Silent Tokyo

"You're awake?" After Chu Lian returned about half an hour later, Kurosaki Hazuki, who had been sleeping, slowly opened her eyes. Li Xiuer, who had been keeping an eye on her, immediately noticed and softly asked.

"What happened to me? What are you talking about?" Kurosaki Hazuki rubbed her temples, trying to clear her hazy mind. She listened to Li Xiuer speaking in Chinese, but she was confused.

"Can't you understand Chinese?" Li Xiuer was a bit taken aback. Earlier, it had been Chu Lian, who knew Japanese, communicating with her, while the others had just watched from the side without attempting to speak to her. So, Li Xiuer wasn't sure if she understood Chinese.

"Chinese?" The language in her ears felt both familiar and distant. It was the same language her father had taught her when she was little. However, after five years on the run, Kurosaki Hazuki had long since forgotten how to speak it. Now, she could only recognize it as Chinese, but she couldn't understand its meaning.

"I can't remember how long it's been since I last heard Chinese. I'm sorry, I don't understand." She muttered, shaking her head to indicate that she didn't comprehend the language.

Though Li Xiuer couldn't understand her words, she could roughly guess the meaning. Her expression grew conflicted. She knew that Chu Lian had been seriously injured and needed rest, so it wasn't right to disturb her. But aside from herself and Inori, no one else here spoke Chinese.

Li Xiuer didn't want to disturb Chu Lian, nor did she want to trouble Inori, who had been taking care of her all this time. So, she simply stood there, staring at the white-haired girl, not knowing what to say.

Fortunately, Tina, who had jumped off Chu Chu and nestled in a warm spot while observing the surroundings, informed Chu Lian that Kurosaki Hazuki had woken up. After resting for a while, Chu Lian opened her door and came to Kurosaki's room.

"How does your body feel?" Chu Lian sat down beside the white-haired girl, gently placed her palm on her shoulder, and circulated her spiritual energy through her body as she asked.

"I no longer feel any pain. I think I've recovered. I'm not sure, but I assume it's related to the hypnosis you used on me before you left. Thank you..." Kurosaki Hazuki gazed at Chu Lian's face for a moment before expressing her gratitude.

Her fingers lightly touched the pale skin of Hazuki's face, finding it icy to the touch. Her body temperature seemed lower than normal, though Chu Lian didn't know why. To her, it didn't seem like a good sign. However, this was someone else's body, and Chu Lian had no right to interfere or to ask her to explain.

So, she merely furrowed her brows slightly and said, "It was a small matter. I'm still new to the cultivation world, so my skills are not refined. If I were more skilled, I could have used my spiritual energy to fully heal both your internal and external injuries. Right now, I can only channel spiritual energy to speed up the healing."

"You're still a beginner? No wonder I felt your movements were a bit unrefined. It seems I truly lost this time. I've been cultivating for twelve years to reach my current level, and you've just started, yet your power surpasses mine. I can't say I'm not a little upset about losing to you." This time, Kurosaki Hazuki didn't hide her true feelings and frankly admitted her frustration at losing to Chu Lian. Though she had previously acknowledged Chu Lian's strength, the defeat still stung.

She could tell that Chu Lian wasn't lying. When someone speaks the truth, their demeanor is noticeably different from when they lie. Only those who have spent decades navigating the complexities of life, scheming, and concealing their true intentions can lie without giving anything away.

Kurosaki Hazuki didn't believe Chu Lian was such a person, so she chose to trust her words. In truth, it was less about trusting Chu Lian and more about trusting her own instincts and judgment.

"You're being too hard on yourself." Chu Lian shook her head, raised a finger, and pointed at Li Xiuer, then at herself, and finally at Kurosaki Hazuki. "Xiuer and I, like you, have very special constitutions. The reason I've grown so quickly is entirely due to my unique constitution and the help of my true name. In reality, the only thing I've truly cultivated is my ability to use spiritual energy."

"Can you imagine? My body houses various types of energies that constantly interact and harmonize with each other. And these energies aren't something I've cultivated—they're innate. Even most of my combat experience comes from inherited memories. So tell me, how can I be considered stronger than someone like you, who has gained all their strength through personal effort?"

Chu Lian gave a bitter smile, her voice becoming quieter, "If it weren't for Inori's void that I'm able to use, how could I be so strong? If your and Xiuer's special constitutions were activated, your cultivation speed would increase exponentially..."

"Can you tell me how to activate a special constitution?" Though her voice was soft, Kurosaki Hazuki caught the crucial phrase. Propping herself up on the bed, she asked urgently while struggling to sit up.

Chu Lian gently pressed down on her shoulder with her hand. Even though Chu Lian herself was injured, she could easily hold down the more gravely injured Kurosaki Hazuki. After doing so, her face flushed slightly, and she covered her mouth with her left hand, as if afraid she might start coughing.

After a moment, she lowered her hand, discreetly placing her palm on the bed to hide the red bloodstains from Li Xiuer's view.

