TRYMBPIETM 70: Mirror, Night, Snow Peak (33)

Xue Jinshi’s loud call immediately drew the attention of everyone around them.

Dozens of people squeezed their way over to Chi Qingzhou, stretching their necks to carefully examine him for a while. After confirming that Chi Qingzhou was unharmed, their tense nerves finally relaxed.

It wasn’t that they had a particularly deep bond with Chi Qingzhou, nor was it a matter of distrust towards the authorities. It was simply that the previous experience with him had shown them his abilities, and they instinctively relied on him.

In their hearts, Chi Qingzhou’s safe return meant that the trouble was over, and the show could soon return to normal!

Who wouldn’t be excited?

The group of people immediately perked up, faces full of smiles, and began to chatter with concern for Chi Qingzhou.

Chi Qingzhou didn’t mind their noise, and with a friendly nod, he left when invited by Cheng Yufei.

Liang Ji couldn’t help but rub his forehead, puzzled. “Am I too tired? Why do I feel like Chi Qingzhou is in a good mood right now?”

Could it be because he solved this trouble?

But it shouldn’t be this simple.

Having worked in the industry for years, Liang Ji considered himself fairly sharp.

To him, the avalanche at Jingming Mountain was a big deal for ordinary people, but for Chi Qingzhou, it didn’t seem like much of a problem.

Even if there were some unscientific factors behind the incident, with Chi Qingzhou’s abilities, if he wanted to solve it, wouldn’t it be a piece of cake?

Thinking this way, Chi Qingzhou’s unusually good mood seemed even more out of place.

Zhong Lingshu tightened her jacket, lowering her voice. “Keep it down. As long as you understand, there’s no need to say it out loud.”

Liang Ji was startled, turned to look at Zhong Lingshu, and nodded lightly as a form of thanks.

It seemed his thoughts weren’t wrong.

Although this incident was strange, it was probably something that both Chi Qingzhou and the Paranormal Control Bureau had anticipated.

Perhaps, they were already involved from the start.

In that case, Chi Qingzhou really was exceptional.

A person with skills, background, and even a hidden master…

If one could truly befriend such a person, how much safer would they be in this industry?

Liang Ji silently watched Chi Qingzhou’s receding figure, several thoughts spinning in his mind.

Even without considering the industry’s atmosphere, with this incident, Chi Qingzhou had already saved them twice.

Even if it was simply out of gratitude, he should do something in return.

Liang Ji quickly made up his mind, took out his phone, and cautiously sent a message to an old friend.

【Old Cao, I heard something happened with the production team you’re working with, and they’re missing an important role. Is that rumor true?】

……

Cheng Yufei personally led Chi Qingzhou towards the poison pool, explaining the agreement between the Paranormal Control Bureau and the show’s director along the way, her attitude very open.

“The changes at Lianshan Village have been happening for several years. We’ve really had no choice but to rely on you, Mr. Chi,” Cheng Yufei apologized, not hiding anything about her colleagues.

“At first, Daoist Du Ming and I planned to explain everything to you directly and leave the decision to you—whether you’d take on our request and how to handle it. But the masters who are skilled in divination at the bureau strongly opposed the idea, and in the end, we couldn’t convince them.”

Cheng Yufei still didn’t quite understand why her colleagues had reacted so strongly, but since the outcome was good, she didn’t bother digging into their thoughts. After all, those skilled in divination often had a tendency to be a bit… mysterious.

Chi Qingzhou listened carefully and couldn’t help but smile. “It’s fine, I don’t mind.”

Regardless of whether the Paranormal Control Bureau arranged things or not, he was coming to YunTian Province anyway, so it didn’t matter if they were upset.

In fact, he had a feeling that the reason the Paranormal Control Bureau had opposed it wasn’t due to divination, but rather because of his arrangements three years ago.

Chi Qingzhou tilted his head to glance at the drizzling night rain, his steps light.

He couldn’t say he understood himself perfectly, but he liked making friends, and had always insisted on fairness and kindness. There was no reason why, after making friends with Shen Wenxu in the Xuanxu Sect, he wouldn’t also make friends within the Paranormal Control Bureau.

Even though he didn’t know who that friend was yet, since they were his friends, it was only natural for them to help him.

Good friends help each other.

Cheng Yufei couldn’t help but glance at him. “Mr.Chi, you seem to be in a good mood?”

Chi Qingzhou spoke ambiguously, “The situation at Jingming Mountain’s Grand Tomb has stabilized, which is good for both me and Su-Ge.”

He still wasn’t ready to let anyone know that Xing Shuangzhan’s body had already been taken out of the Grand Tomb, so he used such an ambiguous statement.

