Zhou Liren covered his ears with trembling hands, afraid to listen, feeling as if he might faint once more.
Was he about to die?… Yet he still wanted to cling to life…
{_-Don’t be afraid, child.–_}
A gentle voice echoed from within his heart, and a natural fragrance seemed to emerge from the depths of his soul.
Zhou Liren looked up—a phantom-like silhouette of a woman appeared before him, smiling as she watched him. All his fear dissipated in an instant, leaving him notably calmer.
A faint, ethereal fragrance wafted into his nostrils. Zhou Liren noticed the osmanthus flowers on the woman’s hairpin swaying gently, as if stirred by an unseen wind. Their petals opened and closed, shedding barely visible, pale golden dust akin to the phantom remnants of Chronos.
{_-Don’t make a sound; someone will rescue you soon.–_}
[Soon? Who are you?]
{_-The one who once gave you the formula.–_}
A dozen seconds later, the man standing before the operating table paused slightly. He glanced sideways behind him—the figure on the ground had vanished without a trace!
The scalpel in his grip instantly blazed with red light.
–Invisibility? Seven, is that you?–
No response.
–Not Seven, who just acquired the Invisibility Moxel?– His eyes narrowed. –Then who is it?–
On the stone platform, the awakened Lee Zhinan felt his eyelids heavy with drowsiness, as he gazed at the figure holding the scalpel.
–You… who are you?–
–You may call me Bandage Master. Sleep. When you wake up… go into the mountains for me, and see what lies hidden within.–
The man fell asleep. Before long, he felt as though he smelled a faint fragrance; his senses naturally cleared, yet he woke only in a dream.
Fragmented messages flooded Lee Zhinan’s mind.
–This is… information from another dimension? Wait, what is another dimension?–
Outside the dreamlike cave, flowers and grasses thrived. Lee Zhinan stepped out and looked up at the starry, azure sky. Thin sunlight filtered through the stars, scattering onto the ground. The forest was filled with the sounds of birds and the scent of blooming flowers. This was an abandoned campsite, yet the supplies on its racks seemed to have just been set down.
Lee Zhinan walked over and ran his hand across the edge of a Lance dagger.
He turned his head to look at the basket of food and the crate containing armor. From a chest of clothes, he picked up a metal-framed glass mirror. Its surface flickered with a face—specifically, that of Wang Chaoguang.
Suddenly, the face twisted and shifted, transforming into his own.
Lee Zhinan jolted awake, the mirror clattering to the ground.
He remembered then—he had left Earth and arrived in a strange world… and now, he had been captured!
The entire team had been dissected and killed, and Wang Chaoguang was the first to suffer! All because he obtained the pill formula!
And that freak with bandages wrapped around everything below his neck sliced Wang Chaoguang into countless pieces, even stuffing some parts into the bodies of his traveling companions…
–How could I have Wang Chaoguang’s face?!–
Li Zhinan instantly collapsed to the ground; the shock came from a dread that had already taken root in his heart.
Heaven and earth twisted violently as a godlike figure hovered in the air, striking down with a single palm. The land shattered beneath. Li Zhinan felt his very spirit torn into fragments, only for them to recondense as an elusive fragrance.
The phantom frowned and muttered, –Injured this badly, and yet you can still neutralize my mental assault…–
On the stone platform in reality, Li Zhinan’s tightly furrowed brow slowly began to relax.
……
Outside the cave, Zhou Liren, who was being held and quickly carried away by someone, was startled to find himself suspended about a meter off the ground. A faint, humanoid outline was clutching him, but if its speed dropped even slightly, he risked falling.
After running for a while, Zhou Liren’s heel brushed against a bush, and he glimpsed markings on the leaves—the same signs they had made when entering the mountains. Had he really made it out?
Soon after, he felt himself being set down by the invisible person. From the air around him, a handsome figure emerged.
–Finally managed to rescue you from that terrifying bastard,– the young man said with a long sigh, breaking into a relieved smile.
–Thank you, thank you so much.–
Zhou Liren nearly broke down in tears—someone had actually come to his rescue! He immediately turned around, ready to kowtow in gratitude, but the young man beside him caught him by the arm.
–No worries, no need to thank me. I just happened to pass by.–
The young man crouched down. –Heh, good thing you didn’t make a sound when I touched you. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to get you out.–
Zhou Liren wiped his eyes with his sleeve. Blinking through teary lashes, he asked in confusion:
–But wasn’t it you who told me, using your ability, not to make a sound?–
–Huh? Me?–
The young man stared at him, bewildered, pointing a finger at himself. –I didn’t. Hey, you haven’t lost it, have you?–
–N-no, it’s just that… someone told me to stay quiet at the time, and then you picked me up and bolted. Er, my name’s Zhou Liren. May I ask, my great benefactor, who you are?–
–How odd. Me? Well…– The young man frowned in thought. He hadn’t mentioned his plan to anyone, so how could someone have been spying on him?
