Zhou Jiayu’s first reaction to Meng Yangtian’s words was that he was lying. However, Meng Yangtian seemed to have anticipated Zhou Jiayu’s thoughts and told him that he had sent a video file for Zhou Jiayu to watch before they talked again.

Zhou Jiayu wanted to say more, but Meng Yangtian had already hung up the phone.

The next moment, the phone chimed, and Meng Yangtian indeed sent Zhou Jiayu a website link. Zhou Jiayu stared at the link for a long time before finally getting out of bed and turning on his computer.

With freezing hands, he painstakingly typed the URL into the address bar, then took a deep breath and pressed Enter.

The screen changed, and a video appeared.

Zhou Jiayu prayed inwardly, but he already had a vague premonition of something ominous. He slowly moved the mouse and clicked the play button.

The screen came to life. Due to insufficient light, the picture wasn’t very clear, but Zhou Jiayu recognized Lin Zhushui at a glance. Lin Zhushui seemed to be standing in a low cave. “Lin Zhushui!” The person speaking was surprisingly Jiang Zhu, who said fiercely, “Are you crazy? Do you know what you’re doing?”

Zhou Jiayu couldn’t see Lin Zhushui’s expression, but he could feel the coldness in his tone. Lin Zhushui said, “Hand it over.”

Jiang Zhu furiously replied, “I told you I don’t have it! Do you really think I’m lying to you? If you want to find that thing, you need to go to Meng Yangtian…”

Lin Zhushui coldly said, “You really don’t have it?”

Jiang Zhu said yes.

Lin Zhushui’s voice sounded again, this time as cold as ice, carrying a bone-chilling chill: “Then you can die.”

Then came a tragic scream. Zhou Jiayu saw a dazzling flame ignite in the dark cave. The flame attached itself to Jiang Zhu’s body, instantly reducing him to ashes.

Jiang Zhu and Meng Yangtian had so many lives on their hands; dozens of young people had lost their lives because of them, from the mermaid bones in the school to the live-streaming incident. His fate didn’t seem to elicit pity, but Zhou Jiayu still held his breath—because he had never seen Lin Zhushui with such a strong murderous intent.

Just a few words and he struck, with no intention of bothering with Jiang Zhu further.

If the video had ended there, Zhou Jiayu wouldn’t have worried about Lin Zhushui. But even though the screen was dark, he could still hear slow footsteps, as if Lin Zhushui was slowly moving forward.

Zhou Jiayu held his breath, watching carefully, afraid of missing any detail.

Just when he thought the screen would remain dark, light entered his vision again, but this time the light source was very peculiar—Zhou Jiayu saw a flowing red river.

The river was deeply embedded beneath a cliff, filled with flowing magma. Lin Zhushui walked on the high cliff beside the magma. His face was cast in a dim white by the faint light. Zhou Jiayu wondered if it was his imagination, but he saw that Lin Zhushui’s lips were completely devoid of color.

“Sir!” At this point, Zhou Jiayu’s heart felt as if it had been squeezed. He even involuntarily reached out, wanting to touch Lin Zhushui on the screen. It had been almost three months since they last met, but Zhou Jiayu had never forgotten Lin Zhushui’s appearance.

Lin Zhushui, who was walking forward in the video, suddenly turned his head and looked back, as if he had heard something.

And the next scene plunged Zhou Jiayu into an indescribable panic. He heard a loud bang from the video, followed by violent screen shaking. The rocks under Lin Zhushui, who was standing on the cliff, began to collapse piece by piece. Although the picture was very dark, Zhou Jiayu clearly saw Lin Zhushui seemingly fall from a high place…

Zhou Jiayu felt a chill all over his body, and his hands began to tremble uncontrollably. He swallowed hard, forcing himself to calm down, and watched the video several more times.

“Is this video fake?” Zhou Jiayu discussed with Ji Ba. “It doesn’t look fake at all…”

Ji Ba agreed with Zhou Jiayu.

