The More Mysterious, The More Fearful

The next afternoon.

"This is delicious!"

Outside the Yueyao Milk Tea shop, Zhu Xiaoming gave a thumbs-up.

This milk tea shop was located at the entrance of Jiang University, a joint venture between Zhong Yue and Lu Yao. These two girls, for some unknown reason, had become inseparable in just a few days and had even started a business together.

Ivy covered the side wall of the milk tea shop, lush and green.

Zhu Xiaoming let out a satisfied burp and pointed at the ivy on the wall:

"I think there's no need to clear this ivy; it's the perfect finishing touch."

He then pointed at the three empty cups on the table:

"The taste is incredible. It's worthy of being the milk tea personally made by Yaoyao. Perfect!"

Lu Yao's skin crawled, and she looked terrified:

"Brother, please, I'm begging you, can you stop calling me Yaoyao??"

Zhu Xiaoming chuckled, shamelessly pestering her:

"Yaoyao, you don't like that nickname? Yaoyao."

Lu Yao punched him to the ground.

"No sleeping here," Zhong Yue said, covering her mouth as she laughed.

Zhu Xiaoming rolled back to his feet, dusted himself off, and chuckled:

"It's a shame Old Zhang can't make it. He said he's busy today and has to go on a long trip tonight. Well, he's missing out on the chance to taste milk tea personally made by Yaoyao!"

Lu Yao covered her cheek.

Toothache.

As the three were playfully bickering, A figure appeared before them without anyone noticing, exuding an aura that kept others at bay – a sense of loneliness, coldness, detachment, and being out of place.

Like a patch of snow huddled in a dark corner on a hot summer day, refusing to melt.

"Sister Nuanyu?" Lu Yao blinked in surprise. Of the three, she had interacted with Chen Nuanyu the most, having exchanged a few words.

"Mm."

Chen Nuanyu nodded lightly, her wine-red hair casually draped over her shoulders. "A cup of milk tea."

Zhu Xiaoming blinked. Genius Chen drinks milk tea?

He remembered rumors from Linshu Middle School that this sister never touched anything sweet.

"Coming right up," Lu Yao replied, quickly making a cup of milk tea.

The milk tea shop had just opened, and they hadn't hired any employees yet, so she and Zhong Yue were handling everything themselves.

"Here you go, Sister Nuanyu."

"Mm."

Chen Nuanyu took the milk tea but didn't drink it. She asked, "How much?"

Zhu Xiaoming said casually, "We're all classmates, no need for money. You're the first customer on our opening day, so it's on the house!"

Chen Nuanyu calmly asked again, "How much?"

Zhu Xiaoming was taken aback.

The atmosphere suddenly grew cold.

More footsteps approached. Zhu Xiaoming and Lu Yao looked at the newcomer, but Zhong Yue suddenly stood up with a gasp.

"Grandpa?" she managed to say.

'Zhong Shan' leaned on a cheap wooden cane and nodded kindly at Zhu Xiaoming and Lu Yao. "You are both Xiao Yue's friends, right? I've heard Xiao Yue mention you often."

"Really?" The easygoing Zhu Xiaoming didn't notice Zhong Yue's odd reaction and chuckled, "Hello, old grandpa. Do you know my name?"

"You must be Zhu Xiaoming, right?"

The old man smiled and looked to the side. "And you, you must be Lu Yao?"

"Huh? You actually know us?" Both were surprised, while Zhong Yue felt a chill run down her spine.

A moment of silence.

"How did you get here?" she asked cautiously.

"Didn't I tell you? Once I finish up with things these two days, Grandpa will try to guide you into the meditation technique." The old man smiled kindly, which startled both Zhu Xiaoming and Lu Yao.

Guide her into the meditation technique?

Even Chen Nuanyu, who stood like an ice sculpture, glanced at the old man. She then noticed the old man was also looking at her.

Their eyes met for a moment.

Just a single moment.

Chen Nuanyu saw her own reflection in the old man's eyes, and then something bizarre happened.

The reflection of herself in his pupils was incredibly clear.

She could see the details of her reflected eyes, and then suddenly, from within those eyes, she saw herself again, and so on, in an endless cycle.

It was like facing two mirrors, infinitely extending, with no end in sight.

It felt like falling, falling, and falling into some unspeakable spiritual abyss.

Weightless.

Absurd.

Terrifying.

Everything around her became invisible and imperceptible. The world consisted only of the old man's eyes and the infinitely extending reflections within them.

'Crack!'

The old man averted his gaze, shattering the facing mirrors. Chen Nuanyu awoke from her infinite confusion, stumbled back three steps, and crashed into the small wooden table in front of the milk tea shop.

She continued to stagger, leaning against the rough side wall of the milk tea shop.

Several pairs of eyes looked at her in confusion.

Chen Nuanyu gasped, looking at the old man with terror, but then, with even greater horror, she looked at the side wall she was leaning against.

It was an ordinary brick wall with peeling paint.

But.

Where were the lush climbing vines?

When did they disappear?

As Chen Nuanyu stared in shock.

The old man, who had appeared out of nowhere, walked up to Zhong Yue and gently tapped her head three times before stroking it.

Zhang Fusheng invaded the young girl's mental world.

His aged voice echoed in her mind, like the tolling of a morning bell and evening drum.

"Practice the meditation technique."

The words echoed, never ceasing.

Zhong Yue involuntarily began practicing the 'Morning Sun Basic Visualization Method,' seeing a hazy dawn sky and rolling clouds.

Zhang Fusheng's thoughts stirred. The heavenly light intensified, and the clouds became like a sea. Then, subtly, the dull thuds of the three taps on her head exploded in Zhong Yue's ears.

She experienced a moment of profound enlightenment. Mysterious Factors appeared in her perception, dotting the air around her.

Morning Sun Basic Visualization Method, meditation technique, entry achieved.

The transaction was complete.

She opened her eyes, looking around blankly. She saw Zhu Xiaoming and Lu Yao, their faces full of concern. Chen Nuanyu was gone, and so was 'Grandpa.'

She instinctively asked:

"Where are Genius Chen and Grandpa?"

"Genius Chen left a while ago." The two then asked in surprise, "What grandpa?"

Zhong Yue's heart skipped a beat. She stumbled back a few steps, bumping into the side wall of the milk tea shop, bumping into the lush climbing vines.

"Did you find out his identity??"

Inside the white van, several team members were sweating profusely.

"Facial recognition is complete. Zhong Shan, 84 years old. A First Refinement Martial Artist, late-stage cancer patient, receiving treatment at Ankang Tumor Hospital."

One team member wiped his sweat, staring at the continuously replaying footage.

The footage was from a remote surveillance of Target One, Chen Nuanyu. Everything was normal until she arrived at a milk tea shop.

Then things went awry.

In the video, the old man, identified in the file as Zhong Shan, walked up to the milk tea shop.

Afterward, both Target One and the other three 'passersby' froze in place simultaneously, completely still, as if...

...they had fallen into the [Spiritual Realm].

And then, the old man turned his head and looked towards the white van from a kilometer or two away.

The moment his gaze landed there, the video feed distorted, and when it cleared again, the old man was nowhere to be seen.

A team member took a breath.

"Late-stage cancer? A normal old man? First Refinement?? None of this adds up, does it?"

He swallowed.

"Archive the footage for now. Have someone go to Ankang Hospital to retrieve Zhong Shan's detailed medical records. Also, has the captain's mental healing been completed?"

"No, the captain suffered too severe mental contamination. It will take at least three to four more days before he's free from its restraint and can recover normally."

Everyone in the car fell silent for a moment.