Chapter 202: Night Angel

Chapter 202: Night Angel

Night rain was always more wild than during the day. The whole city was covered in heavy rain.

Because of this rain, the busiest city center had become like a ghost town. There were no pedestrians on the roads, most shops had already closed, and behind the few shops that still had lights on, there were eyes hoping for the rain to stop.

The first rain of this early summer quietly signaled that the city was welcoming a new cycle of reincarnation. The arrival of the rainy season added a chill to the already heated air.

Puddles on the ground were layered by raindrops, reflecting lonely and calm neon lights, making this noisy place seem particularly quiet and even secluded.

At the entrance of a closed convenience store on a street corner, a young man sat slumped. One of his hands seemed injured, his face looked very terrible, and blood continuously flowed from his nose.

He trembled as he carefully ate a bread that someone had thrown on the ground. Every time he swallowed, it was followed by a strong cough.

Occasionally, passersby walked by, but no one stopped for him when they saw his condition, making his figure appear especially lonely.

“Mom, look, there’s a poor man over there! He seems sick!”

A little girl who was hurrying home with her mother pointed at Shanyu and looked up to ask her parent: “Let’s help him.”

“Don’t cause trouble!” The woman glanced warily, grabbed her daughter’s hand, and quickened her pace when passing Shanyu, staying far away.

But Shanyu didn’t mind. What he wanted most now was to find a quiet place to deal with his injuries. He really didn’t expect that the lousy organization he thought he could take on alone had such a master hidden within. After being burned by his Demonic Fire, Shanyu’s powerful healing ability had actually stopped. Even the energy inside his body was starting to run wild and go backwards. If he didn’t take time to adjust soon and suffered a Qi Deviation, the consequences would be unthinkable.

“Hey, hey. Are you okay?”

A clear voice pulled Shanyu back from his focused state. Along with this voice, a faint trace of Demon Energy rushed into Shanyu’s nose.

He silently turned his head and found a girl dressed flashily with heavy makeup standing behind him. She bent down and looked at him with a concerned expression.

“Are you sick? Let me take you to the hospital?”

The girl’s makeup was so heavy that her original face was hard to see, but her eyes were very clear. Shanyu couldn’t speak because his energy was running wild, but he could tell at a glance that this girl was not human. She was a pure Monster, but perhaps she hadn’t cultivated for long, as her Demon Energy was weak. However, one thing Shanyu found hard to believe was that a Monster could have such clear eyes, which made it difficult for him to judge.

“You’re bleeding!” The girl took a tissue from her pocket, squatted in front of Shanyu, and gently wiped the blood flowing from under his nose. “No, you’ll die here! I’m taking you to the hospital.”

Without another word, the girl helped Shanyu up and started to head towards the hospital. But before they had taken two steps, Shanyu suddenly pushed the girl away with great effort and stumbled forward on his own.

The future leader of the Talisman Sect could not accept help from a Monster! This was Shanyu’s final bottom line. His pride did not allow him to be associated with Monsters, especially such an underage little Monster, something not even worthy of his attention!

But helplessly, his body was just not cooperating. Before he could walk away more than two steps, the strong-willed Shanyu had already fallen flat on his back on the wet ground, completely losing consciousness.

He didn’t know how much time had passed when he faintly woke up. He found himself lying on a bed, covered with a blanket. Next to him was a bowl of steaming hot porridge, and not far away stood a boy about seven or eight years old.

Although this boy had a foolish expression, his face was extraordinary. Even Shanyu, who was not a professional face reader, could tell this boy was no ordinary being.

“What are you doing here! Go eat! Go eat now!”

Just then, a girl hurried in from outside, took the boy’s hand, and said, “If you’re not good, I’ll give you to the Old Black Mountain Monster to eat! It loves eating stupid kids like you!”

The boy showed no reaction, still staring foolishly at Shanyu. The two of them just stared at each other blankly.

“Ah! You’re awake!” The girl saw Shanyu wake up and smiled happily. “Wait a moment, I’ll get him some food first, then I’ll feed you the porridge.”

Shanyu felt like crying but had no tears. His limbs felt as if they were pinned down and he couldn’t move. Although it was better than last night, the tearing pain of healing left him with no strength. Even facing two Monsters so close, he could do nothing.

