Chapter 70

Wu Wang knew exactly what this thing was.

The White Tiger Eye, a treasure passed down through the generations of the Wenren family. Legend had it that only a woman acknowledged by the White Tiger Eye could become the true Family Head of the Wenren family. If it did not grant its recognition, only an acting Family Head could be chosen for that generation.

Without a doubt, Wenren Bai was the chosen Family Head of the current generation.

Twenty-four years ago, Wenren Bai was only seven years old and had little presence. The most prominent figure in the family back then was a rare male descendant—Wenren Qi, especially because his ability wasn’t the hereditary Metal Control, but Electricity Control. However, the good times didn’t last long. Outsiders didn’t know the details, only that Wenren Qi was suddenly expelled from the family and vanished without a trace.

But as Wenren Bai’s mortal enemy, Wu Wang had thoroughly investigated the matter. Not only had Wenren Qi committed acts that brought shame upon the family, but upon defecting, he had also taken one White Tiger Eye with him.

This act made him a sinner of the entire family, directly resulting in Wenren Bai, at the young age of twelve, being forced to accept only one White Tiger Eye when she underwent the acceptance ritual. It was rumored that every Family Head chosen by the White Tiger Eye had a short lifespan, and after age thirty-five, would lose their sanity under its influence, eventually dying of madness.

As for accepting only one, who knew if there would be side effects? Well, Wu Wang prayed every single day for Wenren Bai to die sooner.

But now…

Wu Wang looked at the White Tiger Eye in the box, and a sweet smile slowly bloomed on her face.

The White Tiger Eye could only exert its true power upon choosing a master. But without a master, its most basic functions of warding off evil and revealing demons were already extremely useful. At the very least, it was unheard of for any evil creature’s disguise to fool the White Tiger Eye.

And most importantly of all, controlling the White Tiger Eye in her own hands would hinder Wenren Bai.

Wu Wang liked this gift very much. So much so that her opinion of Yin Yu improved considerably. The fact that she would give her the White Tiger Eye meant she was at least not an enemy.

“You’ve truly helped me immensely,” Wu Wang tightly clutched the box, murmuring.

Yin Yu chuckled softly. “I look forward to the day Miss Wu becomes the most powerful of the God’s Favored.”

Wu Wang became even more certain. “So, you are not one of the God’s Favored.”

The God’s Favored referred to ordinary Participants who, after entering the Dark Realm Space, were chosen for various reasons by the source power controlling the dungeons. They believed this source power originated from the ancient fallen Gods, and they were the inheritors of the Gods’ power.

After becoming one of the God’s Favored, they could control the corresponding dungeons, offering the souls and bodies of Participants to the remnant will of the Ancient Gods while reaping benefits for themselves. But many ordinary Participants didn’t know that among the God’s Favored, there was also competition and slaughter. The ancient God’s power was split into countless fragments. The God’s Favored could obtain un-inherited power fragments by continuing to participate in other dungeons, or by competing and plundering within their own ranks.

Ultimately, naturally, the God’s Favored who gathered the most power fragments became the strongest.

This power could be brought into reality, an incredibly tempting prospect.

Many of the God’s Favored believed that someone who devoured all the power fragments of an Ancient God would have the chance to become a true god in this present generation, where spiritual energy was waning.

The emergence of the Dark Realm Space was perhaps the remnant will of the Ancient Gods selecting an inheritor.

Faced with others’ speculation, Yin Yu didn’t agree. The last purpose for her visit today remained.

That was to take Zhu Ming away.

Thus, she rose and took two steps toward Zhu Ming, saying, “If there’s nothing else, I’ll take my leave.”

Wu Wang knew she couldn’t stop the other, so she didn’t waste any useless effort. Out of consideration for the White Tiger Eye, she even proactively said a word of permission.

However, Bai Lianxue, who was resting weakly, suddenly lifted herself up. “Wait, you can’t just take them like that.”

Yin Yu turned back, questioning. “Mm?”

Even though she had just witnessed Yin Yu’s true form with her own eyes, Bai Lianxue, a spiritual-type Awakened, quickly soothed her own state. She explained slowly, “We hadn’t planned on letting them leave. If they are to go, their memories of my sister and me must first be erased. Miss Yin, do you wish for our victory?”

Yin Yu smiled. “That is unimportant. I look forward to all the changes the future holds.”