Cheng Yufei didn’t doubt him. She casually glanced around before asking, “I see. By the way, didn’t Mr. Xing join you today?”

Chi Qingzhou’s gaze flickered, as if he thought of something amusing. He smiled gently and obediently.

“Su-Ge has something to deal with, so he’ll be leaving for a while.”

At least for the next few days, he wouldn’t appear.

After all, reintegrating the body also took time, didn’t it?

As a world-destroying ghost, no matter how strong Xing Shuangzhan’s powers were, in essence, he was no longer like a living person.

He wasn’t like those whose souls had separated from their bodies—those could return to life by finding their body. To act just like a normal person, Xing Shuangzhan still needed time to get familiar with his body again.

It was precisely for this reason that even though Chi Qingzhou had made some changes to him before coming back, Xing Shuangzhan had endured it for now.

They still had plenty of time in the future to settle these “accounts.”

Chi Qingzhou knew that Xing Shuangzhan had a little book of his own, but he had long since allowed him to grow bolder.

Moreover, now that Xing Shuangzhan had regained his body, it would be hard for him to be like this in the future—causing trouble without any consequence. So, of course, it was a good opportunity to be bold once more.

As for whether Su-Ge would feel restless due to his accumulated anger?

Chi Qingzhou’s eyes flickered and he smiled even more harmlessly.

Cheng Yufei subtly sensed Chi Qingzhou’s mood and wisely refrained from asking further.

She led him forward for a few hundred meters, pointed toward a deep pit covered in snow, and raised her voice slightly.

“Mr. Chi, that’s the poison pool in Lianshan Village.”

…

Lianshan Village, one of the most powerful Miao villages near Jingming Mountain, had a Gu Pool that was astonishing both in size and the venomosity of its Gu insects.

Before today, any cultivator who had seen the pool in Lianshan Village would have had their scalp crawl.

The sight of countless insects gathering together, devouring and biting each other, constantly crawling in every direction, would be difficult for anyone to accept—even those without a fear of clusters.

Moreover, the Gu insects usually acted in groups, which was why many ordinary cultivators were reluctant to provoke Gu Masters or the village elders.

Due to this, the Paranormal Control Bureau maintained a relatively calm attitude toward the Gu Masters, always keeping their distance.

However, today, because of the strange avalanche, the deterrence of this Gu Pool had significantly decreased. Not only the cultivators, but even some ordinary people started to sneak toward the pool.

The staff of the Paranormal Control Bureau and the Miao Gu Masters were having a headache, repeatedly driving people away, but still, some curious individuals lingered around.

The Miao woman in charge of the pool, seeing this, simply had people set up a barricade.

“If any of you don’t have eyes and want to barge in, I’ll release the grass ghosts!”

She placed one hand on her waist and pointed at the program staff and villagers who looked embarrassed. Her willow-shaped brows furrowed fiercely.

When ordinary people heard this, they immediately apologized and hurried away.

The Miao woman sighed in relief and noticed that Cheng Yufei was accompanying Chi Qingzhou nearby, so she raised her hand to greet them.

“Mr. Chi is back! The issue with our village’s poison pool is basically resolved. Is everything going smoothly on your end?”

“Very smoothly.”

Chi Qingzhou casually replied, walking over to the Gu Pool to take a look.

The pool was a giant pit, twenty meters on each side, with of liquid at the bottom. Due to the avalanche and the rapid drop in temperature, the liquid had solidified into a smooth sheet of ice.

Beneath the ice layer, uniquely shaped grass leaves interwove, and between the gaps, countless poisonous insects and small beasts were scattered.

Perhaps because the avalanche came so suddenly, many of the Gu insects hadn’t reacted in time and were buried by the snow, losing their lives in just one or two minutes. They now remained in their positions before death, giving off an eerie feeling.

Chi Qingzhou tilted his head and murmured, “It’s rare to see such fragile Gu insects.”

In his memory, Gu insects typically had strong vitality. Some powerful Gu Masters could even cultivate Gu Kings that defied the laws of nature.

Unless treated with specific methods, even if Gu insects were ground into powder, they wouldn’t truly die.

The Miao woman replied, “No wonder they’re like this. This isn’t an ordinary avalanche.”

Luo Ting, who had been talking with Daoist Du Ming not far away, saw his friend arrive and quickly wrapped up his conversation. He walked over to the poison pool.

He overheard the conversation between Chi Qingzhou and the Miao woman and couldn’t help but laugh.

“It’s not really fragile. Not all lives can endure the erosion of death energy.”

As a corpse herder, Luo Ting was most familiar with death energy and corpse energy, not yin or spiritual energy.

He could clearly feel that the snow cascading down from the peak of Jingming Mountain was infused with dense death energy.

