Chapter 16

Click.

Lu Sheng closed the car door.

The scene instantly shifted. Lu Sheng stood in a hallway thick with acrid smoke and the stench of rotten eggs.

Police officers and paramedics were bustling up and down the stairs, occasionally carrying out stretchers.

The wall plaster on both sides of the stairwell was charred beyond recognition. Lu Sheng looked towards apartment 302. The door had already been broken open. A policeman ran out, coughing. “Cough, cough—no one’s home in this unit!”

Lu Sheng brushed past the officer’s arm and entered the apartment. The policeman showed no reaction.

The newly tidied home Jiang Wu had just settled into was now a scene of utter devastation. The walls and ceiling were all blackened by smoke. All the furniture and the television were ruined without exception. The floor was covered in shattered glass and books burned to fragments.

Lu Sheng surveyed the ashes on the floor. Suddenly, he walked over to the dining table and crouched down on one knee. The index finger of his black leather glove gently nudged aside a book that was mostly burnt away. Beneath it lay a small, charred iron box.

Lu Sheng pinched the iron box between two fingers and lifted it. His index finger flipped open the lid. The contents inside were untouched—a jade bangle, and a sapphire-blue passbook.

Lu Sheng flipped open the cover. The account opening date was the Start of Winter, eighteen years ago. The account holder’s name was Jiang Wu.

The first page was completely filled. On the 30th of every month, there was a fixed deposit. The amounts varied, but none exceeded triple digits. Yet the balance had already reached five figures. This was a newly replaced passbook.

Lu Sheng flipped through two pages. By the third page, the deposit amounts began to increase. The deposit times were irregular as well—sometimes once a month, sometimes once every two or three months. The lowest amount was now three digits, the highest, four.

He flipped to the last page. The balance had reached six figures: 102,456.

All of it was deposits. Not a single withdrawal had ever been made.

Just then, voices came from outside the apartment.

“The fire originated in 401. Gas explosion… This is a huge mess. It burned the two floors above and the one below.”

“All floors have been checked. No further injuries found.”

“Captain, we’ve contacted all the affected residents. Only 302 is a rental. The landlady can’t reach the tenant.”

“What’s the tenant’s background?”

“A student at Xianjiang University. Name’s Jiang Wu. Probably went out for the New Year holiday.”

“Get in touch with him as soon as possible!”

…

Lu Sheng closed the passbook and vanished from the spot. At the same moment, the jade bangle inside the iron box also disappeared into thin air.

…

Elsewhere, in the Cloud-Step Lunar Realm.

“Still not getting through?” Jiang Wu switched the cocoa powder to his right hand and reached into his left pocket to fish out his phone. The signal bar showed an “X.” No signal. But the Wi-Fi was full strength.

He asked Gongliang Ye, “Do you have WeChat?”

Gongliang Ye expertly tapped open the WeChat app. “Yes, I do.”

After they had added each other as friends, Jiang Wu glanced around. He spotted a row of water taps near the basketball court ahead. His eyes lit up slightly. “Wait for me a few minutes.”

He ran over to the taps, took out that green apple, and meticulously washed it several times. After drying it with a paper towel and wrapping it up, he ran back and handed it to Gongliang Ye. “Thank you for bringing me the cocoa powder specially.”

“I like apples best. They’re healthy.” Gongliang Ye accepted it with a beaming smile. He flipped his wrist to glance at his watch. “It’s getting late. You should head back to the dorm to rest. Academy assignments start tomorrow. I hope you get placed into a good academy.”

Jiang Wu nodded. “Good night.”

After bidding farewell to Gongliang Ye, Jiang Wu returned to Building 8, Zone F once more. Several dorm rooms already had their lights on. Not many, but it was no longer pitch black.

Jiang Wu went upstairs. On the 5th floor, only room 506 still had its light on. The occasional rumble of the old air conditioner laboring could be heard.

So, when he opened the door and saw two people inside, he paused for a brief second before closing the door and entering.

The dorm was a four-person room. Perhaps a fourth roommate was yet to come.

