The Eleventh Year of Making Hate with My Lover - Chapter 4

The man and the jellyfish walked into the coastal town under the scorching noon sun.

Wu Que, confined to Shen Wang’s pocket, became so hot he felt like he was being flattened into a pancake. Unable to bear it any longer, he attempted to burrow into the collar of Shen Wang’s shirt.

“Move again, and I’ll throw you into the sea.”

Shen Wang pinched the creature’s tentacle and shoved him fiercely back into place, completely ignoring his “Guji, Guji” protests.

The bluestone road was polished smooth by the constant washing of the sea waves. After walking for about five minutes, they finally reached the entrance of the small town. Strangely, several long queues had formed under the ceremonial archway.

Shen Wang had no intention of joining the crowd, but an administrator standing to the side intercepted him, explaining that it was peak tourist season and, to ensure the safety of both residents and visitors, everyone entering the town needed to be tested for infection levels.

The administrator scratched the scar on his wrist with a sigh: “Too many supernatural entities in this world lately. We need to measure for potential infection or incubation periods. Only after confirming safety can, we let anyone pass.”

Shen Wang recalled the situation on the boat and felt a sudden urge to laugh, thinking to himself, You folks have got some interesting things out there at sea.

He gave a noncommittal response. While the administrator was speaking, Shen Wang kept his eyes fixed on the scar on his wrist it looked fresh and still had traces of blood.

The administrator noticed his gaze and withdrew his hand without changing his expression, chuckling: “A new cat I’m raising; it’s very fierce.”

The administrator guided him to the back of a new queue. Standing in front of him was a young girl with long, pale-pink hair tied into a high ponytail, which swayed gently, shining dazzlingly in the sunlight.

The girl turned around, her voice as vibrant as her hair color: “Are you here for a vacation too?”

“I’m here to escape for my life,” Shen Wang said, his tone airy, making it impossible to tell if he was joking or serious.

“Interesting.” The girl shrugged, her eyes lighting up as they fell upon the pocket on his chest: “How cute! Can I touch it?”

Wu Que, who had just poked his head out, retreated further inside.

“He’s shy.” Shen Wang offered an apologetic smile. Although his face usually looked cold and detached, when he smiled, it softened his distance and added a touch of approachability. The pink-haired girl blushed slightly, and her voice softened.

“Oh, I see. But…” she asked with some concern: “He’ll die if you keep him in your pocket like that, won’t he?”

The girl rummaged through her bag for a transparent plastic bag and tapped the person in front of her: “Lili, could you please give me some water?”

The girl called Lili replied in a gentle voice: “Here you go.” She unscrewed the cap and handed it over.

The pink-haired girl poured the mineral water into the plastic bag and gestured for Shen Wang to put the jellyfish inside.

“Thanks.” Shen Wang looked down at the drooping Wu Que, hesitated for a moment, then used two fingers to pluck him from his pocket and tossed him into the bag.

The tiny jellyfish sank to the bottom of the bag, then shivered and floated back up, trailing a string of small bubbles.

“What species is this? It’s so beautiful…” the girl exclaimed in wonder. She had never seen a jellyfish like this before; its body was transparent and glowing, its tentacles bloomed like lace, and most interestingly, there were two pointy ears on top of its umbrella-head. It was very unique.

Shen Wang pinched the opening of the bag and gave it a wicked shake. Recalling the man’s human form, he smiled slightly: “Man-made version, I guess.”

“Where can you buy one?” The girl seemed to really like it and wanted to raise one herself.

“Suzawa, don’t bother. You haven’t managed to keep a single fish alive,” Lili interrupted her mercilessly.

Suzawa couldn’t help but act spoiled: “But it’s really cute! It has several eyes, and… cat ears!” She leaned into Lili’s ear and whispered: “I think I’d raise it better than him. Look, he’s keeping it dry-raised; it’ll die even faster.”

“……” I heard that, Shen Wang thought. If you knew this thing was my arch-nemesis and “ex-wife,” you’d be lucky I haven’t pinched it to death.

