Jing Minghe’s eyes widened, staring intently ahead.
Whatever was in front of him!
Jing Minghe roared inwardly.
This young master will definitely reach the end! Just you wait and see.
He didn’t know how long he had run, but the white dot in front of him, though blurry, hadn’t disappeared. Jing Minghe ignored the sharp pain in his eyes, still staring forward. Only he could see it, and no matter what, he absolutely could not lose his direction.
Suddenly, a flash of white light illuminated his vision, and Jing Minghe’s sight turned completely dark. The blurry white dot finally vanished without a trace. However, his feet hadn’t had time to stop, or rather, he was still hesitating whether to stop.
“Minghe?”
Jing Minghe was still moving forward when Chi Hao suddenly grabbed him. Chi Hao’s soft voice drifted into his ear.
“It’s okay now, we’re out. Minghe, you can stop.”
Chi Hao looked at Jing Minghe’s reddened eyes and tenderly pressed his head into his embrace.
Jing Minghe could hear Chi Hao’s heart beating slightly faster.
Jing Minghe thought silently, so even someone this powerful gets their heart racing when they're exhausted.
Ke Wuwen and Tong Zheng were still gasping for breath, looking around in surprise.
The familiar environment quickly made them realize where they were.
“It’s the Dragon King Temple!” Ke Wuwen finally caught his breath, turning to look for Jing Minghe. “Idol, we’re behind the main hall of the Dragon King Temple! Idol? What’s wrong?”
Ke Wuwen saw Jing Minghe slumped against Chi Hao, his head buried in Chi Hao’s chest, and for a moment, he couldn’t understand what was happening.
Jing Minghe waved his hand weakly, his voice muffled. “I’m fine. Since we’re out, let’s rest first.”
Tong Zheng sat down directly on the ground. Since entering the City of Death, this wasn’t the first time he had had to flee for his life, but this time felt completely different. His life and death seemed to be entirely in someone else’s hands.
After sitting down, Tong Zheng looked at Jing Minghe. He had a feeling that if Jing Minghe hadn’t been the one leading the way, he would have felt even more despair.
This person seemed to exude an inexplicable sense of security.
Sensing a sharp gaze, Tong Zheng met Chi Hao’s eyes and smiled sheepishly, quickly looking away. Although Jing Minghe was a reliable companion, Mr. Chi still made him feel afraid, as if he might devour someone at any moment.
After resting sufficiently, Tong Zheng muttered to himself, “What was that unknown space, and why did it connect to the Dragon King Temple? What is the connection between this village and the mass grave?”
Jing Minghe, who had been closing his eyes to conserve energy, couldn’t help but analyze when he heard Tong Zheng’s words. “Perhaps this is what the notebook owner meant by superposition.”
“Oh?” Tong Zheng pressed, “What do you mean?”
“The first sentence on the third page of that small notebook was, ‘Yin and Yang overlap, I turned my hometown into a place where evil spirits roam,’ and the murals I saw also described, ‘Day and night alternate, humans become ghosts, ghosts become humans.’ These are all talking about overlap,” Jing Minghe stood up straight and said, “I believe this village and the mass grave have overlapped, and the mass grave is actually not a mass grave, but a small part of the ghost realm. Because that girl did something that caused it to overlap with the small village in the mortal world.”
He paused, then continued his explanation, “So, when we came from the small path during the day, we reached the village. Before sunset, we returned to the thatched hut, and at night, we came again from the small path, and saw the mass grave. Hasn’t this already been proven?”
Tong Zheng suddenly understood. “If we didn’t go back to the thatched hut and stayed in the village or the mass grave, when day and night alternated, the mortal world would become the ghost realm, and the ghost realm would… no, the mass grave didn’t turn into a village, but an unknown space.”
Jing Minghe retorted, “If not, where are we now?”
“But,” Tong Zheng wondered, “the mass grave didn’t directly turn into a village.”
“Did the village directly turn into a mass grave?”
“This…” Tong Zheng nodded. “Yes, what’s going on with that?”
Jing Minghe replied, “It’s just a difference in the form of alternation.”
“Then what about now?” Ke Wuwen chimed in. “Shouldn’t we hurry back to the thatched hut? Sister Yumi is still there.”
Jing Minghe remained silent for a moment.
In fact, there were almost enough clues. All that remained was to find the correct method to eliminate the eight great evil spirits.
“Let’s go back first,” Jing Minghe agreed.
As the group got up to leave, they heard footsteps from behind a large boulder.
And behind that large boulder was the entrance leading downwards.
Tong Zheng and Ke Wuwen, in unison, immediately moved to Jing Minghe and Chi Hao’s side, their eyes warily fixed on the boulder.
The footsteps grew louder, but strangely, one was heavy and the other light.
Ke Wuwen tilted his head, listening carefully, wondering if the person was lame. That would make them easier to deal with.
The person finally emerged from behind the boulder, and it was Jiang Zheng, who hadn’t managed to join them the day before.
“Brother Zheng? How…?” Ke Wuwen exclaimed.
Because the Jiang Zheng in front of them was as pathetic as one could get.
He was covered in wounds, one arm was in a sling, one leg was dragging, and even bone was visible. His face was pale, his eyes vacant. Seeing Jing Minghe and the others, Jiang Zheng froze, seeming to want to smile, but unable to do so.
“Is that Jiang Zheng?” Jing Minghe asked in a low voice. “What happened to him?”
Chi Hao supported Jing Minghe and replied, “It is him. He’s badly injured.”
“Isn’t Yan Xiaoxi with him?”
Jing Minghe didn’t see the flashing red text, proving that the Jiang Zheng who appeared was indeed the real Jiang Zheng and not possessed.
Ke Wuwen had already run over to help Jiang Zheng and asked the same question as Jing Minghe. “Brother Zheng, where is Sister Xiaoxi? Wasn’t she acting with you?”
“She’s dead,” Jiang Zheng replied emotionlessly. “We were chased by a horde of ghosts last night. Although we hid in the main hall of the Dragon King Temple using the method from before, for some reason, it couldn’t hold them back. We had to break out, thinking to reach the Star Lord’s Palace and then go underneath it, as you guys mentioned. But Yan Xiaoxi was caught by the ghosts just as we were nearing the Star Lord’s Palace. I… I couldn’t save her.”
Ke Wuwen looked at the severely injured Jiang Zheng. “You hid down there all night? Were those ghosts responsible for your injuries?”
“Not entirely,” Jiang Zheng shook his head and explained. “The plants on the wall down there attack people. Once you bleed, they attack relentlessly.”
Jing Minghe asked him, “Can you hold on until we get back to the thatched hut? Sister Yumi should have some medicine that can help you with a preliminary treatment for your wounds.”
Jiang Zheng turned to look at Jing Minghe. “Do you know how to pass the level now?”
“Almost,” Jing Minghe didn’t hide anything, saying only, “Let’s go back to the thatched hut first, and I’ll explain in more detail then.”
“Okay.”