Chapter 716: A Marked Fate

The atmosphere grew oppressive and silent.

Lu Xin watched Teacher Xiao Lu—so silent and stubborn—as his heart skipped a beat.

Nervously, he fixed his gaze on her eyes, watching the numbers tumble relentlessly for a full thirty minutes before finally slowing down.

Then the countdown resumed its original pace.

At that moment, his heart was filled with a profound sense of helplessness and an inexplicable eeriness.

Teacher Xiao Lu remained silent too, not uttering a single word for a long while.

Lu Xin could clearly see that she was lying. He couldn’t understand why she would keep something from him.

After all, having grown up in the orphanage, she should have known the gravity of mental pollution.

That feeling of exclusion left Lu Xin resentful and a bit disheartened.

Suddenly, with a ‘thud,’ a soccer ball was kicked toward him. Moments later, four or five little kids, still eager for play, rushed over. They had been waving from a distance hoping Lu Xin would kick the ball back, but when they saw his expression, everyone was instantly startled.

They quickly ran over, grabbed the ball, and dashed away.

The little interruption jolted both Teacher Xiao Lu and Lu Xin, prompting a soft sigh from them both.

“I’m leaving now. Call me if anything comes up,” she said.

After a long silence filled with unspoken questions, Lu Xin let out a gentle sigh and laughed, saying,

Teacher Xiao Lu looked mildly surprised, then lowered her head and gave a small nod.

Lu Xin chose not to press her further, seemingly easing her burden.

Observing her expression, Lu Xin sighed, pulled a handkerchief from his pocket, and wiped her hand before turning and leaving.

As he passed the Security Booth, the old man inside cast a worried glance in his direction.

Just as Lu Xin was about to exit through the large iron door, he lowered his voice and said quickly, “That person before… Number Eight… Xu Jing…”

“He arrived here back then. I kept an eye on him, but the very next day—before you returned—he… he had a private chat with you in the third-floor office for about ten minutes. Those were the only ten minutes I wasn’t around.”

“……”

Listening intently, Lu Xin paused, his brows furrowing in thought.

The old security guard said, “I know what you’re hinting at. Under normal circumstances, I’d never let anyone hurt her…”

“But that was… her insistence that I keep my distance.”

“……”

After a moment’s silence, Lu Xin continued on, though his inner confusion deepened.

Was it really her choice to converse privately with Number Eight?

So what does that say about her current state…

The car that had brought him was still waiting. Lu Xin sat in the back seat, nodded silently to the driver, and let him drive toward the old building at Moon Terrace. For a long while, he remained silent, deep in thought…

After a while, he suddenly asked, “What do you think that is?”

The driver ahead was momentarily taken aback—about to speak—when he noticed in the rearview mirror that Lu Xin wasn’t looking his way.

Instead, he was staring intently at another spot in the back seat.

The driver’s grip on the steering wheel tightened, and he quickly sealed his mouth, focusing solely on the road ahead.

……

……

“She has indeed been marked.”

Mom softly said, “You could say she’s been polluted.”

“This isn’t ordinary contamination that, following its natural law, rapidly devours a person’s spirit. It’s been segmented by a certain will. She’s now in a state of mild pollution but has been locked onto by a force waiting for the perfect moment to unleash a deep, all-consuming contamination…”

“……”

Lu Xin frowned; it was exactly as he had suspected.

Earlier at the elementary school, he had decided to leave after seeing Mom waiting at the doorway.

Though he felt a tinge of annoyance when she refused to answer his questions, he soon realized that Teacher Xiao Lu wasn’t naive—she was well aware of mental pollution.

So, she must have her reasons for staying silent.

He couldn’t force her to speak; doing so would only worsen her state.

The ticking countdown in her eyes was a symbol of her contamination.

……

……

“So, can you sever this mark—or connection?”

He asked tentatively.

That was the second reason he decided to leave early; he hoped to get Mom’s help.

After hearing his query, Mom fell silent for a moment before saying, “I can’t help her.”

“What?”

Lu Xin’s tone was laced with disbelief: “You can sever everything…”

“I might be able to cut it off, but that doesn’t mean I can help her.”

Mom sighed softly, “This pollution is mutual; she’s now part of its source.”

“If I forcibly sever it, her spirit will be damaged—she won’t be the same. Understand?”

“Moreover, with the power of Judgment in play, merely cutting her off isn’t enough…”

“……”

“Judgment?”

Lu Xin caught the specific term in Mom’s words.

“Yes.”

Mom nodded gently and said, “Haven’t you already witnessed your classmate’s execution?”

“His power belongs to the Judgment category.”

“Of course. That also points to his master behind the scenes—or rather, the judge of the court: the Sword Bearer.”

“……”

“The Sword Bearer among the thirteen Ultimates…”

In that instant, Lu Xin understood something. After a brief pause, he asked, “Is it also our enemy?”