–Never mind. Just call me Shi Qian, then.–
The young man chuckled and clapped this person on the shoulder, saying, –Of course, I’m not the only one using the name Shi Qian, so you can call me by my current alias… Wu Ying.–
Wu Ying rose and gazed into the distance; a mile away, countless birds were startled into flight. A hunting party that must have bought incense pellets from Yang ZiCang was drawing near as they ventured into the mountains.
His thoughts turned to the young man he had once exchanged Chronos with.
He hadn’t expected the other to stir up such a commotion in the Shibin Wastes in such a short time, truly worthy of someone who could rapidly elevate his city’s ranking.
–Looks like I need to gather more intel on Yang ZiCang from information brokers. Perhaps someone close to him possesses some covert surveillance ability.–
–What are you mumbling about?–
Zhou Liren stared at Wu Ying as he muttered under his breath. The young man suddenly looked up, smiled, and said:
–Nothing. It’s not far from here to the outside now—get yourself out. And for safety’s sake, don’t go back to your old Peng Zone anymore.–
Zhou Liren was still pondering Wu Ying’s mention of –Shi Qian– just now—wasn’t that a name from the Water Margin?
–Then where can I go now…–
Zhou Liren asked, feeling like a child who had suddenly lost his home, his heart directionless.
–For now, go to the safest place, of course.–
–The safest…–
–Also, don’t casually reveal the info about that man just now—unless the person you’re seeking is very strong.–
Suddenly, the rustling of leaves sounded beside him. Zhou Liren glanced in fear, only to find it was a wild hare that had scampered past. But it also reminded him that this place was not safe.
–Strong? How strong does he have to be? As strong as you?–
–I’m not strong at all,– Wuying said with a grin, spreading his hands before pointing in a direction. –You’d need someone as strong as that big shot Cargo Crew leader to be able to deal with him.–
–You mean…–
Zhou Liren muttered vaguely, then clamped his mouth shut.
He already knew where he needed to go.
……
The next morning, Yang Zicang was contacting Po Po Li.
–Morris still hasn’t woken up?–
Sensing the anxious expression of the curly-haired youth in the vision, he saw two doctors standing by Morris’s bed, hooking him up to an IV for nutritional support.
{No, he still hasn’t woken up yet.}
These doctors can’t even figure out what’s wrong.
All I can do is pray Morris pulls through.
After cutting the connection, Yang Zicang turned his gaze to the person who had just been brought into the tent by Robin Lo. The man sat crouched nervously in the corner, a veritable –old acquaintance–—none other than the one who had sold him the recipe for three hundred flowers.
Yang Zicang pulled over a newly made chair.
–I heard Mr. Li Ren has been around since the early hours. Is it about the recipe?–
–No, no, no — that recipe thing, once it’s sold, it’s sold.– Zhou Liren lowered his head, stammering.
Unexpected.
Yang Zicang shot him a couple more glances. From the look on his face, they could tell the man had been severely terrified — no, endured an utterly horrifying ordeal, his entire haggard visage nearly warped beyond recognition.
–What happened?–
–Me… my people… too many dead, in the mountains. Not at the hands of monsters — humans.– His words came out jumbled and incoherent.
After listening to Zhou Liren recount the nightmarish experience inside the cave, Yang Zicang solemnly patted his shoulder.
–My condolences.–
On the Shibin Wastes, where wasn’t trouble brewing? Running into a scumbag like that meant that unlucky bastard had only their own bad fortune to blame.
But a twisted psychopath like that was worth keeping a close eye on. This was yet another sign of Wuyou Penglord’s seasoned wisdom—meither had Yuan Xuelin truly been sent here wholly under the guise of banishment to lend a hand.
–Better split a bigger portion of Chronos among those uninvited helpers.–
Yang Zicang let out a long sigh, then the Moxel on his chest flickered. A jagged beam shot out toward the chair where Zhou Liren sat stiffly across from him.
–Here’s five thousand Chronos. Consider it a buyout for your recipe. From now on, don’t let anyone else know you’ve got that secret — you can’t protect it.–
Zhou Liren nearly broke into tears.
He truly didn’t have what it took to safeguard it.
From the moment I obtained the formula up to now, I’ve only encountered two people who wanted it—one gave me Chronos, and the other took my brothers’ lives. If I spilled the beans and more came after the formula, I really couldn’t hold out anymore.
He never dared to mention knowing the formula again, even wishing he could truly forget it.
Yang Zicang got up, picked up a cup from the cabinet, took a sip of water, and said casually:
–You just said someone picked you up and ran out. Who’s that fast? Did he come over here too?–
–No, no. He wasn’t fast—just able to turn invisible.–
–Invisible?– Yang Zicang paused, the cup in his hand freezing mid-motion.
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