Two months ago, an elderly couple traveled alone from S City, over a thousand miles away, to X City carrying spirit stones in search of their daughter. They also brought the people of X City the good news that spirit stones could defend against the aberrants.
Upon hearing this, the lord of X City immediately summoned the ability user squads to head to S City in search of spirit stones. Xiang Shenwan and Sheng Shuyue were members of the second squad.
After a grueling journey, they finally located the spirit stone cave. The original plan was for Xiang Shenwan, a third-level spatial ability user, to be responsible for transporting the spirit stones. But as luck would have it, the city lord’s nephew also awakened a spatial ability halfway through the journey.
Taking advantage of everyone’s inattention, the man forcibly stored the spirit stones in his space. Relying on his possession of the spirit stones and his status as a relative of the city lord, he even attempted to assault Sheng Shuyue.
The two fought back desperately, injured several people, and fled in panic, severing ties with the squad from that point on.
Xiang Shenwan had spatial abilities, and the food she brought was enough for the two of them to survive in the spirit stone mountains for a while. Unfortunately, after the squad left with the giant spirit stone, aberrants gradually began to gather in the mountains.
Sheng Shuyue found a few palm-sized fragments of spirit stones in a corner of the cave. They were enough to ward off ordinary aberrants, but useless against anything above the initial rank.
They were chased all the way from the spirit stone mountains by a mid-rank aberrant. Exhausted and at their limit, they were rescued by Cheng Yuchuan. It was only after boarding the RV that Xiang Shenwan realized she had accidentally completed the task of finding the protagonist.
They had heard upon arriving that S City was once the lair of the Aberrant King, and it was only the appearance of spirit stones that had driven the aberrants away. Now that the spirit stones had been taken, the aberrants had returned to the spirit stone mountains. This showed that there were no other spirit stones left in the mountains.
Even if there were, they would only be scattered fragments too small to pose any threat to aberrants.
According to Cheng Yuchuan’s memories from his previous life, the giant spirit stone that was the only thing capable of intimidating aberrants on the mountain had already been taken. If the spirit stones hadn’t changed in this life, then there was no need for them to continue forward.
But the task issued by S101 was to find a spirit stone mine. The word “mine” was quite intriguing.
Yet if there were still a spirit stone mine, logically aberrants shouldn’t be able to get near the mountain. But the fact was that the aberrants had made a comeback. So how was one supposed to explain this so-called spirit stone mine?
Cheng Yuchuan pondered with furrowed brows for a moment, then decided to go and investigate.
Following the route Xiang Shenwan described, they drove westward, passed through a valley, and entered a snow-covered mountain forest.
In the distance, they could see a mountain densely covered with shifting dark figures, standing out starkly against the world of white snow and ice.
As the sky darkened and their exact position was confirmed, they stopped for the night in an abandoned village about two kilometers from the spirit stone mountain, planning to set out again after sunrise.
Being cooped up in the vehicle for so long was stifling. Outside, snowflakes drifted down softly, for Lu Xihe, a southerner who had never seen snow, it was an irresistible temptation.
It was the first time in his life he had ever seen snow. It was icy cold yet soft and fluffy, each step leaving a footprint. He fell backward flat onto it and didn’t even feel any pain. It was truly delightful.
An adorable image of a snowman popped into his head. Lu Xihe rubbed his hands together, eager to try. But no matter how he packed the snow, he couldn’t manage to roll the big, perfectly round snowball like in the TV dramas. Just as he was having fun, Yu Yicheng called out to him from behind. The moment he turned around, he got a face full of snowball.
“Hahaha…” Yu Yicheng’s cheerful laughter rang out. A moment later, another snowball hit him square in the chest, bursting into a spray of fine white powder.
“Come on, let’s have a snowball fight, Xihe!” Yu Yicheng bent down to scoop up snow, laughing with unbridled joy.
Lu Xihe raised an eyebrow, grabbed two handfuls of snow, and quickly packed them into a ball. While Yu Yicheng was still laughing loudly, he threw it with precision, right into his mouth. Then he laughed heartily: “Sure.”
“Pfft, pfft, pfft, Lu Xihe, you fight dirty!” Yu Yicheng spat out the snow in his mouth furiously, stomping his feet in annoyance while barely holding back a laugh.
“You said snowball fight.” Lu Xihe grinned widely, packing another one as he spoke and tossing it over. “First to get hit ten times loses. It’s 2:2 now.”
