第29章 雾里的戏份

Early morning, the back mountain of Nuoding Academy.

"Alright, right here."

Xiao Wu stood on tiptoe, rolled her wrists, and looked back at Luo Yan with malice shining in her eyes.

"Weren't you quite capable of stirring up trouble last night? Come on, let's see just what a big shot from Heaven Dou City is really made of."

Luo Yan stood a dozen steps away, still biting into half a deep-fried dough stick.

He looked at Xiao Wu, then looked at Tang San, and suddenly smiled. "Are you two going two-on-one? Or a gauntlet?"

"Take your pick."

Xiao Wu said, "I suggest you pick me. If Third Brother makes a move, you won't even have a chance to run."

"No thanks."

Luo Yan swallowed the dough stick and clapped his hands. "I'll pick both of you. Come at me together."

Tang San didn't speak, only rolling up his cuffs.

He had wanted to test Luo Yan for a long time.

Not the kind of playacting ghost-trickery from last night, but a real, genuine test with spirit power put out on the table.

Since this guy came back, his spirit power had grown much heavier. Tang San could feel it.

"Keep it clean," Tang San said.

"Don't worry," Luo Yan smiled, raising a hand to wipe across his face.

The Elation Mask appeared in silence. Two spirit rings—one yellow, one purple—spun open beneath his feet. His voice grew light and hollow through the mask: "Come on, let me see how much the monsters of Notting City have improved."

Xiao Wu's eyes widened instantly.

"A... A thousand-year-old?!"

She pointed at Luo Yan, her voice completely altered. "Your second ring is a thousand-year-old?! Why didn't you say so sooner! Y-You... You're the masked person from Notting City?"

Tang San was also stunned. He had guessed that Luo Yan had grown stronger, but he hadn't expected him to be strong to this absurd degree.

A thousand-year-old second ring, and the aura of that spirit ring was identical to the "one yellow, one purple" legend he had heard about.

Luo Yan directed the smile carved into his mask toward them, his voice filtering out from beneath the disguise, somewhat scattered: "Right, are there really that many mask martial souls? If not me, then who? But for now, let's not talk about this."

He spread his hands, and the purple spirit ring lit up.

"Floating Life Like a Dream."

Xiao Wu and Tang San felt a blur before their eyes at the same time.

Another person appeared beside Luo Yan—someone who looked identical to him.

It stood on Luo Yan's left, tilting its head and "looking" over at Xiao Wu and Tang San.

"Fake," Tang San said in a low voice, his Blue Silver Grass already spreading out to hug the ground.

"Is that so?" both Luo Pans smiled simultaneously.

As the words fell, the "Luo Yan" on the left suddenly lunged toward Xiao Wu.

Xiao Wu took a step back, her waist bowing, and delivered a high sweeping kick.

That "Luo Yan" took the hit and scattered into a patch of grey mist with a swish.

Yet the mist didn't disperse; instead, it rolled in mid-air, transforming into a shadow dressed in red.

"What on earth?!" Xiao Wu blurted out, her pupils constricting.

The red figure's wedding robe fluttered in the wind as it rushed straight at her.

Xiao Wu let out an "ah" and leaped backward.

Tang San's Blue Silver Grass whipped toward the red figure.

The grass blades passed right through the red figure and struck the tree trunk behind it.

The red figure scattered and reassembled three steps away.

"An illusion?"

Tang San and Xiao Wu retreated almost simultaneously.

The hem of that red dress dragged on the ground with a rustling sound. It wasn't wearing shoes on its feet.

One foot was extremely pale, while the other wore a dark-red embroidered shoe.

Xiao Wu's scalp tingled. "Shoes! It stole your shoes! Luo Yan! Get out here!"

No one answered; only the red figure smiled at her.

"Blue Silver Grass!" Tang San barked softly, grass whips enclosing the area from three directions.

Yet the red figure's body bent sideways, slipping right out through a gap in the grass with a movement no human could possibly make.

"It's coming!" Xiao Wu kicked out.

She used all her strength for this kick, putting the full power of her waigong into it.

Yet her toe passed right through the red figure, like kicking into a mass of cold water.

The red figure scattered with a swish, and the next second, it was pressed against her back.

A hand, cold as ice, rested on her shoulder.

"Aah—!"

Xiao Wu sprang into the air, throwing an elbow backward into empty space.

The red figure had moved three steps away again, standing in the grey mist and laughing softly.

A sheen of sweat had already appeared on Tang San's forehead.

The thing before them had no weight, no aura, and nowhere to grab.

The sleeve arrows he fired all passed straight through the red figure's body, nailing into the tree behind with thud-thud-thud sounds.

"This isn't going to work."

He spoke in a low voice, his peripheral vision sweeping the surroundings. "Luo Yan must be nearby. Find him, or we're just going to get worn down to death."

Xiao Wu gritted her teeth. "How are we supposed to find him? This whole place is covered in mist!"

The mist had indeed grown thicker, making it feel as though they had been penned into an extremely small arena.

The surrounding trees, rocks, and paths all turned grey and hazy, even the sunlight blocked out as if by layers of paper.

Tang San suddenly felt as though they had been led by the nose by Luo Yan right from the start.

"Tang San..." the red figure suddenly spoke.

The voice sounded like many women crying out together, thin and long.

"Are you looking for me?"

Tang San's face turned pale.

