Intuition and a Coffin Ride to Africa

“Huh?! Brother Mingdao, are you going to Africa? Why?”

“Has Liliya discovered something?”

“Yes, which is why I must make a trip to the Sahara Desert…”

‘I hadn’t expected them to guess correctly on the first try…’

At the dining table, unlike Xiaobai, who was so surprised her chopsticks trembled slightly, Leidi, who was calmly sipping his morning tea, reacted with remarkable composure to my announcement.

‘He truly is something else, in every sense of the word… this junior of mine…’

‘Despite consistently giving me the impression of a gentle, harmless, noble young lady—just like he is now (though, he is male…)—the burst of murderous intent he displayed yesterday afternoon was terrifying, comparable to that of an evil god…’

‘That kind of reckless impulse, had Ruka and I not been present, would surely have escalated into a disaster…’

‘Was that his true nature? Impossible… if so, he’s hidden it far too well, hasn’t he?’

‘And so, Xiaobai truly is his Achilles’ heel… How incredible…’

“So, we don’t have a bodyguard anymore? Will we have to ask Ruka sister?”

Xiaobai, your expression shows no concern about being attacked at all, does it? You’re still unhurriedly eating your plain congee. Nevertheless, this consistent optimism of yours is truly commendable.

“You won’t be attacked,” I replied with a smile.

“Oh? Could you tell us the reason, Brother Mingdao?” Glancing at me, Leidi set down his cup.

“Intuition,” I blurted out.

“…”

“…”

‘Uh… why did it suddenly go silent…?’

“Um, Brother Mingdao, are you joking?” Xiaobai chuckled awkwardly at me, her eyes seeming to convey an expectation that my next words would be, “That’s right! I’m just kidding~!”

“Why would you jump to that conclusion…?” Of course, I wasn’t joking at all.

‘What’s happening…?’

‘Suspicion?!’

“Ruka sister told us never to trust your intuition…” Averting her gaze, Xiaobai revealed the truth.

“Pfft—” I felt as if my heart had truly been pierced.

‘Ruka… you didn’t have to go that far, did you…?’

“Um, actually—” (Before I could finish)

“Ruka sister also said that if you try to explain yourself, we should just ignore you.”

“Pfft—”

With another “Pfft—”, Leidi, smiling faintly, delivered yet another blow to my heart.

‘Ruka… is my intuition really that terrible?! Don’t side with outsiders!’

“Ahem—ahem—in that case, what about Liliya’s intuition combined with mine?” I cleared my throat twice, adding the fact somewhat awkwardly.

“Then there’s no problem.”

“Pfft—”

“Yes, no problem at all.”

“Pfft—”

‘…’

‘…’

‘Are you running a butcher shop…? My heart has been stabbed to shreds!’

‘As your senior, could you at least give me some face? This is preferential treatment on a polar scale!’

****

“Hmm… since I have a whole day anyway, I might as well take it slow.”

After bidding farewell to Xiaobai and the others, I found myself muttering alone within my ‘Corridor,’ gazing at a world map.

Africa is quite a distance from here… The ‘Corridor’ I’ve opened this time is completely different in scale from the last, almost as if Liliya is testing my limits by not letting me take a plane…

While it’s not impossible, performing high-speed movements like last time in a short period is still quite exhausting. I might as well slow down by a factor of three, no, four…

With that thought, I pulled out that black coffin (though it wasn’t really a coffin~) and two massive, two-meter-wide broken swords from the void. Then, using qi manipulation, I fixed the blades of the two broken swords upright, shaping them like an axe head at one end of the coffin.

“Heave-ho—”

Immediately after, I lay down on top of the coffin, then manipulated the airflow to propel it forward at the predetermined speed.

‘Ah, I forgot to bring a pillow… I’d better sit for now.’

Even if I slow down by a factor of three, the wind generated by high-speed movement is enough to make one question their life choices… However, with this arrow-like shape, I could get a good sleep hidden behind the wind-breaking broken blades. Though, without a pillow, my neck would probably be quite uncomfortable…

‘Well… a week ago, I certainly never would have imagined this… acting like a fool…’

“I wonder what Liliya has discovered…”

‘…’

‘…’

“Never mind, I won’t be able to guess it…”

‘It would be enough to just imagine it in my mind, yet my habit of talking to myself in the ‘Corridor’ truly hasn’t changed… Even after Ruka reminded me many times, it still persists. The after-effects of my past training are truly troublesome…’

“It’s still a long way to Africa… Should I take a nap first?” Raising my right hand, extending my index finger, I dramatically pointed at myself and asked.

“No, how many more hours do you want to sleep?!” Raising my left hand, I waved my palm at myself, shaking my head simultaneously, thereby rejecting my own suggestion.

“Then what can I do…?” I rested my left hand on my chin, feigning a troubled expression.

“Organizing the warehouse would be good… Or, what if I polished all the weapons?” I shook my right hand, as if thinking it was a brilliant idea?!

“I’d die… The number became countless years ago, didn’t it?” I spread both hands wide, rolling my eyes at the empty space opposite me.

“Heh heh… Serves me right…” I silently lowered my head.

‘…’

‘…’

‘A one-person comedy act…’

‘How boring…’