Lu Zhi, eager for the arrival of the divine being's decree, kept his eyes open, trembling, until midnight. His body, already weak from excessive blood loss, couldn't hold out much longer, and he fell asleep. Nothing happened that night.
The morning sun shone on the dew-covered branches and leaves, reflecting a brilliant radiance.
Bang bang bang—
The knocking was deafening. Lu Zhi was abruptly awakened. His eyes were stung by the sunlight filtering in from the window, and he instinctively raised a hand to shield them. It took a while for him to recover.
The knocking hadn't stopped; it sounded quite urgent. Had something happened?
Filled with doubt, Lu Zhi opened the door. The hand that had been knocking nearly hit his face, but he was quick-witted and stepped back to dodge it.
"Ahhhhhh~" Li Mei shrieked excitedly, shoving the test report in front of Lu Zhi's eyes. "Look, look quickly, you really are the captain's brother! His biological brother!"
Although Lu Zhi had anticipated this, seeing the report's results still stirred a slight emotion within him.
Family. Whether in books or outside of them, Lu Zhi had never possessed any.
Li Mei was still ecstatic. "That's great! When the captain gets back, I'm going to tell him this good news!"
"Mei Mei jie, you're so noisy this early in the morning." Lan Guoguo yawned, and catching sight of the test report in Li Mei's hand, he suddenly walked over and snatched it. After reading it, he scoffed, "So what if he's Brother Lu's biological brother? It's just an added blood tie! My brotherly affection for Brother Lu is deeper than any blood tie!"
Lu Zhi raised an eyebrow, finally understanding the source of the hostility.
The content of the book was described from the male protagonist's perspective, and many supporting characters among the villains were not elaborated upon. However, wherever Lu Chengxuan appeared, Lan Guoguo was also present.
Could it be… this brat had a sibling complex?
"Guoguo." When Li Mei's expression turned serious, she exuded a commanding presence like an elder sister. "You can't speak to Lu Zhi so disrespectfully from now on. He is the captain's brother. You must respectfully call him gege, do you understand?"
Lan Guoguo's handsome face instantly darkened. After a long moment, he managed to mumble a reluctant reply, "I understand."
Lu Zhi crossed his arms and looked at him askance with a half-smile. Lan Guoguo felt provoked, but seemingly constrained by Li Mei's warning, he swallowed his dissatisfaction, turned, and stomped out angrily.
Li Mei quickly asked, "Guoguo, where are you going?"
Lan Guoguo replied loudly, "Back to school!"
Li Mei said "oh" and then suddenly turned and shouted at Lan Guoguo's retreating back, "It's Saturday today, who are you kidding? Get back here!"
Five minutes later, a Jeep sped towards the airport, carrying an annoyed Lan Guoguo and Lu Zhi.
"I almost forgot, the captain… your brother took on a job a couple of days ago, hunting a level five Nightmare Beast on Sanhao Sacred Island. He should be flying back today. I forgot to pick him up, but luckily Guoguo remembered." Li Mei took a turn and merged onto the elevated highway.
Lu Zhi rested his chin on his hand, gazing at the shimmering turquoise sea outside the car window. The sea breeze that hit his face was invigorating. Seagulls' wings cut through the sea, whipping up sea spray that refracted short rainbows in the air. Hearing Li Mei's words, he turned his head with a curious expression, "Sanhao Island?"
"Hmph." Sitting in the back seat, Lan Guoguo, clearly displeased, kept a stern face. "Mei Mei jie, why are you telling him so much? Does he even understand what you're saying? He's not in the same circle as us or Brother Lu."
Li Mei frowned. "Guoguo, shut up." After scolding him, she sighed and glanced at Lu Zhi, who showed no reaction. She then deliberated for a moment before saying, "Xiao Lu, you're an ordinary person, it's okay if you don't understand… Of course, the captain surely wishes for you to live a peaceful life."
Gods, ancestral shrines, sacred islands, demon hunters… No one remembered when these things began to exist. As long as they didn't affect normal human life, no one bothered to seek the truth.
They would choose the most suitable survival strategy to ensure humanity could live in peace and continue for thousands of years.
"Actually… I think I received a divine decree." As soon as Lu Zhi spoke, the Jeep swerved violently on the elevated road, then narrowly returned to its straight path.
"What did you just say?" Li Mei desperately wanted to turn and see if Lu Zhi was lying, but she was driving.
"Impossible! How could you receive a divine decree?" Lan Guoguo stopped playing with his phone, his eyes wide as he accused aggressively, "You must be lying!"
"I'm not lying." Lu Zhi's lips were pressed tightly together. His eyelashes were sprinkled with golden dust by the sunlight entering through the car window. As he blinked, they trembled slightly, and his dark, luminous eyes seemed to hold the rising sun, making them dazzling.
Li Mei quickly glanced at Lu Zhi. When her eyes met the starlight in his, she was momentarily stunned before quickly averting her gaze. She said, "Regardless… let's go pick up the captain first. We'll discuss everything else after he returns."
Although she also suspected Lu Zhi was lying, she remembered that he had led a group of people to ruins, and those people had remained unaccounted for, with him being the sole witness.
…
The three soon arrived at Nianfeng Airport. The waiting time always felt exceptionally long.
Lu Zhi, bored, opened his phone, intending to log onto the Hunter's official website. However, he found that it required a guild hunter identification number to enter. He heard the surprised voices of Li Mei and Lan Guoguo and instinctively looked up.
In the VIP passage of Nianfeng Airport, two tall figures emerged.
The man walking in front had handsome features, and a hint of ferocity in his brows and eyes made him unapproachable. It was Lu Chengxuan himself.
"Brother Lu." Lan Guoguo's sullen expression vanished, his handsome face breaking into a brilliant smile as he obediently ran towards Lu Chengxuan.
An undeniable weariness flickered in Lu Chengxuan's eyes. He raised a hand to ruffle Lan Guoguo's hair and said, "Why are you guys here?" As he looked up at Lu Zhi standing beside Li Mei, he froze and instinctively asked, "And who is this?"
Meeting Lu Chengxuan's gaze, Lu Zhi suddenly felt self-conscious.
Words always fueled the imagination, but facing the real person was entirely different. They were flesh and blood, appearing in your life, and your mindset changed accordingly.
"Captain, this is for you." Li Mei handed him the test report with a mysterious smile.
"What is this?" Chu Shiling, who had been following closely behind Lu Chengxuan, dressed fashionably and possessing the aura of a graceful young nobleman, leaned in curiously. His eyes immediately caught the words "blood relationship," and he looked at Lu Zhi with surprise.
Lu Chengxuan, who could have finished reading the report in seconds, read it word by word for a full two minutes, his expression calm.
Lu Zhi felt a bit anxious, unsure of Lu Chengxuan's thoughts about him, his brother. After all, in the book, he had died from the beginning.
Suddenly, Lu Chengxuan put away the report, handed it back to Li Mei, took a step forward, and asked, "What is your name?"
Lu Chengxuan was half a head taller than Lu Zhi and also more solidly built. From an outsider's perspective, Lu Zhi appeared much slimmer.
Lu Zhi nervously extended his hand, revealing a shy smile. "Uh… hello, my name is Lu Zhi."
Lu Chengxuan suddenly reached out and gave Lu Zhi a firm hug.
As Lu Zhi stood there awkwardly, unsure how to respond, he heard Lu Chengxuan say in his ear, "Welcome home."
In that moment, a complex mix of emotions surged within Lu Zhi, a poignant ache he had never experienced before.