By the time Lin Qin and the other three snapped out of it, the old woman and the child had inexplicably vanished before their eyes.
It seemed they had gone after Chen Junnan.
“Let’s go…” Lin Qin said, shaking off her daze. “Those two are too dangerous! We need to get back now!”
The other three nodded hastily before sprinting toward the direction of “Paradise.”
…
Chen Junnan and Qin Dingdong ran for their lives, but as they rounded a corner, they found the old woman and the child standing right in front of them, waiting.
“Uh…”
Seeing this, Chen Junnan gradually slowed to a stop, bracing himself against the wall as he gasped for air.
He suddenly regretted ever leaving that room.
It was only the first day!
What kind of twisted luck had he stumbled into?
Qin Dingdong stood nervously behind him, both of them struggling to steady their breathing.
“Well, well… if it isn’t…” Chen Junnan finally lifted his head with a forced grin. “Oh my, Granny Ma! What a coincidence!”
“Oh…” The woman referred to as Granny Ma narrowed her eyes slightly. “Little Chen, isn’t it?”
“Hey! That’s me, all right!” Chen Junnan chuckled, stepping forward with sweat beading on his forehead. “Gotta say, after all these years, you’re still looking as spry as ever!”
“Oh, you flatterer.” Granny Ma waved a hand dismissively. “I’m old now, not much use anymore…”
“Don’t say that!” Chen Junnan helped her sit down, then patted the naked child’s head. “Look at you, Little Tiger! You’ve grown so tall!”
Qin Dingdong trembled silently. She knew Chen Junnan was stalling for time, but she couldn’t think of any way to escape.
“Uncle Chen!” the naked child giggled.
“Aww, you still remember me, you little rascal! Come here, let Uncle give you a hug!”
Chen Junnan bent down to pick the boy up, but despite the child only reaching his thighs, he felt rooted to the ground like an immovable boulder.
No matter how hard he tried, the boy’s feet didn’t leave the ground even an inch.
“Whew…” Chen Junnan strained for a moment before giving up with a laugh. “Seems you’ve grown too big for Uncle to lift now, huh?”
“Uncle…” The child sniffed him and grinned. “You smell really tasty today…”
“Hey now!” Chen Junnan ruffled his hair. “None of that, Little Tiger. Uncle and Granny Ma have important things to talk about!”
“Mm!” The child nodded eagerly, drool slowly dripping from his mouth. “After you’re done talking… can I eat you?”
At that, the smile on Chen Junnan’s face faded.
He shot a wary glance at the boy before turning back to the old woman. “Granny Ma… what brings you two out today?”
“Oh…” Granny Ma rubbed her back wearily. “Little Chen… did you hear that sound a few days ago? That *boom*—so loud, so earth-shaking! So… magnificent!”
“A few days ago…?” Chen Junnan frowned slightly, clueless about what had happened. He glanced back at Qin Dingdong for help.
She nodded and said, “About six days ago, an unprecedented ‘Echo’ manifested—so powerful it shattered glass.”
“What…?” Chen Junnan blinked. “It shattered *glass*?”
He wasn’t unfamiliar with the Endgame, but he’d never heard of an Echo *that* strong.
“Was it Old Qiao?” he muttered.
“No… stronger than that.”
“*Stronger*?!” Chen Junnan stroked his chin, mentally running through every notable ‘Echo’ user in the Endgame, but none fit the description.
“Little Chen…” Granny Ma groaned as she struggled to stand. “We need to find that child. We need to see what kind of power they have.”
“Ah, that’s easy!” Chen Junnan’s eyes darted as he quickly stepped forward to support her. “Why don’t you and Little Tiger rest up? I’ll handle this for you!”
“Oh… no, no…” She shook her head. “If we don’t handle this properly, Little Tiger and I will be in trouble. Your kindness is appreciated, but you should go on your way.”
“Go? *Me*? Aw, come on, Granny.” Chen Junnan rolled up his sleeve, revealing his pale arm. “Even if I were busy, I wouldn’t just abandon you. Besides, Little Tiger said he wanted to eat me—what kind of uncle would I be if I left now? Here, Little Tiger, Uncle hasn’t showered today, so I’m probably just the right amount of salty.”
Qin Dingdong grabbed his sleeve anxiously, whispering, “*Bastard*… what are you doing?”
Chen Junnan turned back, his expression grim. “Winter, I’m screwed today. Get out of here and tell Old Qi what happened. I’ll see him in ten days. When they start eating me, *run*.”
Qin Dingdong hesitated. She’d only just caught up with this man—what if he disappeared again?
“Little Tiger, no eating,” Granny Ma sighed. With a single step, she was suddenly seven paces away. “If we waste time, *you’ll* be the one getting eaten.”
“Oh… right!” The child suddenly remembered and hurried after her. In the blink of an eye, they vanished from the street.
The moment they were gone, Chen Junnan collapsed onto the ground.
“That was terrifying…” He looked up at Qin Dingdong, still shaken. “*First day*, and already the ‘Heavenly Horse’ and ‘Heavenly Tiger’ are roaming the streets…”
Qin Dingdong’s legs gave out too, and she slumped against the wall.
But three seconds later, she snapped back to her senses and kicked Chen Junnan.
“Huh—?”
Before he could react, she started punching and kicking him relentlessly.
“Ow! Stop!” Chen Junnan yelped. “Winter, you’re embarrassing me here!”
Her blows gradually slowed as tears welled up in her eyes.
“Chen Junnan, you *bastard*…” she choked out, her eyes red. “Explain this to me… is *this* how you use ‘Scapegoat’? Who gave you the right to die for me?!”
Chen Junnan stood up slowly, dusting himself off with a smirk. “Maybe because I *felt* like it?”
“You—!”
He shook his head. “Winter, the past is the past. This time, I just want to help Old Qi and Old Qiao escape. Things are looking bad—we need to regroup with them fast.”
After a long silence, Qin Dingdong asked, “So… do you have a plan?”
“I don’t do *plans*,” Chen Junnan grinned. “All I know is—as long as I’m here, every one of them has an extra life.”
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage