Su Xing and Kaka explained their plan. In this plan, Kaka was responsible for removing certain obstacles blocking the way.
After all, his phantom spirit was particularly effective in this area.
Unlike Quinn, who looked like a sickly child (in fact, Quinn’s health really wasn’t very good), Kaka was sturdy and strong, yet somehow still had the neck of a child.
With his head of brown curls and that signature baby face, anyone would believe it if you said he was twelve.
If Su Xing didn’t judge people by their looks, she might have misunderstood him the first time they met.
If it weren’t for Kaka’s useful phantom spirit, Su Xing would definitely have tried to leave him at the inn.
It was getting close to evening, so Su Xing stopped hesitating: “Let’s go. If they change locations at the last minute, that’ll be a problem.”
Although it would be difficult to find another hiding place in such a big city that could fit over thirty people without being discovered, that was why Su Xing wasn’t in too much of a hurry.
But that didn’t mean the other side would just foolishly stay in place.
To avoid complications, it was better to go early.
Who knew if those people would be on guard for their arrival?
What Su Xing didn’t expect was that the other side’s response was completely different from what she’d imagined.
“You’re the owner of that phantom spirit from yesterday, right?
I’ve been waiting for you here for a long time.”
As soon as Su Xing and her companion reached the bottom of the stairs, they saw a seventeen or eighteen-year-old boy standing inside, saying this.
The boy was also surprised when he saw her, clearly not expecting the phantom spirit master he’d been waiting for to be so young.
The three exchanged glances, each seeing the wariness and confusion in the others’ eyes.
Su Xing asked, “You knew we’d come back? Then why didn’t you leave?”
The boy nodded proudly.
“Of course. Nuzhabi guessed it. You didn’t immediately notify the Mayor to arrest us, so you clearly weren’t here with absolute hostility. And yesterday, it was obvious you came specifically, so you’d definitely come again.”
He spoke with certainty: “You’re from Lingyu Academy, sent to deliver the paintings, right?”
Seeing his attitude, Su Xing relaxed a little and became very interested in the Nuzhabi he mentioned.
She admitted openly, “Yes, we’re here to retrieve eight paintings. Can you take us to the teacher you mentioned?”
The boy nodded.
“That’s exactly what I intended.”
Upstairs, Quinn, who hadn’t come down, also heard this conversation. He frowned, as if thinking about something: “Nuzhabi… Nuzhabi… Why does that name sound kind of familiar?”
Su Xing and the others followed the boy into the sewer, where an older man was sitting on a worn-out red sofa.
The boy bowed respectfully to the man: “Nuzhabi, I’ve brought them.”
Nuzhabi nodded and kindly waved at Su Xing: “Come over here.”
As Su Xing and the others walked in, Nuzhabi raised his eyebrows: “Three kids?”
The boy nodded: “Yes, they look like first-years.”
Su Xing took the opportunity to introduce herself: “Hello, Uncle Nuzhabi. We’re first-year students from Lingyu Academy. We came to the Art Capital this time to deliver paintings for the exhibition. I thought maybe you wouldn’t be so wary of a few kids.”
Nuzhabi sighed, and Su Xing could hear deep disappointment in it.
She frowned slightly—what was he disappointed about?
Wasn’t it better if more formidable people didn’t come?
After sighing, Nuzhabi smiled apologetically at Su Xing: “Sorry to trouble you, but we have our reasons for doing this.”
Su Xing replied bluntly, “But your troubles have nothing to do with us, do they?”
“Hey, you!”
The boy beside him wanted to say something angrily, but Nuzhabi stopped him and nodded.
“That’s true. But I think, since you didn’t immediately report our presence to the Mayor, there’s still room for discussion.”
Su Xing hesitated. She’d intended to reveal her previous plan, but since her companions disagreed, even though she was used to acting alone, she had to consider their thoughts now.
“Maybe you could start by telling us why you had to steal the painting.”
Nuzhabi shook his head: “Can you bring your teachers here? Preferably before the exhibition starts. It would be best if I discussed this with them directly.”
That was indeed a reasonable reaction, but unfortunately, it wasn’t possible. Su Xing shrugged.
“Guess why only us first-years came for this mission?”
First, because the teachers judged this mission to be pretty safe.
Second, with midterms coming up, the teachers were all busy.
The principal and others had gone to support a small country at war and weren’t at school.
That’s why it was up to a few first-years to handle this task alone.
Nuzhabi realized the situation after Su Xing’s words, and the pressure around him seemed to drop further: “Then I’m sorry, but I really can’t return the painting to you for now.”
Su Xing wasn’t particularly surprised, but she did glean some meaning from his words.
It seemed their original plan was to use the theft of the painting to draw the attention of someone from Lingyu Academy, so they could contact the teachers.
But the painting itself had another purpose.
If they couldn’t get help from the Academy’s teachers, they’d have to solve the problem themselves.
