Tremble.
Startled, Ning Li was suddenly embraced by a firm, warm embrace.
Outside, the wind and snow intensified abruptly, yet beneath the storm, whose eyes were watching quietly?
The swirling snowflakes were blocked outside, leaving only a small space of tranquility.
Too tight.
This embrace was so strong that Ning Li mistakenly felt as if she were the long-lost treasure of the other person.
“Ning Li, I am…”
When released, Ning Li stared blankly at the pair of dark, glossy eyes before her.
“Ranfu…”
The moment she uttered that name, an eerie silence fell over the scene.
Yin Que, startled, slightly loosened his grip.
“What?”
“Ranfu.”
Ning Li looked at the beautiful face in front of her.
Yin Que and Ranfu had completely opposite appearances.
Ranfu’s features carried a wild, rugged beauty; his skin was a healthy wheat tone, and the corners of his eyes and brows exuded vitality and tenacity.
But Yin Que’s attractiveness was subtle and unassuming.
At first glance, it felt overwhelmingly charming, but upon closer inspection, more nuanced details emerged.
Ranfu was like strong white liquor, intoxicating with a single sip; Yin Que was like clear tea, leaving a lingering aftertaste when savored slowly.
Yin Que’s eyes were deep and bright.
But now, through them, who was he looking at?
Standing silently to the side, Ting Rui scratched his head and whispered, “Ranfu—the spiritual entity from three hundred years ago who was the Lord of Storms, the wild sentinel who single-handedly wiped out an entire 53 District Legion, right?”
Ning Li didn’t answer; she just blinked and asked Yin Que, “Has it come too?”
Both knew exactly who ‘it’ referred to.
Yin Que said, “No, but I can access a part of its power.”
It was a parting gift from the Lord of Storms—a precious present, thanks to his sister.
Ning Li couldn’t say if she felt disappointment or sadness.
After all, it was still different.
He wasn’t Ranfu.
The spiritual entity was not the Lord of Storms.
In that beautifully woven Dream World, she had received the most precious sincerity in this world; she had met someone she could willingly entrust a part of her trust to.
But that person was Ranfu, bearing Yin Que’s soul.
So, who was she truly relying on? Ranfu or Yin Que?
It seemed
Neither.
What she depended on was the fusion of both—a brother who shared her bloodline and would eventually die for her.
But now the Dream World had ended, Ranfu had disappeared, and Ranwu no longer existed.
“You just now, were you trying to tell me your name?”
“Yes.”
Ning Li lowered her gaze.
“Although it might be rude to ask, can you not tell me for now?”
Ting Rui had already wisely moved far away, ensuring he wouldn’t overhear the next conversation.
The atmosphere between the two was strange, unlike anything he’d ever seen from the commander.
Why would this small frontier Guide Academy guide call the commander Ranfu?
What had happened during those ten minutes they vanished?
Yin Que, rare in his assertiveness, said, “No.”
Ning Li looked up at him in surprise.
“Why? But I hope you are Ranfu.”
If she still called him Ranfu, it was as if she was continuing that dream.
The dream hadn’t ended; it was ongoing.
It was as if Ranfu and Ranwu still lived in this world.
She just wanted him to be Ranfu.
What she wanted was the Ranfu she had called “brother” for so long, who had gone through so much with her.
“Ning Li.”
A warm palm gently rested on her head, the next words soft but tender:
“I am Yin Que. He is not Ranfu.”
He was making this clear.
Ning Li was momentarily stunned.
“Yin Que—the Yin Que I know?”
“Yes.”
In a daze, the former commander who sacrificed tens of thousands of citizens and Ranfu, who had burned his mental sea for the No. 63 District Indigenous People, seemed to faintly overlap.
Oh.
So the one she had revived was the former commander—the strongest sentinel of this era, the White Moonlight in countless hearts?
Yet
Her heart felt so calm.
It seemed she was caught in a strong withdrawal from Ranfu, and even the name Yin Que elicited only a flat response.
