The Strange Changes in the City

Muyang City was the Soul-Reaping Bureau's Nineteenth Jurisdiction. It was also where Su Yang had been born and raised.

At a time when everything was still and the city had fallen asleep,

in a dim basement on the edge of the city, an old man hunched over, drawing something on the floor.

He was shabbily dressed and travel-worn, as though he had come here from very far away.

But there was not a trace of fatigue on his face. Instead, he was full of vigor.

"Half a month left, half a month... I'll soon have completed God's command."

At the thought that he was about to complete the deity's command, the expression on the old man's face became almost frenzied.

He bit open his finger, and drops of blood fell one by one onto the dusty basement floor.

The old man crouched down and used his blood-soaked finger to draw bizarre, twisted patterns on the floor, murmuring a mysterious incantation—

"When that day truly comes, I will blend my faith and soul into my flesh and blood.

"My flesh and blood will be poured into every corner of this city,

"and reach every filthy place.

"When the sleeping bell tolls,

"this world will be clean once more."

As the old man's body rose and fell, a piece of ink-black jade dropped from inside his robes.

The words "Soul-Reaping Bureau Sword Guardian" were engraved on it in small, regular script.

But the place on the black jade where his name should have been engraved had been viciously scraped away with a knife.

Meanwhile, in a rented apartment within Muyang City's Second Ring Road,

a middle-aged man in a white shirt had just finished a day's work.

He stretched at length, his face full of worry. Shaking his head, he walked over to the refrigerator and took out a bottle of yogurt.

"Whew! These kids really make me anxious!"

"They're about to graduate, and they're still making mistakes on the same old problems. I really don't know how they're going to get into university."

If Su Yang had been there, he would have recognized him at a glance as Teacher Zhao, his homeroom teacher.

With one hand on his hip, Teacher Zhao gulped down the yogurt he had just taken from the refrigerator.

In the blink of an eye, Teacher Zhao had drained the five-hundred-milliliter bottle of yogurt.

"If only all my students were like Su Yang! Then I'd be raking in bonuses every year until my hands went limp...

"At this rate, when will I ever be able to buy a home of my own?"

Twenty years ago, he had graduated from a teacher-training program and come to this city to teach.

Throughout those twenty years, he had always done his duty.

He neither accepted gifts nor fawned over his superiors, and he had always taught and raised his students conscientiously.

As a result, he had a good reputation among both parents and students. But it also meant that after twenty years, he was still just an ordinary homeroom teacher at the school.

He watched the colleagues around him get promoted and make their fortunes, while he alone remained where he was.

In this city, where the cost of living was quite high, he still did not own a home.

With no home or car, naturally, his girlfriend of several years had reluctantly left him.

Whenever he finished grading his students' homework at midnight, he would sink into deep uncertainty.

"Forget it, forget it. It's so late already. I'd better get some rest! I still have to teach those little brats tomorrow!"

Teacher Zhao shook his head, tossed the yogurt container into the trash, and headed for his bedroom.

Suddenly, his nostrils flared twice. He smelled something strange.

"Why does it smell like a dead rat in here?"

"Where's it coming from?"

Following the stench, Teacher Zhao came to the side of his bed.

After searching carefully, he discovered that the stench was coming from beneath the bedboard!

"The smell's coming from under the bedboard! Did a rat die under there?"

After pondering for a while, Teacher Zhao decided to move the bedboard aside.

The stench was unbearable. If he didn't clean it up, he wouldn't be able to sleep at all that night!

Rolling up his sleeves, Teacher Zhao heaved the bedboard aside.

But when he saw what lay beneath it, his pupils suddenly widened.

"What is this?!"

The next moment, a scream echoed through the residential complex.

But it was as though the scream had been blocked out, stirring not the slightest ripple in the night.

The same thing was happening at the same time in different corners of the city.

"Whew! That was a good sleep!"

Su Yang opened his eyes. The curtains kept the morning sunlight out, but some light still reached his bedroom.

"The happiest thing in the world is waking up naturally and finding that the alarm clock on the table hasn't gone off yet."

Su Yang stretched, then rolled out of bed.

Following muscle memory, Su Yang headed for the bathroom to wash up.

Halfway there, he seemed to remember something, and the sleepiness vanished from his eyes.

Su Yang stopped in his tracks.

The next moment, Su Yang flipped his hand, and a long saber as black as ink appeared in it out of thin air.

With a light swing of his arm, Su Yang's strong muscles bulged instantly.

The long saber sliced through the air, and a sonic boom rang out in Su Yang's bedroom.

The experiences of the past few days had been like a dream. If Su Yang had not still been able to manifest the long saber in his hand, he would hardly have dared believe those things had really happened.

Su Yang clenched his hand. Never before had he felt such immense strength in his body.

"Am I stronger now than those boxing champions who made their names in the ring?"

Su Yang smiled and flicked his hand. The long saber dissolved into the air.

"I wonder how the director is doing..."

Walking out of his bedroom, Su Yang saw his grandmother watching a TV drama in the living room.

The old woman sat in a chair, her face glowing with a smile.

Su Yang had not seen such a calm, unhurried expression on her face in a long time.

"Xiao Yang, you're up?"

"Go downstairs and get something to eat. I'm meeting a friend for a walk in the park in a little while, so I didn't make you breakfast today."

Su Yang nodded. It was best that the old woman had her own pastimes.

He was very glad of that.

Seeing his grandmother watching the drama without taking her eyes off it, Su Yang smiled in amusement.

Without disturbing her, Su Yang went into the bathroom, washed up quickly, and left.

As Su Yang was going out, his grandmother reminded him of something.

"Xiao Yang, don't forget to give that girl from your class a proper thank-you!"

"I know!"

After a quick breakfast downstairs, Su Yang walked to the school bus stop.

It was still early, but many students were already standing there. They gathered in twos and threes, waiting for the school bus to arrive.

Su Yang looked around but saw no sign of Ren Yexue.

"Is Ren Yexue really angry? She's not even coming to find me anymore?"

Su Yang scratched his head. Not finding Ren Yexue at the stop, he felt a fleeting, inexplicable hint of disappointment.

"Forget it. I'll thank her in person when I get to school!"

While Su Yang's thoughts wandered, the school bus approached from a distance and slowly stopped beside the platform.

Amid the crowd, Su Yang boarded the bus.