Fen Lei was eventually able to find the office of Yu Hyarin. He knocked on the door and heard a man inside respond, "You may come in."
He carefully slid the wooden door open and entered the office. He looked around as he walked until his eyes landed on the gentleman standing near the window. This was Yu Hyarin, the ruler of the Lingmell region.
Yu Hyarin shifted his gaze to Fen Lei, and a surprised look appeared on his face. However, it was only for a moment and was quickly followed by a gentle smile. "I am guessing you have come here to retrieve your weapon."
Fen Lei bowed his head. "Leader Yu is correct, and this commoner wishes to apologize for disrupting the leader's time."
Yu Hyarin's smile slowly faded and he fell silent as he looked at Fen Lei. He then averted his gaze, and his smile reappeared, but this time it was crestfallen. "Apology is unnecessary. Gentleman Li has caused no disruption."
The most respected people in the region were Yan Shiren and Yu Hyarin, but these two were diametrically opposite when it came to their personalities. Yan Shiren was abrasive and frightening, whereas Yu Hyarin was benign and tender. His delicate facial features gave him the appearance of a harmless person who had never known anger. If choosing a leader was based solely on how intimidating a candidate was, Yu Hyarin would lose, and either Shin Lu or Yan Shiren would emerge victorious.
Yu Hyarin reached for the bow resting on the wooden shelf and handed it to Fen Lei. "Rules are rules that everyone must conform to and never disobey. Gentleman Li certainly does not want his weapon to be confiscated again. I hope he has learned his lesson."
The bow was rather heavy, silver in color, and exquisitely adorned with jade stones. Fen Lei remembered the black bow Li Yuan had used in the underworld. "So he has two bows," he thought.
Fen Lei bowed his head again. Naturally, he had no idea what Yu Hyarin was talking about or what sort of trouble Li Yuan had caused before his bow had been confiscated, but he had to pretend and play his role. "This commoner will keep in mind the words of Leader Yu and not repeat the same mistake."
Yu Hyarin sat down at his desk and opened a wooden scroll. "If Gentleman Li has no further concerns, he may now leave."
Fen Lei bowed his head one last time and left the office.
"How strange, if he really is Li Yuan's old friend, why does he seem uncomfortable in my presence?" he mumbled as he walked. A split second later, his eyes widened. "Did he perhaps find out about my identity? No way, that is impossible."
His face eventually relaxed as he remembered the moment his gaze met Yu Hyarin's. "Was it just my imagination, or did he have a sad look in his eyes?"
A radiant smile appeared on his lips when he finally exited the headquarters. He strolled through the busy streets, stopping at each store and stall to take a look at the goods on offer. There were pots, wooden and clay-made cookware, lucky charm figurines, exorcism talismans and amulets, medicines and herbs, cooking ingredients, accessories, and so on.
This kind of environment was refreshing. In this world, he did not have to wear a mask whenever he went outside. He did not have to dress up and put on make-up. He did not have to be concerned about money. Nonetheless, he could not help but be nostalgic about his previous life. He missed going to the malls. He missed his job. He missed using the phone. He missed playing online games. He missed buying anything he wanted to buy.
He had led a normal life as Fen Lei. However, the dullness and coldness this normal life of him had made him unwilling to return, even if given the opportunity. It was like a locked door that he could open at any time, but even if he had the key, he would rather throw it than use it to unlock this door.
Then what made him agree to return to the mortal realm? Was it not his desire to seek justice for his death that motivated him?
In fact, he never truly cared about it. What would the point of this justice be if he despised the world and his life in the first place?
He had agreed to Li Yuan's favor for no particular reason other than it sounded interesting. He was like a stray dog, mindlessly munching on anything edible that seemed to fill his stomach, unconcerned with the dangers it could bring him.
He suddenly felt the emptiness in the pit of his stomach upon spotting a restaurant in the distance. With twinkling eyes, he dashed to the restaurant's entrance, but came to a halt when he realized he did not have enough money in his purse.
He sat near the entrance with a disgruntled face and opened his belt-hung purse, fishing out the remaining five coins. He sighed and muttered, "That brat should have thought about giving me money at the very least. I should be compensated for recovering his crush's weapon!"
As he observed the busy people around him, Fen Lei rested his chin on his palm and made a heavy-eyed face. His stomach growled even louder as he inhaled the mouthwatering aroma of food emanating from the restaurant.
"So the Genius Archer of Angu-An is here today."
Fen Lei looked at the vegetable vendor who was stationed in front of the restaurant under the large tree. This elderly man was looking at him. He pointed to himself to confirm that he was the one being spoken to, and the elderly man nodded in response.
"It is you, of course. Is there anyone else here who has that name besides you? And why are you here? The opening ceremony of the archery competition has already begun," replied the vendor.