That hand-holding under the moonlight, every embrace, and the frail back that had carried her…
Those were Ranfu. Or rather, Yin Que, who inherited Ranfu’s identity.
Yin Que seemed to guess something and lowered his eyes.
“Next, Ting Rui and I will go to the [Shura Prison].”
“Oh.”
“Do you want to…”
Ning Li stood without looking at his expression.
“I’m going back. My classmates and teachers are still waiting for me.”
“Alright.”
Yin Que stood as well.
“I’ll rest here for half a day more.”
The cycle orb had already fallen into Ning Li’s hand, and the culprit behind the unprecedented blizzard at [Withered Bone] had quietly lurked into hiding.
This three-day-long snowstorm finally began to subside.
***
Cheers and laughter echoed throughout the forbidden zone, yet Ning Li’s heart felt as cold as if soaked in ice water.
[Master, what’s wrong?]
[Master, what is this silver orb?]
Ning Li was silent for a few seconds before answering, “A divine gift. Ranfu and Ranwu searched for it for so long, yet she found one piece so easily.”
“How long have I been gone?”
[Ten minutes.]
Only ten minutes?
In the Dream World, more than ten days had passed, right?
Was this the power of the divine gift?
When Ning Li returned to her small group, Yuanzi glanced at her curiously. “Didn’t your friend send you back?”
“Friend?”
“Yeah, a tall, handsome man. From behind, he looks just like my White Moonlight. He came looking for you before and said he’d bring you back.”
Ning Li opened her mouth but closed it again.
She really wanted to tell Yuan Yuan that the man didn’t just look like her White Moonlight—he was her White Moonlight.
She had revived him.
But considering Yin Que’s sensitive identity, she said nothing. Better to cause less trouble.
Yuanzi continued gossiping, “What’s your relationship? He seems very concerned about you.”
Former teammates and roommates, plus the brother-sister relationship in the Dream World…
Thinking about it, Ning Li suddenly realized how deeply tangled she was with Yin Que.
The teacher sighed in relief when she returned safely.
“We’ve contacted the School; they want us to leave as soon as possible. This sudden blizzard appeared and disappeared just as suddenly. For safety, we’ve decided to evacuate.”
***
They left [Withered Bone] in just half an hour, joined by many sentinels terrified by the snowstorm.
The news of [Withered Bone] spread like wildfire in no time.
Ning Li wanted to use the divine gift again; she wished to return to the time when Ranfu and Ranwu fled together.
She wanted… to experience the unique journey of seeking the divine gift with Ranfu once more.
Unfortunately, the divine gift seemed asleep—no reaction at all.
After boarding the shuttle back to school, Ning Li kept staring outside.
[Withered Bone] grew smaller and smaller, and she grew farther from that person.
Yuanzi occasionally joked beside her, and she only replied occasionally.
When Yuanzi asked again what was wrong, Ning Li hugged her and spoke quickly, “Yuanzi, I have to leave for a while.”
“What?”
Ning Li had already stood up and shouted for the bus to stop.
The lead teacher looked confused.
“What’s going on? Do you need to use the restroom? Hurry, stop the bus!”
Ning Li said nothing and, just as she was about to step off, turned back to the lead teacher and said, “Teacher, I won’t be returning with you. Leaving the team is my personal decision. I can sign a waiver or something.”
“Ah?”
After getting off, Ning Li dashed wildly back toward [Withered Bone].
He wasn’t Ranfu.
Or rather, he wasn’t completely Ranfu.
She knew this clearly.
But if she left this time, she would lose everything again.
Even if he wasn’t the full Ranfu,
He had been Ranfu.
Ning Li had never run so passionately before.
In the Dream World, Ranwu was fragile, always staying on Ranfu’s back.
She hadn’t been so close to nature in a long time.
Returning near the forbidden zone, reentering [Withered Bone].
Back to where Xiao Hei had found the divine gift.
But by the time she arrived, it was already dark.
Yin Que and Ting Rui, who had been there, were nowhere to be seen.
