Chapter 13: Li Fei's Past

When she graduated from high school, she didn't even give a second to return home and take her belongings. Instead, she had them already brought to her new place and all it needed now was her.

The only thing she had been forced to do was give her address to her eldest and second half-siblings. The one thing she couldn't avoid as, for one, that was the price for that wrong she had rented from him and, two, her eldest brother would try to make things difficult indirectly with her life.

Willow doubted the eldest could do anything if Li Fei hadn't given him her address, but that girl just had to do it. Mostly likely because he wouldn't let her leave the town otherwise and it was unknown if the police would help. However, now that the government is most likely involved with the matter, she can't just ignore it anymore, but she has little to zero knowledge of this field.

Without much thought, she began making her way to the bus stop once again.

As the sun that had been high in the sky began to set, she felt that something wasn't right. As she sat on the bench reading through her own notes with a sigh of relief when recounting her encounter with that boy this morning, the sun had began to set when she suddenly felt a pat on her shoulder which surprised her as she looked over in confusion, "Karma..."

Oh, great...

Here comes the cat. She had thought that'd be the end of it, but, apparently, not. Now, she'd probably had to bear with it for the next few days.

"The bus had stopped working for the night already." The boy stated.

"I see. Thanks!" She smiled, "Anyway, didn't think I'd see you here."

It was then that she noticed movement behind him and realized he wasn't alone. Gosh, dang it all! It was another man she had just mistaken for a passerby this time. She didn't need to make a second guess to know this person wasn't ordinary either.

The new guy was taller than Karma and wore a turtle neck sweater as if the cold was nothing to him. She wasn't sure if jeans were a trend amongst the younger generation, but he had that and black boots. Aside from the casual clothing, the man had an average look of dark color eyes and black hair. Yup, a very casual person. However, his presence and stoic expression still brought a strange feeling in her gut that she did not want to understand. Instead, everything inside her is telling her to run and forced her to realize that she must've encountered this man at some point in time.

The stare of the man brought a child down her spine as she found herself staring at him. Realizing this, she quickly decided to think of an excuse for her strange behavior as she raised a brow and turned to Karma.

"Huh? Thanks, Karma..." she said to him curiously before asking, "Is this a friend of yours?"

"You could say that." Karma sighed shaking his head, "I saw you sitting here this afternoon and figured you were going there. So, I searched for this guy to come by and give a hand. He works at a hostel. If not for the ANDS, I'd have left you outside with the pigeons."

Hearing this brought a look of surprise to her face, she'd have expected him to keep an eye from afar but not intervene to help her! She guess that his growing dislike wasn't all dislike, then. She smiled under her mask, "Thanks! That's very considerate of you!"

"Whatever." The boy grumbled.

She wasn't quite certain what the boy was thinking, but she'd be a fool not to hold some suspicions at least. However...

Willow stared at the man Karma brought over in confusion. She had heard of gods or goddesses that could look into the hearts of people. To find their true characteristics or their true identity.

In her case, being the daughter of Lord Feng means inheriting his fire abilities to some extent. They say that those born with such abilities to gain power or intellect are those with a bright future ahead of them and thus would want their future children to inherit such characteristics in their bloodline or even surpass the current generation.

However, that's only possible for some under certain circumstances or there would've already been those comparable to a god in the current age. Who doesn't want to marry or have their children marry such talented people?

Such ideas have been around for the longest time. However, that means little if a person with weak abilities knows how to properly utilize it. However, in this case, will he do it?

Suddenly, a thought came to mind. A terrifying thought.

"Well?" The man stared at her impatiently as he questioned in English.

If he was cold, he could always go back to the hostel and continue work. Why come with this boy?! As tempting as it was...

"Wait..." Her eyes widen in surprise, "But, I thought the majority of the hostels were closed..."

"I need money." the man responded with a scowl, "It's pretty obvious, you know."

Was this man also fluent in a foreign language too?

Then again, he looked to be in his mid-twenties too. A college student?

Students in China study English as a foreign language, but rather than making it recommended, it's more mandatory in their courses. If he remembers this much from a language that's occasionally used here, maybe he's still a student or a new graduate?

Karma took a deep breath as if he knew the response the entire time. However, what the man said made sense, still...

"Thanks for your thoughtfulness, but I'll be walking around for quite a while." She responded with a sigh as she shook her head.

The boy stared at her with clear suspicions as she quickly added, "I'll doing some more investigating around the area about the incident."

Karma didn't look very pleased, but Willow was adamant on not being around other demigods. Seeing him still brought that time she threw out embarrassing comments at him to get him off her tail. Does people think she wants to act like a creep?

It was a good thing she didn't attempt to go buy any supplies for herself or this stalker would definitely raise even more suspicions. Just go away already, stupid cat! Karma stared at her before he sighed, "Are you trying to get yourself killed out here?"

She looked at him in confusion, "The virus?"

Stunned, he stared at her in bewilderment before plopping down next to her at the bench, "Are you literally kidding with me?"

Okay, now Willow was really confused. She was about to politely excuse herself before holding back her tongue and raised a brow instead, "I know you're being thoughtful, Karma. But the information is really important to me, so I'll be asking around a little bit more."

It was true that he didn't have to do this, so she should convey that she didn't just toss away his effort but more of gently rejecting it.

Okay.

She basically was rejecting it. But, it's not like she has much choices, all right?

Of course, being outside in the dark was a bad idea, but she can bear with it. She'll be moving back and forth for awhile too. She needs to gather information about the current situation, gather the necessary supplies, and look through the papers. There's a lot of stuff to do and little time to spare before the situation gets out of hand.

Willow wasn't even certain if she could reach back to the affected areas. If she wanted a break, she actually can't really afford to rest well for the next few months or so. It was the horrendous truth. In reality, she'd do anything to just take a nap and find a better job, but the reality is actually pretty harsh. If she doesn't do anything, she'd basically gonna lose her life!

Also, there's another matter at hand and that's to keep her distance from other demigods. It's too dangerous for her to interact with one since she has yet to tap into her abilities and doing so is like flashing a beacon to others. It'd be great if she can just talk to them without conflict like the current ones around her. She'd like to go to the clothing and makeup shops later on, but she didn't have the time and was a little scared of knowing the would-be price of those things...

"I can't believe you're this full of yourself..."

Willow could hear Karma grumble. The boy sighed again, "So, you plan to work throughout the night? Fine. Do what you want."

He continued, "This is Hal. He's an old friend of mine. If you change your mind, just go to his place. Not like the virus would affect us too much anyway."