027 I Have a Friend
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Rome, inside an ancient castle nestled among the mountains.
Doctor Zhao advanced slowly along a red carpet embroidered with strange patterns. Countless ivory-white stone sculptures in the style of ancient Rome stood silently on either side, their hollow eyes seeming to watch him.
The place was deathly silent.
Light from the stained-glass windows gathered in one spot near the throne.
When he had drawn close enough, Doctor Zhao knelt without much reverence. Looking up, the first thing he saw was a pair of dainty, soft, flawless little feet, as perfect as white jade.
They dangled beside the base of the throne, swaying faintly, their rounded toes tinged with a delicate pink.
Like some exquisite delicacy.
His gaze continued upward. He could see a section of slender, snow-white calves, followed by an elegant and holy long dress of pure white, without a trace of any other color.
The master of the throne—a white-haired little girl who appeared to be no more than twelve—sat there in silence, her deep eyes fixed on Doctor Zhao.
One of the Seven Kings.
The King who represented Destruction.
The White King.
“Your Majesty, I regret to report that I failed.”
Doctor Zhao sighed. “Lu Yuan really was nothing more than rejected refuse from the Yellow King. He proved utterly useless. The final remnant of the Hundred Aspects of Ill Omen was destroyed, and the incident even attracted the attention of the Eastern Xia Directorate.”
“To sever all ties, I had to catch a plane back overnight. The therapy clinic I’d kept open for so long is closed now. Not that I made much money from it anyway…”
“I’m beginning to think being a doctor isn’t for me. Maybe next time I’ll go sell savory crepes outside an elementary school in Eastern Xia…”
The White King cut off his rambling without expression. “Enough. I have no interest in hearing such useless details.”
“Since you failed, yet still dared to come back and face me, that means…”
“You gained something else, didn’t you?”
“Of course, Your Majesty. You are as wise as ever.”
A faint smile tugged at Doctor Zhao’s lips. “Although Lu Yuan’s failure was unfortunate, thanks to him, I discovered something else rather interesting.”
“A man beloved by the Crimson Moon.”
The White King’s gaze sharpened.
Very few people knew that the White King had once fought the Crimson Moon.
It had been an entirely ordinary day, with nothing unusual about it. The White King had shattered the barrier of this world and reached beyond the heavens, where she encountered the Crimson Moon’s true form passing by and engaged it in battle.
As for the final result…
That day, the White King’s retainers saw a shooting star.
A pure-white shooting star fell from the edge of the sky, returning from the depths of space to the point from which it had risen.
It was the White King.
She had been knocked down by the Crimson Moon.
When her retainers hurried to the scene, they found the White King lying in the crater, utterly disheveled.
All four of her limbs had been brutally broken. Her snow-white hair was smeared with blood. Most fatal of all was the hideous, mangled wound in the center of her meager chest.
It looked as though…
Someone had kicked her there with tremendous force.
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Her flesh had been crushed, her bones snapped, and her heart damaged. Blood had dyed her pure-white dress crimson.
The same vivid crimson as the Crimson Moon.
Although the White King healed herself within a few minutes and emerged as though nothing had happened, there was no doubt about it.
She had lost.
And she had lost miserably.
Perhaps the White King was already invincible beneath the heavens. Unfortunately, the Crimson Moon was an enemy from beyond them.
From that day onward, the White King and the Crimson Moon became sworn enemies.
Every so often, she would find some new way to make life difficult for it.
“Someone beloved by the Crimson Moon…” After listening to Doctor Zhao’s account, the White King asked, “Then, Zhao She, why do you think the Crimson Moon has focused its attention on him alone?”
“Ah, well…” Doctor Zhao blinked. He wanted to say that he had no idea, but the little girl opposite him had a truly terrible temper. If he did not want to lose a limb or two, he had better come up with some answer.
“Perhaps the Crimson Moon has fallen in love?”
The White King fell silent.