But what Chu Lian didn't realize was that ever since she had entered the room, Li Xiuer's eyes had been on her. She had grown increasingly worried after seeing her cough and had even noticed traces of blood on her hand.

Li Xiuer had initially been anxious to rush over and ask Chu Lian if she was alright, but after hesitating for a moment, she decided against it. Knowing Chu Lian's personality, if she didn't want others to know, then it must mean she didn't want her to find out about her coughing up blood. So, Li Xiuer chose to pretend as though she hadn't noticed.

However, the mixture of anxiety and another stirring emotion within Li Xiuer caused her to quietly make a vow in her heart: "In the future, if anyone dares to harm Chu Lian in front of me, they will have to step over my dead body first..." For someone as shy and timid as Li Xiuer to make such a vow demonstrated just how important Chu Lian was to her.

The dark-haired girl was perceptive and quickly pieced together the situation.

Meanwhile, the white-haired Kurosaki Hazuki was only now realizing that Chu Lian and her companions had likely gone out to deal with her pursuers. Seeing that they had returned, she could tell that they must have defeated the enemy—but to think that Chu Lian had also been injured? Could that man have been that formidable?

"You're hurt?" Kurosaki Hazuki, now lying down, restlessly fidgeted, trying to sit up again, eager to know what had happened.

"Yes, but it's nothing serious. I'll be fine after a few days of rest." Naturally, Chu Lian didn't want to reveal the full extent of her injuries, so she smiled to reassure her.

"What about those people?" After a brief silence, Kurosaki Hazuki asked again.

Hearing her question, Chu Lian opened her mouth, her mind quickly preparing a response. Just as she was about to speak, Inori entered the room, carrying two blades. She gently placed them beside Kurosaki Hazuki's bed and then stood quietly behind Chu Lian, her wine-red eyes gazing softly at Chu Lian, as if lost in thought.

Glancing at Kurosaki Hazuki, Chu Lian picked up one of the blades, running her fingers along its sharp edge. "They've all been eliminated. Whether it was the 18 underlings or the man with the spear who hurt you, they're all dead. These two blades are stained with the blood of him and a few of his subordinates. Consider it vengeance on your behalf. The others... they were all taken down by Inori. One shot, one kill."

Before Chu Lian could finish, Kurosaki Hazuki interrupted her, her voice full of urgency, "No, the numbers don't add up. I remember there were at least 30 of them. With my strength, if there had only been 18, I wouldn't have been driven into such a desperate situation before that man arrived. I could have used the terrain to take them out one by one."

Pausing for a moment, Kurosaki Hazuki seemed to be deep in thought before continuing, "Among them, six were around my level, and three were stronger. They were the only ones I couldn't kill with a single use of 'Shun.' It was because of these nine that I was forced to keep fleeing across various parts of Japan."

"So, nearly half of them are still unaccounted for?" Upon hearing this, Chu Lian realized the gravity of the situation.

Perhaps the group had been divided after the burly man's arrival, for reasons unknown, with one faction joining his team and eventually being wiped out by her and Inori.

The other faction, likely led by the three strongest members, must have taken nearly half of the group and gone their separate way.

No wonder something had felt off. If that group had been this weak, how could they have pursued Kurosaki Hazuki, who was at the same level as her? It seemed she had overlooked something…

"That's probably what happened. Most likely, the arrival of the burly man caused some dissatisfaction among the group. However, for some reason, they couldn't openly confront each other, so the dissatisfied faction chose to leave."

Was this a stroke of luck or misfortune? If Kurosaki Hazuki's analysis was correct, if they hadn't split up, she and Inori would have faced a far more dangerous situation earlier.

But now, things were even more complicated. The denizens of the inner world were notorious for their loyalty. They might have internal conflicts, but they would never stand by idly while one of their own was killed by outsiders—unless the person was a mortal enemy or belonged to a race that had been ostracized for some special reason.

Now that the remaining group knew of their strength, they would undoubtedly choose to hide and wait for the perfect moment to strike.

Chu Lian didn't think it would take long for the inner world's forces to get wind of what had happened. In a place as treacherous as the inner world, if they didn't have special means of communication, they would have perished long ago.

"What's the point in overthinking it? Those people are a future problem. It's useless to worry about them now. We don't know their height, weight, or appearance. So let's treat them like strangers—unknown passersby. At least until they make their move."

After pondering for a while, Chu Lian felt a sense of clarity. She realized she had been overthinking the situation. These people were a problem for the future.

"Regardless, thank you…" Even though not all of her enemies were dead, and she hadn't personally killed them, sending them to hell was something she had sought for years. She was grateful, both logically and emotionally.

Chu Lian didn't say anything, only smiling faintly. But inside, she was growing more anxious: "Where are the rift guardians of this place? How did such powerful enemies slip through? What's going on?"

These were questions she would have to find answers to in this city...