The Second Hero

Night fell like spilled ink over the Xiang Family Villa. Xiang Yi sat cross-legged on a floor cushion, cold sweat dripping from his temples into his clenched fists. Every breath felt like swallowing red-hot iron filings; his lungs burned, and it felt as though countless steel needles were churning inside his head. Yet his bloodshot eyes remained fixed on the cold number deep within his mind—[Energy Points: 300/300].

That number represented the pure crystals he had snatched from the jaws of danger in Ghost Ward, the essence of the artifacts Lanling King had taken away through bloodshed, and the reward for enduring headache after splitting headache. Things at home had settled down for now, but The Hand's Poison Fang was still lurking in the shadows, and S.H.I.E.L.D.'s eyes might already be turning his way... A greater storm was brewing. He needed greater power—a sage who could shroud the Xiang family behind a veil of mist.

His consciousness sank into the [Hero Pool], where countless shadows swept past. In the end, it locked onto that mysterious figure—Guiguzi.

"Summon!" Xiang Yi roared soundlessly within his mind!

The instant the command was issued, the remnants of his mental power seemed to be seized by a giant hand and violently yanked outward! "Ugh!" His vision abruptly went black, and a piercing shriek bored through his eardrums like an awl! He bit down hard on his lower lip, the taste of rust exploding in his mouth. His body swayed violently, and only his hands braced against the floor kept him from collapsing!

Bzzzz—!

The air in the room groaned. An invisible storm erupted from Xiang Yi's body! Papers flew everywhere, the desk lamp's glow shook wildly, and the shadows on the walls twisted and danced. The boundaries of space blurred, rippling outward in visible waves. At the center of those ripples, a bottomless vortex revolved silently, made of pure darkness, while countless ghostly blue points of light burst from its edges like shards of ice.

The vortex spun faster and faster, stretching those ghostly blue lights into streams. A vast, ancient aura spread through the room, as though it could swallow and exhale all things, crushing the breath from his chest. Xiang Yi felt his heartbeat tightly gripped by that invisible rhythm.

The vortex suddenly expanded to its limit. The ghostly blue light exploded outward, then instantly collapsed inward! Within the blinding white light, a figure gradually solidified and stepped forth.

The light faded.

A hunched old man stood before him. He wore an antiquated gray gauze robe, its wide sleeves fluttering without wind. Countless pale golden motes—Mystic Subtlety—floated, swirled, gathered, and scattered within three yards around him like living things, forming a hazy glow that obscured his face. Only his eyes pierced through the luminous dust with perfect clarity—deep enough to hold an entire galaxy. He raised one withered hand, and several pale golden motes landed lightly upon his fingertips, leaping and flickering.

"All Things Have Spirit; all are my friends." The old man's voice was not loud, yet it was like a breeze from a secluded valley, brushing over Xiang Yi's taut nerves and bringing a strange trace of coolness.

Guiguzi! It worked!

"My lord." Guiguzi's gaze pierced through the Mystic Subtlety and fell upon Xiang Yi's pale, sweat-soaked face. A flash of understanding crossed his deep eyes. "To burden my lord so greatly upon our first meeting, this old man has been discourteous." He bowed slightly, his manner calm and composed.

Xiang Yi forced his nearly broken body to hold together and pulled out a hoarse smile. "No need, sir. Having your help is worth this tiny price. It's just..." He took a breath, his gaze sweeping toward the tightly shut door. The moment Guiguzi had appeared, the edge of his weakened mental power had felt as though it had been pricked by an icy needle! Every hair on his body stood on end! Was it one of The Hand's dogs? Or S.H.I.E.L.D.'s eyes? "This place... isn't very clean anymore. Sir, do you have a way to make this house... less 'noticeable' in other people's eyes?"

Guiguzi followed Xiang Yi's gaze, and an insightful smile appeared at the corner of his lips. He slowly spread his withered hands, palms facing upward. The pale golden Mystic Subtlety that had been drifting through the air suddenly came alive!

Bzzzz—!

A hum drilled straight into their minds! Countless Mystic Subtlety particles turned into a pale golden torrent and shot toward the room's four walls! The streams of light silently seeped into the walls, floor, and ceiling. Pale golden halos rippled like water, linking together and forming an invisible great net over the entire room.

The instant the light net formed, absolute silence descended! The insects outside, distant traffic, his parents' muffled conversation downstairs... all of it vanished! Only Xiang Yi's ragged breathing and Guiguzi's long, steady exhalations remained.

"This is the Breath of Returning Ruins. It seals sound within a small space and subtly confounds the eyes and ears, serving as a temporary barrier." Guiguzi withdrew his hands, his tone calm. His gaze seemed to pass through the walls. "But what my lord seeks is protection for this entire residence, so that it does not 'enter' the eyes or hearts of others... That requires the art of Mystic Subtlety Filling Heaven."

