**Chapter 300: Awakening**
When Lu Yibei woke up inside the God Realm Yumen, five days had passed since the Shaman King was exiled.
A wave of dizziness swept over him, making everything in front of him appear hazy like it was covered with frosted glass, surrounded by a pale halo. The roaring noise in his ears was unending, and it felt as if something heavy was pressing on his chest, making it hard to breathe.
Instinctively, he raised his hand to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead, but he felt no expected sticky sensation from the sweat in his palm. He froze for two seconds before realizing that his right hand had long since disappeared with Nanling Yaohua into that suddenly closing pitch-black rift.
Every part of his body ached subtly in dozens of places, and he felt weak as though suffering from severe hypoglycemia, plus he was missing an arm… Aside from these, it seemed there were no fatal issues.
At least his condition was much better than during the trip of dreams and when he was in the Dream City.
“Awake? How do you feel?”
Lu Yibei lay on the bed like a salted fish that wouldn’t close its eyes, staring blankly at the ceiling, secretly checking his physical state. When he heard a voice, he turned his head to see Shen Baiwei on the other side of the room.
She was neatly dressed, sitting in a chair by the window with a packed bag at her feet, looking as if she was about to embark on a journey.
With his hands crossed over his chest, Lu Yibei deadpanned, “Who are you, beautiful? What are you doing here?”
At this time, shouldn’t my dear Water Brother be by my bedside taking care of me?
Shen Baiwei rolled her eyes, “You think I want to stay here? If I hadn’t seen you with no one to take care of you, worried you might suddenly d*e, I would have left long ago!”
“Leave?” Lu Yibei tilted his head, “Where are you going?”
“To Tethys Laboratory, of course!” Shen Baiwei pouted, “Didn’t you remind me that the Elders’ Council’s Saint Plan is about to be completed? I must return to Tethys Laboratory before that to retrieve what belongs to me?”
“Oh, right!” Lu Yibei slapped his forehead, “Speaking of which, I haven’t told you yet…”
“Forget it.” Shen Baiwei waved her hand to interrupt, “As long as the information is reliable, it doesn’t matter where it came from.”
She had repeatedly asked Lu Yibei for the source of the information, worried it might not be reliable, but as her trust in Lu Yibei grew, along with his current demeanor, she felt there was no need for doubt anymore.
At least there was no way to verify the authenticity of the information from Lu Yibei now.
“Don’t worry! This information is one hundred percent reliable!” Lu Yibei spoke with certainty.
He was quite confident in this; although the Proxy Player Sister rarely shared information with him, every time she did, it had never been wrong regarding the general direction.
Even if it was wrong, the one who would get tricked would also be Shen Baiwei, and the one taking the blame would be the Proxy Player Sister. What does it have to do with him, Lu Yibei?
“Okay, I understand.” Shen Baiwei nodded, then pulled out a small notebook from her bosom and opened it, handing a few pages to Lu Yibei.
“Here, this is for you!”
“What is this?” Lu Yibei asked.
“What happened while you were unconscious for the past two or three days.” Shen Baiwei adjusted her glasses, “I thought you would be interested, so I briefly recorded it for you.”
Lu Yibei took the pages, glanced at Shen Baiwei, then looked at the content on the pages, unable to help but exclaim in surprise.
“d*mn…”
The first thing he saw was the message from the Wordless Book that had been delivered earlier that day.
The message was quite simple, roughly stating, “Your identity was basically exposed by your dear godfather during the battle with the Shaman King. Now seven or eight major spiritual energy organizations want your life, and four or five others want to capture you for training. If you want to keep your life, hurry up and contact the Chief Priest of Dachunyang Palace after this business is settled.”
“No way! Are these people crazy?” Lu Yibei put down the pages, looking at Shen Baiwei, and asked indignantly, “Can you judge this for me? I just finished off the Shaman King; shouldn’t I be lauded like a hero?”
He thought that after taking down such a significant world-class boss, where he had been the top DPS throughout, naturally, all the loot the Shaman King dropped should be his to pick first, and he should receive the most rewards for the mission. But reality turned out to be completely different from his expectations.
“This is quite understandable, right?” Shen Baiwei said nonchalantly, “It’s hard to define what you did; who can say for sure why you took down the Shaman King?”
“Moreover…” she paused for a moment, shifted her tone, and continued, “Your bug-like friend brought some news, saying there have been recent rumors that the resurgence of ancient destroyers like the Shaman King signifies that elements leading to world destruction are about to emerge, and you are very likely one of them.”
“The most important point is that with how terrifying the ghost story about the Shaman King is, if I were the leader of those spiritual energy organizations, I would also need to be wary of you. If I let my guard down and one day you lost your sanity, the resulting damage would be unimaginable.”
“But that doesn’t mean you can do nothing but point a g*n at good people, right?” Lu Yibei muttered, bowing his head to continue flipping through the papers in his hand.
Although being targeted by nearly ten major spiritual energy organizations sounded frightening, the message from the Wordless Book had already mentioned that with Zhang Hainan backing him up, it seemed there was not much to fear.
Would Old Zhang really harm him? Lu Yibei thought to himself, then frowned upon seeing the remaining content on the pages.
After reading the remaining content, he realized he had missed many events while unconscious.
Even though he had successfully exiled the Shaman King through a bug exploit, the disasters triggered by the Shaman King hadn’t ceased completely.
After he fell unconscious, the army of urban legends that broke free from the Shaman King’s control had plunged into chaos, scattering like wild horses.
The North and South defensive lines set up by the Wordless Book on the outskirts had fought a tug of war with those urban legends for nearly thirty hours to eliminate them completely. Following that, it took nearly three days to handle the night encroachment that almost spread across the entire Gobi Desert.
It could be said that in the past five days, the Siye Society spent over four and a half days battling the disasters caused by the Shaman King, and only managed to rest before Lu Yibei woke up.
Meanwhile, unlike the Siye Society operatives hustling outside the God Realm Yumen, the cheerful atmosphere inside the God Realm Yumen had persisted from five days ago until now.
The residents of God Realm Yumen and their ancestors had endured a thousand years of resource scarcity. Many things commonly found in the outside world were treasures they had never heard of.