Zhou Jiayu said, “So Meng Yangtian was telling the truth? Sir is really in trouble?” He stood up from his chair and paced anxiously around the room, his hand involuntarily going into his pocket and clutching the cowhide paper. “What does Meng Yangtian want to do?”

No one could give Zhou Jiayu an answer, except the person on the other end of the phone.

Finally, Zhou Jiayu dialed Meng Yangtian’s number again. He looked at the computer screen and heard Meng Yangtian’s voice from the other end.

“Zhou Jiayu.” Meng Yangtian said with a slight smile, “It’s good to hear from you again.”

“What’s that video all about?” Zhou Jiayu was anxious, and his tone became uncontrollably harsh. “Meng Yangtian, what do you want?”

“Me? Actually, I’m also forced to do this.” Meng Yangtian didn’t mind Zhou Jiayu’s anger. He sighed as if he were truly the victim. “So, do you want to save Lin Zhushui? His situation isn’t good right now…”

“What do you want me to do?” Zhou Jiayu gritted his teeth.

Meng Yangtian said, “Zhou Jiayu, you don’t have to be so hostile towards me. I’ve never been your enemy.” He burst into laughter, filled with a crazed joy. “It’s not what I want you to do, it’s whether you want to do it yourself… I can tell you Lin Zhushui’s current location, but you must promise that you can only come alone.”

Zhou Jiayu gripped his phone tightly. If Meng Yangtian were in front of him, he probably would have punched him in the face, but at this moment, he could only endure Meng Yangtian’s provocation: “Speak.”

Meng Yangtian said, “Do you still remember the Meng family’s ruins you visited last time?”

Zhou Jiayu said, “I remember.”

The mudslide had completely covered the Meng family’s ruins. Zhou Jiayu had seen photos taken a month after the mudslide; all the buildings were gone, the mountain valley was almost completely filled with mud, and some sparse weeds had begun to grow on the surface, making it look quite desolate.

“Lin Zhushui is there now,” Meng Yangtian said.

Zhou Jiayu didn’t expect Meng Yangtian to give such an answer. Just as he was about to ask further questions, Meng Yangtian said, “Of course, the place he went to is quite special; most people can’t get in. It’s our Meng family’s burial ground. You go alone, and once I confirm your location, I’ll tell you the more precise spot.”

Zhou Jiayu said, “How can I trust you? What if you’re lying to me—”

“What if I lie to you?” Meng Yangtian’s voice was cold. “You can choose not to believe me and gamble whether I’m lying or not. Also, if you insist on secretly bringing people there, I can’t guarantee what will happen. If they die there, you’ll be their killer.”

“Okay,” Zhou Jiayu said. “I promise you, I’ll set off immediately—”

Meng Yangtian chuckled happily: “As expected of Mr. Lin’s disciple, you have guts. Well then, see you tomorrow.” After saying this, he hung up the phone without hesitation.

After ending the call with Meng Yangtian, Zhou Jiayu called Lin Jue and Lin Zhushui. As before, the calls showed that the user was out of service, which almost confirmed Meng Yangtian’s statement.

If Lin Zhushui was safe, he would never fail to contact Zhou Jiayu on New Year’s Eve to reassure him. Clearly, only being in a state where he couldn’t escape would cause Lin Zhushui’s communication to be cut off on such a special day.

“Are you really going?” Ji Ba sounded a bit worried. “What if Meng Yangtian is lying to you?”

Zhou Jiayu had already pulled out his bag and started packing. In response to Ji Ba’s concern, he simply said, “I can’t afford to gamble.”

Ji Ba fell silent.

Little Paper, who had been sleeping in the room, was awakened by Zhou Jiayu’s movements. It rubbed its eyes drowsily and softly asked, “Daddy, where are you going?”

Zhou Jiayu hesitated for a moment about whether to bring Little Paper, but then immediately remembered that the Meng family had died in a fire, and Little Paper was made of paper, so it was uncertain if it would be affected… Moreover, Little Paper was the last paper person, and Zhou Jiayu really didn’t dare to take that risk.

