Chapter 14
Something was pressing down on them, rendering them immobile and silencing their voices.
Chen Huai'an stood frozen, watching the imposing figure of the emperor approach.
He couldn't make out the emperor's features, only feeling as if something was teasing his eyes, leaving everything in a haze.
The ceremonial procession moved through the crowd of tourists like smoke, elusive and untouchable.
They walked with unwavering focus, as if they were a scene from another time, gazing at him through the long river of history, yet remaining completely unaffected by it.
At first, Chen Huai'an thought this way.
Until the emperor stood before him.
Just a second before passing through his body.
The emperor gave a slight nod, his gaze dropping, and his golden vertical pupils locked onto Chen Huai'an's.
A chill ran down Chen Huai'an's spine; he swore the emperor was looking directly at him, and it was no coincidence!
He could even feel the scrutiny in that gaze!
But this moment of eye contact lasted only an instant.
The emperor passed through Chen Huai'an's form, along with his entourage, gradually disappearing into the thin mist atop Ling Mountain.
…
…
The mirage atop Ling Mountain sparked a heated discussion online, quickly climbing to the top of trending topics.
Experts analyzed it as the emperor Qin Shi Huang's ceremonial procession.
The mirage depicted the scene of Qin Shi Huang's ritual at Ling Mountain.
As for why such a distant historical event would reflect in modern times, experts had yet to concoct a better explanation.
But as the saying goes, "Children should not speak of strange forces," the ultimate explanation would surely be very scientific.
Chen Huai'an paid no mind to the online uproar; even the fleeting glance from the mirage didn’t bother him. As a staunch materialist, if someone told him there was a female ghost in his home, he would immediately head to the supermarket to buy a box of Okamoto 001 condoms.
Not for any other reason, but to contribute a little to biodiversity.
The 57th-level big brother kept his word; the 66 "Drum and Gong Dragon City" had already been credited, and he expressed gratitude to Chen Huai'an for allowing him to witness a super-rare mirage that he would never have seen in his lifetime. Just this experience alone was worth all that money.
He also stated that he would support Chen Huai'an's future activities.
Chen Huai'an felt great about this; he loved this kind of genuine support from a big shot.
With the live-streaming task completed and his phone battery dead, he simply waved goodbye and ended the broadcast.
"Bro, how are you planning to get down the mountain? Cable car or carried down in a sedan chair?"
After this incident, Zhang Rui was in complete awe of Chen Huai'an.
He used to think no one could truly be called a dragon among men.
Now he believed it; in his eyes, Chen Huai'an was already at a superhero level.
"Of course, I'm taking the cable car," Chen Huai'an replied.
These days, many college students came to Ling Mountain for side jobs, including carrying people down in sedan chairs.
He chose the cable car mainly because it was cheap and fast; he wanted to get down quickly to recharge and check on his electronic girlfriend.
Speaking of which, he had already made 120,000 yuan. Although live-streaming was tough, he could see a path to making money. However, his illness was hard to treat; amputation was certain, and the survival rate after that was low. The attending physician who issued the critical condition notice didn’t say it outright, but from the hints, it seemed the illness had already spread. So, was it worth spending money to gamble on treatment? Should he work hard to earn money for chemotherapy, or just enjoy life as it is?
As Chen Huai'an pondered this, he was helped by Zhang Rui and a few other friends to the cable car station.
The ticket booth was packed with people, both locals and many foreigners.
“F***!”
A curse rang out from the crowd.
It turned out a foreigner who had cut in line was hit on the shoulder by a falling rock.
“Serves you right! That’s what you get for not waiting your turn!” Zhang Rui and the others smirked, reveling in the misfortune.
Soon, it was Chen Huai'an's turn to board the cable car.
This cable car could accommodate eight people at once.
Zhang Rui was helping Chen Huai'an up when he noticed a few rough-looking guys with dragon and tiger tattoos inside the car.
“Bro, are you still going to sit?” Zhang Rui hesitated, glancing at Chen Huai'an.
