Light Barrier - Chapter 99: Mud

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When Zhao Qi woke up in the hospital, it was already noon the next day.

Three of his teeth had been knocked out, and half of his face was swollen to the point that he couldn’t speak. After he woke up and thought about the events of last night, what angered him the most wasn’t the young man who punched him… None of the thugs he had spent a lot of money to hire dared to protect him at the critical moment.

“Young Master Zhao… what happened last night?” Liu Yi was sitting by the hospital bed. She sighed and said, “Why did you go to Old Town? It’s very chaotic there, and there’s no surveillance. Now that something has happened, it will be very difficult to investigate.”

Zhao Qi opened his mouth, and a wave of tearing pain came from his cheek.

His expression darkened as he gritted his teeth. “I encountered two drunks.”

Liu Yi fell silent and looked at Zhao Qi with a complicated expression… She thought that this should be the most ridiculous story of the year. How could two drunks injure the heir of the Zhao family into this state?

She had gone to the scene last night and saw that all the transcendents accompanying Zhao Qi had been knocked down. This wasn’t something mere drunks could do.

This incident was likely premeditated.

Liu Yi thought for a long time before asking, “Could it be the Sincere Society? There was a conflict earlier… Could Chen San be blaming you for this?”

“Impossible.” Zhao Qi shook his head. His voice was weak and unclear, but every word carried murderous intent. “Did you examine the scene last night? That drunk vomited in the corner…”

“There was nothing in the corner.” Liu Yi sighed. “I used Profile. A special method was used to process the scene last night… The Profile playback was too blurry and didn’t contain any useful information.”

“How is that possible?” Zhao Qi’s eyes widened. “I was punched. Is there any residual skin tissue on my face?”

“There’s nothing. Young Master, your face was covered in blood, but it was only your blood.” Liu Yi shook her head. “Do you remember what the perpetrators looked like? As long as you remember their appearance, we can find clues.”

“One person was wearing a motorcycle helmet…” Zhao Qi murmured. “The other one… the one who hit me… He’s a…”

At this point, he suddenly froze.

He clearly remembered seeing the young man’s face when the punch landed on his face. But now, his mind was empty, blank, and the appearance of the person who punched him became incomparably blurry in his memory.

A nameless rage burned in Zhao Qi’s chest. He suppressed his anger and sat up, his entire body trembling.

His memories had been erased.

“It seems… it’s a mental-type transcendent.”

Seeing Young Master Zhao’s reaction, Liu Yi knew that this incident had most likely been carefully planned.

With the current clues, they had no way to investigate and could only let it go.

“In another month, it will be the year-end ball. Given your current physical condition, you may need to recuperate for a while. Will you still be able to attend the ball?” Liu Yi hesitated for a moment before asking, “Also, do we need to… inform Madam about this?”

Zhao Qi held his chin and said with difficulty, “The ball is no problem. I can attend. If Lu Nanzhi asks… just say I’m sick. Don’t mention what happened last night to anyone.”

…

When Crow woke up, it was also noon.

He found himself lying on an unfamiliar bed.

“Awake?” Gu Shen held the orange cat, enjoying the breeze on the balcony. He glanced at Crow and asked, “Do you remember what happened last night?”

“What happened… last night?” Song Ci lifted the blanket in horror and checked his body… Fortunately, he didn’t feel any discomfort, and his clothes were all in place.

He let out a hoarse sigh and frowned, his mind completely blank.

No matter how hard he tried to call, his memories were blank.

The mental elements contained in Lion Awakens could make people feel dreamy and forget their troubles. This was indeed an incredible wine brewing technique. Even transcendents would sink into it if they were unprepared.

Gu Shen said, “You dragged me to drink. We drank too much and then encountered an unlucky guy. He was accompanied by several transcendents. He’s obviously a big shot in Dadu.”

“What happened next?” Song Ci scratched his head.

“He called us dogs,” Gu Shen said seriously. “I was ready to leave, but you were furious.”

“Fuck… I suspect you’re making this up.” Song Ci adjusted the blanket to prevent any exposure and then said seriously, “But if you’re making this up, I can only say that you really understand me. I’ve never been able to tolerate people who call me a dog.

“And then, did I hit him?”

Song Ci racked his brains and could only think of this possibility.

“No.” Gu Shen grinned. “I hit him. You hit his followers.”

As Crow listened, he carefully shifted his position under the blanket until he was facing Gu Shen. He chuckled and clapped. “It would be great if the story ends here… It’s just hitting some ignorant rich kid.”

“I think so too. But the story… clearly isn’t that simple.” Gu Shen paused for a moment. “We didn’t hit an ordinary rich kid.”

Crow was stunned.

