Translator: Transn Editor: Lucas
Upon hearing the girlsâ exclamations and whispers, Jiang Fei and other two boys looked to the side and saw the collapsed walls and rubble.
âThere was a building...â the tall boy with the bangs murmured blankly after a short while.
He remembered clearly that when he entered this alley with Jiang Fei and Jin Li, they had seen a building beyond this wall. As to the exact number of stories, he hadnât counted. In any case, the building was neither high nor low.
The reason why he was so impressed was that he had seen the words âTo be demolishedâ written in red paint on the wall. He could have joked about it, but he didnât want to hurt Jiang Feiâs feelings.
But now, this building had collapsed just as they were having a barbecue.
Oh my God, itâs haunted!
They stared at each other for a few seconds. Jin Li, the sweet girl in a Korean style coat, said with a shiver,
âLetâs- letâs go.â
Such a sturdy building demolished without a word. Was it due to a ghost or some other paranormal activity?
Or was it an illusion? We all imagined it and the building didnât actually exist. No, no. This thought was far more terrifying!
âRight. Letâs get out of here!â Guo Ning, the plump girl, said, trembling.
Something like this has never happened to me before!
Seeing that the girls were scared, Li Zhiguo, the tall boy with the bangs, became less timid and more eager to show his masculinity. He looked at Jiang Fei and Guo Ningâs boyfriends, saying, âItâs so mysterious. Letâs go and find out whatâs going on over there.â
I, Iâm scared... Jiang Fei wanted to reply. But in front of the girls, he was too embarrassed to admit that he too was scared, so he stammered, âCome on, Guo Ning and Jin Li are afraid. They certainly donât want to stay. Letâs go.â
âRight, right!â Jin Li nodded her head quickly. Guo Ning also tugged on her boyfriendâs hand and signaled him not to go.
âYou cowards... Iâll go by myself!â Li Zhiguo felt so manly as he boldly walked into the ruins.
Liu Zhenrong didnât want to be outdone in front of his girlfriend, so he took a deep breath and shouted,
âWhoâs a coward? Thereâs nothing to be afraid of!â
âDonât go!â Guo Ning threw her hands around him while on the verge of tears, but Liu Zhenrong waved her back, saying, âDonât worry. Itâs OK.â
Seeing the two girls becoming more and more worried, Jiang Fei was filled with dread and made an excuse, saying,
âDonât be afraid. Donât be afraid. Iâm here with you!â
Jin Li and Guo Ning gave this chubby figure a grateful look. They drew nearer to him to feel more secure and looked across the ruins with curiosity and anxiety, expecting Li Zhiguo and Liu Zhenrong to find something and at the same time hoping that he would find nothing.
The open field around the ruins was covered with rubble and debris. Li Zhiguo and Liu Zhenrongâs legs trembled, but they walked slowly to hide their fear, looking left and right.
â...â Li Zhiguo stopped abruptly and pointed to a short distance away, saying, âGrilled eggplant!â
His voice was full of surprise.
Liu Zhenrong turned his eyes at that direction and saw a broken lunchbox knocked over by large stones. He also saw golden fried peas, a roasted eggplant that still smelled delicious,and red oil that hadnât completely frozen.
This food seemed like it was made recently!
Li Zhiguo and Liu Zhenrong glanced at each other. They thought of Jiang Feiâs classmate from high school who was wearing very little and the view of his back as he left with a packed grilled eggplant.
From then till after they had finished eating, the only takeaway was the grilled eggplant!
âIt canât be...â Li Zhiguo and Liu Zhengrong stared blankly at the pile of rubble from the building, wondering if Jiang Feiâs high school classmate was buried under them.
Little Zhao swallowed his saliva with great difficulty, saying, âAsk him.â
âOkay.â Li Zhiguo took two steps forward and picked up the food-bag and walked out with the dusty grilled eggplant.
This time, Jiang Fei was busy enjoying the wonderful feeling of being surrounded and trusted by the girls. He was racking his brain, looking for a better way to comfort the girls, who were frightened of the unknown.
âMaybe it was demolished through the night?â he said.
âItâs impossible. To demolish a building, one needs to blast it. Weâre so close, but we heard nothing.â Guo Ning disagreed directly.
Jin Li also shook his head, saying, âEven if they didnât blast it, they had to use large machinery. Where are the traces? It couldnât have happened that fast!â
Just a barbecue!
They were getting more afraid as they ruled out a range of possibilities. They came closer to Jiang Fei, who, while enjoying the sensation, trembled with fear.
âJiang Fei, Jiang Fei. Look at this.â Li Zhiguo and Liu Zhenrong stepped over the collapsed walls, shaking the food-bag in his hand.
âGrilled eggplant? What happened?â Jiang Fei was completely confused.
Did the grilled eggplant turn into a human?
Damn it. It is acceptable for a raw eggplant to turn into a human, but for a grilled eggplant to turn into a human didnât make sense!
In his reverie, Li Zhiguo said quickly, âIt was grilled recently. Look, its oil hasnât solidified.â
âWhatâs wrong?â Jiang Fei asked, looking rather puzzled. Then he suddenly realized, âThe only one who ordered the grilled eggplant was Cheng! You mean he has something to do with the collapsed building?â
âRight, right, right! Did we not hear some noises when we were eating the barbecue? Although they were not very loud, we did hear them! Your classmate must have walked here at that time, at most until the entrance of the alley!â Jin Li remembered his auditory hallucinations and the whole thing suddenly dawned on him.
