Chapter 2: Thicket Village (Part 2)

Yun Xueqing showed no surprise on his face and calmly said, “You were tricked into coming here too?”

“Me?” Fu Wuxuan pointed at himself. “I wasn’t tricked into coming.”

His tone was eerie as he said, “I was forcibly caught by that San Zhi to serve as a sacrifice.”

He had already been under siege and was gravely injured, barely clinging to life while fleeing. Even an E-Rank Oracle launching an attack on him could have ended him.

But his luck had been abysmal, and he had run into San Zhi.

“A sacrifice?”

Fu Wuxuan tilted his head with a meaningful smile. “You’ll find out when the time comes.”

He paused, then remembered the reason he had told this person so much. “But maybe we won’t have to wait that long. Tonight, San Zhi and his group plan to brainwash people. This is your chance to escape.”

“I won’t leave.”

Yun Xueqing shook his head.

Fu Wuxuan eyed the sickly-looking man in front of him, who seemed to have some chuunibyou tendencies, and asked suspiciously, “If you’re not leaving, then why stay?”

Yun Xueqing casually replied, “To exorcise demons and evil.”

In truth, he wanted to recover his Natal Sword, but he couldn’t tell an outsider that.

He had sensed the aura of the Tianquan Sword on that San Zhi.

Though faint, it was still a clue.

Yun Xueqing had no intention of telling the bandaged man about it. Before the other could speak, he asked, “Fellow Daoist, do you have a writing brush?”

He had studied the strange pen in his hand for a while but still couldn’t figure out the best way to use it.

The characters it produced were too thin and small.

“Fellow Daoist?” Fu Wuxuan laughed. “You’re a strange one. Just call me Fu Wuxuan.”

Revealing one’s name to others carried a risk of being cursed.

But the other party was straightforward, and Yun Xueqing wasn’t one to hide things either. He nodded and, out of courtesy, exchanged names. “Sword Pavilion, Yun Xueqing.”

“Sword Pavilion? A newly established organization?”

He had never heard of it.

Fu Wuxuan wasn’t fooled and returned to the previous topic with a slight sneer. “You said you want to kill the A-Rank Weird that’s about to descend here?”

He wasn’t judging by appearances without reason. He could sense no Spirit Energy fluctuations in the man before him. He wasn’t an Oracle at all—just an ordinary person.

For an ordinary person to take on an A-Rank Weird capable of easily wiping out an entire district was utterly impossible.

Yun Xueqing offered no explanation. “If not, then I apologize for the disturbance.”

He took the ballpoint pen back to his room, slipped it into his sleeve, and pulled out the blank talisman paper.

He spread the talisman paper flat on his palm, his eyes flickering. Without hesitation, he bit his fingertip, drawing a drop of blood that fell onto the paper.

Yun Xueqing decisively pressed it down. Using the blood, his fingertip danced like a soaring dragon across the paper, swiftly inscribing two characters on the blank talisman.

The text was not “decree,” but the two characters for “San Zhi.”

With the talisman complete, Yun Xueqing’s lips curved slightly as he carefully tucked the paper into his sleeve.

As if remembering something, he curled two fingers and wiped them across the bitten fingertip. The wound healed instantly.

He gazed at the ceiling and murmured helplessly, “With the Spiritual Power I have left now, this is all I can manage.”

In an unseen hidden corner, a faint wisp of black smoke arose, then vanished soundlessly into the wall corner as Yun Xueqing’s wound closed.

In the blink of an eye, night fell, and Yun Xueqing arrived at the location San Zhi had mentioned for the exorcism operation.

The “Safe Zone” that San Zhi had circled off wasn’t large, and the so-called activity area was just an open patch of ground downstairs.

When he arrived, twenty or thirty people had already gathered in the open space. Among the more noticeable ones were the conjoined twins he had met that morning, the old man, and the bandaged man.

In addition, Yun Xueqing noticed a young girl amid the crowd.

The girl had waist-length hair, and her entire body—from her body hair to her strands—was an eerie snow white, like a snowman sculpted from Kunlun snow.

Yun Xueqing glanced at her twice and happened to meet her gaze. He then realized that this entirely snow-white person had only blood-red pupils, which didn’t look human but rather like snake eyes. Meeting her gaze brought an uncomfortable sensation of being stared at by a cold-blooded creature.

He gave a faint smile and looked away first.

Seeing everyone assembled, San Zhi coughed lightly and smiled. “We’re all our own people here, so I’ll get straight to the point.”

“Two years ago, the Weirds descended, bringing disaster and claiming countless lives. Among those killed by Weirds were no doubt our kin and companions.”

Yun Xueqing listened to San Zhi’s speech while observing the crowd. He noticed some people unconsciously clenching their fists when San Zhi mentioned “loved ones.”

