Chapter 453: Wandering in Confusion

Dim, chaotic, like the time before heaven and earth were separated. Up, down, left, right—there was only an endless, hazy mist. The figure walking the path staggered, trudging deep into the boundless fog, lost and unaware of his own existence.

How long had he been walking like this? How much longer would he have to walk? Why had he set foot on this road, and when had he done so?

The traveler thought dazedly. He felt he had forgotten many things—he had even forgotten his own name and origin, as if from the day of his “birth,” he had been walking on this endless misty path. The destination was a forgotten end, and the starting point seemed like a matter of another lifetime.

But then a breeze suddenly blew, slightly dispersing the surrounding fog. In the slight chill, the traveler felt his consciousness clear for a moment. He raised his head and saw the thin mist drifting. The originally blurry path became clear, with unknown wild grasses swaying in his field of vision, tall grass reaching above his knees.

A gray and colorless grassy path, a gray and colorless sky. In this chaotic world, all colors seemed to have been soaked through by some murky “gray,” their edges blurring.

What was it he was supposed to do?

Oh, keep walking forward…

The traveler subconsciously took a step, driven by a force he himself had forgotten, and continued forward.

Another figure seemed to appear in the mist, staggering just like him, following him as he moved forward. That figure had a silhouette similar to his own but appeared exceptionally faint. The traveler, in his daze, paid no attention and simply walked a little further.

Then the phantom silently merged into his body.

He suddenly remembered that he had done something important—a great undertaking he had planned for a long time, something that could almost be considered a salvation for countless beings.

What about that great undertaking? Had it succeeded? Had it failed?

He suddenly felt a sense of panic, hesitating and not daring to move forward. But then, another breeze blew, further dispersing the mist around him.

He saw the grassy path widen on both sides, the fog clearing even more, and the entire world becoming clearer. In the distance, there still seemed to be endless gray wilderness, but at the edge of that wilderness, the shadow of some kind of man-made structure appeared.

He felt himself take another step and drifted forward.

Was it going to rain?

The traveler wondered in confusion. He looked up but saw no sign of rain. He was curious why he had suddenly thought of rain. After pondering for a while, he guessed it might be because he had lived in a place where it always rained for a very long time…

Without him realizing, another illusory shadow emerged beside the path and silently merged with him as he walked.

He recalled more things.

His great undertaking seemed to have failed—at least it hadn’t turned out the way he had envisioned. But at the same time, he felt a strange sense of relief, as if that monumental matter had finally come to rest safely, with someone else stepping in and giving him a big hand.

He should have thanked them, but he hadn’t had the chance.

The traveler continued forward. After walking a bit more, he saw a large bonfire.

The bonfire blazed brightly amid the thin mist and wild grass. Around it, someone had built many magnificent and exquisite stone pillars. Upon closer inspection, there were twelve pillars in total, each carved with the image of an armored knight. Above the bonfire was an arch, ancient and solemn, exuding a dignified and sacred air.

Who had built this?

The traveler unconsciously walked over, came under the huge arch, and sat down to rest by the fire.

He thought this must be a kind of altar. The people who built the stone pillars and the arch clearly worshiped and revered this fire as something sacred and solemn.

Another shadow emerged nearby. Amid the flickering firelight, it merged with him.

The traveler was momentarily stunned. He stared at the fire before him, and then, as if suddenly remembering something, he reached into his bosom and felt around, touching something cold and hard.

He pulled it out and saw that it was a small crystal seed. Actually, it was just a clear, irregularly shaped stone, but for some reason, he knew it was a seed.

He stared blankly at the seed for a long time, then seemed to suddenly understand. A faint smile appeared on his face. “Oh, you’re still here.”

The seed glimmered faintly in the firelight. Though it said nothing, it seemed to communicate silently with the traveler.

The traveler felt he could “understand” the meaning of this seed—because for a very long time, their hearts had been in sync.

“In that case, come with me,” the traveler said with a smile, nodding as he rose from beside the bonfire and looked into the distance.

The fire conveyed to him memories and information about this wilderness—

Those under its protection could rest by the bonfire named “Hope,” whose fuel was “Suffering.” Travelers unloaded their burdens by the fire and could continue deeper into the wilderness. Ahead lay a path named “No Return,” hidden deep in the tall grass, visible only to the chosen and the knights who guarded the fire. Further ahead stood a great sheltering cathedral, which did not worship anyone but simply provided shelter from the wind and rain for the travelers on the wilderness…

The traveler turned back and looked at the bonfire. The flames seemed to have grown a little brighter than before, and the warmth emanating from the fire nourished his spirit, as if urging him to continue his journey.

