Chapter 230 - 169: Intelligence

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It was already three in the morning when Zhou Chen returned to Li Xiye’s home, but the lights in the villa were still on.

He walked into the living room, weary from his journey, and saw two people on the sofa. An open first-aid kit sat on the coffee table. Li Xiye was wearing a white short-sleeved shirt splattered with specks of blood. She held a cotton ball soaked in rubbing alcohol with a pair of tweezers, dabbing at a wound on her arm.

Beside the sofa sat a girl with long, wavy hair. It was a mess, and her clothes were clearly torn, as if she’d just been in a fight.

Zhou Chen’s arrival caught their attention. The girl with the long, wavy hair stared at him for a couple of seconds, her expression turning to shock. "You’re keeping a man?"

"He’s a new friend," Li Xiye said, blowing on a scrape on her own arm. She then grabbed her friend’s leg, pulled it onto her lap, and lifted the hem of her skirt. "This scrape on your leg is pretty bad. It needs to be disinfected, so this is going to sting."

"Hey, hey! Just use iodine! Why are you grabbing the hydrogen peroxide...?" The girl with the wavy hair began to struggle, her eyes wide with fear.

"Stop complaining. Hydrogen peroxide works better. Now, hold still!"

Li Xiye was frighteningly assertive. Without another word, she soaked a cotton swab in hydrogen peroxide and began dabbing it on the scrape on her friend’s knee.

"AHHHHH!!!" The girl pounded the sofa, letting out a bloodcurdling scream. Soon, her body went rigid, her yell turning into a silent one, her expression a mask of twisted agony.

It was a long moment before she recovered. She sniffled, her expression full of grievance. "You’re bullying me over some guy..."

Li Xiye arched an eyebrow and dabbed the wound a few more times.

The girl laughed. "I’m used to it now. It doesn’t hurt anymore~"

"But you have another leg," Li Xiye said, and began cleaning the other injured knee. The bloodcurdling screams started up all over again.

"You heartless bitch!" the girl shrieked. For some reason, the nearby husky joined in, and the two of them created an unholy racket of shrieks and howls.

Completely exasperated, Zhou Chen asked, "What happened to you two?"

"She got cornered at a KTV, so I brought some people to go rescue her. Got into a fight with a bunch of little bitches," Li Xiye explained, grabbing a bottled cocktail from the table and downing it in one go.

"..."

Zhou Chen noticed a baseball bat propped up against the sofa. It had faint traces of blood on it. He hesitated for a moment. "Did you kill anyone?"

"Nah, I know how to hold back. Just knocked out the teeth of a few young Huang Maos." Li Xiye put down the empty bottle and let out a long breath. Then, she slapped her friend’s butt irritably. "What were you even doing at a KTV so late at night?"

"My boyfriend insisted on dragging me there to sing..." her friend, Guan Yao, mumbled.

"And where’s this boyfriend of yours?" Li Xiye scoffed.

"..." Guan Yao’s face darkened, and she said nothing. ’That damned scumbag... He’s so good with all his sweet talk, but the second things went south, he bailed faster than anyone. If I hadn’t been quick enough to find a place to hide, that pack of bitches would have probably stripped me naked.’

"Xiao Ye, you’re the best!"

"Oh, get outta here. Just try not to go out so late from now on, so I don’t have to worry myself sick over you," Li Xiye said irritably.

"I know, I know..." Guan Yao laughed sheepishly.

Zhou Chen sat down and grabbed a bottled cocktail. With a casual flick of his thumb, he sent the cap flying in a perfect arc into the trash can. He took a few drinks, then looked at Li Xiye. "I never would have guessed you were a... delinquent?"

"’Delinquent’ is such an ugly word. Call her the Boss!" Guan Yao said, slapping Li Xiye on the shoulder. "She’s the Boss of our Number One High. It’s because of her that punks from other schools don’t dare mess with our students. And what’s more, Xiao Ye is actually a genius. She’s always ranked in the top ten of her grade. Ah... Xiao Ye, if only you were a guy..."

"Oh, shut up."

’What’s wrong with her being a woman? Women are perfectly capable...’ Zhou Chen thought to himself. While sipping his drink, he casually produced a bottle of Healing Potion and handed it over. "Use this. Rub half on the wounds and drink the rest. You’ll be all better by morning."

Guan Yao was floored by this feat of Hand Refining Alchemy. Her eyes went wide, and she tugged on Li Xiye’s sleeve, stammering in disbelief, "H-h-h-h-he’s... he’s an Alchemist?"

Li Xiye accepted the Healing Potion and nodded. "Thanks."

"I’ll let you two get to it. I’m going to get some rest."

Zhou Chen hadn’t gotten much rest since he’d transmigrated, and he was starting to feel tired.

"There’s a guest room upstairs. You can sleep there. And feel free to use the bathroom," Li Xiye said.

「The bathroom.」

As Zhou Chen showered, he looked at the location map in his Spiritual World.

Only three of the five markers remained.

’According to the intel so graciously provided by the Crimson Sect, the clue marker at the Star Association is the student of the two scholars who were researching the Eternal Life Machine.’

’Following that logic, the marker at the International Financial Mansion most likely represents the Blood Race. They have data related to the Immortality Experiment, and their location fits their profile—the Blood Race has accumulated terrifying wealth and influences human society from the shadows.’

’That means the last marker, the one darting all over the place, is almost certainly the missing old scholar.’

’What I can’t figure out is how the old scholar is managing to race all over Hong City. That’s not a speed any normal person could possess... Unless... the old scholar isn’t human anymore?’

’That’s entirely possible. After all, the Eternal Life Formula they were researching was gleaned from a Forbidden Ancient Book that recorded the secrets of the Abyss. God only knows what the true nature of that "Eternal Life Formula" is—some unspeakable, forbidden knowledge from the Abyss.’

’The five clue markers... they most likely all point to the Eternal Life Machine and the Forbidden Ancient Book. So how is Li Xiye connected to all this...?’