Chapter 1372: Meteor Street
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Meteor Street sounded like a street name, but it was actually the general designation for all the streets in Heavenly Sword Planet’s slum.
This area was named Meteor Street because many of the people living here had a life span as short as meteors—gone just like that.
Those who lived in Meteor Street were basically the lowest social strata of the planet.
Organized crime syndicates, gangsters, thieves, red-light districts, and shady underground businesses were the mainstays of this area.
Sword11 had thought of cleaning up the area previously but later discovered that these darker elements could not be completely eliminated. Even if he cleared the present Meteor Street, in a few years, another Meteor Street would spring up. Even if he led strike after strike against the area and punished the criminals with strict laws, at most it would just splinter the whole of Meteor Street into countless smaller Meteor Streets.
No matter how bright the sun, there would always be places where its light could not reach.
In the end, Sword11 had come around—as long as Meteor Street was within his control, there was no need for him to go all out.
The various crime bosses of Meteor Street were also smart people. They understood the present state of affairs and had caught on to Sword11’s line of thinking. They actively gave in and never dared to do anything too overtly outrageous.
In this way, the state of affairs in Meteor Street was preserved.
After they left the Carved Heart Pavilion, Lin Huang appeared on Meteor Street with the two Sword Servants.
Lin Huang could not help frowning at the putrid smell that permeated the air.
At a glance, there were at least twenty or thirty pieces of garbage simply tossed onto the narrow streets.
Leftover lunch boxes, b.l.o.o.d.y toilet paper, used condoms, thick green sputum that stuck to the ground… Lin Huang even saw urine stains on several walls—judging by the height, they were clearly not left by dogs.
On the side of the road, men gathered in small cl.u.s.ters of twos and threes eyed the tall Sword302 with unrestrained lasciviousness. Some did not even bother to conceal their arousal and even deliberately stroked their crotches with their hands while they smiled at Sword302 in the most creepy fas.h.i.+on.
Sword302 was not fazed by the situation. With a faint smile, her long legs in their high heels moved forward a step.
The next moment, the faintest aura of Wind Elemental Enlightenment stirred.
An instant later, a violent wind sprang up over the whole street, blowing so violently that countless houses tottered on the verge of collapse.
Fortunately, the wind died down after a short three to five seconds.
After the wind stopped, all the rubbish on the ground, including the trash bins overflowing with filthy water and the men by the roadside, had disappeared.
“Trash should be cleaned up,” Sword302 said indifferently as she returned to Lin Huang’s side.
Of course, Lin Huang could see that Sword302 had not killed anyone. She had merely used Wind Elemental Enlightenment to blow the men away with the garbage.
After that violent gust of wind earlier, he could clearly sense that the air of this narrow street was much fresher and cleaner.
Ignoring the hastily closing doors and windows on both sides of the road, Lin Huang led the two Sword Servants forward and they continued walking.
After they had pa.s.sed five or six streets, Lin Huang finally found the house where the boy named Wu Hao lived. It was in the deepest part of a small alley that measured less than a meter in width.
This dark, damp alley was sunless for almost 24 hours a day.
Wu Hao’s house was the innermost part.i.tioned s.p.a.ce; the area was about 10 square meters based on Lin Huang’s visual inspection. The small window was crisscrossed with line upon line of rusty bars; none of the gla.s.s was intact.
The door of Wu Hao’s room faced out and was wide open. The door was also rotten and broken; there was a fist-sized hole on it about the height of a man’s s.h.i.+n, which seemed to be from someone’s kick.
However, Lin Huang also noticed that the front of the house was clean and almost spotless as if someone had just tidied it up not long ago.
Based on his initial understanding of the child’s situation, Lin Huang thought about it for a moment, left the two Sword Servants where they were, and walked toward the room alone.
In the open room, as Lin Huang had expected, there was only one bed and one table.
A teenager was sitting on the edge of the bed. He held a small knife and was quietly carving a piece of wood. The wood chips were scattered over a piece of newspaper on his desk.
Lin Huang recognized the prototype the boy had carved with just a glance. It was a dragon beast. Although there were not enough details yet, he could roughly tell that it was an Archaic Fire Dragon.
The teenager did not notice Lin Huang’s arrival as he was focused on his carving. Lin Huang did not speak up to disturb him either. He stood quietly outside the door and watched the teenager carve the Archaic Fire Dragon into being.
It was almost noon by the time the teenager finally had the basic shape carved for the Archaic Fire Dragon he was holding.
He appeared to be a little tired. He put down the woodcarving and stretched. When he looked up, he saw Lin Huang at his door.
The teenager was startled when he saw Lin Huang.
However, he quickly calmed down, moved his fingers un.o.btrusively, and transferred the carving knife in his right hand into his palm to hide it. At the same time, he was on high alert and asked Lin Huang with a hint of warning in his voice, “Who are you looking for?”
Lin Huang noticed the teenager’s slight movement. He smiled and took out the wood carving that he had obtained from the Carved Heart Pavilion. “Is this three-legged Golden Crow your work?”
The teenager’s eyes narrowed slightly, not because he saw his woodcarving, but because he noticed that the woodcarving in Lin Huang’s hand appeared out of thin air.
“You’re a cultivator and I’m just an ordinary person. Just tell me what you want, don’t beat around the bush.” The teenager glanced in the direction of the window; he had already begun to plan an escape route in his head.
“Don’t worry, I don’t have any malicious intentions. It’s just that when I visited the Carved Heart Pavilion earlier today, I saw your work by accident and thought it wasn’t too bad, so I came to visit.”
“Do you think I’m going to believe you? The lines of the sculpture are so ugly and the details are full of mistakes. A cultivator like you thinks that it’s not too bad?” Based on the expression on the teenager’s face, it was not clear whether he was questioning Lin Huang’s aesthetics, or what Lin Huang had said.
“I didn’t say that you carved well. What I thought was not too bad was the inner meaning left in the sculpture,” Lin Huang explained somewhat helplessly.
He had not expected Wu Hao to be so suspicious. However, if one considered the environment the boy lived in, it was understandable.
“Don’t coax me like I’m a kid,” Wu Hao obviously did not believe in Lin Huang’s statement. “Meteor Street’s rules don’t allow cultivators to do anything to ordinary people who aren’t cultivators. Whatever your purpose is in looking for me, you’ve already broken the rules. If anything happens to me, Lord Sword11 will most definitely send someone to investigate it thoroughly!”
Although there was such a rule in Meteor Street, deaths happened in this area every day. There were at least hundreds of ordinary people who died for various reasons every year; Sword11 did not have the time to investigate each of these cases.
“Well, it seems that you won’t believe whatever I have to say.” Lin Huang was speechless for a while. “In that case, I’ll find someone who can talk to you.”
Wu Hao’s muscles tightened as he stared at Lin Huang with a wary face. Just when he thought Lin Huang had other a.s.sociates, Lin Huang dialed a number in front of him.
Within seconds the call was picked up and a figure projected itself in front of Wu Hao.
Wu Hao was stunned when he saw who the figure was.
“Sword…Sword11?!”