This death energy came from Xing Shuangzhan, and whether in purity or power, it was terrifying. There was no need for the natural coldness of the snow; it was enough to make all the Gu insects die instantly.

Chi Qingzhou nodded, understanding, and then began to seriously examine the faint formation beneath the ice layer.

Luo Ting didn’t disturb him, standing by his side and watching for a while. It wasn’t until Luo Huaiyu came over that he asked, “Zhouzhou, have you figured anything out?”

Chi Qingzhou spoke earnestly, “This formation looks a little ugly.”

Luo Ting couldn’t help but chuckle, and Luo Huaiyu’s tense face relaxed slightly.

Chi Qingzhou then turned his gaze to Luo Huaiyu, sized him up, and couldn’t help but exclaim.

“Ah Yu has already been promoted to a living zombie? That was fast.”

Luo Huaiyu froze for a moment, looking helplessly at Chi Qingzhou, unsure of how to respond.

Fast?

That was indeed fast.

Yesterday, he was a walking corpse, and today he was a living zombie. The speed was so fast, not even a rocket could catch up.

What surprised him even more was that after jumping two levels in a single day, he didn’t have the slightest side effect.

Was this normal?

Chi Qingzhou thought for a moment and said seriously, “If everything had to follow the rules, I should no longer be in this world.”

So his new friend, Ah Yu, didn’t need to think too much about these matters.

As long as the result is good, isn’t that enough?

Luo Huaiyu whispered, “I just feel like I can’t be of any help to you.”

It was Chi Qingzhou who gave him the Moonlight, allowing him to successfully ascend from a walking corpse to a living zombie.

It was also Chi Qingzhou who gave him the opportunity to catch his enemy.

He wanted to repay Chi Qingzhou, but he couldn’t help at all.

Chi Qingzhou hummed in acknowledgment, “I do need some help from you, Ah Yu, but it might have to wait until you become a Flying Zombie.”

“Flying Zombie?” Luo Huaiyu repeated the term and slowly nodded. “Okay, I understand.”

Chi Qingzhou happily curved his eyes and suddenly changed the subject. “Ah Yu, did you suddenly ascend tonight, or had you already become a zombie yesterday?”

Luo Huaiyu answered, “I suddenly jumped two levels tonight. Yesterday, I absorbed quite a bit of Moonlight but didn’t ascend. Is there something wrong?”

Chi Qingzhou: “Just a little curious.”

He then asked about the specific time and realized it coincided perfectly with the time he had severed the curse. He was completely relieved.

Without a doubt, this must have been his arrangement.

Chi Qingzhou liked making friends and valued his friends.

Since he allowed his new friend to use this opportunity , it meant this method wouldn’t cause any side effects.

Unfortunately, he still hadn’t fully remembered things from the past and wasn’t sure whether the memory loss was the effect he originally wanted or a choice he made after weighing it out.

If it was the former, it would mean he had other plans.

If it was the latter, it would simply mean he had a goal to achieve, and he could accept the price of memory loss.

To Chi Qingzhou, as long as he could bring back Xing Shuangzhan’s soul three years ago, he was willing to risk everything. The memory loss was likely just a side effect.

But what if?

Perhaps he really had the talent for divination, but hadn’t noticed it before?

Chi Qingzhou, who wasn’t skilled at face-reading or divination, thought about this possibility and couldn’t help but feel a bit of longing.

Luo Ting saw him looking so relaxed and couldn’t help but smile.

It seemed that this matter was finally settled.

After chatting with Chi Qingzhou for a few words, Luo Ting turned around and saw Sheng Yihang being escorted by Daoist Du Ming towards the Miao woman. He casually said, “Tonight’s events seem quite coincidental.”

Chi Qingzhou: “Hmm?”

Luo Ting continued, “Yesterday, you asked me to take Xiao Luo to absorb the Moonlight. Considering that he might soon ascend to a living zombie, I specifically chose a temporary resting place near Lianshan Village.”

There were quite a few corpse herders in YunTian Province, and they also often operated near Jingming Mountain, so there were always various resting points on the mountain.

Having been a corpse herder for many years, Luo Ting was very familiar with the terrain of Jingming Mountain. To ensure Luo Huaiyu’s ascension was safe, he specifically chose a resting point near Lianshan Village.

With the deterrence of the Miao village’s shaman and elders, last night had been quite calm.

He had expected this peace to continue until Luo Huaiyu naturally ascended, but today it had been disrupted.

Luo Ting said, “Actually, since this evening, Xiao Luo has been a little restless, occasionally mentioning that he senses Sheng Yihang’s presence nearby.”

Since Luo Ting still needed to cultivate, he specifically went out a few times to check on him, but didn’t find anything unusual.

