Chapter Twenty-Two: Return to the City

I hadn’t yet figured out what was happening when, with a deafening "Boom!", a powerful shockwave erupted from the old man in black robes, who let out a loud shout. I immediately understood—he must have chosen to perish together with the Centurion. Yet I hadn’t anticipated the sheer force of the explosion’s aftermath. Even though I instinctively raised my knife-wielding arm to shield myself, it was futile. Both I and the ghost soldiers behind me were hurled back ten meters or more; some of those spectral warriors were blasted to dust on the spot. The range and destructive power of that move were unimaginable.

Already exhausted, I couldn’t endure any more. I blacked out instantly.

...

I didn’t know how long it had been before I awoke, groggy and disoriented. The ghost soldiers had vanished, leaving only the wounds covering my body as proof they’d ever been there. I pulled out my phone—it was already half past eleven at night. Cautiously, I felt my way toward the spot where the old man had detonated himself, but there was no trace of his remains.

I sighed deeply, feeling for the first time just how powerless I truly was.

I searched the area further, but the Centurion must have been obliterated along with the old man; even Qian Xiaozhen’s body was nowhere to be found. I inspected my knife—it had reverted to a plain white rod, though now faintly shrouded in spiritual energy.

With nothing else to do, I gathered my things and made my way out of the village. It wasn’t until I spotted Qian Xiaozhen’s jeep that I finally felt this nightmare journey to Toothless Village had truly ended at last.

Just as I reached the vehicle, a thunderous crash erupted behind me. I instinctively raised the rod and turned, only to be greeted by a bewildering sight. As soon as I exited the village boundaries, the entire settlement crumbled into ruins—the houses collapsing as if their very spines had been snapped.

I didn’t linger. With no car keys, I could only break into a run toward the nearest town. I remembered there was a city nearby called Nihong County.

My memory served me well. After jogging for a while, I finally reached the city. Overwhelmed with relief, I looked all around. Though I’d never been here before, everything felt oddly welcoming, as if I were a country bumpkin newly arrived in the big city.

I hailed a cab to the bus station and caught the last bus home. The bus was nearly empty; everyone else was half-asleep, leaving me—the only one who’d just survived a brush with death—feeling utterly out of place.

Around one in the morning, the bus finally rumbled to life, and I began my journey home.

With nothing better to do, I pulled out my phone and was surprised to see a flood of missed calls and messages.

Remembering that my phone had no signal in Toothless Village, I hurried to check my messages.

First was a barrage of texts from Chen Chen:
"Where are you?"
"Are you there? Message me back ASAP..."
"I’ve got new info, you want to check it out...?"
"Where did you go? Reply now..."

I hadn’t expected Chen Chen to fight so hard for his own freedom. Smiling, I replied with a few brief messages:
"I had something to deal with these past few days, but I’m safe now. Let’s talk at school tomorrow..."

Next up were messages from Li Zijian:
"Yao, you there?"
"Yao?"
"Crossfire just released a new weapon. Can you lend me some money so I can try my luck?"

I couldn’t help but laugh. Chen Chen and Li Zijian truly were polar opposites: one desperate to escape the Ghost King’s game, the other treating it like it was no big deal.

After replying to them both, I opened our class group chat out of habit. Ever since the last game, the chat had gone silent, and the group had dwindled from a hundred members to just over eighty.

"Sigh, will there really be only one left in the end?" I muttered to myself.

Thinking of the next game scheduled for the morning, I decided to catch a bit of sleep on the bus.

When I woke again, the city where I lived had just come into view, the sky faintly brightening. I got off at a stop close to home and started walking.

Halfway there, my phone rang. To my surprise, it was the Ghost King.

"Did you all rest well? Come to class at eight sharp for the next game. Latecomers will die." He even added a sticker.

I thought to myself, "This Ghost King really is haunting us..."

It was past five, and a few early risers already wandered the streets. Sunlight spilled across the earth, as if even the withered grass had been granted new life.

Perhaps this was what hope looked like.

When I got home, I immediately took a long, hot shower.

Wrapped in my bathrobe, I sat in the living room fiddling with the white rod. No matter what I tried, the snow-white blade refused to reappear—it seemed I still couldn’t fully control its spiritual energy. I stared at the rod for a long time, murmuring, "From now on, I’ll call you Snowblade..."

Glancing at the time, I saw it was nearly seven. There was no point in sleeping now, so I got dressed and went out for breakfast.

By then daylight had fully broken. I couldn’t help but recall the question Chu Yao had asked me that night.

Would we all die in the end? Why did the Ghost King torment us? Was there something about our world I still didn’t understand?

A cascade of questions echoed in my mind, but I had no answers.

Like usual, I bought a pancake and walked to the familiar park. But this time, I didn’t run into my great-uncle, nor did I encounter any evil spirits. It was as if everything had been preordained, as if they’d never existed at all.

As I munched on my breakfast, my phone rang out again.

"Everyone must be in the classroom by eight. Latecomers die."

Sighing, I finished my pancake and went straight to school by taxi.

...

When I arrived, I noticed everyone in the classroom looked exhausted, with dark circles deep under their eyes, as if no one had slept in days.

Except for Li Zijian.

True to his carefree nature, he was sitting in his seat playing games. I patted him on the shoulder.

"The Ghost King wants you for the game," I said.

He jumped, startled, then shouted, "Damn it, I died before I could even use my skill! This Zhang Liang is so annoying, he needs a nerf..."

The whole class turned to look at him as if he were crazy, but he just scratched his head and muttered, "It’s true, though..."