GRMFBS CH265

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Zhan Yan gave Matthias a long, serious lecture, advising him not to use those “spells” ever again.

If there were no ghosts around, it might be fine, but if there were spirits nearby, annoying them with his clueless-foreigner antics could bring Matthias a world of trouble. Matthias, actually being quite open to advice, nodded obediently and asked, “I won’t use them anymore. But why? I thought the spells worked pretty well.”

They worked all right… The four little ghosts on the map had been turned from green icons to stressed-out yellow ones.

Zhan Yan decided that when he got back, he was going to investigate exactly who taught Matthias those lines! Even in this day and age, people usually had some level of respect or caution regarding the supernatural. Teaching a foreigner to say “Hello, I’m a foreigner” as a joke was one thing, but teaching him that kind of trash-talk was malicious—unless the person who taught him was a staunch, die-hard materialist.

Zhan Yan frowned. “Who was that friend of yours?”

Matthias, still a bit tipsy and buzzing from his “spell” success, said, “Do you want to meet him? I’ll send you his contact info.”

Zhan Yan muttered while “driving,” “Meet him? Of course, I have to meet him.” The moment I get that info, I’m recommending him to the Zhenke News Agency! If he’s a true materialist, he won’t fear the test; if he’s a fake, I’ll let him experience what it’s like when his worldview is shattered.

The four little ghosts had literally helped them push the car all the way to their destination. Zhan Yan felt a bit bad; he’d have to offer them a stick of incense as thanks when he got the chance—he didn’t have any on him right now.

The two checked into the farmhouse for the night. After getting the semi-drunk Matthias settled, Zhan Yan bought some gasoline from the farm owner to ensure they wouldn’t stall again tomorrow.

That night, Zhan Yan entered his system backup interface to work on his jigsaw puzzle as usual. It was nearly finished; he figured he’d be done in a few days. Once complete, he should be able to find the horn of Di Ting.

After working on it for a while, he checked the time—Gu Jiancheng’s call was due in a few minutes. Zhan Yan exited the backup interface and waited for the phone to ring.

One minute passed. Two minutes passed. Fifteen minutes passed. Zhan Yan checked his phone again—yep, it had been a while. Why hasn’t Xiao Gu called? If he doesn’t call soon, I’m going to fall asleep.

He checked his Gossip System. Ah, it’s a critical moment for the Dawn World to integrate into the Reincarnation Cycle. Gu was too focused to use his shadow clone ability.

Zhan Yan snapped to full alertness and began searching for relevant gossip to see what was happening. Infinity hadn’t given up on causing trouble, but fortunately, the defenses here were strong, and everything ended smoothly. In the middle of it all, Gu had managed to send a message letting him know he couldn’t call that night.

In the Dawn World, the Little Cat Wan Yan successfully “borrowed” some soul-repairing energy. He yawned, and a tiny drop of candle-tears drifted out of his body.

“Mee-woo.” Wan Yan was so sleepy his eyes were tearing up. So sleepy.

Zhan Jinli caught him, and Wan Yan curled up in his arms and fell asleep. Gu Jiancheng stared at him, checking Wan Yan’s condition. “How is it?”

Zhan Jinli: “Recovering. Hard to say how much of him will come back.”

Gu Jiancheng nodded and caught the drop of Candle Dragon power. “Do you still need this?”

Zhan Jinli glanced at it. Wan Yan had used the Candle Dragon power to recover his memories earlier, but now that his soul was being repaired, he could carry those memories himself. He didn’t need it anymore. He shook his head.

Gu Jiancheng: “Then I’ll take it.” I remember the ‘Approaching Science’ department needed this—though it’s meant for the Wan Yao Alliance.

Zhan Yan did a quick search in the Encyclopedia. The recovery from the Dawn World helped, but it still didn’t solve the core problem. So, he still had to find the horn.

Zhan Yan reflexively opened the system backup to finish the puzzle. Suddenly, a rooster crowed outside.

Ah… it’s already 4:30 AM.

Only after he relaxed did he realize how exhausted he was. He’d unknowingly stayed up almost the entire night. He shut down the Gossip System. Can’t do it, I’m done. Gotta sleep…

He slept until noon, only waking up because a worried Matthias was shaking him. He’d had less than eight hours of sleep. He washed his face and felt refreshed.

The farmhouse had a vegetable patch where guests could pay to pick and cook their own food. Matthias was fascinated by this and dragged Zhan Yan along, chattering about “fairy rings” and “sprites” as they picked vegetables.

Matthias: “Yan, I heard that in your country, plants can turn into spirits. Can vegetables turn into spirits?”

Zhan Yan paused. That was a new angle he hadn’t considered. “Over here, transforming into a demon usually requires long-term cultivation. Most vegetables get eaten long before they reach that age, right?” Most were annuals or biennials anyway—not enough time to cultivate.

But Zhan Yan was curious now. He decided to use his network.

Char King: “Do any vegetables cultivate into demons?”

Put Down the Grapes: “Sure. Some even go off to become agricultural professors.”

Puyang Xia popped into the Cultivator Conference group chat—which had been renamed to: “Xiaoqiu Peak 12th Illusion Conference, September 20th.”

Puyang Xia: “@Ground_Three_Immortals_One_Flower, did you finish researching that new variety of giant potato yet?”

Zhan Yan found two more “Ground Three Immortals” in the group: an Eggplant Spirit and a Green Pepper Spirit. Puyang Xia had already secured a basket of giant potatoes for him.

Matthias, now carrying a basket of vegetables with mud smeared on his face, sighed at Zhan Yan. “Yan, I’ve chased many supernatural events, but I’ve only ever seen the real ones here with you.”

Zhan Yan thought: That’s only natural, otherwise the Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau would be out of a job.

