Chapter 398: Dual-Track Investigation

In the endless wilderness shrouded by a gray sky, rain fell from the heavens, with vague information hidden within it—

This rain came from "Shu Ji"; it fell from the real world, crossed the border between life and death, landed in the Soul Wilderness, and cast this illusion before Yu Sheng.

But... why?

Yu Sheng watched the "water droplets" constantly appearing and rapidly vanishing in his hands, frowning slightly: "You mean this rain suddenly appeared after I 'died'?"

"Mm," Luna nodded. "The knights and I just patrolled the wilderness and found the rain's range isn't actually very large; it only covers the stretch from here to the Fire-Protecting Cathedral—but for some reason, anyone within its coverage feels the illusion of an endless rain curtain."

"... This isn't an illusion; it's a sensory projection from the real world, because in Shu Ji, this eternal rainy season indeed covers the entire equator," Yu Sheng exhaled lightly, suppressing a heap of chaotic yet illogical guesses in his mind as he spoke, "Besides this rain, are there any other changes in the wilderness? Has this rain affected any other areas?"

"No," Luna shook her head. "We checked everywhere; outside is very 'calm,' just as always."

"Then let's ignore it for now," Yu Sheng said. "If its range suddenly expands, or if anything else changes, report it to me."

Luna nodded, but immediately spoke hesitantly: "... Do you mean it is harmless here?"

"Harmless," Yu Sheng said while sensing the range and impact of this "illusion rain" through his connection with the wilderness, "but as for exactly how this rain is 'projected' over here, I still need to investigate thoroughly; anyway, this matter can't be rushed."

"Alright, I understand. Everything will follow your orders."

Yu Sheng nodded slightly, then relaxed his mind, stepped back—and the next second, he "fell" toward the world of the living.

A moment of weightlessness and sensory disorientation surged like a tide, then receded like a tide; after this familiar sensation faded, he opened his eyes and saw himself walking in the rain curtain of Shu Ji in the real world.

He passed through this rain curtain and saw abandoned factory buildings standing at the far end of his vision; a nun-dressed Luna stood in the corner of the factory's side wall, waving at him.

A smile appeared on Yu Sheng's face; he walked over quickly, and the first thing he saw was the Jade-Faced Golden Fox waking up leisurely amidst a crowd, with Hu Li and Big Nephew and others bustling around.

Then he saw the two small dolls jumping up and down behind the crowd.

One looked as if it had just crawled out of a mud pit, covered in filth; the other was even more outrageous, sparks flying all over its body like an RGB entity come to life, jumping around while everyone tried hard to keep their distance; Hu Li even let her three tails droop to the ground to act as a ground wire, and every time Erin approached, she looked as if facing a great enemy...

Although Luna had mentioned it briefly just now in the Soul Wilderness, Yu Sheng was still startled seeing Erin's current appearance with his own eyes; and in that moment of his dazed pause, the small dolls inside the factory noticed the figure at the door; the two little shorties immediately ran over joyfully, shouting as they ran: "Hey, Yu Sheng is back! Yu Sheng is back!"

The two small dolls, one like a mud ball and the other sparking wildly, charged straight at Yu Sheng; seeing this, the latter's blood instantly turned cold, not even knowing which one to dodge first—but in those two seconds of hesitation, both dolls jumped onto him; the mud ball one was fine, just leaving a ring of dirt on his chest, but the sparking one went crackle-crackle and smashed right into his face...

In that instant, Yu Sheng felt he almost returned to that post-death chaos, nearly not living past five minutes in this life...

"New account, don't mess around!" Yu Sheng's vision went black for two or three seconds; immediately after, he struggled to pull Erin (pika) off his head from the shock of Lei Ting flooding his brain, but he couldn't just throw the thing out (mainly because seeing her happily pounce made him feel it would be unkind to toss her), so he endured the electric shock while carefully holding her by the back of her neck to keep distance from his head, "From now on, until the excess energy in this body of yours is released, you are not allowed to pounce on me!"

But Erin seemed to not hear what Yu Sheng was saying at all; held in mid-air, she still shouted excitedly: "Hey, let me tell you, I was so awesome just now! I fired a light cannon..."

"I already know the general situation—Luna told me before I returned," Yu Sheng knew that once this little thing started talking, she could chatter nonstop for half an hour, so he interrupted her immediately, "To be honest, you did have the highest output this time; I'll fully pay for this month's event skin for you later."

Hearing this, Erin's eyes lit up (they really lit up, and even discharged electricity): "Great!!"

After carefully placing the two dolls on the ground, Yu Sheng quickly walked over to Yuan Hao Zhenren.

Yuan Hao Zhenren was dazed for an instant; in that extremely brief moment, he vaguely felt something was wrong, but the next second he seemed to forget this slight sense of incongruity, feeling only that Yu Sheng had never been far away, merely having left his sight for a brief moment.