The air conditioner was running inside, but it wasn’t very warm at all. Lei Tiantian had changed into thick pajamas and was playing games with his headphones on, utterly lost in the action and oblivious to Jiang Wu’s return.

The other boy, with wheat-colored skin, was making his bed on the bunk next to Jiang Wu’s. It was Long Lin, the one he had seen at the registration desk that afternoon.

When Jiang Wu entered, Long Lin didn’t even twitch an eyelid. Jiang Wu didn’t make a sound either. He walked to his desk, set down the cocoa powder, then opened his wardrobe to take out his pajamas, ready to go shower.

This building was built so long ago that the dorm bathrooms didn’t have showers. Bathing required going to the public bathhouse; there was one on each floor.

Jiang Wu gathered his toiletries, brought his pajamas, and went out, closing the door behind him.

He looked left and right in the corridor for a few seconds, then walked to the left end. The two doors at the very end showed signs of past refinement. A sign affixed to them read—Bathroom. Open hours: Daily 12:00 PM – 11:00 PM.

Jiang Wu pushed the door open, entered, and closed it again. A very dim light was on, just barely enough to see. The outer room held two large storage cabinets. Neither were locked, and all the cabinet doors were wide open.

Jiang Wu took off his clothes and placed them and his pajamas into separate lockers. Carrying his basin, he entered the inner room.

The inner room was one large open space with no partitions. Shower heads lined the walls on both sides in neat rows. Only two weak lights glowed in the middle, making it nearly impossible to see clearly.

Jiang Wu walked to the very back and randomly chose a side. He turned the tap, and lukewarm water rained down. By the time Jiang Wu finished his shower, the water still hadn’t heated up.

He casually toweled his wet hair, carried his basin out, changed into his pajamas, and returned to the dorm room.

When he entered this time, the last roommate had arrived too.

The boy was very small and petite. His bed was closest to the door. Hearing the door open, he spun around in alarm to look at Jiang Wu. His palm-sized face held a pair of large, dark, liquid eyes. He looked like a startled miniature deer.

Jiang Wu pulled the towel draped over his head down. First, he politely said, “Hello, my name is Jiang Wu.”

The boy spoke. “I’m He Lan.” Then he quickly turned his face away and continued hanging his bed curtain. Soon, with a swish, the curtain was drawn, shielding his bunk tightly and completely.

Lei Tiantian was still gaming. Long Lin was already asleep, facing the wall, his posture rigid.

Jiang Wu put his things away and also went back to his bed to sleep.

It was freezing under the covers. His body, fresh from a lukewarm shower, held no warmth. He closed his eyes for a long while but still couldn’t fall asleep. Suddenly, someone called out to him in a tiny whisper. “Jiang Wu, are you asleep?”

He opened his eyes and turned his head. In the dim light and shadows was Lei Tiantian’s familiar face. Jiang Wu whispered back, “No. What’s up?”

Lei Tiantian immediately set down a huge pile of things. “Here.”

A rustling sound. Through the blanket, Jiang Wu felt a wave of heat. He reached a hand out from under the covers and touched it. A large patch of warmth. It was hand warmers.

Before Jiang Wu could speak, Lei Tiantian had crept back to his own bed on tiptoe. Immediately, the sound of crinkling packaging followed—he was tearing open a hand warmer packet, most likely.

The warmth at his fingertips grew intensely hot. Jiang Wu’s eyes curved into a smile. He grabbed all the hand warmers and stuffed every last one under the covers.

The next day, when Jiang Wu woke, there was a faint sound of movement from the balcony. Someone had gotten up before him.

He sat up and saw that Long Lin’s bed was already empty. Assuming it was Long Lin washing up, he got out of bed and changed his clothes, only to see He Lan push the door open and come in.

He Lan seemed very timid. His relaxed features, upon seeing Jiang Wu, immediately tensed up again. He quickly walked past Jiang Wu, grabbed his schoolbag, and left.

By the time Jiang Wu finished washing up, Lei Tiantian was just crawling out from his covers. He greeted listlessly, “Morning.”

“Morning.”

Jiang Wu asked casually, “Let’s go get breakfast together?”

