Qi Xia looked towards Chen Junnan not far away and asked, “Have you seen this young man before?”
“I don’t really remember,” Chen Junnan replied, then glanced at Qin Dingdong. “You should ask Sister Dong about this.”
Qin Dingdong also shook her head. “I haven’t seen him either.”
The night passed without any movement from the young “hero,” allowing the group to sleep peacefully.
The next morning, Chen Junnan woke up early. After confirming that his teammates were still asleep, he strolled to the classroom door.
Qi Xia was sitting there with his eyes open, seemingly having stayed awake all night.
“Yo, Old Qi, looking lively!” Chen Junnan said. “Up so early—planning to practice swordplay in the park?”
“Chen Junnan… are you really going alone?” Qi Xia asked.
“What?” Chen Junnan chuckled bitterly. “You think I’ll die?”
“Of course not,” Qi Xia replied. “I just hope you don’t.”
“Then it’s settled.” Chen Junnan waved his hand and opened the classroom door. “I’m not too familiar with this area anymore. I’ll go ask Xiao Chu for directions first.”
“Be careful.”
“Got it.”
Chen Junnan bid farewell to Qi Xia and left the building before dawn.
He intended to head straight to Chu Tianqiu’s classroom for answers, but he noticed the young “hero” from last night standing at the door, trembling as he held a newspaper-folded short sword.
The boy looked pale, with dark circles under his eyes, as if he hadn’t slept all night.
“Yo, isn’t this the ‘hero’?” Chen Junnan smirked as he walked closer. “What’s this? Delivering newspapers this early?”
“Commoner… step back…” The boy turned nervously, his makeshift sword shaking slightly. “It reeks here… something’s wrong…”
“If something’s wrong, why don’t you just charge in?” Chen Junnan sighed. “Standing here waving a newspaper all night—aren’t you tired?”
“Charge in…?” The boy frowned. “But I’m a ‘hero.’ If I die in battle…”
“Don’t worry, if you die, I’ll handle it.” Chen Junnan patted the boy’s shoulder. “I’m the Gourd Boy. I’ll take care of any monsters you can’t handle.”
The boy gave Chen Junnan a puzzled look, then nodded slightly. Taking a deep breath, he slowly pushed the door open.
Inside, nothing seemed amiss. Five people were present.
Chu Tianqiu was writing on the blackboard, Yun Yao was chatting with Tian Tian, while Xu Liunian and Zhang Shan sat idly by.
Chen Junnan cautiously observed the group before stepping in first.
“Hey, Xiao Chu,” he called out. “I need your help with something.”
“Commoner, you—” The boy reached out to stop Chen Junnan but was brushed aside impatiently.
“What is it?” Chu Tianqiu asked with a smile, glancing at the boy. After a moment’s thought, he asked, “You’re the kid Zhang Shan brought back yesterday… What was your name again?”
“Zheng Yingxiong,” Zhang Shan murmured from the side.
“That’s right… I’m the ‘hero’…” the boy said seriously. “Excuse me… do you… have any…”
Chen Junnan ruffled the boy’s hair, cutting him off. “Kid, what are you doing here begging for stuff this early?”
He then turned back to Chu Tianqiu.
“Xiao Chu, draw me a map. I’m going to mess with that old pervert, Di She.” He shoved the boy back and stepped forward, positioning himself between the four and the boy.
“Di She…?” Chu Tianqiu nodded. “It’s a bit far. Let Yun Yao draw it for you.”
Yun Yao nodded, pulling out a notebook. After a brief pause, she quickly sketched a rough map.
Chen Junnan took it and waved. “Thanks, superstar.”
Yun Yao blinked. “You know me?”
“Of course,” Chen Junnan said. “You promised to introduce me to Andy Lau. Forgot?”
“Andy Lau…?”
An awkward silence fell over the room.
Chen Junnan swallowed hard and slowly corrected himself, “So, what, you’re just gonna pretend it never happened now?”
“I don’t know what I told you before, but I don’t know Andy Lau…” Yun Yao shook her head helplessly. “Here’s the map. Now get lost.”
“Fine, I’m leaving.” Chen Junnan tucked the note into his pocket, then turned to the boy. “‘Hero,’ come with me. I need to talk to you.”
Grabbing the boy’s arm, he pulled him out of the room and into the hallway.
“Commoner, what do you want?” The boy adjusted his newspaper crown, confused.
“How long have you been this delusional?”
“Delusional?” The boy sheathed his paper sword. “It’s just that a ‘hero’s’ actions are beyond your understanding. I’m destined to be different from all of you.”
“Oh yeah?” Chen Junnan flicked the folded newspaper sword. “You smell something ‘rotten,’ so you charge in with this piece of junk to fight monsters? You gonna wipe their faces with it?”
“I…” The boy bit his lip. “Out of everyone, only I can detect this foul scent. If I don’t do something—”
“Cut the crap.” Chen Junnan sighed. “Kid, your ability’s special, but you’re missing some brains. Last night, there was a guy named Qi Xia in the room you visited. Go talk to him—maybe he can fix that empty head of yours.”
“Qi Xia…?” The boy pondered. “But I’m the ‘hero.’ I’m meant to be alone—”
“Yeah, yeah.” Chen Junnan waved dismissively. “Your ‘hero’ stats are way too low. Go get a power-up from Old Qi.”
Ignoring the boy, he walked out into the dawn light.
This mission was critical—not only did he have to outmaneuver Di She’s game, but he also needed to pry information about “Tian She” from that old pervert.
If only Tianma and Tianhu were making moves, there might still be hope… but if all the “Celestial” zodiacs mobilized, Qi Xia would be in real danger.
No one knew what that lunatic Tianlong might do to him.
At the school gate, Chen Junnan exchanged a few fake pleasantries with the guards, then checked the map. Just as he was about to leave, he spotted a group approaching in the distance.
Squinting, he saw a line of leather-clad figures.
Without waiting to see their faces, Chen Junnan immediately shut the iron gate behind him and told the guards, “Go call for backup.”
“Huh?” The young guard hesitated, then sprinted off.
It seemed the “Land of the End” was truly about to change.
Chen Junnan stretched lazily, loosening up as the approaching figures came into view.
“Huh?” He’d expected a fight, but the faces were familiar. “Little Song?”
Song Qi’s expression was completely different from yesterday.
“I need to see Chu Tianqiu,” Song Qi said.
“Telling me won’t help—I’m not one of his lackeys.” Chen Junnan smirked, eyeing Song Qi and the sea of black-clad figures behind him. “Little Song, this is quite the entourage. Planning to start something?”
“Might have to.” Song Qi studied the man before him. He knew Chen Junnan retained many memories but still had no idea who he really was.
“If you’re gonna fight, wait a bit.” Chen Junnan said. “A couple of my buddies are still asleep. Once they’re gone, you can go wild.”
“Brother, I didn’t ask last time… Mind giving me a name now?” Song Qi asked.
“Gourd Boy,” Chen Junnan replied. “What’s it to you?”
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