Chapter 20: Twenty spirits, crazy

Description

Ning Li went about her usual routine: breakfast, class, lunch, class, dinner, reading, bathing, and sleep

Two days later, she finally waited until the monitoring Spirit Entity temporarily left, and at the first opportunity, she cast [Will of the Reaper]

This time, there was no enemy to eliminate

The summoned undead wandered aimlessly around, as if silently asking—

Where is the opponent? 

Who is the enemy I’m supposed to deal with?

Ning Li said, “There’s no need to fight this time, just answer my questions.”

The drifting undead stopped moving.

Ning Li asked, “Do you know the Sentinel whose Spirit Entity is a Jellyfish?” 

Ning Li described the Jellyfish’s paralyzing thought ability, focusing on the appearance of the Water Jellyfish Commander: a long, round face, looking to be in his early forties, with thick eyebrows and a mole by his mouth, currently a Captain of one of the Imperial Guard squads.

There were quite a few Sentinels whose Spirit Entity was a Jellyfish, so her description needed to be clear to avoid mistaking the person.

The undead’s form was a mass of void-like darkness, like a surging black tide.

You could barely make out a head, torso, and limbs—no other details. 

When the undead appeared, the room’s temperature seemed to drop by ten degrees.

If it were anyone else here, they’d likely suffer frostbite. 

But this undead was summoned by Ning Li, so she naturally wasn’t affected.

After asking her question, Ning Li quietly waited for the undead’s response.

The next second, she saw the undead shake its head, indicating it didn’t know.

Ning Li wasn’t disappointed. 

With a wave of her hand, the summoned undead instantly dissipated into the air.

Good news: summoned undead could communicate.

Bad news: the Water Jellyfish Commander wasn’t particularly famous. 

Summoning any random undead wouldn’t guarantee recognition.

Before summoning, Ning Li had already prepared for the possibility that the undead wouldn’t know the Water Jellyfish Commander. 

Things couldn’t always go smoothly, right? 

Failure was normal. 

If she failed the first time, she could try a second, a third time.

As long as she had spiritual power left, she could keep summoning.

After failing two more times, she was down to her last chance for the day. 

This time, the undead she summoned finally nodded.

Ning Li let out a sigh of relief.

“Do you know if he has any enemies?”

The undead thought for a moment, then nodded again.

“Who is his enemy? Where are they?”

The undead didn’t react at first, possibly thinking. 

The undead Ning Li could summon now were all low-level, barely able to communicate and rather slow to respond.

Afraid the undead wouldn’t understand anything too complicated, Ning Li changed her approach, “Is there anyone with a natural grudge against him, someone who can suppress him?”

This time, the undead understood. 

Its form shifted and turned into a simple diagram—

A peaceful corpse lying in a Mass Grave.

The scene was vivid and straightforward, easy to understand at a glance.

So, the undead couldn’t write, or perhaps drawing was simply easier?

After seeing this answer, Ning Li was a bit surprised. 

Mass Grave?

What a coincidence. 

She’d just been there the day before yesterday. 

Not only that, she’d seen a specific, fresh corpse there.

Could the mortal enemy of the Jellyfish Sentinel really be that corpse Xiao Hei was clamoring to resurrect the other day?

After confirming that the formless, colorless monitoring Spirit Entity was still absent, Ning Li set out again at ten that night, feeling much more at ease.

This time, she was faster than before. 

With her previous experience, she had a clear goal and headed straight for the Mass Grave, spending only two-thirds the time as last time.

Xiao Hei was excited the whole way, giggling non-stop. 

Compared to the rational Ning Li, Spirit Entities were more straightforward with their feelings. 

Spirit Entities didn’t need to think too much, they just followed their hearts. 

Ning Li, on the other hand, couldn’t do that.

Once at the Mass Grave, Ning Li, now familiar with the process, turned on her flashlight and, led by Xiao Hei, made her way directly to the corpse.

Unlike last time, this time she crouched down beside the corpse and took a careful look at its face.

He looked very young, with serene features. 

Even with his eyes closed, his handsome profile was clear.

He looked like a pretty boy.

Could someone like him really be the Water Jellyfish Commander’s mortal enemy?

Something didn’t feel right.

While her spiritual power had recovered a bit, Ning Li decided to summon another undead.

She was lucky—this time, the summoned undead, although not the same as before, still recognized the Water Jellyfish Commander.

“Is he the Water Jellyfish Commander’s mortal enemy?”

The undead hesitated, unsure how to answer.

Is he? 

The corpse didn’t know the Water Jellyfish Commander in life, but the Water Jellyfish Commander held enmity toward the corpse. 

Their ideals and principles were different—they walked different paths. 

Does that count as mortal enemies?

It probably does.

So, the undead nodded.

Ning Li continued, “How is his character?”

The undead nodded vigorously in approval.

If even the Former Commander had bad character, then no one in this world could be considered decent.

Ning Li was finally at ease. 

With a wave of her hand, she dispersed the summoned undead.

Before it was dispersed, the undead wanted to say that there was actually another corpse nearby that fit her conditions better. 

That corpse had died at the hands of the Water Jellyfish Commander—if you’re talking mortal enemies, no two could be more so. 

But before the undead could tell Ning Li, it vanished.

