I'm Already the Richest Man, Why Did My System Just Arrive?

Chapter 184: Chapter 135: ”Ghostly Realm Qixin Town” and ”Post Station Ascetic Monk

Chu Susu’s Blood Crows circled overhead.

In the distance, six Ravens suddenly noticed the three riders galloping through the wind and snow. Their harsh caws echoed endlessly.

In the woods, six black figures simultaneously followed the direction of the Ravens’ warning, cutting through the blizzard and rapidly approaching.

”Brother Zheng, you have to be—”

Chu Susu was about to warn him again, to tell the Mighty Man not to underestimate his opponents from Ye Weiyang, even if they were only from the Twenty-Eight Constellations. But just then, the Mighty Man ahead of her flicked his wrist, and a glint of cold light shot forward.

Chu Susu blinked.

She felt like the Mighty Man had done something in that instant.

But it also seemed like he’d done nothing at all.

Because by the time she finished blinking, the Mighty Man’s fingers were already holding that strangely shaped Flying Saber again.

Chu Susu blinked again, letting the horse jostle her up and down.

In the span of a blink, the Flying Saber had flown out and returned to the Mighty Man’s hand.

In Chu Susu’s vision, it was as if a gray bolt of lightning had ricocheted twelve times, piercing the six Ravens and six people almost simultaneously.

POP.

The six Ravens froze mid-air at the same time, exploding into blossoms of blood.

In the forest, the six black-clad figures also erupted into six blossoms of blood.

At a glance, amidst the swirling wind and snow, it looked as if twelve crimson plum blossoms had suddenly bloomed in the vast whiteness. The scene was tragically beautiful, so exquisite it took one’s breath away.

”...careful.”

A moment later, a stunned Chu Susu was unseated, thrown high into the air by her horse, and came crashing back down. Only then did she belatedly finish her sentence.

The Mighty Man nodded. ”Okay, got it.”

The crisis was over before it even began. Without turning his head, Zheng Xiu spoke, then paused slightly before adding, ”Thanks.”

Chu Susu had been thoroughly disciplined by the Mighty Man, and she had been speaking to him with extreme caution throughout their journey. She was especially apprehensive knowing the Mighty Man’s poor impression of the Incompleteness Tower. She was afraid that one wrong word would provoke his anger, leading to her being brutalized once more.

The incident in the cave, where the Mighty Man had nearly strangled her to death, had clearly left a deep psychological scar on Chu Susu.

The Mighty Man’s sudden gentleness in thanking her made Chu Susu feel uneasy. She wondered if her single word had made him misunderstand, thinking she was the one who had leaked their location and brought Ye Weiyang’s assassins down on them.

’This is so hard.’

Her heart in a knot, Chu Susu kept her mouth shut, not daring to say more.

”Whoa~”

The three of them pulled on their reins, bringing the horses to a halt. Zheng Xiu, carrying the scroll on his back, entered the woods.

Chu Susu and Ruchen naturally followed close behind.

Scattered about the woods, within a hundred-pace radius, were five corpses and a bloody, severed arm.

As for the Ravens, not a trace of them remained.

”Hiss.”

Ruchen looked at the nearest corpse and instantly sucked in a cold breath laden with snowflakes.

A Night Guard lay on the ground, a bloody hole one finger wide and three fingers long in his forehead. It passed straight through to the back of his skull, and a red and white substance oozed from the wound with a soft squishing sound.

It looked like savory tofu pudding drizzled with red bean sauce—delicious.

Chu Susu stared at the wound, utterly shocked.

’Is this really a wound that a fucking little Flying Saber could leave?’

”Hiss...”

”Hiss!”

”Ah, hiss!”

Ruchen kept sucking in cold breaths as he walked, so much so that his lungs began to hurt.

Everyone’s wounds were identical. The most miserable one had been pierced through along with a tree; the back of his head was pressed tightly against the trunk as if he’d been hung up high, a smile still lingering on his face.

Zheng Xiu, however, stopped in front of the bloody, severed arm. A trail of blood and hasty footprints stretched deeper into the woods, disappearing into the wind and snow.

Chu Susu came up behind the silent Zheng Xiu, suppressed her shock, and asked hesitantly, ”Should we give chase?”

The severed arm left on the snowy ground had a cloud pattern on its cuff, with a star hidden within the clouds.

The one who escaped was one of the Twenty-Eight Constellations.

Surprise flickered in Zheng Xiu’s mind.

’Whatever big move I conjure now, I’m not even sure of its power or effect before I unleash it. The only thing I can be sure of is a ”massive” enhancement.’

’A moment ago, the [Surprise Cage] rolled [Form Two] and [Tracking], with the move yet to be determined.’

’Judging by the result, it was ”Jing Hong” paired with [Tracking]. This time, the massive enhancement wasn’t to ”Jing Hong’s” power, but to its speed.’

’A Flying Saber with maxed-out speed was like a bolt of lightning, ending the battle in the blink of an eye.’

’To survive a max-speed ”Jing Hong” by sacrificing an arm... this unknown Constellation has some skill.’

Zheng Xiu coolly raised his eyes and looked in the direction of the blood and footprints. After a moment of thought, he shook his head. ”No need.”

The reason was simple.

First, Zheng Xiu was using Divine Travel as [Zheng Shan] this time and hadn’t brought the [Tracking] Trait.

