Chapter 86: 4.23 Third Blue Star - Regret

Metropolitan Headquarters. Supernatural Investigation Department. Office of the Chief. The main group had gathered in Yi Zheng's Office. The interior of the office is designed with minimalism decors. There are few records on the shelves sticking on the walls. A small table at the center surrounded with couches where guests could take their seats. Not far away is Yi Zheng's personal table which is now covered with piles of papers. It was obvious that it's an undone paperwork. As soon as this little group of four entered the room, Hei Lan jumped on the only couch covered in thick blankets and laid on it while hugging a huge pillow placed on the chair. This part of the office is customized to accommodate this OCD-ic person. No one else but Hei Lan and Xie Ye sat on that couch. Hei Lan expected Xie Ye to sit at the other end of the couch where he usually stays but unfortunately that this time Xie Ye instead walked passed the couch where Hei Lan sits and sat on the other free couch that is a bit far from Hei Lan. Seeing this, Hei Lan's trademark smile fades as he stares at Xie Ye who had suddenly widened the distance between them. He is now treating Hei Lan as a stranger. Tension and silence ascended in the area especially between Hei Lan and Xie Ye. As the cause of this situation Yi Zheng felt guilty. He was reluctant to enter his own office for the first time. Li Xing seeing his lover's situation had no other choice but to pat his back in comfort and gestured to him to get inside as they still had serious business to talk about. Taking a seat on the free couch, the couple waited for Hei Lan to speak. Sighs~ Hearing Hei Lan's sigh in that quiet office made Yi Zheng flinch. It was an instinctive action. They watched Hei Lan stand up, walk towards a shelf, and take a file from it. On his way, he took a few Post-it notes and a pen off Yi Zheng's table and then returned to the table, completely ignoring Xie Ye this time. He has no smile, not even an expression on his face. There is only seriousness, coldness, and detachment. Seeing this, Xie Ye, who was observing him secretly, gripped his hands into fists. He felt an unbearable pain in his chest, which was now full of anxiety and agitation. He knew he was wrong to suddenly ignore Hei Lan before clarifying his feelings. But he couldn't let himself like someone else aside from Gui Lan. He could only sacrifice Hei Lan to establish his loyalty towards his feelings for Gui Lan. Hei Lan placed the files he took and left them open on the table. "This is the exact location of Inferno's Headquarters." Hei Lan pointed at the map and pictures from the file. Yi Zheng's eyes widened in disbelief. After all the location Hei Lan pointed to is the the Head State Palace. The Eternal Palace where the president lives. "Is this true?" exclaimed Yi Zheng in shock. This time, even Xie Ye and Li Xing's faces were dark with skepticism. Xie Ye asked, "How sure are you?" "100%. I'm willing to bet my life on it if it's not there," replied Hei Lan, but he never met Xie Ye's eyes at that moment. His gesture of plainly ignoring him and his careless attitude towards him made Xie Ye frown, but he didn't say anything. They've watched Hei Lan scribble something on the post it note on his lap as he speaks but their attention is still on the files placed on the top of the table. "They have lots of espers on their side and a numerous amount of modern weapons in their possession as well. You should make preparations. " Li Xing looked at Hei Lan. "Is there any suggestion, Sir Hei?" he asked. "There is. Make preparations to capture the Li Family, especially Li Guang, secretly. He is a traitor, and he works for Inferno. This is the real agenda behind his reason for joining SID," said Gui Lan. Li Xing's expression turned extremely ugly at this information. He knew that there is a reason for Li Guang to be able to join SID despite his Li Family getting kicked out of the City. No wonder the Gui Clan who is lead by the Prime Minister himself wasn't able to stop the Li Family from returning back in this place. It was because they had the backing of the president that the minister's household couldn't tussle with them. "I will make the preparations," said Yi Zheng as he held his lover's hands in comfort. Seeing this gesture, Hei Lan's eyes couldn't help but show envy towards their love. When Xie Ye saw this, the pain in his heart was unendurable. It was like someone was stabbing it directly. It made the confusion in his mind deeper. "Good. A'Xing stay with your lover. I will handle the preparation with the Institute. Focus on the Li Family first. You should schedule the date when you will raid the Eternal Palace. Just send me a message and I will send the reinforcement after you." said Gui Lan. "Sir Hei. Thank you." Said Li Xing. Hei Lan pats his head for a while with a smile which disappears immediately after his hand leaves the head of Li Xing. He continues to speak. "I will take a rest for today and tomorrow. Inform me if all preparation on this side is complete. I would also stop helping with the other cases for now." Placed the papers and pen on the table. "I guess this will be all for today. Good work," said Hei Lan. He didn't even wait for the rest to speak after him and stood up. He left the office without looking back. They could even see his back straight and there is no hesitation in his strides. Once he left, the office was once again befallen with quietness. No one speaks. Because everyone knows that the current situation is too serious for them to worry about other things. Seeing that his lover had something to say to Xie Ye, Li Xing chose to excuse himself from the room. He cleaned up the table and took the scribbles and trash Hei Lan had left. Li Xing said, "I will have someone check on the situation with Li Guang and the Li Family. The two of you should take your time to talk." he said. Yi Zheng nodded at his lover as he held his hands. "Wait for me in your office. I will bring you home after work." Li Xing smiled and replied, "Okay. I will wait for you." After that, he left the office. Yi Zheng and Xie Ye, who were left inside the room, had a serious conversation. It was Yi Zheng who spoke first. "Dage, aren't you a bit too insensitive?" his expression was serious when he said this. Xie Ye sighed. His face looked calm, but within his eyes was chaos he couldn't comprehend. "This is better. I will slowly distance myself from Hei Lan. I choose Gui Lan so there is no space