Chapter 19: Don

Even though he was only sixteen, Jia Ji was certain that Esdes was far stronger than him—not by a little, but by a great deal.

【Ice Queen: 'Fierce-Low'? Isn't that rank a bit too low?】

【Xia Na: You can stop now. Asking more would be impolite :(】

【Yin-Yang Eyes Jianzi: Someone’s probably sneaking tears in bed (『ε』)】

The day before Esdes joined, Jia Ji had proudly announced his breakthrough—only to fall behind the average again within less than twenty-four hours.

If the rank of 'Strong' were further subdivided, he’d barely be at the threshold; Xiao Zou’s strength remained unchanged, solidly in the middle, while Xia Na could be called half-step Fierce-Level Great Completion, just one step away from breakthrough.

Xia Na hadn’t expected that within two months, the lowest-ranked member in the group would already be catching up—and then a new member appeared, surpassing her.

She was starting to feel anxious.

【Great Dream God: Don’t slander me! You’re the one who did this, Jianzi! It’s just Fierce-Level—soon I’ll reach it too! It’s as easy as pie, do you understand?】

【Xia Na: You seem awfully eager】

Seeing Jia Ji like this, her anxiety suddenly vanished.

The least anxious of all was Yung Zi, since she was currently the strongest in the group, and no one could possibly surpass her anytime soon.

Moreover, as a youkai whose spiritual power grows with age, a super-talent who grows stronger even while sleeping, she knew full well how vast the gaps between later realms were—she herself had been stuck at 'Fierce-High' for decades, and she could foresee she’d remain there for another few centuries before achieving breakthrough.

Hurry? Hurrying won’t help.

【Forever Seventeen: Can you still talk? @Great Dream God】

【Great Dream God: Heh, I’m done chatting—I’m off to practice my fist techniques (runs off)】

…………

【Yin-Yang Eyes Jianzi: Everyone, help me! [Image.jpg]!】

The photo showed no sign of Jianzi, only a black-clad man wearing a magician’s hat and an old woman dressed as a shrine maiden, clutching prayer beads.

Before these two clearly mediocre spiritualists stood dozens of twisted, grotesque undead, their heads emerging from the shadows of the forest.

Swollen bodies, elongated limbs, split mouthparts, spider-like limbs, black lines—too many to be natural, as if bound in place by some unseen force.

Things that frighten humans generally fall into two categories: one is non-human—deformity is a fundamental fear; the more a creature deviates from human anatomy—limbs, facial features—the more terrifying it becomes.

The other is human-like. The more similar to a human, the more the subconscious treats it as 'human'; when such a 'human' behaves contrary to expectations, even greater fear arises.

Fortunately, in Jianzi’s photo, both types of monsters were present.

【Forever Seventeen: Jianzi, what on earth is going on over there…】

Yung Zi, who had been constantly lurking, twitched her face—not because the grotesque image scared her; she’d seen countless youkai and demons, even her own rifts were unsettling—but this wasn’t about fear anymore. It was spiritual contamination.

In Yung Zi’s world, the Underworld existed; out of curiosity, the young boundary youkai had once ventured deep into it, but the spirits she’d seen were mostly formless white masses—creatures with appearances like those in the photo were rarer than one in ten thousand.

Encountering even one was rare, let alone dozens clustered together.

How did these little ghosts manage to be both human and not-human? Did they just grow however they liked because no one was watching?

Not quite. In Jianzi’s world, the same ghost might appear differently to different people who could see it.

For example, the woman beside Jianzi, the so-called 'Lower Town Mother' Wu Tian San Zhi, though she’d spent her life as a medium, her ability to see ghosts was predetermined from birth.

The ghosts Jianzi saw were entirely different from what Wu Tian San Zhi saw—the clearer the vision, the closer to the ghost’s true nature, and the more horrifying the image became.

【Ice Queen: What is this?! More disgusting than the most repulsive dangerous species I’ve ever encountered!】

[Great Dream God: I swear, the Happy Valley effect kicked in]

【Xia Na: What effect?】

【Great Dream God: Kids don’t need to know about such things】

【Xia Na: Angry (╬◣д◢)】

【Great Dream God: How’s the situation now? @Yin-Yang Eyes Jianzi】

【Yin-Yang Eyes Jianzi: It’s bad…】

【Forever Seventeen: Didn’t you say the little fox spirit would help you three times?】

【Yin-Yang Eyes Jianzi: A lot happened… all three chances were used up without me realizing, and before I could find a new deity to worship, that thing latched onto me… Now San Zhi and Rom are trying to help me, but we got surrounded by ghosts before even reaching the shrine】

In Japan’s folk tradition, people often build shrines for even slightly spiritual entities, so many youkai and demons nest there to grow stronger, and some even rise to godhood through mere belief.

But the fox deity of Sangu Valley probably never imagined someone would try to cheat it, fail to get free, and then hire a medium to destroy it?

Jianzi, you are despicable right now.

And it’s only been a few days—already used up all three lifesaving chances?

【Xia Na: Jianzi, your luck is… when it’s good, it’s great; when it’s bad, it’s beyond terrible】

Either seeing ghosts, or on the way to seeing ghosts.

【Yin-Yang Eyes Jianzi: Maybe I got too confident with my safety net—lately I’ve slipped up too often. I was supposed to have one chance left! But… TⅴT】

Even so, she’ll probably pull through this too, like before—no need to worry too much… right?

No good!

Jia Ji quickly recalled the plot he’d read—he found no scene like this. His knowledge ended precisely when Jianzi used up her third chance; after that, nothing.

That means… the situation has slipped beyond his control!

What do I do?!

Jianzi might truly be in danger now—even if the chance is minuscule, it can’t be entirely dismissed.

What if, because of the chat group, her fate has deviated, and she’s now facing a life-or-death crisis?

Jia Ji remembered the system notification he alone had seen when Esdes joined: those fierce triangular eyes had held a flicker of hesitation—then, quickly, that hesitation hardened into resolve and sharpness.

“There’s only one JK-type character in this group!”

“We can’t lose her!”

Forgetting his meal, he burst through the door, startling his three senior brothers.

【System Prompt: Group members exceed five. Master teleport function now unlocked.】

“Jianzi, don’t be afraid! The heir of Beidou Divine Fist comes to save you!”

(End of Chapter)