Book 3 Chapter 24 – Qing Qiaoqiao’s Plea

　　The room sank into a dead silence once again as each pondered about their own worries. Li Yiming was very distraught, because he realized for the first time that despite being much more able than an average person, he was still powerless, powerless to help Liu Meng, and powerless against any obstacles the domain might throw in his way. Instead of planning his progress like the other guardians, it seemed like he was always on the pa.s.sive end. His worries about Liu Meng also made him ponder about the right way to act in the future.

　　The silence was suddenly broken by Li Yiming's cellphone's ringing. Ever since Liu Meng's disappearance, Li Yiming had been paying more attention to his phone, hoping for a miracle. Zeng Qian looked at Li Yiming's brick-sized, extra-long battery life phone and wondered what kind of special purpose it served. An unknown number was shown on the caller's display, but Li Yiming swiped the screen without thinking about it.

　　"Li Yiming?" A nervous, almost crying voice came out of speakers.

　　"Qiaoqiao?" Li Yiming recognized her voice. 'How does she know my number? I don't remember giving it to her.' He realized she must probably have gotten it from Eyegla.s.ses.

　　"Yes! Help, we need help!" Qing Qiaoqiao seemed overjoyed about hearing Li Yiming voice, but it also sounded like she was going to burst into tears.

　　"What's wrong?" Li Yiming was a little disappointed by the fact that it was not Liu Meng, but Qing Qiaoqiao's distress woke him up from his low mood: it seemed like she was in trouble.

　　"Grandma's dead, Eyegla.s.ses's hurt badly and sis isn't waking up." Qing Qiaoqiao finally could not hold back the tears. She sobbed loudly as she told the bad news to Li Yiming.

　　"What? What happened?" Li Yiming jumped up from where he sat before he knew it. His sudden movement knocked over the water carafe. The object fell onto the soft tapestry and wet the floor around it. Although Fang Shui'er was close enough to stop the spill, she did nothing and also stood up in shock. The sound of Li Yiming's phone was loud enough such that she and Zeng Qian also heard what Qing Qiaoqiao said fairly easily. She remembered her from the restaurant at the start of the domain, but Qing Qiaoqiao had already gone back to her seat by the time she arrived, so she did not know much about her friends.h.i.+p with Li Yiming. 'By the looks of it, it seems like she's in trouble. I wouldn't think that Li Yiming would refuse to help her, but what about us? Do we want to take that risk?'

　　"My friends are in trouble, I need to go help them." As Fang Shui'er expected, Li Yiming put the phone back into his pocket and hurried toward the exit.

　　"Let's go together. Maybe we can help?" Zeng Qian stepped forward and proposed. She looked at her sister, who seemed hesitant about intervening.

　　"Thank you." Li Yiming noticed Fang Shui'er's indecision and knew the cause of it. He kept silent and walked toward the door. Fang Shui'er read her sister's intentions when their eyes crossed: 'How can we expect Li Yiming to help us out if we're not willing to help him out?'

　　The three arrived at the address Qing Qiaoqiao provided to them. Zeng Qian stepped off from the driver's seat with a mingled expression of surprise and amus.e.m.e.nt: it was the first time that she had driven a vehicle like that. She wanted to offer to have the hotel arrange for a car, but did not dare to run the risk of offending Li Yiming for his eccentricity. Now, more than ever, Li Yiming became someone incomprehensible to Zeng Qian at least.

　　The person who came to answer the door was an old man whose empty eyes gave away the fact that Qing Qiaoqiao had used her talent on him. Li Yiming pushed the door open and entered inside promptly. The first person he saw was Eyegla.s.ses. He was sitting on the sofa with his face full of sweat and his left hand around his right shoulder. All that remained below his right shoulder was a b.l.o.o.d.y mess. He had his right leg on the tea table and his left bionic leg was on the ground, broken beyond recognition. Qing Qiaoqiao dove into Li Yiming's embrace when she saw him and cried her heart out.

　　"It's okay, it's okay." Li Yiming patted her back gently, but could not find the words to comfort her. He looked at Eyegla.s.ses and was answered with a faint smile.