Awake, And the Enemy is Dead

A stream of icy coolness slowly welled up from some hidden place deep within his heart, spreading through Han Li’s entire body and shaking him from his slumber.

The moment he woke, his head felt unbearably heavy and throbbed with a dull ache. Every part of him was limp and powerless, as if he had just recovered from a serious illness. He tried to open his eyes, but his eyelids were leaden, refusing to move even a fraction.

Through the haze, Han Li recalled everything that had happened before he lost consciousness.

He jolted, a chill running down his spine, and his mind cleared instantly. He immediately began to inspect his own condition.

“Eh?” His body did not seem to have been taken over. Though he could not open his eyes, the strange, uncomfortable sensations across his body told him, with certainty, that his body was back under his control.

“Could it be that Doctor Mo’s ritual failed?” Han Li thought of the only explanation that made sense.

Suppressing the excitement in his heart, Han Li patiently gathered some strength. After some effort, he managed to pry his eyelids open a crack and make out the world around him.

The first thing he saw was a face—white-haired, gaunt, haggard, ancient beyond measure. It was Doctor Mo’s aged face, but he seemed to have aged another ten years or so. He was now an old man who could not get any older.

At this moment, his eyes were wide open, staring at Han Li with an expression of utter terror.

Startled, Han Li’s entire body tensed. His feeling of weakness was thrown to the winds. His first thought was to strike first, to seize the initiative.

After his last lesson, Han Li was determined never to let himself be easily subdued again.

But then Han Li noticed something strange. The other man’s expression was frozen. He was completely still. There was no sound of breathing. It was as if he had been dead for a long time.

Han Li frowned, but did not let his guard down. He stared intently at the other man’s face, searching for any sign of a trick.

After a full quarter-hour of careful observation, Han Li had to admit that the man did not seem to be alive.

Hesitating for a moment, he cautiously approached. He reached out and grabbed the man’s wrist, while placing his other hand under the man’s nose. He waited for a while. Nothing.

Only then did Han Li’s heart finally settle. A wave of overwhelming relief washed over him. The boulder that had been crushing his chest was finally gone.

Even now, Han Li could hardly believe it. The great enemy he had feared, the wily, ruthless Doctor Mo, had died so silently, so inexplicably, so easily.

He reached up and touched his forehead. The so-called “Spirit-Fixing Talisman” was gone without a trace. He could not find it anywhere nearby. This puzzled him. Later, when he had learned something of talisman techniques, he would recall this moment and understand that the yellow talisman had exhausted its mana and turned to ash, which was why he could not find it.

With his mind at ease, Han Li began to scan the area beyond Doctor Mo’s corpse, searching for clues as to how he had met his end.

The oil lamps and candles were still burning, which meant he had not been unconscious for very long. The several pieces of green jade nearby had turned a dull, ashen color, as if their quality had dropped several grades, becoming utterly unremarkable.

He turned his gaze. In a corner of the stone room, a flickering, dodging object was trying its best to evade Han Li’s line of sight.

Han Li was not unfamiliar with this object. It was the enemy he had fought in his dream, the one that had slipped through his fingers—the green orb that had been a third devoured.

Now, it was desperately trying to burrow into the corner of the wall, as if it was terrified of Han Li, trying to hide.

Han Li was momentarily surprised, but then he propped his chin on his hand, lost in thought for a moment.

After a short while, Han Li stood up and walked toward the orb.

He stopped when he was only half a zhang away. Slowly, he said:

“I think we should get to know each other. You must be Yu Zitong, I presume.”

The green orb trembled. Its light flickered unsteadily. When it heard Han Li speak its name, it dimmed for a long moment before brightening again.

“You figured it out. You really are worthy of being Mo Juren’s disciple. Just as troublesome and hard to deal with as he was.” The orb seemed to have accepted its fate, actually speaking in a human voice. The accent was unmistakably that of the young man.

It did not try to deny it. It directly admitted Han Li’s guess.

“Then shouldn’t you give me an explanation? Tell me the whole story.” Hearing that this was indeed one of the people who had plotted against him, Han Li showed not a trace of anger. He was still unhurried and methodical.

But Yu Zitong, seeing the other man’s calm, unruffled demeanor, felt a chill creep into his heart. He had a feeling that a great disaster was upon him.

During the recent spiritual sense battle, he had tasted the power of this merciless star. Part of his Primordial Soul had been devoured, and most of his mana was lost. What little mana remained was only enough for a few minor illusion techniques, utterly useless for self-defense. Now, facing his tormentor in the flesh, with no way to protect himself, he felt a terror that words could not describe.

“What do you want to know?”

He knew that the other had just narrowly escaped death. His emotions should be extremely unstable, making him extremely dangerous. Despite the calm surface, beneath it, like a volcano before an eruption, a cauldron of rage might be brewing.

Now that he had been discovered, his best course was to cooperate and not test the other’s patience with words. He had no desire to be so carelessly buried by his opponent’s impulsive rage.

“First, tell me who you really are. Then, tell me everything about how you met Doctor Mo, and your original plan. I have plenty of time. I can listen to you slowly.” Han Li spoke like a man wearing a mask, his face utterly expressionless. His voice betrayed no hint of emotion.