“My name is Wenran.” The girl introduced herself cheerfully. “You fainted last night, so I brought you back. Where is your home? Let your family come pick you up.”

Shanyu stared at her intensely for a while and made unclear sounds from his mouth: “Monster!”

Wenran’s face immediately turned very unpleasant, but she still forced a smile and said, “What did you say?”

“You are a Monster!” Shanyu gritted his teeth. “Talismanic Arts… pfft…”

The energy he had just gathered suddenly started running wild everywhere. A mouthful of blood sprayed out like mist, and his face turned the color of tin foil.

“Are you okay!” Wenran rushed to his side, holding his head with both hands. “I should still take you to the hospital!”

“Let… let… go of me!” Shanyu gasped for breath heavily. “Don’t think that just because you helped me, I would owe a Monster a favor!”

“I…” Wenran lowered her head, her expression somewhat upset. “You rest for now. I have to go to work.”

“Silly child, you watch over him, okay.” She stood up and pointed at Shanyu, speaking to the foolish boy beside her. “I’ll bring you some food when I come back.”

The foolish boy showed no expression, neither nodding nor shaking his head, just standing there blankly, expressionless.

After giving instructions, Wenran picked up her bag, rushed out of the room, and went to her workplace. She actually knew Shanyu was not an ordinary person because when she cleaned his wounds yesterday, she clearly saw the Runes on his body. Although these Runes weren’t activated, they still made Wenran feel apprehensive.

But… perhaps because of her innate kindness, Wenran didn’t throw Shanyu out. Instead, she simply applied some medicine to his wounds and cooked him some hot porridge. She just didn’t expect that after waking up, this guy would point at her and call her a Monster…

Her workplace was a glamorous nightclub. Every night at six, she would come here, put on heavy makeup, and get ready to sing on stage. When she first came here, there were many girls singing around her like her. But as she was about to complete her third year, that batch of girls had already become “princesses” in the nightclub. Only she still only sang and didn’t sell her body.

Normally, given the nature of such a place, she would have been kicked out long ago. But perhaps gentle people are always treated gently by the world. The boss of this place thought at first glance that she resembled his daughter who had passed away three years ago, so he took special care of her. Plus, she sang well, so naturally, she continued to stay and sing here.

“Wenran, you’re late today.” The nightclub’s female manager stood at the door of her dressing room, smiling as she looked at her. “Booth number six sent you a flower basket yesterday. Aren’t you going to accompany them for a drink today?”

“Sister Hua… I don’t drink.”

“I’m not asking you to do anything, just accompany them for a drink.” The manager seemed surprised. “They all know you’re the mascot here. They won’t try anything with you.”

Wenran smiled and nodded, but then helplessly shook her head. “I become very scary when I drink.”

“Forget it, forget it. I’ll go accompany them. Really… how scary can it be? It’s not like you’ll eat people.”

Wenran glanced at the Demonic Mark on the back of her hand, sighed softly, and whispered to herself, “I really would eat people.”

“Alright, alright. If you say you’ll eat people, then you’ll eat people. Then today, you go to booth nine. A group of strange people came, saying they wanted someone who only sells art, not her body.”

Wenran nodded, stood up, and picked up her number plate. “Okay, thank you, Sister Hua.”

“Go ahead.”

The manager watched Wenran’s back and also shook her head with a smile. She actually couldn’t bear to let this girl accompany customers either. And not just her, including everyone here—whether bouncers, bodyguards, or the other girls—they all tried hard to protect this silly girl. Regulars at this place all knew that there was a pretty girl named Wenran here who only sang and couldn’t be touched.

She carried a fruit platter to the door of booth nine. As soon as she pushed the door open, she saw seven or eight people gathered around the table, both men and women. Their expressions were serious, and the atmosphere was quite cold.

“Hello… I am your dedicated server. Please… may I ask, do you need to request songs?”

One of the men didn’t speak, just raised his hand, signaling her to sit to the side first. Then he placed both hands on the table and said loudly, “I’m telling you, this matter is definitely related to the Dark Rise. We’ve had too many incidents this past year, way too many, more than the total of the past forty years! This is too abnormal, so we must find the source!”

After he finished speaking, he turned to look at another man with an equally serious expression beside him. “What do you think, Siyuan?”

