Races: Online - Chapter 361: The Friend, The Stranger and The World

In the grand scheme of things, Han Jing’s actions may or may not have had much to do… and that was how the man wanted it to be. A small world… for a small man? He didn’t consider him small, but neither was he great either.

If someone knew him, then they’d figure out that he was just like anybody else. Pretty mundane in his desires for a better life, but there was nothing exactly wrong with that either.

An average person, with an average life—okay, that was kind of pushing it.

His life was a lot more different now.

After the Mid-Autumn festival, Mou Gu arrived at the Shen Society’s office when he discovered that Han Jing was snoring his hours away in front of the PC—completely serious about sleeping there instead of being with his family—while the pink haired man was still dealing with a ‘hangover’.

That was until Mou Gu walked in and met up with a certain someone. It sadly wasn’t Song at all. Dai Song Lan was still out having some kind of family vacation of sorts, but it was instead the new guy.

“Ah, thank goodness you’re back.” The much younger and shorter man rubbed the back of his neck and threw the pink-haired man a look. “So how did the talk go with your suspicious friend?”

“Suspicious… Well, I don’t think that’s that,” Mou Gu said. “Although I feel like I’m forgetting about something important. What do you think, little Zhao?”

“One, don’t call me little.” Hua Zhao glared at his superior, before pulling up a piece of paper. It was filled with a lot of carefully made brushstrokes and swirls that caught the  eye. “Well, here’s a little something to jog your memory if it helps.”

Mou Gu felt the effects of the memory sealing talisman wane as its countermeasure worked against him. Flashes and images of Han Jing throwing him down the street filled his head and the cultivator wobbled a bit slightly and winced.

There were a lot of events in just one night.

Hua Zhao who looked up at Mou Gu’s expression carefully noted the changes and came to a conclusion. “I guess you can say that the Mid-Autumn festival isn’t so peaceful, huh? Are we about to go on a hunt for rogue cultivators or sects? Some ghost-possession dispelling?”

“On the contrary… I think that’s how festivals are supposed to be.” Mou Gu rubbed one of his eyes with the back of his hand. “They’re not peaceful I mean, they’re kind of supposed to be loud and boisterous. A little bit bothersome, but at the end of the day, something you can’t live without.”

“Well, that’s fair.” Hua Zhao rolled his eyes. “Sappy, but if that’s how you see it.”

Mou Gu grinned a little and scratched the back of his head.

He wasn’t that soft.

It was just that the conversation that revolved around Han Jing’s choices and Mou Gu’s were placed on the table and stacked against each other. With Han Jing’s resolve proving itself a little much more than Mou Gu expected. Perhaps him looking out for Han Jing wasn’t that much needed in the first place?

Still, what a bastard.

Mou Gu’s jaw was still a little sore and the man snooped around his spatial bracelet without consent. But he was going to turn a blind eye just this once and move on to other matters.

If Han Jing didn’t need his involvement, then that was less work for Mou Gu.

Everybody wins in the end.

“So where’s everyone else?” Mou Gu looked around the empty office before he threw himself on the sofa. He caught the soda that Hua Zhao tossed at him and opened it up.  “Everyone on vacation except for us?”

“You could say that,” Hua Zhao said. “It is the festival, and I just happened to prefer lounging here than getting forced by Bo Ling to attend his family’s gathering. I don’t want to feel out of place there.”

“What? You declined that?” Mou Gu frowned. “The food there is good and most importantly—the tea. The Bo Family makes the best tea across the entire city, heck, even the country. I should have gone in your stead.”

“It’s a little embarrassing going there when you’re not actually part of the family. It’s a more traditional gathering there too.”

“Well, why didn’t you go back to the Hua Clan? You could have zipped back there in a flash and be back before the morning. What’s the use of a cultivator’s speed if you aren’t going to use it?”

“Not interested.” Hua Zhao replied. “Not everyone is eager to visit their family as much as others. My grandfather is just going to get up in my hair… but Ning Bi did come home to pay him and my family respects.”

“Huh. Wouldn’t expect that, she’s always glued to your side—that one.” Mou Gu chuckled and remembered seeing the girl when he visited Bo Lifen’s shop. “I guess she’s just making sure that your grandfather knows you’re in good hands.”

