Chapter 65 Tired

“There’s nothing to worry about, Shenhong. Rest assured.”

Having placed three consecutive calls and sent numerous messages, Xie Shenhong consistently received similar reassurances.

Even Li Tianming, Dongfang Qinglong, and Duanmu Yun, usually so forthcoming, were unwilling to disclose the full truth to him.

The thought of transforming into Hai Zhu to eavesdrop felt utterly pathetic, a course of action Xie Shenhong recoiled from. He also harbored doubts about his ability to maintain the disguise convincingly before Li Tianming and the others.

Moreover, such an act would imply a profound distrust of his own family.

“Indeed, it’s merely a rumor; there’s truly nothing amiss.”

Xie Shenhong admonished himself thus, swiftly composing his emotions, until Lyte sought out her transformed self as Xie Hai Zhu that evening to report on the situation.

“…Mr. Huang Yuan’s injuries are quite severe. While there’s no immediate threat to his life or risk of lasting repercussions, he will require hospitalization for a period of observation.”

“I am aware,” Xie Hai Zhu replied, feigning composure as she sipped her tea. “They likely instructed you not to disseminate this information, did they not?”

“Indeed, and they specifically cautioned me not to inform Shenhong…”

Xie Hai Zhu’s gaze remained fixed on the tea within her cup, a shield against betraying any wavering in her resolve. After a moment, once her emotions had largely stabilized, she spoke:

“You intend to tell Shenhong?”

“Precisely. This news has already spread among the populace, and I believe there would be no harm in Shenhong knowing. I humbly request Lady Hai Zhu’s approval.”

Lyte appeared to have meticulously considered how to justify his actions, presenting the compiled intelligence as he spoke.

However, Xie Hai Zhu made no move to accept it.

“My knight, I do not advise such a course of action.”

It was the same sentiment as before; Xie Hai Zhu wished Lyte to delve no further into the matter.

“Why?”

“Were it Shenhong, he would undoubtedly have already deduced the truth behind these events, and would certainly have questioned others.”

“But…”

“Indeed, they will not disclose the truth to Shenhong, yet Shenhong himself will likely cease to probe further into the matter.”

Lyte found himself momentarily speechless, for the Xie Shenhong he knew was indeed precisely the type of person to act in such a manner.

As the one currently inhabiting the role, Xie Hai Zhu was intimately aware of her own flaws. Yet, much like most people, she was the type to acknowledge her errors without correcting them, often even resorting to sophistry.

“I understand that suppressing one’s worries in this manner is detrimental to anyone, yet the underlying reason for all of this is their desire for Shenhong to regain his memories, and Shenhong, in his own way, is cooperating with them… I would not wish to see Shenhong’s efforts wasted.”

“I understand.”

Lyte nodded subtly, but the furrow in his brow betrayed that his resolve remained unshaken.

Xie Hai Zhu couldn’t help but let out a silent sigh within her heart.

Providing Lyte with positive reinforcement, and so forth… she had been doing so for days whenever she was in Xie Shenhong’s form.

Perhaps her acting skills were insufficient, or perhaps Lyte was simply too much of a perfectionist… the contrived positive feedback she offered utterly failed to satisfy him; instead, it only deepened his concern for her affairs.

Consequently, she could only continue to stall Lyte as she was doing now, preventing him from undertaking any superfluous actions.

As for finding a better solution… Xie Hai Zhu’s mind was so thoroughly consumed by her current vexations that she simply had no capacity to focus on anything else.

Of course, if her other self were present, they would surely handle things with greater finesse…

Yet, since that fateful day, her other self had not appeared even once.

No matter how distressed or miserable she felt.

****

If matters simply continued to unfold in their current state, Xie Hai Zhu could still accept it.

For, truthfully, remnants of the Sakura Kingdom, the Seven Eastern Conquerors, and such matters felt incredibly distant to him.

Especially with others deliberately keeping him from involvement… doing nothing, simply awaiting good news from everyone, seemed a viable strategy.

Indeed, this inclination resonated deeply within Xie Shenhong’s heart.

After all, he had always navigated life by evading such responsibilities…

Yet, ironically, his escape routes invariably led to dead ends.

It had been so before his transmigration, and before his rebirth.

And the present was no exception—

“What did you say?”

Several days had passed since Huang Yuan’s assault.

Just as everything seemed to return to normal, Xie Shenhong received a rare call from Sebastian.