Luo Huaiyu also felt like he was overly cautious, so he simply forced himself to suppress the restlessness and focused on absorbing the Moonlight.

Luo Ting protected him while he cultivated. Not long after, the entire resting place suddenly began to shake.

The two of them thought it was an earthquake and hurriedly left. However, as soon as they stepped outside, a vast, fresh mountain air descended upon them, instantly filling all their meridians.

Luo Ting couldn’t digest so much fresh air at once and, shocked, he could only scramble to regulate his meridians.

Luo Huaiyu was slightly better off, but he too felt his meridians swell with the pressure, so he had to use this influx of fresh air to wear down the Moonlight that Chi Qingzhou had sent him.

With the help of the fresh air, Luo Huaiyu jumped two levels and directly became a living corpse, while Luo Ting’s strength also surged, and there were no hidden injuries. It was like a windfall.

Compared to them, Sheng Yihang was far less fortunate.

He didn’t receive any blessing from the mountain’s fresh air and was bitten mercilessly by the Miao girl’s Gu insects.

For self-preservation, he stumbled his way from the altar to the vicinity of the Miao village, but didn’t have time to grab a shaman to deal with the Gu insects on him. Instead, he collided with the freshly ascended Luo Huaiyu.

Enemies meeting was like a spark to gunpowder.

Especially when Luo Huaiyu’s strength had already caught up to Sheng Yihang’s, neither of them hesitated and immediately charged toward Sheng Yihang.

Sheng Yihang was a half-baked living zombie, forcibly refined, and his was quite weak.

As soon as he met Luo Huaiyu, he realized their positions had completely reversed, and he was filled with both shock and anger.

He couldn’t understand why Luo Huaiyu’s strength had improved so quickly. Seeing that Luo Huaiyu was about to make a move, he didn’t care about his jealousy and immediately turned around to flee!

Since Luo Huaiyu had just ascended, his control over his body wasn’t as skilled as Sheng Yihang’s. For a moment, he almost lost track of Sheng Yihang.

Sheng Yihang, elated by this advantage, delayed them for quite a while.

However, before he could come up with a proper escape plan, the peak of Jingming Mountain suddenly experienced an avalanche.

By the time Sheng Yihang realized something was wrong, the avalanche was already close.

He was filled with dread and desperately tried to escape sideways, but it was already too late.

The rushing snow struck him, carrying him all the way to the edge of the Lianshan Village’s Gu pool.

The immense force of the avalanche left him dizzy and unable to control himself.

Fortunately, he had already died, or else he would never have been able to open his eyes again.

Even so, he was severely battered.

Most of his bones were broken, all his meridians were injured, and his soul was struck by the death energy of the Great Tomb in Jingming Mountain, leaving several wounds.

If his soul could leave his body, he could have used the Moonlight to heal the wounds, but he was now a living corpse.

His soul was trapped within his body and couldn’t escape.

Thus, until Luo Huaiyu and Luo Ting, who had narrowly avoided the avalanche, arrived, he could only lie on the Gu pool, howling in misery.

“This isn’t even his worst luck.”

Luo Ting glanced at Sheng Yihang, whose face had turned purple, and couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

“His worst luck was that after being swept to the edge of the Gu pool by the avalanche, he didn’t completely lose his ability to move.”

Because he hadn’t completely lost his mobility, after the excruciating pain, Sheng Yihang’s first instinct was to get up and keep running.

But with all his bones injured, how far could he run?

After just two or three steps, Sheng Yihang lost control of his legs and collapsed into the snow that buried the Gu pool.

Luo Huaiyu couldn’t hold back and also laughed.

“Zhouzhou, you saw it too. There’s an array in the Gu pool beneath the snow.”

Uncertain if it was influenced by the death energy in the snow, Sheng Yihang’s random fall triggered a major change in the array—

For some inexplicable reason, he became the array’s core and began to endure the backlash of the array being broken.

Luo Ting was astonished: “I’ve seen my share of unlucky people, but I’ve never seen someone this unlucky.”

Chi Qingzhou widened his eyes: “Is he really that unlucky?”

Daoist Du Ming, who was holding Sheng Yihang, nodded in agreement: “Yes, quite unlucky.”

Even Luo Huaiyu nodded vigorously.

Even he had to admit that Sheng Yihang had truly reached the peak of bad luck this time.

Chi Qingzhou glanced at Daoist Du Ming, then at Sheng Yihang, and suddenly struck his left palm with his right hand.

“It seems that one must accumulate virtue and do good deeds to receive good fortune—”

Just halfway through, he paused and let out a low, thoughtful sound.

“Wait, living zombies aren’t human. So it seems… he can only continue being unlucky?”

Sheng Yihang: “…”

Are you serious?