“You drank too much last night, so I guess you didn’t see that guy’s appearance clearly.” Gu Shen was a little helpless. He said softly, “I just used Deep Sea to look up his appearance. I have to say it’s a pity you didn’t punch him last night.”

“Wait, are you saying…” Song Ci already had a vague premonition.

“Last night, we hit Zhao Qi,” Gu Shen said casually. “You left the punch for me.”

“???” Song Ci was first shocked, then furious, and finally regretful.

“This must be called… Fate makes fools of people. Perhaps it’s called escaping disaster for him.” Gu Shen sighed softly. “Based on your strength, if you had thrown the punch last night, you would have ended the Zhao family line.”

“That would have been better!” Song Ci sighed. “Drinking causes trouble…”

He suddenly thought of something and frowned. He said gravely, “Gu Shen, you can’t stay in Dadu anymore. I’ll help you contact Madam. Pack up and leave today.”

Although drinking and hitting Zhao Qi sounded adventurous and bold, no one knew better than Crow about the status of the Zhao family in Dadu… and their methods.

If he were caught, he might be able to manage. With Madam covering for him, he could handle the disaster and would only lose a layer of skin. But it was different for Gu Shen. Zhao Qi was notorious for his ruthlessness. If he caught someone who harmed him, he would definitely torture them to death.

With this thought, Crow started searching through his phone.

“Regarding the beating… As long as you and I don’t say anything, there won’t be any follow-up,” Gu Shen said softly. “I erased Zhao Qi’s memories relevant to the incident and the biological traces at the scene and obscured any traceable evidence through transcendental means. There’s no surveillance on the route we took in Old Town last night, so he won’t be able to find anything.”

Crow was stunned.

He pondered and realized that it was indeed the case. What has this kid experienced? Why is he so cautious?

“Are you sure?” Song Ci asked doubtfully. “What if you missed something?”

“If I didn’t have this confidence, would I have dared to take action last night?” Gu Shen smiled helplessly. “With the efficiency of the Zhao family, if there were clues left at the scene, do you think you could have slept peacefully until noon?”

Crow scratched his head again. “You’re really… a fucking talent.”

“What’s important isn’t that,” Gu Shen said softly. “Have you thought about why Zhao Qi was there?”

Song Ci looked puzzled.

“Old Town is an abandoned and forgotten area by Dadu. It’s technologically backward and poor. Why would a pampered big shot like Zhao Qi need to go there? And why would he go there late at night?” Gu Shen stroked the orange cat. “He even brought a group of transcendents. The most likely explanation is that he saw the backward conditions of Old Town as an advantage.

“Old Town is the only blind spot for Deep Sea in Dadu. If someone wants to discuss some shady business, that’s the best place to do it.”

Gu Shen said calmly, “The Zhao family is powerful and involved in many businesses. There’s usually nothing they need to hide. Zhao Qi could have confidently conducted his business anywhere, yet he chose to meet in Old Town. The only explanation is that he wanted to avoid people’s eyes. I’m guessing the person he met is someone who can’t be seen in public. If the Zhao family finds out, it could lead to a lot of trouble.

“So… even though he was attacked, he doesn’t dare to use too many resources, at least not the Zhao family’s. With Cui Zhongcheng in front and Madam Lu behind, his every move is being watched. If what happened in Old Town last night attracts the attention of these two, he will be in big trouble.

“In conclusion, after this beating… he can only swallow his anger and endure it.”

After he finished speaking, Song Ci’s expression changed from dumbfounded to genuine admiration.

He clapped and said earnestly. “I now understand what Old Lu said in the past is right… Hooligans aren’t terrifying, but educated hooligans are. Brother Gu, even when you hit someone, you consider carefully before acting. You’re really an example for us.”

Crow’s face had the words ‘I’m not the real hooligan. Brother Gu, you are,’ written on it.

“In any case…” Gu Shen changed the topic. “… put yourself in Zhao Qi’s shoes and think about it. An idle playboy who usually hangs out in the city suddenly goes to Old Town to meet someone who can’t be seen in public. What do you think he was doing?”

Song Ci instantly became alert.

He fell into deep thought and thought of two things.

The first thing was that he had punched Chen Jingtan, causing Zhao Qi’s business deal to fail. Zhao Qi was a vengeful person. Even if Madam suppressed the situation for now, it would only be on the surface. Zhao Qi would definitely come after him eventually.

The second thing was… the mental imprint planted in Madam by someone close to her. After Crow thought about it, Zhao Qi was most likely the culprit.

“Zhao Qi leads a simple life. He’s useless and hardly needs any privacy.”

Gu Shen also contemplated, his eyes tinged with puzzlement. He asked softly, “But if useless mud wants to go over the wall, someone has to help him. Who is that person?”