The birds in the sky, fish in the water, crops yielding bountiful fruits… They make new discoveries every day, rejoicing as if they were celebrating a festival.
Yet, no one seemed saddened by Dragon Bang’s passing.
“Why is this?” Lu Yibei asked in confusion, a hint of agitation in his voice.
In his view, the residents of God Realm Yumen forgetting Dragon Bang seemed somewhat ungrateful.
“I guess it’s all arranged by Dragon Bang…” Shen Baiwei explained, “You don’t know, but Dragon Bang hasn’t been involved in the management of various affairs in God Realm Yumen for a long while; it’s those trusted descendants of the Longxiang Army managing them on his behalf, probably because he sensed his mind was starting to deteriorate long ago.”
“I’ve also heard that before Dragon Bang, under the identity of the Nanling County King, presided over the return of the Saintess ceremony, many young people didn’t even know the name of that elusive old man or what he had done. Don’t you think that’s a bit ridiculous?”
“And now, under the guidance of Dragon Bang’s trusted confidants, it’s seen as the return of the first miracle Saintess, bringing miracles.”
“Is that so? I understand.” Lu Yibei lowered his head, his expression slightly dimming.
He didn’t want everyone to be sad because of his departure; he just wanted everyone to be happy because their lives were getting better…
That Dragon Bang fellow was quite cool!
Lu Yibei thought as he continued to browse through the papers Shen Baiwei gave him, finally finding what he wanted on the last page—the “d*ath Report” of the Shaman King.
In the spiritual senses of all high-level spiritual energy users, the spiritual energy fluctuations of the Shaman King were no longer detectable.
Not a trace remained, cleaner than the toilet water brushed by the janitors of R Country in the infamous urban legends.
Both the General and Tongzi Tian, who possessed powers similar to the Shaman King capable of triggering resonance, confirmed that they couldn’t sense the Shaman King’s powers anymore.
This suggested that the Shaman King was likely genuinely dead.
However…
What about Xiao Hua?
Lu Yibei thought, casting a questioning look at Shen Baiwei, “I mean, Miss Time, why is there no information about Nanling Yaohua on this?”
Shen Baiwei shot him a sidelong glance and said irritably, “Four days ago, the old man of Nanling Peak held a funeral for Nanling Yaohua, and many people attended. Guess who wasn’t invited?”
“Was it me?” Lu Yibei curled his neck and tentatively replied. Upon receiving an affirmative nod from Shen Baiwei, he immediately retorted, “But I was unconscious! How could I go?”
“Tsk!” Shen Baiwei spat, “Do you think if you were awake, others would invite you?”
“Dude, someone died! Even if others know you are hardly to blame, can’t you imagine how they felt seeing you? Wouldn’t it affect their emotions?”
“Not to mention that the Siye Society operative named Bai Kai, who is your godfather, right? These days, apart from delivering meals on time and collecting the cooled dishes, he hasn’t spent much time here. Can you guess why?”
“……” Lu Yibei was at a loss for words.
He now understood why Shen Baiwei, rather than Water Brother, was guarding his bedside.
Thinking closely, he could comprehend; it was much like when he learned of his father’s d*ath shortly after waking up from the accident, throwing things around and getting angry at doctors, nurses, and Water Brother alike.
He wasn’t intending to blame them, but rather because he couldn’t accept reality and couldn’t control his emotions at the moment.
“Thank you for taking care of me these days…” Lu Yibei said.
“I… I just lent a helping hand! Didn’t I take care of you for a while before?” Shen Baiwei turned her face away, murmuring, “Now that you’re better, if there’s nothing else, I’ll take my leave. It’s not easy to infiltrate Tethys Laboratory; I need to prepare in advance.”
After speaking, she got up and hurriedly left the room.
“Take care! Remember to call me if you miss me!”
Not sure if it was his imagination, Lu Yibei distinctly felt a sharp pain in his thigh as he shouted towards the departing Shen Baiwei, as if someone had twisted it hard.
Am I going crazy?
If you want to go, just go; why pinch me?
Forget it, let her be; it seems he couldn’t hold on any longer. He decided to rest a little longer and handle the troubling matters when he woke up.
With that thought, Lu Yibei slowly closed his eyes.
At that moment, a blurry figure gradually materialized behind him.
That figure, from the outline, looked like a graceful young girl.
And the girl’s slender hand was quietly resting on his thigh…
**Epilogue End**
When Lu Yibei finally confirmed that the girl who entered his view alongside the activation of his special ability was Nanling Yaohua, he felt his head buzz and fell into blankness.
In fact, his feelings towards Nanling Yaohua were very complex, filled with guilt for having led to her being banished, and a longing that had been planted during their time together on that stone tower under the sunset. He couldn’t say he didn’t like her, but the influence of that extra “life” in the Dream City made him subconsciously avoid it.
When this complex emotion, having been suppressed for a long time, suddenly erupted at this moment, he momentarily thought he was hallucinating.
It felt just like the ending of a movie he had once watched—an old man with white hair gazing at the sunset, in the golden sunlight, seeing the girl he loved at eighteen, whom he had missed for a lifetime, stepping forward to dance with her until the sun descended below the horizon, and then the show was over.
In the next moment, when he saw Nanling Yaohua’s movement, he realized that what he was seeing was not an illusion.
…
Perhaps after being stared at by Lu Yibei’s wide-open eyes for too long, Nanling Yaohua finally realized that he seemed to be able to see or sense her presence, and a look of surprise appeared on her face.
Since being awakened by that mysterious and somewhat familiar voice, and aided by the sudden surge of power, crossing countless magnificent dreamlike bubbles, to “return” to this world, she had been wandering around God Realm Yumen, or, to be more precise, by Lu Yibei’s side for several days now.
During these days, she attempted to contact and communicate with everyone she encountered, all in vain. No one could sense her presence, nor could anyone hear her calls.
That feeling was akin to trying to interact with characters in a movie; regardless of whether it was a whisper or a scream, no response could be expected, because fundamentally, the inside and outside of the screen were two entirely different worlds.
Normal people can hardly imagine how despairing that is, especially when witnessing her grandfather and beloved Master Uncle carrying a coffin filled with her clothes, ready to establish a grave to her name, with somber expressions walking toward a dug-up pit while mumbling, “Farewell!”