“But you sent the White Tiger Eye,” Bai Lianxue said, forcing herself to stand. “This proves that you are at least not our enemy. That being the case, I still hope you can agree to this request. We don’t want the experiment to become known to the Management Bureau too early; it would hinder my sister.”

If Yin Yu looked forward to her sister becoming the ultimate god, then she shouldn’t want the Management Bureau to interfere too much.

Bai Lianxue didn’t know if she could persuade Yin Yu; she was taking a gamble.

And Yin Yu didn’t even consider it. Upon hearing the request, she immediately agreed: “Whatever you wish.”

The speed of her agreement was so fast that Bai Lianxue felt dazedly that even if she had made the request without any persuasive words, Yin Yu would have agreed anyway.

Because she didn’t seem to care much about these matters. What she cared about was probably only Zhu Ming herself.

“Thank you for your generosity.” Bai Lianxue walked toward Zhu Ming.

Just as her hand was about to touch Zhu Ming, the woman on the ground suddenly snapped her eyes open. “Wait!”

So Zhu Ming had been pretending to be unconscious all along!

Zhu Ming coughed twice and looked at Yin Yu. “Why don’t you help me out, just take me away directly? I won’t report you.”

Looking at Zhu Ming, Yin Yu’s smile seemed to deepen slightly. “But I’ve already agreed to Miss Bai’s words. Mingming, you woke up too late.”

Zhu Ming: “…Wait a moment!”

From their several prior encounters, Zhu Ming now understood Yin Yu quite well. In her desperation, she couldn’t think of a better reason to persuade Yin Yu, knowing she was unlikely to escape having her memory erased.

“Yin Yu, you seem quite knowledgeable about the Dark Realm Space.” Zhu Ming, being a wise person who adapts to circumstances, suppressed the anger of learning about Yin Yu’s connection with the so-called God’s Favored and her betrayal of the Management Bureau. She endured and asked, “Then can you tell me, in Tang Qiaoqi’s case, will she continue to enter the Dark Realm Space?”

Yin Yu pondered for a moment, then asked in return, “Do you want her to?”

Zhu Ming said coldly, “She’s just an unlucky ordinary person. She shouldn’t be dragged into this.”

The woman dressed in a low-key, everyday outfit then smiled gently and said, “Then she won’t.”

That was reassuring. Otherwise, Tang Qiaoqi had absolutely no means of self-protection and would lose her life sooner or later.

…

Zhu Ming woke up in the middle of the night, alongside Tang Qiaoqi, in an abandoned teaching building at the university.

She sat up abruptly, clutching her head with a pained groan. Memories gradually resurfaced. She remembered now—after meeting Tang Qiaoqi on campus, they’d encountered the Wolf Demon, been led into the Demon Market, gone through a strange dungeon… and afterward, she’d muddled through completing the task, and everything ended.

Probably, the mental disturbance caused by the red lantern’s light at the end of the dungeon had left her subsequent memories blurry. Zhu Ming could no longer remember how she had brought Tang Qiaoqi out, or how they’d left the Demon Market and returned to the school.

But both of them were safe now. That was enough.

Zhu Ming subconsciously avoided pondering certain details.

She vigorously shook Tang Qiaoqi awake. The girl mumbled a few times, clutched her head, and scrambled up. Looking around, she was instantly terrified awake by the dark, shadowy tree figures.

“We’re back, we’re back!”

Tang Qiaoqi excitedly grabbed Zhu Ming’s shoulder. “We really made it back alive!”

Her memory was even less clear than Zhu Ming’s. Although she remembered her shameful words and actions after being brainwashed, after being knocked unconscious by Zhu Ming, everything that followed was a complete blank.

But no matter what, Zhu Ming had brought her out, and she was immensely grateful and overjoyed.

Zhu Ming got up, brushing the dust from her pants. Reaching into her pocket, she found her phone long dead.

She pulled the excited Tang Qiaoqi up and hurried outside, instructing, “You’ve been missing for days. Find a way to cover it up when you get back to the dorm. Ordinary people getting too involved in this kind of thing isn’t safe. If someone reports you missing to the police and you can’t handle it, you can call the Management Bureau’s hotline for help. I’ll send you the number when I get back.”

Tang Qiaoqi gripped her arm tightly and asked, “Then will I keep entering this kind of strange place in the future? If I have to go in again, Boss Zhu, can you help me?”