Ning Li snapped her fingers and said to the corpse on the ground, “You’ll do.”

She instructed Xiao Hei, “Carry him back first, we’ll talk later.”

Xiao Hei: [Okay!] It shifted form, returning to its [Necromancer] appearance and carried the corpse on its back.

Ning Li turned her head and happened to see the corpse’s face. 

He looked as if he were merely sleeping, his features open and at ease. 

Of all the corpses in the Mass Grave, resentment was never in short supply. 

She asked Xiao Hei, “Eat the resentment off him before we bring him back to the dorm, okay?”

Xiao Hei tilted its head, the two green ghost-fires in its black hat forming question marks. 

It replied blankly, [Master, there’s no resentment on him.]

No resentment?

So, this corpse really hadn’t been dead long—he hadn’t even accumulated any resentment.

Ning Li didn’t dwell on it and hurried back with Xiao Hei.

Back at the dorm, after confirming the monitoring Spirit Entity was still absent, Ning Li let Xiao Hei bring the corpse inside.

Xiao Hei had always been able to come and go freely on the frontlines, let alone now. 

Xiao Hei deliberately avoided people, so no one saw the corpse on its back.

No one knew that Ning Li, a Guide from the Peripheral Guide Academy, had actually carried a corpse back from the Mass Grave.

If anyone found out, they’d probably call her crazy!

Carrying a corpse back from the Mass Grave—what else could that be but madness? 

Isn’t that crazy enough? 

Even Ning Li herself felt she was being reckless.

A complete stranger’s corpse, with no connection between them, and she knew nothing about him. 

Yet now, she’d decided to resurrect him.

Just two days ago, she’d been sure she’d never bring someone back lightly.

But in just two days, she’d changed her mind.

She was preparing herself mentally.

She didn’t have the strength to confront the Water Jellyfish Commander directly, so she decided to set a tiger against a wolf and watch from the sidelines. 

Thinking optimistically, maybe what she brought in wasn’t a wolf.

But she always preferred to consider the worst.

There’s risk in everything. 

So what if she gambled once?

Even if the one she resurrected harbored ill will after learning of her abilities—even if he turned out to be a wolf—she was confident she could handle it.

With that in mind, Ning Li didn’t hesitate anymore. 

She decisively cast [Revival Technique] on the corpse.

Her spiritual power surged into the corpse’s Spirit Sea. 

Because the corpse was dead, there was no resistance—her power easily reached his Spirit Sea

Snap.

It was as if a switch had been flipped.

The corpse’s spiritual world was lit up once more.

His dry, dark, deathly still Spirit Sea visibly began to recover its vitality.

Like a play whose curtain had already fallen, rising again for a new act.

Like the sun rising at dawn, the once pitch-black Spirit Sea gradually became bright.

Even this dead world began to regain its life—

Withered flowers bloomed, dead trees revived, water returned to the rivers, the parched earth was restored, and the still world slowly unfolded like a marvelous painting.

Those gray, lifeless things were injected with vitality and came alive again.

Vivid, lively, full of life.

And during this process, Ning Li felt a sense of familiarity.

Yes, it was familiarity.

As the corpse slowly revived and his Spirit Sea gradually recovered, she actually sensed a familiar feeling within his Spirit Sea.

She’d never met this person before—so where did this sense of familiarity come from? 

Ning Li frowned in thought.

Spirit Sea……………….

Spiritual power!

That’s right! 

The Bead!

It was that Bead that had expanded her Spirit Sea countless times over!

The spiritual power within the Bead was so similar to the power in this corpse’s Spirit Sea!

So, the owner of the Bead she once consumed—was this very corpse?

What a coincidence!

The corpse she picked up was actually the Bead’s owner! 

Realizing this, Ning Li’s wariness toward this man eased considerably.

If she hadn’t gotten his Bead back then, her Spirit Entity wouldn’t have gained its second talent so quickly. 

She wouldn’t be here now, saving him.

All things in life—cause and effect, every drink and every bite.

Ning Li admired the Bead owner’s calm and open-mindedness before death, never expecting she’d have the chance to meet him in person!

As the world within the corpse’s Spirit Sea recovered, Ning Li saw a beauty she’d never seen before—

A fiery red sun slowly rose, casting golden light across a boundless wilderness. 

On the plains, there were pigs, cows, sheep, windmills, rivers, mountains, green woods, and endless grasslands. 

The wind stirred the grass, and wildflowers of every color flourished with vitality.

Everywhere was brimming with life. 

How beautiful—it made her want to lie down and sleep right there. 

Wouldn’t that be pleasant?

Ning Li watched a flower bloom with her own eyes, saw a bird take flight again, saw fish swim once more. 

She felt the sun’s gentle warmth on her skin, and smelled the fragrance of flowers and grass in the air.

For the first time, she truly experienced the wonder of life.

Life was just too marvelous.

For the first time, she sincerely praised the miracle of life!

As Ning Li was still admiring this beautiful scene, she sensed a gentle breeze sweep through the Spirit Sea.

The wind was gentle.

Its meaning to send her off was subtle.

Ning Li understood.

She decisively withdrew from the other’s Spirit Sea, and in the next moment, met a pair of pitch-black eyes, as if they could embrace all things in the world.