The event happened so suddenly that Wu Tianzhen didn't even have time to scream. He just stood there, frozen, the fragments of the key dropping from his hand with a clatter.
"…It truly is a case of 'like father, like son,' or rather, 'like brother, like brother'," Fatty praised from the side. "First, we both sat on that divine stone and blew it up, and now Little Brother has crushed this mother bell."
"The divine stone and the mother bell were originally together. Now, it's perfect – the whole family is shattered neatly. They'll have plenty to talk about when they meet King Yama, hahaha!"
Wu Tianzhen: …
"…What I'm thinking about now," Wu Tianzhen said slowly, his eyes dead, "is how Zhang Haike will react when he finds out about this."
The thought of Zhang Haike's dark circles when he had come to settle the enormous expenses just moments ago made Wu Tianzhen feel inexplicably guilty. He felt as if he could already hear Zhang Haike's roar in his ears.
While thinking about these things, he walked over to Zhang Qiling.
The fragments of the mother bell were casually swept aside by Zhang Qiling like withered leaves on a vegetable, piling up pitifully in a corner of the table.
But even so, the sound of the mother bell still hadn't stopped.
…Wait, was that really the sound coming from the mother bell itself?
Wu Tianzhen followed the sound and saw that its source was quietly resting in Zhang Qiling's hand.
…It was a small, unremarkable-looking black stone.
To be precise, it was the missing part of this second Ghost Seal.
Zhang Qiling stared at the fragment for a while, then, after some thought, slowly reached out and gently placed the fragment onto the Ghost Seal.
The moment the fragment clicked into the vacant spot, Wu Tianzhen seemed to hear a deafening roar of ghostly beings. But upon closer inspection, the Ghost Seal remained silent, and the carved ghost heads still looked vacant, as if devoid of life.
And in those few seconds, the fragment had completely merged with the main body of the Ghost Seal, as if a new layer of connection had grown between them, making them appear as if they had never been separated.
As the Ghost Seal became whole, the intermittent metallic clanging gradually disappeared, replaced by a more prominent outer glow.
…Now, it looked almost identical to the first Ghost Seal.
"No way, this is too much of a coincidence, this is absolutely ridiculous!" Fatty couldn't help but curse.
Wu Tianzhen remained silent, holding his breath, staring intently at Zhang Qiling.
The softly glowing Ghost Seal lay in Zhang Qiling's hand, making his skin appear even paler. Through the light, Zhang Qiling could barely see his surroundings, as if his world was enveloped by this dark radiance.
He slowly closed his eyes, and a bronze door, so immense it could block out the sky, appeared in his mind.
The patterns on the door seemed to be constantly shifting, making it impossible to look directly at them. From its half-open gap, countless colorful lights surged out like spreading seawater, engulfing a city ahead in a matter of moments, transforming it into a brand new forbidden land.
The scale of the forbidden land continued to expand, as if a giant beast that could never be sated had finally fully awakened, concentrating all its energy on sucking the life force of this world.
The familiar stinging sensation, like a persistent ulcer, enveloped him once more. Zhang Qiling felt as if the images in his mind were flickering and wailing like malfunctioning electronics.
And just as the image completely shattered, he finally saw the source of the forbidden land's power surge.
The plaque inscribed with the characters "Wu Shan Ju" flashed by, quickly shattering under the surging roots of plants.
…Hangzhou.
When he opened his eyes, the blue light screen had appeared, hovering silently as if it had been waiting for a long time.
But the text on it was in a rare red bold font, a vibrant color that seemed as if it could ooze fresh blood at any moment.
【Hangzhou Forbidden Land to be unlocked】
【Host, please prepare】
"…When."
【Three… *static* …days later】
"Little Brother… are you talking to us?" Wu Tianzhen's voice interrupted Zhang Qiling's thoughts. He looked up and saw his own wavering expression reflected in Wu Tianzhen's dark pupils.
Fatty and Wu Tianzhen were both in front of him. The little troublemaker who had just caused the incident was peeking out from behind an overturned stool nearby.
The sunlight outside was beautiful, filtering through the latticed platform, making even the dust motes dancing in the air look like forest sprites.
…In that instant, as he looked at the light screen, he inexplicably felt a strange sense of detachment and an indescribable sadness.
It was as if he were merely a detached observer, out of sync with this world.
…False.
But whether it was the world that was false, or himself.
"Little Brother, Little Brother, what's wrong? Are you okay?!"
A warm pressure on his shoulder came from Fatty and Wu Tianzhen, who noticed his distress and put their arms around him.
…Their body heat was real.
Zhang Qiling suddenly felt as if he had understood something, and the heavy burden in his heart vanished instantly.
…No matter what was false, as long as they were real, it was enough.
"In two days, the bronze door will appear here."
Zhang Qiling looked directly at the two of them. His words were earth-shattering, their meaning profound, yet his eyes now held a glimmer of light.
Wu Tianzhen and Fatty stood frozen, barely grasping his meaning. Zhang Qiling paused, then continued:
"Contact Song Shuning."