“Be good, Little Paper,” Zhou Jiayu coaxed Little Paper. “Daddy has something to do and needs to go out. Tomorrow morning, give this note to… Shen Yiqiong.”

Little Paper couldn’t read, and looked at the note from left to right, unable to understand it. But it vaguely sensed something, and timidly tugged at Zhou Jiayu’s sleeve, asking, “Daddy, where are you going? Can Little Paper come with you?”

“No,” Zhou Jiayu said, stroking Little Paper’s head. “It’s very dangerous there, Daddy can’t take Little Paper. And Little Paper needs to protect the ancestral tree behind the courtyard. Little Paper will rely on the ancestral tree to find a wife later.” He said this, a gentle smile appearing on his face.

Little Paper still didn’t want to let go, just staring at Zhou Jiayu with wide, pleading eyes.

Zhou Jiayu comforted it for a long time before it finally gave up the idea of coming along. Little Paper said, “Then Daddy promises Little Paper, you must come back.”

“Yes, I’ll be back,” Zhou Jiayu said with a smile. “I’ll come back with Big Daddy.”

Little Paper held the note Zhou Jiayu left for it and watched Zhou Jiayu leave the house with his luggage.

The train ticket had already been booked online. Luckily, it was New Year’s Eve, so hardly anyone was traveling, and the Meng family was in the Northeast, not a tourist area. So, after deciding to go alone, Zhou Jiayu quickly booked a train ticket for the early morning. He slipped out of the house with a bag. Of course, before leaving, he secretly went to the freezer where Lin Zhushui’s blood was stored and took all of it with him.

He hailed a taxi and headed straight for the high-speed rail station. He had considered taking a plane, but the snow was too heavy, and Zhou Jiayu feared flight delays would waste time, so he booked a ten-hour train journey, which should get him there just as evening fell.

In the taxi, Zhou Jiayu was so cold that he opened a bag of blood and slowly drank it. The blood was cold at first, but after passing through his throat and entering his stomach, it turned into a warm current. Zhou Jiayu felt a bit sleepy again. Fearing he would fall asleep, he pinched his thigh hard. The taxi driver in front noticed his movements and comforted him, “Young man, go to sleep. I’ll wake you when we arrive.”

Zhou Jiayu said gratefully, “Thank you, master.”

“Oh, what’s there to thank for? Where are you going on this New Year’s?” the driver said. “You look quite young, are you having a spat with your family?”

Zhou Jiayu smiled and said no.

“Then are you going home?” the driver asked again.

“No,” Zhou Jiayu said softly. “I’m going to find someone.”

“Oh, no wonder.” The driver also smiled. “Is it someone you like? Ah, it’s good to be young. It’s good to be brave when you meet someone you like…”

Yes, it’s good to meet someone you like… Amidst his chatter, Zhou Jiayu closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

Half an hour later, Zhou Jiayu was woken up by the driver, who said they had arrived at the station.

Zhou Jiayu rubbed his eyes, thanked the driver, and left the taxi with his bag. After passing through security, he quickly boarded the train.

The train slowly started, pulling away from the platform. Zhou Jiayu watched the surrounding lights fade away until everything was plunged into darkness.

On the train, Zhou Jiayu watched the video Meng Yangtian had sent him several more times. He prayed silently, hoping that everything was still in time.

The train traveled for eighteen hours, and Zhou Jiayu ate two boxed meals during the journey. Because he had been particularly fatigued recently, Shen Yiqiong and the others wouldn’t specifically wake Zhou Jiayu for breakfast, but would wait for him to wake up naturally and come down. Zhou Jiayu had told Little Paper that it was noon at 12 o’clock, and to show the note to Shen Yiqiong and the others then.

Little Paper was clearly very obedient to Zhou Jiayu. As soon as twelve o’clock arrived, Zhou Jiayu’s phone rang. It was Shen Yiqiong calling.

Zhou Jiayu answered and heard Shen Yiqiong’s exasperated voice, “Zhou Jiayu, where are you? What have you been doing—”

Zhou Jiayu said, “Calm down.”