Liu Zhenrong urged Jiang Fei, âCall him now. Check on him to see if he is safe. He might be buried under the building. Call the police!â
âNo...â Jiang Fei couldnât figure out the reason why Lou Cheng had deviated into the building that had just been demolished, but he still took out his mobile phone and dialed the telephone.
A few rings later, the line connected and his familiar voice came through. âHello, Fatty Jiang? What happened? Why are you suddenly calling?â
Jiang Fei breathed a sigh of relief and blurted out, âIâm worried about you. After we had barbecue, we saw the building at the entrance of the alley collapse and there was a grilled eggplant there. So we were worried about you and thought that you were hurt.â
Guo Ning and the others listened to their conversation. They were all glad that Jiang Feiâs classmate was safe.
We were wrong...
On the other side of the line, there was a ten-second silence. Lou Cheng just smiled wryly. âSay sorry to my grilled eggplant for me.â
âReally? It was really you! Are you okay? How did the building fall?â Jiang Fei was startled and Jin Li and Li Zhiguo turned their heads sharply with eyes wide open.
The grilled eggplant was indeed Jiang Feiâs classmateâs?
What happened to him? What happened here?
âIâm good. Er, the building just collapsed. Well, I have something to do. I have to go,â Lou Cheng said evasively.
The call ended, leaving Jiang Fei looking at the ruins in a daze, Lou Chenâs words echoing in his head.
The building just collapsed, just collapsed, collapsed...
Does Lou Cheng have some connection with the collapsed building?
The building just collapsed... Guo Ning, Jin Li, and Li Zhiguo looked at each other in confusion.
Let alone how the building collapsed, just thinking that nothing stirred when the building collapsed filled them with fear and awe.
Just like ancient myths and legends!
Jiang Feiâs classmate is such a mystery!
They thought of what they saw before: the boy in a thin sweater and jacket, his clean and calm look, his retreating back with the packed grilled eggplant.
Then the memory of the building had become a dark pile of ruins.
...
After hanging up, Lou Cheng remained still for a while, recalling the call with his girlfriend about twenty minutes before.
âAh?â Yan Zheke froze for a moment and then asked in bewilderment, âBring a pair of your pants?â
âI had a fight with someone. My pants were torn,â Lou Cheng answered briefly.
As soon as he said that, he found the sentence to be full of ambiguities and he added, âSomeone set a trap and attacked me. My jeans were too tight for producing force, so they ripped.â
âAre you okay?â Yan Zheke burst out.
Why had someone trapped Cheng?
Due to growing up in a peaceful environment, she was completely confused.
âNot a big deal. Just some minor injuries. I think itâs a test, or someone wants to help me experience more life-and-death fights. There must be someone with Physical Invulnerability watching us nearby.â
Only Mighty Ones with the Physical Vulnerability could drown out the sound of a six-story building collapsing. Right?
If the opponent is a Mighty One with Physical Vulnerability, he would have killed me with one hand tied behind his back, so it canât be a malicious attack, plus my masterâs words. Itâs safe to ask Ke to come here. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Even if itâs true, Iâm enraged. Damn it, attacked by a killer on my way home without understanding why, anyone would be angry!
At that time, I thought I was in a life-threatening situation; I was frightened and anxious, afraid of dying in that building and never seeing mom, dad, and Ke again.
Does the man behind it have any idea how I am feeling?
Even though they did it with good intentions, itâs still unforgivable!
Iâll give you such a âtestâ later!
âHow can they do this? You have never asked for a test nor life-death fights to accumulate experience. Theyâre so mean, so hateful! Who did it? Iâll curse them! Iâm asking my grandparents now!â Yan Zheke got really angry.
âI have told my master. He will take care of this and asked me to step aside.â Lou Cheng comforted her.
âAll right... Let it go now, but they have to pay a price for it later. Iâm such a mean girl!â Yan Zheke was worried about Lou Cheng, so she did not inquire further and instead asked, â Cheng, are you sure youâre OK?â
âJust some minor injuries.â Lou Chengâs clothes were in tatters at the back, revealing somewhat torn flesh and several cuts caused by sharp objects.
Breaking down the wall was not that simple.
But it was much better than being hit directly by his opponent; therefore, the cell phone in his shirt pocket was neither broken nor lost.
âWhere are you? Iâm coming now.â Yan Zheke took a breath.
Her father was a doctor, so there were lots of gauze and dressings at home.
...
In the temple at the foot of Xiushan, Dong Shaoyang lay flat on his bed, eyes full of frustration and pain.
I have defeated many strong fighters over the years, but I almost died in the hands of a competition fighter, a fighter at the same rank as me.
If Zuihuo hadnât helped me, I would have been buried in those ruins.
Itâs so humiliating!
Divine Enchanter of Sin Flame stood beside him, saying in a calm tone,
âThis time, it was a test. Donât look down on the competition fighters...â
âAh?â Dong Shaoyang turned his head in bewilderment.
From the very beginning, they thought he would lose to Lou Cheng?