– The Next Day –

“Negh… where am… I…?” Tian Long slowly blinked his eyes open, staring at the white ceiling above him in puzzlement.

“Finally awake, huh?” Pang Zi chuckled from beside his bed, making Tian Long turn to him in surprise.

“You’re…”

“The guy that saved you? Yeah, I am. But to be honest, I didn’t do it to save you. I just felt like punching some people, that’s all.”

“Nonetheless…” Tian Long hurriedly got out of the bed and knelt down on the floor before Pang Zi. “Thank you.”

But to his surprise, his actions made Pang Zi pissed off for some reason.

“Oi! What are you doing?!” He yelled, pulling Tian Long back up to his feet.

“H-Huh?”

“You’re a man! Why the hell are you kneeling so easily?!”

“Uh…” Never in his life before has Tian Long ever been told something like that, so he was unsure how to respond.

“Agh, whatever… I won’t be seeing you anymore after today anyway,” Pang Zi muttered. “You wanna be a coward, so be it. Follow me.”

With these words, he left the infirmary, leaving Tian Long confused and lost.

“W-Wait! What do you mean, won’t be seeing me anymore?!” He hurriedly ran and caught up with Pang Zi, who roughly shoved open the building’s doors and stepped out into the sunlight.

“I mean exactly what I say,” Pang Zi replied with a snort. “This place isn’t for you.”

“Wha… what do you mean…? Where even is this place?”

“Ugh! Look, just shut up and follow me, damn coward! Stop asking so many questions!”

Tian Long opened his mouth to say more, but promptly closed them again after hearing this. He looked around in awe at his surroundings, the style of architecture never seen before in his life. It was beautiful; the air was nice and refreshing.

But alas, his tour was cut short as they arrived at the front hall, where the same three people as yesterday were gathered there. The butler was too, having been the informant who told Elder Pang and his wife that Tian Long was awake.

“I brought him here,” Pang Zi said. “I can go now, right?”

“Yes. You may leave,” Lei said in dismissal, but Tian Long was still confused and held Pang Zi back.

“W-Wait. What are you guys going to do to me?”

“Erase your memories,” Lei explained in a brutally truthful manner. “This place is only for… certain people. You are not one of them — just someone who happened to stay here for one night by chance. Therefore, to ensure the secrecy of this place remains a secret, we have to treat you with amnestics.”

“W-Wha… my memories…”

“Don’t be scared,” Elder Pang chimed in. “The amnestics will only erase your memories of this place and anything to do with it. You won’t lose anything else. We’ll also send you to a wealthy family for adoption — pretty good terms already, in my opinion.”

As Tian Long fell silent, Pang Zi’s mother walked up with a glass of liquid in hand. “Here. Drink this. It tastes just like water, and the process will be over before you know it.”

Tian Long glanced at the glass for a few moments, gulping in hesitation. Pang Zi, who had gotten tired of getting held onto, rolled his eyes and activated his Brawler Angelica, easily overpowering Tian Long and pushing him away.

“Ah-!” Tian Long glanced around in surprise, only to see a red aura around Pang Zi.

“Wait… that red glow… it’s the same one as I saw yesterday… that wasn’t a hallucination!”

“H-Huh?” Pang Zi froze, and so did everyone else in the room.

“Unfilial son… you… you ACTUALLY USED YOUR ANGELICA IN THE PUBLIC WORLD?!” Elder Pang roared in anger. “Patriarch, I apologize on behalf of this idiot… I will educate him thoroughly and make sure he never even THINKS about doing something like this ag-“

“Hold on!” Tian Long cut in, a worried expression on his face. “He did it to save me… there were six older delinquents beating me up. I don’t think with normal strength, he could’ve beaten them…”

“Six delinquents?! And they all saw you use your Angelica?!” The father roared, pulling his hair out.

“No!” Tian Long cried. “If they saw the glow around his body… they wouldn’t have charged straight at him!”

“That is correct. Those without an innate talent for Angelicas won’t be able to perceive Angelica auras,” Lei said. “However… boy. You were able to see the glow?”

Tian Long frantically nodded, causing both Elder Pang and his wife to widen their eyes a bit in realization.

“Ho… I see. That changes things.” Lei closed his eyes briefly.

“W-Wait, Patriarch… you cannot possibly be thinking of…” The elder trailed off.

“Why not?” Lei challenged. “He has already stayed here for one night, and formed somewhat of a bond with your son. If he is an Angelica user, we can very well nurture him to become a talented Ghost Hunter worthy of an S-Rank Squadron.”

“Angelica user…” Tian Long echoed. “You mean… I also have that power?”

“Yes,” Lei replied. “It just needs a catalyst to activate it — which we can provide. However, I will not force you. So, boy… you have a choice now. Would you like to have your memories erased and sent back to the public world, or would you like to stay here and become a warrior who fights against the paranormal, creatures beyond your wildest imaginations?”

“I…” Tian Long bit his lip. He’s never been much of a fighter. He couldn’t even fight back against a couple of delinquents, much less creatures beyond his imaginations.

What were they? What were they capable of doing? Just thinking about such things drove Tian Long’s mind wild with fear, and he could feel his own knees buckling under the pressure.

But then, he glanced at Pang Zi, who was still standing there in shock at Tian Long standing up for him. Tian Long was a boy who strictly followed the rules of debt and repayment, as his grandmother always told him. Pang Zi saved his life — and he would repay that debt by staying here, by his side.

“… I’ll do it,” Tian Long said quietly yet firmly. “I’ll stay here.”