At that moment, Nanling Yaohua desperately wanted to jump out and stop them, tell them that although she was indeed in a very abnormal state, she was not dead yet.
However, the reality was that she could do nothing but watch helplessly as her grandfather buried her clothing in that poplar forest, where generations of Yumen Sands Sea members would rest.
Witnessing her own burial and being powerless to stop it… Such a thing was absurd!
Now, seeing that Lu Yibei could perceive her presence, Nanling Yaohua was so happy that she almost jumped up…
How does one describe such a thing?
It was as if the entire world didn’t understand you, isolated you, and carried out acts that “bully” you. Just at that moment, a person shone into your dreary world like a ray of sunshine, and that person was someone you’ve liked since you were little.
However, just when she was about to spring forward, ready to act, she remembered her grandfather’s gentle admonition—girls should be coy.
So, she merely revealed a faint smile, raised her hand, and waved at Lu Yibei.
…
Seeing Nanling Yaohua wave, the other “girl” who was raised to think “it’s okay for boys to have thick skin” and had no idea what modesty was did not overthink it and immediately dashed over, opening her arms, which were at about eighty-five percent intact.
“Xiao Hua? Is it really you? I thought you already…”
Lu Yibei excitedly said as he moved closer to Nanling Yaohua, ready to embrace her, only to pass right through her body and suddenly froze there, his words abruptly stopping.
“Uh, why am I… how did you end up like this?”
With a brief pause, as Nanling Yaohua did not respond, she continued, “It’s okay, as long as you’re still here, I’ll find a way to get you back.”
“By the way, Water Brother and the old man of Nanling probably don’t know you’re back yet? Come on, let’s go tell them!”
“…”
In a moment of excitement, Lu Yibei spoke many words to Nanling Yaohua, until he caught sight of her lips moving silently, then he stopped.
It seemed Nanling Yaohua also said something to her, but she heard nothing.
At the same time, similarly unable to hear what Lu Yibei expressed, Nanling Yaohua finally reacted, forced a smile, shook her head, then squat down and wrote three characters in the sand—“Cannot Hear.”
The traces of those three characters were as shallow as the faint marks drawn by fine sand blown by the wind, ephemeral.
Lu Yibei saw the words on the ground and was momentarily stunned. When he looked back at Nanling Yaohua, his vision suddenly blurred.
Accompanied by the activation of his special ability, his mildly heated eyes began to burn painfully, the edges of his vision shimmered with an almost foggy halo, pulsing along with his twitching nerves.
Even if he could already control his special ability to detect hidden threats or peek into past events with the successful condensation of the North Spirit Seal, maintaining this activated state for an extended period was still a bit too much for him.
Realizing that the power of the North Spirit Seal was about to overwhelm the control over his ability, Lu Yibei hurriedly raised his hand, writing a line in the sand where Nanling Yaohua’s fingertip just brushed across, responding—“Xiao Hua, don’t be afraid. I will find a way to bring you back!”
I definitely will! No matter what lies ahead…
After writing that, he instinctively clenched his fists. At that moment, he was unsure if it was an illusion, but he distinctly felt the soft touch from the arm that had been exiled along with Nanling Yaohua.
Startled, he looked up, and saw Nanling Yaohua holding the severed limb with one hand, her other hand intertwining with the fingers of that severed limb.
Upon seeing the small characters left by Lu Yibei on the ground, a smile of contentment appeared on Nanling Yaohua’s face, and she nodded before her figure gradually faded away.
When Nanling Yaohua’s form vanished from sight along with the intense burning sensation in his eyes, Lu Yibei felt as if all his strength had been drained, and he slumped to the ground.
…
Beside him, Fang Ji, who had witnessed the entire process, subtly shifted away, gradually distancing himself from Lu Yibei.
Talking to himself, stretching his arms as if trying to embrace something non-existent, experiencing emotional highs and lows without cause…
What Lu Yibei did appeared to Fang Ji as anything but normal.
Though he no longer had the blessing of the Miracle Flower, he remained a genuine high-level spiritual energy user.
Could he not sense whether Nanling Yaohua was really there?
Could this disaster not be that after battling the Shaman King, both physically and psychologically injured, he was already beginning to rot and lose his mind within just a few days, teetering on the edge of madness?
Fang Ji thought anxiously, ready to find an opportunity to slip away, when suddenly Lu Yibei called out to him.
“Fang Girl…”
“Uh, ah?!” Fang Ji jolted, quickly responding, “I’m here!”
“Do you know where Water Brother, uh, also known as Siye Society’s Bai Kai operative, is? He doesn’t seem to be in God Realm Yumen. I want to see him.”
Fang Ji, “…”
(Thinking I might finish this volume tomorrow… I didn’t expect that this damned XG would really have aftereffects. Although I feel much better today, I still feel like my body has been hollowed out, and I couldn’t muster the energy all day, leaving me with a blank mind, unable to write anything.
I’ve dallied for so long and only managed to write this much, I’m truly sorry to everyone!
QAQ)
**Epilogue Continued**
“…That’s basically it,” Lu Yibei said.
Fang Ji eyed Lu Yibei with skepticism, summarizing simply, “You mean to say, Nanling Yaohua isn’t dead; she just exists in another form and has been following you all along?”
“Exactly!” Lu Yibei nodded.
Fang Ji, “…”
Though he understood what was going on, it still felt off.
Seeing something others cannot, existing in another form and only following you… How is this different from a mental patient conjuring an “invisible friend”?
Such symptoms, even appearing in an urban legend, are rather creepy.
Thinking of this, Fang Ji stopped pondering whom Lu Yibei had been speaking to previously and redirected the conversation, “If you want to find Bai Kai, I think we could try visiting a few nearby Siye Society outposts. A few days ago, when he left, he said he was going to support the cleanup work for the night encroachment.”
“Considering the time, the cleanup should have just finished, and Bai Kai shouldn’t have left yet.”
“Is that so?” Lu Yibei nodded and took a step forward.
After walking a short distance, he noticed Fang Ji hadn’t followed, stopping to turn back toward Fang Ji, tilting his head, “Fang Girl, aren’t you coming with me?”