“I have no opinion. I’m just wondering, why did you bring us here to discuss such matters?” Siyuan turned his head and glanced at Wenran, who was sitting on the sofa as if on pins and needles. He was stunned for a moment, then suddenly laughed. “Monsters are working as servers now?”

When Wenran heard this, her heart almost leaped out. She nervously looked at the group of people who were examining her with strange eyes, quietly using her hand to pull her sleeve to cover the Demonic Mark on her wrist.

“Hey! It really is!” Chen Ming touched his face. “Hidden deep enough.”

“I… I…” Wenran immediately became flustered. “What are you talking about?”

“Never mind, wait a moment.” Chen Ming lit a cigarette. “Siyuan, that guy yesterday just disappeared like that?”

“Yeah, he ran away. But I think he should be injured too. As for where, I really don’t know.” Siyuan spread his hands. “By the way, are you going to continue following the Sorcery lead?”

“Of course I am.” Siyuan also lit a cigarette. “I still don’t understand why you brought us all to a nightclub.”

“To sing, of course. The boss here is my sworn brother. Coming here is just supporting my brother’s business.” Chen Ming had a very proud expression. “See, even just casually hanging out we can run into a Monster.”

At this point, their gaze turned back to Wenran. Wenran, sitting to the side, was terrified by these people’s stares. For a moment, she didn’t know what to say.

“You’re a Snake Spirit, right.” Siyuan turned to look at Wenran. “You look like a young Snake Spirit.”

Wenran lowered her head, hemming and hawing for a long time without knowing what to say. She didn’t even know where to put her hands. She really was a Snake Spirit, but she had hidden herself very well. Since leaving Qingcheng Mountain three years ago, basically no one had discovered her identity. But today, two people had found out her identity in a row. What was happening?

“It’s fine, I was just asking.” Siyuan looked at her innocent appearance, smiled wryly, and turned to Chen Ming. “Why did you think of calling a girl to accompany us?”

“Hey, are you crazy? Coming to a place like this and not calling for girls? How am I supposed to maintain my reputation in the circle after this?” Chen Ming’s face was full of surprise. “And I specifically requested someone who sells art, not her body. That way, when word gets out, it’s both noble and doesn’t lower our status.”

What kind of sickness is this? Going out for fun and calling for a hostess, yet still wanting face and to be damn noble. This really doesn’t seem like something normal people would do.

While the others were joking with Chen Ming, Siyuan stood in front of Wenran, looking down at her. “You’re poisonous. Be careful not to kill anyone.”

“I…” Wenran nodded gently. “Yeah, I know.”

“What’s your name?” Siyuan picked up her hand and looked at the Demonic Mark on the back of it. “Your Demonic Mark is… from the Qingcheng Mountain area.”

“I…” Wenran originally wanted to say Wenran, but she hesitated before saying, “I don’t have a name…”

“No name?” Siyuan scratched his head. “How can that be?”

“I only gained spiritual awareness a hundred and twenty years ago, and I could only take human form three years ago. No one gave me a name. I only know that the person who saved me back then had the surname Zheng, so I call myself Zheng Wenran.” Wenran pursed her lips and smiled. “I’m just a country Monster.”

Siyuan pursed his lips and nodded, handing her a business card. “Alright. By the way, if you find a handsome guy around twenty years old, the kind with dimples when he smiles, call this number.”

“Huh? There are… many people like that, right?”

“One is enough. You see many people every day.” Siyuan smiled at her, but his innate Guardian aura made this underage Snake Spirit tremble all over.

In the end, Siyuan and the others didn’t play for long either. But Chen Ming, who was drunk, was teased by Siyuan into leaving nearly ten thousand in tips, making the girls from other booths quite envious for a while.

“Wenran, Wenran, did you also…” a fellow hostess quietly asked Wenran when they were finishing work: “Otherwise… why did they give you so much?”

Wenran mysteriously shook her head. “No, no. They said I sing well…”

The hostess clearly didn’t believe it, but there was nothing she could do if the other person wouldn’t say. She could only say goodbye to her and leave the room whistling.

As for Wenran, she stayed in the dressing room, carefully divided the stack of money into three parts, and put them in her cheap leather bag. Then, with a happy mood, she got off work.

“Hmm… I’ll go buy some delicious food!”