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

Chapter 342: Chapter 196: Sun Tribe

In the oasis.

There was not a breath of wind.

The moment before, the sky was still full of wind and sand. But the instant Zheng Xiu’s ”Finishing Touch” landed, the sandstorm ceased. The fine sand high in the air fell like a sandy rain.

For a moment, Zheng Xiu had the strange sensation that something had unstopped both of his ears.

The whisper of sand grains rubbing against each other mid-air, the sound of Xie Luohe’s breathing, the rustling of the two camels in the sandpit—every sound was crystal clear.

The world before him was brighter, as if Zheng Xiu had always been viewing it through a thin veil. Now, after he pushed open the seventh door of the Painter’s Path, that veil had been torn away, and the colors before him were far more vivid.

A look of astonishment crossed Zheng Xiu’s face. He reached out into the rain of sand, catching the fine grains.

A handful of sand piled into a small mound in Zheng Xiu’s palm.

”Congratulations.”

A soft sigh broke the silence. Xie Luohe smiled faintly; she seemed to know what had happened to Zheng Xiu.

”When a Miracle Master delves deeper into their Path and pushes open the seventh door, their five senses undergo an earth-shattering transformation. Only a Miracle Master who has opened the seventh door can draw closer to becoming a ’Mystic’.”

Zheng Xiu’s eyes flickered. Xie Luohe possessed both her own memories and those of Feng Bei, so she knew him inside and out. Now that she had seen through him at a glance, Zheng Xiu didn’t intend to hide anything. He shook his head gently and said calmly:

”But I’m already a ’Mystic’.”

Xie Luohe neither confirmed nor denied this. Instead, she asked, ”Do you have the unique ’birthmark’ of a Mystic on your body?”

Zheng Xiu leaned his head close to Xie Luohe, his warm breath ghosting across her face.

Xie Luohe froze for a second, then closed her eyes. Her long, moist eyelashes trembled, a deep anticipation hidden within.

”Feel this.”

Zheng Xiu wondered why Xie Luohe had suddenly closed her eyes and gone still in the middle of their conversation. Impatiently, he grabbed her hand and guided it to the lump on his forehead.

Xie Luohe realized she had misunderstood. She was mortified and annoyed, but her face remained as calm as still water. She dug her nail forcefully into Zheng Xiu’s forehead, leaving a bright red mark.

Zheng Xiu winced in pain.

’This vixen is brutally strong.’

Xie Luohe poked at it a few more times, then let out a soft sound of surprise. ”This is?”

”My Mystic birthmark.”

”Nonsense.” Xie Luohe pulled her hand back and chuckled. ”What kind of Mystic birthmark grows on the inside? It’s just a bony lump. How can that be a Mystic birthmark?”

”Then what about yours?” Zheng Xiu retorted. ’She can believe me or not,’ he thought.

Xie Luohe pointed to her right eye and blinked forcefully.

At that moment, the ”Mystic birthmark” in Xie Luohe’s right eye had faded and was no longer clear.

Zheng Xiu shook his head. ”I’m asking about *your* birthmark.”

Xie Luohe froze, her eyes widening. Her cheeks instantly flushed a deep, vibrant red, like a young maiden’s bodice.

It was the first time Zheng Xiu had seen such girlish coyness on Xie Luohe’s face. It startled him so much that he took two steps back, afraid she was about to pull one of her old tricks and stir up some strange new trouble.

”Hmph, I’m not telling you.”

It seemed Xie Luohe’s birthmark was in a strange place. Zheng Xiu tactfully decided not to press the issue.

’Maybe it’s on her butt...’

’Who knows.’

Xie Luohe averted her gaze and awkwardly changed the subject. ”Perhaps the reason you haven’t become a true ’Mystic’ yet is because you’re missing something.”

Zheng Xiu scoffed. ”Missing something? Am I supposed to meet some destined benefactor who’ll leave three marks on the sole of my foot?” he replied, half-joking and half-serious. But his laughter died on his lips. Xie Luohe’s words had reminded him of how Feng Bei truly transformed into a ”Mystic.” His smile vanished, and he fell into deep thought.

Back then in Baili Village, Feng Bei had shed a layer of human skin to become a true ”Mystic.”

’Do I have to shed a layer of skin, too?’

Zheng Xiu rubbed the lump on his head, feeling conflicted.

’That... will be difficult.’

Xie Luohe carefully cupped Zheng Xiu’s face, her cautious movements as if handling a fragile treasure that could shatter at the slightest touch. In a low whisper only the two of them could hear, she murmured, ”If it were possible, I would hope you never become a ’Mystic’.”

”Let’s just let things take their course.”

Whether or not he was a Mystic, or when he might become a true Mystic like Feng Bei, was not up to Zheng Xiu. Ever since he entered the prison, the world had changed dramatically. He was surrounded by all sorts of strange and bizarre events. The Miracle Masters of his Zheng Family were developing one after another. As the helmsman of the great ship that was the ”Zheng Family,” Zheng Xiu had long since lost control of his own destiny.

In truth, Zheng Xiu had long since discovered that he, as a ”Mystic,” was very different from the other Mystics he had seen.

But discussing it now with Xie Luohe led to no conclusions, no answers to his questions.

Zheng Xiu could only continue to delve deeper along his Path. Perhaps he would find the answers there.

All the answers.

Xie Luohe solemnly put away the painting.

Looking at the woman in the painting, Xie Luohe’s face was filled with an unconcealable joy, which was then fleetingly replaced by a flicker of sorrow.

While the Bird Cage had not yet dissipated, Zheng Xiu went into the sandpit and hauled out ”Xiaohe” and ”Xiaomo.” Zheng Xiu was surprised to find that after the abruptly halted sandstorm, there was something new in the two camels’ eyes.

The temperature gradually cooled. The clear, cold moonlight spilled out, blanketing the dunes. Only at night did the Great Desert finally reveal a different color to the world—an icy blue that, once seen, could never be forgotten.

They had a simple meal of dry rations and boiled a kettle of hot water. After sating their hunger, Xie Luohe and Zheng Xiu leaned against the two camels, snuggled together under a warm cloak, and fell asleep in harmony.

HAAAH... HAAAH... HAAAH...