Yu Yicheng raised his hand to block it, his competitive spirit fully ignited by Lu Xihe’s cocky attitude. He crouched in the snow, rapidly packing snowballs.
The two of them went at it like childish elementary school kids, hitting each other back and forth. When they got hit, they’d argue and quibble, claiming this one was too small to count, or that one only grazed the edge of their clothes so it didn’t count either.
By the end, neither knew who had won or lost. They tumbled together in a tangle, giggling as they stuffed snow down each other’s collars. The moment one got snow shoved down his shirt and let out a sharp hiss from the cold, the next second he’d yank open the other’s collar and quickly stuff in an even bigger clump.
Joyful, carefree laughter echoed through the village. By the time Cheng Yuchuan finished discussing the system task with Qi Jin and Xiang Shenwan and got out of the vehicle, the two were sitting face to face, stuffing snow into each other’s clothes. Their noses were red from the cold, and their clothes were puffed up like inflated balloons, snow going in one side and spilling out the other. They were practically turning into snowmen themselves, yet still giggling like idiots.
Cheng Yuchuan pressed his hand to his forehead in helpless exasperation, looking like he couldn’t bear to watch. It wasn’t until Lu Xihe let out his first sneeze that he finally couldn’t take it anymore and stepped in to put an end to their little farce.
After showering, Lu Xihe sat on the second floor of the RV, cradling a cup of ginger tea and swinging his legs idly as he gazed at the countless twinkling stars converging into the Milky Way. He truly wished time could stop at this very moment.
No aberrants, no missions, no worries, just the leisure, comfort, and beauty of the present. Wouldn’t that be wonderful?
Occasionally, a few aberrants would appear nearby, but strangely enough, they all seemed not to notice the people here. One after another, as if summoned by some distant call, they rushed eagerly toward Spirit Stone Mountain.
“Brother Qi, come take a look, is there something on Spirit Stone Mountain summoning the aberrants?” Lu Xihe poked his head out from the ladder opening and called down to the first floor.
Qi Jin quickly came up, activating his clairvoyance ability to observe the situation on Spirit Stone Mountain. But after looking for a long while, he saw no particularly special aberrant, nor could he find the reason for the aberrants’ gathering. It was simply that all nearby aberrants were heading to Spirit Stone Mountain, the entire mountain packed densely and darkly with them.
“Strange, what exactly is on the mountain?” Qi Jin frowned deeply, his tone filled with confusion.
He didn’t see the Aberrant King, nor did it look like some ritual was being held. It was just a mass of aberrants standing motionless on the mountain, as if they had fallen into a deep sleep.
“I heard that place used to be the Aberrant King’s residence. There’s probably something there that can help aberrants improve or evolve.” Cheng Yuchuan also came up, sitting down beside Lu Xihe. He reached out to feel his forehead, only relaxing once he confirmed the temperature was normal.
“Possible.” Qi Jin followed that line of thought. “Maybe the Aberrant King found some treasure there and became the Aberrant King because of it. Or perhaps aberrants were born there.”
He paused, then continued analyzing: “That place was originally the Aberrant King’s lair. Later, a spirit stone capable of repelling aberrants appeared. Now that the spirit stone is gone, the aberrants have all returned. All things in the world mutually restrain each other, there must be something in the mountain. Perhaps finding it will resolve our current confusion.”
Cheng Yuchuan nodded in agreement, then asked, “What kinds of aberrants are on the mountain?”
Qi Jin swept his penetrating gaze over the back of Spirit Stone Mountain once more before answering cautiously: “I didn’t see the Aberrant King. There are low-level, mid-level, and ordinary ones, but high-level ones are fewer and all gathered at the summit. Around the cave, most are low-level and ordinary aberrants.”
“Then let’s start by investigating the cave.” Lu Xihe turned to look at Cheng Yuchuan. “You said earlier the mission is to find the spirit stone mine, right?”
“Yes.”
“Since it’s a spirit stone mine and aberrants can get close, the mine must be sealed or isolated somewhere in the mountain. The giant spirit stone in the cave is the only part exposed outside the seal. If that’s the case, there must be a passage in the cave leading inside.”
Lu Xihe took a sip of ginger tea, then covered the cup’s rim with his hand. The steam from the ginger tea seeped through the gaps between his fingers, and as he slowly closed them, the last wisp of moisture was completely sealed within the cup.
Meanwhile, Qi Jin took another look inside the cave. Sure enough, there were no aberrants in the cave. The cave entrance seemed to have an invisible barrier, blocking all aberrants from entering.