“Of course,” Chen Huai'an said nonchalantly.
Even though these guys didn’t look friendly, they might just be enthusiasts of body art, right? One shouldn’t judge a book by its cover~
But just then.
Snap—! The cord holding a protective talisman suddenly broke, and the talisman fell to the ground.
Chen Huai'an paused, bending down to pick it up.
His movements were slow, and the guys in the cable car started hurling insults at him.
Suddenly,
Boom—!!!
The entire Ling Mountain shook violently, the ground trembling.
The moment Chen Huai'an grasped the talisman, he was knocked to the ground, rolling all the way into the ticket hall.
“Holy sh*t!!!”
“Get out of the way!”
He rolled, gritting his teeth, as debris rained down from above.
“Ah—! Falling rocks!”
In a daze, he heard someone shouting, along with the screams of the crowd,
A deafening crash,
And the sound of shattering glass from the cable car.
…
…
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Chapter 15: If There’s a Next Life?
A quake struck Ling Mountain, causing a rockslide.
A massive boulder crashed down in front of the cable car ticket booth, flattening a cable car that was about to descend.
Fortunately, the cable car system itself was unharmed; otherwise, all the tourists on it would have been in grave danger.
Even more astonishing was that the seven people killed in the cable car were drug dealers, both the buyers and sellers were inside.
Moreover, these seven were the masterminds of two drug trafficking organizations, with blood on their hands.
Many people claimed it was the mountain god of Ling Mountain showing its power.
Some even connected this sudden event to the mirage of the emperor’s ritual.
…
This was what Chen Huai'an later learned.
The first thing he did after getting down the mountain wasn’t to call for an ambulance, but to find a small supermarket to borrow a power bank. He charged his phone, opened the "Electronic Girlfriend" game, and sat in a chair as if nothing had happened, while Zhang Rui anxiously dialed 120.
He felt half responsible for Chen Huai'an's injury today.
If he hadn’t said such extreme things, perhaps Chen Huai'an wouldn’t have insisted on climbing Ling Mountain.
“Let me check on my electronic girlfriend.”
As soon as the game screen opened, Chen Huai'an was bombarded with notifications.
【You have 130 days of life remaining.】
【Your electronic girlfriend ‘Li Qingran’ is under attack by a small beast horde!】
【Your electronic girlfriend ‘Li Qingran’ is fighting desperately…】
【Your electronic girlfriend ‘Li Qingran’ has been injured.】
【Your electronic girlfriend ‘Li Qingran’ is critically injured!】
What the hell?!
Chen Huai'an's heart tightened; how could she be injured after just a short climb?
How could there be a beast horde attacking at this hour?
Even if it aligned with the behavior of monsters being active at night, this was a game—don’t players need to sleep?
He quickly closed all the notification boxes, only to see a heart-wrenching scene.
The house was nearly destroyed under the onslaught of the beasts, and Li Qingran was surrounded by a horde of monsters, with their corpses strewn around her.
She knelt in a pool of blood, her head bowed, long hair obscuring her face, clutching a broken sword in her hand. She was still wearing the new outfit she received for a 30-yuan recharge, but now it was riddled with claw marks, and beneath the torn fabric lay only gruesome wounds.
【Your electronic girlfriend ‘Li Qingran’ is in critical condition!】
“What a pity, I still couldn’t meet… my senior…”
Li Qingran felt herself slipping away.
She managed to lift her head, gazing at the ceiling that had been shattered, her haggard face devoid of color.
Her hollow eyes stared at the morning sky, growing dimmer, as everything in her vision gradually faded to gray.
In her 19 years of life, looking back, all she felt was sorrow.
Her father died in battle, and her mother was poisoned to death by an assassin from an enemy nation.
She had thought entering the Qingyun Sect would allow her to avenge her parents, but little did she know, it was merely stepping from one quagmire into another.
The rules of the cultivation world were strict, forbidding interference in the affairs of mortals.
But these rules were merely shackles meant to bind ordinary cultivators.
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