Several days later, Reyn waves goodbye to Yáng, Zhào, and Huáng from the subway platform as their subway train promptly speeds away. Reyn briskly makes her way out of subway station and on to the main street, carefully glancing both ways before jaywalking across the road.
Reyn’s eyes slightly narrow in annoyance at sensing her recently gained stalker once more. It had slightly over a week since she had gained an unseen presence following her. Reyn was certain that it was related to Sūn Lì as her unseen stalker had only appeared after their crossing paths. Normally this wouldn’t bother Reyn except that this time around her stalker happened to be a cultivator. And as her stalker couldn’t be seen by any normal means, therefore, Reyn wouldn’t have any legitimate proof to present to the police.
Reyn glances at her watch and frowns in thought. Her first instinct was to kill her stalker, but she did not want to attract any further suspicion to herself. Unfortunately, she would just have to wait until enough time had passed, before doing so. Reyn sighs in annoyance, but she would have to make do until then. Raising her pace, Reyn quickly makes her way to her apartment for some much-needed rest.
From a nearby rooftop, Zhū watches his target enter her apartment complex. Zhū hunkers down to watch and wait from the nearby room. It had been several days since he had begun to pursue his target, but nothing out of the ordinary had appeared.
By all accounts, this foreign woman was merely a simple office worker. There was absolutely nothing out of the ordinary in her financial record nor in her personal files. She was friendly with her co-workers and even went to drink and eat with them after work. And on the weekend, she would go to do some shopping and enjoy a day in the city, before retiring early to rest. If anything else, the woman led a rather simple lifestyle. Even so Zhū hoped that sooner rather than later that woman would slip up and reveal her true colors. Unless he was wrong, which had happened once before, but even then, he was still being paid for his troubles and that was perfectly fine with him.
Realizing it was going to be a long night, Zhū pulls out a cigarette from his pocket and begins to smoke. Zhū blows out a puff of smoke into the night sky and watches it drift away, before taking another puff. Zhū reaches into his other pocket and pulls out his phone to pass the time, all the while keeping one eye on the apartment across from him. No matter how distracted Zhū might appear, he was still a professional who could multi-task at the same time.
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From inside the apartment, Reyn walks over to the window blinds and pauses at seeing a faint glowing red ember from across the room and the faint glowing light of a cellphone screen. Reyn shakes her head and mutters, “Amateur,” before closing the blinds to her apartment, and heading off to bed.
The next morning Reyn makes her way to work as per usual and only stops to have her weekly breakfast with Lín He. The two of them sit on a park bench and chew on their warm delicious breakfast. From the distance, Zhū watches the strange scene and merely shakes his head.
Just before Reyn is done eating, Lín He says, “Girlie, are you okay?”
Reyn glances at Lín He in surprise and asks, “Yes, why?”
Lín He shakes his head and cryptically says, “Nothing, it’s just you’re still a young woman and need to watch out for all the big bad wolves out there.”
“Don’t worry, I always walk around with an electric taser and pepper spray in my bag,” Reyn carefully replied as her eyes caught the direction Lín He was staring at. Reyn’s eyes narrow slightly at realizing Lín He could spot her stalker as well. A cold light of realization flicker in Reyn’s eyes that just as swiftly disappears leaving her eyes with a placid look.
After a moment’s pause, Reyn calmly answers, “I will make sure to be cautious,” before rising from the bench and heading off to work.
Lín He cheerful waves goodbye to Reyn, before his brow furrows in thought. Since his arrival, that girl had been the only mortal to show him true genuine kindness. But, there was something more to that girl than what met the eye. For certain she was a mortal, but Lín He could not sense the bindings of fate and mortality around her. Yet she posed no cultivation nor power that he could truly see.
There was were only two explanations, the first, that she was one in billions of humans, who was born with the ability to defy fate. Or the second, which was that concerned him the most, she was a cultivator as well. But despite his careful proving he had yet to discover anything resolute. Either that girl was just as simple as she seemed, or she was exactly what he thought she was. And if so, he had much to gain if he could gain her trust. And if he failed to do so, it would be better she be destroyed, before becoming a tool against him.
Lín He’s eyes darken without mercy at the thought and in that frame of mind, he swiftly moves to destroy the cat that was targeting the mouse. It would be an utter shame if his entire scheme failed because of a simple tomcat. And with that in mind, Lín He hurries away to resolve the problem at hand.