“I can’t calm down! Come back now! Where did you go? What are you going to do?!” Shen Yiqiong was clearly incoherent. He was furious, asking a barrage of questions at a rapid pace.

Zhou Jiayu felt a bit of a headache listening to him and said to speak slower, that he couldn’t hear clearly.

But the next moment, Shen Yiqiong’s phone was snatched away. This time, it was Shen Musi’s voice, asking the same question, but in a much calmer tone: “Zhou Jiayu, where did you go?”

“I have something to do,” Zhou Jiayu said. “Don’t worry about me.”

Shen Musi angrily said, “Don’t worry about you? How can we not worry? Zhou Jiayu, how can you be like this? If something happens to you, how can we explain it to Sir?!”

Zhou Jiayu listened to these words, and after a long silence, he lowly squeezed out a sentence from his throat: “If something happens to me, Sir won’t have to draw blood anymore.”

At these words, there was complete silence on the other end of the phone.

“Thank you,” Zhou Jiayu said. “I’ve been very happy spending time with you all. Thank you.”

Shen Yiqiong started cursing again, but his curses soon turned into sobs. Little Paper’s sniffling could also be heard, asking, “Daddy, where are you going? Don’t you want Little Paper anymore?”

Zhou Jiayu listened for a while, then couldn’t bear it anymore, so he hung up and turned off his phone.

He knew this trip was risky, but he didn’t want to wait any longer. He was afraid Lin Zhushui would get into trouble because of him, afraid that he would become the tribulation in Lin Zhushui’s life.

He was already a dead man; even if something happened, it would just be repaying a debt.

Thinking this, Zhou Jiayu lay on his bunk and drifted off to sleep, but his sleep was not peaceful, filled with fragmented images. He saw nearly forgotten scenes from before his reincarnation, and every little bit of time he spent with Lin Zhushui after his reincarnation.

It was a dream like a revolving lantern. When Zhou Jiayu woke up, he found his face covered in tears. He got up from the bunk, wiped his face, and dried the water marks.

Because it was New Year’s Eve, the train car was empty, almost just Zhou Jiayu alone. He lit a cigarette, slowly smoking it, and said, “Ji Ba, the moon outside is really beautiful.”

Ji Ba said, “Yes.”

“It’s crescent-shaped.” Zhou Jiayu also smiled, his eyes curving. “I remember the first time I saw Sir drinking in the courtyard, the moon looked like this too.”

Ji Ba didn’t know what to say. Although it was a bird, sadness could be seen on its face.

“I really miss him,” Zhou Jiayu said, his last words for the night. “I miss him so, so much.”

The train finally arrived at the station, having experienced another sunrise and sunset.

Zhou Jiayu turned on his phone when he got off the train and saw that his phone had almost been blown up. The four people in the house had desperately tried to contact him, and the most recent call record was from half an hour ago.

Zhou Jiayu felt a little touched but did not call back, only sending a text message to report his safety before turning his phone off again.

At this point, he couldn’t go back; he could only take it one step at a time.

At this time, the continuous mountain range was already covered by thick snow. Looking out, trees and grass were all white, and the ground was covered with deep snow, enough to submerge his calves.

Zhou Jiayu bought some equipment in the nearby town and then went into the mountains alone, heading towards the Meng family ruins.

When he had gone to the Meng family ruins before, Xu Jian had guided the way. Now that he was going alone, it was indeed a bit strenuous. However, fortunately, there was only one path to the Meng family ruins. Following that path straight ahead was Zhou Jiayu’s destination.

Before going up the mountain, Zhou Jiayu drank another bag of Lin Zhushui’s blood. He was afraid the blood would freeze, so he kept it close to his body to protect it with his body temperature. Now, drinking it, he felt incredibly warm, and his body was filled with strength again, almost as if Lin Zhushui was by his side.

“I feel much better,” Zhou Jiayu told Ji Ba. He was very tired and slowly yawned, reaching out to rub his face hard to wake himself up. “How much longer until we get there?”

