Yang Zicang handed the mask back.
It was at that moment that Shegui pressed the mask back into Yang Zicang’s hand.
“You are the hero who has helped everyone twice. I trust you. “
Yang Zicang looked at the mask in his hand, somewhat taken aback. The man before him, entirely shrouded in robes with a somewhat sinister air, possessed an unexpected boldness.
After collecting and organizing the items here, Yang Zicang solemnly took his leave of Mr. Ge. Amidst Mr. Ge’s contradictory reluctance and “reluctance, ” he stepped outside with the two things.
The crowd in the venue murmured among themselves as they watched the man from Fogfolk shoulder the wooden log and leave.
“Sir, you are welcome to visit again next time. ” Hadir, now with a complete one-hundred-and-eighty-degree turn in attitude, bowed and scraped obsequiously at the entrance.
Hou Tao, who wanted to follow along, was politely held back by Mr. Ge’s men and could only watch him leave.
“What are you thinking, Yang Buchen? ” Xue Qi followed closely beside Yang Zicang, slightly irritated. “Weren’t we supposed to complete the mission? Instead, it’s all been just following you around this auction hall. “
Yang Zicang turned his head with a smile and looked at Hua Mi, who stood on the pier, feeling somewhat lost yet also finding it all quite normal, as the cool breeze brushed against her.
“What do you think, our esteemed scholar? “
“Me? I have no idea what you’re planning, ” Hua Mi looked up, thinking for a moment, “But I get the feeling you got something out of it. Alright, next time you have something simpler, feel free to bring me along. Anyway, it’s just to pay off my rent. “
Thinking of how troublesome it all was and how she hadn’t even acquired a single ray of Glory Light, Hua Mi’s hopes of obtaining a Bloodline Statue of her own in the short term—or even within many years—had already faded considerably. She was even a bit worried about the rent for the Traveler’s Hotel, hoping only to prove her worth in the study and use of magical patterns to earn enough to cover the rent.
“Who told you I got nothing? ” Yang Zicang said, planting the mast pole on the ground. “Relax, I already got the information I needed long ago. As for this, ” he patted the rod in his hands, “this is just a decoy to shift attention. “
“Really?! ” Xue Qi jumped up with joy on the spot, spinning around to hug Hua Mi, who was also suddenly ecstatic.
“President, you, you’re not messing with me, are you? ” Hua Mi stammered, flustered and at a loss.
-｛Eastern Black Jade Twin Diamond Pendant: Distributor February. Di’an announces that the glorious prelude I nurtured has given birth to a ‘New Node’.｝
-｛Single Crystal Agate Ring: Distributor February. Di’an expresses that the glorious prelude I am nurturing has given birth to a “new node. “｝
“Wow, it’s true! Mr. Di’an has tipped me off, ” Both girls leaped up again in joy.
“Shh. ” Yang Zicang raised a finger to his lips. “Alright, that’s enough. Don’t draw the others over here. “
“Oh, oh. ” The two immediately fell much quieter. “Then, this thing in your hand—does it serve some purpose at all? “
He really had only bought this seemingly useless wooden rod at the very end to keep up his persona, ensuring Mr. Ge didn’t become overly suspicious of him.
Folkfolk were naturally like that—if something might give rise to something they found “interesting, ” they’d be obsessively driven to get their hands on it.
Xue Qi, whose mood had lifted, actively took the heavy rod from Yang Zicang’s hands. Fumbling with it for a while, she said:
“It seems someone deliberately sanded this part flat…hm… the original carving on it was probably destroyed long ago. “
“That’s why it sat around untouched for so long, with no one ever figuring out what it belongs to. “
“If we could crack its secret, maybe we could score another Glow light. ” The moment Xue Qi finished speaking, the three faces froze collectively with surprise.
-｛East Black Glory Twin Diamond Pendant: Distributor March. Li Feng expresses pre-purchasing the fresh glorious prelude I am nurturing!｝
“Huh? “
-｛Distributor May·Valkyrie expresses that I am nurturing a fresh, glorious prelude.｝
-｛Single Crystal Agate Ring: Distributor February. Di’an indicates I am gestating a brand new glorious prelude.｝
The three exchanged glances and nearly understood that all of them should have received the prompt from the distributors.
Yang Zicang completely stopped moving.
“This means… it seems we can solve this mystery. “
“We. ” The three thought in silence for a moment. Xue Qi said, “I mentioned ‘crack the secret,’ right? So… the others must have said the same thing too, but this object still just sat there as a support pole. “
She raised her head and looked solemnly at the two for a moment.
