Chương 21: Chapter 21: For Your Sake

"...Detective Mary."

Once again, Lucian seemed to have found himself in a situation where escape was impossible — he did not even need to say anything, and Mary would still have the right to just question and apprehend him there and then because he was completely covered in blood.

"Why… are you covered in blood?" Mary came out of nowhere, just emerging from a lamp post that was thinner than her body — truly, some cultivators are already outside the jurisdiction of logic and common sense… but it wasn't like Lucian had a surplus of the latter anyway.

What he does know, however, is that Mary had the tendency to create her own stories, which were as far and away from the truth as possible. And so, the best thing to do here was to just stay silent.

"Why'd you even go in the slums, Mr. Zhang?" Mary squinted her eyes before not so subtly covering her nose as she approached Lucian while looking at him from head to toe, "Don't you know how dangerous it is there? And not to mention… dirty? I didn't even want to follow you inside even though it's my job."

"Your current job is to follow me, Detective Mary?" Lucian whispered out.

"Whaat…? That's crazy, no," Mary's eyes widened as she quickly shook her head several times, "Pft, why would that be my job? I meant I saw you earlier and wanted to say hi, but then you went inside the slums. You know… you know that I can't get there because I'm with the authorities, right? I'll create chaos once they realize I'm a detective."

"I see," Lucian nodded. He was about to walk away, but Mary seemed to want to say something as she not-so-subtly blocked his path.

"Can we—wait, is that meat?" Mary raised an eyebrow as soon as she saw the plastic bag that Lucian was carrying, "That… ew. Why are you even buying food from there? I did hear they have some delicacies, but… ack, they could have at least put it in a decent package. And don't you have a lot of money now from the bounty? Just go buy from the supermarket like a normal person."

"I… recently acquired a taste for a different type of cuisine, Detective Mary," Lucian glanced at Mary.

"What… type of meat is that anyway? Wait, no — please don't answer," Mary covered her mouth, "Ack, I think the most pleasant meat you'll get there is human meat. Ugh, I wouldn't be surprised if it was."

"You are right, Detective Mary."

"Eugh…" Mary gagged as soon as she heard Lucian's words, "...Please don't joke around like that, I feel like I'm gonna puke just from imagining it. And why are you even covered in blood?"

"I had to butcher it myself, Detective Mary," Lucian shrugged.

"Agh, talk about cutting costs. Although, I do have to say that they're efficient," Mary shivered as all thoughts came to her mind, "I wish I could say the same to the Heaven's Judgment sect, they can't even decide whether they'll officially change our name to Immortal Police to keep with the modern times, and…

…I'm yapping, aren't I?"

"Yes, you are, Detective Mary," Lucian answered without any hesitation.

"Well, that's your fault," Mary waved her hand and scoffed, "Anyway, I revealed myself because I actually have something to talk to you about."

"We are talking already, Detective Mary."

"Oh my god, you're so neurodivergent," Mary rolled her eyes at Lucian, "I wanted to—no. You…

I should probably go home and wash up first. I'll meet you outside your house because you, ack, are definitely not getting on my motorcycle like that."

Unfortunately for Lucian, Mary truly was waiting outside his apartment when he went home. Fortunately, Mary did not enter the apartment building at all and just waited for him to go back outside.

And while Lucian was taking a shower, he was deliberating on whether or not to just let Mary wait outside forever. But of course, that was not an option at all. And so, he could really only let out one big sigh after checking on Malenia and Maeve's condition before heading out to meet Mary again.

"What took you so long? Are you a woman?" Mary immediately complained as soon as she saw Lucian taking his sweet time approaching her, "I already ordered a cup of coffee and finished it while waiting for you."

"What did you want to talk about, Detective Mary?"

"Ugh, fine. Straight to the point," Mary then gestured for Lucian to follow her to the nearby coffee shop, which was only a few buildings away from Lucian's apartment building, "Do you want something?"

"I do not drink coffee," Lucian immediately rejected Mary's offer as soon as they stepped inside the cafe.

"Really? You look like you do… like a lot. Especially when I first saw you — you look a lot better now.

"Thank you for the compliment, Detective Mary," Lucian followed Mary and sat at the table, "Is my physical appearance the thing you wanted to talk about?"

"No, I wanted to talk about the physical appearances of your wife and child," Mary said with a straight face as she looked Lucian in the eyes. But as always, Lucian avoided her by just looking outside the cafe, "Mr. Lucian…

…let them die in peace. Wh—"

Mary had more to say, but as soon as she saw Lucian finally looking her in the eyes, the only thing she could really do was let out a very long and deep sigh.

"...I'm sorry if that came out wrong," Mary shook her head, "As a detective, I've seen a lot of normal people afflicted with the disease… but nothing could have prepared me for what I've seen in your apartment. Their conditions are the worst I've seen so far, and it's not even close…

…they are in pain."

"They are not," Lucian shook his head, "Those afflicted with the Rot are not capable of feeling pain, Detective Mary."

"I'm not talking about physical pain, Lucian…" Mary placed her palm on her chest, "...Can you imagine living life like that? Spending your last moments in bed without being able to move? It would be like you're trapped in your own body."

"I make sure that they are extremely comfortable," Lucian shook his head, "I give them medicine so they can live in their dreams happy."

"...You drug them?" Mary's eyes slightly twitched as she heard Lucian's words, "Sorry, but what kind of monster are you?"

"The kind that would do whatever it takes to cure them, Detective Mary."

"There is no cure for the Rot!" Mary stood up and raised her voice, causing the entire cafe to turn their attention toward them, "There… there is no cure for the rot."

Mary immediately calmed herself and sat back down, lowering her voice to a whisper as she leaned closer to Lucian, "Our analysts told me something curious, they told me that when they checked your family's condition… the oldest rotten flesh was from 3 years ago—is it possible that you—no…

…I'm sorry for raising my voice at you, Mr. Zhang. It was unprofessional."

"I think you have been unprofessional from the start, Detective Mary," Lucian said without any hesitation.

"That—"

"Well, I would say that I like that about you — you are honest."

"Wh—" Mary was about to say something but could not help but just keep her lips shut as she saw a very minuscule smile crawl onto Lucian's face. She had not really noticed it before, but Lucian's eyes were very blue and bright — if it wasn't for the bags around them and his stubble beard, then she knew he would definitely be quite handsome.

"Just like my wife."

"...Oh."

"That is why I suggest you do not look into me further, Detective Mary," Lucian placed his hands on the table, "For your own sake, stop following me."

"Pft. Who… who's following—ah, fuck. Yes, I am following you," Mary finally gave up subterfuge, "You happen to be a person of interest. What can I say, you are a very interesting and highly suspicious person."

"Then I would suggest stop being interested in me before it reaches to those high up in the Heaven's Judgment sect," Lucian shook his head, "That will get the both of us killed."

"Killed… by who?" Mary crossed her arms as she scoffed, "I would have you know…

…that my father is the Grand Elder of the Immortal Police."

Lucian's eyes slightly widened as soon as he heard Mary's words.

"What? So surprised now?" Mary scoffed even harder as she saw that.

"Yes," Lucian looked away, "I suppose it would make sense now how you even manage to become a detective, Detective Mary."

"What the—"

"I need to go, Detective Mary," Lucian then stood up and just left the table before Mary could say anything else, "My wife and daughter need me now."

"What—come back here, Lucian! You motherf—Agh!" Mary could really only sit back down in frustration as she watched Lucian leave the cafe. After a few seconds, however, she grabbed her phone and made a call,

"Robert, do you have the files I told you to get? Huh…

…what do you mean I'm being called to the main office?"