“Soon, probably,” Ji Ba said. “I remember the Meng family ruins aren’t too far.”

It wasn’t too far indeed, but that was for a normal journey. At this time, the sky was gradually darkening, and the road was covered with thick snow, making progress naturally inconvenient. Zhou Jiayu pushed himself to hurry, but still couldn’t reach his destination before dark.

Snow started to fall again. In such cold weather, Zhou Jiayu didn’t dare to rest halfway. He put his phone back on—this time not to answer Shen Yiqiong’s calls, but for fear of missing Meng Yangtian’s messages.

As night fell, the white snow reflected a faint glow. Zhou Jiayu’s footsteps crunched on the snow, and he exhaled white breaths as he trudged forward step by step.

Finally, just before midnight, Zhou Jiayu arrived at what Meng Yangtian called the Meng family ruins. He looked down at the small town in the mountain valley, which had been filled by the mudslide. There was no trace of buildings left, only the path where the mudslide had flowed, now covered with snow, leaving behind a desolate flatness that made one sigh.

Zhou Jiayu panted heavily, pulled out his phone, and dialed Meng Yangtian’s number. The phone rang three times before it was answered. Zhou Jiayu said, “I’m here.”

“I know,” Meng Yangtian said lightly. “I see you. You came alone, that’s good…”

Zhou Jiayu asked, “How do I get in?”

Meng Yangtian said, “Follow them.”

Zhou Jiayu was wondering what he meant by “follow them” when he heard rustling sounds from the nearby woods, like some kind of wild beast. His heart tightened. He shone his flashlight in that direction, only to see strange figures slowly crawling out of the thick snow in the darkness—they were black charred corpses.

Although they were humanoid, these things could no longer be considered human. They maintained their charred posture, twisting their bodies and slowly walking towards Zhou Jiayu.

Although Zhou Jiayu had seen these things once before when he came here, seeing them again at such close proximity still startled him. He held his breath, his steps slightly retreating, wanting to distance himself from these things.

But fortunately, the charred corpses had no intention of getting close to Zhou Jiayu. They slowly turned around and started moving in another direction.

Zhou Jiayu clutched his phone and quickly followed.

“Hurry up,” Meng Yangtian said. “Zhou Jiayu, you don’t have much time left.” After saying this, he directly hung up the phone, leaving Zhou Jiayu with a busy signal that generated countless thoughts.

Zhou Jiayu once again felt that Meng Yangtian was truly a bastard.

Although the charred corpses walked in a particularly strange way, their speed was not slow, leading Zhou Jiayu deeper into the mountain valley step by step.

Zhou Jiayu struggled to keep up but gritted his teeth and persisted. At the same time, he was observing the charred corpses in front of him. There were about four of these charred corpses, all appearing to be male. They looked almost identical to the ones they had encountered last time they were here. However, as Zhou Jiayu looked at these corpses, he inexplicably thought of the black liquid Jiang Zhu had created. He always felt that there was an inseparable connection between the black liquid and these charred corpses. He guessed that if the black liquid were fully resurrected, it might take on the form of these charred corpses…

As Zhou Jiayu thought, he followed them a bit further. After rounding some scattered rocks, the view suddenly opened up. He seemed to have reached a rocky area, with no weeds, completely covered in thick dust.

The charred corpses suddenly stopped. Zhou Jiayu looked closely at where they were and found a hidden crevice, just wide enough for one person to pass through.

Is this it? Zhou Jiayu was wondering when he saw the charred corpses slowly squeezing themselves into the crevice.

“Are you really going?” Ji Ba became worried at this sight.

“Yes,” Zhou Jiayu said. “If Meng Yangtian really wanted to kill me, he could have done it by now. Why go through all this trouble?”

That was also true, but Ji Ba was still very worried. It knew it couldn’t persuade Zhou Jiayu, so it quietly shut up.

Zhou Jiayu gritted his teeth, took off his backpack, and began to try and enter the mountain crevice.