Chapter 27

Since Meng Li’s mother had reverted back, Xu Qiao retracted her spirit form before Qin Chi and Meng Li approached, pretending to rub her forehead as if she was exhausted mentally.

“Are you okay?” Meng Li quickened her steps and supported Xu Qiao’s shoulder from behind.

Xu Qiao shook her head and looked at the beautiful woman on the ground, now relaxed in her sleep, reminding Meng Li, “You should check on your mom. The ground is a bit wet.”

Hearing this, Qin Chi glanced at his damp pants, turned, and walked to the other side, using his wind ability to carry away the moisture from his clothes.

Meng Li bent down to pick up her sleeping mother, struggling to gather her fire ability to dry the damp dress clinging to her mother’s body, as well as her disheveled black curls.

Xu Qiao gently held the woman’s wrist, letting her spirit power flow around before sighing in relief. “There are no internal or external injuries.”

Meng Li looked up, wanting to say thank you, but found the words too light.

Xu Qiao noticed her wet eyelashes and smiled, “We’re not just schoolmates; we’re teammates. No need to be too polite.”

“Someone is coming,” Qin Chi suddenly said, facing the foot of the mountain.

Meng Li calmed herself and said to the two of them, “It’s not convenient to talk here. Let’s go to my house; it’s just down the mountain.”

She carried her mother and led the way, and despite the enormous drain on her mental energy, an ability user’s physique remained unaffected, so she found it easy to carry her.

Xu Qiao followed her and glanced at Qin Chi, noticing his pants were already dry. She teased, “So wind abilities are quite convenient after all.”

Qin Chi looked at her bright eyes, and suddenly a strong wind swirled around him, drying the floor where the lotus had manifested, filling in the deep pits left by the two scorpions, and carrying away the lingering fragrance of the lotus.

Xu Qiao said, “No wonder you’re Mr. Qin; you cover all bases.”

Qin Chi smiled, “Let’s go.”

The three walked quietly, and halfway there, a flashlight beam suddenly illuminated them, prompting them to stop in unison.

The light quickly moved away from them. Xu Qiao looked up in surprise to find that the person holding the flashlight was actually Jiang Rui, dressed in a crisp guard uniform.

Jiang Rui’s eyes showed surprise and joy, but he quickly regained his composure and nodded slightly at her. “Good evening, Miss Xu. I live nearby and just received a notification about a circuit malfunction here, so I came to check. Did you find anything unusual coming down from the mountain?”

In the base, the police were responsible for maintaining order, while the guards typically handled external threats from mutant creatures. However, tonight’s circuit issue was suspected to have been caused by an underground mutant creature biting through the cables, which is why the notification was sent to the nearest guard.

Jiang Rui politely inquired while glancing a few times at the sleeping Meng Li’s mother.

Xu Qiao explained, “This is my teammate. Her mother had a severe headache and went up the mountain for a walk, but then she fainted from the pain. She was really worried and asked me to help, and we just arrived. We did notice some issues with the streetlights at the foot of the mountain, but beyond that, we’re not sure.”

Jiang Rui nodded, “Alright, you should head down quickly. I’ll check inside.”

Xu Qiao replied, “Okay, be careful.”

Jiang Rui continued on, nodding to Qin Chi, whom he had met in the Ping’an community.

Knowing that his mother enjoyed chatting about everyday matters, Jiang Rui was aware that this Mr. Qin was Xu Qiao’s neighbor and tenant. It made sense for Xu Qiao to ask him for help since it wasn’t convenient for her to come to the East District late at night.

Once they were far enough away, Xu Qiao whispered to Meng Li, “Qin Chi has already erased the traces; he probably won’t discover anything.”

Meng Li frowned and said, “I hurried over, and my spirit form bit through the underground cables.”

Scorpions could dig, and if tonight only these two ability users—mother and daughter—had the capability to damage the cables underground, it would be hard to avoid suspicion if the guards pursued the matter seriously.

Facing questioning would be a relatively mild consequence, but she was worried that her mother might suddenly show symptoms during the interrogation.

Xu Qiao frowned too, thinking, what should they do?

Qin Chi said, “Call Mr. Jiang back and admit that this was an accident caused by a dispute between you and your mother. Pay the required fine as per regulations, and it should be fine.”

With so many ability users in the base, impulsive personal conflicts were hard to avoid, and the authorities had long established relevant punitive regulations.

Meng Li replied, “Okay.”

She then said to Xu Qiao, “I will clarify everything to him. I didn’t mention you earlier, so you weren’t aware of it.”

She was concerned that the guard might mind Xu Qiao’s lie.

Xu Qiao smiled and said, “It’s okay; solving the problem is what matters.”

Qin Chi suggested, “Shall I go call him back?”

He could manipulate the wind, moving the fastest, while Xu Qiao and Meng Li stayed put.

It didn’t take long for Jiang Rui to return with Qin Chi. As he approached, he pulled out a patrol log from his uniform pocket and stood before Meng Li with a serious expression, handling the matter in an official manner. “Name.”

