Chapter 15: Apology
Mao Baâer stood up like a human with a swish and pulled the door open. âLook! No oneâs even here!â
Xu Yangyi raised his brows as well. Indeed, there wasnât even a single person. Then⊠the question was, what had he just heard moments ago?
He had clearly heard someone named Manager Su at the door talking aloud. Manager Su and Mao Baâer had spoken quite clearly on a cooperative arrangement, price, and share, however⊠there really wasnât anyone at the entrance!
âIsnât there someone at the left? Someone that wanted the doctor to change their medication?â
The dog scouted out and returned. âNobody at all.â
âWas it your imagination?â Mao Baâer looked at Xu Yangyi suspiciously. âIn fact⊠even if you brag, weâll still be good friends⊠if youâre willing to give me a clear explanation about how you learned of my deal with the Bountiful Treasures Pavilion.â
Xu Yangyi narrowed his eyes and didnât answer the other. Instead, he released his spiritual sense. A thought sprang into his mind. Perhaps⊠it wasnât a trick of the ear.
Just as he unleashed his spiritual sense, he immediately felt it was different, a totally clear difference from before! In the past, his spiritual sense had also been clear, but in comparison to now, it seemed to have been once covered with a film of mist!
The flower was red. Yet in his eyes, he sensed even more layers of red that were more vibrant, like he could clearly see its color composition. To the extent that he could see the honeybee on the flower vibrating its wings.
Or perhaps it could be said in such a way that the world had become even more realistic.
He was in a sickroom on the tenth floor, but the flower garden was on a lower level outside the hospital, nearly 150 meters at the side of the national highway! Even if he was a Qi Condensation cultivator, he shouldnât have been able to see something 150 meters away to the most minute of details! A hundred meters was the max!
But more importantly was sound. Every sound, the buzzing of the honeybeeâs wings, the discussion of the patients on the floor below, and the hailing of a car 200 meters away⊠seemed to be at the side of his ear. He could even hear the middle-aged driver as he slightly coughed.
His eyes slightly narrowed. He hadnât heard incorrectly⊠Instead, his spiritual sense had unexpectedly strengthened! Moreover, it had suddenly expanded by roughly a third in size!
Xu Yangyi forcibly suppressed the throbbing of his heart. To a cultivator, spiritual sense could be said to be on the same level of importance as their qi sea. It was the eyes, ears, and tongue of how cultivators perceived the world, equivalent to a humanâs five senses. It also comprisedâŠ
The perceptive and absorbing strength of qi! In other words, his perception and absorption rate of qi was over a third stronger than a cultivator of the same stage!
An art or treasure that could upgrade spiritual sense wouldnât exist these days by any stretch of the imagination! This era of Cultivation Civilization was also known as Saddharmavipralopa or the End of Days. Qi had already become incomparably thin, and matters such as cultivating to Foundation Establishment in a hundred days, like in novels, could no longer appear. Presently, to achieve Foundation Establishment in a hundred years was considered top-notch. Spiritual sense would only advance following a cultivatorâs elevation in realms. Never had there been a precedent for such a sudden advancement!
âPretty boy⊠you alright?â Like a dried well, Xu Yangyiâs complexion was without a single ripple. Mao Baâer asked nervously, âIs it⊠because you didnât rest well enough that youâre suddenly hearing things?â
âMaybe.â Xu Yangyi shut his eyes and leaned against the sickbed. âPack things up. In several days, weâre going to leave Sanshui City.â
Thud thud thudâŠ
At the same time, a knocking sound suddenly echoed out. As he called out for the knocker to enter, Xu Yangyi saw a large bouquet of flowers with over a dozen people following behind.
They were all officers from the Disciplinary and Investigations Unit. This time, all of them were present! They followed the lead of Vice Captain Chen!
âCaptain Xu, has your health improved?â Vice Captain Chen respectfully set the large bouquet of flowers on a table and stood sincerely at Xu Yangyiâs bedside. âI heard youâve been unconscious for over ten days. Weâre really sorry; we didnât think that scumbag wouldâve set up explosives. If it werenât for you, Captain Xu⊠We donât even know if weâd be able to see our children again.â
Vice Captain Chenâs words revealed heartfelt admiration, deference, and respect. His aggression from the past several days when Xu Yangyi had just taken up post had long since disappeared without a trace.