San Zhi’s speech continued. “The descent of the Weirds brought despair to humanity, but in this irredeemable catastrophe of destruction, it also gave birth to new hope.”

“We discovered that those who could emerge alive from the Weird Domains created by Weirds and receive the baptism of Temporal Rain could be reborn and gain powerful Spirit Energy!”

“We named these new humans empowered by Spirit Energy as Oracles.”

Someone impatiently said, “We’re all Oracles here. Why spout so much nonsense? You’re wasting our time!”

San Zhi raised a hand to calm them, his tone steady. “Please be patient, brother. What comes next is the key point.”

“Everyone knows that becoming an Oracle isn’t a one-and-done deal. To make your Spirit Energy stronger, you have to enter Weird Domains, defeat Weirds, devour their energy, and keep growing stronger.”

“But defeating Weirds is easier said than done. Low-level E-Rank Weirds are manageable, but if you run into a slightly stronger one, you won’t even know how you die.”

“Yet if you hesitate and refuse to enter Weird Domains, in this dog-eat-dog world, you’ll either be enslaved by the strong or killed by some suddenly appearing powerful Weird. Those are your only two outcomes.”

“So we must get stronger!”

San Zhi’s speech struck at the dilemmas of most Oracles. Many nodded repeatedly, clearly in strong agreement.

Seeing the Oracles around him, San Zhi knew his goal was likely achieved. The false smile on his face became a bit more genuine. “I’ve learned that at midnight tonight, a C-Rank Weird will descend. If we team up to fight it, we can definitely kill It!”

The crowd showed varied expressions. Most present were the lowest-level Oracles, having only killed E-Rank Weirds. Hearing they were to take on a C-Rank Weird extinguished their post-speech enthusiasm, and they anxiously said, “With us small fries, can we really kill a C-Rank Weird?”

San Zhi naturally knew the concerns of these weaklings. Suppressing his inner contempt, he smiled on the surface. “No need to panic. I’m a B-Rank Oracle with more than enough ability to kill It!”

The unrest below calmed somewhat, but a knowledgeable voice still questioned, “Just you, a single B-Rank Oracle? That might not be enough.”

It wasn’t guaranteed that an Oracle one rank higher could definitely kill a Weird one rank lower.

Both Oracle and Weird ranks were subjective human evaluations based on combat experience and strength.

An Oracle’s Spirit Energy intensity was easy to gauge, but Weirds had endless bizarre methods. Even a C-Rank Weird could potentially counter-kill a B-Rank Oracle with its bizarre tricks.

Facing the doubt, San Zhi merely chuckled. “I naturally have ways to protect myself. Plus, don’t we have all of you? With twenty or thirty of us here, we can’t handle one C-Rank Weird?”

Some still looked uneasy.

Without absolute certainty, they wouldn’t risk their lives.

San Zhi inwardly called them a bunch of cowards but kept smiling. “Even if we’re no match, no one needs to worry about becoming the Weird’s target—because among us, there’s a sacrifice that Weirds love the most.”

The crowd was surprised and followed San Zhi’s malicious gaze to one person.

Yun Xueqing had simply come to hear how San Zhi would brainwash people, never expecting the fire to turn on him.

Before he could react, San Zhi pointed at Yun Xueqing, his expression agitated. “That’s right! That young man is just an ordinary person. The reason I brought him into our Safe Zone was because I detected his identity as a sacrifice!”

Someone in the crowd asked, “How did you know he’s a sacrifice?”

Sacrifices were people who extremely easily attracted Weirds; their flesh and blood were especially appealing to Weirds.

But ordinary people couldn’t detect who was a sacrifice—only when a Weird appeared would it become clear.

San Zhi pointed to his eyes. “I have a special Oracle Technique that lets me see a person’s attraction level to Weirds. This young man’s attraction to Weirds is a shocking 100%. To a Weird, he’s undoubtedly like a sweet, soft, glutinous cake—a sacrifice for sure.”

Hearing there was a sacrifice calmed many hearts.

Venturing into a Weird Domain with a sacrifice added an extra life, no doubt.

Even in defeat, the Weird would target the sacrifice first, buying more time to escape the Weird Domain.

In this dog-eat-dog apocalypse, many Oracles no longer saw sacrifices as people but as tools to exploit. Humanitarian ideals had long been cast aside for survival.

Many now eyed Yun Xueqing covetously, afraid he might run.

But some still showed inner conflict.

They wanted to grow stronger but didn’t want any innocents to die.

“Isn’t there a way where no one has to be sacrificed?”

“Of course there is,” unexpectedly, San Zhi didn’t mock the naivety. He smiled. “But the key isn’t with me—it’s with you, Lady Wu Xue.”

“Wu Xue? The Wu Xue from the Spiritual Energy Special Control Bureau?”

