Zhuo Jie's Past Life

"Zhuo Jie's past life has been loaded successfully!"

The owner of the Gang Cave was named Zhuo Jie?

As the notification sounded in his ears, a thought suddenly flashed through Su Wu's mind.

The pitch-black screen before his eyes abruptly shattered. After the whole world spun around him, his surroundings gradually came into focus.

The sky was a dusky blue.

Gusts of cold wind swept past the flat-roofed stone houses standing amid the thatch grass and slipped into Su Wu's collar, making him shiver.

He pulled his collar tighter and braced his palms against the ground, where loose pebbles lay scattered, pushing his weak body upright. Peering around in the dim light, he saw a dark figure lying on the ground and mountain ranges rising along the horizon.

The mountaintops shone snowy white beneath the faint light of the sky.

-They were snow-capped mountains.

With no time to spare for the distant snowy mountains, which looked especially sacred and serene in the night, Su Wu stumbled toward the dark figure on the ground.

The figure also squirmed toward him,

calling as he crawled, "Son, Zhuo Jie! Zhuo Jie!"

The name still felt unfamiliar to Su Wu.

Only after the man on the ground had called several times did he realize the man was calling him. He hurriedly answered, "Yes!"

His voice was a hoarse adolescent croak.

"Thank goodness, thank goodness! Thank goodness you're awake, son!" The man on the ground crawled to Su Wu's feet. His face was indistinct in the darkness.

One hand was hidden inside his wide sleeve, propping him against the ground. His other arm was outside its sleeve. He reached beneath his heavy robe and took out a bundle, handing it to Su Wu. "There's some dried meat in here. Eat it on the way!"

"There's a temple to the northwest. Three religious masters live there."

"Here's a letter-you must give it to the masters in that temple to the northwest! Once they see it, they'll take you in!"

"Son, hurry and go. Head northwest. Walk for a day and a night, and you'll see the temple..."

"Go, hurry! If you don't leave now, it'll be too late when Narrow-Sleeved Guanyin catches up!"

"This is as far as your father can go with you..."

The man's voice grew fainter and fainter. It was as though a pair of hands had tightened around his neck, preventing him from breathing, so that each time he spoke, his throat made a sound like broken bellows being worked.

Su Wu realized that the man on the ground was the father of Zhuo Jie, the owner of the Gang Cave.

He wanted to ask more questions, but the man's urgent insistence-especially the name "Narrow-Sleeved Guanyin"-sent an inexplicable chill through him.

He dared not delay. Grabbing the things the man offered, he called out, "I-I'm going!"

Then he lowered his head and ran straight ahead without looking back!

Stars still gleamed in the dim sky, and Su Wu located the North Star.

Using the North Star, he roughly determined which way was northwest in the darkness. Guided by the stars, he kept running in that direction.

It would take a day and a night of walking to find the temple to the northwest.

Could I make it that far?

Was Narrow-Sleeved Guanyin, wherever they were, close behind?

Thought after thought flashed through Su Wu's mind. With his own safety still uncertain, he had no time to consider what era this was or where he was.

The sound of broken bellows came and went, but it seemed to remain somewhere not far behind Su Wu.

Even the howling wind failed to carry it away.

The sound came in waves, leaving Su Wu beside himself with anxiety.

Whenever he wanted to turn and check, a faint coolness rose in his head, reminding him how unnatural the situation was and suppressing his impulse.

His Composure talent continued to take effect.

"Son-"

Just then, the gasping turned into a piercing cry of agony. Su Wu's heart jolted, and he finally turned to look:

Several hundred paces away, the man appeared to be sitting cross-legged.

Layer upon layer of "bandages," each four fingers wide, wrapped his entire body, leaving only his deeply wrinkled face exposed. He gave Su Wu a "kindly" smile.

The coils of "bandages" emitted a soft white glow, illuminating the darkness and allowing Su Wu to see the man's condition clearly even from several hundred paces away.

Light flowed slowly over the "bandages."

Su Wu saw what those "bandages" really were-

They weren't bandages at all!

They were snow-white arms emerging from the man's collar and cuffs, intertwining around his entire body.

Their snowy whiteness made them look like bandages!

Now, pairs of little hands emerged from the knots in the "bandages" and gently beckoned to Su Wu.

Waves of cold struck Su Wu's forehead. He bit the tip of his tongue, turned away, and sprinted even faster!

I've run into a ghost!

This was where the owner of the Gang Cave had lived. Even his own hand bones had been made into a flute-how could the place he lived possibly be free of sinister things?

Run, run, run!

"Son..."

Though the man was still several hundred paces from Su Wu, his voice sounded extremely close, as though he were whispering right into Su Wu's ear!

Every hair on Su Wu's body stood on end. He wrung every ounce of strength from this frail body, forcing himself to run faster, faster still!

He had been running for less than five minutes when his lungs began to burn. Sweat poured from every pore, carrying away more than half his strength.

"Son..."

The man's voice sounded right beside his ear again.

But "he" showed no sign of catching up.

Su Wu suddenly caught on. Could the sinister entity behind me be trying to frighten me into running for my life until I exhaust myself, so it can deal with me at its leisure?

Every time I slow down, that voice sounds!

If I keep running like this, I'll collapse within two minutes and won't be able to run another step!

Rather than face certain doom after two more minutes of desperate running, I should slow down now and see whether that's what the entity behind me is planning.

He slowed his steps, running at a steady pace.

Before long, the voice sounded in his ear again. "Son..."

Su Wu remained unmoved and maintained his pace.

Five minutes passed.

Ten minutes passed.

The voice sounded at intervals, but its owner never actually appeared before Su Wu. This gradually put him at ease-for now, it seemed that the entity was still far away.

And it had no ability like teleportation, so it could not catch up with him anytime soon.

Slowing down again, Su Wu switched from running to walking in long, brisk strides. He needed to conserve his strength so he could walk for a full day and night and reach the Little Temple the man had mentioned.

He walked like this for about an hour. During that time, the voice sounded some twenty times, but nothing else unusual happened.

Su Wu relaxed his guard and made his way into a grove in the darkness.

Tall trees grew straight toward the sky, their canopies obscuring it and making the surroundings even darker.

He could only walk toward places where there was light. Occasionally, he found the North Star in a small patch of sky exposed overhead and used it to adjust his course.

As he walked, Su Wu reached a stream in the grove.

A figure stood beside it.

Their back was turned to Su Wu. Round patterns covered their heavy robe, which shone emerald green in the light reflected from the water.