The familiar green clothes, and bamboo hat, made Xu Qingling smile. Ever since the festival, sponsored by the Tan family, Tan Duyi and Xu Qingling had been spending every other day together.
At first, she had despised him. But when he told her of Chen Bohai's abandonment, she began to look at him in a new light. He was the only person she knew, other than her boss Ma Zemin, and it was a plus that he was her age. They spent plenty of time doing what teenagers did best, nothing.
Today, she had promised to make him one of her newest food discoveries. It was sure to be a hit at the restaurant, but she had promised to serve it to him first. A smile spread across her face as she saw him approaching.
Just as he was about to enter the restaurant, a sudden hand covered Xu Qingling's face. She looked back in horror, and was shocked to see the small boy she had met in Kang's shop - Liu. She nodded her head, as he put his finger to his mouth to signal for her to be quiet.
Only when she looked back at the entrance to the restaurant, did she see that Kang Hong himself was sitting there. He was looking up at her cautiously, as if he was trying to discreetly tell her something just by eye contact. There was only one way to find out, and for that, she had to kick out her one friend.
After a moment of arguing, Tan Duyi spun around to return home. After she had rejected his proposal of spending the day together, he made up some lame excuse of having to train with his father. When he left, he noticed that someone was watching him. Someone that wasn't dressed in his family's colors. He took the long way home to find out who would dare follow him.
While Tan Duyi was tricking his pursuers, Xu Qingling quietly followed Kang to his shop. He was dressed inconspicuously, pretending to be a blind man; he had Liu lead him through the crowded streets. When they entered the same room they had used last time, he took off his disguise and showed hideous bruises that he hadn't had the last time they met.
There was only one person who could have done something. The people who were chasing after Tan Huizhong when they had first arrived - Shen Zihao's people.
"Xu Qingling," Kang Hong began slowly. He opened his mouth to speak, but didn't even know where to start. He had just been informed of the news an hour prior. And he had no idea on how to react. "Bohai is in danger."
-
Bohai couldn't believe his ears. Tan Huizhong's plan to counteract the Unnamed boy, Micah, whom he had figured out was his younger cousin, could barely be called a plan at all. Instead, it was more of a last hope for a miracle.
Tan Huizhong had explained that the Unnamed powers lay in their eyes, so to deem their powers useless they had to close their eyes.
But Bohai knew this wouldn't work. For some reason, he remembered Yunru telling him something about his "magic tricks" and how they worked. He couldn't remember them for the life of him though, but he was sure that the eyes weren't the only trick.
"How are we supposed to fight if we can't see?" Bohai asked. He knew the eye-trick wouldn't work, but until he knew of a thorough way to counter it he decided it was better to not speak up.
"If you use the Enhancement skill all of your senses grow stronger. And if one is not being used, the extra reinforcement goes to one that is being in use."
"So your plan is to use, like, echo location?" Bohai asked stupidly. He couldn't believe that the amazing Tan Huizhong could only come up with half a plan. He was known for his brilliant strategies.
The Unnamed seemed to nerve him so much that he couldn't perform to the best of his abilities. Bohai wanted to know more about the Unnamed, because to him they didn't seem that bad. But, from his perspective he was seeing the old version of Lee Yunru - the one that had only thought about clouds and silly illusions. Not the one now, who could knock out the powerful Tan Huizhong with so much of a glance.
"Yes. You could call it echo location." Tan Huizhong said after a while. He could tell that the boy had some reluctance to his plan, but he didn't seem to have a reason as to why he was hesitant about it. Usually, Huizhong would ponder to think about why Bohai was acting in such a way. But all he could think about was the recurring tales of the Unnamed - even the one time he ran into them personally. The nightmare the he had forced himself to forget was rapidly coming back. His top priority was getting out of here as soon as possible. So he could forget his nightmare for the last time, hopefully.
Before Bohai could ask any more questions, Long Zhiquiang and Micah came out of the shadows. By them, the four men that had carried them earlier returned. They quickly managed to remove Tan Huizhong and Chen Bohai from the posts they were tied to without untying them, and carried them through a door that led to the outside where two carriages stood.
They were being separated. It was the worst-case scenario for the teacher-student duo. Unsure of what to do, Bohai called out in a panic.
"Ru-yu!" He called frantically. No one stopped what they were doing while he called out hysterically, but one boy did slow down. Micah, who hadn't heard that name being called in over ten years, looked around. Until he made eye contact with Chen Bohai. "Ru-yu," he spoke - this time not aloud - "It's me. En-bo."
Bohai was unable to see Micah's reaction however, as he was thrown into the carriage. Long Zhiquiang was traveling with him, and the carriage marched off instantly. Knowing that his attempt was useless, an emotion he hadn't felt in years developed inside of him. Fear.