source Substance!
In a blink, almost all his Source Substance was drained. Then, the prepared Raven opened a copper box hidden somewhere, and the accumulated Source Substance poured out swiftly into the pages of the Book of Fate.
It was a massive amount; Source Substance equivalent to that of a thousand people was consumed in an instant.
Huai Shi was more curious about where Raven had collected so much Source Substance.
"You see, a while back The Purified People were causing trouble, right?" Raven chuckled bashfully. "You were busy, and I didn't want to bother you, so I quietly lent a small hand..."
So it was you sneaking around, quietly stealing their spoils of war, huh?
Raven shook her head, stating earnestly, "I just picked up some unwanted things. How could that be called stealing?"
"..."
Huai Shi was about to say something else when suddenly, everything went dark once again.
This time it was truly dark. He couldn't see anything. His heartbeat stopped, his pulse paused; he could no longer feel his breathing, nor his limbs and everything else. It was as if he were thrown into the deepest darkness in an instant. Eternal descent.
But then, amidst the profound darkness, a spark burst forth, hovering in the void, slowly growing.
It turned into a point of light. The fire burned, its light radiating, piercing through all darkness, igniting Huai Shi completely. He became the fire. Burning fiercely.
That spark grew countless times in the blink of an eye, then quickly collapsed and contracted, until in the end, it was hard to tell whether it was still a flame.