nycdaug #688 - Last Wish
#688 - Last Wish
“Calamity? What calamity?” Lu Jing raised his eyebrows. “Are you talking about a change of dynasty?”
Taiwan Novel Website → 𝓽 𝔀 𝓴 𝓪 𝓷 . 𝓬 𝓸 𝓶
“I know the Department of Celestial Observation has existed for thousands of years, and a change of dynasty won’t affect you,” the woman said. “No matter who sits on that throne, they can’t do without you, because they need you to deal with those strange creatures and maintain stability under their rule. But what’s coming this time isn’t as simple as a change of dynasty. Read М”
“What is it then?”
The woman took a deep look at Lu Jing. “You cultivators, who rely on the secret power in the secret realms to cultivate, have you ever thought about a question… what is at the very center of the secret realms?”
“No one has ever truly reached the center of the secret realms,” Lu Jing said. “At most, they’ve only gotten incredibly close to it.”
“Who says? Mr. Ji has been there.”
Lu Jing frowned. “So, the current decline of the secret power is also his doing?”
“Perhaps my previous statement wasn’t accurate enough. Mr. Ji once ‘glimpsed’ something inside… inadvertently…”
“What did he see?”
The woman suddenly closed her mouth again.
Lu Jing didn’t waste any more words and said directly, “Let’s talk about your conditions.”
“Let me leave, stop hunting me, and then kill her.” The woman pointed to the dragon-bun-haired girl who was immobilized not far away.
The latter’s eyes darted around upon hearing this.
Unfortunately, because Lu Jing had sealed her speech, she couldn’t say a word at this moment.
But then he suddenly raised a hand!
However, the woman had already witnessed the power of the flying sword before and had been on guard against Lu Jing’s move. Seeing Lu Jing raise his hand again, she abruptly moved her body, pushing the red pearl in front of her.
But the next moment, she saw that Lu Jing’s hand was empty… Someone had simply reached out to adjust his hair.
The woman was stunned, completely bewildered by Lu Jing’s inexplicable action.
What was that, trying to scare her?
But then, a sharp pain shot through her right ribs, so much so that she couldn’t even hold the hairpin in her hand, and it fell to the ground.
The woman didn’t bother to check the injury on her right ribs, enduring the pain, she wanted to bend down and pick up the hairpin again, but how could Lu Jing give her this chance.
In the blink of an eye, he had already arrived in front of her.
He grabbed the red pearl from her arms and gently pushed her aside.
Then, Lu Jing didn’t attack the woman on the ground, but instead sealed the wound on her body.
However, this sword had clearly injured her internal organs.
The woman was not a martial artist, and her physique was only at the level of an ordinary person. She also didn’t have true energy to protect her body. Judging from the medical skills of this era, she was likely doomed.
Seeing the incomprehensible confusion in her eyes, Lu Jing sighed, “When I fought with that friend from the Joyful Union Sect, I saw you holding Miss Hongzhu hostage, so after sealing her acupoints, I left a flying sword on her body, just in case.
“Just now, you were concentrating on my every move, so I simply used a trick, using myself to attract your attention, and then controlled that flying sword to stab you.
“But I didn’t intend to kill you. I was aiming for your right arm, but unfortunately, my sword control technique hasn’t been perfected yet. Without arm assistance, the accuracy will be a little worse. Plus, I was worried about hurting Miss Hongzhu, so this sword went off a bit. I’m sorry.”
Lu Jing’s apology was very sincere.
At the end, he continued to discuss with the other party, “Look, this is my unintentional mistake. I have temporarily sealed your acupoints, and I am currently using internal force to keep you alive. You should still have one or two incense sticks’ worth of time left to live. Should we continue the previous topic… Also, I don’t seem to have asked you yet, where is the strange object you made by killing people?”
The woman glared at Lu Jing.
“Or you can tell me if you have any last wishes. Let’s make a deal. I’ll help you fulfill your last wish, and you tell me what I want to know.”
The woman finally shook her head with difficulty. “I have no last wishes.”
“Don’t you have any family to take care of?”
“I’m a woman of the dust, sold into a brothel by my family early on. I’ve even forgotten what my parents are called. Even if they’re still alive, they have nothing to do with me.”
“What about friends or lovers?”
“Zeng Shusheng’s matter is a lesson. Mama is actually right. The most taboo thing in this line of work is to have feelings. The world only sees us as valuing money and being ungrateful, but they don’t know that those who are affectionate and righteous end up even worse than that Zeng Shusheng. I have no lover, and as for friends… that’s too much of a luxury for me.”
“Uh… don’t you even have someone you care about?”
“Yes,” the woman’s eyes lit up again. “Mr. Ji, he gave meaning to my empty and thin life, and then gave me the power to change my destiny. It’s a pity… I’m still too weak, unable to master this power, and unable to repay him.”
“Although I feel sorry for your experience, I think I still have to remind you that you killed fifteen people, and fifteen people who shared the same tragic fate as you.” Lu Jing said.
“This is the price of changing fate.” The woman said while coughing up blood, “I had no choice, I had to take a gamble. I didn’t want to continue like this anymore. Before I met Mr. Ji, I was already considering dying.
“In this world, very few people are willing to focus their attention on insignificant and pitiful people like us. I myself have nothing to lose. Being able to sit at the gambling table of fate and bet this last hand is already very satisfying.”
Lu Jing didn’t know what to say.
He had already given up trying to find out from the woman’s mouth about that strange object or anything related to the so-called “calamity.”
But unexpectedly, the woman paused and took the initiative to say, “I’ve thought about it again, and I really have something to ask you.”
“What is it?”
“There’s a hunchback named Li in the kitchen of the Golden Building, about fifty years old. He’s dark and inconspicuous. When I first came to the Golden Building, I was very headstrong and always wanted to run away. Whenever I was caught, I would be locked up for several days. Only he would come to see me and bring me sugar figurines.
“If you really want to count, he’s the closest person I have in this world. Just tell him that I went home to find my mother and that he shouldn’t worry about me.”