Fang Shuwen held Tales of the Ancient Castle, its familiar chill seeping into his palm.
He didn't act right away. Instead, he glanced at Zheng Shulan beside him.
The wealthy young lady kept her head down as she pushed the handcart. Dust clung to her school uniform, and a few strands of hair had come loose. Sweat trickled down her temples, sticking the stray hairs to her cheeks.
From the side, she had a kind of fragile beauty.
Zheng Shulan had clearly never done anything like this before. She was struggling to push the cart.
Still, she gritted her teeth and said nothing, stubbornly keeping at it.
Fang Shuwen withdrew his gaze, tucked the book into his sleeve, and sensed it in secret.
In an instant, a chill more intense than any he had felt before exploded from his palm.
It wasn't coolness. It was bone-deep cold, as if someone had shoved his hand into an ice cellar.
This book has more strange energy than I imagined!
Fang Shuwen's pupils contracted. The chill shot up his arm, rushed along his meridians, and barreled into his chest, careening through his internal organs.
At the same time,
one bizarre image after another appeared before his eyes.
A gloomy old castle, pallid moonlight, a pair of blood-red eyes behind a window, and things writhing in the dark, their shapes impossible to make out.
The images were clearer and more lifelike than last time.
This time, he could even smell the rotting, sweet stench in the air and hear faint whispers by his ear, as if something were calling his name.
He knew perfectly well that answering would bring something terrible, yet at that moment, Fang Shuwen couldn't help wanting to respond.
Just then,
[Strange energy detected. Absorb?]
The words flashed before his eyes.
Fang Shuwen snapped out of the oppressive state that had nearly left him unable to resist.
Absorb it! Absorb it!
He roared inwardly.
A surge of power welled up, and the chill flowing from the book in his palm vanished at once.
Immediately afterward, all the strange visions burst apart and disappeared.
The book in his palm gave a faint click. The gloomy castle on its cover seemed to have been wiped away by something. Its color quickly faded, leaving behind an ordinary book with a bluish-gray cover.
[Skill Points Acquired: 8]
Fang Shuwen slowly exhaled a breath of stale air. Fine beads of cold sweat had formed across his forehead.
Whew. I didn't expect things to nearly go wrong.
Eight skill points.
This was the most he had ever gained from a single absorption.
The strange energy contained in Tales of the Ancient Castle was almost twice that of the fine Ghost Jade Old Master Zheng had owned.
But at the same time, it seemed to contain danger.
This book...
What exactly was this book?
Why was it so strange?
But the shopkeeper and Zheng Shulan had both handled the book. Why hadn't anything happened to them?
"Hey, what are you doing? What are you staring off into space for?"
Zheng Shulan's voice came from beside him, laced with impatience.
Fang Shuwen came to his senses, slipped the book back into her bag, and zipped it up. His tone was calm.
"Nothing. I was looking at your book."
"Oh, thank you for saving me. About what happened before...I forgive you!"
Zheng Shulan lowered her head and stammered out the words, her ears red as if they might drip blood.
She waited a moment. When Fang Shuwen didn't reply, she couldn't help lifting her eyes to sneak a glance at him.
She saw Fang Shuwen staring into the distance.
It was obvious he hadn't heard a word she'd said. A flush of embarrassment and annoyance washed over her.
"Hey! Did you hear me?"
"I heard you."
Fang Shuwen set her bag down, his tone still calm.
Zheng Shulan parted her lips as if to say something, but swallowed the words before they came out.
She had thought Fang Shuwen might seize the opportunity to press his advantage, or take credit and demand a reward.
Instead, he had answered with just three bland words. He didn't seem to want anything to do with her at all.
Zheng Shulan suddenly felt a tightness in her chest.
She lowered her head and continued pushing the handcart.
The wheels creaked over the gravel road.
The dusk deepened, and the clouds on the horizon shifted from dark red to grayish purple.
The two walked in silence for a while.
Fang Shuwen walked on the left side of the handcart, scanning the road ahead as it grew darker. His ears were pricked, and he stayed alert to every sound around them.
The Snake Form Talent hadn't just improved his flexibility. It had sharpened his senses as well.
Voices came from up ahead, and there were quite a few people.
Faint shouts carried over, too.
Listening closely,
it seemed they were calling Zheng Shulan's name.
The shouts drifted over on the wind, broken and intermittent.
"Shulan... Zheng Shulan... Miss..."
There was urgency and worry in the voices, along with a hint of hoarseness. They had clearly been calling for quite some time.
Zheng Shulan heard them, too.
She abruptly raised her head. Her almond-shaped eyes, dimmed by exhaustion, lit up in an instant.
"It's my second uncle!"
Her voice brimmed with the joy of surviving a disaster, mixed with a trace of grievance. Her nose stung, and her eyes reddened.
She instinctively started to run forward, but after taking one step, she stopped and looked back at Fang Shuwen.
Fang Shuwen had already stopped the handcart. He was bending down to tighten the straps on his cloth backpack before slinging it over his shoulder.
"Your family's here. You're safe now. I'll be going. Don't let anyone know I was the one who saved you."
Fang Shuwen straightened up and spoke calmly.
Zheng Shulan froze. Her voice turned flustered. "Y-You're leaving?"
But then she came to her senses.
She still had that "butt-pinching" grievance against this little pervert. Given her temperament, she shouldn't have anything more to do with someone like him.
So why did she feel a little reluctant now?
"I can tell your family has some influence. Don't let anyone find out I had anything to do with those two men's deaths."
Fang Shuwen knew Brother Hu and Lao Liu must have powerful people backing them.
They were not people he could afford to offend right now.
If his involvement came to light, it would only bring trouble.
As it happened, this young lady's family seemed well connected. If they took action, they should be able to wipe away any trace of him.
"Okay, don't worry. My second uncle is the chief of the Public Security Bureau. With him here, everything will be fine," Zheng Shulan said.
"Mm."
Fang Shuwen nodded, then quickly dashed into a path on the other side. In the blink of an eye, he was gone.
Zheng Shulan stood where she was, staring at the empty path. She remained frozen for a long while before turning to look toward the main road.
Sure enough, her second uncle, Zheng Kui, was hurrying over with a group of police officers.
"Second Uncle, I'm over here!"
By the time Fang Shuwen returned to the back courtyard of Zhao Estate, night was about to fall.
The kitchen light was still on. Hu Da was probably still cleaning up.
A dim yellow glow shone from Old Fang's room. Through the window paper, Fang Shuwen could make out a hunched figure sitting at the table.
Fang Shuwen pushed the door open and went in.
"Dad, I'm back."
Old Fang raised his head. A hint of relief flickered in his cloudy eyes. "You're back? Hungry? Hu Da saved you some food."
"I'm hungry."
Fang Shuwen set his cloth backpack on the table and sat down across from Old Fang.
Old Fang immediately got up to fetch the food.
When he reached the doorway, he seemed to remember something, but wasn't sure whether he should ask.
After a long moment, he finally managed to get the words out.
"How...how did your studies go today?"
"Not bad."
Fang Shuwen answered casually.
Then he noticed Hu Da's hesitant expression.
He understood at once and continued, "I got into the Elite Class."