Astral Apostle

Chapter 36: Acting Out

Translator: Atlas Studios  Editor: Atlas Studios

This person is actually Will’s brother?!

Griff and the other two gaped.

“You don’t believe me?” Zhou Jing raised his eyebrows.

“Well, that’s not true… it’s just that Will never told us about—”

Griff suppressed his shock and stammered.

He really did not expect Will to have relatives knocking on his door!

Actually, Will·Wood had always been quite mysterious. He had a surname and seemed to be a blood relative of a huge tribe but had never mentioned his family or relatives. They didn’t even know that this fellow had an older brother.

However, at the end of the day, they had only spent a few days together. Although Will had left a deep impression on them, it was normal for him not to reveal his background.

“Well… how did you find this place?”

Griff’s face filled with confusion. That was the last thing he did not understand.

For the time being, only the villagers of Frostwood Village knew that Will had died here.

How did outsiders know about it?

Zhou Jing’s expression did not change as he lied through his teeth.

“Brothers can sense each other. In addition, I have a bit of intuition that led me over here.

“Is, is that so…”

Griff was unsure how to respond to this.

He felt that something was amiss, but he could not refute it.

Griff was more inclined to believe that the man in front of him had been searching for the whereabouts of his brother and had only now found him. He just didn’t want to explain in detail.

After all, since he was already here, he could only believe it.

As for suspecting if this person was Will’s brother… he had no way of determining at all. He could not possibly go down and seek confirmation from Will right now!

Seeing Griff’s hesitation, Zhou Jing secretly smiled. On the surface, however, he solemnly spoke.

“I can tell you’re doubting me.”

“Well, that’s not exactly—” Griff wasn’t sure how to express it.

“It’s fine. I understand your concerns.” Zhou Jing said nonchalantly. He rolled up his sleeves and showed the bird-shaped tattoo he had deliberately added. He slowly said, “Will has the same tattoo as me. This is our mark as brothers.”

I’ve seen this before!

Griff secretly exclaimed to himself.

When he was taking care of the injured Will, he discovered that Will had this tattoo.

Only people close to him would know about this tattoo.

With this, Griff’s suspicions were mostly dispelled. If he had only half-believed Zhou Jing’s words just now, then he was 80-90% convinced now.

Jason·Wood was probably Will’s brother…

A surge of guilt suddenly washed over Griff. He was at a loss, not knowing how to face Zhou Jing.

Will’s family came searching for him, only to find out that he had died. This was a little difficult to explain…

If it had been an ordinary stranger, it would have been fine. But Will had indirectly saved the hunters’ lives, only to sacrifice his own. Griff had been brooding about it all this while.

It had nothing to do with their friendship being deeper than that of his other companions just because they had interacted over the past few days when traveling. It was because Will was not a companion of the hunters, yet he had volunteered at the critical juncture to reduce their casualties. They were indebted to him.

Griff had originally thought that he had saved a lost person, but he had not expected that he was the one who had been saved in the end. The fact that the other party had died because of this made him feel guilty.

Now, facing “Will’s brother,” Griff felt even more guilty.

He didn’t dare to look Zhou Jing in the eye and said in self-reproach, “My name is Griff, the hunter of this village. Your brother saved our lives, but we were unable to save him… I am very sorry.”

Zhou Jing waved his hand and calmly replied.

“It’s not your fault. I can see that you’re a good person. You said that Will got lost and asked you for help. It’s a good thing that you helped him, or else he would have died in the forest. Will owed you a favor first, so you don’t have to apologize to me at all.”

Griff froze at the sound of that, then felt a surge of warmth.

“As for my brother’s death…” Zhou Jing paused for a moment and appeared very gratified. “He chose to fight like a man and saved your lives. Then his death was worth it. He didn’t waste his life for nothing. I’m proud of him!”

Griff was moved.

They had just met today, and he did not know what kind of person “Will’s brother” was. However, after hearing these words, Zhou Jing’s image in his heart instantly grew.

He was so open-minded!

Griff felt a surge of admiration. He didn’t think he could do that if the same incident happened to him.

Zhou Jing smacked his lips and acted as if he hadn’t spoken enough, and he added in a more forceful tone.

“Our family motto is to die a worthy death! As long as one’s life is worth burning, there is no need to regret! Will has carried out our family motto. He is a good man!”

Griff was now at the level of bowing to Zhou Jing in respect.

It sounded like a firm and noble family!

After seeing that they were intimidated, Zhou Jing kept a straight face and maintained a calm expression. Though he was complaining, I’m both of these guys. How can I not be magnanimous…

Pretending to be Will·Wood’s brother was a plan he had come up with. In this way, he could use it as an entry point to get to know Griff and the others and reap the benefits left behind by the previous apostle.

