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Chapter 4 - Chapter 4 Could You Please Kill Yourself?

Yu Sheng returned home weary, sinking onto the sofa with a pensive look on his face. A faint guess had taken shape in his mind, yet it was so utterly mind-bending that he dared not confirm it for a moment. If the dragon-patterned rod represented the awakened relic he'd hatch, and there were countless other such objects in the scroll in his mind, did that prove, in another way, that he had a chance to awaken multiple times? Since the Reawakening of Spiritual Energy, only two people in a hundred years had been recorded to have achieved multiple awakenings. What's more, these two shared a common trait: their awakened relics were utterly ordinary. The first had hatched a sickle and a keyboard, respectively. The second, a squirrel and a pair of scissors. Even though dual awakenings were exceedingly rare, and the Mo Pavilion had poured resources into nurturing them, their efforts had ultimately borne no fruit. The resource consumption was far too great, and with such lackluster awakened relics, the effects were negligible. But his own was different. The dragon-patterned rod looked positively stunning. If his guess was true, his path forward might become much smoother. The sky had dimmed by now, and as Yu Sheng stared at the starlight outside the window, his mind wandered for a moment. For the first time, the ever-resolute boy seemed to show a hint of softness. His straight back hunched slightly, as if he bore an unbearable weight. But this posture lasted only a few seconds. Yu Sheng's expression flickered; he suddenly held his breath, leaning back a little, and melted perfectly into the darkness. Even by moonlight, the room was not all that dim, yet no one could have spotted his figure, nor the fact that a person was there at all. In an instant, absolute silence fell over the room. Seconds ticked by. A faint rustle suddenly came from the doorway. The doorknob twisted gently, creaking open a crack. By the moonlight, a young figure slipped in soundlessly, closed the door again, and pressed himself against the wall, motionless. Another half minute passed. A team of Guard Department officers ran past the window, scanning their surroundings warily as if searching for something, before finally vanishing into the distance. The figure by the door let out a long breath, his body slumping with relief. He sank to the floor, coughing softly. He seemed not to have noticed Yu Sheng at all. After a short rest, he struggled to his feet, glanced around by the moonlight, and, seeing no one, walked to the sofa and sat down to tend to the hideous gash on his chest. The wound was deep, clearly a knife cut, its flesh torn and raw. The boy frowned slightly, lifting his head to scan the room, as if sizing up his surroundings. "The medicinal liquor's on the second shelf ahead." Suddenly, Yu Sheng's calm voice came from behind him. His body tensed rigidly. He was about to stand when a dagger pressed against his neck—not a tentative threat, but a firm press that pierced the skin at once. The entire blade sank half a centimeter into his flesh. "Don't move. Not a muscle." "The dagger's right by your carotid artery. A little more force, and you'll die." "And mopping the floor is a hassle." Yu Sheng said, his brow furrowed, as if recalling some unpleasant memory. The boy froze in place, not daring to move an inch, his voice a whisper: "I only want medicine. I mean no harm." "Oh. The medicinal liquor's on the second shelf ahead." Yu Sheng repeated himself earnestly. ... The boy fell silent again, maintaining his rigid posture. Once more, a stalemate settled between them. Blood from the boy's neck dripped down the blade onto the floor, the drip, drip echoing through the dark room. "Why not go get the medicine?" "Your wound's serious." Yu Sheng reminded him, helpful as ever. The boy's face had turned pale from blood loss, his body trembling slightly, yet he dared not move an inch because of the dagger at his neck. He saw the medicine—bandages too. He longed to go for them, but the problem was... Would the damn knife move first? "I feel much better. No need for medicine." The boy spoke slowly: "Are you going to kill me?" Yu Sheng shook his head earnestly: "Killing people outside Sin City is against the law." At Yu Sheng's words, the boy let out a quiet sigh of relief, his tensed muscles relaxing a little: "We'll meet again down the road. I owe you my life. I'll repay this debt." But Yu Sheng made no move to lift the dagger. Instead, after a few seconds of quiet thought, he asked: "Since you owe me your life... could you kill yourself?" ... For the first time, the boy, who had remained unflappable until now, looked stunned, as if struggling to process Yu Sheng's bizarre train of thought. He had never heard such a request in his life. "I'm an assassin. I'll kill someone for you, free of charge. Will that do?" The boy struggled a little again. Yu Sheng nodded: "Sure. Could you please kill yourself for me?" His words were natural, seamless, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. The boy teetered on the brink of collapse, his face twisted in agony—both physical and mental. "We have no grudge against each other. Why do you insist on my death?" He finally asked the question that had been burning in his chest for ages, unable to hold it in any longer. Yu Sheng looked perplexed: "Because you snuck into my room at night. And you dirtied my floor." "If this were Sin City, you'd be dead the second you stepped through the door." ... "Sin City..." "You're from Sin City?" The boy realized, his voice rising with emotion, but he quickly regained his composure: "Impossible. Sin City only gives out one absolution quota a year. You're too young to have claimed it." "Forget it. It doesn't matter." "I concede. Do it." With that, the boy closed his eyes in resignation, and, as all doomed men do, began to relive his life. But... by the time he'd replayed his memories five times, the dagger at his neck still hadn't fallen. "Why aren't you doing it?" The boy couldn't help but ask again. Yu Sheng stared at him as if he were an idiot: "Killing people outside Sin City is against the law." "Then let me go!" The boy's voice rose, sharp with rage and anxiety. Yu Sheng shook his head: "No." "Then this is false imprisonment! That's also against the law!" "According to the Mo Pavilion Criminal Code, it carries a three-year prison sentence—five to eight years for aggravated offenses!" A flash of inspiration struck the boy. In that moment, he suddenly understood, and spoke rapidly, reciting legal knowledge like a textbook. Yu Sheng mused, deep in thought: "How old are you?" "Seventeen! According to the Mo Pavilion Law, I'm a minor! If you falsely imprison me, the punishment will be far harsher!" The boy felt as if he'd found the key to survival, his words growing more coherent as he gave an impromptu law lecture. "Seventeen?" "Which means you haven't awakened yet..." Yu Sheng slowly lowered the dagger, then grinned at the boy, a friendly smile spreading across his face: "You can go now. Goodbye." As he spoke, he even waved at him warmly.

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