“The Sword Bearer prides himself on fairness.”

Mom shook her head lightly and said, “That’s why he never regards anyone as an enemy.”

“Of course, one could also say that, in his subconscious, everyone is his enemy.”

“……”

After a brief pause, she said, “Right now, the most pressing issue is how to handle the trouble caused by that little one with a broken leg.”

“The power of Judgment is tricky…”

“……”

With a grave tone, Lu Xin turned to Mom and asked, “Is the Sword Bearer very powerful?”

“Someone who subconsciously considers everyone an enemy yet somehow never dies—what do you think?”

Mom replied with a wry smile, “But describing him as simply strong or weak doesn’t do him justice.”

“Just as I mentioned, his power is especially tricky—much like the situation facing that adorable, leg-broken Orphanage Director. Although her influence isn’t overwhelming, brute force just won’t solve it.”

“……”

Lu Xin frowned but listened intently to Mom’s explanation.

“Judgment is also one of the thirteen high-level mental powers because it is omnipresent.”

Mom patiently explained, “Everyone possesses this power of Judgment.”

“If you see someone spitting on the roadside, you’ll think they’re in the wrong; regardless of whether you act, you’ve already passed judgment. In life, if someone wrongs or angers you, blaming them is yet another form of judgment.”

“Take a stroll down the street and you’ll witness countless instances of judgment being passed, and received.”

“Some run red lights, some talk too loudly on the phone, and some even sport tattoos that unsettle you…”

“You judge others for all sorts of things—even dismissing someone just because you think they’re ugly…”

“These are all expressions of judgment.”

“……”

“It’s precisely because judgment is so widespread that it becomes so powerful.”

Mom said softly, with a hint of emotion, “Of course, the power of Judgment can manifest in many ways.”

“For that little girl with a broken leg, being judged might not seem like a big deal.”

“But her most unsettling problem is that, on a mental level, she has already reached an accord with her judge.”

“That’s why I can’t help her.”

“……”

After a pause, she nodded slightly and concluded, “You can think of it as her having confessed.”

“This…”

Lu Xin was overwhelmed with confusion at this revelation.

Mom smiled at him, as if understanding his thoughts, and said with a laugh:

“Often, we shouldn’t be too harsh on ordinary people. They can’t always tell right from wrong, and when influenced by a mental force, they naturally change their behavior—whether subtly or significantly. Once you understand that, you’ll see why she kept quiet when you asked…”

“……”

In that moment, endless questions swirled in Lu Xin’s mind, yet some were answered.

No wonder Teacher Xiao Lu hadn’t actively sought help.

No wonder when he approached her with questions, she refused to cooperate.

She had already confessed, so she neither sought help nor answered.

But then even more perplexing questions flooded his mind.

What crime did she confess to?

Why did she confess?

What exactly did Number Eight say to her before he returned that made her confess in secret?

Furthermore, if she is indeed guilty, then according to Number Eight’s methods,

who is the accuser?

……

……

“I know what you’re thinking.”

Before Lu Xin could ask, Mom turned to him softly and said, “Sometimes, I can read someone’s inner thoughts, but she’s not one of those people.”

“She has made a deal with her judge, so all memories related to it have been bound and written into a contract.”

“I could forcefully read them, but that would mean clashing with Judgment.”

“But she’s just an ordinary person; her mind can’t serve as a battleground for us.”

“……”

After a long moment, Lu Xin slowly nodded and said, “I understand.”

“Then you need to be ready.”

Mom sighed in relief and said, “Since she has confessed, her fate is naturally execution.”

“This entire situation is truly bizarre. I have no idea what they’re planning, but one thing is for sure: having those who judge us around is a serious provocation.”

“……”

With that, she gently grasped Lu Xin’s hand and said, “This time, I’ll stay by your side to help you.”

A look of surprise and doubt crossed Lu Xin’s face.

He suddenly felt happy and touched—Mom hadn’t teamed up with him in such a long time.

With Mom by his side, and then with Father and Sister…

what was there to fear?

……

……

“Creak…”

The Jeep suddenly halted. The bald driver in front paused before speaking in a deliberately steady tone, “We’ve arrived, Mr. Single Soldier.”

“……”

“Alright.”

Lu Xin got out of the car and looked up at the old building before him—still silently standing on the earth, dark and deep, with shattered windows and countless shards of glass scattered around its edges. Behind those hollow windows, it seemed as if countless eyes were watching him. In that moment, he saw his own repressed and shattered life reflected in the building.

Yet he also saw a single ray of sunshine amid that gloomy, broken existence.

“No one can hurt her.”

Lu Xin suddenly felt a sense of relief and muttered in an eerily low tone, “Even you, Number Eight.”

“After all, we’re closer than you are…”

“……”

“Whoosh…”

Whether Number Eight could even hear them, the Jeep that had brought him sped off abruptly, disappearing as if in a mad dash.