Chapter 438: I’ve Been Reborn Again?

Morning, 7:30.

The first ray of sunlight in the morning pierced through the gaps in the clouds and sprinkled onto the earth.

It seemed there had been a light rain last night; the intersection roads were slippery, and white steam billowed in front of the breakfast stalls by the roadside.

“Hurry up, the first class this morning is that old witch’s, if we’re late we’re dead!”

A girl in a middle school uniform called out softly to the boy walking with her, just in time, jogging across the zebra crossing.

An old man carrying a lunchbox passed by the breakfast stall, smiling as he placed two ten-yuan bills on the table.

“Boss, give me five youtiao, two bowls of soy milk, to go!”

On the road in front of the breakfast shop, a young man in a suit and tie, looking serious, scolded into his phone.

“Enough, the proposal you submitted yesterday just doesn’t work, go back and revise it, I need it before you get off work this afternoon!”

After hanging up, he glanced at the traffic jam ahead through the windshield and slapped the steering wheel in frustration.

“……”

All kinds of people, making all kinds of sounds, converged and poured into the systems’ ears. Suddenly, it jolted awake, eyes snapping open, and what came into view was the familiar intersection.

At the intersection, the crowd surged, every face beaming with smiles and vitality.

Systems, “……”

Strange, why am I here?

What’s up with these people today?

They all look like they’ve been injected with chicken blood.

This is University Town in Hua City, the intersection of xuefu road.

In the past, every day when Gu Qianqian set out from under the bridge to attend Hua City University of Technology, she would pass by here. The systems couldn’t be more familiar with this place.

But what it saw today was completely different from before.

Ever since the nights started getting longer, the xuefu road intersection hadn’t been this lively in the morning for a long time-at least two or three years.

Every time Gu Qianqian passed by, the pedestrians seemed like marionettes controlled by invisible strings, heads down, expressionless, hurrying past, their numb eyes never meeting anyone else’s gaze, as if making eye contact with a stranger would mean instant death.

This isn’t right, this is really not right!

The systems thought, calling out loudly, “Gu Qianqian, Gu Qianqian, hurry up and get out of this creepy place, I feel like something’s off here!”

“……”

“Gu Qianqian?”

No one answered after it spoke.

Gu Qianqian was gone! The systems snapped back to itself, heart tightening.

Just then, it suddenly heard a childish voice by its ear.

“Mommy, mommy, come look! There’s a talking black fish in the gutter!”

The systems froze for a moment, looked up in the direction of the voice, and saw a little boy about four or five years old squatting by the roadside drain, eyes wide as he stared at it, holding a stick in his hand.

Systems, “……”

What’s going on? This naughty kid can actually see me? Damn, he’s poking me!

By the roadside drain at the intersection, the curious little boy, holding a sharp stick, jabbed it hard at the black fish’s butt in the drain, pried it up with force…

The systems only felt its body lighten, tumbling, rising, falling, plunging into the water, then rolling along with the trickle in the drain into the sewer.

In the midst of the spinning, it vaguely heard a conversation from above.

“Kids shouldn’t lie!”

“Mommy, it’s true, it was right there just now, all black and ugly!”

Systems, “……” You naughty kid, you’re the one who’s black and ugly!

You can poke my butt, but you can’t insult me!

The systems thought angrily, and with a “plop,” fell into the filthy, murky water of the sewer.

—-

An hour later.

The crowd and traffic gradually dispersed, the breakfast stall owner tossed the last lump of dough into the pot to make youtiao, and the xuefu road intersection slowly returned to calm. Only a young man, clearly about to be late for work, was running after a departing bus, shouting with a bun in his mouth.

Underground at the intersection, in the sewer.

Weak sunlight filtered through the drain cover, falling onto the filthy, murky water.

Suddenly, the water seemed to boil, ripples spreading out.

“Splash-!”

With a splash, a bizarre fish leapt out of the water, landing on the moss-covered stone steps. Its body wriggled twice, and it spat out half a chicken bone from its mouth.

It was about ten centimeters long, pitch black all over, its skin pitted and covered in bumps, looking like an oversized mudskipper. The only difference was a rice-grain-sized fleshy lump on its head, emitting a faint green glow.

Just as the little boy had said, it was black, ugly, and strange.

Even stranger, the fish was actually sitting on the stone steps in a human-like pose, tail coiled, propping its chin with a fin, looking up at the drain cover above, deep in thought, as if cosplaying the famous sculpture “The Thinker.”

Now this is a big problem. Last night I really should have used some extreme measures to stop Gu Qianqian from approaching that mysterious man… the systems thought anxiously.

It actually understood Gu Qianqian very well-the excitement of seeing a long-lost relative suddenly appear. But in that situation last night, rushing over was clearly not a wise move.