“…I guess,” Hua Zhao said and shrugged. “But enough talk about me. You’ve barely made mention of this friend of yours who you were so sure was some kind of heretic cultivator just because of some flowers.” Hua Zhao’s expression turned into a grin. “What happened to that?”

“The supplies he got were too good to be true.” Mou Gu frowned. “I know Bo Lifen didn’t bat an eye because it’s Han Jing, but you gotta follow the trail sometimes to figure out if their supplier isn’t some illegal one trying to do something nasty.”

“Like what? What evil thing can someone do with flowers?”

“I don’t know. There’s not many cultivators who study and influence plants anymore, but what if there’s some kind of side-effect? Hallucinogenic or poison type spores that will be secretly released? The Mid Autumn Festival is where everyone’s houses are decorated with flowers, fruits and other offerings. It’s the perfect time to make some kind of ploy.”

Hua Zhao stared at Mou Gu for a good second.

“What’s with that look?”

“Remind me not to eat your cooking next time,” Hua Zhao said. “I wonder where you get those plans from. They’re a bit silly when you listen to them the first time, but then they get a bit too scary for my liking.”

“I wasn’t even proposing something that scary.” Mou Gu frowned. “If someone were to really want to destroy the city or something without any suspicions, poison the water supply or something.”

“That’s another thing that I’m going to keep an eye out on,” Hua Zhao laughed as he sipped his soda. “You won’t get anything out from doing that though…”

“Do you want me to say anything?”

“No. I’m aware that doing something like that is perfect for heretic cultivators to come in and take advantage of that.” Hua Zhao frowned. “Do you have anything else we can talk about? Your friend isn’t doing anything crazy like that, so good. But how did you use the memory sealing talisman on yourself?”

Mou Gu averted his gaze at that remark. “… I was afraid that its efficiency wasn’t working as well as I thought so I tested it?”

“Sure.”

Mou Gu rolled his eyes. “How about you tell me something that the two of us can actually talk about. Where’s Ming Jun? Did he go back to the Shou Sect or is he still here?”

“Chen Ming Jun is out tonight. He’s acting as the bodyguard for An Na.”

“Huh? What was that one about again?” Mou Gu asked.

“Something, something. Company merger.” Hua Zhao shrugged. “Well, it’s more about the engagement of the Shen’s with the Wang family. It’s pretty much just boring non-cultivator stuff.”

“What about that is boring?” Mou Gu raised a brow. “Aren’t you, Shen An Na and that Wang boy supposed to be attending the same university? Do they look good together? It reminds me of one of those romance novels, engaged marriage and everything. I still can’t believe Jie Li is fine with it though.”

“That siscon, right?” Hua Zhao snorted.

“Tell me about it.” Mou Gu chuckled for a moment and then stretched. “Ahhh, all this talk is making me miss my university days.”

“I barely said anything.”

“It must be my age getting to me or something.”

“You’re making yourself sound older than you are,” Hua Zhao dryly said. “But at least you’re no longer required to do your assignments and juggle clearing hordes of evil qi manifestations while you’re here.”

“Are the assignments too hard for widdle Zhao?”

“I don’t see how you have friends at all.”

“Ahem. My sadism is just getting a touch out of hand.” Mou Gu cleared his throat. “You’re just fun to tease. Song barely reacts, Ming Jun is always busy and you’re just a shortstack.”

“Very funny. What about the flower boy?”

“I think you can quit calling him that now,” Mou Gu said. “I mean, I know I kinda started it, but only I can call him that. It’s a privilege of being a friend, while you’re just a stranger.”

“What a weird thing to say.”

“It isn’t that weird. It’s common sense, Little Zhao.”

—-—-

Author’s Note: Uh, you guys remember Mou Gu for sure. Bo Lifen is a good contender for being someone to remember as well… and maybe Ning Bi if you still remember the early chapters, but other than that, these are mostly of the much larger cast of people in the universe. You probably would know them if you read Moon Rabbit too, but either way, they’re all just to put Han Jing’s actions and relationships in a wider perspective and his place in ZA WARUDO! Thanks for reading!