Shen’ai had been attacked.

Upon confirming he had not misheard, Xie Shenhong bolted out the door.

“How could something like this happen?!”

No… such an event was, in fact, entirely foreseeable.

As the true Crimson Hawk, those close to him were always susceptible to attacks by the remnants of the Sakura Kingdom.

However, having been consistently protected by others who kept him from involvement in investigations, he had inadvertently overlooked this crucial fact.

“Damn it!”

Racing to a secluded spot, Xie Shenhong furiously berated himself. He then transformed into Xie Hai Zhu, teleporting as close to the hospital as possible, before flying towards it with reckless abandon.

Zzzzt!

A bolt of lightning suddenly struck from below. Xie Hai Zhu narrowly evaded the attack in the nick of time, then fixed her gaze upon a humanoid fox, enveloped in crackling electricity, hovering in the air and regarding her with malicious eyes.

“The true Hai Zhu? Or merely an impostor?”

The fox-man’s voice, eerily similar to that of a eunuch, echoed through the air.

Confronted by this creature, clearly the perpetrator, Xie Hai Zhu resolved to first incapacitate it before attempting any interrogation. Instantly, she unleashed a fiery dragon towards her opponent.

“Flames… So it *is* an impostor,” the fox-man sneered, its battle intent surging instantly.

It first gracefully dodged Xie Hai Zhu’s straightforward attack, then unfurled a vast net of interwoven lightning in the air, pressing it down upon Xie Hai Zhu like an electric fly swatter.

Perceiving her magic’s ineffectiveness, Xie Hai Zhu immediately channeled her Battle Duke-level mana to tear through the electric net, then unleashed eighteen fire dragons to encircle the fox-man from all directions.

“The power of a Battle Duke… yet such rudimentary technique! The Kingdom’s puppet masters are truly nothing special!”

The fox-man scoffed, weaving through the gaps in the fire dragons, and in a flash, appeared before Xie Hai Zhu, unleashing a punch.

Boom!

The powerful strike, imbued with immense lightning energy, as if a thousand thunderbirds were shrieking, only managed to shatter a third of Xie Hai Zhu’s activated mana shield.

By the time the fox-man retracted its hand, the mana shield had already regenerated.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.

Realizing her focused attacks were failing to connect, Xie Hai Zhu conjured a vast cloud of fire, instantly engulfing the fox-man within its fiery expanse.

However, the magical power was too dispersed. After a flurry of maneuvers, Xie Hai Zhu barely managed to breach the fox-man’s defenses, inflicting only minor injuries upon him.

“Is that all?”

The fox-man scoffed, attacking once more. Xie Hai Zhu, in turn, hastily defended, then sought another opportunity to unleash a wide-area attack… repeating the cycle.

Approximately half an hour later, the fox-man’s mana finally depleted, leaving him powerless to continue the fight. He plummeted from the sky.

“You puppet master from the Kingdom, do not presume this to be a victory. These are merely the weakest of our puppets…”

Before he could finish speaking, Xie Hai Zhu shattered the fox-man’s chest. Yet, as if devoid of pain, he maintained a sinister grin, staring at her… until he vanished entirely.

Crack!

Where the fox-man had disappeared, a long-handled item materialized, then fell to the ground, shattering into two pieces.

Undoubtedly, this was the magical artifact used by the remnants of the Sakura Kingdom to control their puppets.

However, unlike the golden pocket watch, these artifacts allowed for remote control of the puppets, enabling them to fight without reservation or fear of casualties.

Even with this advantage, it was hardly an excuse for Xie Hai Zhu to struggle so intensely against a mere Battle Knight-level puppet.

“What happened?”

“Is Lady Hai Zhu fighting someone?”

“But that Lady Hai Zhu uses fire magic, and her opponent seemed to be only a Battle Knight?”

“So, was it a stand-in for Lady Hai Zhu fighting?”

Hearing the murmurs of the distant onlookers, Xie Hai Zhu’s face hardened to an ashen pallor. She ascended into the sky, casting a concealment spell, and continued her flight towards the hospital.

It was not that public opinion was unimportant, but now was not the time to dwell on such matters.

Upon reaching the hospital rooftop, he reverted to Xie Shenhong, then swiftly raced towards the ward Sebastian had mentioned. There, he heard—

“Brother, I’m fine… you should go back.”

From within the tightly shut room, his sister’s voice, tinged with an unfamiliar quality, reached his ears.