“Then the only answer is… It all depends on you? “
“……“
“Us? ” Hua Mi blinked, turning her head left and right to look at herself, then her eyes landed on the wooden pole.
“Could it be related to some magic pattern? Hmm, I don’t really know that many. “
Yang Zicang thought about it. He had bought this wooden staff because it looked similar to the one in Joshua’s hand. If only the three of them combined could decipher its secret, causing the distributors to send out prompts one after another, then that meant… His eyes faintly lit up.
“I have an idea. Wait for me here… Oh, forget it… Since we discovered it together, let’s just enter together. “
“Enter together? Go where? “
Yang Zicang stared at them and said, “Keep your mind calm, just close your eyes. Where we’re going is quite special. If you get emotional, you’ll get trapped in the dream you create and won’t be able to get out. Prepare yourselves. “
With that, Yang Zicang pulled a business card from his chest and handed it to Xue Qi. Then, a faint shadow flickered to life in his own hand, touching one of the three remaining cards in his possession.
Instantly, a fluctuating energy began to expand, enveloping him.
The surrounding world blurred and grew hazy, as if a layer of fluorescent mist, mingled with all kinds of colors, rising from the earth.
His eyes elongated, the color of his body shifting to that of a normal person, yet his figure grew far more solid. Yang Zicang turned his head to look at his own hand.
That mast had transformed into a pillar of light, as if piercing the very heavens.
“This… ” Near Yang Zicang, Bai Yuxian, who had been waiting long, stared in amazement at the object before him. “What in the world is this? Where did you dig it up from? “
｛I feel as though I’ve touched something.｝
The flimsy flame of the Source of the Holy Spirit on Yang Zicang’s hand continuously brushed against this pillar, extending this soaring beam of light ever further. After a few seconds of watching, “Hold this for me, ” he said, then turned his gaze to the slightly wavering signal of the business card nearby. Walking over, he used the card to break open a faint, blurry hole, reaching in to grab two people from outside.
｛Shock｝, ｛Fear｝, ｛Panic｝, ｛Confusion｝…
“Ah-Yeh? ” Hua Mi’s body was suddenly flooded with a rush of emotions.
Bai Yuxian immediately strode over, raising a hand, and these concentrated surges of energy dispersed quickly.
-｛Eastern Dark-Wing Dual Diamond Pendant: Distributor March · Fahua manifested a prelude to the impending glorious birth I am nurturing!｝
Xue Qi, who had been staring in shock at the changes in the mast since entering, lowered her head to look at the pendant on her chest.
-｛Distributor Loki · Tata Mingqi manifested that the prelude to the glory I am nurturing has birthed a new node.｝
The voices of several distributors sounded, and on the mast before them, the one not held by Yang Zicang, the light was gradually dimming.
On its wooden surface, a faint pattern was slowly fading, like a light source losing its power.
“No wonder! “
The recently startled Hua Mi immediately understood why the distributor would only alert her when the mast was being examined by Chairman Yang, or specifically when only the “three of them ” decided to probe it.
Even bringing this wooden staff into the sub-aether field space could not activate its unique concealment.
“I need to record the patterns on it, ” Hua Mi said with some concern. “Right, it’s safer to skip recording the parts that have already dimmed this time. “
Just as she reached for something, she suddenly noticed her own appearance had become much more ethereal, almost as if it were a body of its own.
“Huh, what have we become? “
“Ah, this… it’s hard to explain, because I don’t know myself. “
“It’s like this here; none of us appear as our human selves, ” Bai Yuxian said.
With these people following, Yang Zicang dared to lead the two ladies in together, ensuring they all witnessed this moment collectively.
The young girl quickly recorded the pattern of this unknown magic rune in her pocket-sized nightmare notebook.
Seizing the moment, Yang Zicang pulled Bai Yuxian aside a few steps and asked quietly, “Do you mind if I ask you a couple of questions right now? “
“Of course not. “
｛Waiting｝, ｛Sincerity｝, ｛Contemplation｝…
“What about the person who was with you? “
“You mean ‘Mingtao,’ right? Well, I abandoned him in a region of this world. “
｛Unease｝, ｛Worry｝, ｛Wanting to Leave｝, ｛Not Wanting to Leave｝…
Yang Zicang paused, staring at the man before him in surprise.
