Chapter 40: An Unfathomable Deduction! My All-Out Assistance?
Zhai Qingwu leaned against the bus stop sign, chewing on a piece of pink bubblegum.
She looked at Zhou Quan’s right hand and teased with keen interest, “Didn’t someone say that showing off a tattoo could serve as a reminder for something?”
“How come you’re wearing a glove?”
Zhou Quan’s right hand was covered by a pure white fingerless glove made of cowhide. Its winding patterns had a distinct texture, perfectly concealing the tattoo on the back of his hand.
“I changed my mind,” Zhou Quan said blandly.
While Zhou Changle and Li Muchi were playing house, he had asked Ni Hao to buy him a pair of gloves.
Zhou Quan slanted his gaze at Zhai Qingwu. “Didn’t someone say that as long as they were still breathing, they wouldn’t let a single coin leave their account?”
“How come you’re spending money on bus fare and plane tickets?”
Zhai Qingwu lifted her snow-white chin, a look of pride on her face. “I saved a billionaire, and he opened a supplementary card for me. I put all my daily expenses on him!”
Zhou Quan shrugged.
He said softly, “Please help me look for those treasures that can lift the curse on my parents.”
“One lead for one million.”
“If you can deliver them directly to me, I’ll pay you whatever amount you ask for!”
He met Zhai Qingwu’s eyes, his expression profoundly sincere.
Zhai Qingwu waved her hand dismissively, saying nonchalantly, “A woman loves money, but she gains it through proper means. I won’t charge you to gather information, and if I happen to come across those treasures, I’ll give them to you for free.”
“That generous?” Zhou Quan was somewhat surprised.
Zhai Qingwu was the most money-hungry person he had ever met; her saying such things was completely beyond his expectations.
“Who else but me owes you their life?” Zhai Qingwu gave a crafty smile.
“Besides, once you use up those treasures, anyone else who wants to break a curse will have no choice but to beg me. It’s a win-win!”
Zhou Quan was stunned for a moment, then chuckled to himself. That logic held up; this woman was strangely shrewd.
He shook his head immediately after. “That may be true, but I will still deposit every cent of the money I owe into your account. Otherwise, I won’t feel at ease.”
Zhai Qingwu stared at Zhou Quan for a moment, then beamed. “I just love fools like you with too much money.”
With that, she puffed out her cheeks and blew a massive bubble.
The bubble grew so large it obscured her face, thin to the point of transparency.
Zhou Quan watched her quietly.
He had seen classmates blow bubblegum when he was a child, but he had never managed to do it himself, nor had he ever seen anyone else blow a bubble larger than their own face like Zhai Qingwu.
Just then, the bus arrived.
*Pop!*
“I’m off!” Zhai Qingwu burst the bubble, waved at Zhou Quan, and boarded the bus with a flamboyant air, swiping the billionaire’s supplementary card to pay the two-yuan fare.
Zhou Quan gave a token wave in return.
He sighed softly.
The time was almost up; he was about to become the accomplice of an evil god once again.
He watched the bus carry Zhai Qingwu away, then turned and walked toward the villa district, his figure looking desolate.
***
“She’s asleep. I carried her back to her room,” Li Muchi said to Zhou Quan.
Zhou Quan nodded.
He looked at Li Muchi’s attire and hesitated. “Did Changle dress you like this?”
Li Muchi lowered his head, remaining silent.
Beside his delicate, handsome face were golden wavy curls and a pink bow.
His black tank top and shorts had been replaced by a white velvet dress, and he was wearing ill-fitting little black leather boots…
One couldn't tell at all that he was a boy.
So Changle had such a mischievous side, Zhou Quan thought, sighing softly. “Thank you for your hard work. Go change back into your clothes; I’m giving you the day off. No training today.”
“I don’t want a day off,” Li Muchi shook his head. “I want to become stronger and be the useful person you need.”
Zhou Quan raised an eyebrow. “Did Ni Hao teach you to say that?”
“No, I thought of it myself.” Li Muchi looked up, meeting Zhou Quan’s gaze with a flicker of firm resolve in his eyes.
This child…
Zhou Quan was moved. After a two-second silence, he said, “Go change. Train if you want to, and rest if you’re tired.”
“Understood.” Li Muchi turned and left without a moment’s hesitation.
Zhou Quan sighed.
Li Muchi’s gaze had touched him, but he didn’t know if Li Muchi wanted to be the useful person *he* needed, or the useful person the *evil god* needed.
Zhou Quan walked to the side of his parents’ bed and sat down.
He said nothing, simply pulling out the evil god’s notebook and spreading it across his lap.
[Deduction successful: The reputation-mongering orphanage director / The overly sentimental superstar singer / The tight-lipped priest with a conscience / The righteous warrior who speaks his mind]
[Start next deduction?]
Four people; they already occupied two lines in the notebook.
Zhou Quan pursed his lips.
He couldn't help but wonder if one day, just listing the names of the victims would fill an entire page of the notebook.
“I hope I’m dead before that day comes.”
As Zhou Quan’s thoughts churned, the text in the notebook shifted.
[A thousand years ago, there was a knight with a heart full of justice. He traveled tirelessly for the cause of justice, accidentally losing his head in the process. However, he did not change his original intention and continued to fight against evil with perseverance. Now, he has arrived in your city…]
[Target: The Headless Knight]
[Comment: He’s lost his head and is still running around upholding justice? Upholding what, exactly?]
“A headless knight?” Zhou Quan read the description in the notebook carefully, his mood growing heavy.
“A knight with a heart of justice, who continues to fight evil even after losing his head—he has lived for a full thousand years. He is truly an immortal guardian of justice!”
“He came to this city; he must be here to kill me, right?”
Zhou Quan felt a bitter taste in his heart. He muttered, “I’ve finally become an enemy of justice.”
He didn't feel afraid.
On the contrary, he even felt a flicker of anticipation.
Although he didn’t want to die and had absolute reasons why he must not die, if some righteous soul truly were to kill him…
He would deserve it.
[Start deduction]
[The moon is dark and the wind is high. The entire city is submerged in a terrible disaster. You walk the streets of the city center and encounter the Headless Knight.]
[You transform into the Old Covenant Wolf King and teleport behind the Headless Knight, attempting to tear his body apart.]
[You return empty-handed.]
[The Headless Knight reattaches his head.]
[You are no match for the Headless Knight, but with the full assistance of another you, after an intense battle, you successfully defeat the Headless Knight.]
[Deduction successful]
Zhou Quan stared at the results of the deduction, stunned.
The deduction this time was very short.
But…
“What does it mean, ‘the full assistance of another you’? Why would I help that monster kill the Headless Knight?”
The first half of the deduction showed him wanting to tear the Headless Knight apart, but failing, with the knight even reattaching his head.
The deduction should have been a failure.
Yet, in the second half, he had received the “full assistance of another him”!
What did it mean?
Zhou Quan found it inconceivable. He looked down at his own hands.
“Impossible!”
“I would never aid a tyrant!”
Zhou Quan gripped his hands tightly, his eyes cold and sharp.
Let alone providing “full assistance,” he would be lucky if he didn’t help the Headless Knight kill the monster inside his own body!
But…
The deductions had never been wrong!
This was a prophecy from the evil god!
Zhou Quan felt agitated. He ran his fingers into his roots and scratched his scalp forcefully.
[With the full assistance of another you]
Zhou Quan stared at the words in the notebook, feeling completely lost. The more he thought about it, the more tangled his mind became, like a knot that could never be undone.