The statue woman had completely lost the ability to struggle.
She roared amidst the rubble, as disheveled as a drowning spider, appearing almost like a pure victim.
Heieglasses stared at her fixedly, the forced smile gone from his face. He was terrifyingly serious.
The open space where the performance had been was now a heap of shattered bones. The broken, pale skeleton silently recounted its thousand years of unresolved pain and sorrow in the stillness.
The roaring statue woman was thrown before the pile of碎骨. Heieglasses remained silent, kicked her in the back of the knee, and with a crisp snap, her leg bone shattered, forcing her to kneel on the ground.
The intense pain drove her mad. The immense force compelled her to lower her proud head and prostrate herself amidst the pile of碎骨.
Her piercing cries echoed through the empty city. She seemed unable to comprehend her mistake even now.
Suddenly, the screams ceased.
A blade's hum, and her head, no longer possessing youthful beauty but withered and ugly, rolled to the ground.
Her body remained kneeling there.
She would kneel before the remains of her former subjects for millennia, until the ravages of time completely buried this city.
This was the price she deserved.
—
Emerging from the cave, the landscape was vastly different from the sand-filled path into it. Before them lay vast snow-capped mountains, a testament to the unpredictable climate and environment of Tibet.
Heieglasses adjusted his sunglasses, observing the mountain they were on. They were on the northwest slope of the mountain. Looking up from the foot of the mountain, a distinct concave shape was visible. Transparent ice and snow covered it, making it resemble a giant mirror at first glance.
"Mount Kailash."
This was the sacred mountain revered by religious believers worldwide. According to the "Kozirev Mirror" concept, mirrors often have the effect of distorting time.
It was likely this colossal "mirror," Mount Kailash, combined with the power of the pyramids, that distorted the magnetic field, causing them to see the Qionglong Silver City again amidst the spatial turbulence.
—
As soon as Heieglasses exited the Forbidden Land, he vanished without a trace, leaving only a "See you next time~".
He was like an untraceable wind, or smoke rising without a discernible source. His mysterious aura and carefree demeanor made him an enigma.
Zhang Qiling remained in place for a moment, wanting to study the system carefully.
[Detected Host obtaining important item: Ghost Seal]
[Role-playing degree +5, current role-playing degree 71%]
[Ability unlocked: Yin-Yang Eyes]
"...Why is the Ghost Seal an important item? What role does the Bronze Gate play in this role-playing?"
The system did not respond, but Zhang Qiling was not impatient. He simply waited quietly.
After a long while, faint blue text slowly appeared on the system panel.
[Host is free to explore; the system will not interfere]
[Rest assured, no matter what, the system will guarantee the Host's survival]
"..."
Beep beep beep—
A piercing honk sounded!
Zhang Qiling looked up to see a completely black, inconspicuous small car.
The driver, a bearded man, poked his head out, sized up Zhang Qiling, and clicked open the rear door.
"All black, carrying a cloth bag, and not much of a talker... you're that Little Zhang, right?"
Zhang Qiling: ?
"Your friend asked me to take you back to Hangzhou. Don't worry, it's already paid for!"
After a moment of silence, Zhang Qiling realized that Heieglasses had indeed taken his card and run.
...Should he feel fortunate that Heieglasses remembered to find him a car when he made his escape?
The bearded driver, possessing the chattiness common to drivers, chattered with Zhang Qiling the entire way, from international affairs to family education. Even though Zhang Qiling mostly listened quietly without engaging, the driver was still happy to talk.
Without Heieglasses and Zhang Qiling occasionally getting out to fight, the return journey was swift. The driver still seemed to have more to say when Zhang Qiling alighted.
"...Ah, Uncle, I think you're a good kid. Not like my brat who just talks back to his old man all day!"
"Don't think of running away from home at such a young age. Look at what a good kid has become. Go home properly this time. Families can get through anything!"
Zhang Qiling: ...
He watched blankly as the driver sped away. Noticing the whispers of the people around him, he suddenly remembered something forgotten.
He had been crawling around underground with Heieglasses, and both of them were so dirty that they looked equally unkempt, so it wasn't that noticeable. He had been contemplating the system's deeper meaning during the journey and hadn't paid attention to his own condition.
Now that he was clear-headed, he realized that his black clothes, ravaged by a century of hardship, looked like rags dug out of a trash can. The dust all over him made him resemble a primitive man who had stumbled into reality.
...Most importantly, he didn't have a single penny on him.
Putting on his dusty hood with feigned composure amidst the onlookers, Zhang Qiling was about to find a secluded corner to hide when he suddenly heard a familiar voice.
"Little Brother! Isn't that Little Brother!? Damn! What happened to you?"
Wu Tianzhen and Fatty, who were out for a stroll, saw a crowd gathered and pointing. They intended to join in the commotion, but upon seeing that the commotion was about someone they knew, they were immediately distressed.
"What are you looking at!? Stop looking! He's with us! Disperse, disperse!"
Fatty was dispersing the crowd while Wu Tianzhen was already fuming.
After checking Zhang Qiling and finding only dirt, with no obvious wounds except on his palm, he felt a slight relief, but then the anger at the man for leaving without a word surged!
"What's going on with you! Why did you just leave like that? Do you know how worried we were?"
"...I left a letter."
"You left a letter? Where did you leave it? I didn't see—"
Mid-sentence, something flashed in his mind, and Wu Tianzhen suddenly stopped, his lips twitching.
"Are you referring to that blank piece of paper left on the hotel bed with nothing but your name on it?"
Zhang Qiling nodded. It seemed he was quite pleased that Wu Tianzhen could recall it, a hint of relief from being cleared of wrongdoing showing in his expressionless face.
"Damn it... You call that a letter? Who could possibly understand that?!"
"I said you—"
"Alright, alright, Tianzhen!" Fatty interjected, unable to bear it any longer. "We'll talk about this later. Look how dirty Little Brother is."
He reached out to pull Zhang Qiling's clothes, but they were so worn out that they barely held their shape. With his careless tug, the outer garment actually ripped.
Fatty: ...
Wu Tianzhen: ???!!!
"Hey Little Brother, aren't these clothes new ones I bought you??" Fatty couldn't stay calm either. "What have you been doing these past few days?"
Zhang Qiling: ...
"Where's your card?" Wu Tianzhen's tone softened slightly, perhaps because Zhang Qiling's plight left him speechless.
"Didn't I give you a card? Why didn't you buy yourself some clothes?"
Zhang Qiling: ...
"Lost it."
Fatty and Wu Tianzhen: ...
Looking at Zhang Qiling's innocent and guileless face now, they felt as if it bore a large inscription: "I've been out gallivanting and have returned."
Just as they were about to erupt, they saw Zhang Qiling take a small step forward.
"Hungry."
"...Let's go eat first, and find a hotel where we can shower." Wu Tianzhen slapped his own face, his words blocked, and he could only clench his fist in frustration.
Fatty, however, was more pragmatic. He put an arm around Zhang Qiling's shoulder, being careful not to put too much force on his clothes. "Let's go, Little Brother. Fatty will get you a whole new set of clothes!"
"It's good that you're back."