Chapter 85

— — Because Qi Xing and Jingo Rin were racing each other home by flying.

As a half-baked immortal, Qi Xing knew three different ways to fly: First, there was the cloud-soaring technique, which he naturally knew.

But the cloud-soaring of classical immortals and deities was usually not very fast.

Qi Xing couldn't do the somersault cloud either.

Flying by soaring on clouds wasn't fast; its only advantages were that it was energy-efficient and could carry passengers.

Secondly, Qi Xing also understood the wind-riding technique from Zhuangzi's "Free and Easy Wandering" — "Vast and expansive, as if riding the wind; floating and drifting, as if independent of the world."

How exactly did he ride the wind? It meant striding his legs in the sky, running while stepping on the air, zipping along incredibly fast — — even faster than a regular airplane!

Moreover, Qi Xing had abundant stamina; he could run like this in the sky for a full five days before needing to land.

It just looked a bit silly.

The last method, of course, was the Lightning-Speed Qi flight that Qi Xing liked to use during combat, propelling himself by emitting thunderous Qi from his body, possessing the swiftness of lightning.

However, this method consumed a lot of energy and could not be sustained indefinitely.

— — Right now, he and Jingo Rin were racing in the sky!

Jingo Rin spread her six wings of blazing fire.

Her flight posture was clean and sharp; she didn't look like a bird, but more like an arrow, a streak of scorching light cutting through the night.

And Qi Xing?

He used a much simpler and more brutal method, stepping on nothingness as if the air had solidified into an invisible celestial path for him.

He stomped fiercely in mid-air, each step booming with a "bang, bang, bang" sound!

Neither of them looked back.

Because they already had enough understanding of each other's strength, there was no need to turn back to confirm — — that person would definitely not be easily shaken off and would surely be following closely behind.

Finally, just by wind-running, Qi Xing could no longer keep up with Jingo Rin's speed.

So he chuckled and switched methods.

Thunderous Qi surged out from his body, and in an instant, his speed skyrocketed.

He became like a bolt of blue lightning, leaving Jingo Rin far behind in the blink of an eye.

"Surely that's not all the speed you have?"

He didn't turn back, simply tossing the words over his shoulder with a grin.

Jingo Rin, naturally, refused to be outdone.

Flapping her six wings in unison, amidst an explosion of firelight, she transformed into a red-gold meteor and caught up!

Despite such a violent mode of flight, she looked like a burning fire lotus in the night sky, not disheveled in the slightest.

Two beams of light — — thunder and fire — — crisscrossed through the sky, chasing one another, passing through night clouds, soaring over valleys, and sweeping past the nightscape of Aomori and the sparse stars.

They flew straight to Shingo Village, where the Jingo Family resided, a distance of about 150 kilometers.

For these two, it was nothing more than a bit of playful banter after finishing work.

Finally, it was time for the race to end.

The two swept over Shingo Village, with Qi Xing arriving a step ahead, though he suddenly slowed down and waited for two seconds above the rooftop.

Jingo Rin also retracted her fire wings at the right moment, her toes touching down lightly, landing quietly like a spark.

The moment they landed, both turned their heads simultaneously.

Their eyes met.

"Why did you want to play this kind of race with me?"

Jingo Rin asked suddenly.

"Because, just like you, I wanted to know how fast you could fly," Qi Xing answered directly.

"We don't have a chance to have a serious fight for now, so we should at least see how well we can fly."

"Are you treating this race as a warm-up, or are you flirting?"

"Do I look like someone who would flirt?"

"No." Jingo Rin frowned.

"It's truly incredible."

"You know me quite well." Qi Xing smiled.

Therefore, in summary, it was only natural that when Ayame, the Jingo Family's so-called maid and actual foster sister, saw Jingo Rin and Qi Xing returning together like this, her heart was naturally on the verge of collapse.

It's over… This man, this terrifying man — — he really is a lone phoenix who forms bonds with women everywhere he goes, ahhh!

What will happen to my young lady afterwards?!

What if she gets cursed to death by this star-crossed loner just like all the other women in his past?!

While wailing and feeling nervous in her heart, she couldn't show it on the surface, having to maintain a stiff, polite expression for receiving guests.

What made her even more devastated was that her master, her foster father, Jingo Rin's already unreliable dad, was now looking at Qi Xing with great interest, wondering what he was thinking.

Just a moment ago, when Qi Xing flew to the school to find Jingo Rin, Ayame had immediately reported the [incorrect information] regarding Qi Xing to Jingo Rin's father, Jingo Shinji.

She had originally been worried about what might happen if Qi Xing's destiny was too hard and he cursed their young lady to death.