Zhu Ming answered subconsciously, “You’re an ordinary person. This time was just an accident. As long as you don’t actively seek contact afterward, you shouldn’t continue entering dungeons.”

“That’s a relief.” Only then did Tang Qiaoqi completely breathe a sigh of relief. She could be a spectator watching a fantasy TV drama, but she absolutely didn’t want to experience it firsthand.

Late at night, with a cold wind rustling, the two women, clothes disheveled, arrived at the ground floor of the female dormitory, drawing frequent glances from the dorm matron.

“I’ll leave you here, won’t go inside. Get some rest early.” Zhu Ming said considerately, “Don’t worry about the money. You can even transfer it to me tomorrow morning.”

Tang Qiaoqi’s touched heart immediately reined itself in a bit. “Oh, got it.”

Tang Qiaoqi returned to her dorm, and Zhu Ming rushed back to the studio, speeding through the night on her little three-wheeled cart. Back home, she plugged in her dead phone. Turning it on, she saw several missed calls from the Management Bureau and Wenren Tu, along with a screen-flooding barrage of messages from Wenren Tu.

Zhu Ming briefly recounted her experience. The presence of a fiend on the university campus, one that had likely committed previous crimes, was a serious matter and had to be reported.

Although the fireworks Zhu Ming set off that night had also drawn the Management Bureau, they hadn’t encountered anyone directly, so catching the demon remained difficult.

Zhu Ming described the unfinished building that served as the entrance to the Demon Market, hoping to give the Management Bureau some leads.

At the same time, Zhu Ming learned from Tang Qiaoqi that her three roommates no longer had any memory of that night’s events. Their memories had been erased, as if wiped clean.

As she described it, Tang Qiaoqi’s expression showed her hair-raising fear. “Isn’t that terrifying? To actually erase someone’s memories directly. Doesn’t that mean you could do anything without being discovered? Luckily, my memory wasn’t erased.”

The morning after Tang Qiaoqi’s return, she received a call from the Management Bureau. Learning she had entered the Dark Realm Space, the Bureau judged she had the potential for Awakening and decided to preserve her memories to prevent her from being unprepared should she enter the Dark Realm Space again.

“By the way, Boss Zhu, that abandoned teaching building has been sealed off,” Tang Qiaoqi said. “Students aren’t allowed near it now. What do you think is there that attracted the fiend? And that night, what were you staring at in the tree for so long?”

Speaking of this, Zhu Ming couldn’t help clicking her tongue. “It was just you stumbling into luck blindly. That tree was only a step away from developing intelligence. So, when I went over, I actually believed you for a moment. There’s an ancient and cruel method of healing among demons: plundering the Demon Core of another demon. It must have been a coincidence. The Wolf Demon was injured and wanted to use that almost-intelligent tree to heal, and by chance, it ran into us.”

Since the number of demons in modern times was sparse, the Management Bureau mostly protected them. But firstly, there was a mental gap between humans and demons, each thinking ‘those not of our kind must have different hearts.’ Secondly, both races had their extremists and scum. Friction had never been rare, so not all humans and demons could coexist peacefully.

Originally, under the Management Bureau’s efforts, there had been peace for a long time, at least on the surface. But now, with the emergence of the Dark Realm Space, it was like poking a hornet’s nest of those idiots again.

Tang Qiaoqi was a little worried. “The demons won’t retaliate against us, will they?”

Zhu Ming wasn’t concerned. “You can rest easy. For at least half a year, your school will have Management Bureau people secretly protecting it.”

“That’s good. By the way, Boss Zhu, are you still busy lately?”

Zhu Ming curled up on the sofa. “So-so. It’s too cold to go anywhere.”

Tang Qiaoqi perked up enthusiastically. “So, are you very free?”

Zhu Ming said warily, “Not that free, really. I’ve got a lot on my plate. See, I have to clean, exercise…”

“I’ll help you clean!” Tang Qiaoqi patted her modest chest eagerly. “When you have time, could you teach me…”

“Teach you what?”

Tang Qiaoqi extended her right hand. Her tightly clenched fingers suddenly released. “Pyrokinesis!”

Zhu Ming was silent for a moment, then shooed her out of the studio.

Learning something so uncool at such a young age—playing with fire, really.