Chapter 856: Well, Long Time No See?

Dan Heng stood still, steadied his breathing, forced himself to break out of the hunting instinct and switch to observation mode.

Scale Abyss Realm!

The enclosed bowl‑shaped gorge was surrounded by gray‑blue broken cliff walls.

He was now standing on a stone bridge at the edge of the shallow lake's calm water zone; the bridge deck was so narrow it could only fit two people side by side, with no railings on either side, and the water lay less than a foot below the deck, still and reflecting a pale turquoise‑blue sheen under the glow of phosphorescent stone.

The bottom was covered with half‑buried Bright‑Egg stone platforms; large semi‑transparent Bright Eggs lay quietly in the crevices, their shells shimmering with warm pearl light, and when approached one could hear a faint, lingering hum.

Dan Heng's brows knit together.

How did I end up here?

Never mind.

He withdrew his gaze and refocused his attention on the problem before him.

That white figure.

He had seen it with his own eyes, close enough to discern the outline of its ears, close enough to hear the tremor when it called him 'Dan Feng'.

But was that really Bai Hang?

Bai Hang was dead.

Although he lacked complete Memory, the sense of debt and suffocation seeping from his bones was enough to convince him that Bai Hang's death was an absolute fact.

But if that were false, why would the other party disguise themselves as Bai Hang?

What benefit would impersonating Bai Hang bring him?

And who was the impersonator?

Dan Heng shifted the Cloud‑Striker to his left hand, raised his right hand to rub his temples, then inhaled deeply, letting the surge of emotion in his chest settle gradually.

Calm.

What he needed most now was calm.

That white figure, whether she was truly Bai Hang or a disguise, had clearly led him here on purpose.

He couldn't follow her rhythm; he had to determine his own position, where the exit was, and whether anyone else besides him was in this Scale Abyss Realm.

As he resolved to move in a certain direction, a faint sound came from behind a low stone wall not far to his left.

A rustling, as if someone had slipped a pebble under their foot.

Within a tenth of a second, Dan Heng's spear tip pointed that way.

"Who?"

The Cloud‑Striker's tip glimmered with a cold sheen under the pale sky, its shaft unmoving in his palm.

There was a moment of silence behind the stone pile.

"Come out!"

Dan Heng stepped forward.

The soles of his shoes struck the water stains on the slate, splashing a few tiny droplets.

He extended the spear tip another two inches forward, his tone turning completely cold, carrying an involuntary authority.

"If you don't come out now, I'll flip this pile of stones along with you!"

The stone pile rustled twice more.

Then a hand slipped out from the edge of the stones.

The hand was pale and slender, palm facing outward, wavering gently in the air twice, forming a surrender gesture.

Immediately, the other hand emerged from behind the stones, likewise open and wavering twice.

Then two white Fox Ears poked out from the stone edge.

Dan Heng's breath caught for a beat.

The face gradually emerged from behind the stones.

Pale skin, soft facial features, light pink lips, and those eyes—clear, tinged with a hint of insecurity and awkwardness—carefully looked toward him.

Bai Hang.

The living Bai Hang.

She crouched behind the stone wall, both hands raised beside her ears in a standard surrender pose, Fox Ears drooping, her expression caught between 'I've been caught' and 'Don't hit me'.

She wore a light outfit, the collar dusted with a few unknown dry grass fragments; her sleeves were rolled to the elbows, revealing shallow scratches on her forearms.

Dan Heng's pupils constricted sharply.

This time she was closer than she had been at the dock!

Now she crouched less than ten steps away.

But reason told him to stay still, stay alert; this could not be real.

Yet on the emotional side, that fragment belonging to Dan Feng was surging uncontrollably.

The vague white figure in his Memory and the fox‑person girl crouching here with raised hands overlapped in his mind at a dizzying speed.

"No, no, no!"

Bai Hang, or rather the person who looked like Bai Hang, was the first to break the silence.

Her voice carried a hint of panic.

The two raised hands shook again, the Fox Ears pressed even lower.

"Can you put that thing down first? My arms are sore from holding them up!"

Dan Heng didn't move.

The Cloud‑Striker's tip still pointed toward her, but he hadn't even noticed that its height had dropped two inches since before.

He stared at her face, his lips parting as if to speak, but something blocked his throat and no word emerged.

Bai Hang, seeing him stay still, added another layer of anxiety to her expression.

She tilted her head, Fox Ears tilting to the same side, the surrendering hand didn't dare to lower, but her fingers already began to fidget in the air.

"Um— uh— long, long time no see?"

She forced out a cautious, probing smile.

"Dan Feng."

When she called that name in Bai Hang's tone, the air seemed to freeze for a moment.

That natural, casual, unawful tone was exactly the same as when she usually says, "Dan Feng, come help," or "Dan Feng, stop looking so stern."

Dan Heng's pupils narrowed slightly.

His hand stayed still, the tip of the Cloud‑Striking spear still pointed steadily at the other, but his lips twitched lightly.

That sentence almost sprang out of his throat automatically.

"I'm Dan Heng. You've mistaken me."

He said it with a calm voice, as if stating a fact he'd repeated countless times.

But immediately after, he made another move, pressing the tip of the Cloud‑Striking spear down another half‑inch.

It was a half‑hearted concession.

As etiquette, he shouldn't point his weapon at someone who shows no aggressive intent.

As caution, he also couldn't completely lower the gun.

So, a compromise: press the spear tip down, but keep a distance that could be re‑engaged at any moment.

Bai Hang's eyes flashed.

Those Fox Eyes, upon catching the moment the spear tip was pressed half an inch, saw something flash through the pupils.

She quickly suppressed that expression, replacing it with a perfectly timed surprise.

"Mis… mistaken?"

Her eyebrows lifted slightly, lips parting a bit, a thin sheen of moisture rising in her eye sockets.

"Why— why would you say that?"

Bai Hang's voice softened.

"It's me, Bai Hang. You don't remember?"

She took another small step forward.

This time she wasn't forced back by the spear tip, because Dan Heng didn't move.

The Cloud‑Striking spear still pointed at her, but the hand holding it didn't press harder.

Within that step's distance, she lowered her right hand, pressing it to her chest, fingers splayed, fingertips barely sinking into the fabric of her collar.

"I know my return this time was too sudden; you might, might feel a bit odd. After all, I've been gone so long, popping up suddenly— anyone would be startled."

Bai Hang's speech slowed a bit compared to before, the tension gradually easing, replaced by a gentle, apologetic softness.

"But you pointed the gun at me, I really felt a bit—"

She paused, lowered her head slightly, pointed her chin at the Cloud‑Striking spear in Dan Heng's hand, lips forming a thin curve, voice dropping with a hint of grievance and embarrassment.

"A bit scared. You never ever pointed a weapon at me before."

Dan Heng's fingers unconsciously tightened on the spear shaft.

Then he slowly lowered the Cloud‑Striking spear a little further.

He said nothing, but something shifted in those teal eyes.