During their chat, the queue finally reached them. Shen Wang glanced over and saw a register and a pale-blue stone platform about the size of a palm, marked with various patterns, sitting on the table ahead.

This must be the “infection testing tool” they were talking about.

Shen Wang raised an eyebrow. He had seen this in the black market; it was used to measure spiritual energy values. Some people with high spiritual thresholds had the chance to evolve supernatural abilities.

Public measurement of spiritual energy was not allowed on the market, to prevent those at the critical threshold from resorting to crooked paths for evolution.

So why call it an infection test?

Not just that sea area, but even this small town was peculiar.

When it was the two girls’ turn, Suzawa went first, and the result was normal the stone platform didn’t react.

But when Lili placed her hand on the platform, a light flickered across the patterns, vanishing in an instant.

Lili widened her eyes as she looked at the glowing platform, and the crowd became restless.

The administrator’s eyes seemed to light up, but he feigned anger: “Ma’am, please cooperate and come with us.”

“That’s impossible! We’ve never encountered anything; Lili can’t be infected!” Suzawa explained, pulling Lili’s hand, but several administrators had already surrounded them.

Shen Wang quietly fished Wu Que out of the bag and surreptitiously hid him in his sleeve.

“…” Forced out of the water, Wu Que blinked.

When it was Shen Wang’s turn, he placed his hand on the platform. While no one was paying attention, he slid the transparent jellyfish out from his sleeve and slammed it onto the platform without hesitation.

“…” The jellyfish let out a “Guji” sound, and the stone platform, as expected, showed no reaction.

However, Wu Que realized what was happening, bristled his ears, and gave him a fierce electric shock. Instantly, blue-pink light erupted from beneath his hand with a sizzling sound, and the powerful spiritual energy caused the assessment platform to… explode into pieces.

Shen Wang: “…”

Administrator: “…”

The administrator’s smile couldn’t hold: “Sir, I think you need to come with us as well.”

The scene erupted into chaos; the crowd fled from them. Suzawa pulled Lili as they tried to escape but were captured and tied up with ropes.

Shen Wang remained unusually calm, allowing them to tie him up. The guards pushed the three of them into a black commercial vehicle nearby.

There was a partition in the middle of the vehicle, perhaps to prevent the people in the back seat from rioting.

“Everyone, don’t be nervous.” The person in the passenger seat came straight to the point: “The infection test was a lie; what we are actually testing is everyone’s spiritual value.”

“Spiritual value?” Suzawa stopped struggling.

“That’s right. You know about Spirit-Awakening Masters, right? Their spiritual threshold is high, so they can condense spiritual cores to provide energy for their abilities. Ordinary people don’t have this, or at most, only have a few dozen.”

“What does that have to do with us?” Lili remained full of wariness.

“Of course it matters.” The man chuckled lowly and said to Lili: “Although it’s a pity your friend is quite ordinary with mediocre qualifications, your own measurement result is very close to the critical threshold. With training, you are very likely to awaken supernatural abilities.”

“As for that gentleman—” he shifted his focus, “I don’t know if our equipment malfunctioned, or if your spiritual power is simply too high…”

Shen Wang, who had been zoning out, was suddenly called out. He shrugged indifferently: “Must have malfunctioned. Where are you taking us?”

“How can you call it ‘taking’? Our town mayor respects Spirit-Awakening Masters very much and is very happy to make friends with people who have the potential to evolve.” The man opened the partition in the middle of the vehicle: “Let me introduce myself. My name is Lin Xu, and I am responsible for uncovering talent in this area.”

Shen Wang lifted his eyelids to look; it was indeed the administrator with the scar on his hand.

The group chatted aimlessly on the ride, mostly a one-sided output from Lin Xu. Ten minutes later, the car stopped beside a hotel. Based on its height and decor, it appeared to be the most luxurious one in the entire town.

Lin Xu got out of the car and untied them one by one, but the guards didn’t withdraw, signaling that they had no choice but to enter.

