25. The Southern Floods

The wild winds surging within Tulei’s body roared through the dark, deserted night, yet they fell abruptly silent the moment they reached a certain spot.

The person who stepped out of the car was, naturally, Qin Yueying. With oversized sunglasses perched on her face and a subtle curl to her red lips, her powerful presence made those around her hold their breath.

"When my bell rings five times, run as fast as you can. No matter what you hear, do not look back. If you can no longer see the path ahead, use the talisman I gave you to shield your way and keep running. Do you understand?" Dongfang Yin’s voice was steady and reassuring.

However, the memory of Luke’s gruesome death had left him with deep psychological trauma, and he rarely logged into the game after that.

"What exactly happened that day? There was a heaven-shaking roar in the forests of Mo City, and when we returned to the Qianjin Hall, we found bloodstains... I thought... I thought you would never come back," Sima Ying’er said, her eyes reddening as a tear welled up.

The remaining Japanese man, Yoshida Haru, saw his leader killed, and his mind went blank, his eyes filled with sheer terror.

Liu Chen struck the fire cage several more times, but though his slashes landed outside the cage, they caused not a single crack.

Guan Wo felt a profound sense of sorrow. He had intended to ambush others; how had it turned out like this?

"Boom!" Lightning slammed into Feng Lin’s back. Even with the protection of the Purple Gold Dragon Scale Armor, his back was severely wounded, and his ribs were shattered.

For dinner, Lin Liuli, fearing the local chefs would be overwhelmed, brought one of the family’s own cooks to help out.

Chen Sihan nodded; it was nearly midnight, and the Other Shore Flower could bloom at any moment.

This was not something that could be accepted simply with time; it was... she felt as if she could no longer go on living.

Ye Zhixing felt she had truly regressed; she had been feeding herself since she was two, yet now, she was being fed like a child.

However, as things stood, the strongest entity in the Ghost Realm was that Republic-era officer, and even he was only at the level of a Joyous Ghost. While not far from the rank of Ghost King, he was not one yet, and building a Ghost Realm was certainly beyond his reach.

***

Before them stood a dilapidated palace. One could still discern its former grandeur, but perhaps it had been abandoned for too long; many of the pillars were half-eaten by insects, the plaques hung crookedly, and dust, debris, and spiderwebs were everywhere, leaving not a single clean spot to stand.

People like Bai Licai had already acquired the ability to fight opponents of higher ranks; if they were to use their combined techniques, bolstered by such weapons, the power would be unimaginable.

Zhixing had at most participated in an Olympiad before; was it not too much to ask her to solve the most difficult problems of an international competition, which no one else could solve?

"I want to see exactly what it is you are trying to save!" Chen Sihan said, flipping the table and opening the cellar’s secret door.

"Brother Shen, could you take out that eighth-level Origin Pill for us to see?" one disciple asked with a smile, as if he had completely forgotten his earlier reproaches of Shen Haoxuan.

"Naturally, only the geniuses from our Hidden Lands can enter the Three Great Academies. Someone like you should just go back to your Xingluo Continent and drink your mother’s milk!" Jin Wuji laughed heartily.

"Are you sure you saw that correctly?" Qiusheng asked suspiciously, though this junior brother of his had fought alongside him against zombies.

For the young man, this was his second child, but it was his first time waiting outside a delivery room for a birth.

The Demon-Subduing Pestle touched the demon hair, emitting a sound like sulfuric acid corrosion, and a thick black mist accompanied by a foul stench erupted from the contact.

Ling Yunpeng did not wake from his slumber until five in the afternoon. By then, everyone had rested, so they began changing their clothes and applying makeup, preparing for their departure.

"Is there anyone here other than you who can be considered a young man?" Mujin whispered from beneath her hood.

"I..." Fan Yan was struck dumb. What possible value was there in a painting on a barbecue grill? You might as well have thrown me onto the deck; it would be better than this!

When Awang heard this, his heart stirred. The Japanese were looking for a stranger with an infant—was the woman who had been coming to his wife for milk these past two days the very person they were seeking?

Come to think of it, since returning from the free clinic, he hadn't been back to help Fu Yun'an at the clinic site.

***

The scent of blood carried a rot that was nauseatingly foul, yet strangely, as it grew more intense, an impulse surged within him—a desire to taste that blood.

As the secret manual was placed on the table, a faint, pungent odor wafted over. By the time Feng Wanli tried to ask Qiusheng about it, both of them had already vanished.

Speaking of memory, I recalled my own innate talent. I hurriedly poured some wine from the flask, dissolved a drop of my own blood into it, and condensed it into a water mirror. Through Yanyan’s perspective, I could see everything clearly.

Judging by her past-life experience, the unrest in the Yan Kingdom would not end for at least another three months.

Qi Ruize turned on the light in the piano room, and the pure white piano in the center shimmered with a cold, noble radiance under the crystal chandelier.

"Have you ever seen a Dark Wizard before?" the big man, Shaga, suddenly leaned in, asking with a probing look—when he wasn't angry, his words and actions were surprisingly simple and honest.

The male subordinate had been rejoicing, thinking he had performed a great service and was about to be promoted and given a raise, reaching the pinnacle of his life, when he suddenly heard this bolt from the blue.

At that moment, Yanyan’s mouth was tied with a coarse hemp rope, and unable to speak, she could only glare at me with hatred. Big sister, I am giving you a way out. A little pinch won't actually kill you. Once they bury you, I will dig you up, and we'll act as if nothing happened.

I was deeply moved, feeling that my initial judgment had been correct: he was the most upright and righteous young man in heaven or on earth, the very embodiment of a true gentleman.

Mother Qi looked at the dazzling array of goods on the shelves with a beaming smile, her eyes sparkling—everything she saw seemed perfect.

As the emperors of the Yan Kingdom changed, the ambitious monarchs gradually felt that the initial distribution of power was no longer reasonable.