Chapter 71

"The bamboo shoulder pole sways soft and smooth, carrying white rice down to Youzhou…" On the laptop screen, a Sichuan folk song full of local flavor played; Zhou Shuo closed the video with his mouse, then let out a long sigh. Sitting there as a third‑person observer, finishing the first season's plot really was quite tedious.

"Feng Baobao." Zhou Shuo tipped his head back, gazing at the white‑painted ceiling, recalling the plot about Feng Baobao in the first season's animation; now he could understand her heart—so desperately seeking her memories, though she is immortal and her appearance never changes, he himself forever dwells in a blank void, not knowing who he is, where he comes from, or what he should do.

Everything is blank; one can only stand bewildered in a lonely world, letting time drift away day by day, letting each familiar person drift away, not knowing where to go, and even not knowing what one should do.

"Feng Baobao, Feng Baobao." Zhou Shuo slumped in his chair, feet lightly touching the floor, straining not to slide off; Feng Baobao lives in confusion due to lost memory, and what about me?

Seeing Feng Baobao, Zhou Shuo felt as if he were looking at another self; the difference was that he had not lost his memories, nor his family, lacked nothing, and even possessed more than others—the right to traverse worlds, immortality, wealth to rival a nation, power to sway the heavens—all within easy reach for him, so he had no need to rush; yet besides these, what else could he do?

"Like a salted fish that suddenly lost its dream." Zhou Shuo rolled his lifeless eyes, wondering if his start had been too smooth—no deep grudges, family all intact, no goals or pursuits, what motivation could he use to strive?

"Hum, the sun rises hey yo, the heavens and earth are vast hey yo, at the foot of the green mountains…" Accompanied by a vibrating sound, the alarm rang; Zhou Shuo instantly came to, hurriedly silenced the alarm he had set after being poisoned, then grabbed the long sword placed nearby, with a wave of his hand instantly opened the portal gate, and then flashed into that door to the otherworld.

The sky over Dragon Tiger Mountain was already darkening; Zhou Shuo glanced at the sky, took out his phone, which had started vibrating immediately upon entering this world, then glanced at a missed call from a few guys of the Complete Nature Sect, and held down Lü Liang's incoming call to call him back.

"Hey, Brother Zhou, where are you now?" came a rough voice over the phone.

"On Dragon Tiger Mountain, has the match ended?" Zhou Shuo leaned his saber against a tree, gazing at the already black sky as he asked; although he didn't know why the voice on the other end had changed, only a few people knew this number, so he didn't suspect fraud.

"It's over, Brother Zhou; we're about to start right away."

"It's Zhang Chulan; that kid's luck is really good—Zhang Lingyu collapsed at the critical moment for some unknown reason, so he won, and now he's probably receiving the Celestial Master's instruction."

"I knew it; alright, then I'll act on my own from now on!" Zhou Shuo listened to Lü Liang's notice—nothing unexpected—but what comes next will be trouble.

"I knew it; alright, then I'll act on my own from now on!" Zhou Shuo listened to Lü Liang's notice—nothing unexpected—but what comes next will be trouble.

Sect Leader

Also "wish-fulfilling force" appears line 44.

Thus we need to insert "the headmaster" before or after.

Let's list order of first appearance:

Zhou Shuo

Feng Baobao

Dragon Tiger Mountain

All Nature

Lv Liang

Zhang Chulan

Zhang Lingyu

Heavenly Master

Gong Qing

Xia Lao

Guizi'er

Balun

Heavenly Master's Mansion

Acting Sect Leader

Sect Leader

??? (like "Ruyi Jin" or "Like-Intent Power")

Let's compile final order:

Zhou Shuo (again)

Feng Baobao

Dragon Tiger Mountain

All Nature

Lv Liang

Zhang Chulan

Zhang Lingyu

Heavenly Master

Gong Qing

Acting Sect Leader

Heavenly Master's Mansion

Sect Leader

Xia Lao

Guizi'er

Balun

"Signal? What signal?" Zhou Shuo heard Lü Liang's words and couldn't help but blink slightly; when we agreed earlier, there was no mention of any "signal."

"Ha ha ha..." A faint, long, strange laugh came from the silent mountain side.

"The signal has already sounded; hurry up and act, I'm hanging up." As the voice finished speaking, the call was instantly cut off.

"Damn, how many lunatics has Quanxing brought? Even the rear mountain can hear the commotion." Zhou Shuo heard the strange laughter coming from the quiet night, his eyebrows twitched, then he snatched up his sword, lightly tapped the tip of his foot, and shot forward like an arrow off the string toward the front mountain.

Crossing mountains and streams, relying on his ability to ride the Qi to lighten his body, Zhou Shuo seemed to drift like the wind toward the front mountain, preparing to join the great disturbance at Longhu Mountain. After all, he is a member of Quanxing; although Gong Qing is merely a temporary sect leader, he at least ought to put on a show.

In the distance, the front mountain rumbled with booming sounds, and faint flames could be seen rising. Zhou Shuo couldn't help twitching the corner of his mouth; Gong Qing had already instructed when he arrived to avoid damaging the Celestial Master's mansion as much as possible, yet those lunatics are making such a huge commotion—really, they don't treat the sect leader as a person at all!

"Whoosh!" Apart from the firelight visible almost from afar, in the pitch-black night sky of Longhu Mountain, trails of fiery dust rose along with a sharp whistle—those were signal flares!

