Chapter 357
Chapter 357: Zheng Zhi’s Eyes Were Opened
The “fairy tale” children quickly learned they were going out to play—even though the valley was already pretty “outdoors.” Before long, the “guardian” brought a whole bunch of dollheads to Yu Sheng. The little ones wore yellow caps and carried small water bottles like it was a school picnic.
They spilled onto Cloud Viewing Terrace on Thousand Peak Spirit Mountain, and each of them was so shocked by the immortal peaks and sea of clouds that they practically lost their minds.
Cloud Viewing Terrace filled with the noise of children yelling, cheering, and squealing.
Zheng Zhi, who had been outside scrolling videos, jumped in fright too—especially when he saw Snow White and Cinderella lugging a pile of snacks out and spreading them on the ground, clearly gearing up for a full-scale picnic. He confirmed three times with Yu Sheng that the procedures were fine, and only then relaxed enough to sigh from the bottom of his heart.
“No wonder the Bureau told me this post mainly requires a big heart…”
As they spoke, Princess Rapunzel dragged Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella into pitching tents. They planned to spend the night right on Cloud Viewing Terrace.
Yu Sheng looked at the immortal peaks and auspicious clouds around them, then looked at Wu Tong Road 66 not far away, and couldn’t decide whether this counted as wilderness survival or camping on his own doorstep. Thousand Peak Spirit Mountain really was the number-one sect on Grand Void Star—their environment design was genuinely top-tier.
Then a streak of rosy light rose at the horizon.
In the next instant, it arrived. Immortal Yuan Ling led a few young disciples down onto Cloud Viewing Terrace.
The old man landed and immediately took in the magnificent scene of seventy-plus children picnic-camping on an immortal mountain peak.
If anything, the children got even more excited. An immortal-looking old grandfather leading several flying brothers and sisters down from the sky didn’t scare a group that had grown up dealing with “fairy tale” otherworlds. It only thrilled them. Once they confirmed these weren’t bad people, the boldest kids were already swarming over.
Immortal Yuan Ling stood among the little ones with a face full of smiles, so happy his wrinkles practically smoothed out. “Good, good. Have fun… Good children… hahahaha. Good children…”
Yu Sheng walked up, surprised. “You came in person?”
“Just came to take a look,” Immortal Yuan Ling said, beaming. “I’ve always liked children. Every year when the sect takes in new students, I go myself. Looking at them when they’re still innocent and lively is always better than looking at those blocks of rotten wood who can’t refine a single pill even after two months.”
Yu Sheng laughed. “Even the blocks of rotten wood started out innocent and lively.”
“So you have to enjoy them while they’re cute and fun,” Immortal Yuan Ling said, stroking his beard. “Once they grow up, they only become headaches.”
Yu Sheng couldn’t help glancing at Princess Rapunzel in the distance, currently egging King into sending the lumberjack to chop wood and light a bonfire.
Some people were a headache even before they grew up.
Luckily, among the “fairy tale” guardians, the steady and reliable ones were still the majority—at least Little Red Riding Hood was always dependable.
After swiftly shutting down Princess Rapunzel’s bold idea of starting a fire on Cloud Viewing Terrace, Little Red Riding Hood led several other guardians to meet the Thousand Peak Spirit Mountain disciples and handle registration.
Yu Sheng stood with Immortal Yuan Ling and watched the lively scene.
Then he heard Immortal Yuan Ling mention, almost casually, “Tomorrow, Qian Ji Immortal of the Reclining Cloud Ten Halls will come in person. The Reclining Cloud Ten Halls does not have a sect leader position. Qian Ji Immortal currently serves as the First Elder of the Ten Halls.”
Yu Sheng startled. “The First Elder is coming personally? And that fast? Did you find some unbelievable clue from that Divine Armament Peak?”
“I did not see it, but the Reclining Cloud Ten Halls clearly saw something,” Immortal Yuan Ling said calmly. “I only had someone remove the armor on the back of that Divine Armament Peak, traced the mechanism structure underneath into a diagram, and sent it to Qian Ji Immortal. Then he insisted on coming immediately.”
Irene, perched on Yu Sheng’s shoulder, suddenly popped out. “Did they confirm whether that Divine Armament Peak is actually something they made?”
Immortal Yuan Ling slowly shook his head.
“Qian Ji Immortal did not say much. He only said the Reclining Cloud Ten Halls has no record of this model of automaton, but the mechanism core inside the Divine Armament Peak seems suspicious,” Immortal Yuan Ling said. “We’ll discuss the specifics tomorrow. When Qian Ji Immortal arrives, are you willing to show up?”
Yu Sheng raised his eyebrows.
“After all, you were the ones who first found that Divine Armament Peak,” Immortal Yuan Ling added. “You understand what happened.”
“That’s true.” Yu Sheng nodded. “All right. I’ll go tomorrow.”