"The Genius Archer of Angu-An?" mumbled Fen Lei, remembering Li Yuan's battle with the soul filtrators. "Based on that, I would say he is extremely skilled at archery. It is no wonder he was given such a name."
"What are you mumbling about?"
Fen Lei looked at the old man. "Ah, it is nothing. You mentioned that the opening ceremony of the archery competition has started. Where is it being held now?"
"Where else? Most likely in the usual place," answered the vendor.
"Usual place?"
"You sound like a newcomer to this city with your question. It is probably being held now in the archery court behind the headquarters. Wait, you did not enter the contest?"
Fen Lei stood up and smiled confidently at the vendor. "I am afraid those who compete against me will end up crying if I participate in the competition."
The vendor gave a short laugh as he watched Fen Lei walk away. "Young people nowadays are vainglorious. Well, I cannot argue with that, for that gentleman has truly something to brag about."
The archery competition, which was held every year at the end of summer, had been the introductory part of Lingmell's autumn festival, and Li Yuan, who had entered the competition at the age of twenty-two, had won it seven years in a row.
Fen Lei arrived at the archery court and made his way through the crowd of people awaiting the start of the competition. On the other side of the court, where the participants from different clans were separately lined up, he spotted Se Ran, Ru Jun, and Rin Han.
Three consecutive sounds from a large drum silenced the entire place, and the speaker announced the arrival of Yu Hyarin, Yan Shiren, and Shin Lu.
Fen Lei still had not gotten over what Shin Lu had said earlier, and the more he looked at him, the more these words echoed in his mind.
"Bacteria are not permitted to communicate with me."
"Shameless."
"Disgustful."
He frowned in irritation, but his frown vanished when their eyes met. Shin Lu's indifferent face made his blood boil, and he could not help but raise his middle finger at him. Shin Lu, on the other hand, was unconcerned. He simply shifted his gaze to the participants, as if he had not seen Fen Lei. Or rather than being unconcerned, he might not have understood what Fen Lei meant by the middle finger.
It was only their first encounter, and Fen Lei had already developed a strong dislike for Shin Lu. He disliked the way he spoke. He disliked his indifference. He disliked his attitude.
Three loud drum hits echoed throughout the entire court once more, followed by another announcement from the speaker. "The Genius Archer of Angu-An, who has been the victor for seven years, is invited to show off before the official start of the competition!"
It was only then that he looked away from Shin Lu when he heard the speaker's announcement. All eyes were on him as they applauded.
"M-me?" He nervously pointed at himself.
He paused for a moment, maintaining his forced smile as he thought of a way to flee, but his feet seemed to have their own brain as they automatically strode on their own until he realized he was already at the shooting line. He broke out in a cold sweat as they handed him the bow and arrow.
"Since when did I become an archer? I am only a substitute! What the hell!" he thought.
He positioned himself and pulled the feathered arrow on the string back toward his face, attempting to imitate Li Yuan's shooting posture he had seen in the underworld. However, relying solely on his memory of Li Yuan's posture was not enough. Fortunately, he had watched an anime about archery in his previous life, so he was familiar with the proper grip and posture.
But how could he hit the seventy-meter away target when he had never done archery in his previous life? He could only curse in his head, "Damn!"
After hearing the whistle, Fen Lei released the arrow, creating a ringing silence throughout the entire court.
Did he hit the target? No. The arrow hit the ground instead. It did not even reach the target line.
He smiled awkwardly and scratched his head. "H-hahaha..."
Everyone was taken aback.
"Ah! Of course, I am just kidding! Hahahaha! This is it. I am serious now." He took another arrow from his quiver and repositioned himself, carefully aiming the arrow's point at the center of the target.
The whistle was blown once more, and he released the arrow.
However, the moment he released it, he felt a sharp object pierce his right arm, causing the bow in his hand to drop to the ground. He grimaced in pain and looked at his arm; there were two needles inserted in it.
He looked around but saw no one suspicious. Who on earth had done this to him?
But he realized he was not on Earth anymore, so who on Plaillon had done this to him?
Many were dissatisfied with the result of his second shot. Some mocked him. He managed to hit the target this time, but he only hit the inner blue ring, which was worth six points.
Li Yuan was the Genius Archer of Angu-An and the indomitable winner for seven years, so it was no surprise that they expected him to hit the X ring and score a perfect ten. But how could this Li Yuan in front of them live up to their expectations if he was not the real one? If only they had known that the true genius had already vanished from their world.
"Do not laugh at him! It looks like his right arm is injured, so he could not shoot properly," exclaimed a young man who had just arrived behind Fen Lei.
Fen Lei's eyes widened upon seeing this young man's face. He was about to say something when this young man approached him, helping him exit the archery court.