Shen Wang didn’t care; he had intended to rest for a night anyway before leaving tomorrow. It was only a ten-hour drive from here to the base.

Walking to the front desk, Lin Xu handed them their room cards: “Everyone must be very tired; go get some rest first. I’ve already arranged your rooms.”

“The mayor has been a bit busy these last few days; he’ll invite you all for tea when he has time.”

His gaze landed on Shen Wang’s sleeve, where a jellyfish was crawling out: “This is?”

“Oh.” Shen Wang pinched its umbrella-cap: “A new type of pet. Stylish, isn’t it?”

“……Stylish. But it looks like it’s about to be cooked.”

“Probably angry.” Shen Wang smiled slightly: “Trouble for a glass fish tank, please. Thank you.”

The room was on the sixth floor with excellent lighting; from the window, one could see the sea in the distance.

“Not a bad environment.” Shen Wang took off his coat, hung it on the chair, and watched the light-blue jellyfish roll onto the bed, comfortably spreading out its tentacles.

There was a knock on the door. Shen Wang opened it to see an delivery robot that had sent over the fish tank.

“This is nice. I’ll put some water in it so you can soak.”

Just as Shen Wang was holding the glass fish tank and heading toward the bathroom to get water, a soft sound of bones resetting suddenly came from the room, accompanied by the rustle of clothes rubbing against each other.

Shen Wang turned his head and saw Wu Que half-kneeling on the wooden bed, his snow-white hair draped behind him, his bare shoulders still smeared with a bit of transparent mucus.

“……”

Even though this was his arch-nemesis, Shen Wang had to admit Wu Que had a beautiful skin. He knelt there, lifting his eyelids to glance this way; the scene was inexplicably alluring.

Another knock came from the door. Shen Wang shifted his gaze.

He opened it to see Suzawa from the room next door, waving a deck of cards with a smile: “Handsome, want to play Fight the Landlord?”

They seemed to understand that they couldn’t escape Lin Xu’s men for the time being. Since they were here for a vacation anyway, they decided to enjoy the luxury hotel while they could.

Just as Shen Wang was about to refuse, Suzawa caught sight of the person on the bed. Wu Que was lying on the bed in disarray, his snow-white hair hanging down, obscuring most of his face.

Suzawa let out an “Ah,” her eyes darting between the two of them. Realizing the situation, she blushed and backed out, thoughtfully closing the door behind her.

“Sorry to disturb you! Lili, let’s go! It’s improper to stare!”

“?” Did they misunderstand something?

Wu Que raised his face: “What’s wrong?”

Shen Wang asked in return: “Why did you suddenly change back?”

Wu Que pulled his clothes up, exhaling softly, looking languid: “You’ve been raising me too poorly.”

Although the jellyfish state consumed very little energy and he didn’t need to be in water all the time, water and food would increase his vitality. But as a beautiful yet fragile creature, he was picky about his cultivation tank, food, and water quality. It was obvious that the person in front of him couldn’t provide a high-quality environment for a jellyfish to survive in.

If he weren’t in such a weak state, he would still prefer being human.

“…I wouldn’t know how to raise a jellyfish.”

Wu Que stepped barefoot on the carpet, casually scratching at the fringe of hair on his forehead: “I’m hungry.”

Shen Wang let out a cold laugh: “You have a lot of demands; go get it yourself.”

Wu Que didn’t respond, playing with the lightning-charged supernatural sphere in his hand.

Fifteen minutes later, Shen Wang sat at the table with drooping eyelids, holding a bowl of cold noodles.

Wu Que was wearing his coat, looking in a good mood, and had ordered a few desserts and a glass of milk.

Shen Wang glanced at him: “I couldn’t tell you liked sweets.”

Wu Que ignored him, forked a piece of cake into his mouth, his expression visibly delighted.

After being locked in a cultivation chamber for several months, drinking bitter-as-poison nutrient solution every day, he finally got to eat some real human food.

