NHWSG chapter 16

At half-past twelve, Diao Leyu woke up.

The “human sacrifice” shredded by Xing Yingzhuo proved to be highly effective. In less than half a day, Diao Leyu’s wounds began to heal, and the damage to her internal organs also recovered for the most part.

She turned over on the small bed prepared by Xiong Xiangsong, lazily stretched her legs, let out a long yawn, but didn’t open her eyes.

Standing on both sides of the bed were two men, with Xiong Xiangsong looking concerned, and a much younger man beside him.

The young man was tall with long legs, his face adorned with silver-framed narrow eyes. He had an extremely gentle and handsome appearance, wearing a pure white shirt with the top two buttons undone, giving off the impression of a young professor who had just come out of a university town. He could hold a book and pass off as a scholar.

Frowning, the handsome guy had a worried and reproachful expression. His eyes were tightly glued to the little ferret on the bed, giving off an air of a nobleman worried about his concubine.

Unfortunately, when the handsome guy didn’t speak, he presented a picturesque scene under the sunlight. However, once he spoke, the charm disappeared entirely.

“Big brother,” Lu Xing, with a northeastern accent, said with concern, “Little sister seems to have gone mad. She hasn’t opened her eyes for half a day. What do we do if she sleeps to death?”

“Nonsense.” Xiong Xiangsong kicked him without kindness and said, “What are you blabbering about? The big boss said it’s fine. Just wait; when she wakes up, she might scratch your face.”

As soon as he finished speaking, there was a rustling sound from the small bed. Diao Leyu turned over again, curled up her tail, and finally opened her wet eyes.

Both men by the bed fell silent, leaning down to stare at her as if facing a formidable enemy.

Lu Xing extended a finger and cautiously poked her tail, saying, “Hey, wake up. The sun’s shining on your butt.”

Seeing the soft-pawed little ferret slap his hand with a speed almost reaching a blur, Lu Xing quickly withdrew his hand, but not before getting scratched with three bloody lines.

Shaking her tail and speaking in human language, Diao Leyu succinctly said, “Get lost.”

“Deserved it,” Xiong Xiangsong gloated, “Told you not to provoke her.”

Lu Xing rubbed his injured hand, saying, “I was just trying to help her wake up. What’s wrong with that? Little sister, the sun is shining outside. Don’t you want to go out?”

Ignoring them, Diao Leyu covered her face with her tail, pretending to be dead right there.

“Although I don’t want to be the one to tell you this, little sister,” Xiong Xiangsong sighed, using a tone full of pity and concern, “but I have to say—after waking up, the boss wants you to give him an answer.”

Despite her unwillingness, Diao Leyu couldn’t wait until Xing Yingzhuo personally came to find her. She reluctantly cried for a while, then accepted her fate and climbed out of bed.

Xiong Xiangsong briefly summarized what had happened during the time she was unconscious, emphasizing the matter of “human sacrifice.” In his opinion, since Xing Yingzhuo didn’t actually carry Diao Leyu out for imprisonment, the likelihood of settling scores later was minimal. He believed that Diao Leyu was called for another reason, probably related to this incident.

As expected, when Xing Yingzhuo opened the door and saw Diao Leyu, his first words were, “What did you see that day?”

Diao Leyu, who could scratch claws with Lu Xing, could also play the role of a well-behaved elementary school student in front of Xing Yingzhuo. She obediently stood up, lowered her head, and carefully recalled the situation that day, explaining it in great detail. She even mentioned the incident where her boss at work called her back for overtime when she got off the bus.

When she mentioned being stopped by the strange tentacles, Xing Yingzhuo opened his eyes and interrupted her.

“Do you recognize its origin?” Xing Yingzhuo asked.

“… I can’t quite recognize it.” Diao Leyu truthfully replied, “At the time, I just felt danger, and my fur all over my body stood up. So, I just wanted to escape.”

This was an instinctive reaction of a transformed beast to avoid danger. While human sacrifices were vessels containing a person’s three souls and seven spirits, after becoming a human sacrifice, the connection between the sacrificial person and the demon lord was inseparable. Unfortunately, when Xing Yingzhuo found Diao Leyu, only a small amount of residual soul was left on her, and the part that had truly attacked her had already withdrawn, leaving only a trace that was not enough for him to trace back to the source.

