Chapter Seventy-Four: Only Three Remain

After he finished speaking, Zhang Yang opened his eyes. Cold sweat covered his face; it seemed his recollections had dragged him back into that terrifying dreamscape, forcing him once more to confront scenes he wished never to see again.

“So that’s what happened. How strange,” Qin Xiaochuan remarked after listening to Zhang Yang describe the dream. He found it all rather baffling, but seeing Zhang Yang’s sweat-soaked face, he hurried to comfort him. “But it’s nothing, really. Just a dream. Go wash your face—you’re drenched! Once you’re done, let’s get some breakfast. We’ve got an important match today.”

“Mm...” Zhang Yang wiped his face with the blanket, clearing away the sweat. Suddenly, as if remembering something, he turned to Qin Xiaochuan and asked, “By the way, have White Shadow and Feiyan come back? They disappeared yesterday—no idea where they ran off to.”

“No,” Qin Xiaochuan shook his head. He found it odd as well—where could those two have gone? It had been a whole day and night and still no sign of them. Could they have run into trouble? With that thought, Qin Xiaochuan said to Zhang Yang, “Hurry and get dressed. I’ll go check if the masked fighter is back.”

With that, Qin Xiaochuan stepped out of Zhang Yang’s room. Just as he was about to knock on the masked fighter’s door, he looked up to see her standing in the living room, watching him. Perhaps, like him, she had heard the startled cry from Zhang Yang’s room and rushed out to investigate. Maybe out of propriety, she hadn’t entered his room. Seeing Qin Xiaochuan emerge, she relaxed and sat down on the sofa nearby. It seemed she cared a great deal about both Qin Xiaochuan and Zhang Yang. Ever since joining Qin Xiaochuan’s team, this masked woman had always stayed close to him, almost as if she were guarding him. Aside from explaining in the woods yesterday why he couldn’t fire spirit bullets, she seemed intent on keeping certain things hidden, and had barely spoken to them before or since.

Soon, Zhang Yang emerged from his room, dressed. He was surprised to find Qin Xiaochuan and the masked fighter sitting in silence on the sofa. Since her explanation the day before, the masked fighter hadn’t spoken at all—clearly she had secrets to keep, but as long as she wasn’t some spy planted by their enemies, he didn’t particularly care whether she spoke or not.

When Zhang Yang came out, Qin Xiaochuan rose from the sofa and addressed him and the masked fighter, “Our second match is this morning. Even though we don’t know where White Shadow and Feiyan have gone, the three of us will win this match regardless. Come on, let’s get breakfast. Afterwards, we’ll head to the arena. What a fine day it is! I feel great, like I could take on five people at once!”

At Qin Xiaochuan’s bravado, Zhang Yang rolled his eyes. “Please, you could take on ten, right?”

“Alright, alright, let’s go—time to eat!”

Qin Xiaochuan slapped Zhang Yang on the shoulder and slung an arm around him as they headed for the front door. When they opened it, they were met by a handsome young man standing at the threshold, a pacifier in his mouth, looking utterly ridiculous. He looked about thirteen or fourteen. For someone that age to still be sucking on a pacifier—wasn’t he afraid of being laughed at? Despite the absurdity, Qin Xiaochuan froze, as if suddenly recalling someone, and pointed at the young man in astonishment, “You... you’re... the Little King of Hell?!”

“Add ‘Lord’ to the end of that, still so disrespectful,” the young man replied calmly, knowing Qin Xiaochuan had recognized him. Though he wore a different face in the mortal realm, his voice was the same boyish one Qin Xiaochuan had heard when they first met. No wonder—though he was the successor to the King of Hell and nearly three thousand years old, by the standards of the spirit world, he was still an infant. To reach adulthood would take at least ten thousand more years. To avoid drawing unnecessary attention in the human world, he had temporarily made his body appear older. Otherwise, if someone with ill intentions tried to kidnap him, and his father found out, he’d be in for another spanking—what an injustice that would be.

“The pacifier? That voice?”

“Indeed, it is I!”

“It really is you, Lord Little King of Hell!” Qin Xiaochuan’s jaw dropped in disbelief as the young man confirmed his identity. This dashing youth was actually the Little King of Hell. He never would have guessed. But recalling the King’s adorable appearance in the underworld, he could now spot the resemblance. Hadn’t the Little King of Hell always been busy with official duties in the netherworld? What was he doing here now? The last time he’d shown up, a major crisis had erupted in the underworld, nearly costing Qin Xiaochuan his life at the hands of Stone Demon and Feiyan. Was there another crisis now? With that anxious thought, Qin Xiaochuan hurriedly asked, “Is there a new mission?”