"Can the injured person be moved now?" Yu Sheng looked down at the Tibetan fox on the ground, whose breathing was steady and who seemed merely asleep, "I'll open a door and send him to Thousand Peaks Lingshan."

The last bit of Yuan Hao Zhenren's doubt about Yu Sheng's brief departure and sudden reappearance completely vanished; hearing this, he immediately nodded: "Movement is no longer an issue; I have already contacted my junior brother, and he has made preparations on his end; you can open the door directly in front of the Queyun Palace main hall."

Yu Sheng had already placed his hand in mid-air; after turning his head to confirm the Tibetan fox's size once more, he gently inhaled, and a door far wider than normal gradually opened in his hand.

On the other side of the door was the familiar scenery of Thousand Peaks Lingshan, and Yuan Ling and Yuan He, who were personally leading the way.

... It looked like the grand setup of a medical saint and a veterinary saint conducting a joint consultation, which fit the injured person's actual situation very well.

Yuan Hao Zhenren raised his hand, and the still-sleeping Tibetan fox was sent through the door.

Then Yu Sheng turned his head again and saw the golden fox Linglong standing with wide eyes not far away.

This local fox stared dumbfounded at the door Yu Sheng had opened; it seemed the aftereffects of being electrocuted by Erin had not yet fully recovered; her gaze still looked a bit vacant, but that blank stare clearly carried a hint of tension and worry, obviously fearing her relative might have met with an accident.

"You go over there too," Yu Sheng, seeing this, beckoned to the golden fox girl, "You have some injuries on you too; once you're there, let Yuan He Zhenren take a look at you as well."

"Ah... okay!" Linglong was stunned for a moment, quickly nodded, then hesitantly approached the door, but poked her head in tentatively, not daring to enter directly; obviously she had never seen such "immortal magic," and was extremely nervous at the moment.

But Erin (pika) nearby had no patience; the small doll saw Linglong's hesitant look, ran over, and poked one of the other's tails with a finger: "Screech—!"

Crack! Sparks flew everywhere.

Linglong let out an "Ow!" and jumped straight into Thousand Peaks Lingshan.

Yu Sheng immediately closed the door with a casual wave.

"Alright, let them two recuperate at Thousand Peaks Lingshan for now," Yu Sheng clapped his hands, "Before we return, let's check this place again to see if there are any missed clues—and then we'll see what progress Xuan Che has made."

The rain grew smaller, pattering, as if about to stop at any moment, yet never truly stopping; it only fluctuated between heavy and light, outlining a wavering, half-real, half-illusory landscape outside the window.

The sky remained as gloomy and dark as ever; even when the rain was lightest, the thick cloud layer seemed like nightfall shrouding the entire city; even when faint sunlight occasionally pierced through the clouds, casting some mottled and suspicious "light" on the cloud base and certain high-rise buildings nearby, that sunlight seemed like a false illusion in the night, vanishing in an instant.

A woman with an extraordinary aura, bright features, and a dignified temperament stood by the window, gazing calmly at the rainy Mocheng outside.

The woman wore a black long dress with golden patterns; her jet-black hair reached almost to her ankles; the hem of the long dress was embroidered with extremely exquisite craftsmanship featuring swirling ink-cloud patterns, and those patterns were the insignia of Shu Ji's prestigious family, the Mo family.

She was the City Lord of Mocheng, Mo Ran.

"It is always like this here; the rain seems to fall endlessly, only occasionally becoming lighter; out of 460 days a year, the rainy season lasts 400 days; the remaining 60 days are not exactly sunny either, only allowing occasional glimpses of sunlight through the clouds after the rain stops—so for many outsiders, this is truly not a good place for health and recuperation," Mo Ran turned her head, looking at the guest in the room, "so if you find it hard to get used to living in the city, I can arrange other accommodations for you—at the top of No. 7 Refinement Tower, the Mo family has built a cloud-top villa; although not very spacious, it at least has some sunlight."

"Thank you, City Lord, for your kindness; however, I often travel abroad on behalf of my master, accustomed to adapting to circumstances while appreciating various landscapes; this 'rainy season' of Mocheng is actually a quite novel experience for me," Xuan Che sat not far from the window, a slight smile on his face, "and the City Lord need not trouble herself with other arrangements; this time I am merely here on my master's orders to conduct some private investigations; the situation is special, and I do not wish to disturb all parties; I hope for your understanding."

"Mo Ran understands," Mo Ran faced Xuan Che, bowing slightly in greeting, "the Mo family of Shu Ji has been sheltered by Thousand Peaks Lingshan for generations, thus possessing this foundation; now that the senior master has issued an order, the Mo family will fully cooperate."

(End of this chapter)