Chapter 79: Night Watcher [2.5k]
Mr. Huang and Mr. Li’s figures were gone, leaving only these judges. They didn’t know what to do and could only let the Law Enforcement Hall handle it. The competitions had to be interrupted.
“Do I have to come for the competition tomorrow? But it’s okay that I got the Blood Night Grass today.”
As night descended, Su Jiu quietly watched Bai Qianyu’s departing back, sighed slightly, put away the brocade pouch, took a photo of the Ancient God Sect member, uploaded it, and finished the statement. Just as she was about to turn and leave, she saw a few familiar figures.
“Yo, we meet again!” a clear and hearty elder sister’s voice sounded beside her ear.
Upon hearing this, Su Jiu looked up, her mouth curved into a smile, and she chuckled, “Sister Yu… and A Dun, Lin Ling, Xiao You. I didn’t expect to see you here.”
“We’ve been waiting for you for a long time, let’s go! Let’s grab a meal! We can chat on the way.” Xiao Yu grinned, put a hand on her shoulder, half-bent, and looked over with her side profile, saying enthusiastically.
All of them were not lacking in money, so they took a taxi straight to the largest hotel nearby. They chatted and laughed all the way. Su Jiu leaned on the window with her hand, looking at the bustling city lights.
It feels like my eyesight is better than usual? I can see things that I could only see with my avatar before. It should be because of the upgrade.
In just over ten days, she could now even kill Battle Generals. She had a feeling of youthful vigor.
“At that time, we all thought you were gone. We heard you were an Exorcist and arranged for a heroic sacrifice back then. It should have arrived by now… But now that you’re alive again, your promotion might be gone, but your merits are still there.”
A Dun, sitting alone in the passenger seat, spoke with a somewhat muffled voice, but it was clear he was smiling happily.
“Really?”
Su Jiu said with surprise and laughter. She slowly took out her phone.
Xiao You, sitting by the other window, suddenly leaned over and said with a smile, “Is there any reason to lie about this? My sister helped you make up for all the missed merits.”
Su Jiu glanced at Xiao You, then immediately opened her phone, swiped away the miscellaneous content, and opened the APP. Suddenly, many dense notifications for merit acquisition appeared.
[** Gifted (not counted towards promotion) 2500]
[Killed Ancient God Sect Priest (Wu Qing), rewarded 1500 merits] [Rebellion]
[Killed Lin Feng (traitor), rewarded 1000 merits] [Requirements met 1/2]
…
[Sacrificed self to cover retreat, rescued twenty-three students and one Dragon Hunter. Rewarded 2500 merits] [Unlocked]
“Should I be promoted to Golden Exorcist now?”
Su Jiu looked at her merit value, which had reached over 5000, and swallowed. She gently clicked on the promotion interface, but a piece of text suddenly popped out, scaring her:
[Congratulations on your return from guarding the night. You hunted in the twilight and returned amidst the lament of dawn. —Dragon Country Headquarters]
“Night Watcher? What is that? Am I not an Exorcist?” Su Jiu suddenly discovered that her title had changed to — “Night Watcher (Pending Activation).” However, all the information on it was grayed out, as if it needed to be activated.
She clicked on it, and a message suddenly popped out, “Please bring your valid identification to the designated location in the nearest provincial capital city for activation within seven days, esteemed Excellency.”
Xiao Yu, who was next to her, heard Su Jiu speaking and turned her head, saying with some surprise, “You even know about the Night Watcher organization?”
“I don’t know.”
Upon hearing this, Su Jiu shook her head slightly. What is this? She was truly bewildered.
“Since you are an Exorcist, you should be qualified to know.”
Seeing that Su Jiu truly didn’t understand, Xiao Yu pondered for a moment and then slowly began to explain, “I heard from my grandfather that it’s an organization established by several powerful individuals who are close to national prestige. However, compared to the Dragon Hunter and Adventurer’s Guild, its paper strength is far inferior, but everyone in it has different personalities, and their individual strength is extremely profound.”
Xiao Yu sized up Su Jiu with some doubt. The requirement seemed tailor-made for Su Jiu. She continued, “If the Dragon Hunters are the Dragon Country’s overt sword, then the Night Watchers are the Dragon Country’s hidden poison blade. They guard peace with blades in the darkness.”