Thinking this far, she grew a little curious: “Can you tell us what’s really going on?”
Nuzhabi was just about to refuse, but the boy beside him saw his intention and asked in confusion, “For something that concerns the entire Federation, the more people who know, the better, right? Why not tell them?”
Su Xing gasped and was about to refuse.
She was just an ordinary first-year, really not qualified to get involved in something so big.
But Kaka, who was beside her, was a step faster: “Yeah, Uncle Nuzhabi! Tell us! We’re the top of our year, and we just won the First-Year Star award. Don’t worry, we’ll definitely help!”
Su Xing couldn’t help but sigh, feeling a little betrayed by her teammate.
Evangel caught her from behind: “It’s better to understand everything before deciding whether to get involved.”
She let out a breath and looked at the energetic Kaka, her heart full of anxiety: “Do you think this guy would back down even if it was really dangerous?”
Evangel replied, “…If necessary, we’ll drag him back even if we have to tie him up.”
Su Xing was skeptical about Evangel’s words.
Not to mention whether they could actually do it, Evangel’s own stance was also highly questionable.
She’d originally thought Evangel was someone who, like her, knew when to advance and when to retreat, but after their previous conversations, she’d changed her mind.
Would this guy really choose to run when faced with evil?
Tsk, she felt like her responsibilities just kept growing.
Maybe, moved by Kaka’s righteous expression, Nuzhabi thought for a moment and finally nodded, beginning to tell that story full of secrets.
“Since you’ve come here, you must know about Master Xisailu and his phantom spirit, right? The world only knows that the phantom spirit is a brush, but few know its true name is ‘Source of Inspiration Brush’.”
Su Xing didn’t understand the point of his words, but Nuzhabi began to explain in the next sentence.
“The Source of Inspiration phantom spirit, as its name suggests, doesn’t just make paintings come to life on the surface.”
Hearing this, Su Xing finally perked up, guessing at his meaning, “You mean… this phantom spirit is related to inspiration?”
Nuzhabi nodded: “That’s right. As far as I know, one of this phantom spirit’s abilities is to absorb other people’s inspiration and then redistribute it for others to use.”
“What an amazing ability!”
Kaka couldn’t help but exclaim.
Su Xing poked her head forward, “There are no evil abilities, only evil phantom spirit masters.”
“Well said,” Nuzhabi praised.
“Back then, after Master Xisailu obtained this ability, he never used it, to prevent others from coveting it.”
Su Xing looked at him suspiciously: “Then how did you know about it?”
Nuzhabi sighed: “Because someone got the Source of Inspiration Brush and discovered this ability. After that…”
Su Xing was always sharp and immediately caught the hidden meaning in his words: “Are you saying that this brush is the reason why the outside world thinks Art Capital has endless talent, while everywhere else is running dry?”
Evangel was even more direct: “That phantom spirit was obtained by the Mayor.”
There was no way to explain Nuzhabi’s actions otherwise.
Nuzhabi looked at the two with appreciation: “Now I can finally believe you really are emissaries from Lingyu Academy.”
Kaka responded proudly, “Of course! My teammates are all amazing!”
Su Xing smiled at him but didn’t refute, only turning to Nuzhabi to ask, “So how did you find this out? And who else knows for sure the brush is in the Mayor’s hands?”
Before Nuzhabi could answer, a boy’s shout came from outside: “I… I know who… who he is! Don’t… don’t fight!”
It was Quinn’s voice.
Su Xing and the others turned to look.
Quinn came running over in a hurry, supporting himself on Kaka’s shoulder, gasping for breath.
After he finally caught his breath, he stammered, “I… I remember who Nuzhabi is! He’s that famous musician from ten years ago!”
Su Xing’s mind flashed and she suddenly looked at Nuzhabi: “So your innate inspiration was absorbed by the brush phantom spirit?”
If that was the case, it explained why Nuzhabi knew some of Art Capital’s secrets.
Nuzhabi nodded: “My talent was indeed absorbed. Back then, I was a rising star in Mercury’s music scene, composing a song at the time. When I woke up one day, I found I’d completely lost the inspiration for that song. Not long after, a song with parts of the melody identical to what I’d written became a huge hit everywhere. The person who composed that song was a musician from Art Capital. After that, it was as if I was cut off from music—I could never write another good song.”
“What do you mean, your talent was absorbed?”
Quinn, not knowing the earlier context, asked in shock.
Su Xing quickly explained, and Quinn suddenly understood: “No wonder! Back then, my parents especially loved your songs, but afterward you disappeared. They even regretted it for a while.”
Nuzhabi gave a lonely smile: “Thank them for their fondness. I let them down back then.”
“How could that be?”
Quinn squatted down, earnestly comforting him.
“My parents have always believed that someone who could compose such hopeful melodies would never give up on music. And now, it turns out they were right. Please, you must let… let us know the truth.”