“It has to be! How many Wu Xues are there out there?”

“With Wu Xue, it’s definitely a sure thing. She’s an A-Rank Oracle—killing a C-Rank Weird is a piece of cake for her.”

“Is Wu Xue really here? Isn’t she famous for only taking official missions and never meddling otherwise?”

“Yeah, that’s right. Will Wu Xue really help us?”

The crowd buzzed. San Zhi smiled as he stepped down into the throng, approaching the unassuming white-haired girl. “Lady Wu Xue, will you join us?”

He extended a hand in invitation.

The girl remained expressionless, didn’t take his hand, and only said flatly, “Fine.”

San Zhi’s lips curved. He returned to the center of the open ground and announced loudly, “With Lady Wu Xue from the Spiritual Energy Special Control Bureau joining us, I’m sure we’ll kill that Weird tonight!”

With this A-Rank Oracle as their anchor, the crowd’s morale soared, brimming with confidence for the fight.

Only a few harbored their own thoughts.

San Zhi scheduled a gathering back at the open ground at 11:30 to head to the C-Rank Weird Domain.

Yun Xueqing didn’t expose his clumsy lie and let the crowd disperse.

As he prepared to return to his room, someone grabbed his wrist. “Trying to run? No can do. You’re the sacrifice—I won’t let you escape.”

Yun Xueqing looked over to see a boy in a white T-shirt gripping him.

The boy was severely hunched, his messy long hair covering half his face. He looked young but had a sleazy demeanor, lacking any youthful vitality.

Such an unremarkable person, lost in a crowd, was actually a sought-after Oracle.

He gripped Yun Xueqing’s hand tightly, determined not to let him go. “If you run, it’ll be big trouble for us!”

Yun Xueqing forcibly pulled his wrist free and patiently said, “I won’t leave. I have my reasons for staying.”

The boy asked half-believingly, “What reasons?”

There was no need to tell a stranger about recovering his Natal Sword, so Yun Xueqing said nothing more and returned to his room to wait for 11 o’clock.

The bandaged man had said an A-Rank Weird would descend here.

But San Zhi claimed a C-Rank Weird would arrive at midnight somewhere unknown—their accounts conflicted.

Yun Xueqing was inclined to believe the bandaged man, as San Zhi clearly harbored ill intentions.

He had lured this group of low-rank Oracles here not to help fight a C-Rank Weird, but for some other purpose.

San Zhi had deliberately kept the Weird’s descent location vague so the duped Oracles wouldn’t realize it was this very building.

Thus, his claim of leading them to the Weird Domain’s activation spot at 11:30 was an absolute lie.

Midnight wasn’t the time of the Weird’s descent either.

Yun Xueqing sat cross-legged on the bed in meditation, mentally tracking the passage of time.

The building’s power system had failed, leaving the room pitch black, lit only by moonlight spilling in from outside.

Yet the moon was a red moon, casting red light that added an even stranger air to the already dim room.

The red light slowly seeped in, growing thicker and thicker, layer upon layer like red paint, until the entire room glowed with a dazzling red brilliance!

Finally, as the red light blazed brightly, Yun Xueqing abruptly opened his eyes. The scene before him had changed—he now faced an ancient temple.

He looked around. The temple stood atop a high mountain, modest in size with no tourists in sight. Its entrance was deserted, and the paint on its red walls and pillars had peeled away, giving it a desolate look.

Yun Xueqing was somewhat surprised. “Is this the Weird Domain?”

It wasn’t like what he had imagined.

“Why did we enter the Weird Domain from inside the room?!”

An exclamation came from nearby.

Yun Xueqing turned to look and saw the white T-shirt guy who had grabbed his wrist earlier, his hand covering his face in disbelief. “How did we get in? Why did the Weird Domain activate at this time?!”

He reacted belatedly. “That San Zhi tricked us! He lied to us and dragged us into the Weird Domain. That building was the descent point for the Weird!”

Yun Xueqing felt a pang of heartache for his dullness.

The guy gritted his teeth. “We’ve been screwed into coming here, so we can only brute-force our way through. I’ve never cleared a C-Rank Weird Domain before. I hope it’s not too tough.”

Yun Xueqing hesitated for a moment but still kept quiet about the possibility that this was an A-Rank Weird Domain.

He pointed at the temple. “Let’s go in first.”

The temple was empty, save for a single Buddha statue standing there.

Upon closer inspection, most of the paint on the statue’s face had flaked off, revealing large patches of black underneath. Gold here, black there—the originally benevolent and kind face now looked bizarre and terrifying.

The statue had six arms, some extended, some bent. Some palms lay open, others clenched tight. One arm even stretched forward right in front of it, so close it seemed to be right before their eyes, as if demanding something.

Yun Xueqing stared at the statue’s hand, feeling as though it was inching ever closer.