"Damn, what is this? A single arrow that pierces the clouds, and ten thousand troops come to meet? Is it really necessary to go to such lengths?" Zhou Shuo watched the trails of signal flares rising into the dark night sky, and involuntarily halted his steps; this bunch of Quanxing lunatics is really making a ruckus—doing this on Longhu Mountain, doesn't the Celestial Master's mansion care about its reputation?

"Should I go over or not?" Zhou Shuo glanced at the signal flares in the night sky, his gaze sweeping briefly around, then he twitched the corner of his mouth toward the direction of the commotion; Quanxing's antics really startled him—stirring up such a big affair, not to mention the Celestial Master's mansion, they might even be wanted nationwide.

"Forget it, I'd better go back!" Zhou Shuo let out a slight sigh, shrugged his shoulders, and lifted his right foot to stomp the ground.

"Whoosh!" A leaping treetop, the rising figure dodged the underground surge of force and landed on the ground.

"Two?" Zhou Shuo looked at the landing figures, his gaze slightly sweeping to the right toward a large tree.

"Hehe, kid, not bad! You've got some skill." An aged voice came from behind the tree; following the sound, an old man stepped out from behind it. He wore a white shirt, his hands clasped behind his back, a white beard on his chin, his eyes free of the usual cloudiness of age and instead shining with spirit, and he sported a flat cap pressed down on his head.

Gazing at the appearing old man, Zhou Shuo turned his gaze slightly; somewhat unexpectedly, the figure startled out by his Ruyi force was not a Chinese person but a Caucasian. He had a gray crew cut, wore green trousers tucked into a belt, and black leather boots on his feet; his whole bearing exuded competence—clearly a former soldier.

"You're impressive—how did you detect me?" The Caucasian man looked at the person who had startled him, his gaze sweeping down to the long sword in his hand, a faint smile appearing on his face, speaking in standard Mandarin.

"My hearing is better than ordinary people's; even a heartbeat too faint to hear, I can pick up." Zhou Shuo looked at the Caucasian man, his eyes flashing slightly; Paper Man Zhang had said that Gong Qing had invited a foreigner over and had Elder Xia of the sect receive him—what a coincidence indeed!

"Interesting—could you tell me whether this super-hearing of yours is innate or acquired?"

"No." Zhou Shuo flatly refused.

"Then can you tell me which side you're on? Quanxing, or…?" The Caucasian man narrowed his eyes.

"What's it to you?" Zhou Shuo looked at the tall, big-built guy, then glanced at the old man beside him; Quanxing's bunch of lunatics is really a pain, so for now I'd rather not join the fun—I might as well play dumb and crazy, stay here for the moment.

"Hey hey, you foreign devil, you're not suddenly taking an interest in this kid, are you? Our target isn't him—this is the sect leader's order. If you focus your interest on him, we won't be able to finish our mission." The old man looked at the big guy with narrowed eyes and couldn't help raising his voice to advise him. Zhou Shuo heard this and rolled his eyes slightly; Quanxing folks really are something else—your advice could at least be sincere! And "that sect leader"—does Quanxing have many sect leaders?

"Aren't I not yet joined you guys?" The Caucasian man crouched down and pulled a military dagger from his boot.

"Hmph, anyway I'm here tonight answering the call to cause trouble—no matter who I look for, it's still looking for someone. I say, foreign devil, who are you? Where do you come from and where are you going? Tell me everything." Zhou Shuo watched the large man crouch and draw a knife from his boot, let out a cold snort, and swiftly drew his long sword; since we're here to cause trouble, it doesn't matter who we pick, and nobody said we can't look for Quanxing—those little ones don't treat the sect leader seriously, so I don't have to treat him seriously either.

The foreign devil looked at the man drawing his long sword, one hand gripping the military knife, the other assuming a defensive stance, while bowing his body like a wound-up machine. Seeing this, Zhou Shuo didn't even think, just flicked his right wrist holding the sword—you've taken that pose, what else can I do?

The sword blade traced a hollow slash, a hiss, accompanied by a tearing sound as the night air was pulled into a blade mark; the foreign devil's expression changed, he rolled away, and where he had originally stood, the blade's air current cut a groove into the ground.

"Whoa, nice sword qi, foreign devil—you don't need to hold back; on this trip we haven't heard of any sword qi experts coming." The old man gazed at the split ground, couldn't help exclaiming in astonishment, and then gave his assessment.

"A sharp attack." The foreign devil stared at the gouge in the ground, his eyes locked tightly on Zhou Shuo, like a beast in the jungle.

Zhou Shuo looked at the Caucasian man like a beast, lightly tapped his right foot on the ground, and the old man standing in place sprang up as if a spring had been released, letting the surging upward force that shot out from beneath him pass.

"Hey, I thought I was mistaken just now! It really is Ruyi force, kid—your surname is Lü, right? Since you've made a move, then…." The old man dodged the sudden force under his feet, let out a gasp, landed on the ground and uttered a speculation; then his tone paused slightly, and he swept his right hand, which glowed with colored light, across his face.

"Don't blame me, old man taking advantage of the young!" The old man lowered his right hand; his face instantly smeared with black, red, and white makeup, and his tone shifted—rhythm drawn out, vowels prolonged, full of theatrical flair.

"Wait." Zhou Shuo watched the old man employing his technique, eyebrows slightly raised, and instinctively shouted a pause, but the two opposite him paid no heed.

"Balun, don't just stand there—come help me subdue this karmic obstacle." The old man chanted his lines, his right hand somehow producing a prop knife-spear from somewhere for the opera.