“Uh…” Fang Ji showed an awkward expression, “I think I won’t go… I need to teach the residents of God Realm Yumen. You understand, right? I have to explain the mysteries of the Miracle Flower!”
Seeing Fang Ji fidgeting, Lu Yibei narrowed his eyes, sizing him up, then said flatly, “I’m saying, you don’t believe me, do you? You think I’m crazy?”
“No!” Fang Ji shook his head vigorously as if shaking a rattle drum, categorically denying, “Absolutely not! How could that be? What’s our relationship? No matter how absurd your words are, I would believe…”
Halfway through, he suddenly stopped.
He realized Lu Yibei was staring at him with a serious expression that had a hint of a neurotic vibe to it.
“Then why don’t you greet Xiao Hua?”
“I think you still don’t believe me! Though this is a bit hard to believe, miraculous things can appear in this world. You can’t stop believing in miracles just because you lost the Miracle Flower, boy!” Lu Yibei patted Fang Ji on the shoulder earnestly.
What the hell do you mean by believing in miracles? This has nothing to do with miracles, Fang Ji felt embarrassed and hesitated.
“Gulp—!”
He swallowed, briefly contemplating, and decided not to contradict this neurotic disaster, going along with her.
After all, facing a lunatic wouldn’t end well for anyone…
Thus, Fang Ji raised his hand, forcing a smile, waving towards the empty street behind Lu Yibei, “Hey… hey! Miss Yaohua, welcome back!”
Finished speaking, he looked back at Lu Yibei, casting a questioning glance.
Are you satisfied now?
Lu Yibei put her hands on her hips, shaking her head, “Not a bit sincere!”
Fang Ji, “?”
What? Do you want me to prostrate and bow to someone who’s not even visible, let alone existing, to show sincerity?
As he pondered, Lu Yibei puckered her lips and pointed towards the empty street on the opposite side with her bald right arm.
“Xiao Hua is clearly over here!”
Fang Ji, “…”
Although… this person must really be crazy?
A moment later.
Lu Yibei finally left.
Watching her walk away towards the end of the street, Fang Ji suddenly froze.
Not sure if it was an illusion, but just as Lu Yibei’s figure was about to vanish from sight, he saw a blurry silhouette of a girl flash by, leaning on Lu Yibei’s shoulder.
Fang Ji’s heart sank; he felt a chill run down his back and jolted.
He had once watched a movie where the protagonist was imprisoned in a dark, damp cell by a twisted criminal. In that prison, there was another inmate, long mentally tortured by the same criminal, who had an “invisible friend.”
The protagonist, locked up with that mentally disturbed inmate, endured over a hundred days under her continual actions convincing them of the existence of another, terrifying figure, seeming shy yet kind-hearted.
At first, the protagonist repeatedly denied that man’s existence but soon chose submission under the provocation of the inmate.
Finally, relying on her extraordinary willpower, the protagonist successfully made it through the double torment by the twisted criminal and the mentally disturbed mate, achieving salvation. However, on the very night she returned home, she… saw the man described by her inmate friend.
And now, Fang Ji suddenly felt he was experiencing something similar to that film’s protagonist…
d*mn it, have I also gone crazy due to this disaster? Fang Ji thought.
———
As night deepened, about eighty kilometers away from the God Realm Yumen, the Siye Society station at Foma Liang.
Here lay a group of cave dwellings built at an unknown time.
Surrounding herdsmen who could not return home that day often gathered here to stay overnight. At the onset of the turmoil in Yumen Pass, the Siye Society had evacuated the herdsmen here, and after the chaos, it became a temporary base for the Siye Society operatives coming to provide aid.
The cleanup work for the night encroachment had commenced yesterday and was nearing its conclusion. Today, Siye Society operatives arriving from various cities were gradually beginning to withdraw from the Gobi Desert.
Under the night sky, Bai Kai sat by the campfire, watching a squad of Siye Society operatives depart, sighing silently.
After that squad left, only he and the last team of operatives from Fenghuang City remained at the Foma Liang station. Logically speaking, considering the distance between Huacheng and this place, and having violated the regulations by sneaking over, he should have returned earlier, yet he stayed until the end.
He was reluctant to leave.
Although this vast Gobi Desert was resource-deprived and had nearly become a no-man’s land after the Shaman King’s night encroachment, from a certain perspective, this place was his homeland. He had lived here since he could remember, until adulthood.
Now, with the curse of the Yumen Sands Sea Branch lifted and the complete operation of the God Realm Yumen, with the cooperation of the Siye Society in Dunhuang City and the disciples of Dachunyang Palace who came for training each year, most urban legends invading Z Country could be completely deterred.
The nearly eight-hundred-year-long Yumen Sands Sea Branch no longer needed to risk their lives fighting against urban legends and half-urban legends lurking on the Gobi every moment.
With Yangling Yaohua’s unexpected passing, Nanling Peak’s already quirky temperament became even harder to deal with. Bai Kai had spoken a few good words for Lu Yibei, only to be scolded by him fiercely and driven out from the poplar forest where generations of Yumen Sands Sea members lived.
Over the past few days, during the gaps in cleanup work, Bai Kai also visited Nanling Peak several times, but each time he encountered a door closed to him.
Old Man had locked himself in the cave where Nanling Yaohua had been living, ignoring everyone, effectively becoming completely reclusive.
Bai Kai was unwilling to leave, partially due to concern for his master and partially because he feared that after this departure, it might be a long time—perhaps even a lifetime—before he returned to this land again.
Thus, as all the Siye Society operatives came to support began to withdraw, he decided to stay until the end to bid a proper farewell to the land that had nurtured him.
“Buzz—Buzz—!”
While Bai Kai was lost in sentimentality about leaving his hometown, the Gray Owl Badge in his arms suddenly vibrated, interrupting his thoughts.
He reached into his chest, caressed the badge with his fingertips, and infused it with spiritual energy. Before he could even listen to the other party, he instinctively replied.
“Are you annoying, Li Xuan? I’ve told you many times, all the information you hear is true; Xiao Bei has indeed turned into an urban legend and has advanced to the Disaster-Class. The Shaman King, that ancient destroyer, is also dead at her hands. But I can guarantee with my life that she absolutely won’t create disasters in Huacheng!”
