Chapter 002

Chapter 2: Qing Feng, Unreturning Guest

“Sorry, let’s move somewhere else,” Wang Jie immediately said, intending to lead the two women away.

The man casually threw an iron shard, which pierced through the door, traveling several meters to embed itself in the wall on the other side.

Wang Jie and the others immediately halted, glancing at him in unease.

“Come in, close the door,” the man said in a low, hoarse voice that made one uncomfortable.

Liu Shui instinctively grabbed Wang Jie’s arm, clearly frightened. The other woman’s gaze was filled with fear.

Wang Jie took a deep breath, leading them into the house and silently closing the door. The room darkened immediately.

The evening sun shone through the west-facing window, casting light on the man’s face. Beneath his rough beard, his cracked lips slowly curved into a smile. His eyes were cold and sinister as he first glanced at the two women, then fixed them on Wang Jie. “You know me.”

Wang Jie feigned confusion. “Have we met?”

“Didn’t that person show you my picture? My name is Hu Guan.” The man spoke again, his smile widening, but his eyes growing colder.

Wang Jie slowly clenched his fist, appearing tense. “I don’t remember.”

Hu Guan continued to stare at them. Ironically, the group of people had thought they were the predators, but it was clear that Hu Guan was no mere rat.

“You don’t have to forget. Where’s the thing I gave you?”

Wang Jie retrieved the signal device.

“Turn it on,” Hu Guan ordered in a deep voice.

Wang Jie was startled, unsure of his meaning.

Hu Guan grinned, his lips curling wider, blood trickling from the cracks, giving him a grotesque appearance. “But not here, it’s on the supermarket rooftop ten kilometers southwest.”

“You’re a guide, you understand what I mean.” As he said this, Hu Guan suddenly struck out at Wang Jie with his palm. Wang Jie’s gaze sharpened, and he retreated, but was slower than Hu Guan.

The palm landed on his right shoulder, sending him crashing into the wall.

The two women screamed and quickly backed into a corner.

Wang Jie slammed against the wall, and the whole house shook.

Hu Guan looked surprised. “Not bad, two seals of power. No wonder you’re a guide.”

Wang Jie struggled to get up, clutching his right shoulder, the entire arm numb. He glared at Hu Guan. “What do you mean?”

Hu Guan sneered. “This palm blocked your seal’s energy. I left the method to unblock it on that rooftop. You can choose not to go, but either find someone stronger than me to help, or you’ll never use your seals again. The choice is yours.”

“By the way, I’m five seals.”

Wang Jie’s expression shifted. “You’re at the five-seal level?”

The two women in the corner were equally shocked.

In this apocalyptic era, strength was judged by seal power, and the highest known level was seven seals. Hu Guan, with his five seals, was a formidable figure. No wonder he was being hunted by the hunting team yet still managed to turn the tables on them.

It was clear now that Wang Jie, as a mere guide, could never find someone powerful enough to undo his seal’s blockage.

Hu Guan returned to the sofa, waving his hand in impatience. “Get lost.”

Wang Jie wanted to say something, but seeing Hu Guan, he could only grit his teeth and leave. He didn’t look back at the two women.

The women, seeing Wang Jie leave, looked at Hu Guan with even more terror in their eyes.

Hu Guan smiled at them, licking his cracked lips, a hint of blood staining his mouth.

“It’s been a while since I’ve had something fresh. This little guide has brought me a gift.”

“You, come here.”

Liu Shui’s face turned pale, realizing Hu Guan was addressing her.

She trembled under his gaze, fear creeping up her spine.

Hu Guan’s eyes were filled with greed as he beckoned her closer, then pointed to the ground, his smile growing more sinister.

Outside, Wang Jie, who had already left, turned back, his eyes narrowing. Five seals, huh?

He raised his hand, grey energy swirling in his palm, as if spreading the void itself, rippling in waves. From it, he drew a simple white debt note. Nothing special about it—just a plain piece of paper—but it felt strangely significant, as though it connected to another realm.

Wang Jie stared at the note and took out a pen, wiping it against his body and taking a deep breath. It had been a while since he last borrowed power. He wondered how much he could gain from it. After some thought, he solemnly wrote down the signature—Qing Feng, Unreturning Guest.

Once the final stroke was made, the note rolled up on its own, as if aware, and floated back into the grey energy, disappearing.

“You’re not afraid he’ll go after the hunting team?” Liu Shui asked, her voice trembling.

Hu Guan sneered. “To be a guide, you first need to understand human nature. Even if he betrays me, those hunting team members won’t be able to help him unblock his seal. He knows that. The only choice is me.”

“As for whether he opens the signal device when he gets there, that’s no longer up to him. There are terrifying mutated beasts there at night, and the only way to survive is to open the signal and bring the hunting team over. Otherwise, he’ll die for sure.”

At this, he fixed his fiery gaze on Liu Shui. “Serve me well, and I’ll take you with me. I’ll make sure you survive.”

Liu Shui bit her lip, taking a deep breath. She forced a smile, about to speak, when suddenly, a shadow crashed through the window, blocking out the last of the evening sun. Darkness descended, and in the blink of an eye, the figure was in front of Hu Guan, reaching out to grab him.

Hu Guan’s pupils contracted, and he tried to dodge with a strange step, but the newcomer grabbed his back, forcefully disrupting the grey seal energy.

Hu Guan screamed, his body uncontrollably flying forward, only to be dragged back and slammed into the ground, a fist striking his chest. He coughed up blood, his eyes full of rage. “Who…?”