“Excellent.” Immortal Yuan Ling smiled, then hesitated as if remembering something else. After a moment, he spoke again. “There is one more matter.”
“Go on,” Yu Sheng said.
Immortal Yuan Ling’s expression turned subtle. “Xuan Che told me something. That… Medical Brawl Exploding Fist—he said he received guidance from Irene. Is it true?”
Yu Sheng said, “….”
Silence fell.
Yu Sheng poked the little doll on his shoulder. “He’s asking you.”
Irene’s eyes went dead. She flopped onto Yu Sheng’s shoulder and played dead.
She played dead for less than three seconds before Immortal Yuan Ling stroked his beard and said with heartfelt admiration, “This name is full of spirit…”
The moment the old man said those words, Irene instantly resurrected, smug enough to lift her chin toward the sky. “Of course it is!”
Yu Sheng stared at the immortal-looking old man, and it took him several seconds to accept that those words had really come out of his mouth. Only then did he truly understand cultural differences, the diversity of civilizations, and the fact that every planet had its own sense of taste.
And then he realized something else: Irene had created a major karmic disaster.
In a place as cultivation-flourishing as the Grand Void Spiritual Axis, there would soon be a whole group of medical immortals roaming the world using Medical Brawl Exploding Fist.
In the end, he was clearly the only one who cared, because Irene and Immortal Yuan Ling had already reached an understanding at lightning speed. Now the two of them were passionately debating whether the final move of “Medical Way Killing Fist” should be called “Patient Family Member Calm-Down Palm” or “Medical Knowledge Infusion Palm.”
While Yu Sheng and Immortal Yuan Ling were talking, Zheng Zhi was chatting with the “fairy tale” guardians nearby.
Little Red Riding Hood looked him up and down. “So you’ll be the front-door gate guard from now on?”
“…You could say that,” Zheng Zhi said, nodding. He understood why she emphasized “front door,” because somewhere inside there was also a “back door” that led straight to the Borderland. “And there’s a Brother Li too—Li Lin. I partner with him.”
“Can’t believe it,” Little Red Riding Hood said with a sigh. “The first time I met you, you were still a client.”
Zheng Zhi gave an awkward smile.
“But it’s not surprising,” she continued. “Among the many clients I’ve met, several ended up continuing to deal with otherworlds. Some became independent investigators. Some teamed up and became spirit realm detectives. But you’re the only one who joined the Special Operations Bureau directly. Looks like your symptoms are pretty serious?”
“It’s not that bad,” Zheng Zhi said, rubbing his nose. His gaze drifted toward the vast sea of clouds beyond Cloud Viewing Terrace. “I saw a lot of messed-up stuff in Boundary City. It’s better here—or maybe it’s because everything here is weird. Talking animals, screaming spirit herbs, strange birds darting through the clouds… Since I know this is an alien planet, I don’t even find it that strange.”
Princess Rapunzel wandered over too. Hearing them talk, she cut in. “Honestly, with spirit vision this high, your mental state is surprisingly stable. Most people, if they saw that much wrong stuff from childhood without any training, would grow up with mental issues. Best-case scenario, you start with schizophrenia.”
Zheng Zhi jumped. “Is it really that serious?”
“Oh, yeah.” Princess Rapunzel nodded solemnly. “Think back. Don’t you sometimes forget things for no reason, or feel like an entire day got ‘skipped’? Or you blank out while doing something and end up doing things you don’t even remember? Or you see something weird and lose consciousness, and the next day you wake up in your bed at home, holding a bloodstained—”
Before Princess Rapunzel could finish, Little Red Riding Hood smacked the back of her head. “Shut up. Go watch the kids!”
“Tch.” Princess Rapunzel pouted and wandered off.
Zheng Zhi still hadn’t processed it. He looked at Little Red Riding Hood, bewildered. “…What do you mean, holding a bloodstained vegetable?”
Little Red Riding Hood froze for half a beat. Then she said flatly, “…She meant a kitchen knife.”
“Oh. Oh.” Zheng Zhi scratched his hair and, despite himself, glanced toward the distant sea of clouds again.
The strange birds darting through the clouds were getting more and more numerous. Maybe it was because it was getting dark.
Against the sunset, the black mass of birds came in sheets.
“You keep staring that way,” Little Red Riding Hood said, and her tone sharpened. “What are you looking at?”
“Birds,” Zheng Zhi said casually. “Those weird birds like shadowspawn, swimming through the clouds like fish. I’ve been watching them all day. In the daytime there were only a few, but the closer it gets to night, the more there are.”
Little Red Riding Hood blinked. “…Mm… mm?!”
She snapped back to herself and turned to shout toward Yu Sheng.
“Yu Sheng! The big nephew is seeing dirty stuff again!”
Yu Sheng spun around. “…What?!”