Unexpectedly, after Jingo Shinji found out… he seemed to think it was quite amusing instead.

"Isn't that great?"

"Rin is getting older, she'll need to find a man eventually."

"Regardless of men or women, the matter of dating is just like hunting prey; naturally, the more challenging, the better."

He actually said that!

"Who would want to go catch a rabbit when they could hunt a dragon?"

Now that Jingo Rin and Qi Xing were flying back together, Jingo Shinji was even waiting specifically at the entrance to see what this kid was like.

This made Ayame feel even more stressed!

"Welcome, Mr. Qi."

Seeing Qi Xing and her young lady descend from the sky, Ayame tried hard to put on a welcoming smile and greeted him,

"I am already aware of the cooperation with the [Association]. I have also prepared the guest rooms for the three of you."

"Thank you."

When it was time to be polite, Qi Xing was not some rude boor.

He immediately thanked Ayame and was then led away by her.

Jingo Rin let out a breath, relaxed her shoulders, and was just about to head back to her own room… but her father called her to stop.

"Rin."

Seeing her unreliable father ask with a cheeky grin,

"Is this the man you picked?"

Jingo Rin: "???"

Although she had ways to remain calm in every situation, she was often at a loss when facing her own unreliable father, even a god-like figure like Jingo Rin often couldn't figure him out.

There was probably some logic in his heart, but to be honest, Jingo Rin had never been able to understand it from the beginning.

In short, it was impossible to use common sense to predict her father's actions.

So it took several seconds for Jingo Rin to realize what her father was asking, and she frowned: "It's not that exaggerated. I never thought about that kind of thing."

"You never thought about that?" Jingo Shinji laughed even more happily. "So just friends?"

"Just friends."

"Your first friend?"

Jingo Rin didn't answer, just nodded silently.

She hadn't had a friend since she was seven.

Ayame was certainly very good to Jingo Rin, but they couldn't be considered friends of equal status after all.

Although Jingo Rin would go to school, it was impossible for her to make friends there; if anything, Jingo Rin never had any intention of doing so.

As for why she still went to school, that was an entirely different matter.

On one hand, leaving the village gave her a place to take off her shrine maiden outfit and relax; on the other hand, as previously mentioned, schools in this world were hotspots for malicious supernatural events — — Jingo Rin went to school every day, which was essentially no different from a lion patrolling its territory.

She wasn't going to make friends.

After all, she couldn't make friends with things that would shatter if she hugged them too hard… could she?

"I see."

Her father stroked his chin, raising an eyebrow,

"That's fine too… After all, I don't really like that kid."

This remark finally made Jingo Rin somewhat surprised: "Huh?"

"That kid is too heavy." Jingo Shinji shrugged. "His head is full of complex things, like 'How do I change the world?' or 'I need to take responsibility,' and so on… Thinking about such heavy things every day, isn't he tired?"

"Rin, you don't need any heroic beliefs. A lion's nature is to be a lion. If you act according to your own nature, doing whatever you want, you are already a hero. If there are fools pointing fingers at what you do, you already know what to do anyway."

"As for that kid, although he looks [similar] to you, you are fundamentally completely different. Just like Superman and Batman — — you need to be careful; if you don't see this clearly beforehand, it will be very tiring if you get married later, you know?"

Jingo Rin was finally speechless.

"I don't have that kind of relationship with him. And Dad, if you clearly don't like him, why do you keep deliberately fanning the flames?"

"Because I am very tolerant of my daughter's standards for choosing a partner and her aesthetic tastes!" Her father clapped his hands, his tone carrying a hint of a smile, but not mockery. "Besides, your state for the past two years has been a bit stagnant."

"Now you have started to pay attention to other things. Whether it's making friends or dating, it's all about breaking through your original boundaries. As a father, how could I not be happy?"

After speaking, Jingo Shinji hummed a tune in his usual devil-may-care manner and walked away — — don't forget, he was the head chef of the Jingo Family hot spring inn, and now he was going to happily prepare a feast for Qi Xing and the others.

Jingo Rin sighed speechlessly, preparing to go back to her room, take off her shrine maiden outfit… and then go soak in the hot spring for a while.

The land of Shingo Village could be considered a place of good feng shui, located on a tributary of a spiritual vein in northeastern Japan that was particularly blessed by the heavens.

The hot springs contained the spiritual power of the earth, and for some reason, the Jingo Family's hot springs were particularly effective.

Even machines needed maintenance to avoid breaking down, let alone her, who was made of flesh and blood after all.

Anyway, let's go soak in the hot spring for a while.

— —

Although the Jingo Family's hot spring inn was old, it was extremely well-maintained, and the guest rooms were decorated with an elegant flair.

