Chapter Sixty-Nine: I Shall Go

The most important task right now was to find Chen Chen and Li Zijian. I had no idea whether the two of them had completed the game or not. The rain still showed no sign of stopping, pouring down as fiercely as ever.

With no sense of direction, all I could do was run aimlessly. Thunder crashed all around, drowning out every other sound, leaving me to rely on luck alone. I circled the park almost once. Apart from a few people locked in combat with the ghouls, I saw nothing—no sign of Chu Yao either.

I no longer cared about anyone else; my only concern was finding Chen Chen and Li Zijian. Still, whenever I came across classmates struggling in a fight, I couldn’t help offering a hand. After all, I didn’t want the number of casualties to keep rising. If this went on, soon only Chen Chen, Li Zijian, and I would be left. Who knew how we would be able to continue the game if it came to that?

With a resigned shake of my head, I pushed these thoughts aside. After a while, the clash of weapons reached my ears from a small plaza nearby. Since I couldn’t find Chen Chen and Li Zijian anyway, I decided to check it out.

Jogging closer to the square, I saw the outlines of several figures. Then, a voice shouted, “Go find Brother Yao, I’ll hold them off!” That was Li Zijian’s voice, unmistakably bold. I hadn’t expected him to show such courage. The other must have been Chen Chen, who quickly replied, “No, if we die, we die together.”

Their words moved me deeply. Standing in the rain, I shouted at the top of my lungs, “No one’s dying today!” With that, I charged into the plaza.

When they saw me alive and well, their spirits soared, and their weapons moved with renewed vigor. Opposite us stood five ghouls—impressive that the two of them had held out for so long. The Snowblade in my hand sensed my fighting spirit, humming with anticipation.

I leapt into the fray, slashing as I went. Compared to the battle with Hualing earlier, these ghouls seemed almost trivial—hardly worth mentioning. With my arrival, the tide turned instantly. In moments, three ghouls lay slain by my blade, the remaining two badly wounded. Chen Chen and Li Zijian each dispatched one, and with that, all three of us had completed the game.

I sheathed my blade and, seeing no shelter nearby, simply sat on one of the plaza benches. The three of us chatted in the rain, discovering a peculiar pleasure in it.

It turned out that after Chen Chen and Li Zijian had run off earlier, they’d returned to the pavilion, worried about me. Finding only corpses and no sign of my body, they realized I must have survived and decided to wait for me. On their way back, though, they were ambushed by ghouls.

Nodding, I estimated that little time remained before the game ended. With the crisis over, Li Zijian began joking around, making us all burst into laughter.

We were cultivators, so catching a cold was of little concern. After a while, the rain began to ease. Soon after, my phone buzzed—it was the Ghost King.

“Anyone who has slain all the ghouls may leave now. Wait for the next game.”

After reading the message, I checked the group’s numbers. Only twenty-three left... I didn’t let myself dwell on it. I called Chen Chen and Li Zijian over and headed for the gate.

After the rain, the air was thick with the scent of wet earth. I noticed that many classmates had already left, and nearly everyone had reached the first rank of Lingye. But there was still no sign of Chu Yao. No matter—I didn’t concern myself with it.

After parting ways with Chen Chen and Li Zijian at the crossroads, I headed home alone. On the way, I kept thinking: with no word from the Ghost King, my days were spent either training or bored out of my mind. It seemed I’d need to do some investigating soon.

I walked quickly and reached home in less than twenty minutes. Unlocking the door as usual, I found Nangong Xi cleaning as she always did. Seeing me return covered in blood, she showed little surprise—she was used to it by now. After a few words of reproach, she sent me off to shower.

I took a long, hot shower, and outside, the rain began again. I had always loved rainy days, but after today’s ordeal, that fondness was quite diminished.

Sitting by the window, I took out the Celestial Finger Technique. My last practice had been vague; I still wasn’t familiar with the Eight Trigrams Formation. So today’s task was to memorize it thoroughly.

The Eight Trigrams Formation was quite different from the previous two techniques—not just in function, but in form. Both the Spirit Gathering and the Five Elements Techniques were formless, but the Eight Trigrams Formation had a tangible shape. According to the book, when you performed the technique, an emblem of the Eight Trigrams would appear before you.

I practiced the finger movements over and over, until at last I could complete the entire sequence. Standing up, I slowly formed the gestures. As I finished the last one, I silently intoned in my heart, “Eight Trigrams Formation, arise!”

Instantly, a pattern of the Eight Trigrams appeared before me—a classic formation, yet distinct in that I seemed able to control it. Channeling spiritual energy, I gripped the formation from behind and gently turned it. Amazingly, the formation moved with me, as if it were firmly attached to my hand.

But after a few seconds, it faded away. I was overjoyed—what a marvelous skill! Not only did it look impressive, but it would surely be of great use. I didn’t notice Nangong Xi watching me with a gentle smile.

“Brother, what’s that you’re doing?” Nangong Xi asked, resting her chin on her hands, her lashes fluttering.

“Just a little trick,” I replied, scratching my head awkwardly.

Not wanting the mood to grow awkward, I changed the subject. “By the way, didn’t Second Uncle say he’d teach you cultivation?”

Nangong Xi thought for a moment. “He did, and he even came by this morning.”

“He did? What did he say?” I sat down to ask her.

“He said if you have time tomorrow, you should go see him and bring me along. And to call him first before coming.”

I nodded, picked up my phone, and dialed Second Uncle’s number. He must have had something important to ask me, and I owed him much. Of course I would go.

The phone rang a few times before a voice answered. “It’s me, Second Uncle.”

“What is it?” I asked.

He replied unhurriedly, “I’m back in the village now, but it’s not the old one. I’ll send you the address—be sure to come tomorrow.”

With that, he hung up. I smiled helplessly—Second Uncle hadn’t changed a bit.

“Brother, do you think I can cultivate?” Nangong Xi asked as she lounged on the sofa.

“Of course you can,” I replied without hesitation.

She nodded sweetly and went off to make dinner.