The red figure walked toward him, every step falling like a hammer on his heartbeat. The Blue Silver Grass whipped out and dissipated; the sleeve arrows fired and passed right through.

The Clear Sky Hammer was brought out, yet it only smashed into a patch of mist.

Xiao Wu broke through from the flank with a snapping kick that still hit nothing.

Exasperated, she turned her head and shouted, "Luo Yan! If you have the guts, fight me head-on! What kind of man hides and plays the ghost?"

"I was never a man to begin with~" The red figure actually took up her words, its voice soft and sinister.

"Hee hee hee~"

Xiao Wu trembled all over with anger; she was genuinely starting to feel scared.

This thing couldn't be hit or grabbed, and it could even mimic people's voices. She hadn't fought a battle like this in either of her two lifetimes.

"It touched me just now."

Xiao Wu gritted her teeth. "I don't care anymore, I can't catch it. Third Brother, let's stick together, don't separate too much."

Tang San nodded. The two stood back-to-back, their Blue Silver Grass laying down a circle around their feet.

The red figure drifted about in the mist, circling them.

One moment it was in a tree, the next behind a stone, its wedding robe looking like a pool of undissipated blood.

"Like this."

Tang San suddenly lowered his voice, speaking at a volume only Xiao Wu could hear. "When I count to three, you run left, and I'll run right. That thing can only chase one of us."

"Whoever gets chased, circle back to that old locust tree. Luo Yan won't let us get too far apart; he must be behind that tree."

"How do you know?" Xiao Wu asked.

"Because of the wind."

Tang San said, "The mist is moving. Only the mist behind the old locust tree isn't shifting."

Xiao Wu gritted her teeth. "Alright."

Tang San closed his eyes, his sleeve arrow silently cocking. He didn't know if Luo Yan could hear him, but he no longer cared.

"Three!"

The two of them charged out in opposite directions at once. The red figure let out an "eh" sound—it didn't chase Xiao Wu; it went after Tang San.

"Damn it!" Tang San looked back and saw the red figure flying low across the ground like a strip of red cloth, its speed terrifyingly fast.

He made a sharp turn and dashed behind the old locust tree. The mist parted before him, and sure enough, there was someone behind the tree.

Luo Yan was squatting right there, still pinching half a handful of melon seeds.

"Yo." He looked up and smiled.

Tang San didn't give him a chance to speak. The Blue Silver Grass shot out with a swish, wrapping straight around Luo Yan's wrist. Luo Yan let out an "ouch" and was yanked forward in a stumble.

Just as he tried to use the mist to hide again, Xiao Wu had already killed in from behind, landing a flying kick squarely in the small of his back.

"Aah—!"

Luo Yan fell face-down onto the ground. Xiao Wu straddled his back and gave the back of his head a smack. "Are you going to pretend anymore? Are you going to turn into a ghost?!"

Tang San also rushed up and reeled in his Blue Silver Grass, binding the person tightly.

Just as he prepared to speak, he caught sight of the corners of "Luo Yan's" mouth curving up in an extremely eerie arc.

"Did you... catch me?"

The voice was light and sticky. Xiao Wu paused, lowering her head to find that the "Luo Yan" she was pinning down was thinning out.

Clothes, hair, and skin collapsed away bit by bit.

"Fake!" Tang San reached out abruptly to pull Xiao Wu back.

Bang!

An extremely faint sound.

The "Luo Yan" on the ground exploded entirely, grey smoke filling the air.

The smoke still carried the tail end of Luo Yan's earlier laughter.

Xiao Wu was yanked backward by Tang San, and the two retreated step after step.

The grey smoke churned up against the ground, rolling larger and growing more solid.

The grass blades were forced to bend outward to either side.

Tang San's Blue Silver Grass stiffened up as if targeted by some ferocious beast, standing completely rigid and unable to move.

Within the grey smoke, a large serpent slowly reared its head.

Its body was dark grey, its scales looking like they were made of paper, yet overlapping one another and gleaming with an icy, dim light.

Its head was almost half a person's height compared to Xiao Wu, its forked tongue flickering and hissing.

That tongue was also grey, looking like a piece of paper rope burned halfway through.

"What the...?" Xiao Wu cursed, her voice shaking. "Luo Yan, you..."

The large serpent didn't give her a chance to finish cursing. With a toss of its head, it lunged toward the two of them.

Tang San shoved Xiao Wu aside and rolled to the side himself.

The large serpent slammed into the exact spot they had been standing, causing a bang that sent grass shards flying in all directions.

"What on earth is this?!" Xiao Wu scrambled up, sweeping a whipping kick against the serpent's body.

The snake felt nothing.

Its body twisted, its tail lashing out from the flank like a whip with terrifying speed.

Xiao Wu failed to dodge, taking the blow to her shoulder and flying three steps away to crash into the grass.

"Xiao Wu!" Tang San's Blue Silver Grass shot out with a swish, aiming to bind the snake's head.

The moment the grass blades drew near, the snake abruptly opened its mouth and spat out a sheet of grey mist.

The Blue Silver Grass drooped limply.

Tang San's face turned pale. It was the first time his Blue Silver Grass had ever proved so disobedient.

"Tang San..."

The voice was light and soft. Tang San jerked his head around.

The red figure was standing just five steps behind him. Finally, he managed to see clearly what it was—a floating... bride?!

"Why won't your grass listen to you anymore?"