Volume 4: Twilight Galaxy
After seeing the masked man up close, Shu Xun had a faint sense of familiarity. After exchanging a few blows, Shu Xun, who had an excellent memory, began to form a suspicion, so he decided to test it.
Qing Kong was the first native they had encountered upon arriving in this world and he had countless connections to Gray’s existence. This left a deep impression on Shu Xun. Additionally, the seemingly unresolved relationship between Qing Kong and Mu Yang made Shu Xun feel a bit sentimental. This sentiment deepened into a sigh once he confirmed that the person before him was indeed Mu Yang.
As a Judicator, Mu Yang had risked his life to infiltrate the Main Temple. What was his purpose? Besides the prophecies, the Main Temple was likely to hold information related to the invaders. Mu Yang had come seeking information on the invaders, who were also known as the Transformed.
“Hello, Mu Yang. My name is Shu Xun. I’ve had some contact with Qing Kong.”
The young man’s gentle voice had a comforting quality to it. Mu Yang wasn’t surprised that Shu Xun knew his name since even if Qing Kong hadn’t mentioned it, it wouldn’t take much effort to find out. The mention of Qing Kong’s name brought a flicker of unreadable emotion to Mu Yang’s eyes. He didn’t know, nor did he dare to imagine, what kind of person he might be in Qing Kong’s mind. Mu Yang extended his hand to shake the boy’s. “Hello.”
Though the two had many questions they wanted to ask, time was pressing. Once they confirmed there was no danger between them, they knew they couldn’t afford to waste time on conversation. Both turned their attention to the bookshelf and, with unspoken understanding, began searching from opposite ends, moving toward the center.
With their level of evolution, having a photographic memory wasn’t difficult for either of them. Besides, Shu Xun had brought along a recording device to quickly capture the contents of the books. In just a few minutes, they had already flipped through the entire bookshelf. During this process, Mu Yang paused on one book for quite some time, clearly finding the information he had been searching for.
Just as they finished, lights outside the temple began to approach, accompanied by sounds of battle. It was obvious that others who had also infiltrated the Main Temple had been discovered by the priests and the fighting was steadily spreading in their direction. Without hesitation, Shu Xun and Mu Yang swiftly moved toward the exit.
As soon as they stepped outside, they barely managed to take two steps before running straight into the priests! The entrance to the temple was usually highly restricted, and only under special circumstances would so many people be present. Leading the group of priests was none other than Meng Muyu.
Shu Xun’s heart skipped a beat, but his expression remained unchanged. His spirit sword swiftly slashed through the air, deflecting an incoming attack. Mu Yang was already locked in combat with another priest. In close combat, Judicators were stronger than priests, so despite being outnumbered, the priests couldn’t easily overpower Mu Yang.
Meanwhile, Meng Muyu had already engaged Shu Xun in battle. Inside the temple, sword light and holy light constantly clashed and flickered. Not just here, but with the involvement of other infiltrators, the entire Main Temple had descended into chaos.
This turbulence had been building up for too long; now, the storm had begun, and the upheaval was inevitable.
Inside the temple, Mu Yang’s strength was beginning to wane. His movements were becoming sluggish, and the flexibility of his actions was decreasing. His sword began to tremble slightly. Noticing this, Shu Xun frowned—something was wrong with Mu Yang. His decline was faster than expected. Shu Xun dodged another blade of holy light, then deflected Meng Muyu’s staff with a swift strike of his sword.
The priests had initially wondered how Shu Xun could hold his own against Meng Muyu. But their confusion only lasted a moment, as the white-robed youth’s agile, elusive figure was nearly impossible to catch. His sword, with its strange design, cut cleanly into the ground with each casual swing, leaving deep, neat gashes. That alone shocked countless onlookers.
As time passed, Mu Yang’s condition worsened and the priests quickly seized on his weakness. After a few more exchanges, Mu Yang was injured, and his mask was knocked off.
The moment Mu Yang’s face was revealed, the temple fell into a terrifying silence. Mu Yang was famously known for his strength and talent across the continent. No one had ever imagined that this brilliant Judicator would sneak into the Main Temple!
The shock froze everyone for a moment, but the standoff didn’t last long. Suddenly, a massive gray wolf leaped out from the darkness, creating a break in the battle. In a blink, the attackers had lost their targets. By the time they regained their senses, the two people and the giant wolf had already disappeared from the temple.
The priests quickly reacted, splitting up to pursue them outside the temple.
The disturbance inside the Main Hall soon spread throughout the city. The Judicator army rapidly mobilized, securing every exit in the city. The once-silent Zhu Si City was instantly awakened and lights gradually began to flicker on.
By this time, Shu Xun and his group had silently returned to the tavern, using formations and talismans to avoid detection. As the three of them climbed through the window into their room, they weren’t surprised to find Lie Yang pacing anxiously, while Gray and Xing Kong sat at the table. Clearly, they had been awakened by the commotion in the city.