“Instead of worrying about this, you should think about how to deal with yourself. If she wants to cause trouble for you, I truly can’t help you; she is an urban legend that controls drought; with just a flick of a finger, she can turn all your tires into tire juice…”
Hearing Bai Kai speak like this, Lu Yibei couldn’t help but interrupt, “Uh, Water Brother, is there a chance that I’m not Li Xuan?”
Upon hearing Lu Yibei’s voice, Bai Kai’s expression turned delighted, “Xiao Bei? You’re awake?”
“I’m telling you, Xiao Bei, you can’t expose God Realm Yumen recently. Several spiritual energy organizations have targeted you, including that terrifying group of nameless assassins from the Assassins organization. Those guys are not to be trifled with.”
“I think it’s best if you lay low for a while; wait for the storm to pass in three to five years…”
With the two senior brothers already having left first and the most concerned about Nanling Yaohua also unexpectedly deceased, the Master had fallen completely into reclusive silence. The Inspector Xing Yuan, as the district inspector of the Siye Society, was rarely in danger; the only one Bai Kai worried about was Lu Yibei.
Thinking about how Lu Yibei had become a thorn in the side of numerous spiritual energy organizations, Bai Kai was unable to control his gushing words.
“Wait, wait!” Lu Yibei, feeling somewhat annoyed, quickly interrupted, “Water Brother, I’ve actually already left God Realm Yumen, just nearby the Foma Liang station, and I want to see you. I have something important to discuss.”
“……” Upon hearing Lu Yibei say he wanted to meet, Bai Kai immediately fell silent, his expression becoming complicated.
It was as if this was an online commenter, hiding behind anonymity and spewing words, meeting their idol in person.
Despite communicating through the Gray Owl Badge, Bai Kai had been verbose to the extent that even his dear Bibi sister had grown a touch impatient. Yet, when it came to actually meeting Lu Yibei, he felt a bit hesitant.
Nanling Yaohua’s unexpected passing had left a significant void for Nanling Peak, which troubled Bai Kai and left him with considerable psychological scars.
He worried that he might lose control of his emotions when it came to Nanling Yaohua, exploding at Lu Yibei again or saying something hurtful.
“By the way, Water Brother, I have something important to give you—a jade bracelet I fished out from the river. It should be the one you threw off the cross-river bridge many years ago, right?”
Upon hearing this, Bai Kai was momentarily stunned, “How do you know…”
That bracelet indeed belonged to him; to be precise, it was the only thing his family left for him. During the days he starved while following Lu Ming in Huacheng, he never thought of exchanging that bracelet for money to buy food.
He had originally intended to give it to Xing Yuan as a token of love, but before he could hand it over, she vanished without a trace. In a fit of despair, he had impulsively tossed the bracelet off the bridge.
Once he finally emerged from the shadow of being cheated out of money and love and recalled that bracelet, he had sought it many times, only to return empty-handed.
The river flowing through Huacheng had always been swift and turbulent, filled with hidden currents, and he assumed that his bracelet had long since been lost in the waters. He never anticipated it would return to him today through Lu Yibei.
Coming back to his senses, Bai Kai nodded, “I got it… Xiao Bei, where are you now? I’ll head over to find you.”
“Just twenty kilometers west of the Foma Liang station; walk straight ahead after exiting the station and you’ll see a small hill; we’ll be waiting there…”
We? Who else is with Xiao Bei? Bai Kai’s expression turned puzzled, about to ask when he realized Lu Yibei had already cut off communication from the Gray Owl Badge.
———
For Bai Kai, crossing the twenty kilometers was as effortless as a trip downstairs to the small convenience store.
After exiting the Foma Liang station, he activated his spiritual energy, and a burst of rapid speed propelled him forward. In merely two to three minutes’ time, he came upon a gentle array of small hills that appeared at the limit of his vision.
As night deepened and the full moon hung in the sky, the small hills in the moonlight cast shadows that looked like corpses sprawled across the earth, covered with bizarre growths, struggling to stretch their arms toward the sky in their final throes.
This scene was a remnant of the night encroachment.
The night encroachment not only caused living beings to suffer from nightfall syndrome; at times, it also resulted in peculiar mutations like land activation.
Upon approaching the small hills, Bai Kai caught sight of Lu Yibei sitting solitary atop one of the towering hills and stopped to frown as he muttered, “Strange, didn’t Xiao Bei say there would be others? I thought there would be more people; could it just be a slip of the tongue?”
While he spoke, he took a step forward, and his figure suddenly vanished from sight, appearing right behind Lu Yibei.
“Xiao Bei?” Bai Kai softly called out, immediately entering “Mommy mode” as he couldn’t help but nag, “What’s so important that you had to rush to see me right after waking up?”
“Although all the guardians have temporarily come to terms with the leaders of those spiritual energy organizations, we can’t afford to let our guard down! The fear is that they may secretly engage in underhanded schemes…”
“Alright, Water Brother, you can rest easy!” Lu Yibei interrupted, “I’ve been very cautious on my way here, and I didn’t encounter any dangers.”
After a pause, her tone changed, “Water Brother, I came this time not only to bring you something but also to share some good news!”
“Good news?” Bai Kai appeared puzzled.
“Yeah, good news!” Lu Yibei nodded, then turned to look beside her, “I just discovered that Xiao Hua, Nanling Yaohua, isn’t dead; she’s back, right here beside me.”
“Uh, although you might not be able to see her or sense her presence, she is indeed…”
Watching Lu Yibei gesture next to the empty air, going back and forth motioning with her bald right arm that seemed both pitiful and comical, and listening to her excited yet slightly neurotic tones, the expression on Bai Kai’s face gradually grew sorrowful as his fists clenched, ultimately unable to contain a low shout.
“Enough!”
Just as he had foreseen, he ultimately lost control of his emotions due to the matter of Nanling Yaohua.
Yet, his emotional outburst was also due to Lu Yibei’s abnormal behavior.
She looked like a child who had made a mistake, resorting to cheap lies to cover up her faults and please the adult.
He didn’t want to see his Xiao Bei turn into this…
Lu Yibei had never seen Bai Kai so furious; she was indeed startled, momentarily frozen in place.
