Chapter 00199: A Healing Touch
# A Healing Touch
Chapter 199
Novel: Above Destiny
Chapter 199: A Healing Touch
"Damn it!"
He widened his eyes in surprise: "My butt is healed? Doc, you’ve got a magic touch!"
"Yeah, yeah, we all know you're healed. You healed way too fast! Now hurry up and put your pants back on!"
Ji Xue regretfully put away her dagger and kicked her own brother in the butt, saying with annoyance, "Don’t forget to send a banner to the North Mountain District later, thanking Dr. Ji from the proctology department for his wisdom and bravery in saving your butt!"
After Ji Liu put his protective suit back on, Ji Jue swept the hardened mercury foil over the fingerprints.
Instantly, wisps of black smoke rose from the protective suit, falling into the mercury and merging with the pollution previously extracted from the flesh, forming a distinct palm print that squirmed as if trying to break free.
Ji Jue thought for a moment and decided not to throw it away.
After applying several layers of seals to cut off any connection, the hardened mercury bead fell silent, showing no further movement.
He then pocketed it.
After all, it was something he hadn’t seen before.
It might come in handy.
Inside the carriage, after witnessing Dr. Ji’s miraculous healing skills, everyone’s gaze toward him grew even more enthusiastic.
In an environment filled with corruption and pollution, having a teammate who could cleanse the contamination at any time, eliminate future threats, and even provide equipment repairs and supplies...
What was this?
This was a goddamn saintly father figure!
He could do what the three departments could do, and even what they couldn’t.
Even if the Ember team’s combat strength wasn’t top-notch, when had they ever lacked firepower? What they lacked was this kind of support powerhouse!
And the best part? This powerhouse was free...
If it weren’t for the inappropriate setting, Ji Liu might have grabbed Ji Jue’s hand and started declaring, "If you don’t abandon me..."
After all, not many people could suddenly prepare themselves to say goodbye to half their butt cheek.
After experiencing two scares in a row, the rest of the journey became rather uneventful.
Just driving, stopping, driving again, and stopping again.
They seemed to be following a planned route, slow and tedious.
Sometimes, even when a straight path was available, Tong Shan would take a long detour.
More often than not, they would stop and go without any warning.
Through silent observation, Ji Jue gradually realized that the core of the team wasn’t Tong Shan.
It was Xu Guan.
Or rather, his presence was one of the mission objectives, and a crucial one at that.
During the journey, the coordination between him and Tong Shan was exceptionally tight.
While the details of their communication were unknown to others, whenever one of them reacted, the vehicle would suddenly speed up, change routes, or stop entirely, with everyone holding their breath, waiting or hiding.
Most of the time, it was to give Xu Guan the opportunity to create records of the Aether series.
Sheet after sheet of records fell from his hands, carefully placed into specially prepared sturdy containers.
From Ji Jue’s observations, even the containers seemed to be blessed artifacts of the Aether series, designed to store information and avoid contamination.
"Are we mapping the terrain?" Ji Jue asked curiously.
"Caught on, huh?"
Xu Guan smiled slightly, his hands never stopping as the faint glow of the record sheets quickly captured every detail of their surroundings.
"Actually, the vanguard exploration team isn’t as thrilling as it sounds. While danger can strike at any moment, most of the time, it’s just boring and uneventful, yet you can’t let your guard down. You’re not even allowed to zone out. Apart from identifying potential threats in the area, the main task is similar to mapping. The situation in Spring City is complicated. The corrupted environment spawns many threats, and even space can become chaotic. Every time we come here, some areas change, and things are different after just a couple of days."
Ji Jue was puzzled: "Then why bother collecting records?"
"That’s where the Tong family’s Sky Listening comes in."
Xu Guan glanced at Tong Shan, who was resting in the back seat.
"The more records we have, the more accurate our calculations, and the more we can analyze. Even the fixed routes we’re taking were mapped out by the Tong family. Compared to them, someone like me, who’s not as skilled, is just doing the grunt work."
"Stop being so modest, Old Xu."
Tong Shan opened one eye and smirked self-deprecatingly, "Aren’t the Tong family members here doing the grunt work with you? Want me to bring you some melons later?"
"What melons?"
Xu Guan’s eyes lit up, "You only told half the story about Lei Yaoxing last time! I didn’t get to hear the juicy part, you cut it off!"
"Don’t ask me about Lei Yaoxing’s story. Isn’t the person involved right here?" Tong Shan glanced at Ji Jue, shifting the blame, "Now I’ll have to tell the story of how Ji the Good Samaritan tirelessly persuaded someone to turn over a new leaf, and how Chen Xingzhou, moved to tears, repented at the memorial hall..."
"What the hell? You know about that too?" Ji Jue was stunned.
"Ahua and Ye Chun are good friends," Tong Shan said gleefully, "Lately, every time I go home, I hear daily updates about the overachieving dog. Even Fourth Uncle has been following the story for a while now."
Tong Hua!!!!
Wait, forget Tong Hua.
Her brother was someone Ji Jue couldn’t beat, so he’d have to settle that score later.
But as for that inherently evil little brat Ye Chun, he’d make sure to...
Ji Jue’s eye twitched, and his fists clenched tighter and tighter.
—Tell Professor Ye, I want to write a thesis!
Some dogs, when pushed to extreme anger, start overachieving.
"Key Points and Summaries on the Fundamental Principles of Fluid Alchemy in Reverse Applications"—in just a few seconds, the outline had already formed in his mind.