That evening, the two were grilling meat in the farmhouse courtyard, mosquitoes kept at bay by coils. Out in the countryside, the stars were brilliant. Old-fashioned umbrella lamps lit up the yard, and thin wisps of smoke drifted through the air. Cicadas, crickets, and frogs provided the soundtrack. Zhan Yan was flipping skewers when his phone rang—it was Gu Jiancheng.

Zhan Yan glanced at his watch. Xiao Gu is calling three hours early.

“Matthias, can you flip these skewers? I need to take a call.”

Matthias, happily babbling in his broken Chinese: “Okay, don’t worry, my barbecue skills are super good!” (He’d learned from the guy who taught him to play Mahjong.)

Zhan Yan gave him a thumbs-up and hunted for his earbuds. Gu Jiancheng heard the wind in the bushes, the crackling of charcoal, and the distant hum of insects over the line.

“Yanyan, are you outside?”

Zhan Yan: “Yeah, Matthias is here—my mom’s business partner, the foreigner we ran into at ‘Big Heart’ last time. I’m out with him.”

Gu Jiancheng: “Huh? Isn’t school starting soon?”

Zhan Yan: “Yeah, he said he wanted to travel to my school with me. Foreigners don’t really get the scale of our country—at first, he even suggested we cycle there!”

With Matthias’s stamina, if he actually cycled to the school, 10% of the semester would be over.

Gu Jiancheng felt a twinge of jealousy: “I could have done that too…” If I’d known Yanyan wanted to travel to school, I could have gone!

Zhan Yan put on his earbuds. “We’ll be at school the day after tomorrow.”

Matthias’s cheerful voice came through the phone: “Yan, the meat is ready! Top-tier!”

Gu Jiancheng: “Yanyan, I’m ready too. Top-tier.”

Zhan Yan burst out laughing. “What do we do about that? I can’t eat you.”

Gu Jiancheng let out a pathetic whimper. “Go eat your barbecue, then. I’ll call you again tonight.”

As they talked, Zhan Yan scanned Gu’s gossip feed.

[Deep Shadow Gu Jiancheng expressed regret that Ghost King Wan Yan hadn’t fully recovered. He asked Ghost King Lin Yuan, “Is your divine ability still unable to restore him?”]

[Ghost King Lin Yuan, Zhan Jinli, felt that Deep Shadow was trying to ‘roll’ (pressure/compete with) him again and became highly vigilant.]

Zhan Yan: Pfft. That psychological trauma Xiao Gu left on his brother…

After hanging up, Zhan Yan pulled up a small interface on his system to keep working on his puzzle. Matthias was grilling corn, adjusting the heat with one hand while snacking on a skewer with the other. He looked up, saw Zhan Yan coming back, and held out a skewer. “Come, have a taste!”

Matthias’s grilling skills were actually pretty decent, though the seasoning was a bit heavy-handed on the salt. He drank his beer, ate his skewers, and insisted on telling ghost stories.

Zhan Yan: “You’re not scared out here in the middle of the night?”

After two beers, “Matthias the Brave,” having completely forgotten how terrified he’d been by Tian Youcheng, waved his beer and bragged: “I’m not scared at all!” Mostly because I have a professional by my side, right?

So, he started telling stories. Zhan Yan countered with a few ghost stories of his own—like how you shouldn’t look back if you hear someone calling your name at night, or how people mysteriously disappear under tree shadows… He ate, told stories, and worked on his puzzle all at once.

After a while, Zhan Yan felt thirsty. “I’m going to go grab some drinks.”

Matthias nodded and went back to the grill. The drink crate was under a tree. Zhan Yan walked over, bent down to grab a bottle, and realized the puzzle only needed one last piece. He stood up, mentally dragged the final piece into place.

Starlight-like lines traced the shape of a four-legged mythical beast with a dragon’s head. Zhan Yan stood up, intending to get a better look, but the image suddenly began to expand. The beast moved, stepping right out of the system interface. A galaxy of stars blossomed behind it, every trail perfectly blending into the night sky.

Zhan Yan looked up at the stars, his pupils dilating, his breath hitching.

The cicadas stopped. The crickets went silent. The wind froze in the starlight.

The beast stepped out of the illusion, bowed its head, and touched its forehead to Zhan Yan’s. For a fleeting moment, Zhan Yan felt as though he were the beast, melting into the cosmos.

A tiny flame ignited, sparking a unique point of light in the sea of stars.

Zhan Yan felt a force pulling at him. A realization dawned: I’m being taken.

Zhan Yan: ! How is this puzzle self-starting?!

Where am I going? Is this the place where Di Ting’s horn is hidden? How long will I disappear for? I hope it’s not for days! If a living person suddenly vanishes… that’s a disaster! No, no, I can’t just disappear like this! Stop!

The Candle Dragon’s tiny flame had ideas of its own. The beast made of starlight was covered in a soft layer of candlelight. The world before Zhan Yan’s eyes began to blur rapidly.

…I can’t fight it. What do I do? What do I do?

In a flash of inspiration, Zhan Yan threw the completed beast puzzle into his decryption tool. The unreadable code cracked instantly. There was no time to read the full results, so he sent the decrypted message to Deep Shadow as fast as he could.

The next second, he was gone.

Matthias waited and waited. Ten minutes passed, and Zhan Yan still hadn’t returned.

“Yan?” he shouted, but there was no response. “Yan? Yan? Where are you?”

He grabbed his skewers and beer and walked over. The drink crate was still under the tree, but Zhan Yan was nowhere to be found. A cool night wind blew past, and Matthias sobered up instantly, a cold sweat breaking out across his skin.

Help! Help! The ghost stories are real! The professional got dragged away by a ghost!