Chapter 12: The Reappearance of the Intention

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

……

A moment later, two figures walked side by side, separated by just a step or two, heading in the direction of Yi High. The man was strikingly handsome, his attire stylish and carefree; the woman was pure and beautiful. Such a pair walking down the street naturally drew the attention of many passersby, with an astonishingly high rate of turning heads.

However, as they walked, Brian Carter's expression was a bit unnatural. He truly hadn't expected that after finally getting out to enjoy himself, he would end up in such an embarrassing situation. Fortunately, he no longer had any feelings for the girl beside him; otherwise, if it were his former self from his previous life, making such a fool of himself in front of her would have made him want to crawl into a hole.

"I'll pay you back as soon as I get back to school." Rubbing his forehead helplessly, Brian Carter finally spoke again.

"Mm." This only earned a brief reply, but as she softly responded, the girl glanced at him with beautiful eyes full of confusion, surprise, and curiosity...

"What is it?" Brian Carter finally turned to look at her.

"It's nothing." The girl quickly turned her head with a smile, as if it really was nothing.

Brian Carter glanced at her a few more times, and seeing that she had gone quiet again, he said nothing more and continued walking in silence.

As they walked, he could clearly feel the girl beside him sneaking glances at him, as if she was curious about something. Again, if it were his previous life, being this close to her and having her pay such secret attention would have made Brian Carter so happy he'd be bubbling inside. But after decades of change, all he felt now was calm.

He didn't try to start a conversation; Brian Carter simply accompanied her as they walked back to school.

But as they walked, when they were only a few dozen meters from the main gate of Yi High, Brian Carter suddenly shuddered, stopped in his tracks, and stood there silently. As he stood, a flash of joy quickly passed through his eyes.

Because at that moment, a strange intention suddenly arose in his mind.

The intention was very familiar, as if it was guiding him somewhere—if you go to that place, you'll gain great benefits. The guidance started off faint, but in the blink of an eye, it became much stronger.

An intention?

That strange intention had suddenly appeared at this very moment.

The last time the intention appeared, it had guided him to a supermarket to follow a female cashier. After tailing her for a while, he picked up a Fenghua Pill that she dropped, and then the intention disappeared completely—for more than ten days.

Although Brian Carter was initially resistant to the intention, the benefits of the Fenghua Pill were truly tempting. So after his cultivation improved greatly, he had more than once wished that this thing would appear again, guiding him to more opportunities.

But after so many days, it never reappeared, leaving him feeling regretful whenever he thought of it during his hard studies.

But now, at this inexplicable moment, it had really appeared again? And there were more benefits?

With this feeling, Brian Carter couldn't help but feel delighted.

"What is it?" Brian Carter stopped in surprise, and the girl walking with him only noticed something was wrong after taking a few more steps. She also stopped and turned around, her eyes still full of surprise.

"I just remembered I have something urgent to do, so I need to leave for a bit. Um, I'll pay you back when I get back to school." Brian Carter looked up as well, but the joy in his eyes had already faded, replaced by a hint of apology on his face.

He certainly couldn't tell her about the intention, so he just made up an excuse.

"Hehe, alright, go take care of it." The girl blinked her bright eyes, her curious gaze sweeping over Brian Carter once more, but then she just gave a brief, light laugh.

"Sorry about that." Brian Carter nodded with a smile, gave her another apologetic look, and then turned to leave.

As he turned, the joy in his eyes surfaced again.

Finally, this thing had appeared again, and just like last time, it was telling him there were benefits. Could it be that, like before, it wanted him to go somewhere, find someone, and after making them his target, he could get another pill from them?

If so, that would be wonderful.

If he could get another Fenghua Pill, he could advance to the mid-stage of Spirit Gathering.

"I really wonder what this thing is. Does it bring benefits every time it appears? Whatever, no point thinking about it—I'd better hurry over and check it out."

Since this was the second time, Brian Carter's reaction was very different from the first. Last time, he had resisted the intention, forcibly suppressing it until it reappeared so strongly that he realized he couldn't live normally without following it, and had no choice but to go along.

But this time, he was actually a bit impatient.

This must be the change that comes after tasting the sweetness.

Although he was pondering the origin of the intention, he had no clues at all, so he just walked quickly, following its guidance, moving much faster than last time.

After about twenty minutes, he had already walked four or five kilometers from Yi High, reaching a rather remote area of the county. Only then did the guidance of the intention gradually come to an end.