After thinking for two seconds, Bai Yuxian said, “If you doubt my words, you can just take him and leave. Hmm… though saying that makes me sound pretty noble. But… I think I want to whisper one piece of information. “
“What is it? “
｛Candor｝, ｛Inner Conflict｝…
“Hundred Crown, ” Bai Yuxian’s gaze grew pure, like a warrior who had reached some level of enlightenment.
“Even if this era of purgatory ends, I might not disappear… because the Council is selecting our souls. “
Shock flickered in Yang Zicang’s eyes.
He saw Bai Yuxian raise his arm and aim it at himself. This time he saw clearly: a watch on his wrist was radiating a faint glow.
Though not as intense as the glaring edge of the Gaze-dispelling Sword, it still had a noticeable effect in dispelling the fluctuations of mental energy around it.
“What do you mean by that? ” For a split second, Yang Zicang could hardly believe what he had heard.
“Perhaps this is the greatest gain in my life as an intelligence liaison officer. ” Bai Yuxian suddenly looked up at the sky.
｛Calm｝, ｛Certainty｝.
“At least for us so-called natives, that’s how it is. ” He turned his gaze back to Yang Zicang. “We might also be someone’s Holy Sword, preserved on this land. “
“Perhaps the new land is too small for everyone to survive, or perhaps we might damage that potential land, so we must be screened. In short… “
He spread his hands. “I’m handing him over to you now. Even if I’m destined to perish with the end of this evolving world, given my decent work over the years, the Council might give me another chance to appear in some future evolutionary era. “
Yang Zicang fell into utter silence.
Had he really died?
｛I’m recalling “An Ordinary Person’s Memoir: Yang Zicang. “｝
Which one was real, and which was false? Where did he actually die—or had he never died at all? The memoir only showed his future on Earth.
“Are you doubting your own origins too? ” Bai Yuxian asked.
Yang Zicang looked up. This man’s gaze was too sharp. And though he was the one interrogating this person, wasn’t he also being interrogated himself?
After a moment’s thought, Yang Zicang finally raised his head and looked at Bai Yuxian.
“Have you ever heard of ‘An Ordinary Person’s Memoir’? “
Bai Yuxian was genuinely taken aback for a moment this time.
“I didn’t expect you to ask such a question. If that’s the case… “
｛Survival｝, ｛Possibility｝, ｛Incredible｝
The waves of refined mental energy that had been violently dispersed by his punches quickly dissipated.
“If that’s the case… I’m somewhat sure I might actually survive this. My friend, let this secret be our ticket to the next era land. “
Seeing such a drastic change in the other’s attitude and will to survive, Yang Zicang’s face—both sides of it, as if covered in intricate armor patterns—betrayed a faint but unmistakable flicker of anxiety.
“Fine, ” he said, suppressing his emotions, “then we’ll trade this piece of information after we reach the next era land. “
In that moment, Yang Zicang was almost tempted to head straight to the western side of the continent to register and obtain a boat ticket.
But Bai Yuxian said, _”No need, ‘Hero’ sir.
“You have saved so many people’s lives and turned their fates around. If we don’t even have that much trust between us, then I suppose even in the next era land, there will be nothing left between us but transactions, not friendship. “
Yang Zicang’s eyes shot wide open.
Bai Yuxian glanced at the girl beside him who had turned to watch their conversation, then turned back and said in a low voice:
“As for the ‘Ordinary Person’s Memoir,’ I once came across some fragmentary mentions of it in a top-secret file regarding the Fogfolk. “
“What is it? “
Yang Zicang asked, extremely tense. Since the Demon Hero Hall, the greatest question lingering in his mind had always been the authenticity of his own “life story. “
“Have you heard of ‘Evolution Computation’? “
“Evolution Computation? “
“Hmm… Seems you don’t know. This is, indeed, a secret only available to those among theFogfolkwho possess both high-level information and real-world strength—the top tier. Anyway… there exists something that seems to have the ability to calculate our destiny.“
At these words, the suspicion that had haunted Yang Zicang’s mind, churlish thoughts about a certain “memoir, ” suddenly faded significantly.
Sometimes he even wondered if this “memoir ” was truly his own.
Had he really died from a monster’s attack?
Or had a catastrophe befallen Earth?
Was he a vegetable living in a dream?
Or perhaps he was just a blank slate of memories from some otherworldly person, playing the role of Yang Zicang?
But… aside from the memory fill-in for this identity, life on Earth, those vivid images, that entire range of feelings and pain, joy and anticipation, were all so clear.
If he really had gained a long life, he believed that even in the distant future, he wouldn’t forget those twenty years of his past life.
How could a life like that be merely etched by a single memoir?
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