Seeing Shu Xun and Ye Jian return safely, Lie Yang stopped in his tracks, his expression relaxing slightly before he sat heavily at the table, his face stern. Although he knew that unexpected situations were sometimes unavoidable, the fact that Shu Xun and Ye Jian had taken such risks still made him worry, especially since he had no idea what was going on. “So you’ve decided I’m just going to win by doing nothing? Well, thanks a lot, you two!”
Shu Xun patted Lie Yang on the head to calm him down, just as he was about to explain the sudden events. But before he could, Lie Yang’s expression went blank, and he slowly turned his head to stare at Shu Xun. Gray and Xing Kong had the same reaction. A moment later, the room erupted in laughter.
Lie Yang pointed at the top of Shu Xun’s head, laughing so hard that tears nearly fell. “Hahaha… Was your hair hit during the fight? Hahaha…”
Gray’s face turned bright red as he struggled to speak. “It’s… quite… unique…”
Xing Kong reached up to touch his own hair and then let out a sigh of relief.
Shu Xun casually conjured a water mirror and caught sight of himself inside it.
The youth had an extraordinarily handsome face, his eyes warm and gentle as usual, with a smile that naturally radiated warmth. However, on top of his head, his wavy hair had an unusual and stubborn style. Due to its voluminous nature, it was unevenly loose, making it look as if a bowl of noodles had been placed on his head, and it was perfectly straight!?
Shu Xun: “…” Why had he transformed his whiskers into bangs back then? And why was the position of that one strand so perfectly placed? More importantly, he had been running around most of Zhu Si City with this hairstyle?
Lie Yang, sitting at the table, was nearly laughing himself into a stupor. “Good thing I didn’t go; you’ve been beaten up so badly…”
Before Lie Yang could finish his sentence, Shu Xun slapped him on the back of the head, causing Lie Yang to crash face-first onto the table.
Lie Yang instantly jumped up, covering his nose. “Why did you hit me?”
Shu Xun had transformed into a fluffy little creature, agilely jumping onto the table. He stretched out his tiny paw and held it in front of his mouth, signaling for silence. “Lower your voice or we’ll be found by the pursuers. I’m doing this for your own good.”
Lie Yang: “…” Can’t you come up with a more credible reason?
The fluffy little creature seemed to understand what Lie Yang was thinking and said earnestly, “To deal with you, that reason is sufficient. If I say something more profound, you won’t understand it anyway.” After saying this, it spread its little paws in a gesture of helplessness.
Lie Yang nearly jumped up, reaching out to give the fluffy creature a good shake. But the little creature nimbly turned around and climbed up Ye Jian’s arm in one breath, then plopped down on Ye Jian’s shoulder. Seeing Ye Jian’s cold gaze, Lie Yang sheepishly withdrew his hand but still made a threatening gesture toward the fluffy creature. The response from the little fluff was to leisurely stroke its beard.
Just as Lie Yang was about to speak, footsteps echoed outside, seemingly belonging to the Judicator army, which was searching every residence in Zhu Si City. Everyone turned their attention to the door. Shu Xun quickly formed a few hand signs with his tiny paws, then took out materials from his spiritual space and set up a small array in the room, signaling Mu Yang not to move.
The search proceeded quickly; after all, the Judicators were powerful and they had confidence in their judgment and observational skills. With Shu Xun’s array in place, the Judicators left without finding anything of note.
Once the Judicators departed, the atmosphere in the room became oddly silent. Shu Xun dismantled the array and set up several others to prevent sounds from escaping the room.
It was clear that Mu Yang was not someone who enjoyed initiating interactions with others. After briefly introducing himself, he fell silent. Most people reacted calmly to Mu Yang’s presence, except for Gray, who displayed obvious hostility. The usually shy and introverted Gray was unusually sharp when faced with Mu Yang, his cold eyes resembling blades. Although he harbored no killing intent, they exuded an unwavering toughness that could never soften.
Mu Yang naturally noticed Gray’s attitude but didn’t mind. He stood coldly to the side, waiting quietly.
The fluffy creature perched on Ye Jian’s shoulder opened its little paws, revealing a rolled-up note that appeared in Shu Xun’s palm. “This is what Meng Muyu gave me during our battle.” Shu Xun had fought with Meng Muyu, partly because he judged that Meng Muyu hadn’t yet achieved his goal and needed to stay in the Main Temple. Moreover, he understood that if Meng Muyu had any information to convey, there was nothing better than a battle to achieve that in plain view.
As Shu Xun had expected, after several chance encounters in Zhu Si City, Meng Muyu must have started plotting to relay information. Thus, the moment they clashed, he passed the information to Shu Xun.
Shu Xun was just about to unfold the note when he suddenly paused, wrinkling his little nose. “Is that a smell of blood?”
