Limited-time event

Under normal circumstances, the Martial Arts Space could be entered and exited freely, but items could not be stored inside.

Activating the time-flow function required energy, but Tang Zhixue had yet to figure out what kind of energy it needed.

"Tsk, looks like I can only use it as an ordinary training ground for now."

Tang Zhixue walked into the Training Space to take a look and found it completely empty, just an open stretch of ground.

Just as he was about to continue studying the Training Space, text appeared again.

But Tang Zhixue soon noticed faint blue light flowing across the text that had appeared this time. Without a close look, he would not have noticed it at all.

[Tomorrow will usher in a brand-new era, but it will also mark a farewell to the old one.]

[They are ancient benevolent spirits. For centuries, countless households have pasted their portraits on their front doors. Drawing faith from these portraits, they became guardians that truly existed. Every New Year's Eve, they step out of the portraits and stand outside every home bearing their images, guarding it all night and allowing no evil spirits through the door.]

[Tonight is the [New Year's Eve] on which we step into a new era.]

[The current time is 7:32 p.m. There are four hours and twenty-eight minutes until tomorrow.]

[Blue Star-Heavenly Stems Region limited-time event-Spring Festival · Door Gods!]

[Event objective: personally clean the area around your front door and put up a pair of brand-new Door God portraits.]

???

"Spring Festival? Door Gods?"

Tang Zhixue stared in astonishment at the two Door God portraits that had appeared on the ground.

Unless his memory had gone haywire, wasn't it June or July right now?

Looking down at the short-sleeved shirt he was wearing, Tang Zhixue was at a loss for a moment.

Still, since the Door God portraits had already appeared, Tang Zhixue naturally would not miss this limited-time event.

One Door God in the portraits had a dark face and a curly beard, holding a steel whip; the other had a pale face and a long beard, holding a golden mace. Both wore Tang-dynasty armor and stood tall, but their faces were not fierce. Instead, they carried a majestic kindness.

"Aren't these Yuchi Gong and Qin Qiong?"

Seeing the familiar figures put Tang Zhixue much more at ease.

Taking a burning dry branch from the fireplace, Tang Zhixue held it as a torch and walked toward the door, carrying the Door God portraits in his other hand.

He was just about to slide back the wooden door's bolt when he suddenly stopped. "Oh, right. I don't have any glue!"

After a moment's thought, he stood where he was and opened the regional chat channel.

He had no glue, and surely the others were in the same boat. Even if some had it, they would be in the minority.

[What's going on with this Spring Festival event?]

[Whoa, do you guys smell a faint stink?]

[I smell it too!]

[+1]

[It's Yuchi Gong and Qin Qiong! Have you put up your Door God portraits yet?]

[Not yet. I thought the Door Gods were Yulei and Shentu? Why are these Yuchi Gong and Qin Qiong?]

[There are lots of Door Gods, but Yuchi Gong and Qin Qiong are the most widely known. Maybe that's why.]

[Whatever, just put up the Door Gods.]

[Hmph, superstition! What century is this? You still believe in all that mystical stuff? Believe in science!]

[???]

[Wow, where did this stupid monkey come from?]

[You're insulting monkeys, buddy.]

[Uh, bro, let me ask you one question. Are you doing this Spring Festival event or not?]

[After everything that's happened, you're still talking about superstition? Besides, don't you know science is a methodology?]

[Science doesn't rely on authority, intuition, or faith. It relies on evidence and logic. A scientific conclusion is always open to revision or rejection in light of new, better evidence.]

[Simply put, if you can understand not just what happens in mysticism but why it happens, then mysticism will become part of science too.]

[Guys, do you think that idiot can understand any of this?]

[Fair point.]

Although he had enjoyed the show, Tang Zhixue grew restless when the information he wanted still failed to appear.

[Tang Zhixue: Uh, let me butt in for a second. Does anyone have glue?]

[??? Glue?!]

[Damn, I don't have glue either. How are we supposed to put up the Door God portraits?]

[Cousin, cousin, do you have glue? I can trade food for it.]

[Tang Zhixue: Uh, unknown cousin of mine, if I had glue, I wouldn't be here asking everyone.]

[Wen Yue: I tried it. You don't need glue. Just put them against the door and they'll stick.]

[Wow, thanks, beautiful!]

[Thanks, beautiful!]

[Tang Zhixue: Thanks, beautiful!]

He had to admit, Wen Yue's information had come at just the right time.

"Phew..."

Standing behind the door, Tang Zhixue took a deep breath, doing his best to steady himself.

The stench of rot that had suddenly appeared outside made him uneasy.

Whoosh!

Tang Zhixue flung open the wooden door.

A pitch-black world immediately filled his vision. Only the burning dry branch in his hand drove back the surrounding darkness.

"This is pretty creepy..."

The woods in the darkness resembled a terrifying, uncanny monster that could devour every living thing at any moment.

Withdrawing his gaze, Tang Zhixue cautiously got to work at the doorway.

He needed to clean the surrounding area before putting up the Door God portraits. Tang Zhixue simply stuck out his right foot in its straw sandal and swept it back and forth across the doorway, pushing the bits of broken stone and all the other small debris away.

Fortunately, the area around the doorway was small, and it did not take Tang Zhixue long to sweep all the nearby rubbish aside.

Taking out the portraits, Tang Zhixue put them on the door one by one.

Just as Wen Yue had said, the Door God portraits stuck firmly as soon as Tang Zhixue pressed them against the door. They did not fall even after he let go.

Because the wooden door was small, the Door God portraits on the wooden door of Tang Zhixue's Shelter were practically touching.

After putting up the portraits, Tang Zhixue pressed his palms together around the dry-branch torch and bowed to them. "Brother Door Gods, I'm counting on you two to keep me safe tonight. I'll get you a bigger, roomier door later."

Bang!

Closing the wooden door, Tang Zhixue tossed the dry-branch torch back into the fireplace.

After looking around the Shelter, Tang Zhixue had nothing to do, so he sat on the edge of the bed and began leafing through the Linked Pearl Archery manual.

He already had the Wooden Bow and arrows. Wouldn't it be a waste not to learn how to use them soon?

Though he called them arrows, they were actually made entirely of wood except for the fletching. Both the shafts and the arrowheads were wooden.

Rustle... rustle...

For a while, apart from the crackling fire, the only sound in the entire Shelter was Tang Zhixue turning the pages.

[All humans in Blue Star-Heavenly Stems Region have completed the Spring Festival · Door Gods event. The following effects will be awarded at random.]

[Door God Protection: if you have put Door God portraits on your front door, they will personally stand guard on New Year's Eve. Ordinary uncanny entities will be unable to enter your home.]

[Blessing: on New Year's Eve, they will visit you in a dream and tell you about your greatest calamity in the coming year, along with a way to overcome it.]

[Door God Token: sometimes, they will leave a phantom on your door knocker. Tap the knocker, and the phantom will let out a furious shout, driving back powerful evil spirits. (After activation, it requires five days to accumulate energy.)]