He Li’s back was pressed against the wall, his feet dangling in the air. Before him stood Kuhl, his face covered in stubble.
Kuhl held him by the collar, pinning him against the wall.
For a moment, He Li thought of a scene from Detective Chinatown 2. He felt like Wang Baoqiang, just missing a rose.
Seeing He Li zoning out again, looking dazed, Kuhl became even more enraged. He opened his mouth and cursed,
“You damn son of a bitch! You ran off to Victoria, and I pulled strings for you to have food and shelter. Then you fucking ran all the way to Nova Scotia!
You’re truly capable, crossing the entire country. What are you doing here?
Trying to provoke the Hunter Group?
They’ll tear you to shreds!”
He Li asked, “How did you get here?”
“Isn’t that a stupid question!” Kuhl’s face darkened from black to iron blue. He growled, “You just left a message for Willow and then took off. He was almost scared to death, rambling all day. Finally, he called me. I took the earliest flight here.
Tell me, how else would I have gotten here?”
Kuhl was truly at his wit’s end. He roared, “If you hadn’t saved my life, I wouldn’t have come looking for you, you damn son of a bitch!”
He Li picked at his ear. He couldn’t figure out how “son of a bitch” could be related to “damn.”
If it wasn’t a grammatical error, then it must be a grand love that transcended species.
“Uh… my dear friend, please don’t be angry. I… I brought you a gift.” He Li stammered,
As he spoke, he handed Kuhl the “God-Slaying Nuclear Bomb” locator launch button from his pocket.
Kuhl frowned, looking at the small thing in He Li’s hand that resembled an arcade button. He became even angrier. “Which arcade did you tear down! Go and pay for it quickly!”
He Li thought back to Reaper Island. It shouldn’t have been torn down, should it? Who should he compensate? Reaper Aegfenn?
Hmm…
A bit conflicted.
He licked his lips. The immediate priority was to get Kuhl to put him down. This was really embarrassing.
“Really, flower, this thing is very interesting. See something you don’t like, press it, and you’ll feel better.”
Kuhl looked at He Li’s grinning face and snorted, putting him down. He glanced at the small red button in his hand and said, “What the hell are you up to here? I heard the Hunter Group was on a mission on Reaper Island, and then yesterday, Reaper Island just disappeared.”
“Yeah.”
He Li nodded, pushing the red button forward again. “It disappeared.”
Kuhl was utterly speechless. He reached out, snatched the red button, and casually put it in his pocket.
He Li’s heart skipped a beat. Damn, man, be careful.
“Flower, this is…”
“It’s nothing. Hurry up and come back to Victoria with me. Willow is so scared by you that he’s about to resign. You’re my only friend abroad. If I die, I won’t be able to show off back home.”
Kuhl grabbed He Li and started to leave. They ended up at a hotel, where He Li found Xiao Lan, and then followed Kuhl back to Victoria.
On the way, He Li hesitated for a moment before telling Kuhl the function of the red button.
On the plane, Kuhl held the red button with both hands, concentrating, not daring to move. What was this? The switch to randomly restart a city was in his hands.
Damn it, this was exciting.
“Flower, you don’t have to be so cautious. As long as you don’t press it, you’ll be fine.” He Li finally couldn’t help but speak.
Kuhl glanced at He Li and said in a low voice, “You’d better shut up. If you say one more word, I’ll throw you off the plane.
And,
Stop calling me… flower.”
“Alright, Mr. Heavenly Mountain Snow Lotus.” He Li nodded, then put on his eye mask and went to sleep.
He Li truly didn’t say anything else on the way because… he fell asleep.
The sensation of falling as the plane landed woke him up. He took off his eye mask and touched his heart. After obtaining the divinity of Horus, he felt the world become much clearer in his eyes. It was a strange feeling, as if everything around him was within his perception, incredibly clear.
But he frowned again,
Because Xiao Yue was standing in the aisle, smiling and looking at Kuhl, who was holding the red button.
As if sensing He Li’s displeasure, he looked at He Li, shrugged, and said with an innocent expression, “I was just looking at the locator launch button in Kuhl’s hand. After all, it’s a weapon used by the Spiritual Management Association to slay gods.”
He Li nodded expressionlessly, remaining silent, quietly watching Xiao Yue.
Xiao Yue shrugged and disappeared.
“Hoo…”
He Li exhaled. The plane had landed. As the passengers were disembarking, He Li suddenly said, “Kuhl, you should go back quickly. Your home needs you. You’re the only spiritual warrior in Taxian. Are you really at ease?”
Kuhl replied without looking up, “Of course, I’m not at ease. I’m worried about you! I’ll be back soon.”
“How soon?”
“You have to let me eat something and sleep!”
“……You can sleep on the plane, and there’s plane food…”
“Can you just stop talking?”
He Li shut his mouth. Outside the airport, Willow, who had come to pick them up, saw He Li and Kuhl and was moved to tears. He truly considered He Li a friend. He stepped forward, hugged He Li, and patted his back forcefully.
Then he crouched down and hugged Xiao Lan, sobbing.
Xiao Lan’s tail stopped wagging. What was a grown man crying while hugging a dog?
Dinner was at Willow’s house. He Li paid for takeout. Seeing the delivery person’s pained yet happy expression, He Li knew that the delivery fee for this order was enough for him to work all day.
After all, Kuhl, a big eater, was there.
After eating and drinking their fill, Kuhl went to sleep holding the red button. Willow, having drunk a lot, also fell into a deep sleep.
He Li sat on a wooden chair on the balcony, silent for a long time. He said in a low voice, “Xiao Yue, don’t have any ideas about Kuhl.”
Xiao Yue appeared, standing on the iron railing of the balcony, hands in his pockets, and agreed with a light smile, “Don’t worry, I won’t.”
He Li lit a cigarette. The smoke drifted, mixing with the breeze, carrying away his thoughts but not his worries.
“I know that my joining the Spiritual Management Association, becoming friends with Brother Fei, and then Brother Fei’s death were all your plans, Xiao Yue. You are me, and I am you. Therefore, I won’t resent you. But this kind of thing can only happen once, don’t you think?”
Xiao Yue looked at He Li with a hint of surprise. He Li’s tone was not loud, and his voice was calm, but it was filled with an unyielding dominance, a threat that all who defied him would perish.
“Of course. The remaining matters are ours, for example, how to deal with ‘Horus’s divinity’.”
Xiao Yue pointed at He Li’s chest.
He Li touched his chest, pondered for a moment, and then smiled, “I certainly know how to deal with it.”
…