Chapter Sixty-Eight: Setting the Fire

Wu Xin spoke with ease, but upon hearing his words, I was utterly shocked.

If this was truly a formation, then everything we had just experienced—could it have all been an illusion?

At that thought, I instinctively reached into my pocket to feel for the Soul Capturing Pearl fragment. Thankfully, it was still there. I took it out.

The fragment, now, had lost its seven-colored glow. In my hand was a dark green glass bead, resembling the toys I used to play with as a child. I held it up to the sun; it was crystal clear, and inside, it seemed as though wisps of green silk floated.

I couldn’t help but sigh inwardly; all the suffering I’d endured was for this.

I knew this was only the beginning. There were still six fragments of the Soul Capturing Pearl left for me to collect. I had no idea what other dangers awaited me, or whether I could obtain them safely. Without the help of all these friends, I would have perished long ago.

Feng Zimo and Lin Weiyan leaned in, their eyes on the fragment in my hand. Lin Weiyan’s gaze was complex as she asked, “Brother Chu Yun, is this really a piece of the Soul Capturing Pearl?”

I nodded, confirming it was so.

Wu Xin sat up from the grass, looking at me. There was something strange in his eyes that caught my attention.

So I asked, “What’s wrong, Wu?”

Wu Xin shook his head, hesitating as if he wanted to speak but couldn’t.

I knew he must have something to say, but for some reason, he held back.

“If there’s anything, just say it,” I encouraged him.

Only then did Wu Xin reply in a quiet voice, “Do you remember the person lying on the golden stone?”

“Of course. Why did that person look exactly like me?” I replied.

In truth, I hadn’t needed Wu Xin to remind me; I would never forget. When I entered the stone cave, I had clearly seen that figure open his eyes.

Wu Xin shook his head and, after a long silence, suddenly asked, “Did you all suspect me back then?”

His question revealed that he’d seen through my doubts at the time, and I flushed with embarrassment.

The atmosphere grew awkward, but I didn’t hide the truth from him. I honestly told him about my suspicions and asked, “Wu, tell me—how did you suddenly become so powerful? Honestly, have you been hiding your strength all along, just to surprise us?”

At this, Lin Weiyan and Feng Zimo perked up, listening intently for Wu Xin’s answer.

Wu Xin cleared his throat with exaggerated seriousness. At first, I thought he was about to boast.

But unexpectedly, Wu Xin, too, blushed and said, “I’m really not that powerful. The only reason I could open the stone cave and find the Soul Capturing Pearl fragment was because a voice guided me.”

What did he mean by that?

Why hadn’t I heard any voice?

I stared at Wu Xin, baffled and astonished. “Why didn’t we hear it? What kind of voice was it?”

Wu Xin frowned. “The voice sounded a lot like yours. I suspect it was the person lying inside the golden stone.”

His words shocked me even more—my heart pounded in my chest.

Judging by Wu Xin’s expression, he wasn’t making this up or joking. His answer confirmed what I had witnessed: the person who looked just like me was, without a doubt, alive.

But why would he pretend to be dead? Why was he there at all? Most importantly, why did he look exactly like me?

A giant question mark formed in my mind, and even Lin Weiyan and Feng Zimo looked equally puzzled.

Yet, there seemed to be no answers. Suddenly, a bold thought crossed my mind—could that person be my past self?

But I quickly dismissed the idea. If he were truly my past self, then how could I exist if he hadn’t died? The thought was simply too far-fetched.

Still full of questions, I asked Wu Xin, “Why didn’t you say anything at the time?”

Wu Xin looked helpless. “I wanted to, but the voice wouldn’t let me. Didn’t you notice how strange I was acting?”

Good grief…

To be honest, I had noticed Wu Xin’s oddness and that was why I’d suspected him. But I hadn’t realized it was because of this. If I’d known, I would have questioned that lookalike thoroughly.

But it was too late for regrets now. As the saying goes, there’s no medicine for regret. If I’d known I’d wet the bed by sleeping, I’d have stayed up all night.

There was no going back. All I could do was take things one step at a time.

Still, I had a feeling that, one day, I would cross paths with that doppelganger again.

Time passed. We were all much better than before. Standing up from the grass, I looked at the pine forest before us—a place where our spells were rendered useless.

Leaving here was no simple matter.

We’d tried before; this place was like a labyrinth. No matter which way we went, we always returned to the same spot.

We tried several more times, but the result was always the same.

Even Wu Xin had no way out.

For a while, we were at a loss.

Standing idly, I suddenly remembered I’d grabbed a piece of golden stone when escaping from the cave. Oddly, once we were out, the stone had vanished. I searched myself from top to bottom, but it was nowhere to be found. Perhaps I’d dropped it in my haste?

What a pity, I thought. But I remembered Feng Zimo had taken a piece as well.

So I asked, “Feng, do you still have that golden stone you picked up?”

Feng Zimo froze, clearly having forgotten about it, too. Like me, he searched everywhere but found no trace of it.

Could it really be such a coincidence? He’d lost his as well?

Oh well…

I shrugged it off. If we’d lost it, so be it—maybe the thing couldn’t be brought out at all.

What mattered now was how to leave this place.

We’d tried every method we could think of, but still couldn’t escape the pine forest.

Just then, Wu Xin clapped his hands. “Did we forget something?”

At his words, I remembered as well. How had we overlooked it?

That being would surely know how to get out—after all, it was a tree spirit that had lived for over a hundred years.

So we headed for the spot where we’d met the old tree spirit.

But when we arrived, the place was empty. The old tree spirit was gone.

The spot where it had stood was completely deserted, without even a trace left behind. Even if it had moved, there should have been some sign. How could there be nothing at all?

This pine forest was growing more and more bizarre. Where could that old tree spirit have gone? Or had it never existed in the first place?

The more I thought about it, the more confused I became.

I was so frustrated I wanted to set the entire pine forest ablaze.

Yes! I thought to myself, perhaps fire was the way out after all.