# 34
Chapter 34 – What Do You Want?
In the woods on the other side of the graveyard.
“Xiangnan.”
“!!!”
Wu Xiangnan, lying prone on the ground, jolted like a startled tiger and spun around. When he saw who it was, he exhaled in relief.
“Captain, don’t glide through a graveyard in the middle of the night without a sound—you almost scared me to death.” He pressed a hand to his thudding heart and forced a deep breath.
Chen Muye sat down silently beside him, watching Hongying carve a tombstone alone in the distance, and lowered his voice.
“I thought that oak-block head of yours was stuffed only with tactics. Never expected you to show up.”
Wu Xiangnan rolled his eyes. “Who’d believe she’d go practice marksmanship this late? You think I’m that dense?”
“Yes.”
Wu Xiangnan: …
“Where’s Qimo? He must be here?”
“Lying on the opposite ridge with Lin Qiye.”
“Leng Xuan and Xiaonan?”
“Leng Xuan vanished ages ago; Xiaonan’s afraid of the dark—wouldn’t come.”
“Oh.”
The two men fell silent.
After a long while Chen Muye spoke again.
“I’m glad you came.”
“…Is it really that big a deal?”
“It is.” Chen Muye nodded seriously. “It means you’re no longer the Wu Xiangnan who just crawled out of a pile of corpses. However much you deny it, you… are changing.”
“Why would I deny it?” Wu Xiangnan said calmly. “It’s been almost six years since Blue Rain squad was wiped out. A useless survivor like me has to move on eventually. Running into you guys—call it luck.”
Chen Muye sighed. “In their eyes you’re a rigid rules-and-regulations robot. Last time I eavesdropped on Hongying and Xiaonan, they said you’d die single.”
“……”
“If they knew you’d once been a member of the famous Blue Rain special squad, their jaws would drop.”
“I’m just a cripple who clung to life. That name doesn’t belong to me anymore.” Wu Xiangnan’s voice stayed level. “Now I only want to be an ordinary member of Squad 136.”
Chen Muye patted his shoulder and said nothing.
“What do you think?” Wu Xiangnan asked abruptly.
“About what?”
“The rookie—Lin Qiye.”
“Good kid.”
“I’m not talking potential, I’m talking character.”
“That’s what I meant.”
Wu Xiangnan paused. “Ghost-Face King died by his hand. If I’m right, Zhao Kongcheng only maimed it; the kill wasn’t his.”
“Does that matter?”
“Doesn’t it?”
Chen Muye held Wu Xiangnan’s gaze. “The boy chose to give the credit to Zhao Kongcheng. That was his decision—why obsess over it? You worked with Old Zhao for years; you know what his dream was.”
“Killing a River-realm mystery is a huge merit—it’ll help the kid’s future!”
“You think he cares about that?”
Wu Xiangnan had no answer.
Chen Muye looked away from Hongying toward the distant ravine.
“I told you—he’s a good kid.”
……
Meanwhile.
Dozens of li from the graveyard.
Leng Xuan lowered the binoculars he’d been holding on the hilltop and smirked.
“Every single one of you hides with zero technique—caught you on film again…”
Click-click!
The binoculars whirred and spat out several high-definition photos: Hongying carving alone; Lin Qiye chatting with Wen Qimo; two grown men being “intimate” in the woods…
He treasured the prints, locked them carefully in a metal box.
Inside: hundreds of photos—funny, awkward, warm moments belonging only to Squad 136.
……
Two hours later.
Lin Qiye stood gaping at a luxurious villa.
He checked the address on the scrap of paper, looked at the mansion again, and sucked in a breath.
“She’s a rich woman?!”
If he hadn’t taken a wrong turn, this was Hongying’s home.
Her words echoed in his head: “My place is pretty big…”
Pretty big? This was a palace!
He hesitated at the gate, finally steeled himself, and knocked.
Earlier he and Wen Qimo had watched Hongying finish carving from the ridge, then left deliberately half an hour late to avoid suspicion.
Two knocks—he pulled his hand back.
Slip-slop of slippers sounded beyond the door; it swung open.
Hongying stood there in fluffy pajamas, eyes faintly red. Seeing him, she smiled.
“Little Qiye, come in! Why so late?”
“Qimo kept talking till now,” Lin Qiye lied, conscience pricking.
Inside, he looked down to find slippers already set out for him.
“Um… I didn’t tidy up today—might be messy, don’t mind!” She twirled a lock of hair, embarrassed.
“It’s spotless.” He glanced around, helpless. “And any roof is luxury to me.”
The décor screamed refined opulence; a villa virgin, Lin Qiye felt awkward.
Plus… he’d never slept at a girl’s place before.
“Hongying jie, is Qiye here?”
A soft voice drifted from upstairs. Si Xiaonan, drowsy, leaned on the railing.
“Mm.” Hongying nodded.
Lin Qiye blinked. Hongying explained, “I don’t stay at barracks; I worry about her alone there, so she lives here.”
I see…
Then he remembered. “Uncle and auntie—won’t I disturb them?”
“No.” She shook her head. “They vanished in the fog five years ago. Before Xiaonan came, I lived here alone.”
“Survey team?”
“Yeah.”
Lin Qiye opened his mouth—wrong topic—but words of comfort stuck.
Hongying pointed to a second-floor room.
“That’s yours—ready to go. Blue towel and toothbrush in the bathroom—don’t mix them up!” She climbed the stairs, then spun round sharply.
“Oh—knock before entering mine or Xiaonan’s room. If I catch any shady ideas… hmph!”
She rolled up a pajama sleeve, flashed a fair arm, and waved it “viciously.”
“Forget it at your peril—I’m the squad’s front-line fighter; apart from the captain no one beats me. My spear has no eyes!”
With a flip of her long black hair she strode into her room.
Lin Qiye: …
Si Xiaonan, still drowsy, waved. “Good night.”
Thud—both doors shut; the corridor fell silent.
Suddenly Lin Qiye remembered something. He hurried to Hongying’s door and knocked.
Creak…
The door opened a crack. Hongying stood there, spear in hand, eyes narrowed.
“What… do you want?”