Gun of Ashes

Shao Liangxi feigned strength, tugging Rod forcefully a few times. As Anonymous, she seemed unreliable, yet had substantial strength, easily pulling Rod to his feet.

But Rod acted as if he were dead, saying nothing. After a few seconds, he stood up, expressionless, and very seriously said,

”I’m sorry.”

Shao Liangxi watched Rod calmly, slowly leaning in closer with a smile, and observed Rod’s composed expression starting to crumble and shiver.

”I say, Rod, your act of being calm is really...”

Shao Liangxi winked as she saw Rod completely crumble, and burst into a triumphant laugh.

”Is it really that weak?”

Shao Liangxi looked at Rod sitting on the ground, not reacting at all, as if his mind had shut down, completely giving up on thinking.

Rod’s heart was crumbling; the more Shao Liangxi teased him, the more he regretted coming out with her.

”Alright, alright, I won’t torment you anymore.”

Shao Liangxi sat down too, patting Rod’s shoulder.

Rod took a long time before slowly lifting his head, feeling his cheeks a bit hot, not knowing if it was shame or something else.

He was really not good at dealing with Shao Liangxi, or perhaps with situations like this.

In Rod’s short life, he hadn’t had any close contact with the opposite sex. To understand the mysterious realm of Jiuxia, he spent long periods with books, and according to his classmates, they viewed Rod as just a bookworm.

”Am I really that unappealing?”

Shao Liangxi and Rod’s concerns were completely different. She enjoyed playing pranks on Rod, seeing his ridiculous expressions, satisfying her mischievous hobby.

But after spending so many days together, Shao Liangxi had only just succeeded at a prank, most of the time Rod hardly seemed to care about her.

”Appeal?”

Rod couldn’t understand what Shao Liangxi was talking about—some nonsensical stuff, no doubt.

”Yes, do you think I’m pretty?”

This was a trap question, Shao Liangxi looked at Rod expectantly.

Rod’s reaction was a bit slow; to be precise, he hadn’t thought about these things, and based purely on his vast store of knowledge and limited emotional intelligence, he responded.

”Nice.”

Rod didn’t know what the aesthetic sense in Jiuxia was, but to him, it was nice.

This answer clearly didn’t satisfy Shao Liangxi; she looked frustrated and was about to react, but Rod continued speaking.

”I’m really not good at talking about this sort of thing.”

Rod lowered his head, not looking at Shao Liangxi, staring at the puddle by his feet, raindrops striking the surface and shattering his reflection.

”What do you mean?” This time, it was Shao Liangxi who didn’t understand.

”How to put it... just a moment ago, I suddenly realized, you’re a person.”

”Huh? A person?”

As soon as she heard this, Shao Liangxi instantly aimed a hand chop down at Rod, but Rod was quicker, raising both hands as if to catch her blade bare-handed. Alas, Rod’s hands slipped, and Shao Liangxi’s hand chop landed precisely on his head.

This time, Shao Liangxi was really serious, making Rod dizzy with the blow.

”No, no, I just... how to say?”

Rod still attempted to explain something, but Shao Liangxi had patience, holding her hand ready. It seemed if Rod’s answer didn’t satisfy her, she’d be ready to strike again.

”You, you’re Anonymous, right? A group of people fighting against Demons, like the knights of the Purification Mechanism, the Demon Hunters of the Order...”

Rod’s head was spinning, his words were messy, lacking logic.

”For someone like me, an ordinary person, all of you are some kind of terrifying people. Often I can’t see you as ordinary people, or ’people’ at all.”

Shao Liangxi’s expression subtly changed, her gaze cooled.

”So what?”

”Just like Mr. Holmo, even though our relationship has been close these days, you can feel it, right? He’s so powerful, neither sword nor fire can harm him. Such a being is more like a monster in human form than a human being.”

Rod rambled incoherently.

”Just like Red Falcon and Eve, those two are always smiling, yet once they start fighting, they’re more ruthless than anyone... I feel like I’m a little lamb among wolves, out of place with you all.”

”Many times, I feel like I’m the only ’normal’ person.”

Listening to Rod’s words, Shao Liangxi lowered her hand, expressionless; for a moment, all her pleasing interest vanished, she probably understood Rod’s point.

In Rod’s view, whether Anonymous or Demon Hunters, they were non-human creatures merely retaining a human shape, and facing such entities, being the only ordinary person, Rod naturally found it difficult to introduce common logic.

Shao Liangxi pulled a helpless smile, reaching out to ruffle Rod’s hair, trying to ease the stiffness in the atmosphere.

”You’re right, you’re the unlucky one who wandered into a wolf pack,” Shao Liangxi said, ”You do stand out with us... you nearly died before.”

Shao Liangxi remembered the first skirmish with Roger; without her timely intervention, Rod might have really died there.

On a battlefield of monsters, a civilian joining only adds more cries of despair.

”No, listen to me first.”

Rod completely ignored Shao Liangxi’s words, gaining rare courage, he spoke loudly.

”So... so just now I had a fleeting feeling,” Rod continued, ”it’s like rediscovering all this.”

This time his gaze didn’t avoid but directly met Shao Liangxi’s eyes.

”I suddenly realized, there’s no monster. Actually, everyone’s just ordinary people...”

Rod recalled.

”Compared to my short life, everything in these few days feels like a mysterious Illusion Realm, the appearance of the mysterious Jiuxia, then the apocalypse crisis; I’m just an ordinary translator drawn into such grand warfare.

I thought anyone stepping into it would be a ’monster’, yet in reality it’s different.”

For some reason, Rod’s mind conjured the image of Lorenzo’s office, where a group of monsters briefly rested, though these monsters didn’t look monstrous at all.

Talking nonsense, telling odd jokes, some busy drafting reports during breaks, others collapsing aside, sleeping whenever possible...

”Thus, I discovered everyone’s ordinary people, simply unaware of it.”

Having finished speaking, Rod looked at Shao Liangxi, yet Shao Liangxi’s eyes only revealed confusion.

He felt something was amiss.

”What are you... talking about?” Shao Liangxi wore a slightly awkward expression, ”Although... can’t you take care of the foreigner, huh?”

For a moment, Rod felt like he had died, in every sense, realizing he said so much yet Shao Liangxi essentially didn’t understand.

No... wait a minute, might this be her intentionally messing with me?

Rod watched Shao Liangxi warily, who knew if she’d understood; before Shao Liangxi often did this to him, hearing benefits clearly but feigning ignorance when tasked with physical work, then pretending to be dead.

Should I ask further? Or just let it go?

While Rod was deeply contemplating, Shao Liangxi suddenly stood up. She looked towards the end of the rain-soaked alley, observing bright flickering lights.

”Rod, what’s that?”

Shao Liangxi pointed ahead, Rod also raised his head, looking in that direction. Despite the heavy rain mist, he recognized the flashing symbol.

Shao Liangxi promptly grabbed Rod, moving forward taking him into the rain.

”Run!”

Shao Liangxi shouted to him, as if it were a command, Rod unwittingly followed her towards the deep end of the alley, just like being led beneath the Iron Whale in the past.