Bai Kai came back to himself, looking at “the weak, pitiful, and helpless” Lu Yibei with a touch of panic reflected in his gaze, then pulled her into his arms, gently stroking her head, soothing her, “I’m sorry, Xiao Bei, I didn’t mean to…”
As he spoke, the anger in Bai Kai’s face melted away, shifting into sadness.
“Uh, Water Brother, is there a possibility that I’m saying the possibility; Xiao Hua isn’t dead! She’s right here watching!”
“Xiao Hua, hurry! Show Water Brother a trick!”
While saying this, Lu Yibei activated her special ability. As the heat radiated from the depths of her pupils, her vision briefly scanned and locked onto Nanling Yaohua’s figure standing less than a meter away.
Nanling Yaohua stood there intertwining her arms, observing the two in a posture of a “bystander,” her lips curling into a slight impish smile as she noticed Lu Yibei looking at her and playfully stuck out her tongue.
For a white-haired, black-hearted beauty, what could be more delightful than watching her Master Uncle and fiancé (or wife?) embarrass themselves together?
Lu Yibei, “…”
Hearing Lu Yibei insist that Nanling Yaohua was alive and nearby, Bai Kai’s expression darkened all the more, tightening his embrace around Lu Yibei.
Tight enough to make her feel breathless, as if that would grant her special strength.
“Xiao Bei, you don’t need to evade reality, nor escape it nor torture yourself in this way. I believe Xiao Hua wouldn’t want to see you like this…”
The corners of Lu Yibei’s eyes twitched as she called out to Nanling Yaohua again, “Xiao Hua, hurry up! Soon, Water Brother will smother me!”
Upon hearing this, Nanling Yaohua shrugged and finally bent down, writing in the sand with her fingertips.
“Quick! Look at the ground, Water Brother! Do take a look!” Lu Yibei broke free from Bai Kai’s embrace and pointed at the ground.
“……” Bai Kai opened his mouth, wanting to say something to Lu Yibei but upon seeing her determined eyes, he frowned and followed her indication to look at the ground.
On the fine sand, faint traces had materialized…
【Master Bai, is it a bit rude to hug someone else’s betrothed so tightly in front of others?】
Bai Kai, “…”
———
Upon seeing the first line of words left in the sand by Nanling Yaohua, Bai Kai originally still couldn’t quite believe it, wondering if Nanling Yaohua really was alive. He had initially thought Lu Yibei was deceiving herself in her attempts to escape reality, even fabricating the illusion of Nanling Yaohua’s return using spiritual energy.
Until Nanling Yaohua left a new line of text detailing a memory only she and Bai Kai would know about…
That was the winter when she was four years old.
When she had been out playing, she found a viper frozen into a popsicle.
A naïve, innocent little girl, how could she bear to see the little snake freeze to d*ath?
To save the little snake, she had taken it home and tucked it into Master Bai’s warm quilt…
If Nanling Yaohua hadn’t brought it up, Bai Kai would have nearly forgotten that event, and Lu Yibei had no way of knowing about it.
Thus, Bai Kai finally believed in the truth of Nanling Yaohua’s return, but it was a truth he couldn’t see or sense.
———
Moments later.
Bai Kai, receiving the jade bracelet Lu Yibei handed him, couldn’t help but constantly glance around for her presence.
“Water Brother?” Lu Yibei waved her hand in front of his eyes with a flat expression, “Don’t look; you can’t see her!”
“Cough cough!” Bai Kai awkwardly cleared his throat a couple of times and withdrew his gaze, tucking the bracelet into his clothing. He handed back the letter that came with the bracelet to Lu Yibei and then asked, “What did you say this letter contains again?”
“Human fireworks!” Lu Yibei rolled her eyes, “It’s a miraculous medicine to purify the corruption of powers!”
“Yes, that’s it!” Bai Kai nodded, “I have no use for it, so you should keep it.”
“Didn’t you say you’d look for a way to bring Xiao Hua back? Maybe it will come in handy.”
“Well, since you said so, I’ll begrudgingly accept it!” Lu Yibei shrugged, taking the letter and stuffing it into her pocket.
Small talk is just for outsiders; Water Brother is not an outsider.
After securing the letter, when she looked up to meet Bai Kai’s gaze, Lu Yibei was momentarily startled.
Bai Kai’s expression suddenly became serious as he earnestly said, “Xiao Bei, now only you can see Xiao Hua and sense her presence. She’s been entrusted to you…”
Listening to this, Lu Yibei’s cheeks flushed slightly as she murmured, “What kind of old father figure talk is that? It’s making me feel quite embarrassed.”
Ignoring Lu Yibei’s complaint, Bai Kai turned to the empty space on her right, “Xiao Hua, you too!”
Afterward, waiting a moment, small characters quietly appeared on the left side of Lu Yibei’s ground.
【Got it, nagging!】
———
Five minutes later.
On the large truck speeding toward the poplar forest of the Yumen Sands Sea Branch.
Sitting in the passenger seat, Bai Kai turned to look at Lu Yibei, who had taken her hands off the steering wheel and asked, “Xiao Bei, what are your plans now?”
“Um…” Lu Yibei thought for a moment, expressionless, “First, I’ll head to Dachunyang Palace to find that old man Zhang Hainan and hear his arrangements. Then…”
She intended to say “Then I’ll go find Jiang Li,” but upon recalling that Nanling Yaohua was listening beside her, she quickly changed her words, “Then I have a few things to take care of; once I’ve dealt with them, I’ll help Xiao Hua find a way to return.”
“A few things?” Bai Kai frowned. “What things?”
Lu Yibei’s words reeked of intentional obfuscation, which made Bai Kai worry that she might pull off some grand scheme again.
Does it have to be clearly asked this way? Lu Yibei slightly furrowed her brow, quickly searching for an explanation, “Do you remember the Disaster-Class spiritual energy user who knocked you out with a single blow in God Realm Yumen? He died…”
“Before his d*ath, he told me he wanted a different and ordinary life in his next life; I’m planning to help him fulfill that wish… using the God Realm Prototype given to me by Mrs. Wang Meili.”