“Meng Li.”

“The reason for the argument with your mother and why you damaged the cable.”

Meng Li glanced at her sleeping mother in her arms and lowered her gaze. “I work at the smelting plant, and she doesn’t like it. She’s always wanted me to change jobs. We argued about it again tonight. She asked me if I was ashamed of my scorpion spirit, and I said I wasn’t, but she insisted that I go outside with her to release the spirit.”

“I was embarrassed and, in a fit of anger, damaged the cable to avoid being recorded by the surveillance.”

Her cold demeanor and calm tone made it hard for even Xu Qiao to discern the truth of her words.

That was how the New Era was; there was a hierarchy among ability users, and even among those of the same level, there was discrimination based on the type of spirit.

Both are flowers, but peonies and foxtails receive different treatment; both are insects, but can butterflies and scorpions be the same?

From a biological perspective, butterflies and scorpions are not distinguished by rank or value, but in the eyes of humans, butterflies are beautiful, while scorpions are ugly, terrifying, and poisonous.

While attending the Third Academy, Xu Qiao had heard classmates gossip about Meng Li, saying she was as vicious as her scorpion spirit and that no one should provoke her.

Therefore, Meng Li’s explanation held up perfectly in this situation.

Xu Qiao comfortingly hugged Meng Li while looking at Jiang Rui.

She didn’t say anything, but Jiang Rui understood the meaning in her eyes, hoping he wouldn’t make things difficult for her friend.

Having accepted the explanation, Jiang Rui nodded, quickly recorded the incident, and stated a fine amount: “Will you pay now or later?”

Meng Li replied, “Now.”

She unlocked her communication wristband and expressionlessly transferred the points.

Jiang Rui put away the log and looked at Xu Qiao. “My car is parked below. Would you like a ride back?”

Xu Qiao smiled and said, “Thank you, but we have a car. I don’t want to trouble you any further this late.”

Jiang Rui nodded. “Okay. I will contact a repairman to fix the cable urgently. There shouldn’t be any other issues; if you’re worried, you can add me as a friend, and I will notify you immediately if needed.”

Xu Qiao looked again at the face of the tall guard.

Jiang Rui’s jawline was clearly tense, and he quickly said, “It’s fine if you don’t want to add me; I…”

Xu Qiao smiled, raised her right hand, and added him as a friend. “Thanks for your help tonight. We still need to treat Auntie, so we’ll be leaving now.”

Jiang Rui’s voice trembled slightly. “…Goodbye.”

When they reached the foot of the mountain, Qin Chi released a black sedan. Meng Li and her mother took the back seat, while Xu Qiao continued to sit in the passenger seat.

Confirming that her mother was in a deep sleep, Meng Li gave Qin Chi their specific address and then turned to Xu Qiao. “Does that guy want to pursue you? If you’re forcing yourself because of me…”

Xu Qiao laughed. “Don’t overthink it. He’s been pursuing me for a while; I think he’s a decent person, and adding him as a friend is no big deal.”

With the situation clarified, Meng Li fell silent.

She wasn’t good at small talk and wouldn’t interfere with her teammates’ romantic lives or choices.

Xu Qiao glanced at Qin Chi, who was focused on driving, and turned to Meng Li to ask, “Did Auntie’s condition just start today?”

Meng Li shook her head, her voice lowered. “It’s been… off since I can remember, but back then she could control herself. At most, she would show some scorpion traits. After I awakened my spirit, it started to gradually worsen. There were times she completely transformed into a scorpion, but after I suppressed her for a while, she recovered on her own. Today is the worst it’s ever been.”

Xu Qiao felt a heaviness in her heart and asked Qin Chi, “Do you know much about beastification?”

Qin Chi replied, “Not much, but a professor I know speculated that beastification ability users have always existed; they just kept it hidden.”

Those who could control their transformation occasionally managed to maintain a normal life as ability users, while those who couldn’t likely fell into the category of mutated creatures—either living in the wild with other mutated beasts or being killed by ability users without leaving a trace.

Xu Qiao looked at her palm and expressed her feelings, “My healing ability seems useless for Auntie; it’s more like she’s directly affected by some aspect of her spirit.”

Meng Li was surprised. “So it didn’t heal her?”

Xu Qiao shook her head. “No, when Auntie transformed back, neither my spiritual power nor my abilities showed any significant consumption.”

Qin Chi added, “If it’s unrelated to healing, then it could be the lotus flowers, lotus leaves, flower fragrances, or the mist. One or more of these elements might have affected Auntie.”
—-
The major general Qi Ke assigned to him was an A-grade healer, and Professor Wu was the only S-grade healer and researcher in the Northeast base. Both had treated Qin Chi, but neither had any effect.

Beatification indeed wouldn’t cause physical harm; it only allowed ability users to shift between their healthy human forms and their beast forms, affecting their mental and spiritual state.

Meng Li wondered, “Could it be related to the characteristics of the spirit? Many plant-type spirits provide wood-type healing abilities, but the medicinal properties of the spirit species themselves vary. It’s like some herbs are used for treating colds, while others are for treating external injuries.”