Shen Wang had no appetite; he buried his head in his meal, not noticing that Wu Que was resting his chin on one hand, slowly stirring the hot milk in his cup with the other, his gaze falling on Shen Wang’s face with an indescribable, focused intensity.

At the next table, a few people were chatting loudly.

One person said: “Did any of you encounter anything strange last night?”

Another said nonchalantly: “Did we? I didn’t notice. Does finding a needle mark on my hand this morning count?”

The girl sitting opposite looked uneasy: “I think it was too quiet at night.”

“Oh, we’ve been staying here for a week now; don’t scare yourself!” The girl beside her slammed her cup down: “Isn’t the old town always like this? It doesn’t have as much noise as the city.”

Shen Wang listened quietly, tapping his fingers gently on the table: “What do you think?”

Wu Que flipped through the menu, wanting to order a blueberry cheesecake, and said nonchalantly: “The same as you.”

“This town, along with that sea area, is significantly affected by supernatural entities.”

Wu Que gave an “Mn”: “Are you going to eradicate it?”

Shen Wang smiled, his brows filled with a faint coldness: “What if I say no? Are you going to report me to the higher-ups?”

For hundreds of years, the duty of a Spirit-Awakening Master had been to slay supernatural entities. Allowing them to run rampant and slaughter innocent people was no different from murder, and it would be judged and punished by the Spirit-Awakening Alliance base.

But now, he only wanted to complete the broken system’s broken task.

“Suit yourself.” Wu Que wasn’t surprised, his tone as flat as if they were discussing what to eat for dinner.

As he finished speaking, he paused suddenly, instinctively looking back the bright lobby was filled with people, each busy with their own affairs; nothing seemed suspicious.

“Someone’s there.” Wu Que sensed someone watching from the shadows.

Shen Wang scanned the room but found nothing. However, he did see an acquaintance the fishing boat captain who had brought them was carrying a tray toward the restaurant entrance.

Shen Wang didn’t have time to dwell on it when his terminal suddenly flashed a few times.

There’s a signal.

Closing the room door, Shen Wang opened the terminal. A communication request from the base popped up on the screen.

After the connection was established, a stylish red-haired woman appeared on the screen, but no amount of exquisite makeup could hide the dark circles under her eyes.

She really looks like she’s been overworked.

“Ancestor, I’ve finally managed to connect with you.” The woman grabbed her long hair in frustration, but when she looked up and saw Shen Wang standing in front of the panel: “Shen Wang? Why is it you??”

“Teacher Li, this is my terminal.” Who else could it be? Shen Wang was bewildered.

“Isn’t this the message I received from Wu Que?” Li Lan pulled up the message. After looking closely, the IP was indeed from Shen Wang’s terminal.

“Are you playing games with me, kid?” Li Lan’s anger surged: “Are you too idle?! I haven’t seen you at the base in ages, and you don’t return my messages! Where have you gone to have fun!”

“There are stacks of cases piled on my desk. The base is short of manpower lately; where am I supposed to find someone to deal with these supernatural entities…” Li Lan grumbled: “Get back here and work! Be careful, or I’ll deduct your salary!”

Shen Wang, suddenly scolded, said inexplicably: “I’m on my way back.”

“Teacher Li.” Wu Que, from the side, poked his head into the frame to say hello: “Is the base okay lately?”

“!? You two are together?” Li Lan’s lifeless eyes, weary from overtime, suddenly burst into light. She almost broke into tears of joy: “Ancestor, the base needs you. The recent tasks aren’t easy to handle, and everyone is exhausted. The newcomers have been worked like donkeys.”

She made a face, annoyed: “And then you go out on a task for several months; the messages won’t connect, and we can’t find your location.”

Shen Wang asked: “What task?”

“To go to the Fish-Leaping Town to deal with a C-level supernatural entity. It was supposed to be quite simple; why did you go missing… Counting the time, he was just assigned to your Sixth District. He’s your teammate.”

“Fish-Leaping Town?” Shen Wang raised an eyebrow: “Why does that sound familiar?”