Pushing open the paper sliding door, one stepped onto the soft tatami mats, which had a faint scent of straw.

The air was so quiet that one could almost hear the flow of time, bringing a sense of peace as if being well-cared for.

A low table was placed by the window, with hot tea and snacks already prepared on it.

Around it were laid-out cushions.

A wooden clothes rack stood in the corner, next to which were yukata and towels for changing, clearly prepared for guests wanting to soak in the hot spring.

There were no paintings on the walls, only a clean shoji window that let in moonlight and the night breeze, and from afar, one could faintly hear the sound of the hot spring water flowing.

Elaine had already arrived.

However, her expression when looking at Qi Xing was a bit subtle.

"Qi Xing, did you have a good time playing with Miss Jingo?"

Even as dense as Qi Xing was, hearing his fiancée say such a thing, he immediately reacted: "No, no, no, Elaine, I promise I didn't cheat!"

"I'm not worried about cheating," Elaine sighed, frowning. "At least, not in the way ordinary people worry about it."

"Qi Xing… what do you think of Jingo Rin?"

This question was too difficult for Qi Xing to answer right now!

After all, no matter what, Elaine was the person he was scheduled to marry very soon!

But he was dumbfounded for a moment, then honestly admitted: "I quite like her — — don't misunderstand, not that kind of liking. But I really like her lifestyle, her style."

In his past life, Qi Xing knew many people who liked to brag about "strong maniacs."

But while "maniac" sounded cool at first glance, in reality, it was often done out of helplessness, making choices that best fit their inner selves, which to a large extent was just torturing themselves.

The Sea Tiger series had quite a bit of Buddhist Zen in it.

Being a "maniac" was not a healthy state of mind.

Qi Xing was also conflicted and distressed sometimes.

Sasa also mocked him about this from time to time.

But Jingo Rin?

She had no conflicts and no distress, no hesitation and no need for overthinking.

She wouldn't even worship or rely on him like the women Qi Xing had saved.

Because she herself was a completely self-actualized transcendent.

This kind of relationship was also something Qi Xing rarely experienced.

If Qi Xing were to make friends with Commander Gwendolyn, perhaps he would have a similar experience, but overall, it was still very different.

Besides, as a leader, the Commander of the Order of the Holy Lance had too many things to be conflicted and worried about.

They also didn't fully trust [Master Leipu].

"I'm a bit envious of her."

So Qi Xing said,

"A bit of admiration, basically that's it."

This remark made Elaine hesitate for a moment.

Then she said: "Qi Xing, if you also want to be like Jingo Rin, just guarding one place and maintaining the peace of a small or medium-sized country, you absolutely have the ability to do so."

Yes.

Qi Xing actually understood this logic too.

He had been thinking about this problem for the past two days.

But if that happened, he definitely wouldn't have time to collect the thirty silver coins.

Taking a step back, even without considering the matter of the thirty silver coins, Qi Xing couldn't help but think — — was it really good to stagnate in a state of safely protecting one area?

So he was just thinking about it.

So he was still thinking.

Just as Elaine was also thinking.

What was Elaine thinking?

Although she was a nun and a member of the clergy, her thoughts were actually always very realistic.

What she was thinking was — — since she, Elaine, was unable to fight and couldn't provide support to Qi Xing in battle other than knowledge and plans, she had to find a way to find a female hero teammate who could fight side-by-side with him, right?

As for what kind of relationship and form they would fight side-by-side in, that was another matter entirely.

Although Qi Xing couldn't tell what Elaine was thinking — — he couldn't possibly guess it, because it was too shocking — — he could at least tell that Elaine was worried.

Of course, he would only think in the direction of whether Elaine was jealous or worried, and immediately became even more nervous: "Elaine, I promise, don't overthink it — — I have you, and that's enough. I'm not the kind of scumbag who would want to start a harem, right?"

"Really?"

Sasa, who hadn't really spoken for a few hours, finally couldn't help but retort.

But Qi Xing ignored her.

In short, the atmosphere of the scene was a bit awkward now.

Finally, Elaine spoke first: "Let's not think about such complex problems today. Let's rest first. It just so happens that I also have intelligence and data that need to be organized."

She pointed to the computer screen, which displayed some classified cult data from the World War II era that had just been sent from the Papal Privy Council, and sighed somewhat wearily.

Don't look at how cool and stylish Qi Xing's fighting was; in reality, support staff were also very tired in places where people couldn't see.

Qi Xing had no choice but to nod.

Alright, let's rest for a bit.

Anyway, let him go soak in the hot spring first.

086: Hot Spring Episode