for others. Don't convince me otherwise cause it will be no use." replied Xie Ye. A sardonic smile appeared on Yi Zheng's face as he held his forehead. "No you are not insensitive. You are just a cruel bastard." said Yi Zheng. "Yes. I am a cruel person. You should be used to it by now," replied Xie Ye, mocking himself as he combed up his hair to control his frustrations. Out of nowhere, the door of the office was forcefully opened by someone. They saw an aghast Li Xing by the door holding a post-it note in his hand. There was disbelief and shock in his eyes as he looked around the room, especially at Xie Ye. Yi Zheng calls, "Xing'er?" Li Xing moved his eyes to his lover and ran towards him, showing the post for him to read himself. There are three post-it notes in Li Xing's hand; two are opened. He opened it because it was a note left for him and Yi Zheng. These post-it notes were the ones Hei Lan had scribbled with just a few moments ago. Post It #1: 'By the way, the identity of your Reaper is the man in front of you. You should clarify things with him. I lied on our first meeting that I didn't see the appearance of the Reaper. I saw Xie Ye. Wearing all black clothes from head to toe. With his long grey hair tied up with a single band and his bloody red irises glowing under the moonlight. Xie Ye is your dear reaper~' Post It #2: 'I will take a vacation for a while. It takes a few days or a week, I guess. You could contact Yun Li while I'm not around.' Yi Zheng's eyes widened in shock when he saw what was written on the paper. The couple looked at Xie Ye, who was looking at them with bewilderment. "What is it?" asked Xie Ye. Yi Zheng passed the first post-it note to Xie Ye to let him read the contents. But after reading it, the only reaction they got from Xie Ye was that he raised his eyebrow, showing he was a bit startled, but only that. "So he knew. Can only feel remnant emotions is a lie. He should be able to see through past events as he wishes. His special ability shouldn't be Empathic Retrocognition but the high-level cognition skill to see past events. Retrocognition," said Xie Ye. Li Xing and Yi Zheng looked at him with widened eyes. Yi Zheng even started to point at him. Xie Ye slapped his finger down. "Stop point. That's rude," said Xie Ye. Yi Zheng said. "Dage, you are the Reaper!?" "Yes," replied Xie Ye straightforwardly. "Xu Lun works for me. A' Yun seems to have noticed it ahead of time because of his lover. It is you two who took too long to notice it was me." "T-Then those people who've killed are all..." said Li Xing. "External executives of Inferno from the external branches I've destroyed. I couldn't openly help you because they got an eye over me," replied Xie Ye as he hid the written post-it note by Hei Lan. He didn't even notice why he did that. Not only that, he was even eyeing the rest of the post it on Li Xing's hand. "What is written on the rest?" asked Xie Ye. "Well... Just an ordinary informative message." said Li Xing as he passed the second post it note, they've already finished reading. Xie Ye took it and read the contents with contemplation. Then he saw Li Xing pass a closed third post it note with his name label on it. "This is the third on. I didn't open it. Since it was for you." said Li Xing. Xie Ye took the post it note and read the contents. After reading the last paper the expression on his face turned uglier and gloomy. Xie Ye crumples the post it notes and hides it in his coat's inner pocket with the other two post it. He then prepares to take his leave. "I will make preparations on my side too. We will meet again here in 3 days." said Xie Ye who walked away from the office in huge strides. Yi Zheng and Li Xing looked at each other confusedly. They didn't know what was written on the last note. But based on Xie Ye's hideous expression after reading the contents, what was written must be personal and something that made Xie Ye extremely unhappy. "Xing'er, what do you think is written on that post-it note?" asked Yi Zheng. Li Xing replied. "Must be something personal between the two of them. Xie-ge didn't choose Hei Lan." "I know, right~ Forget it; if something is wrong, Dage is definitely at fault," said Yi Zheng. On the other hand, Xie Ye, who is walking alone in an empty corridor in the middle of the night, has an ugly expression on his face. Something in his mind was whispering. It was Ye Xiajie's voice. During those 15 years, that man called Ye Xiajie woke up and almost killed him. He said that it was his fault that Lan'er is in that state. He (Ye Xiajie) was saying that if I (Xie Ye) were not him, he would have eliminated me. Saying things he couldn't understand. That was the last dream where I met Ye Xiajie. I stopped dreaming about him. I thought he was gone for good since I've grown up. But lately, since I've met Hei Lan Ye, Xiajie's voice can be heard somewhere in my head. No, it was directly coming out of his soul. Saying things like: "You are not allowed to make him angry." "You are not allowed to make him hungry." "You are not allowed to make him sad." "You are not allowed to let others touch him." "You are not allowed to let him be harmed." "You are not allowed to let him escape." "If he's gone, you and I will be nothing." Now, he has been hearing Ye Xiajie's voice loudly in his mind. "You made him sad. Follow him." "You are at fault because you hurt him." "Look for him before he disappears again." "If he chooses to leave, then we will not be able to see him again. Not here and never in the future." Xie Ye held his head as it was aching too unbearably that he wanted to smash it on the wall. Just as when he thought he would go crazy in pain, Xie Ye suddenly stopped holding his head then he took out the crumpled post he hid in his coat just now and read it once again. The contents of the post are just one sentence. "You'll regret that you've rejected me." Xie Ye intently looked at the crumpled paper in his palms and gently smoothed it. His movements were so careful, as if afraid of tearing the note. He then folds it in half and hides it once again in his inner pocket. Then he uttered in that dark hallway, "I'm already regretting it, Jing'er~" he said when he looked at the scenery beyond the window a huge moon was peering on him. Xie Ye's crimson eyes were slowly tainting with hints of darkness. Within this darkness are endless stars and galaxies. This man is not the original Xie Ye alone. He is now both Xie Ye and Ye Xiajie. Both soul fragments were now trying to merge as one.