However, before the systems could even warn her, Gu Qianqian had already pounced, hugging her “brother,” and was immediately swept into the deep, vortex-like shadow behind her “brother.”

The systems had no idea what happened next. When it regained consciousness, it found itself in the drainage ditch at the intersection of xuefu road.

“Damn it, Gu Qianqian, that blockhead! When will she ever learn to be more careful?”

The system cursed fiercely. Just then, an oil-stained newspaper was swept into the sewer by the current, landing on the water not far from it.

The system instinctively glanced at the newspaper, and the glowing tumor on its head shrank and flickered violently.

“What the hell! No way? Four years ago? Is this today’s newspaper?”

Could it be…

Did Gu Qianqian die last night, and I’ve “reset” again? The system was filled with shock.

If that’s true, then this would definitely count as its third most pathetic failure. The second most pathetic was when it gave up targeting Calamity as its main goal and switched to the Void.

That time, it and its host didn’t even get to see what the Void looked like before being captured and tortured to death by its familiars.

As for the most pathetic one… better not mention it!

After carefully analyzing last night’s situation and confirming that its own psychic energy fluctuation had dropped to just C- level, the system sighed silently and prepared to accept reality.

Although this time it didn’t experience the life-flashing-before-the-eyes moment before death, it seemed, just like countless times before, that it had “reset” again for some unknown reason.

“Do I have to start all over again? Damn it, this time I must find someone a bit smarter… No, not too smart either-too smart and they’ll get played to death by Calamity… Better find someone with high combat talent. But before that…”

The system muttered to itself. Its body suddenly writhed violently, then its small mouth opened wide, and it spat out a stone tablet several times larger than itself from its belly.

The tablet was pitch black, its surface gleaming like obsidian, densely engraved with dozens of names.

The system moved closer, raised its fin, and began carving at the end of the list of names with the sharp edge of its fin. With each stroke, its body convulsed violently, and its psychic energy fluctuation dropped a little more.

By the time it finished writing the three characters “Gu Qianqian,” its psychic energy fluctuation had already dropped from C- to D+.

This stone tablet was its haunting core entity. It was only after the third host fell that it discovered the marks left on its haunting core entity would not fade with each “reset.”

Although after a “reset,” those former hosts could live their lives over again,

the system would never forget every moment it experienced with them, nor would it ever disturb any of them again, even if some of them had almost managed to save the world.

So, from then on, it lived as a tombstone, recording the names of those nonexistent departed souls.

Of course, except for Host Number Thirty-Four…

As a Russian girl, her name was just too long. The system hadn’t even finished carving her name before the haunting core entity collapsed and it died on the spot.

That’s right, that was the most pathetic failure of the system-it didn’t even get a chance to find the next host.

Since then, when choosing hosts, it never picked anyone whose name had more than five characters…

—-

The night was deep and all was silent.

In Hua City’s Jingyi Apartment complex, at Lu Yibei’s home, she lay asleep in bed, immersed in a dream, continuing to spar with Qing Ji over the mastery of the Hundred-Armed Giant’s power.

……

Qing Ji stood with his hands behind his back atop the ruined, crumbling rooftop. A gentle breeze stirred the hair at his temples, his expression calm as a grandmaster awaiting a challenger.

It was as if he would open his mouth and say, “I’ll take on ten at once!”

Without warning, chaotic light flared above Qing Ji’s head. With a sudden burst of thunder, Lu Yibei’s figure appeared in the air.

In the next moment, Lu Yibei’s body arched backward like a fully drawn longbow, hung in the air for an instant, then, using the strength of her whole body, she shot toward Qing Ji, slamming down with two swirling orbs of light in her hands, each as large as a roulette wheel.

The air was disturbed by the chaotic orbs, violently shaking and booming.

“Hmph-!”

Qing Ji smiled slightly and called out, “Taihe Gentleman Sword: Wind Chasing Order!”

With a lift of his hand, a dazzling “galaxy” swept out above his head.

The thunderous roar stopped abruptly.

Half a second later, a scream rang out. The half-torsoed Lu Yibei crashed to the ground, looking at Qing Ji as the light faded from her eyes.

A moment later.

When Lu Yibei reformed her body atop the ruined platform and opened her eyes to see Qing Ji approaching, she hurriedly shouted, “No more, I’m done, Ancestors, let’s stop here for today!”

“You little brat, you’ve barely practiced today and you’re already giving up?” Qing Ji said with a hint of annoyance.

“It’s not that I’m giving up, Ancestors, but practicing with you for too long is just too crushing for my confidence,” Lu Yibei replied weakly.

