chapter 4
# 04 The Hermit Crab
City nights have no stars.
Gu Qing had once wandered through rural villages, and his favorite thing was sitting under a tree with a can of beer, looking up at the stars scattered across the mountains. Since coming to the city, with its flickering neon lights and hurried pedestrians, everything felt too fast to him.
As the New Year approached, fortunately the buses were still running. Gu Qing carried Lu Qianqian’s sound equipment used for singing, while Lu Qianqian had her guitar on her back as they boarded the bus together. The bus wasn’t crowded. He chose a window seat and opened the window slightly, letting the cold wind blow in.
The street scenes slowly receded before him as he stared out, lost in thought, until Lu Qianqian gently tugged his hand and said softly, “We’re almost there.”
Gu Qing snapped back to reality and stood up to get off the bus with Lu Qianqian.
Before them was an old residential complex in City A, looking somewhat dilapidated. Gu Qing liked this type of neighborhood—security guards wouldn’t chase him away for opening treasure chests here. Lu Qianqian led him to the building entrance. First, she went to a convenience store and bought towels, toothbrushes, cups, and even men’s underwear, before taking Gu Qing upstairs.
Her home was on the sixth floor, a rented apartment with the key hidden under the doormat.
“Aren’t you afraid of thieves hiding the key there?” Gu Qing unusually asked an extra question.
“There’s nothing valuable left at home…” Lu Qianqian’s voice was soft as she opened the door.
The small two-bedroom apartment indeed had no valuable items left, but it was exceptionally clean and tidy. Gu Qing followed her inside and added, “Maybe you’re the most valuable thing here?”
Lu Qianqian froze for a moment, then slowly turned to look at him, her dark eyes now showing a hint of fear.
Only then did Gu Qing realize his joke was inappropriate. It might have seemed like nothing to him, but for Lu Qianqian, suddenly having a strange young man her age staying in her home was indeed quite unsettling.
Gu Qing scratched his head and said, “Don’t worry, I’ll just stay for a month or two. When the weather isn’t so cold anymore, I’ll leave.”
Lu Qianqian’s dark eyes were still seriously examining his, staring at him for several more seconds before she looked away. Her eyes softened into gentleness and compliance. “You can stay longer if you want.”
Eyes always reflect a person’s heart. Lu Qianqian was always sensitive, accustomed to distinguishing good from evil in a person’s gaze. But whenever she looked into Gu Qing’s eyes, she felt an inexplicable sense of security that she couldn’t quite explain.
Lu Qianqian led him to the door of a room and said softly, “You can sleep in this bed. This is my mother’s room… I’ll find you some of my brother’s old pajamas.”
With that, Lu Qianqian turned and left. After a while, she returned with cotton pajamas and placed them on the bed, saying softly, “You can take a shower first. I’ll make dinner.”
Gu Qing picked up the pajamas and the brand-new underwear Lu Qianqian had just bought him, thinking that girls raised by women truly had more sensitive and delicate thoughts. He went to the somewhat cramped bathroom as the sound of the stove being lit came from the kitchen.
Gu Qing didn’t turn on the hot water. He was the type who, when the mood struck, could jump into a lake for winter swimming. Hot or cold water didn’t matter much to him. After thoroughly washing and cleaning the dirt off his body, he took the brand-new towel to dry himself and looked at the mirror in front of him.
In the mirror, his chest had many scar-like marks, similar to the scars on his wrists.
After changing into fresh clothes, he came out of the bathroom. In the kitchen, Lu Qianqian was wearing a pink apron, cooking with practiced movements. He sat quietly at the table waiting until Lu Qianqian brought out the dishes—stir-fried tomato and eggs, and shredded pork with carrots.
Gu Qing took a bowl and tasted a bite, feeling that home-cooked meals were indeed better than food outside. Lu Qianqian held her bowl, eating in small bites. Neither of them said anything, just eating quietly.
Outside the window, it was already dark.
Gu Qing ate two bowls of rice without wasting a single grain. He also finished both dishes on the table. After eating his fill, he collapsed contentedly in his chair. Lu Qianqian, still wearing the apron, took her bowl to the kitchen and began washing the dishes.
Gu Qing watched her profile through the open kitchen door, thinking how virtuous she was.
Of course, he had no intention of getting up to wash the dishes himself. He could cook, but washing dishes was a different story.
After finishing the dishes, Lu Qianqian hesitated for a moment before asking softly, “Do you want to watch TV?”
“Sure.”
So Lu Qianqian turned on the TV for him. The TV was playing an exaggerated, abstract variety show. Gu Qing sat happily on the small sofa watching TV, while Lu Qianqian sat at a table not far away with a workbook, diligently starting on her winter vacation homework.
The world suddenly became very quiet, with only the frenzied laughter from the variety show on TV. Gu Qing occasionally turned to look at Lu Qianqian nearby, always seeing her slightly furrowed brow as she stared blankly at the workbook on the table.
