Translator:
Atlas Studios
Editor:
Atlas Studios
The Heavenly Network sent Lu Shu to cause trouble.
And the Conservatives believed that he would, judging from his drastic change of temperament.
However, he seemed to be going in the wrong direction.
At night, as Lu Shu was counting money in the backyard, Bunndai opened her mouth as if to speak, but hesitated. Lu Shu smiled.
Just say whatever you want to. It’s fine.
You are very focused when you make money… I’m going to prepare your meal.
Then Bunndai left. She was confused about her mission now. What happened to being an ace’s assistant in wreaking political havoc? Now they were starting a business!
Sakurai dragged her tired body over and said,
Sensei, I shall go back first if there’s nothing more for me to do.
She was really exhausted today and in no mood to seduce Lu Shu any more. Even for a Practitioner, high-intensity teaching would be energy draining, or rather, emotionally draining. Now, all she wanted was a good sleep.
Smiling cheerfully, Lu Shu counted a few hundred thousand Japanese Yen and passed it to Sakurai.
This is yours.
Sakurai froze for a second.
Sensei, there is no need for this. Really.
She had access to a large fortune in the Conservatives and a measly few hundred thousand was only enough for several meals.
But Lu Shu insisted and stuffed the money in her hand.
Take it. You earned it. Yes? Are you happy about making money for yourself?
Puzzled, Sakurai shot another look at Lu Shu, wondering about the hidden meaning behind his words. Lu Shu smiled and said,
Now you may go. Have a good rest.
At home, Sakurai lay on her pink bed. Although she still had to kneel on the floor beside her teacher, she preferred places such as beds, sofas or chairs that felt more comfortable and convenient.
Having not changed her clothes, Sakurai stared absently at the money in her hand. Speaking of which, it was her first legitimate income.
Despite a faint feeling of oddness, her conscience was more at ease.
Then, Sakurai stood up and stuffed the money into a hidden chamber in the ceiling. She could not explain the urge to do so, as if there were certain meanings attached to it. Logically, she was rich enough to ignore that pathetic amount.
As the night grew thicker, a black shadow swooshed out of the backyard of Beika dojo. In full control of his muscles, Lu Shu walked on the rooftop without making a sound.
Ten minutes later, Lu Shu paused to check his direction, and moved on again.
Till another half an hour later, he had finally stopped behind the neon lights on the rooftop of a bar. The lights provided the perfect disguise for him.
Lu Shu started to wait with his good patience, just like how he waited for the skeleton cavalry at the Beimang remains.
At this moment, a deluxe car came to a stop outside the bar, and two young men alighted from the car.
Lu Shu let out a sigh of relief. Target confirmed. One of them was Nogiwa Takenobu’s son, Nogiwa Hakushun, another key member of the Jingoists.
Honestly Lu Shu did not expect his appearance that night, though he knew the man frequented the place.
Earlier in the afternoon, he investigated the area while giving out leaflets. Lu Shu was cautious. He would not take chances without enough familiarity with this big city.
As a matter of fact, the Collection of God’s warrant for his arrest was issued by Nogiwa Hakushun, according to the information given by You Mingyu.
Lu Shu knew something that Bunndai did not, including Nogiwa Hakushun’s habits. After all, Bunndai did not know every Heavenly Network member hiding in the city or even inside the Collection of Gods.
There was no way for the Collection of Gods to send spies into the Heavenly Network but not the other way round. During their age-long enmity, neither side would show any mercy towards the other.
In Japan, pubs were a far cry from izakayas 1
, which were simply another form of eatery. Usually, student part-timers were only allowed to work at izakayas, but not pubs.
Undeniably, though, not all pubs were that messed up.
Lu Shu decided not to follow his target into the pub, as many pubs in Nishinokyo, although open to the public, had many rules and often required bookings. This one, for instance, was almost a VIP club.
Unspoken rules abounded in such places. Waiters might have already started observing you from the moment they passed you the first piece of towel. From your actions and expressions they could tell whether you were a first-timer, or a customer of a specific type.
Some items in the pubs should not be touched either. For instance, higher-class wines cannot be purchased in bottles. Thus, Lu Shu was not confident about his pretense as a native Japanese in this situation.
Culture differed from country to country. Take for example phones in Japan were supposed to be in silent mode in public, but the sound had to be turned on for photo-taking. One could call the police if he or she had been photographed without permission.
And Lu Shu could not be sure that he had complete knowledge of all the details of the local culture. In any case, those places were different from schools. In fact, he would not have been able to accustomed to the school environment so easily decades ago.
Thus, the best solution now was to continue stalking after the target was out. He should not risk exposing his own identity inside.
Lu Shu waited patiently until 3am, when Nogiwa finally boarded the car and left.
Not concerned about Nogiwa’s companions’ whereabouts, Lu Shu changed his face into another Jingoist Practitioner’s who shared a similar body shape as him. Then, he went on in pursuit of the car. A car could never outrun a Practitioner.
Without unnecessary turns, the car drove straight towards its destination, showing the full sense of security Nogiwa had in Nishinokyo. He did not seem to think that anyone would dare to be in his way in Japan, not even the Conservatives.
Ten minutes later, the car picked up a young lady, and finally it came to a stop in front of a villa.
In the darkness, Lu Shu stood still on the rooftop of the villa. He watched in silence as Nogiwa walked into the villa with the woman in his arms. Another half an hour later, all the lights went off in the house.
The windows were connected to the alarm system as fine metal wires were embedded in the glass. Any attempt to break the glass would trigger the alarm.
He waited for twenty more minutes. In the end, he released a thin layer of divine water to corrode the rooftop.
Everyone was fast asleep, and no one even noticed the existence of the man-sized hole in the rooftop!
The faint golden glow was visible, but there were no eyes to see it. This was why Lu Shu had chosen to take action at 4am.
Lu Shu was not a man of generosity. He who wanted his life would pay with his own life.
…