“No, nothing like that. First, though, congratulations on your victory in the first round!”

“Thanks, Lord Little King of Hell... but, your pacifier?”

“Mind your own business!”

“Hehe, nothing, nothing, just curious!”

“By the way, is this really your body? Or a double? Not bad, honestly.”

“Hands off, brat! You’re pinching me! If you don’t stop, I’ll scream,” the Little King of Hell snapped, prying off Qin Xiaochuan’s annoying fingers and rubbing his reddened cheek. “Actually, this is what I looked like as a teenager. To avoid unnecessary trouble, I used magic to age my appearance a bit. But I came to see you in person for a reason.”

“Oh? What reason?”

“Do you remember the spirit beast’s egg I gave you before your resurrection?”

“What egg?”

“That look—are you imitating that ridiculous author? How can you forget something so important...” Watching Qin Xiaochuan struggle to recall, the Little King of Hell was nearly driven mad. How could he forget something as crucial as incubating a spirit beast’s egg? Typical—this fool always forgot everything after he came back to life, a classic case of a big head with nothing in it.

“...?”

“Enough, enough, stop thinking. Let me remind you: before your resurrection, I gave you a spirit beast’s egg to incubate, remember?”

“Let me think...” After staring at the Little King of Hell for a while, Qin Xiaochuan suddenly exclaimed, “Oh! Right, right—I remember! In your Hall of Judgment, you gave me an egg, didn’t you?”

“Exactly!”

“But I was worried I’d accidentally break it, so I gave it to Xia Dan. Why, did it get broken? That’s not my fault!”

“...Ugh!” The Little King of Hell couldn’t even get angry at such a brainless subordinate. “No, because you were resurrected early for special reasons, Xia Dan gave the egg back to me. I put it in the incubation chamber, where it’s hatching now.”

“I see. So, Lord Little King of Hell, why are you here this time?”

“Oh, nothing much. I came to the human world partly to watch the Dark Martial Arts Tournament, and partly to visit some old friends.” As he spoke, the Little King of Hell sneaked a glance at the masked fighter behind Qin Xiaochuan. When she coughed, he quickly continued, “Also, I wanted to update you about the spirit beast’s egg. Since it hatches by absorbing the power of your soul, once it’s gathered enough of your spiritual energy, it’ll break free from its shell. A few days ago, the egg in the incubation chamber started cracking, so I came in person to let you know...”

“Really? I’ve always looked forward to seeing that!”

“...I’m not sure I believe you...”

“It’s true, truly, absolutely true...”

Seeing Qin Xiaochuan nod so earnestly, the Little King of Hell could only shake his head in resignation and continue, “By the way, has Master Jinghai taught you any special techniques? Judging from your last match, it seems he hasn’t passed on the secrets of celestial arts yet, has he?”

“The secrets of celestial arts? Not really. He’s just had me practice the basics of the Spiritual Wave Fist—like focusing all my power on a single point, training my concentration, and compressing my internal energy. That way, I can unleash it all at once over a short distance for tremendous destructive force. But I haven’t mastered the more advanced techniques yet. Sometimes I accidentally blow myself up, haha.”

“I see,” the Little King of Hell mused. Master Jinghai’s training methods—could it be he wanted Qin Xiaochuan to grow through real combat? If so, the elimination rounds were the perfect opportunity. Every spirit detective in the past had grown through battle. It seemed Master Jinghai hoped the Dark Martial Arts Tournament would help Qin Xiaochuan grow quickly—truly thoughtful. But such forced growth had its dangers, like how Qin Xiaochuan couldn’t use spirit bullets now. If he rushed things, it could become a heavy burden. With that, the Little King of Hell waved to Qin Xiaochuan, Zhang Yang, and the masked fighter, “Alright, I have things to attend to. You go ahead—I’ll find you later.”

With that, the Little King of Hell hurried off, busy with some new task. Being a spirit world official was no easy job—the work never seemed to end. Watching his retreating back, Zhang Yang couldn’t help but ask in confusion, “Xiao... Xiaochuan, that guy is the Little King of Hell from the videotape?”