Chapter 63 - 55: Human Dao Luocheng’s Flowers Are Like Brocade, Yet I Arrive When It Is Not Spring

Chapter 63: Chapter 55: Human Dao Luocheng’s Flowers Are Like Brocade, Yet I Arrive When It Is Not Spring

Luocheng. October 9th, 2:00 a.m. Happiness District.

While Lu Chen was entirely focused on clearing Dungeons and continuously leveling up his Traceless Sword Technique, a strange figure silently appeared on the perimeter of his residential complex.

The person wore a hood, standing under a streetlight and looking at the building where Lu Chen lived from a distance. "Happiness District... This is the place," he muttered.

This person was none other than a student of the Luocheng Third High School’s Human Dao Class—Zhao Lu.

Zhao Lu licked his chapped lips. He easily vaulted over the complex’s fence and slipped right inside.

Before long, guided by the information in his hands, Zhao Lu arrived in front of Lu Chen’s apartment—Room 402. He looked at the tightly shut door but didn’t rush in. Instead, he pulled a special bottle from his jacket.

When he opened it, a fleshy, finger-length worm slowly crawled out and landed on his palm.

Staring at the bizarre worm, Zhao Lu kept his voice low. "Go on. Check the situation inside."

As if understanding his words, the eerie worm immediately hopped off his palm, squeezed through the crack under the door, and entered Lu Chen’s apartment.

After a three-minute wait, the worm crawled back out and made its way up onto Zhao Lu’s palm again.

Zhao Lu studied it for a moment before suddenly tossing it into his mouth and swallowing it whole.

SQUELCH!

After chewing a few times, he ingested the disgusting worm right into his stomach. The next second, all the visual information the worm had gathered inside the apartment flooded into Zhao Lu’s mind.

"He’s not back yet..." Seeing that the room was empty, a sinister smile tugged at the corners of Zhao Lu’s mouth.

He then placed his hand on the door lock. In the blink of an eye, his hand dissolved into a mass of writhing flesh that slithered directly into the keyhole.

Shortly after, the tightly shut door... clicked open.

Zhao Lu stepped inside. Gazing at the empty room, he muttered, "If no one’s here, I’ll just wait for you to come back.

"It’s just a blood worm clone anyway. Even if I fail in the end, absolutely no one will suspect it was my doing."

"Zhao Lu" walked into Lu Chen’s bedroom. His body instantly dispersed into countless tiny bugs that scurried into the dark space beneath the bed, breaking down into nothingness.

Meanwhile, in a Cultivation Chamber at the Third High School, Zhao Lu’s true body slowly opened his eyes.

Right between his eyebrows, a thumb-sized bulge wriggled ceaselessly, as if something was living inside his brain. The grotesque anomaly lasted for a brief moment before settling back into a calm state, rendering it completely undetectable to outsiders.

The blood worm clone was a special reward Zhao Lu had obtained after completing a few missions for the Black Lotus Sect. It was precisely by relying on this specific Evil Skill that he was able to hunt down the city’s geniuses without drawing any attention, thereby making up for his own lack of Cultivation Talent.

DING-DONG.

Just as Zhao Lu was preparing to resume his Cultivation, a text message arrived on his phone. Seeing the contents, Zhao Lu frowned.

[Son, the day after tomorrow is your birthday. I know you’re under a lot of pressure with your Acquired Cultivation, but don’t just lock yourself up at school all the time. Go out for a walk when you have time.]

[Mom ordered a birthday cake for you. Do you want to come back for a visit the day after tomorrow?]

[Don’t worry, Mom isn’t trying to cause you trouble. I just thought it’s been a while since you came home, so I wanted to cook something nice to help nourish your body.]

[Mom doesn’t know how to use a phone, so I asked Shouyi to help me type this. Remember to eat on time at school, take care of your health, and don’t overwork yourself.]

Looking at the dense block of text on his phone, Zhao Lu felt an inexplicable surge of irritation.

He thought, "That guy Shouyi really loves sticking his nose into other people’s business..."

