Volume Two: The Youth of a Thousand Faces, Truth and Illusion Chapter Fifty: Sudden Change

As Shangguan Yudie entered the range of Qi Shuttle’s attack, the weapon began to lock on, seeking a precise location to strike and eliminate both targets at once. The ideal moment would be when Shangguan Yudie and Night Rain Crow overlapped, both standing in the same spot—so that the devastating core of the explosive would hit them dead center!

The monocle instantly locked onto Shangguan Yudie, waiting for her to approach Night Rain Crow.

Shangguan Yudie herself did not know how she ended up standing before Huo Ye. Her mood plummeted to the depths, but in the next instant, it bloomed like spring. Her vision was hazy, her heart filled with affection for the man before her. From the moment they had met, she had already surrendered her heart.

Huo Ye dared not meet Shangguan Yudie’s gaze directly. He quietly wrote his pen name on the bookmark that belonged to her. Shangguan Yudie showed no surprise—apparently, the mask was working—but her eyes, intoxicated as if by the evening glow, reluctant to part ways, were something Huo Ye found impossible to face.

He feared that if he gave in, he would run away.

“Here, this is your book. Thank you for your constant support,” Huo Ye said, in the guise of Night Rain Crow, expressing his gratitude to the ever-supportive Shangguan Yudie.

Qi Shuttle finally seized the opportunity—at the very moment the two began to converse, when their guard was at its lowest, he launched his attack!

Qi Shuttle’s hands gathered before his chest, his arm muscles taut, veins bulging. Yet, for some reason, his hands refused to meet, as if an unbreakable force was slowly coalescing between them.

Compressing fifty cubic meters of air down to the size of a ball, he launched it at near the speed of sound. Its power was enough to pierce a high-rise of reinforced concrete, and the resulting detonation would level it to the ground.

This was Qi Shuttle’s ultimate technique—the Air Blade Implosion Bomb!

“For the bounty—go to hell!” Qi Shuttle roared, hurling the invisible bomb like a shot-putter.

There was no whistle through the air, no tremor, no sign of an attack. That was the secrecy of the Air Blade Implosion Bomb—but even so, it hurtled mercilessly toward the two on stage.

Huo Ye wanted to extend his hand to shake Shangguan Yudie’s—one final ritual. As soon as he sent her off, he could finally breathe easy.

But Shangguan Yudie seemed entirely unprepared. Clutching “The Language of All Flowers” tightly, she covered half her face, hearing only her own rapid breaths. She berated herself—why hadn’t she tried talking more? Now, when all she wished to do was say one simple sentence, her mouth refused to move, her tongue tied in knots.

Was that pounding in her ears her own heartbeat? Why was she so hopelessly flustered?

“You’re very beautiful, you know. Why cover your face?” The gentle voice was like the warm sunlight of a spring afternoon, softly soothing her nerves.

Shangguan Yudie felt no signal from him, but just from that half-revealed face, she knew he must be a truly handsome young man. His smile revealed two dimples—utterly captivating.

“Come, let’s shake hands,” Huo Ye said, offering his hand, his tone as gentle as someone comforting a frightened kitten.

As a child, Shangguan Yudie was not so aloof; in fact, she used to cry often. Back then, Huo Ye would quietly comfort her just like this, and before long, she would cheer up again.

She nodded, not removing “The Language of All Flowers” to expose her deeply flushed cheeks. Instead, she extended a hand and whispered, “Um… Teacher Night Rain, I… I want to…”

Before she could finish, Huo Ye’s eyes grew alert. He shouted, “Look out!”

Without hesitation, he grabbed her outstretched hand and pulled her toward himself, vaulting over the table with his other hand.

A deafening explosion shook the air, smoke and dust erupting—everything happened the very instant Night Rain Crow leapt over the table. No one knew what was happening within the smoke, nor what had detonated on stage. All they knew was that an accident had occurred—one that could easily claim lives!

“What happened?!”

“It must be an Esper technique—there are so many Espers here. Someone’s staging a terror attack!”

“Is Teacher Night Rain all right?!”

“The smoke is too thick to see anything!”

The square was packed, and as the explosion resounded, panic swept the crowd like a bomb. Fear surged in an instant.

Huo Xialan, seeing the danger, rushed toward the stage, shouting over the comms, “I’m going to check the situation. Everyone else, evacuate the square. All other areas, be on alert—there’s a hostile infiltrator in Bancroft! Repeat, Bancroft has a hostile infiltrator!”

The students charged with maintaining order responded like trained soldiers, moving swiftly to their positions and organizing the evacuation.

“Please leave in an orderly fashion. We will guarantee your safety. Do not push those ahead of you to avoid a stampede!”

The square was spacious and open; by the time the smoke had even begun to clear, the people had already left the danger zone.

The smoke and dust lingered for over a minute. Huo Xialan arrived early but did not dare approach recklessly. No one could know what kind of Esper technique had been used, what hidden dangers remained, or if there were further traps within the smoke.

When the smoke finally cleared, Huo Xialan could see the scene at last.

Huo Ye was holding Shangguan Yudie tightly in his arms, one hand raised as if supporting something invisible, the muscles on his arm bulging, veins standing out as if about to burst.

There was nothing to be seen, yet Huo Ye struggled to keep his arm aloft. In his palm was a film of holy light Esper energy, thinner than paper.

The Esper shield shimmered like a golden film of water, rippling fiercely. At first, the ripples were mere flecks at the center of his palm, but within three seconds, turbulence erupted from all sides, the shield threatening to shatter at any moment, and Huo Ye’s arm began to tremble uncontrollably.

Shangguan Yudie, caught in the arms of her beloved, had no time for embarrassment. She realized he was withstanding a powerful Esper attack and knew she had to help.

But before she could break free, Huo Ye gritted his teeth and said, “Don’t move. If you do, I won’t be able to stabilize my Esper. This technique is an invisible ball of compressed air, spinning rapidly in my palm. If I can’t hold it, it could explode again at any moment—and I have no idea how large the blast radius might be.”

At his words, Shangguan Yudie dared not move, but she was at a loss for what else she could do.

Huo Ye clenched his teeth, doing all he could to prevent the technique from detonating. He was stuck now—if it were any other time, with his Dark Compatibility, he would have a dozen ways to deal with this Esper attack.

But today, he was Night Rain Crow. To preserve his persona, in the instant he intervened, he used a holy light Esper technique—Radiant Wave.

It was meant to be a defensive technique for dispersing force. He had thought, if he couldn’t contain the attack, he would reveal his Dark Compatibility as a last resort. But as soon as he caught this volatile energy, he realized he had no chance to switch abilities. If he withdrew the Radiant Wave, the air bomb would explode instantly—hurting most the one closest to him, Shangguan Yudie, who had no means of recovery.

There was nothing for it but to endure. If all else failed, he would shield Shangguan Yudie with his body, taking the full force himself.

Just then, a slender, fair hand suddenly appeared, slipping deftly between Huo Ye’s palm and the Esper attack, as if lifting a fallen leaf from the water’s surface. With exquisite skill, it plucked the energy—enough to level the entire stage—away from Huo Ye’s grasp.

Huo Ye stared in astonishment at the owner of the hand—Huo Xialan!