“Need some tutoring?” he suddenly asked.
Lu Qianqian was startled and tilted her head.
—
Lu Qianqian was in her second year of high school, eighteen years old.
But she found it hard to imagine why Gu Qing, who was only a year older than her and had been wandering for several years, could solve her math problems. He easily explained those obscure and difficult questions to her in very simple ways.
After finishing the problems, Lu Qianqian secretly glanced at his profile, her mind wandering.
After a while, she finally asked softly, “How do you know all this?”
“I had already completed these courses before I ran away from home.” Gu Qing tapped his head and smiled gently at her.
“Ran away from home?”
“Yes, I used to have a home too. Later, my family loved my sister too much and didn’t care for me, so I angrily ran away. It’s been several years since I went back, but they probably don’t care much anyway.”
Lu Qianqian wanted to ask more, but seeing that Gu Qing seemed unwilling to mention it further, she didn’t press. She just said thank you softly.
“It’s nothing. Since you’re letting me stay, I can spare time to teach you every day.” Gu Qing grinned, but Lu Qianqian’s expression was now very serious. “Really… thank you.”
Her mother was Lu Qianqian’s only support in this world. For the past two years, the thought of her mother leaving her had made her tremble with fear. But now, because of Gu Qing, the Alliance had firmly promised her that her mother would wake up in at most a year, and all her illnesses would vanish without a trace. At this moment, she still felt a sense of unreality, as if waking from a dream.
“It’s nothing,” Gu Qing just smiled.
“You and that lady…” Lu Qianqian hesitated.
So Gu Qing candidly told her about what had happened the day before yesterday. After hearing the story, Lu Qianqian’s eyes lit up slightly. “You’re a superhuman too?”
“I’m the weakest of the weak, E-class.” Gu Qing smiled helplessly. “I can only speak three sentences of demon language per day.”
“Then why… don’t you want to join the Alliance?” Lu Qianqian asked curiously.
The Alliance was City A’s largest official organization for ability users, maintaining stability throughout the city. Joining the Alliance meant instantly entering a privileged circle, a position everyone dreamed of.
“Don’t just listen to what that woman says. The Alliance not only hunts demons but also has to watch out for various rebel organizations among humans. The mortality rate is high—it’s very dangerous.”
“Then it’s definitely better not to join,” Lu Qianqian nodded lightly.
The night outside was growing darker. Many lights in the building across from them had already gone out. Even Lu Qianqian herself involuntarily yawned. Gu Qing spoke softly, “Go to sleep.”
“Then… I’ll take a shower first.”
“Okay, I’ll watch TV a bit longer.”
Gu Qing sat on the sofa, watching the flickering images on the TV screen, feeling a bit dazed at the moment.
Perhaps “home” has different meanings for humans. When he arrived at this small concrete cage, he felt his bones growing warm, no longer as cold as when he was outside.
The sound of water splashing came from the bathroom. After a while, Lu Qianqian came out wearing fluffy pink pajamas that covered her slender body completely. She looked cute, with her delicate white feet in fluffy pink slippers, showing only a small section of snow-white ankle.
Gu Qing turned off the TV and said softly, “You can go back to your room. I’ll turn off the lights.”
Lu Qianqian responded with a soft sound and obediently returned to her room. Gu Qing turned off the living room lights and walked to the door of the room that was temporarily his, gently closing the door.
—
At night.
Ji Yueling sat in front of her computer, her face illuminated by the cold light.
She was looking at a chat window on the screen, with a recording and her typed message.
“Professor, please help me listen to this recording.”
“This is the language of demons. Demon language differs from human language; they rely on a special kind of vibration to distinguish meaning. Therefore, even if humans imitate the syllables and produce sounds that seem identical to human ears, demons wouldn’t understand.”
“Then could the professor translate the meaning of this passage for me?”
“This will take some time. I’ll get back to you in six hours.”
After receiving the message, Ji Yueling turned off the computer, returned to bed, and wrapped herself tightly in the quilt. Her eyes gazed at the ceiling, but she instinctively frowned slightly.
For some reason, she vaguely felt that the young man called Gu Qing was somewhat strange. This strangeness stemmed from the look in his eyes when he first saw the Green Sickle Demon. Ji Yueling was particularly sensitive to gazes, and she distinctly remembered that there was no fear or fright in that look; instead, it revealed a trace of inexplicable… compassion.
She couldn’t tell if she had been hallucinating due to excessive tension at the time, but that look had been frequently appearing in her mind lately.
Why would a human feel compassion for a demon? Or was he sad for the humans killed by the Green Sickle Demon? Ji Yueling wrapped herself in the quilt and dozed off drowsily. The next morning, when she woke up, she received a reply from the professor across the ocean.
“The translation of this recording is very brief.”
“Leave City A, or die.”