He thought, "Go home for a birthday? Where do I have the time to celebrate a birthday now? If I don’t seize this period to improve my Cultivation Talent as much as possible, how will I ever catch up to the prodigies of other schools in just a short year?

"I can celebrate a birthday anytime, but this chance to raise my Talent only comes once. If I fail to complete the Black Lotus Saint Envoys’ missions on time, everything I have right now will likely be lost to the Dongliu.

"That old woman is so short-sighted and oblivious. All she does is get in my way."

With that in mind, Zhao Lu decided to pretend he hadn’t seen the text. He muted his phone and tossed it aside.

In the dimly lit Cultivation Chamber, Zhao Lu suppressed his irritation and secretly clenched his fists.

He thought, "They say Luocheng is as beautiful as blooming flowers, yet spring eludes me upon my arrival. In this vast Luocheng, why can’t the name Zhao Lu leave its mark? And the one standing in the light... why can’t it be me?"

...

Meanwhile, in a dilapidated residential complex in the southern part of the city.

"Young Master Bian, did you really send the text to Zhao Lu? Why hasn’t he replied to me after all this time? Could something have happened to him at school?"

Mrs. Zhao sat on the sofa, clutching a battered second-hand phone. Her face was etched with anxiety.

Hearing this, Bian Shouyi, who was pouring a glass of water beside her, paused to think before answering. "Zhao Lu might be in the middle of Cultivation, so he probably hasn’t seen it. Don’t worry, Mrs. Zhao. It’s completely normal for Cultivators to go into Seclusion for a few days when they practice. It’s nothing to fret over."

Hearing Bian Shouyi’s words, the tension in Mrs. Zhao’s heart eased considerably.

Then, noticing him pouring the water, she belatedly stood up and said, "Oh, Young Master Bian, what are you doing? How can I let you pour water for me? You specially helping me text Zhao Lu has already been a huge favor. I should be the one doing these trivial chores. I can’t trouble you like this."

Having worked as a nanny in Bian Shouyi’s home for over a decade, Mrs. Zhao naturally didn’t treat him like an ordinary member of the younger generation.

Bian Shouyi, however, thought nothing of it. He placed the filled glass in front of Mrs. Zhao and said politely, "You’re too modest, Mrs. Zhao. You’ve worked in our home for so many years; we stopped treating you as just a nanny a long time ago. Zhao Lu is probably just facing a lot of pressure with his Cultivation lately, so you don’t need to worry too much. I went to the school to check on him earlier, and he’s perfectly fine."

Hearing this, Mrs. Zhao’s slightly weary face finally relaxed.

If someone else had said that, she might not have believed them. But if it came from Bian Shouyi, she would believe it without a doubt, because she had watched him grow up, and he never lied.

"I’ve really troubled you too much, Young Master Bian. I just felt that Zhao Lu has been a bit strange lately. He hasn’t come home for over a month since school started, and I was genuinely worried something had happened to him.

"You know how he is. He keeps everything bottled up and never tells me anything. But you have a good relationship with him, so I figured that even if there are things he won’t tell me, he’d tell you. That’s why I went out of my way to bother you. But now that I hear you say this, my mind is at ease."

Hearing those words, Bian Shouyi uncharacteristically lowered his head. Because just now... he had actually lied.

His instincts told him that something was weighing heavily on Zhao Lu’s mind. But looking at Mrs. Zhao’s worried expression, he hesitated for a moment and decided against voicing his concerns. Even if he had told her, there was nothing she could do about it other than lose sleep at night. Rather than cause her grief, it was better to tell a white lie to comfort her.

Perhaps because it was his first time lying, Bian Shouyi felt too guilty to look Mrs. Zhao in the eye. Thus, after a few brief pleasantries, he stood up and took his leave.

After leaving Mrs. Zhao’s residential complex, Bian Shouyi couldn’t help but recall the scene between him and Zhao Lu at the gates of the Third High School.

He thought, "Zhao Lu... you haven’t done anything stupid, have you? You absolutely cannot disappoint your mother."