“That’s it.” Qi Jin’s stern face rarely showed a relaxed expression, and even his tone carried a hint of excitement. “There’s a seal at the cave entrance, aberrants can’t get in.”
“Great!” Lu Xihe’s eyes brightened with joy. His hand shook and nearly got scalded by the ginger tea. He said excitedly, “Then tomorrow we just need to find a way into the spirit stone cave, and later we can slowly figure out where the spirit stone mine is sealed.”
“Yes.” Qi Jin was still observing the mountain’s terrain. After a moment, he suggested, “There are three routes to Spirit Stone Mountain. The one we’re on now is too far from the cave entrance. Tomorrow, if we take the small path to the northwest, we’ll encounter the fewest aberrants. The cave is wide enough for the vehicle to enter, so we can just drive straight in.”
“Right. Brother Qi, you keep using your clairvoyance to observe the aberrants ahead. If there are mid- or high-level ones, tell us, and we’ll take care of them in advance.” Lu Xihe added, tapping his fingertips lightly on the cup’s rim.
“No problem.”
“What do you think?” Lu Xihe turned to ask Cheng Yuchuan for his opinion.
“Sounds good.” Cheng Yuchuan gave a slight nod, looking at him with approval. Then he curled his lips into a light smile, deep tenderness hidden in his eyes. “We’ll act according to your plan tomorrow.”
After finalizing the action plan and informing the other four teammates, everyone returned to their rooms to sleep.
In the middle of the night, Cheng Yuchuan suddenly woke up, feeling as if he were holding a ball of fire in his arms. He touched Lu Xihe’s body, it was scorching hot, alarming enough that he didn’t need to think twice to know it was from getting chilled during the afternoon snowball fight.
Tucking the blanket around him, Cheng Yuchuan got out of bed to find medicine. As soon as he reached the living room, he saw Qi Jin and Ning Wanli there too. Ning Wanli was rummaging through the medicine box, and on the table sat Yu Yicheng’s orange water cup.
Yu Yicheng had also developed a fever, whimpering uncomfortably in his sleep. Ning Wanli had heard the noise, gotten up to check, and discovered he wasn’t feeling well.
Cheng Yuchuan was speechless. Those two little fools had been so busy messing around, stuffing snow into their clothes in the freezing cold, it would be a miracle if they didn’t catch a cold.
He pinched the bridge of his nose, let out a long sigh, and made up his mind: “No need to look for medicine. Using our abilities will be faster.”
After speaking, Cheng Yuchuan returned to his bunk, draped the warm cotton-padded jacket over Lu Xihe, and half-carried, half-dragged him out of the covers over to Yu Yicheng’s side.
Lu Xihe was already dizzy and lightheaded, and after being jostled around like this, his head throbbed as if it were about to split open. He slumped forward, burying his face against Cheng Yuchuan’s shoulder, whimpering miserably.
“My head hurts…” His voice was thick with a nasal tone, sounding utterly pitiful.
“It won’t hurt for long. You use your ability to heal him, and he’ll heal you right after, you’ll feel better soon.” Cheng Yuchuan rubbed his limp head, both worried and helpless.
Suppressing his own discomfort, Lu Xihe activated his ability and cured Yu Yicheng’s fever. Cheng Yuchuan then shook the sleeping Yu Yicheng awake and had him treat Lu Xihe.
“Alright, whoever stuffed snow down someone’s collar and gave them a cold is the one who fixes it. That’s fair for everyone. Once you’re not feeling bad anymore, go to sleep, it’s very late.”
After both their temperatures returned to normal, Cheng Yuchuan poured each of them a glass of warm water to drink, then finally carried his beloved back to bed, content.
At noon the next day, the sun hung high in the sky. Everyone set out for Spirit Stone Mountain according to the plan made the night before. The road was clear all the way, and the RV sped along the highway straight toward the cave entrance.
Just as they were all full of anticipation, something unknown got mixed under the vehicle and lifted the entire body off the ground. The stretch of road before the cave was also a downhill slope, so the wheels couldn’t reach the ground to brake. The whole vehicle, like a runaway horse, hurtled straight toward the cave wall.
“Boom!”
A deafening explosion rang out by their ears. Debris flew everywhere, and dust filled the air.
When the dust settled, the group opened their eyes, still shaken, and instantly had their breath stolen by the sight before them…
Clusters of crystals gleaming with golden light jutted out from the rock walls, layered and stacked, adorning the entire cavern, like a forgotten golden paradise, beautiful and magnificent.
“Is this the legendary spirit stone mine?”