# 273
Chapter 273 – Waiting for Their Return
“The high-level transfer order is out.”
Xia Simeng glanced at her phone, her brows knitting slightly.
“What does it say?” Kong Shang asked from beside her.
“As expected, Lin Qiye is to be transferred immediately to the Purification Chamber for treatment.” Xia Simeng rose slowly, complicated emotions surfacing in her eyes. “His escort mission will be handled by… the [Phoenix] squad.”
Kong Shang froze. “We’re the ones escorting Lin Qiye? Isn’t that a bit…”
“Over the top?” Xia Simeng shook her head. “Not at all. Lin Qiye’s potential is enormous. Right now he’s mentally unstable and has lost the ability to protect himself. If logistics troops were to move him and the outer gods or the Church of the Ancient Gods stuck their noses in again, the consequences would be unthinkable.”
“True enough.” Kong Shang nodded, then gave a bitter smile. “Come to think of it, we hijacked a plane all the way to Cangnan just to take Lin Qiye away… and now we really are taking him—just not in the way we expected.”
At the word “hijack,” Xia Simeng’s expression stiffened. She tugged at the corner of her mouth, leaned to Kong Shang’s ear and whispered:
“Marshal Ye also said that, even though we blundered into being useful here in Cangnan, the hijacking can’t be overlooked… He told us to get ready—military court in a couple of days.”
Kong Shang: …
Just then, Wu Xiangnan, seated opposite them, suddenly spoke:
“I have a question.”
Everyone in [Phoenix] squad turned. Xia Simeng cleared her throat. “Go ahead.”
“If the Night Watch higher-ups always knew Cangnan’s secret and planned from the start to recruit Lin Qiye, then… were the ghost-faced man and Zhao Kongcheng’s deaths part of the calculation?” Wu Xiangnan’s eyes narrowed, his voice cooling.
Xia Simeng frowned slightly. “I don’t know what ghost-faced incident you’re talking about, nor what the top brass was thinking—honestly, we only just learned the inside story of Cangnan ourselves. But one thing I’m sure of—”
She pointed at Wu Xiangnan. “Who are you?”
Wu Xiangnan blinked. “Deputy captain of Team 136, Wu Xiangnan.”
“You are Night Watch.” Xia Simeng spoke slowly. “You are Night Watch, I am Night Watch; the Night Watch high command… is still Night Watch.”
Looking straight into Wu Xiangnan’s eyes, she said earnestly, “Night Watch does not treat its comrades as chess pieces… The so-called higher-ups are only Night Watch who see farther and think deeper than we do.”
Wu Xiangnan held her gaze for a long moment, then nodded. “I understand.”
“By the way.” As if remembering something, Xia Simeng handed over the file in her hand. “The transfer order isn’t just for Lin Qiye…”
Wu Xiangnan lowered his eyes to the document and froze.
“Headquarters wants me back?” He lifted his head, puzzled. “Why?”
“Who knows? The higher-ups’ sight reaches too far for a dull brain like mine.” Xia Simeng spread her hands helplessly. “Maybe they’ve uncovered something… about Takamagahara’s secret?”
At the name Takamagahara, a strange light flashed in Wu Xiangnan’s eyes.
“The annihilation of [Blue Rain] squad still holds too many questions. To solve them and find Japan’s homeland of the gods… perhaps only you can do it.” Xia Simeng’s voice turned grave.
“After all, you’re the only human who entered Takamagahara and came back alive.”
Wu Xiangnan stared at the file; memories long locked away surged back—the endless fog, the mystery-shrouded Takamagahara, Susanoo wielding Ame-no-Murakumo, teammates dying one by one beside him…
After a long silence he rasped, “If I leave, Team 136 will be down to two.”
“But you still can’t let go of [Blue Rain], can you?” Xia Simeng glanced at Hongying secretly crying outside and Wen Qimo comforting her, and sighed.
“After this incident, Cangnan will need a long time to recover. The residual aura of the divine war here will strangle any emerging mysteries; for the next three years this place will be a pure land… You don’t need to worry.”
Wu Xiangnan slowly closed his eyes. After a long silence, he nodded.
“I understand.”
…
One day later.
Cangnan City outskirts.
A breeze brushed the lonely hills. Once-lush trees were gone; only a few saplings stood in the soil, tender green leaves trembling in the wind.
Before the scattered graves, a girl in red stood motionless.
In front of her were two clean tombstones: Zhao Kongcheng and Chen Muye.
She gazed at them, lost in thought.
Wen Qimo walked over slowly.
“Couldn’t find the deputy captain, but… this letter was on his desk.” He handed it over, eyes complicated. “He’s been recalled to Shangjing for something important. He couldn’t bear a real goodbye, so he wrote this.”
Hongying read the letter from start to finish, then looked to the distant sky and exhaled.
“The deputy captain’s gone too… Team 136 is just us now.”
Wen Qimo was silent a moment. “What will you do?”
“I’m staying.” Hongying’s voice was calm, clear eyes fixed on Wen Qimo’s, full of resolve. “As long as Cangnan stands and I remain, Team 136 will always exist.”
Wen Qimo blinked. “Even if only two of us are left?”
“I believe in the captain, believe in Qiye.” Hongying drew a deep breath. “Team 136 isn’t disbanded, hasn’t vanished—everyone’s just scattered, each with their own tasks…
When the dust settles, they’ll come back.
Even if I’m the only one left, I’ll guard this city, just so that on the day they return I can smile and say… welcome home.”
She took out the green other-world flower from her bosom, knelt, and gently buried it in the soil.
Her eyes rimmed red, lips pressed tight to hold back tears.
Hongying stood, wiped her eyes, and lifted her gaze to the horizon. The breeze lifted the hair at her temples, revealing determined eyes.
In that instant, the once carefree girl… suddenly grew up.
“The captain’s gone. From today on, I, Hongying, am the captain of Team 136!” She filled her lungs and shouted toward the distant ridges.
Her voice echoed through the valley.
Wen Qimo stared at her profile, then laughed and shook his head.
“Can’t argue with you… In that case, I’ll reluctantly accept the post of deputy.”
Hongying chuckled. “Deputy Captain Wen Qimo!”
“Present!”
“Let’s head back!”
She hoisted her long spear over her shoulder, long black hair streaming, scarlet clothes flapping in the wind, and strode off.
Wen Qimo followed with a smile.
“Captain.”
“Hmm?”
“What’s our job?”
“…Wait for them to come back!”
In the empty valley her voice rang; before the lonely graves the green other-world flower danced gently…
…
…
End of Volume One: Mortal Divine Realm.
Next Volume: Crimson Nightfall.