Inspiration really does strike when you least expect it!
Looking at it this way, Senior Sister really was his academic muse!
Since there wasn’t much else to do while sitting in the car, Ji Jue simply pulled out some paper and a pen from his bag and started scribbling down a rough draft.
Lou Feng, sitting next to him, accidentally glanced over and immediately looked away as if he’d been electrocuted.
He stared out the window, his expression shifting wildly.
What the hell? What’s going on? Why is Ji Jue suddenly researching fluid alchemy right next to me? Is he going to accuse me of spying on confidential information and frame me?!
Remembering the "glorious deeds" of Ye Xian that his teacher had told him about, Lou Feng felt a chill run down his spine.
So dirty! So dirty!
You people from the Tide Sound Workshop are all heartless!
In a fit of anger, Lou Feng gritted his teeth, pulled out his own paper and pen, and started writing "A Brief Discussion on the Effects of Spiritual Shaping Combined with Blessing Effects."
Come on, let’s get dirty! Let’s all get dirty!
I’ve had enough of you!
For a while, the only sound in the otherwise silent vehicle was the scratching of pens on paper.
Even Ji Liu, sitting on the roof, couldn’t help but peek inside, looking at the two who were buried in their writing, their expressions shifting between frowning in anger and silently laughing maniacally.
He exchanged a confused glance with his companions inside the car, completely baffled.
How did things suddenly turn into a competition?
You Ember guys are so damn weird!
As they continued their journey, Xu Guan and Tong Shan, who was resting in the back seat, suddenly tensed up, their expressions changing drastically: "Stop the car!"
The sound of screeching brakes filled the air.
Everyone in the car was thrown into chaos, and then they heard the wails and screams coming from outside, right in front of the vehicle.
Thick blood spread like a tide from under the wheels, wrapping around them like quicksand, making it impossible for the wheels to break free no matter how much they spun.
Then, from the pool of blood in front of the car, under the bright headlights, a twisted face came into view.
It wore a grotesque smile, but its mouth was wailing in pain, screaming.
"Murder! Murder! Help! Help me—"
On that writhing face, two sets of mismatched features kept shifting, making it impossible to tell if it was male or female.
The voice alternated between high-pitched and low, crying out, "You hit me! Help! I’m dying!!!"
As the eerie figure screamed, the previously empty street seemed to ripple with faint waves.
In the surrounding darkness, pale faces began to emerge, their expressions filled with malice, slowly closing in.
"What the hell?"
Ji Xue, who was driving, was shocked, "Are ghosts trying to scam people now?"
Tong Shan, sensing the surroundings, grew increasingly grim, "The Ship City team encountered this before. It’s a group of residual spirits, like those led by tiger spirits. They attract more and more things. Everyone, be careful."
Bang!
A burst of blood suddenly splattered across the windshield.
A bloodied figure crawled out from under the hood, slapping the glass.
The twisted face, made up of two sets of features, grinned maniacally, pressing against the glass: "I saw it! It was you who hit me! It was you!!! I’m hurt, I’m hurt, I’m dying..."
It wailed and accused, yet its grin never faded: "Pay up! Pay up! Pay up!!!"
As it screamed, its hands kept slapping the car, as if striking an invisible force field.
The sound of cracking filled the air.
Wherever the blood spread, rust quickly appeared, aging and corroding the metal.
The engine died instantly.
Bang!
Under Tong Shan’s gaze, the body suddenly exploded, but from the pool of blood, a new figure eerily crawled out, clinging to the car, screaming and wailing.
The surrounding eerie figures continued to press forward, squeezing against an invisible repelling force field.
"Tch."
Tong Shan’s expression grew even darker.
He took a deep breath, and a violent pressure began to build, ready to unleash his full power.
But then, he felt someone tap his shoulder.
"Captain Tong, let me try?" Ji Jue asked.
"Are you sure?"
"A little, but not much," Ji Jue admitted honestly.
"If it doesn’t work, at least there’s still you, right?"
Tong Shan hesitated.
If this had been before, he might have refused without a second thought, unwilling to entrust the safety of everyone to Ji Jue.
But after witnessing Ji Jue’s abilities in handling various corruptions, he found himself wavering, unable to make a quick decision.
After a moment, he made up his mind.
"Be careful."
"Alright."
Ji Jue grinned.
He took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled.
No longer suppressing the impulses and malice that had been rising in his consciousness since earlier.
Then, everyone saw it.
As the bone knife at his waist let out an excited hum, his protective suit began to change.
Under the erosion and spontaneous transformation of spiritual energy, the thick black protective suit quickly shed its original color, turning into a chillingly pale, thin layer.
Then, large patches of crimson spread across the pale surface, writhing and faintly forming patterns that resembled wailing faces or handprints.
A blood-stained ID card appeared out of thin air, hanging from Ji Jue’s chest.
It swayed slightly, moving without any wind.
Click!
In the intermittent silence of the wails, a crisp sound rang out.
The car door opened, and Ji Jue stepped into the pool of blood.
Step by step, he moved forward.
"Are you hurt?"
The pale figure looked down, asking.
On the hood, the writhing, wailing figure froze for a moment, seemingly confused.
It looked up, then froze in place.
In the reflection of its trembling eyes, a figure clad in white, dripping with thick blood, grinned silently at it.
"What a... fine piece of material."
(End of Chapter)