After speaking and waiting a moment, seeing that Bai Kai didn’t press on further and Nanling Yaohua showed no signs of abnormality, Lu Yibei breathed a sigh of relief.
Raising her head again, looking through the windshield, she spotted the clusters of poplar trees emerging ahead. She straightened in her seat, gripping the steering wheel, then stepped on the brake.
“Master! We’ve come, and there’s good news!” Bai Kai jumped down from the truck and called toward the poplar forest.
———
On the other side, Liao Zhai Tavern.
After nearly half a month of being damaged, the Liao Zhai Tavern had finally completed repairs and reopened tonight. For this, Hu Boss had thoughtfully prepared an eight percent discount across the board, and many old patrons of the Liao Zhai Tavern hurriedly came to take advantage of the news.
You must understand, a discount in Liao Zhai Tavern was a rare event that might not occur once in a hundred years.
By the time it was past midnight, the bustling Liao Zhai Tavern reached its peak ambiance, filled with guests.
Hu Boss stood behind the counter, leisurely fanning himself, glancing around the tavern with a smile in his eyes.
Just then, he suddenly noticed the General in the corner of the room lowering his glass and casting a glance at him.
He smiled and waved at the General, who sighed and shook his head before placing down his payment, quickly exiting the tavern.
At first, Hu Boss didn’t understand why the General made such a grim face towards him, until two seconds after exiting the tavern, the whole place began to shake violently due to the impetus of “Floating Life as One.”
Looking at the dust raining down from the ceiling, Hu Boss sneered coldly and gritted his teeth as he mumbled the name of the culprit, “Hah! Disaster…”
———
As Lu Yibei drove away from the poplar forests of the Yumen Sands Sea Branch, she found herself alone in the large truck.
Worried about her Master’s state, Bai Kai chose to stay and keep her company.
The truck sped across the endless desert, with only the howling winds and the sound of tires crunching over gravel filling the air.
“Xiao Hua, what did you say when you went in to see your grandfather? Why does he seem to have suddenly calmed down?”
Recalling how Nanling Yaohua had entered the cave for only two or three minutes, only to emerge later with her grandfather bearing several packages and dumping them into Bai Kai’s arms, saying gruffly, “Take this!” before turning back without a backward glance, Lu Yibei still found the scene magical.
But she felt it might be her imagination; she had the impression that although Old Man Nanling had emerged from his reclusiveness, the expression on his face seemed even more intense than before, laced with hints of resentment.
It was as if she owed him a few million core entities of urban legends.
After a few seconds, small letters materialized on the windows misted with cold night air.
【A secret! Of course, my granddaughter has a method to make her grandfather happy!】
Lu Yibei, “…” Are you sure you made him happy? I feel like he wants to stab me even more now!
———
One day later, inside the God Realm Prototype, Huacheng University.
At eleven forty-five in the morning, the bell signaling the end of class rang, and the campus, which had been silent for a whole session, awakened amid the chatter.
In the corridor outside Literature Building, several exuberant youths walked shoulder to shoulder, chatting and laughing together.
“Old Li, were you up all night again? I saw you dozing the whole class… At this rate, you’ll d*e of sudden d*ath!”
“Cawing mouth!” The young man nicknamed Old Li rolled his eyes and turned to the round-faced youth beside him, “Ah Wen, what’s up with that girl you were talking about last time? What’s the hold-up?”
The round-faced youth rolled his eyes back, “What do you expect? She asked for my WeChat to begin with; she clearly wasn’t after me.”
Upon hearing the round-faced youth’s words, the group subtly directed their gazes to the striking young man walking on the far right.
Noticing the unfriendly looks from his friends, the young man blushed, “W-Why are you all looking at me like that? This has nothing to do with me, right?”
“Why not?” Old Li poked the handsome lad in the chest, “You know exactly what you did, don’t you?”
“Right, when it came to the truth, I was heartbroken!” Round-faced youth added, “Long Bang, we’re brothers; I can be unemotional about it, but you need to be careful not to become the enemy of all the boys in our class—let alone the whole school!”
“Fatty, you got it wrong! Long Bang is already the enemy of all; when he keeps acting like this…” one of the boys spoke, lunging toward the handsome lad to engage in a “friendly” tussle.
Just as the boys began to playfully wrestle, a cough interrupted the raucous scene, rescuing Long Bang from his “sea of suffering.”
“Pr… Professor…”
“Hello, Professor Ma!”
“Hmm.” The suddenly appearing Professor Ma nodded at the group of students and then looked at Long Bang, “Long Bang, your recent paper about Yumen Pass was quite fascinating, with some very unique insights. I’d like to discuss it with you in-depth; are you able to come to my office now?”
“Absolutely, Professor!” Long Bang readily agreed, following Professor Ma toward the literature department office.
After walking a distance, he suddenly halted and turned his head toward the stairwell on the side, lost in thought for a moment.
Was it his imagination? He felt as though someone had just been watching him from over there. Long Bang pondered.
“What’s wrong? Is there something, Long student?”
“Uh…” Long Bang withdrew his gaze and shook his head at Professor Ma, “No, nothing professor; let’s go!”
———
In the stairwell on the other side.
A petite girl wearing black-framed glasses leaned against the wall, patting her chest before slowly exhaling a breath of air.
After waiting a few seconds, she stuck her head out to look at the distant figures of Long Bang and Professor Ma and, without realizing it, a faint, shallow smile crept upon her lips.
“Hey! Youth is in its prime, academics flourishing, with a great group of friends around… Isn’t this quite wonderful?”
Although Long Bang requested an ordinary life, could they not allow a bit of leeway for someone who had fought all their life to enjoy a little?
Lu Yibei thought, shrugging as she stepped forward, her figure seemingly fading like mist blown away by the wind, disappearing quietly from the spot…
**(End of this Volume)**
**Volume Ending Summary + Dove Appreciation**
This volume is finally finished; how delightful!
Although when I started this volume, I anticipated it would be lengthy, I didn’t expect it to end up being this long…
From late February 2022 to early January 2023, I spent almost a year writing this one volume.
Honestly, I personally feel that this volume is not particularly ideal; if a perfect score is one hundred, it barely reaches fifty-eight point seven three six two points.
How to say it? There were so many things I wanted to include in this volume.