“Mhm!” Lei Tiantian instantly snapped awake. He scrambled up, washed and dressed at lightning speed, and within minutes, grabbed his student card and said, “Let’s go! Eat breakfast! Still at Cafeteria No. 2. It’s good!”

After breakfast, the two hurried to the sports field. The closer they got, the more students filled the roads. Lei Tiantian leaned close to Jiang Wu and whispered, “My mom told me before I came that there are eight major academies in the Cloud-Step Lunar Realm: Qian, Dui, Li, Zhen, Xun, Kan, Gen, Kun. The best is Qian Academy, the worst is Kan Academy. I…” He suddenly looked dejected. “I’ve had the worst aptitude in my family since I was little. I’ll probably be assigned to Kan Academy. What about you? Which academy do you want to go to?”

Jiang Wu didn’t care which academy he was assigned to. His target was only the Heavenly Book. He opened his mouth to answer, but a voice suddenly rang out from behind.

“Jiang Wu?”

Jiang Wu sensed someone rushing up. He sidestepped to avoid them first. A boy with a long face and prominent brow bones lunged forward, his hand slapping down heavily into empty air. He nearly fell.

Jiang Wu glanced at the boy. He didn’t recognize him. The boy quickly straightened up and turned around, his eyes wide in disbelief as he stared at Jiang Wu. “Jiang Wu, what are you doing here?”

It seemed he really did know him. Jiang Wu ran through his memories again but still had no impression. He asked politely, “You are?”

“You don’t remember me? I’m Shan Zicheng!” Shan Zicheng was furious. “When you were little, you and your grandma even rented our house!”

He glanced around, then suddenly raised his voice. “Not bad, huh! So your grandma picking trash and selling scrap was actually enough to send you to the Cloud-Step Lunar Realm for school!”

The wide street fell momentarily silent.

Soon, murmurs erupted.

“Picking trash? Like, literal trash picking?”

“How could a trash-picking beggar appear at the Cloud-Step Lunar Realm?”

“Is he a regular human or a Demon Clan? If he’s a Demon Clan… how could he be that miserable?”

“He’s so ugly! Single-handedly dragging down the whole school’s average looks…”

In an instant, Jiang Wu became the focus of disdain, just like when he was a child.

Shan Zicheng was incredibly pleased by the sight. He hadn’t forgotten a single moment of the time Jiang Wu had thrown him to the ground and split his chin open when they were kids!

After getting injured, he had concocted hundreds of ways to get revenge on Jiang Wu while in the hospital. But by the time he got discharged and went home, Jiang Wu had moved away!

He never expected to run into Jiang Wu again at the Cloud-Step Lunar Realm. In the days ahead, he would definitely get his payback, with interest!

Jiang Wu finally dug Shan Zicheng out from the dusty corners of his memory. He countered flatly, “So you actually have to pay your own way to attend the Cloud-Step Lunar Realm.”

The implication was clear: his tuition was free!

Shan Zicheng’s face instantly drained of color. The students watching were also slightly stunned. The Cloud-Step Lunar Realm was the Divine Clan’s highest holy land. People were weeping with gratitude just to pay for entry. And there were actually those who came for free?

Shan Zicheng gritted his back teeth, ready to pick another fight. Suddenly, a car horn blared.

No one knew how that sedan had appeared behind Shan Zicheng. By the time they heard the horn, the car was simply there.

The crowd was baffled.

“Aren’t cars prohibited in the teaching district?”

“Incredible! Was that a teleport?”

“Such a cool car. Could it be the Principal?”

Shan Zicheng turned his head. Seeing the car just a single step away, he didn’t react at all, just stared blankly at the windshield.

“Move aside.”

In the next second, a deep, steady, magnetic voice came from inside the car.

Shan Zicheng was instantly lifted into the air and sent flying several yards, crashing heavily into the roadside greenery.

Then, the car started moving again, slowly driving past right in front of Jiang Wu.

Through the dark tinted windows, the interior couldn’t be made out. But Jiang Wu could clearly see those eyes.

Aloof, untouchable eyes that looked down upon all living beings.

It was him.

Lu Sheng.