He said he would rest here for half a day.
Had he left early?
Ning Li was puzzled.
***
Just as she was about to leave, the smell of barbecue drifted from nearby.
Yin Que seemed to have just come from somewhere, holding a pile of ingredients in his right hand.
He approached from behind, naturally taking her wrist.
“Want to eat some together?”
Alright.
While eating barbecue, Ting Rui kept glancing between Yin Que and Ning Li.
Strange.
Really strange.
After hastily filling his stomach, Ting Rui said he would go scout nearby and then left quickly.
Once he left, the two were silent for a moment.
Yin Que didn’t ask why she returned or what she was here for; they seemed to understand something unspoken between them.
Ning Li spoke, “Are you going to find Pei Yujie?”
“Yes.”
“I can help you. Help you revive him. Let it be a repayment for Ranfu’s death for me in the Dream World.”
Yin Que looked at her in surprise.
After a moment of silence, he said, “Ning Li, we need to have a proper talk.”
“About what?”
“As I said back then, the last thing I did for you—don’t let it weigh on your conscience. I hope everything you do comes from your true heart, not for anything else.”
After coming out of the Dream World, shedding the identities of Ranfu and Ranwu, the distance between them suddenly grew.
But this distance was relative to Ranfu and Ranwu.
Ning Li still couldn’t clearly distinguish Ranfu from Yin Que.
Why had Yin Que done so much for her back then?
Because she was his sister.
They shared a blood bond.
The closest person.
Since he became Ranfu, he naturally bore responsibility for Ranwu and had to protect her.
But now, that bond was gone.
She couldn’t say “brother” again.
“I never thought of reviving Yujie.”
In the quiet night, Yin Que suddenly spoke.
“Hm?”
Ning Li looked at him blankly, clearly surprised.
“As his superior officer, I will properly settle his remains and comfort his family. He will also avenge him. That is his duty; it is what he must do.”
Ning Li looked into his deep eyes through the flickering firelight.
“You don’t want him to come back?”
If he had the Skill of Raising the Dead, he would choose to revive Pei Yujie without hesitation.
But he didn’t have
The ability.
In the dim orange glow, he sighed softly, “Ning Li, I don’t want to test human nature, nor do I want you to get hurt. Yujie was my subordinate and shouldn’t become your burden.”
Behind every powerful skill lies an invisible cost.
The stronger the skill, the more expensive the price.
In ancient Earth’s Capital, Marx once said: when profit reaches 10%, they become restless; at 50%, they dare to take risks; at 100%, they dare to trample all laws; at 300%, they dare to face the gallows.
The temptation of death and resurrection equals what profit margin?
100%?
300%?
Far beyond.
This skill alone could drive everyone mad.
Yin Que’s thoughts drifted far back.
His Personal Guard captain, Pei Yujie, had a wife they loved deeply.
She was an extremely gentle woman, soft as water, speaking softly.
Unfortunately, like Ranwu, she was an ordinary person unable to awaken a spiritual entity. Similarly, she wouldn’t live long.
Not long after Pei Yujie became his Personal Guard captain, his wife passed away.
Since then, Pei Yujie had never remarried.
He understood Pei Yujie well—a man of loyalty, integrity, and reliability.
A trustworthy subordinate.
He had also been his most capable right-hand man.
But would these qualities hold firm when faced with the question of whether his wife could be revived?
He always missed his wife.
That longing never stopped, and grew more intense with time.
Yin Que didn’t want to test Pei Yujie.
It was meaningless.
Ning Li seemed to understand something—the invisible cost.
Even now, she and Xiao Hei still hadn’t fully grasped it.
But she didn’t care much.
***
“If you need it…”
“I don’t.”
Under the dancing firelight, a trace of sadness touched Yin Que’s brow and eyes.
“He has someone to protect, but— I do too.”
So, everything must follow the proper process.
At the moment she heard “I do too,” Ning Li didn’t know why, but her heart suddenly skipped two beats.