The heavy snow would soon bury the Constellation’s tracks. As the saying goes, don’t pursue a desperate foe. Without knowing the details of the enemy’s Miracle Technique, rushing after them could easily lead to an ambush.

Second, Zheng Xiu’s objective had been very clear. His Flying Saber had initially targeted the six Ravens in the sky. Each Raven could act as the eyes of a Crow Fosterer, so destroying them was the top priority. As for the dead Night Guards, they were merely caught in the aftershock of the attack and died tragically as a result.

If Zheng Xiu had targeted the member of the Twenty-Eight Constellations among the six from the start, they would never have escaped the self-guiding, tracking slice of Jing Hong.

”Brother Zheng, please don’t misunderstand. I had nothing to do with our location being leaked.”

Chu Susu seemed genuinely frightened, her voice weak with lingering fear as she offered the clarification.

Although the statement sounded like a guilty person protesting their innocence.

But she was truly afraid the Mighty Man would attack again without a word of warning.

Zheng Xiu, however, acted as if he hadn’t heard her. He swayed and leaned against a tree, closing his eyes.

Seeing this, Chu Susu froze for a moment. Just as she was about to obediently step forward and support him, Zheng Xiu, who had swayed twice, slammed a palm against the tree trunk and pushed himself upright. He looked back at Chu Susu and said calmly, ”It has nothing to do with you. They must have guessed our route north and cast a wide net. We’ve already entered the great web laid by Ye Weiyang. If we continue north, we’ll only run into more of their Miracle Masters.”

Hearing this, Chu Susu breathed a sigh of relief.

”What are you so nervous about?”

Zheng Xiu looked at Chu Susu with a half-smile.

Chu Susu shook her head vigorously and forced a smile. ”I am merely worried about the treacherous and unpredictable road ahead.”

”Let’s go!”

After a moment’s thought, Zheng Xiu returned to his horse and mounted it.

This time, Zheng Xiu didn’t dare to travel along the main road. Since Ye Weiyang had already made their arrangements, continuing on the main road would be like walking straight into their encirclement. Back in General Town, Zheng Xiu had deliberately pretended to injure Yue Yan precisely to sever the connection between ”Zheng Shan” and ”Zheng Xiu.” In reality, this connection had never been concretely proven by anyone. Within the Zheng Family, besides Yue Yan, no one had ever personally seen this ”Zheng Shan” character.

As long as Yue Yan understood the stakes, dissociating Zheng Shan from the Zheng Family wouldn’t be difficult. It was common knowledge that the Zheng Family had only one heir per generation. His father, Zheng Haoran, had no siblings and was all alone in the world, and the same was true for Zheng Xiu.

This ”Zheng Shan” who had appeared out of nowhere might have caught Ye Weiyang’s attention, but the world was full of strange and wondrous things. If the Zheng Family flatly denied it, no one had any proof that ”Zheng Shan” had any blood ties to them.

The matter of his identity wasn’t a huge problem.

The three of them rode into the mountains, carefully avoiding populated areas.

Along the way, they could faintly see black Ravens circling and surveying the distant sky. It was just as Zheng Xiu had expected: Ye Weiyang had long since figured out the ”Mighty Painter’s” northern route, laying an inescapable net along his path, waiting to catch the dragon in the jar.

The journey through wind and snow was arduous, the mountain paths treacherous.

Along the way, as dawn approached, Zheng Xiu found a secluded spot, built a campfire, and rested to drive away the cold.

Ruchen used a small bowl he carried with him to melt snow over the fire, sharing the water among the three of them to quench their thirst.

Ruchen hadn’t said much on the journey. He seemed to be worried about the safety of the old Monk at Yunliu Temple.

”You can go back, you know.”

Zheng Xiu came to stand before Ruchen. He looked at Ruchen’s bald head, which gleamed like a lightbulb in the firelight, and spoke.

Ruchen put his palms together. ”This Little Monk is indeed worried about Master’s safety. But now, Brother Zheng and Susu... Sister Susu are in a life-or-death situation, and Donor Feng Bei’s fate is also unknown. Since Master told this Little Monk to escort you, this Little Monk will follow Master’s instructions and see you to a safe place. Otherwise, this Little Monk will be filled with guilt and know no peace for the rest of my life.”

He used to call Chu Susu ”Susu,” but after she revealed her true age, Ruchen had no choice but to change it to ”Sister Susu.”

After speaking, Ruchen squeezed his eyes shut and bowed his head, presenting the back of it to Zheng Xiu, his voice filled with sorrow.

”I’m not dead yet!”

The back of Ruchen’s head looked just like a wooden fish—smooth and round, and also like one half of a butt.

You could tell Ruchen’s words came from the heart.

But Zheng Xiu didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. He curled his knuckles and rapped them on the back of Ruchen’s head.

THUNK.

The back of Ruchen’s head really did produce a dull, resonant thud, just like a wooden fish.

The gesture was meant partly as a joke.

But in the next moment, a jolt went through Zheng Xiu. He stared in disbelief at Ruchen, who was still bowing his head in vexation.

[You have discovered a new Ghostly Realm: Qixin Town.]

[You have discovered a new Post Station. Destination available: ”Post Station · Ascetic Monk · Renchen · Unnamed”.]

[You have not received permission to enter the Post Station.]

[You cannot stay at this Post Station.]