A crude mask appeared, resembling a clown’s face.

Before he could say anything, the figure’s second punch hit his neck, shattering it instantly. The remaining force cracked the ground beneath him, causing deep fissures to spread.

Throughout the entire encounter, Hu Guan, a five-seal expert, had no chance to fight back.

The two women watched in stunned silence.

The mysterious person, draped in a tattered black cotton coat with a comically silly mask, had just killed Hu Guan in an instant. It was no longer funny to them.

The figure crouched down, rummaging through Hu Guan’s body. Moments later, they found what they were looking for.

A delicate glass bottle, hibiscus tears. Yes, it was the right one. The last rays of the setting sun shone beautifully on the glass bottle.

One of the most valuable cataclysm materials, needed even by the Five Extremes, perfect for healing Old Five.

In the corner, the frightened woman’s eyes widened. Liu Shui?

Liu Shui, looking at the back of the person who had just killed Hu Guan, now held a small fish-shaped weapon in her hand, ready to strike. The weapon was aimed straight for the person, but it missed.

Her expression shifted, realizing something was wrong. Suddenly, a crude mask appeared in front of her, and a sharp pain stabbed into her abdomen. She gritted her teeth, forcing herself to retreat, only to have the weapon easily snatched from her hand.

A hand reached out, coming closer.

With a thud, everything went black.

As Liu Shui collapsed, Wang Jie coughed, wiping the blood from his lips. He had borrowed too much power, which had caused his old injuries to flare up. Fortunately, it wasn’t too severe.

With a casual motion, he knocked the frightened woman unconscious, then turned his gaze to Liu Shui. “Captain Feng Yu of Golden Hill Base, entering three times in disguise. Did you really think I didn’t recognize you? You must be after this, right?” He stored the hibiscus tears away. “If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have bothered to go through all this trouble.”

He then used the fish-shaped weapon to stab into Hu Guan’s body, then hurled it, sending it slicing through the air, embedding itself into the wall of a nearby building a hundred meters away. With that, he left.

He followed the direction Hu Guan had indicated—the southwest, ten kilometers away.

Less than five minutes after Wang Jie’s departure, a single eye formed from the void, blinking at Hu Guan’s dead body before disappearing.

As the sun completely set, the sky turned dark.

Wang Jie moved swiftly, and with his strength, it didn’t take long for him to reach the supermarket rooftop.

He checked the time. It would likely be past midnight before he reached the spot, so he decided to wait.

The wilds at night were dangerous. If daytime belonged to the mutated beasts, then nighttime was the domain of mutated plants.

In the distance, shadows crept under the moonlight, slowly enveloping the supermarket.

Wang Jie watched the towering plant that seemed to have grown even larger.

Had it gotten bigger?

In the sky, a mutated beast soared by, kicking up a gust of wind before flying off. Suddenly, the plant shot up, its leaves opening and closing, revealing sharp teeth. With a snap, it devoured the mutated beast.

At that moment, the plant towered several hundred meters high, monstrous and terrifying.

It had indeed grown.

Wang Jie lay on the rooftop, feeling the cool night air, gazing at the starry sky. Before the apocalypse, the moonlight wasn’t so beautiful. The air was polluted.

He stared up at the sky, his focus sharpening, and gradually, shadowy figures began to appear beneath the stars. Some were standing, others sitting, some wielding swords, others wielding knives. There were all sorts of figures.

This was the path of cultivation after the apocalypse on Blue Star. Many people could see these ethereal figures. They neither blocked the sunlight nor the moonlight, and each person could follow their own visions to cultivate. This was humanity’s greatest weapon in resisting the apocalypse.

Some could see one figure, others two. It was said that the most gifted could see up to ten. As for Wang Jie, he saw many.

At this moment, he was particularly drawn to a finger technique. Nothing special about it—just impressive.

As he became absorbed in it, the surrounding sounds of gnawing and growling filled the air. The mutant vines on the walls, like serpents, slowly moved and swayed in the moonlight, leaving marks on the wall.

Wang Jie glanced at them but didn’t move.

He knew that Hu Guan had been certain he would open the signal device when he reached the rooftop because of this. With his two-seal strength, the only way for him to survive was to signal the hunting team. Otherwise, he would die.

So, he decided to fulfill Hu Guan’s expectation. He took out the signal device and activated it.

Far off, a young man from the hunting team suddenly lowered his head, pulling out another signal device from his chest. His eyes gleamed with excitement. “Found it, southwest direction. Let’s go.”

On the supermarket rooftop, Wang Jie discarded the signal device in a corner, then leaped into the air, covering a distance of several meters. The mutant vines lashed out, trying to grab him, but he easily avoided them. With a twist of his body, he left a shadow in the air and crossed another distance, heading west.

The frightened woman woke up, rubbing her head. Sunlight streamed through a crack in the door. She was startled. Wasn’t it night? Outside… was it daytime? Had it already been the next day?

She quickly looked around, spotting Hu Guan’s corpse and Liu Shui lying nearby. She swallowed hard, trembling as she crawled over to Liu Shui, careful not to make a sound.

She checked Liu Shui’s breathing and sighed in relief. She was alive.

Recalling the events from before, she hadn’t known Liu Shui’s identity. They had met on the way through the ruined city. Now, Liu Shui clearly wasn’t an ordinary person, but there was no time to think too much. Alone in this place, she’d never make it through to the next day.

Shaking Liu Shui, she hoped to wake her up.