During this period, Lu Yibei spent night after night practicing with Qing Ji. Plus, when she helped Gou Meng recondense the core entity of the haunting, she gained some new understanding of her own psychic energy, and made rapid progress in controlling the power of the Hundred-Armed Giant.

So far, she could barely manage to draw a small amount of the Hundred-Armed Giant’s power outside her body as an attack method.

Of course, this was only theoretically possible as an attack; before she mastered it, she wouldn’t use it in real combat. After all, in dreams, even if she lost control, she wouldn’t really die, but in actual combat, even a small mistake could mean she’d be gone just like that.

However…

With her as a high-tier sparring partner, Qing Ji was progressing even faster than her. The two of them had started researching this power around the same time, but by now, Qing Ji could already turn force into sword and blend the simulated power of the Hundred-Armed Giant into his swordsmanship.

Granted, it was the Hundred-Armed Giant’s power simulated with his own psychic energy, making it easier to control, but just this meticulous control alone already left Lu Yibei feeling far behind.

“……”

Is it true that sparring with an opponent who’s too strong actually hinders your progress, and instead makes you feel discouraged?

Qing Ji glanced at Lu Yibei’s silent complaints, then said seriously, “It’s fine, let’s go again. This time I’ll keep my level just a notch above yours.”

“I don’t believe you!” Lu Yibei blurted out.

This old man was so devious, always saying things like this to trick and ambush a nineteen-year-old girl… boy.

“Tsk!” Qing Ji clicked his tongue and frowned. “A gentleman’s word is his bond!”

“No, not unless you put it in writing!” Lu Yibei said loudly.

“So you don’t believe what your Ancestor says?” Qing Ji’s face darkened.

Lu Yibei shrank her neck and said weakly, “It’s not that I don’t believe you, it’s just…”

“No more ‘just.’ Since you believe me, let’s continue!”

As Qing Ji spoke, he softly called out, “Take this,” and his figure instantly vanished from where he stood.

Damn! Then I’ll trust you one more time, just this once… Lu Yibei thought, sprang up with a kip-up, and with a shake of her arms, a swirl of light instantly appeared.

The next moment, the two figures collided fiercely.

Then…

Sensing that Lu Yibei was making slight progress in the midst of constant battle, a look of satisfaction flashed in Qing Ji’s eyes, and he added another forty or fifty percent strength to his hand.

So, Lu Yibei died again.

Her death could be described in one sentence: “Sometimes drifting like the wind, sometimes scattered like the mist.”

Lu Yibei: In the end, I still put my trust in the wrong person…

—-

Near dawn.

Qing Ji sat cross-legged beside the barely breathing Lu Yibei and said lightly, “That’s about enough for now, right? I can feel you’ve made progress again today. It shouldn’t be long before you can shake off the threat of that power.”

Lu Yibei glared fiercely at Qing Ji, saying nothing.

“Don’t be so petty. Isn’t this just an elder caring for the younger generation?” Qing Ji tried to persuade her in that classic “it’s for your own good” tone.

Lu Yibei, “……” Well, thank you so much. If I could beat you, I’d definitely show you what it means for filial piety to turn twisted.

“By the way, I’ve been studying it closely lately-why the new Pure Lotus Sword fragment you found can’t be fused. My conclusion is: there’s a piece missing. You get what I mean?”

“Got it!” Lu Yibei replied, having caught her breath. “It’s like a puzzle with pieces 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. I’ve found 1, 2, 3, and 5, but missing 4, so I can’t put them together, right?”

“Exactly, exactly, that’s it,” Qing Ji said.

Hearing this, Lu Yibei nodded thoughtfully, grumbling inwardly.

It’s fine if it can’t be fused for now. After all, a fruit knife is much easier to carry and hide than a Broken Sword, and in a fight, it can be unexpectedly effective.

“Also, about that woman named Qi Nanzhu you mentioned, I thought about it carefully. I lived in Hua City for so many years, and honestly, I’ve never heard of her,” Qing Ji added.

“I think she’s probably not from my era, or not from the same haunting. After all, Hua City wasn’t that big back then, and there wasn’t a girl in town I didn’t know. Hmm, and all the good-looking young men, I knew them too.”

“……”

Why does that sound so weird? Just what did you get up to back in the day!?

Lu Yibei grumbled, then sighed silently, “It’s fine, she’s not that important anyway. If I find her, great; if not, whatever.”

She was just a stranger, not important at all, Lu Yibei thought.

But ever since she learned her name, the three words “Qi Nanzhu” would always pop into Lu Yibei’s mind at unexpected moments, carrying a strange sense of familiarity.

It was like hearing a beautiful song by chance, and then, from time to time, unconsciously humming it.

So, being able to find out who Qi Nanzhu really was still made Lu Yibei quite happy.

It was like finding a song you’d heard and loved, but never knew the name of…