Cover the entire villa! Xiang Yi's heart lurched. "Can you do it, sir? How large an area can it cover? How long can it last? How much will it consume?"

Guiguzi stroked his beard, his gaze measuring the villa's layout. "This residence is adequate. If it merely maintains basic 'cognitive disruption,' the consumption will be light. But should it encounter powerful surveillance or an assault, the consumption will multiply. It will also require my lord's mental link to sustain it." He looked at Xiang Yi, and the galaxy-like paths in his eyes accelerated slightly. "My lord's mind is currently exhausted, like the last candle in the wind. Forcing the link may damage your foundation."

"There's no time to worry about that!" Xiang Yi said decisively. He forced himself up on trembling legs, his eyes frighteningly bright with the ruthless resolve of someone willing to stake everything. "Please do it, sir! Cover the whole villa! I want to know what it can handle! Right now!"

Guiguzi looked deeply at Xiang Yi, said nothing more, and slowly nodded. "As my lord wishes."

The old man raised both arms, and the sleeves of his ancient robe snapped in the air! The pale golden Mystic Subtlety around him suddenly burst into dazzling light, as if billions of miniature suns had ignited at once! The room became as bright as day!

"All phenomena return to the nether, Mystic Subtlety conceal all things!" Guiguzi's voice rose, carrying ancient majesty!

Boom! (A violent tremor on the spiritual level!)

Billions of radiant particles became a galactic torrent that erupted from Guiguzi! It passed through walls, doors, and windows, sweeping through every corner of the villa—the basement, attic, living room's floor-to-ceiling windows, kitchen pipes, his parents' master bedroom, the deepest recesses of Xiang Yi's closet...

Wherever the light flowed, it did not harm physical matter. Instead, it covered the "surface" of the material world in a flowing pale golden "film." The entire villa was wrapped into a vast, hazy cocoon of light, with Mystic Subtlety particles appearing and vanishing across its surface along mysterious paths.

Inside the villa:

In the living room, Xiang Haishan had just said that his son was "so sensible it hurts to see," while Lin Wanqing unconsciously stroked the warm wall of her teacup. Their voices suddenly stopped as an indescribable weariness swept over them, weighing down their eyelids. Xiang Haishan caught sight of the streetlamp outside seeming to flicker? The thought had barely surfaced before a dull sensation of "everything is normal" gently covered it. The strange worry Lin Wanqing held for her son also dissolved like ink dropped into the ocean, vanishing without a trace. They naturally continued their conversation, as though that moment of disorientation had never happened.

Outside the villa:

Beyond the courtyard wall, a drunk man returning home late hummed a song. His unfocused gaze swept past the lit windows of the Xiang family home as though he were looking at a stone by the roadside.

Farther away, a mailman used a streetlamp to check house numbers. His eyes passed over the fresh crack Lanling King had left on one corner of the courtyard wall, and his brow had just begun to furrow. Did I take the wrong road? The thought suddenly popped into his head! Strange, wasn't it the house next door? He scratched his head in confusion, turned his vehicle around, and left.

On the second floor of the villa, in Xiang Yi's room.

The instant Mystic Subtlety Filling Heaven settled over the villa, Xiang Yi felt himself violently bound to that flowing energy field! It was as if billions of invisible steel wires had twisted his battered consciousness tightly together with the energy field of the entire villa! His perception spread like a spiderweb! He "saw" his parents' daze being smoothed away, "heard" the drunk man's song being ignored, and "sensed" the mailman's thoughts being bent!

Control over the whole situation! This was the barrier!

But the sensation lasted only a few seconds! Then, an even more vicious pull than the one during the summoning tore along those billions of mental steel wires, violently ripping at his nearly depleted mental power!

"Ughhh—!" Xiang Yi let out a suppressed cry of agony! His vision was instantly swallowed by a churning black-red haze of blood! It felt as though red-hot iron spikes had been driven through his temples! His throat made hoarse rasping noises, and even the strength to scream was sucked away! His body went completely limp, crashing heavily forward! Cold sweat instantly soaked through his pajamas and spread into a large dark patch on the floor! Every breath carried a scorching scent of blood!

"My lord!" For the first time, alarm flashed through Guiguzi's usually placid eyes! His wide sleeve swept sharply through the air! The pale golden halo permeating the villa rapidly contracted and dimmed like a receding tide! The "film" covering its surface quickly thinned and vanished! The inside and outside of the villa instantly returned to normal. In the living room, Xiang Haishan and Lin Wanqing felt their spirits inexplicably lift, then continued talking.

Inside the room, the Breath of Returning Ruins barrier dispersed, and sounds from the outside filtered back in.

Guiguzi stepped forward, pressing his withered palm firmly against Xiang Yi's violently trembling back. A warm and peaceful energy, carrying the fresh scent of newly sprouted vegetation, poured like a clear spring into Xiang Yi's cracked sea of consciousness, struggling to soothe the raging pain.