Xu Qiao was very familiar with her spirit. “Lotus flowers can be used for medicine all over; different parts have varying effects. Overall, they primarily promote blood circulation, stop bleeding, dispel heat and dampness, and calm the heart and mind…”

She suddenly stopped speaking, and both Meng Li and Qin Chi looked over at her.

Could it really be the lotus flower’s “calming the heart and mind” characteristic that played a role?

The black sedan stopped in front of a three-story villa.

Just as the car came to a halt, a gray-haired old lady anxiously pushed the door open. Upon seeing the person Meng Li was holding, the old lady burst into tears.

Meng Li introduced her teammates, “This is my grandmother. Let’s go inside first.”

Meng Li’s mother, Meng Qiuyan, lived on the second floor.

Meng Li placed her mother on the bed and covered her with a blanket. Fearing that her mother might suddenly beastify in her sleep, Meng Li didn’t dare leave her alone with her grandmother, so she left the door half-open and personally waited in the small living room outside.

Xu Qiao and Qin Chi sat on the sofa, while Grandma Meng leaned beside her granddaughter, anxiously looking at the two of them. “Do you both know what happened?”

Meng Li replied, “We know. Don’t worry; they won’t speak of it to anyone else.”

The two of them nodded in agreement.
—-
Grandma Meng wiped her eyes and looked toward the bedroom, asking, “Is she completely cured now, or…?”

Xu Qiao regrettably said, “This is my first encounter with such a case, so I can’t give you a definite answer. We’ll need to wait until Auntie wakes up to assess the situation.”

The light in Grandma Meng’s eyes dimmed as she lamented, “It’s all my fault. If I hadn’t been watching TV, she wouldn’t have suddenly fallen ill…”

Meng Li had been called back by her grandmother while working, and she had been busy with suppressing and counter-suppressing her mother’s transformation into the black scorpion. Now she finally had a chance to ask, “What TV?”

Grandma Meng shrank her shoulders and lowered her head.

Seeing this, Xu Qiao exchanged glances with Qin Chi and said to Meng Li, “You two can chat for now; we’ll go sit downstairs for a bit.”

Meng Li replied, “…There are guest rooms on the first floor; I’ll take you there.”

Xu Qiao said, “No need; it’s already past two. We won’t be able to sleep for long, so we’ll just rest on the sofa for a bit.”

Holding Meng Li back, she and Qin Chi quickly went downstairs.

Meng Li turned to her grandmother. “I know you have secrets. In the past, you didn’t say anything, and I didn’t ask. But now that she’s like this, if you still hide things from me, how can I help Xu Qiao treat her?”

Grandma Meng, who had kept her daughter’s secret for twenty years, was overwhelmed by the stress of the night and couldn’t hold it back any longer. She cried heartbrokenly, “What else could it be? It’s about that man who tormented her and looked down on her. His surname is Lin, and his family opposed him marrying your mom. So he gave up and compensated her with this house, and then today, his daughter awakened an S-grade phoenix spirit. It’s all over the news.”

Meng Li, resembling her mother, showed little change in her expression, only slightly curling her right pinky.

Her mother had only a C-grade spirit, and Grandma was just an ordinary person, so she had long suspected she might be the illegitimate daughter of a wealthy man, and her mother had been abandoned by him.

She felt surprised to find out that the man’s surname was Lin.

No wonder that the night before her awakening, her grandmother had burned incense and prayed as if she could truly ask for a powerful spirit for her, while her mother stayed locked away and didn’t show herself.

But at just sixteen, standing in the testing chamber, she had repeatedly called out “venomous scorpion” in her heart.

Everyone despised and criticized her mother; she didn’t care. She didn’t know what her biological father’s spirit was, nor did she want anything else—she only wanted a scorpion.
—-
In the suffocating atmosphere of the upstairs living room, filled with Grandma Meng’s muffled sobs, a deep red fire scorpion suddenly appeared.

Meng Li raised an eyebrow. How did it come out again when it was clearly exhausted from the mountains?

The palm-sized fire scorpion waved its pincers and scuttled toward Meng Li on the sofa, then suddenly stopped.

A slight sound of tapping arose, stirring the air.

In Meng Li’s incredulous gaze, transparent red wings began to take shape along the sides of the fire scorpion’s spine. The small wings flapped quickly, and eventually, they successfully lifted the fire scorpion into the air, awkwardly but resolutely flying toward Meng Li.

In that instant, Meng Li’s previously exhausted spiritual power surged back, filling her with more energy than ever before.

With sufficient spiritual power supporting it, the small fire scorpion suddenly grew larger and excitedly flew over Meng Li toward the empty living room.

Downstairs in the hall, on the sofa, Qin Chi lifted his gaze.

Xu Qiao, who was just about to doze off, was suddenly jolted awake by the anxious emotions of the lotus spirit.

As a result, she saw a gigantic fire scorpion that could fly.