“Though I never expected you to provide anything useful, even so…”
Her expression turned icy. “Could you be any more ridiculous?”
“The Crimson Moon? In love? How could such an indescribable, twisted existence possibly feel the tender emotions of a young girl?”
“It is nothing but a monster.”
“Beloved?” The White King let out a cold laugh. “Being noticed by such an existence—how could that possibly be called affection?”
“It is clearly the most vicious of curses.”
“I almost feel sorry for that fellow named Mo Bai.”
“Then…” Doctor Zhao ventured cautiously, “how do you intend to deal with Mo Bai?”
“Let us observe him for a while first.”
The White King smiled with evident pleasure. “I want to know why the Crimson Moon is entangled with him.”
“If necessary, take him away from it.” Her childish little face was already filled with malicious delight. “I cannot wait to see…”
“The Crimson Moon’s furious reaction.”
As expected, this little girl was incredibly petty.
After silently complaining about his own king, Doctor Zhao lowered his head. “Then, Your Majesty, whom do you think we should send to observe him?”
The White King tilted her head and thought for a moment. “Isn’t there a hotheaded newcomer who joined us recently without having accomplished anything?”
“Send him.”
“Consider it an evaluation for the new recruit. Hopefully…”
“He will not disappoint me.”
…
Inside the maid café, Mo Bai yawned.
Although so many things had happened during the night, and he had learned that this world was home to countless incredible beings, life still had to go on.
Eat, go to work, slack off, get off work, take care of Mo Mo, and do his best to stay alive.
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That was the life Mo Bai had grown accustomed to.
He could not possibly learn of the existence of the Transcendent Ones and then arrogantly abandon his daily routine. Nor could he let Mo Mo support him while he lazed around at home like some legendary beer barrel, guzzling beer and becoming a burden to her merely because she worked for the Directorate.
To learn the truth of the world and still strive to live one’s life well—that in itself was something remarkable.
There was just one thing that had been bothering Mo Bai a little.
The Crimson Moon.
Although he still did not know why the Crimson Moon was so obsessed with him, Mo Bai had at least prepared himself to apologize to that girl, if only to ease his conscience.
He simply did not know whether she had received his apology.
Nor what her reaction would be.
At least Mo Bai had not dreamed of her the previous night.
That was not good.
Could it be that he had not been sincere enough?
“Little Xie.”
Mo Bai reached out and grabbed the fox tail of the fox-girl maid wandering nearby, Xie Ziyun.
“Hey! Don’t pull my tail! It’s an accessory, and it comes off really easily!”
Xie Ziyun yanked her tail free from Mo Bai’s hand. “But Brother Bai actually has a question for me? What is it? What is it?”
She sat down across from Mo Bai expectantly. Nearby, Lu Chun and Gu Xiaoxiao unconsciously leaned their heads over to listen.
“It’s about a friend of mine.”
Mo Bai began with the classic “I have a friend.”
“There’s a girl who has been silently comforting him, encouraging him, and even providing him with material support. But he didn’t know the details, and under certain circumstances, my friend said to that woman…”
“Thank you. I don’t need you anymore. You can go back.”
Mo Bai asked nervously, “What do you think of this friend of mine?”
Xie Ziyun fell silent.
She looked furious, practically ready to tear the heavens apart. “What the hell? Where did this scumbag come from? He’s such a bastard.”
“He could probably give Hong Shixian a run for his money.”
“Brother Bai, what’s your friend’s name? I’m going to expose him all over Little Red Book!”
Guys, seriously, who can relate? I ran into such a scumbag today…
Mo Bai looked utterly dejected. “Don’t rush to post an essay just yet. My friend knows he was wrong.”
“So he wants to ask if there’s any way to make amends.”
Xie Ziyun stared at him with a question mark in her eyes.
She regarded Mo Bai suspiciously, then finally could not hold herself back any longer.
“Brother Bai, tell me honestly.”
“This friend you mentioned…”
“Is he actually you?”
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