"My lord, hold your mind as one and follow this old man's guidance." Guiguzi's voice rang directly within Xiang Yi's chaotic consciousness, carrying the strength of calmness.

Xiang Yi clenched his teeth until they nearly shattered, forcing what remained of his will to follow, like a drowning man clutching at driftwood.

Just as the agony eased slightly and his consciousness painfully began to gather, Guiguzi's hand remained pressed against the center of his back. Suddenly, the galaxy-like paths reflected in the old man's eyes fell into disorder! He stared at Xiang Yi's curled, trembling body, seeming to see through his flesh and directly into the chaos surging in the depths of his soul... His brow tightened almost imperceptibly, and his voice carried a trace of surprise and unprecedented gravity:

"This young friend's fate... is chaos itself, like mist sealing a many-tiered tower, impossible to see in full..." His deep voice was like an ancient alarm bell, each word striking Xiang Yi's heart. "Yet deep within that chaos, Purple Forbidden Imperial Qi rises faintly. Though its force lies hidden in the abyss, its light has already pierced the nine heavens... This is... the sign of a ruler of men!"

The sign of a ruler of men!

Those four words rang through Xiang Yi's dazed, pain-wracked mind like thunder from the ninth heaven! Purple Forbidden Imperial Qi? A ruler of men? What kind of joke was that! He was just a small fry who had stumbled into some dumb luck, who only wanted to survive in this fucked-up world and protect his family!

The excruciating pain and that earthshaking prophecy twisted together! Xiang Yi suddenly raised his head, his sweat-covered face as pale as paper, his pupils shrinking to pinpoints in horror! He looked at Guiguzi, his trembling lips trying to curse, but the sweetness of blood rising in his throat and the agony choking him left him able to make only the wheezing sounds of a broken bellows.

Knock, knock, knock!

There came a gentle knock on the door, in a warm, familiar rhythm.

"Xiao Yi? Are you still awake?" His mother Lin Wanqing's concerned voice came through the door. "Mom thought she heard something from your room. Did you have a nightmare? Could you open the door?"

Xiang Yi's body instantly froze! Cold sweat clung to his eyelashes, his heart slammed against his throbbing temples, and Guiguzi's prophecy still boomed in his ears! His mother outside the door was the reality he had to face right now!

He inhaled sharply! He brutally forced down the bloodiness in his throat, the bone-deep chill brought by the Purple Forbidden Imperial Qi, and the turbulent waves raging within him! Pain and terror still danced at the ends of his nerves, but Xiang Yi abruptly closed his eyes. When he opened them again, the cold glint in his gaze had been forcibly snuffed out, leaving only the misty confusion of a child awakened from sleep. He struggled to get up, but his drained body swayed.

Guiguzi's withered hand subtly supported his shoulder, and a gentle force flowed into him to steady him. At the same time, the old man's sleeve silently swept through the air, and the last lingering trace of energy and the heavy sweat soaking Xiang Yi's body instantly disappeared. Guiguzi's form rapidly faded amid the swirling Mystic Subtlety, nearly melting into the shadows of the room.

Xiang Yi staggered to the door, his icy, trembling fingers gripping the handle. The cold metal gave him a sliver of clarity. He twisted it forcefully and, with a click, pulled the door open.

The warm light from the hallway spilled inside, illuminating Lin Wanqing's gentle, worried face.

"Mom..." Xiang Yi tried his best to squeeze out the dazed, vulnerable smile a twelve-year-old boy should have. His voice was hoarse, his eyes unfocused, and he even deliberately added a trace of grievance from being frightened by a nightmare. "I... I dreamed I fell into that cave again... It was so dark... so cold..." His voice grew quieter and quieter, trembling with lingering fear.

Lin Wanqing saw her son's pale little face and damp hair clinging to his forehead, and her heart clenched! She immediately stepped forward, pressing her warm palm tenderly against Xiang Yi's icy cheek. "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, Xiao Yi! Dreams aren't real! Mom is here!" She gently pulled his slightly thin body into her arms, using her own warmth to drive away that chill. Her voice was soft as though soothing an infant. "It's all over. Our Xiao Yi came safely home..."

Xiang Yi obediently buried his head in his mother's warm embrace. Her familiar, comforting fragrance filled his nose. He closed his eyes and greedily breathed in that warmth and ordinary protection.

Yet behind his closed eyelids, in the abyss his mother could not see, deep within his exhausted pupils, a cold, hard glimmer quietly lit up like a meteor sinking into an icy sea, frozen and unmoving.

The sign of a ruler of men? Purple Forbidden Imperial Qi?

The immense shadow of this world and the warmth of his mother's embrace collided fiercely in his heart, smashing out a silent crater.