He nodded, took the small seed, and continued forward.

***

Eileen sat cross-legged on the coffee table, hands on her knees, swaying back and forth like a roly-poly toy, bored out of her mind.

The small grayish-white “stone ball” hovered about a dozen centimeters in front of her eyes, wobbling slowly left and right in rhythm with her movements.

Then after a while, the stone ball started to “rotate” on its own, and even began to “orbit” around the little doll’s head in circles.

“I still think this ball is kind of ugly. What if I painted it pink?” Eileen suddenly looked up at Yusheng, who was typing on his phone.

“Paint it whatever color you like,” Yusheng said casually. “If you think a pink Omen Wanderstar Youth Edition spinning around you all the time looks good.”

The little doll imagined that scene and immediately made a face she couldn’t hold back. “Eww—that feels kind of nauseating…”

Then she turned her head to Huli beside her. “Hey, silly fox, your hometown is also into cultivation. What do you do there when magical artifacts are ugly?”

“If they’re ugly, they won’t sell,” Huli said offhandedly.

“…Why did I even ask you?”

Eileen pouted. Then she suddenly stood up, reached out, and grabbed the stone ball that was drifting past her. Holding it in both hands, she brought it up to her eyes and examined it closely, muttering, “What use is this thing anyway… It’s hard, but you can’t just throw it at someone, right? Hey, it used to talk, but now it doesn’t even do that.”

Yusheng didn’t look up. “One chatterbox like you in this house is already noisy enough. I think it’s good that this one doesn’t talk.”

Eileen thought for a moment, then casually tossed the Omen Wanderstar (Youth Edition) at Yusheng. Without even looking, he caught it and tossed it back to her.

“Looks like throwing it at people isn’t very effective either,” Eileen said grumpily as she caught the stone ball and placed it back into its orbit above her head. Then she looked curiously at Yusheng, who was still busy on his phone, and couldn’t help asking, “What are you doing? You’ve been at it for a while now.”

“Sending messages. I was just talking to Baili Qing about the ‘Stellar Derivative’ thing—gave her a rough rundown of how the incident was resolved. She asked when I’m moving back. I told her I still need to stay here a few more days to handle the cleanup,” Yusheng finally looked up at Eileen. “And now I’m chatting with Little Red Riding Hood. She’s finished her college entrance exams and is looking for people to talk to—seems pretty free.”

Eileen was poking at the Omen Wanderstar that was drifting in slow circles past her eyes. Her eyes lit up at Yusheng’s words. “Oh? Little Red finished her exams? How did she do?”

“I didn’t ask, but judging by her mood, it probably went well,” Yusheng said casually. “She actually studies hard, unlike Long Hair, who just slacks off every day.”

“Careful—Long Hair might crawl up from the basement soon. She’s always popping up out of nowhere…”

“I’d say the same thing to her face. She’s about to start her senior year, and she can’t even manage an eight-hundred-word essay. She even wanted me to write it for her. She got nine out of ten math multiple-choice questions wrong, and when she couldn’t figure something out, she had to ask Bai Xue, who’s a freshman. All she thinks about is going out to play during breaks. That huge valley isn’t enough for her to wreak havoc in…”

Whenever the subject of the valley’s problem child leader came up, Yusheng couldn’t help rambling, but it only made the carefree Eileen laugh. Meanwhile, Huli, sitting next to Eileen, suddenly looked up, her big eyes fixed on the Omen Wanderstar orbiting the little doll’s head. Who knows what went through that nine-tailed fox’s mind, but she suddenly reached out and grabbed the stone ball from midair.

“Hey, silly fox, what are you…”

Before Eileen could finish, she saw Huli’s other hand pull out a few walnuts from her tail and set them on the table. Then she used the Omen Wanderstar to smash them.

Pop, pop, pop—crisp and clean.

“Hey!” Huli beamed and looked up at Yusheng. “Master! This thing is really good for cracking walnuts!”

Yusheng stared in disbelief. “…You’re using the Omen Wanderstar to crack walnuts?!”

Huli didn’t see anything wrong with it. She pulled a few more walnuts from her tail, smashed them all, then picked out some of the best walnut pieces and held them up to Yusheng. “Master, eat some walnuts.”

It took Eileen a moment to react. She quickly grabbed the stone ball, brought it up to her face, and examined it closely while muttering, “Don’t, it’s ugly, but it’s still a ‘magical artifact,’ after all… Huh?”

She tilted her head in confusion.

Was she seeing things? She could have sworn that ugly stone ball had just… opened its mouth?