He wanted the new astral apostle to form a connection with the previous apostle so that he could inherit some of the connections that the previous apostle made… This was a plan that he thought was feasible after some consideration.

Because of this, Zhou Jing had specially gotten the same tattoo on Jason’s body when he did the character model, furthermore in the same style as Will·Wood.

With this tattoo, coupled with his understanding of Griff and the others, as well as the simplicity of them trusting others in this era… there was no need for him to probe about too many details. Just directly revealing his identity was enough.

He’d been wondering if he needed to dig Will out for verification, but he was glad Griff had seen Will’s tattoo while he was tending him. At least he would not have to make this “heartless” suggestion.

Looking at it now, the effect of this plan was not only good, but it was also simply wonderful!

While he was secretly delighted, Griff glanced at the tombstone, his expression troubled.

“Logically, I should let you take Will’s remains. I’m willing to help, too, but it’s been buried for almost 30 days, so it might be a little…”

“No need. Let my brother rest here.” Zhou Jing shook his head.

“Okay… What are you going to do next?”

Griff was curious.

Zhou Jing immediately perked up.

Everything he said before was for this moment. Now that the time was right, it was finally time for him to show his cards.

Zhou Jing turned to look at the tombstone and tried his best to put on a sad expression. He lowered his voice.

“I plan to stay in the village for the time being and accompany my brother…”

“No problem!” Griff immediately agreed. “You can stay at my house for the next few days.”

However, Zhou Jing waved his hand and refused. He said slowly, “I plan to stay here for a long time, and I don’t have the habit of letting others take care of me. I can work in exchange for a room in this village.”

“You plan to stay here for a long time?”

Griff was taken aback before he secretly sighed.

He’s strong and open-minded, but his relationship with his brother was really good.

Maybe this is what they meant by even an iron man having a tender spot, right?

Griff sighed inwardly to himself before he curiously asked, “Then… how long do you want to stay in Frostwood Village?”

“I don’t know. Maybe for a long time… Does your village not welcome outsiders?” Zhou Jing raised his eyebrows.

“Not really. It’s just that Frostwood Village is very far away and there aren’t many outsiders. Besides, this is something only the village chief can decide. I can’t make the decision.”

Griff paused, then said sincerely, “I can take you to see the village chief. Since Will is indebted to our village, and you are Will’s brother, the village chief will agree.”

Zhou Jing nodded.

The few of them walked out of the cemetery. When the surrounding villagers saw that Zhou Jing was not in danger, they immediately dispersed. With the size of the village, this news quickly spread to everyone.

…

The village chief’s long house was in the center of the village. Griff led Zhou Jing there, talking as they walked.

“Speaking of which, which tribe is your surname Wood from?”

Griff was curious.

Good question. I’d like to know, too… but I’d like to know more about what it means to be “blood relatives of the tribe.”

Zhou Jing coughed and said ambiguously, “It’s all in the past. There’s no need to mention it again.”

Griff froze, thinking Zhou Jing didn’t want to talk about it. He didn’t force the issue.

However, when he thought about Will entering the forest alone and his brother choosing to stay in this remote village… Griff felt that they had an unbearable past.

With the identity of Will’s brother, Griff didn’t suspect anything. After some thought, he changed the topic once more.

“Then how many siblings do you have?”

“It depends…”

“What?”

“Ahem. I mean, I’m not sure. Our brothers and sisters are scattered all over the world. Many of them have lost contact with us as well.”

Zhou Jing did not even blink as he casually spouted nonsense.

He asks how many brothers are there in the family? I would be jinxing my own death if I said that there were more than two…

Griff nodded as if he understood, then suddenly pointed at Ross.

“Is he your brother too?”

Just now, he had wanted to ask. This person did not say a word and followed Zhou Jing silently. He didn’t understand their relationship.

Zhou Jing had already prepared his script and patiently explained it.

“He is my companion. He follows me everywhere. If I stay, he will stay with me.”

“I see, you two must be very close friends!”

Realization dawned on Griff. He held out his hand to Rose and warmly spoke, “Hi. What’s your name?”

Ross glanced down at his hand but didn’t respond.

Griff stiffened in embarrassment, “Your friend… doesn’t seem to like talking?”

Zhou Jing’s mouth twitched.

“Uh, don’t worry about him. His name is Ross. He’s a mute, and his brain has been damaged. He can only understand what I’m saying, so I take him wherever I go.”

Ross: (← _ ←)

Griff froze as if he understood something.

He shook his head, patting Zhou Jing’s shoulder as he sighed, “It seems that it’s not easy for you either.”

Ross: (→ _ →)