Qin Mu ran into Long Shengtian and felt like crying but had no tears, lamenting his terrible luck.
As for Long Shengtian, the moment he saw Qin Mu, memories of their past encounters flooded back.
“Qin! Mu!”
The black-robed man growled in a low voice.
Now it was Qin Mu’s turn to be dumbfounded. How did he know my name!?
The next moment, Long Shengtian didn’t waste words. He struck directly, curling his fingers into a claw and aiming straight for Qin Mu’s heart.
Qin Mu didn’t dare be careless. He channeled qi to his dantian… Well, there was no true qi left in his body.
What was there to fight for! He had to save his own skin first!
Fortunately, Qin Mu had practiced some body techniques. When he was younger, he felt ashamed of being caught and spanked by Miss Ruoshuang and Miss Mengyu, so he had specifically trained in body techniques. Although he still couldn’t escape them, at least he had some practice.
He barely dodged Long Shengtian’s attack. Earlier, Qin Mu had struggled to climb the mountain, but now he was sprinting at full speed.
On one hand, going downhill didn’t take much effort. On the other, if he didn’t run fast, he would be done for here!
“Divine Dragon Senior! Save me!”
Qin Mu glanced back. Good heavens, the black-robed man was right behind him.
For now, Qin Mu could still stay ahead, but in a little while, he would run out of steam.
“Kid, your body can’t handle too much of my power in its current state. How about this—see the river down there?”
“I see it.”
“Good. Roll into it.”
“What?”
“What I mean is, once you’re in that river, the death energy there is thick. Most people can’t sense anything inside it, so it’ll save your life.”
Is that the point?! That’s not the point, hey!
“Divine Dragon Senior, earlier I thought I heard you say… roll… into the river?”
“Of course. If you ran in, I reckon you’d reach your limit within a quarter of an hour at most.”
The Divine Dragon might be unreliable in other matters, but this prediction was accurate. Indeed, Qin Mu was about to collapse.
But a man couldn’t just say he couldn’t do it!
“You’re joking, Divine Dragon Senior. I haven’t even used my full strength yet!”
“Oh? Not bad, kid. In that case, I don’t need to step in. I’ll leave it all to you.”
“Hey, hey, hey, Divine Dragon Senior, hold… on… hold on.”
Gradually, Qin Mu started panting. He glanced out of the corner of his eye behind him. Oh my god, he hadn’t provoked this black-robed man at all, hadn’t even seen his face. Why did he attack the moment he saw him, and with lethal intent at that?
“Oh? Weren’t you saying you still had strength? Why are you panting now?”
“Huff—Divine Dragon Senior, please don’t make sarcastic remarks. If this continues, the two of us will be taking the same road.”
“Heh, kid. Relax your mind and body. Leave the rest to me!”
Qin Mu felt his vision go dark, and then he found himself in the little space where he chatted with the Divine Dragon Senior.
Long Shengtian, who was exhausting himself chasing Qin Mu, was marveling at how the kid could run so fast. Suddenly, the aura of the Qin Mu ahead of him changed, as if he had become a different person.
Then, right before Long Shengtian’s eyes, Qin Mu took off from the ground—no, it was like a stone being thrown—and plunged straight into the river.
Splash!
A huge spray of water shot up.
When Qin Mu woke up, he was lying on a large rock, his lower half soaking in the water.
“Cough! Cough!”
He spat out the water from his mouth and got out of the river. He expected to shiver from the cold when he reached the shore, but he didn’t feel cold at all. Moreover, as he focused, he realized there was no wind here.
“Kid, awake?”
“Divine Dragon Senior, did I manage to shake him off?”
“Sort of. But the danger isn’t over. In this place, living creatures are scarce. There’s no wind, no heat or cold, and even time is incomplete. Be careful in everything. You’re far too weak.”
Qin Mu heeded the Divine Dragon Senior’s advice. Here, even the familiar sun in the sky was absent. The sky was perpetually dim and gloomy.
He didn’t even know where he had ended up. He looked around. This place was completely different from before. As far as the eye could see, it was flat and featureless. When he looked behind him, he could see the silhouette of a mountain range, but judging by the distance, it was far too far away.
Forget it. He’d rest first. He was too tired.
***
“Hey! Hey! Qin Mu!”
Between drowsiness, he heard someone calling his name, a very familiar voice.
Qin Mu opened his eyes and immediately felt something was wrong. Why was I lying on a desk!
He sat up with a start.
“Geez! What’s with the sudden jump? Class is over. Let’s go, which cafeteria are we eating at?”
The voice came from beside him again. Qin Mu turned his head and saw a face that was both unfamiliar and familiar.
Liu Chuang, Qin Mu’s college classmate.
How could I be here!?
Qin Mu stood up instantly. The classmates around him were filing out of the classroom one by one. Only a few people were left in the large lecture hall.
But! Miss Ruoshuang! Miss Mengyu!
All of this… was it just a dream I had?
Qin Mu’s mind was a little foggy. A wave of exhaustion washed over him.
“Qin Mu, what’s wrong? Still not awake? You slept through almost the entire class—two hours.”
Liu Chuang closed his book and tucked it under his arm.
“It’s nothing. You go eat first. I’ll go later.”
Qin Mu rubbed his head.
Seeing Qin Mu like this, Liu Chuang said, “Alright. But are you feeling unwell? If it’s bad, ask the counselor for leave. This afternoon’s class is a fluff class anyway, so it doesn’t matter.”
“Yeah, okay.”
When only Qin Mu was left, he looked at his palm and made a decision.
Slap!
A very loud slap.
“Shit! That really hurts!”
Qin Mu clutched his cheek and sucked in a breath. He had hit too hard; half his face was numb.
After a moment, he took out his phone. It was 12:20.
He closed the book on the desk. The cover was blue—Probability Theory… How nostalgic.
There was a very strange feeling, as if he had really lived in that other world for over ten years.
Qin Mu walked out of the classroom and down the stairs. The sun outside was blinding, forcing him to squint.
He took out his phone to check the class schedule. Morning was full, but oddly enough, he couldn’t remember anything about the 8 AM class.
And in that world, he had just… just… what was it?
A dizzy sensation came over his brain. His head was spinning.
Forget it. He’d skip lunch and go back to sleep.
He sent a message to the counselor to ask for leave, returned to his dorm, got into bed, and fell asleep.
When he woke up again, it was because of noise. Qin Mu opened his eyes. His roommates were back.
But strangely, apart from Liu Chuang, the voices and faces of the others all felt… blurry.
“Hey? Qin Mu, when did you get a tattoo?”
Liu Chuang suddenly exclaimed in surprise.
Hearing Liu Chuang’s words, Qin Mu looked down. Since he had taken off his clothes to sleep earlier, his right arm was now covered in golden stripes.
They were winding and curved. Upon closer inspection, one could faintly make out the shape of a dragon.
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