Chapter Eighty-Nine: Hope Rekindled

But Nangong Xi said, “My life was given to me by my brother; no one can take it except him.” I smiled faintly, feeling a gentle warmth in my heart.

The man, seeing how stubborn Nangong Xi was, turned to flee, but I was already blocking his path from behind. “Trying to run? Asking for death!” With that, Nangong Xi and I closed in on him from both sides, attacking in unison. He could barely handle Nangong Xi alone, let alone the two of us together; soon, he was beaten black and blue. Both of us had practiced complementary techniques, and he was utterly defenseless. Very quickly, I slit his throat.

Alert, I scanned the surroundings. Seeing no one, I stripped the ring from his finger, dragged him aside, and used the firestarter Second Uncle had given me to set him alight. I waited a few minutes until his body was completely reduced to ashes, then hurriedly pulled Nangong Xi away.

“Brother, should we tell Second Uncle?” she asked. I shook my head. “Second Uncle will be back soon; we can tell him then. Besides, I doubt the Dong family will show up so quickly.” Nangong Xi nodded obediently, and we soon returned to the courtyard.

I told Nangong Xi to go inside and sleep, but she insisted on waiting in the courtyard with me for Second Uncle to return. Unable to dissuade her, I agreed.

Second Uncle was quite punctual and came back soon after. Seeing both of us armed, he thought something had happened. I told him everything that had just occurred. Sitting on a stone bench, Second Uncle took a sip of tea and said, “It’s fine. As long as the forces behind them don’t step in, there’s nothing to fear.” I nodded. Since Second Uncle said so, there was nothing more to say, and I went back to my room to sleep.

...

In the morning, I was still half asleep when the clash of weapons woke me. Instinctively, I rushed out, drawing my long knife, only to find Second Uncle and Nangong Xi sparring with swords in the courtyard.

I sighed deeply, thinking these two really had too much time on their hands—making such a racket at dawn, someone might think a battle had broken out.

“Hey, can you two not start this so early? I haven’t even woken up yet...” I yawned, sounding thoroughly lazy.

“You should learn from little Nan. She wakes up even earlier than I do,” Second Uncle said with a smile, without a hint of reproach.

“All right, all right, you two are so diligent...” Since I couldn’t go back to sleep, I changed clothes and practiced a set of boxing forms.

Ever since my meridians were slightly restored last time, there had been no progress at all, as if everything had come to a standstill. Though my constitution had strengthened a bit, lacking spiritual energy was like going to war without a weapon.

As I was having breakfast, my phone rang. It was Chen Chen.

“Hello?” I said, sipping my porridge.

“I’ve got some information about the tokens. Interested?” Hearing this, I hurriedly swallowed a few more mouthfuls and replied, “Of course.”

“All right, then. Meet me at Jinmen Bookstore in a bit.” Chen Chen must have returned to town, still his straightforward self—no small talk, just the facts.

Second Uncle noticed and asked, “Heading out again?” I nodded. “Just going back to the city, I’ll be back before nightfall.”

He didn’t say much, knowing I had my own business to handle, only reminding me to be careful, especially of the Dong family.

I promised and packed up to head down the mountain.

It was just after seven in the morning, and I arrived at Jinmen Bookstore by eight. Jinmen was the largest independent bookstore in the city; we used to go there often to finish homework or play games together.

Entering the store, I spotted Chen Chen at a table in the far corner, with Li Zijian sitting beside him. I thought Chen Chen had called only me, but clearly, he’d notified Li Zijian as well. Later, he explained that our “iron triangle” should never act alone—we must always stick together.

I sat next to Li Zijian, and Chen Chen said, “Li Zijian’s told me your situation... Sigh... You’ll be all right.” Comforting words didn’t come easily to Chen Chen; that awkward sentence was all he managed.

“All right, enough of that—get to the point.”

Chen Chen nodded and said to both of us, “I’ve heard that ever since the King of Ghosts made his declaration, all kinds of treasures have been discovered in the world, one after another. I suspect what you and Li Zijian found was also deliberately placed by the Ghost King, just to distract people. But I’ve got an important lead: not far from here, in a place called Haijiang Town, people have been hearing ghostly wails every night lately, and someone saw a green light glowing from a cave in the mountain behind the town.”

Chen Chen finished in a single breath, nearly choking, and quickly drank some juice.

“All right, let’s go have a look,” I said.

We decided on the spot to set out at once. Not wanting to trouble Old Li again, the three of us took a cab instead. Chen Chen rode in front, Li Zijian and I in the back.

I’d barely slept that morning, and I always got drowsy in cars, so before long I was asleep on the seat. Some time later, Li Zijian woke me, and I groggily opened my eyes.

By then, we’d arrived at Haijiang Town. It was a small place, less than half the size of Zhucheng, with few buildings, all of them old. Truly a “town,” in every sense.

We got out of the car. I’d been to Haijiang Town a few times before and remembered the path up the mountain, but Chen Chen had already scouted the area and knew it even better, so naturally he took the lead.

Though the town was small and unremarkable, it was the cleanest place I’d ever seen. Not a speck of mud by the roadside, and even the trash bins were spotless.

Li Zijian, as always, played to his strengths, telling a steady stream of off-color jokes along the way—disgusting, yet somehow funny.

With Chen Chen’s precise guidance, we soon reached the back mountain. As soon as we drew near, I sensed something was off. Perhaps because I lacked spiritual energy, my perception was dulled, so I couldn’t pinpoint what was wrong, but I was sure something was hidden in those mountains.

Chen Chen told us that because there were no sects or cultivating families nearby—not even a single cultivator in the town—this place had gone unnoticed. Seeing that it was almost noon, I suggested we head into the mountains now, hoping to finish early.

The three of us agreed without hesitation. When it came to my suggestions, the other two never objected.

Chen Chen’s earlier scouting only went this far; from here on, we’d have to find our own way deeper into the mountains.