“No one knows how to join the Night Watchers. We only know that even if a Dragon Hunter betrays, a Night Watcher will not betray them. They have a special belief. Some speculate that they might be private death warriors cultivated by the Dragon Country.”
Death warriors? What a joke! If there’s danger, I’ll be the first to run.
But why does this feel like the terms for Exorcists?
Heaving a sigh, Su Jiu blacked out her phone and then asked with some confusion, “How are the Night Watcher benefits compared to Exorcists?”
As soon as she finished speaking, Xiao Yu looked at her as if she were an idiot, rolled her eyes, and said, “Even if Exorcists are maxed out, they can only be Exorcist Masters above Golden Exorcists. They are just equivalent to city civil servants recruited by government organizations in the Adventurer’s Guild.”
“Exorcists are just cleaners who tidy up the city environment, while Night Watchers need to hunt Ancient God Cultists, repel monsters invading the city, and assassinate reactionaries who are unfavorable to the country.”
“The benefits for Night Watchers are outrageously high, but I don’t know what they are.”
Xiao Yu shook her head. Suddenly, she seemed to see something, nudged the spaced-out Su Jiu with her elbow, and said with a smile, “We’re here! Come on, let’s have a few drinks! I know you can drink!”
Su Jiu came back to her senses, quietly glanced at her phone, and realized that she had always been just a city cleaner. After thinking about it, she continued to ask, “So Exorcists don’t need to protect people like Dragon Hunters do? I remember there were terms about it.”
She had always thought she had to act according to the terms above. Hearing this now, it seemed like she had always been following the requirements of the Night Watchers.
“Terms? Are you selling your life for a cleaner’s salary?”
Xiao Yu glanced at her, then looked at Su Jiu with a mixture of amusement and respect, and said gently, “You are the youngest and bravest Exorcist I have ever seen… Perhaps Exorcists are not so bad after all.”
“After all, the person who initially founded this lower-level organization was a Night Watcher. He took a few words from the Night Watcher’s ancestral teachings — dispersing the darkness and witnessing the dawn, and established the Exorcist organization.”
…
With clinking glasses and after three rounds of drinks, Su Jiu learned that they intended to directly forfeit tomorrow, which was the school’s and their own decision.
Su Jiu understood their good intentions. She swayed her wine glass and did not refuse politely. She didn’t need to think about it; the accessory was hers. The points from the individual competition and the points from hunting monsters were already decided.
As for others, like Li Yi, she had seen many like him who had taught for over ten years. They had their own principles and could afford to lose, and they valued their promises.
“Tomorrow, you’re really not coming?” Before leaving, A Dun looked at her and asked in a low voice.
“No, I’m going out of town tomorrow.”
Watching their receding backs, Su Jiu’s small figure was cast long by the streetlights. She opened her phone and quietly looked at the “Night Watcher” described in a special font, and lightly exhaled, “People come and go, all for profit. They say it so nobly.”
“What is this?!”
Just as she turned to leave, she suddenly paused slightly, turned her head sharply to look at the sky, her gaze fixed. It was a small bat, its claws seeming to grasp a sealed letter.
Then, a light yellow letter fell from the sky.
Su Jiu caught it and slowly opened it. She saw four Chinese characters written on it— “Found you!” Below it was a six-digit number.
“Is it that Master? He’s really fast. But what can he do even if he found me? He can’t get into customs anyway.”
Looking at the almost pierced paper, Su Jiu felt like laughing. Her gaze shifted downward, and she didn’t know what this six-digit number was.
Perhaps it was a number for some evil ritual?
Su Jiu raised her left hand. She guessed that this thing was probably a tracking device, which would be troublesome when going abroad. However, Eagle Country also opposed these evil gods, so it should not be a big problem to enter their country.
…
Eagle Country.
Bloody lightning crackled. In a certain huge castle, the sound of things being smashed echoed from the living room, and there were even huge explosions.
“Boom! Boom! Boom!”
“Damn it! I added you on WeChat, and I’m going to scold you to death! Luring me with a few candies, you’re a dog!”
A weak voice kept sounding, but now it seemed full of spirit.
