Chapter 144: Diana

Upon hearing this, Qingxue seemed as if the last heavy stone in her heart had finally dropped. She turned to Huo Ye and asked, “Ye, do you remember the words I told you about the white spider lily?”

“Of course I remember. A letter from heaven, wasn’t it? I saw one on your grave and brought it back to nurture.”

“Luckily, you still remember? You know, I’ve always been there, right inside that flower. When you brought me back, I was truly, truly moved. Even the words you casually said, you remembered them all.”

“Is that so? So you’ve been by my side all along.”

Just then, Qingxue suddenly said, “Alright, time’s almost up, and I must go now. Ye, she’s a good girl. Remember to treat her well. Don’t let her be like me—always worrying and crying over you, understand?”

Huo Ye was surprised. “Go? Where are you going?”

“Reincarnation,” Qingxue replied, her form beginning to dissolve into smoke and dust, slowly dispersing. She left behind her final words: “Being able to come out and see you today, I’ve almost reached my limit. In this life, fate brought us together but kept us apart; in the next, I will never let go…”

Until the very last moment, as Qingxue’s delicate face faded away, she whispered softly, “Ye, I love…”

Huo Ye watched the last traces of Qingxue vanish completely and replied in a low voice, “I love you too.”

When Huo Ye woke up, he found his face soaked with tears. Sitting up, he wondered why the dream from last night felt so real—as if it wasn’t a dream but a genuine farewell with Qingxue.

After tidying himself and stepping out of his room, he saw three people seated on the sofa downstairs.

There was Shangguan Yudie, Alice, and a woman wearing a wide-brimmed hat and dressed in a style reminiscent of a medieval witch. She was Diana Kelly, the wife of Justin Kelly, the logistics chief of the Death Hunt Squad, mother of Rerimi, and humanity’s foremost sorceress.

Diana was the first to notice Huo Ye was awake and called him downstairs.

Huo Ye approached the sofa and asked, “Aunt Diana, what are you doing here?”

Diana sipped her tea and smiled kindly, “Xiao Ye, did you sleep well last night?”

Huo Ye was startled. “Auntie, what do you mean?”

Sighing, Diana said, “Let me be frank. Did you properly say goodbye to that girl?”

Huo Ye immediately stood up, eyes fixed intently on Diana, as if waiting for an explanation.

Noticing his demeanor, Diana motioned for him to sit back down. Obediently, Huo Ye returned to his seat and listened as Diana explained:

“As sorcerers, we inevitably deal with the unexplainable. So seeing supernatural things is not unusual. But living in a materialistic society, I won’t go into too much detail.”

Coming from humanity’s strongest sorceress, her words carried great weight.

“I once visited your home and happened to notice the little white flower you kept on the balcony. From it, I sensed the spirit of a young girl attached there. Later, Alice told me you had come back from the grave of a girl who died in an accident two years ago. That’s when I roughly understood what was going on.”

Huo Ye glanced at Alice, who immediately replied, “I begged Aunt Diana to let you meet her, but she said the sorcery was complicated and required some preparation. So she didn’t tell you at first, worried you’d be too anxious.”

Nodding, Huo Ye said, “I understand. You did the right thing. Auntie, last night I had a dream—thanks to your help, I truly communicated with Qingxue’s spirit, right?”

Diana nodded silently.

Huo Ye’s expression grew complex, as if words hovered on his lips but remained unspoken.

In the end, he simply said, “Thank you.”

He then took Shangguan Yudie’s hand and said, “Come with me.” Yudie followed him out of the villa.

Diana sighed softly, “People are just born unequal. If only I had a son like Xiao Ye—strong, smart, and insightful. Unlike our Rerimi, who takes after his father, stubborn as iron.”

Alice grinned, “Really? I think Rerimi is quite fun!”

Diana glanced at Alice, “When I first met his father, I thought the same—a bit dull, shy, but fun! Xiao Ai, looks like you’ll have to keep an eye on our boy.”

Alice laughed brightly, crossing her legs and resting her hands on her feet. “I’m not done yet. Just wait two more years. Besides, I want him to take the initiative.”

Diana snorted, “Fine, I’ll stir him up when I get back.”

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Huo Ye and Shangguan Yudie stepped out into the garden. Releasing her hand, Huo Ye looked straight into her eyes and asked, “Xiao Yu, do you... blame me?”

Yudie looked up at the sky, expression blank. Huo Ye felt as if there were ellipses loading above her head, waiting to complete before she could answer.

This was maddening! If every conversation was like this, better not talk at all.

After a long pause, instead of gentle words or thunderous anger, Yudie simply said, “Blame you for what?”

Damn it...

Huo Ye was dumbfounded. After worrying half the day about her being jealous, this was the response he got?

He recalled a classic twenty-first-century comic character once saying, “With women, you must guess. Guess wrong and you’re just a big fool in her eyes. Don’t guess and you’re a complete idiot. The difference is night and day.”

But Huo Ye didn’t think so. He realized trying to read Yudie’s mind with common sense made him a total fool. He had dated before, but Qingxue was a pure, kind-hearted flower girl.

Yudie was also pure and kind, but her abilities made her see through everything. Why did he try to interpret her with the same logic used for ordinary girls? He’d been careless!

What was Yudie really thinking? She felt no need to be jealous! Qingxue was with Huo Ye first, after all. She understood everything and believed that Huo Ye seeing Qingxue one last time helped him resolve his heart’s knot—it was a good thing!

Besides, to be blunt, Yudie thought it a bit ridiculous to compete with someone who was dead. She still wore the gift Qingxue had given Huo Ye—now a token of their bond.

In short, Huo Ye had worried for nothing, but it confirmed that Yudie wasn’t bothered by Qingxue’s matter. That was a relief.

Suddenly, Huo Ye’s crystal brain buzzed—it was an audio call.

He answered. It was Eddie.

“Hey, Dad, what’s up? Just me? Okay, got it.” After hanging up, he told Shangguan Yudie, “My dad wants me to meet him somewhere, just me. Sorry I can’t take you. I was hoping to spend a few more days with you.”

Yudie shook her head. “There’s plenty of time. You go ahead.”

Huo Ye nodded and headed to find his hover bike, preparing to meet Eddie outside the estate.

Riding the hover bikes, they made their way to the outskirts of Sola City. Beyond the city, there were always undeveloped areas, though Huo Ye had never been here before. He felt they were following a special route to a special place.

The grass was lush, but there was little else of interest.

When they reached a mountain pass, Eddie pressed a button on his bike’s handlebar. Suddenly, a rock face ahead bulged and slid aside, revealing a futuristic metallic tunnel embedded within the mountain.

“Dad? What is this place?” Huo Ye couldn’t help but ask, though he already had a guess—it was likely a secret agency of the Sola Colonial Government.

“Human Mutation Research Institute, HRI. I spoke with the director here and arranged for you to come study your abilities. Don’t worry, think of it as a... checkup,” Eddie explained.

But Huo Ye’s instincts warned him that something might go wrong.