âJust doing my job.â Xu Yangyi looked at the big bouquet of sword liliesâsymbols of good healthâand laughed, âThank you for the flowers, everyone.â
âT-Thereâs no need for thanks⊠No, I want to say that Captain Xu doesnât need to give thanks!â Old Zhu took a step forward and sighed deeply, âSome people said you were a paratrooper before. They said you were sent down to fill the numbers, and I actually believed it, too⊠Captain Xu, we⊠weâŠâ
âWe declined the commendations of the Provincial Public Security Department.â Vice Captain Chen revealed a shameful look. âCaptain Xu⊠we were all waiting on you, but they didnât want to hold off any longer. The case had dragged on for too long. You may not know, but Sanshui City has been so worried for the past month that even night classes were canceled. There was no one on the street⊠They wanted to immediately announce this information, IâŠâ
âNo need to apologize.â Xu Yangyi didnât care at all. Calming the peopleâs hearts was the first order of business after a strange incident. âThis is what you shouldâve done.â
The mood inside the hospital room had become a bit awkward.
In the past, none of them were used to looking at Xu Yangyi. For a paratrooper to drop down all of a sudden and then take charge over a major case was akin to a sheep leading a pride of lions. Above all else though, they had nearly flown into a seething rage when Xu Yangyi had stated that he was personally handling the case.
[1]
It wasnât until they regained consciousness that they became aware that Xu Yangyi had saved their lives at the key moment. According to the report, their close proximity to the explosives the criminal had planted had led to partial memory lost.
Thinking back to their display in the past, they drummed up enough courage to get together and come visit.
It was embarrassing⊠how could they set face aside? They were all in their thirties and forties, but they had judged Xu Yangyi by his appearance. In the end, he had saved all of their lives and single-handedly apprehended the criminal. When Chief Zheng had announced this information, the entire police force had been left without words.
After a brief period of shock, their guilt had swelled forth like a tide, and yet⊠they were embarrassed. After stewing around for a good while, it wasnât until these feelings had reached their boiling point that they carefully selected a large bouquet of flowers, and came together to the sickroom.
âIs there anything else?â Xu Yangyi had roughly grasped their intentions. âI have to get re-examined soon and then Iâll be transferred afterwards. How about all of you wait for me to leave the hospital, and then weâll chat again?â
Transferred?
Their feelings of embarrassment weakened in a flash and were replaced with a bubbling reluctance to part ways. Everyone looked at each other in surprise. They seemed to recall that Xu Yangyi had indeed said that he would be transferred after the case.
Before, they had been overwhelmingly in support for such a thing! But nowâŠ
While they had been quite willing in the past, they were just as reluctant now!
Was this a joke?! Which department wouldnât be willing to have such a frigginâ awesome captain? Not to mention a mortal achieving the Dao, even chickens and dogs would ascend to the heavens and reap an abundant harvest by staying under anotherâs tutelage!
[2]
âCaptain Xu!â Vice Captain Chen pursed his lips, suddenly stood up, and bowed seriously. âI apologize!â
Together with him at the head, everyone behind him bowed at the waist and said in chorus, âOur apologies!â
âItâs fine.â Xu Yangyi shook his head.
Just as he was about to speak, Vice Captain Chen immediately followed up. âNo! Thereâs something else! If I donât say this, Iâm afraid my dreams wonât be at peace later on!â
âAt the beginning, we judged you by your cover. Captain Xu⊠I truly didnât expect⊠that you would be s-soâŠâ Old Zhu pursed his lips, reflected over his words for two seconds, and then said wholeheartedly, âAwesome, frickinâ awesome! Nobody dared to accept this case in Nantong Province, but you busted it in three days flat! I, Old Zhu, accepted the last-sitting captain, Captain Gong. Now, I accept you!â
âCaptain Xu, please accept our apologies.â Officer Qin said as well. âWe didnât bring a present, but these are our heartfelt feelings. If itâs because of our past attitudes that have drawn your misunderstandingâŠâ
âI guarantee it absolutely wonât happen again!â Vice Captain Chen straightened out his waist and patted his chest. âSay no more. I accept this captain. Based on qualifications, it originally shouldâve been my turn. However, only those who are capable may take this seat! If you tell us to go south later on, we sure as hell wonât go north!â
Xu Yangyi understood. They didnât want him to leaveâŠ
Concerning Vice Captain Chenâs apology, he really didnât put it to mind. Even though things had been difficult before, he hadnât even taken it to heart. This was because he wasnât a person walking parallel with them. This wasnât belittling them but rather that which angered him was different from the root of ordinary people.
