How on earth can a “seed” be considered well raised?

On the way to see Jiang Zhaoyan, Qi Cong had been thinking about this question.

He sat in the back seat of the cab with his hat on, his backpack on his lap, and his hand gently stroking the outline of the dagger through the fabric of the backpack. His head tilted slightly as he looked out of the window at the busy streets.

From the memories he had peeked into, it seemed that the Taskmaster was trying to make the “Seed” fall in love with him, or rather make the “Seed” develop a strong emotional connection to him.

In one of the memory fragments, the Taskmaster once told his colleague that “…after eight worlds, the ‘seed’ has almost been nurtured so its feelings are no longer difficult to catalyze. This makes the difficulty much less.” The Taskmaster said something like that. He also said that the “seed” was cold and heartless by nature.

So the Taskmaster wanted to make the “seed” less cold by giving them his heart and dedicating effort in every life?

In the analogy of planting crops, the Taskmaster’s dedication was nourishment. He wanted to use it to catalyze the feelings of the “seed,” which was cold by nature, so he needed to nourish those feelings. Then, when the feelings of the “seed” have grown to a certain level under the nourishment of life after life, then would the “seed” be considered well nourished?

Was it like this? What was the use of the “seed” after it had been raised?

From the conversation between the Taskmaster and his colleague, it seemed that the Taskmaster was very sure that the “seed” would be raised well in this world. This also seemed to be the Taskmaster’s last task opportunity. If he failed, his work up until now would be in vain.

The place where the task could be done at ease seemed to have been damaged. So in this life, Jiang Zhaoyan was the only chance for the Taskmaster to be reborn.

Qi Cong’s hand stroking the outline of the dagger unconsciously stiffened and turned into a grip on the corner of the dagger.

Reborn?

The Taskmaster was going to ruin his life for his own new life?

“Yo, does Nanyang Business District have any activities today? Why are there so many flowers and balloons? It looks so strange in late summer.”

The words of the driver in the front seat made Qi Cong return from his dark thoughts. The hand holding the dagger jerked loose, and he instinctively looked toward the car window to look out.

In the big square of the crowded shopping district, large aqua blue flowers and balloons hovered around the square on decorative pillars. Through the silver-white ribbons above,  a water-blue  decorative backdrop was built at the top of the square, exquisite and magnificent. Very beautiful.

Under the dome at the very center, a musical fountain was slowly spraying water and water flowed in a very fine tune. In the shadow of the dome against blue light it looked like night rain.

Qi Cong’s eyes widened. He hurriedly lowered his head and raised his hand to press his hat downward. Then he said to the driver, “How can I get to this address?”

“Ah?” The driver looked a little confused. “If you want to go to Nanyang Road, you must go this route or you’ll make a big circle.”

Qi Cong was stunned for a moment then picked up his cell phone and opened the navigation app to have a look. He found out that the meeting place Jiang Zhaoyan had chosen was actually near Nanyang Cinema.

Coincidence, or heavenly plan?

Or it was just another bad joke.

There was a traffic light ahead. The cab stopped and Qi Cong couldn’t help but look towards that square again. Because of the angle, he unexpectedly saw the Nanyang Cinema sign hanging on the outer wall of a building on the south side of the square, with a big poster of “Heaven Asked?”

The man in black, holding a sword stood at the top of the flagpole, his face mostly covered by a hat, revealing only a little of the jaw line.

Qi Cong stared at the poster, remembering Gu Xun’s words on the phone yesterday: “See you soon.”

Imagining Gu Xun waiting near this building somewhere in misery made him blurt out, “Stop the car.”

“Hmm?” When the red light passed, the driver was about to start driving again. He looked at Qi Cong in the rearview mirror. “Are you afraid that I can’t turn around before the traffic jam ahead? It’s all right. The corner for the south road is closed and since it’s already the afternoon, it shouldn’t be blocked.”

Qi Cong returned to his senses and realized what he had said. Even so, the words that came out: “It’s all right, just let me out here. I was just going to do some shopping at the mall. “

Two minutes later, the taxi stopped at the west corner of the Nanyang Business Square. After Qi Cong paid the taxi driver he pushed the door open and got out of the car, then he looked in the  direction of Nanyang Cinema.

On the weekend, people come and go from the business square. Many people holding their mobile phones were taking pictures of the balloon flowers above.

Unlike the lively square, the side with the entrance to Nanyang Cinema was empty. There was a sign hanging on it saying business was suspended.

Suspension of business… because of Gu Xun?

Qi Cong dropped his eyes and took a step to the side.

The prelude of “A New Life” suddenly sounded, making Qi Cong jerk to a halt. Turning his head toward the sound, he was stunned to find that the MV of “A New Life” was suddenly broadcasted on the outdoor advertising screen which was playing various advertisements and movie promos.

“Eh? This song….”

“You know this song, it’s very popular these days. The singer is called Qi Cong… Heard that Shen Jia… even Gu Xun…”

Not far away, two girls heard the song, stopped and looked in the direction of the cinema. After a short talk they walked away. Qi Cong was surprised by their words. He looked at them, and then looked at the poster of “Heaven Asked”on the outer wall of the cinema and then at the advertising screen.

His work and Gu Xun’s work were next to each other, as if he had really regained his strength and stood by Gu Xun’s side.

But it was just a self-flattering deception.

He can never be around Gu Xun again.

The emotions inside Qi Cong dropped a little bit as he took out his phone and took a picture of the advertising screen and the poster of “Heaven Asked?” Then he looked at the picture for a few seconds before turning around and leaving without looking back.

The meeting place with Jiang Zhaoyan was a relatively quiet tea shop. Qi Cong walked up to the second floor of the tea shop with the waiter and before he entered the room, he said to the waiter, “Please pay attention to this place later.” 

Hearing this, the waiter froze as Qi Cong pushed open the door and stepped inside.

Jiang Zhaoyan sat inside and looked over at the sound. His hair was a little long like it hadn’t been trimmed for some time, but his clothes were very sophisticated and clean. He was habitually wrinkled and used the arrogance and strength of the superior role.

Edited by: Antiope1

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