Progress in the relationship between Stinky Sister and Beibei, and the emergence of the Zero Urban Legend (Shancheng part)…
The war between the Longxiang Army and the Shaman King a thousand years ago (also a reflection of humanity’s triumph over the elements that previously caused the destruction of the world)…
Yumen Sands Sea Branch (focusing mainly on Bai Kai and Nanling Yaohua)…
Other spiritual energy organizations outside of the Siye Society (preparing for opening new maps and storylines)…
Shen Baiwei’s various plotlines (leading to the Saint Plan and Tethys Laboratory)…
The emotional entanglements of the Proxy Player Sister and the System…
Not to mention Beibei’s advancement to Disaster-Class and the foreshadowing pertaining to the truth about the destruction of the world…
And so on and so forth.
With various factors interlacing and my ability to handle details in the plot not very strong, this volume comes off feeling like a tangled mess akin to a ball of yarn that a cat has clawed, with all the grand, tender, and heavy elements present, yet missing a particular flavor…
What is most intolerable is that some noticeable small bugs emerged.
(Having dragged on for too long, the author’s brain wasn’t functioning properly, and some details were forgotten QAQ.)
This not only detracted from the readers’ experience compared to before but also made me particularly exhausted while writing. When I finally finished the last chapter early yesterday morning, I even experienced a sense of relief akin to finishing an entire book.
(Really super tired, the length is almost comparable to a concise novel; having finished it at dawn, I immediately crashed on the bed and went straight to sleep, even lacking the energy to write an ending summary.
Honestly, if possible, I would prefer to have shorter lengths and fewer elements in each volume so that I could better control the narrative.)
What’s worse is that near the end, I encountered some family issues and got sick, and there were several times I considered finishing with writing.
(Forcing myself to write in poor condition is not advisable. When I woke up today and looked back at the plots of the last few chapters, I found they fell far short of what I had hoped for, leaving me with many regrets.)
Alright, enough complaining; the contents of this volume are settled, and there’s no need for further discussion. Let’s get back to the main point and talk about something serious.
According to my design, with this volume of the Sands Sea concluding, the entire story basically enters the later stages. By the end of the volume, the elements that could lead to the destruction of the world have been brought out from a previously “legendary” existence.
Therefore, in the upcoming two volumes…
(Perhaps three or four volumes? Although currently set to two, on closer inspection, there’s still a bit more content. Based on my experience from the Sands Sea volume, I might split one or two volumes to ensure that the story is told completely and in detail.)
The upcoming two volumes will likely revolve around various spiritual energy organizations and the elements leading to the world’s destruction.
(The preliminary storyline I have in mind roughly lays out three lines: the first line is the one involving Miss Rabbit and Shan E; the second is concerning Beibei and Xiao Hua; the third could be centered around Shen Baiwei and Jiang Li… It seems I’ve unwittingly set up too many elements; perhaps I’ll have to risk starting a multi-thread narrative again.
Book language, you truly deserve to d*e!)
However…
The above is just a preliminary idea. I haven’t had time to draft detailed outlines yet, so I’ll need some time to think it through.
After all, the trope of defying fate has almost been overused by various authors, and if I don’t do it right, the entire story might as well turn into a tissue-readable work…
Well, I’ll stop here! Otherwise, I’ll just sound repetitive.
Next, I probably need to rest for a few days to adjust my physical condition and refine the outline.
(PS: Is there anyone who can recommend some novels related to the beautiful country? I’ll take a look for reference. We’re changing maps in the next volume, and I think it’s necessary to learn a bit to ensure the flavor is more on point.)
That’s all.
Now comes everyone’s favorite dove appreciation segment.
**Dodo Bird**
The Dodo Bird, also known as the dodo (DODO), is a flightless bird native to Île Maurice in the Indian Ocean. This bird became extinct in just 200 years after human discovery, due to hunting by humans and the impact of human activities, making it one of the most famous extinct animals, second only to dinosaurs.
Chinese scientific name: Dodo
Other names: Dodo Bird
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Class: Aves
Subclass: Neornithes
Order: Columbiformes
Family: Raphidae
Species: Dodo
Distribution area: The island of Mauritius in Africa (extinct)
The Dodo weighed about 23 kg (approximately 50 lbs) and had blue-gray plumage with a large head. Its beak was 23 cm (9 inches) long, light black with a pale red sheath forming a hook tip. Due to its small wings, it couldn’t fly. Its legs were sturdy and yellow, with a tuft of curved feathers at the back on the higher part of its legs. The Réunion Pigeon could be a lighter variant of the Dodo. The Rodrigues Solitaire was a pale brown bird, taller and slimmer, with a smaller head, short beak lacking a thick hook tip, and a prominent wing. Presently, a head and foot of a Dodo are preserved at Oxford University, the British Museum only has one foot left, and a head is kept in Copenhagen. Numerous complete skeletons are stored in museums in Europe, the US, and Mauritius. Many skeletons of the Solitaire have also been preserved.
As the inspiration for the Dodo in Lewis Carroll’s “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland,” the Dodo also enhanced human understanding of the history of species evolution. The Dodo and other flightless island birds—the Solitaire—had become extinct centuries ago, leading naturalists to ponder where they placed within the evolutionary tree. Through DNA analysis of these two birds and others, it was confirmed that the Dodo and Solitaire are sister species within the family Raphidae. According to Beth Shapiro and her colleagues, the closest existing relatives to the Dodo and Solitaire are the Nicobar Pigeon, found in the Nicobar Islands and nearby Southeast Asia, the area where the Dodo and Solitaire branched off approximately 42.6 million years ago. The authors state that they eventually migrated to the Mascarene Islands in the eastern Indian Ocean near Madagascar. Before the 17th century, Dodo lived in Mauritius, while the Solitaire lived on Rodrigues Island until the 18th century. The Shapiro research group conducted genetic testing on 37 species of Columbiformes and extinct varieties. They found that the Dodo and Solitaire branched out around 25.6 million years ago, which was before the emergence of the islands of Mauritius and Rodrigues above sea level. Scientists believe that birds likely utilized the ridges surrounding the Mascarene Highlands—already above sea level 30 million years ago—as “stepping stones” before ultimately settling on their respective islands.
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