Wu Que pointed to the poster on the wall with a huge welcome sign:

[Welcome to Fish-Leaping Town, Hotline 7722886]

“?”

“That’s fantastic!” Li Lan frantically typed information and found the new recruit’s file: “Please, you must bring this unlucky fellow back.”

Shen Wang: “…” Has he really not died yet after several months?

After finishing the business, Li Lan finally asked the question she’d been holding back, looking at Wu Que and whispering: “On another note, what’s going on between you two? Why are you together? The last time you and Shen Wang met at the base, you fought until half the teaching building was blown up…”

Shen Wang also pricked up his ears to listen to the gossip about the original owner and Wu Que.

“Just bumped into each other.” Wu Que looked at Shen Wang with a profound gaze, adding meaningfully: “After all, we’re divorced. Now that I think about it, what’s there to hold a grudge about, right?”

“Uh, yeah.” Shen Wang sweated.

Your expression says this isn’t over.

“Great. If you two can cooperate like you did back then, it’ll save the base a lot of trouble.”

Wu Que smiled without saying a word.

“Good luck! The preservation of world peace depends on you two.” Li Lan left a quick sign-off and went offline: “Oh, right, Wu Que, remember to connect your terminal to the base.”

Li Lan soon sent over the information. Shen Wang opened it and saw the new recruit’s name was Lang Xi. The photo showed a golden-haired boy who looked sunny and handsome, with a space-attribute ability of the auxiliary type.

Has the base truly fallen so far as to send an auxiliary to perform missions alone these days?

“Troublesome.” One more thing to deal with. Shen Wang only felt a headache. Fortunately, the time set for the system task was relatively generous; otherwise, he would have had to do everything in his power to knock someone out and carry them back.

After coming out of the shower, he realized there was another very important problem. Shen Wang looked at the single bed and fell into silence.

He hesitated, his tone sounding like a negotiation: “Why don’t you change back?”

Wu Que was wiping his long hair with a towel. He paused at the words, his tone a mix of mockery and indifference: “You don’t really think I want to sleep with you, do you?”

“……No.” Maybe a little. What is wrong with this guy; why is he so moody?

“If you mind, then you sleep on the floor.” Wu Que turned off the bedside lamp, pulled back the quilt, and lay down on one side. His damp long hair stuck to his back. Looking at his back, Shen Wang inexplicably felt a hint of grievance.

“……” Shen Wang stood by the bed, hesitating for a while. He was truly exhausted, having not touched a bed in days of travel.

Giving in, he pulled back the quilt and slipped in.

As his consciousness gradually faded, a hint of fragrance seemed to drift through the air. Shen Wang fell into a deep sleep and had a very long dream.

In the middle of the night, there was a “beep” of a card swipe at the room door. A figure slipped in, hunching over, and slowly felt their way to the side of the bed.

He turned on a handheld flashlight, only to be surprised to find two people lying on the bed. The black-haired youth was sleeping very soundly, yet he was unconsciously holding the person in his arms very tightly, as if protecting something.

Didn’t they say there was only one person here?

The figure muttered to himself, unsure which one to go for. As he hesitated, the person in the youth’s arms moved. A pale face appeared beautiful yet ghostly in the light.

Wu Que lifted his head from Shen Wang’s embrace, propped himself up, and sat halfway up, his long hair drooping to the side. He raised his eyelids, his expression indifferent, his blue-pink eyes holding no temperature:

“Are you done watching?”

“Should I throw you out myself, or will you roll out on your own?”

The person shivered, and before they could even scream, the figure on the bed flashed before them like a phantom, knocking them unconscious with a single blow to the neck.

Wu Que kicked the person on the floor, wondering if he should just throw them out the window.

The person on the bed suddenly gasped sharply and painfully, reaching out to hold onto something, but grasped only empty air.

Wu Que watched Shen Wang’s brows furrowed in his sleep. After much consideration, he climbed back onto the bed and leaned gently against Shen Wang’s chest.