Chapter 87: Tu Yu

A copper coin fell to the ground, reversing death and restoring life—but what returned was not the aged body of Ji Bichang, but the God of Wealth inhabiting the corpse.

A shadow of pitch black flickered and vanished; in a pavilion by the shore of Yunmeng Lake, Ning Zhe opened his eyes.

“Buying life with money? Is this the God of Wealth’s rule?” He had just used Ye Yao’s rule, severing the God of Wealth’s shadow with a single slash, and had watched a copper coin—round within, square without—roll from the bag in the God of Wealth’s hand and fall into the water.

Then the God of Wealth came alive, his aged body still headless, drifting slowly toward Ning Zhe on the shore like a ghost.

“If the God of Wealth’s rule can reverse life and death, then why did Ji Bichang die? Why didn’t he spend money to buy his own life? Was he poor?”

No… he had money. The God of Wealth had just spent one copper coin to buy his own life, and Ji Bichang had left each of his children five copper coins—technically, he could have bought at least ten lives.

Yet he still died. The God of Wealth’s rule had unfolded macroscopically, transforming his corpse into the origin point of a mobile, eerie event.

“Rules are fair. Even the God of Wealth, who can buy life and reverse death, must have flaws—Ji Bichang died because of them.” Ning Zhe quickly grasped the key: “By the same logic, Ji Bichang’s cause of death may also be the God of Wealth’s.”

Thinking this, Ning Zhe prepared to return and find Shi Yurou and the Ji siblings, but the moment the thought arose, he hesitated.

Before his death, Ji Bichang left a will instructing his siblings to invite not just one, but multiple Ascended Ones to his funeral, clearly to enlist insiders to resolve the eerie event after his death.

That means—right here, right now, at this very moment… perhaps even on that boat just now, filled with university students, an Ascended One may already be hiding in the shadows, silently observing the God of Wealth’s movements.

More terrifying than ghosts themselves are those who control them.

Ning Zhe paused briefly; farther across the lake, the headless old man’s figure drew nearer—the God of Wealth seemed to be searching for him.

Before Ning Zhe could transform again into a flying bird and flee, Yu Zi’s phone rang. Only one person knew this encrypted number: Tu Yu.

“Someone paid me to seal off Yunmeng Lake, starting at eight, for four hours.”

Tu Yu spoke bluntly:

“I know you were invited to Wu Tong’s funeral. If you want to withdraw, you still have time. If you intend to gamble in the coming eerie event, that’s another matter—but if you lack the confidence and wish to preserve yourself… leave the Yunmeng Lake system before eight.”

With that, Tu Yu hung up without another word—he was likely busy notifying other Ascended Ones within Yundu City.

“Of course… Tu Yu is a senior in this circle. Even someone like Yu Zi, a ‘minor player,’ was invited—he couldn’t possibly have been left out.”

Ning Zhe put down his phone and checked the time: 07:11 in the morning—still plenty of time before eight.

Yundu City’s Tourism Bureau had begun evacuating civilians; Yunmeng Lake, Chuyun Mountain, and surrounding scenic areas had been urgently closed. Large numbers of confused people were being sent to the city for shelter, especially that boat which had previously encountered the God of Wealth, now under heavy surveillance.

Ning Zhe narrowed his eyes, gazing at the headless corpse floating on the vast, misty lake, murmuring to himself: “Wu Tong…?”

The God of Wealth’s name is—“Wu Tong”?

Now he understood why Ji Bichang had left a will asking his children to invite Ascended Ones to his funeral. All Ascended Ones are self-interested loners; the fact Ji Bichang dared to send invitations meant he possessed something that would make other Ascended Ones covet.

Few things can move an Ascended One—but life is the most weighty of them all. And the rule that can reverse life and death—the God of Wealth, Wu Tong’s rule—Ning Zhe believed no one would remain unmoved. But would Ning Zhe be moved?

The answer was no.

“Since someone else is already handling the God of Wealth Wu Tong, I’ll withdraw as soon as possible.” Ning Zhe knew clearly what he wanted.

Ning Zhe had no desire to unravel or control the runaway God of Wealth Wu Tong, nor was he interested in the rule of buying life with money—it simply did not align with him.

The number of ghosts an Ascended One controls is not better when greater. For example, Lei Te’s instant-death rule is Yu Zi’s lifeline, but to “Fen Wu,” it’s merely a commodity to be traded.

Rule compatibility matters far more—far, far, far more—than the number of rules, or even their raw power. Blindly seizing rules incompatible with one’s core rule only adds fatal weaknesses while granting power.

For Ning Zhe, the self-cognition dissonance caused by Tai Yi is his only and most central problem.

Is the God of Wealth’s rule powerful? Yes.

Can the God of Wealth resolve Tai Yi’s hidden dangers? No.

Therefore, Ning Zhe had neither interest nor motive to resolve this runaway eerie event. Since other Ascended Ones were present, he would not step forward.

=9+books_ah

What Ning Zhe needed now was to interact with as many Ascended Ones as possible—especially those who had dealings with Yu Zi—to obtain a more complete identity of “Ye Yao,” and gather information about the “Gods”… if such information truly existed.

The [Unseeable God] with the Thought-Steel-Stamp rule is Ning Zhe’s only path to survival.

Once he understood this, Ning Zhe’s goal became singular.

It was 07:12 in the morning—forty-eight minutes remained before Tu Yu sealed off Yunmeng Lake. Ning Zhe’s form became a peregrine falcon, flying over the cool riverbank, returning to the mountain villa in Chuyun Mountain.

“Finding hidden Ascended Ones elsewhere may be difficult. But anyone approaching Shi Yurou and the Ji siblings at this moment is almost certainly an Ascended One.”

Ning Zhe’s judgment proved flawless: as he soared above the Chuyun Villa, he spotted a refined young man in a Zhongshan suit with gold-rimmed glasses, asking questions of Ji Yunying on the second-floor balcony.

“…Lan Shiwen?”

Ning Zhe shed his feathers in the ornamental grove beside the villa, reverting to human form, and entered the Chuyun Villa through the main gate, ascending directly to the second floor without hesitation.

Meanwhile, faint clouds on the horizon slowly stained crimson, like the fiery glow of sunset after the sun had set; the surrounding forest grew wild, losing its manicured neatness. Unkempt paper mulberry trees now sprouted bold shrubs and ferns.

Tu Yu had begun pulling Yunmeng Lake into another world—a process that would continue until eight o’clock, when the sealing would be complete.

(End of Chapter)