Because of their superiors making things hard for them, annoying colleagues, and increases in prices, ordinary people would swear up a storm in public, but he wouldnât. He was only anxious if his cultivation was unable to make progress, simply worried he wouldnât see the end of the Grand Dao.
âIâm sorry.â He stood up and was supported up by his colleagues of barely several days. âThis is a command from the top of the chain. My coming here was only to handle this case. Iâve finished, so I have to return.â His words were clear and to the point. Anyone could hear that this was a matter that couldnât disobeyed.
âCanât⊠Canât the rules be bent?â Vice Captain Chen gritted his teeth, irreconcilably. With such a capable captain, he truly didnât wish for someone else to transfer Xu Yangyi out!
Xu Yangyi shook his head and laughed, âThereâs a chance weâll meet again.â
Even when all the agents of the Disciplinary and Investigations Unit left the sickroom, their hearts were still at odds with Xu Yangyiâs coming departure.
âHey, Old Chen, do you still remember what happened that night?â Old Zhu furrowed his brows and asked, âI canât remember anything at all⊠I only remember⊠it seemed that something incredibly serious happened⊠We owe Captain Xu a pretty big favorâŠâ
âI donât remember, eitherâŠâ Vice Captain Chen smiled wryly and shook his head. âHowever, Iâm in the same boat as you. I keep getting a nudge at the back of my mind that if it werenât for him that night, we all wouldâve died there.â
âMe too!â
âItâs weird⊠Itâs the same for me as well.â
âI keep on thinking that I owe him a big favor, but I canât even recall anything.â
As the line of people descended down stairs, Vice Captain Chen was the last to raise his head and look back towards the sickroom on the tenth floor. He kept on having a kind of feeling. That perhaps this would be the last time he would see Xu Yangyi.
âAs expectedâŠâ He shook his head and followed after the crowd. âHow could a talented person possibly be willing to stay in such a backwater place like Sanshui CityâŠâ
SwishâŠ
The blinds lowered, and Xu Yangyi gently raised a slat, his gaze wavering a tad bit.
âWhat? Are you a little sad you donât have any mortal friends?â Mao Baâer stood beside him, using his paw in the same manner to brush the blinds aside. âPretty boy⊠We havenât been normal people for a long time⊠This society is at peace from the outside but beneath it lies a maelstrom of living fossils that have crawled along since ancient times⊠Besides, existences like ours exceeds that of ordinary people. Who said it? For the paths we have chosen, we must press on to completion even if we are brought to our knees.â
[3]
ClackâŠ
The blinds softly lowered, and Xu Yangyi laughed, âItâs rare of you to speak like a human. Help me get in touch with Sanshui Cityâs Bountiful Treasures Pavilion. I need to get an appraisal right away.â
âWhat about you?â
Xu Yangyi tapped his wristwatch. âOf course, I have to submit my exam grade now.â
1. ć ”ççäžäžȘïŒć°ççäžçȘ. Kinda hard to translate this into english. I used the example I found to demonstrate what it means. Essentially, it illustrates that if youâre team is good, but leader sucks, you will suck. But if youâre leader is amazing and the team is amazing, then you guys will be awesome.
2. Chickens and dogs can rise to the heavens. I was originally going to localize this, but I love the imagery LOL. I played around with the sentence to make it fit. If it isnât obvious, it means that anyone can do anything (given a situation in context). Also, âAchieving the Daoâ is a term youâll often find for someone ascending to immortality/becoming an immortal.
3. èȘć·±éçè·ŻïŒè·ȘçäčèŠè”°ćź - I translated this kinda looseley and bit poetic, but the meaning from what I have ascertained is âthe paths we choose in life hold all kinds of hardship. Despite this, we have to continue on bravely even in the face of danger.â
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