“It seems to be none of those.” Diao Leyu scratched her head, carefully thought for a moment, and hesitated, “It seems to be… something in the water, because I smelled a fishy odor.”

Xing Yingzhuo furrowed his brows.

“A human sacrifice wouldn’t inexplicably target a demon,” Xing Yingzhuo said. “Did you encounter anything unusual that day? Did you touch anything given by someone?”

“Nothing.” Diao Leyu puzzledly recalled for a while and said, “I know the distinction between humans and demons. Usually, I don’t carry things given by colleagues on my body.”

“Really?” Xing Yingzhuo squinted his eyes and asked again.

Diao Leyu was about to nod when she suddenly remembered something. Her jaw dropped, and her expression changed a few times.

“I remember now,” Diao Leyu said. “That day, Sheng Zhao gave me a package. He said it was raining outside, and he didn’t want to go out, so he asked me to send it from the company’s downstairs courier point. Because he has been living with us for a long time, I…”

“What was it?” Xing Yingzhuo asked, pressing for details.

“It seemed to be a donation of old clothes, packed in a not too big box,” Diao Leyu said. “So, that morning, I took a taxi to the company.”

Xing Yingzhuo suddenly stood up and cursed under his breath.

Sorcerers use birthdates to locate people, but demons don’t. As long as there’s a scent, a trace, they can find a person through indirect means.

That thing wasn’t looking for Diao Leyu; it was looking for Sheng Zhao.

At the same time, thousands of miles away, Sheng Zhao inexplicably sneezed. Then, under everyone’s gaze, he awkwardly smiled, pinched his nose, and mechanically continued the ceremony.

“Dad.” Sheng Zhao spoke.

Li Liangfu nodded, squeezing a smile that could be considered “kind” out of his thin face. He then took out a red envelope from his pocket and handed it to Sheng Zhao.

Sheng Zhao weakly pinched it and felt that it was at least two thousand yuan thick.

Great, money for the special product for Xing Yingzhuo.

Having taken the money and done the favor for his mom, Sheng Zhao decided to exit gracefully. He scooped a few bites of rice from the table closest to the front desk, intending to find an opportunity to say his goodbyes.

However, that day Li Liangfu seemed to want to showcase his fatherly side in front of everyone. He held Mrs. Zhao’s hand, preventing Sheng Zhao from leaving. He insisted that Sheng Zhao stay and spend a few more days “at home”. Sheng Zhao reluctantly apologized multiple times, saying that he still had work outside and couldn’t delay.

But with a room full of guests, Mrs. Zhao also didn’t want her son to leave like this. She persuaded him with a few words and managed to keep Sheng Zhao until after dinner. When Sheng Zhao accompanied her for the thank-you banquet that evening, she finally agreed to let Li Yu send him to the airport.

Li Yu was not enthusiastic about taking on this task, but he couldn’t really refuse and had to reluctantly agree. He made a call to summon a driver.

“Xiao Zhao, when you get back, give your mom a call.” Li Liangfu, assisted by Mrs. Zhao, patted Sheng Zhao’s shoulder, slightly drunk, and said, “Your mom is worried about you and misses you every day.”

Sheng Zhao and Mrs. Zhao glanced at each other, both awkwardly smiling.

“Ah, okay.” Sheng Zhao said, “I will report my safety to her first thing.”

“And also,” Li Liangfu said, “when working outside, you must be diligent and dedicated. Let me tell you, Xiao Zhao, in this day and age, what is most important is—”

“Dad.” Li Yu, playing a mobile game, interrupted without a good temper, “Have you finished? Can we go now?”

Li Liangfu still cared about his little son, and being interrupted didn’t make him angry. He just frowned and said, “Alright, alright, you two go. You two go.”

After he finished speaking, Sheng Zhao turned around to board the car, but suddenly felt a flash in the back of Li Liangfu’s neck, extremely quickly sneaking into his collar.

He instantly broke into a cold sweat, turned his head sharply, and stared at the back of Li Liangfu’s neck.

But there was nothing there, completely empty.

“What’s wrong?” Li Yu saw that he wasn’t moving and urged impatiently, “Hurry up, I have a date with my classmates tonight.”

“Uh…” Sheng Zhao, flustered, turned his head back, almost getting in the car in a panic, and replied, “Got it.”