The organizer of the Escape Game in the Xiaoxiang City was again Cass—the fat, irritable inn owner of Taohua Village. He smiled fiercely, passing through all the audience, to the place where Bird Three was sitting.
“Bird Three? The one defeated by the White Wolf ten years ago? I never thought he was still alive. What a poor guy; escaped from the monsters, only to now be swallowed by the ghost. Though his mind is still in the body, the soul was bitten by the ghost. If not because that he has a good heart, and being protected by the ancient spirits, he would have been dead already.” Cass waved his hand to a mind master hiding in a dark place, suggesting for him to speed up Bird Three’s inner spiritual fire’s burning and let him die quicker.
“Stop! You can’t kill him.” Que Siyu went out to cover Bird’s body by standing in front of him, and stared angrily at Cass. “Cass, don’t forget that your life was also saved by Bird ten years ago. His time has not yet come, so give him the final chance to control the Cyan-Face Walking Dead. If he fails, I will let you have his body. And more than that, I will hand myself in.”
Yin Xuelan begged her brother for her best friend. However, her brother was aggravated by Que Siyu’s decision. “Que Siyu, you forgot your responsibility as the ancestor of the Four Families and you make such a ridiculous agreement with the Mantang Inn for this stinky boy. I ask you to give up as soon as possible. If the inn wants his life, even the kings of this land can’t stop them, let alone our families.”
“I never thought this dying boy had two families to speak for him. Great! I admire your master’s self-sacrificing behavior to the people on this land, so now I will give you some more time. Que Siyu, Yin Chubei, remember that you should kill him yourselves if his trouble is not well settled before the new game starts.”
Then Cass turned to announce the rules of the new competition.
“Yin Chubei, thank you!” Que Siyu cared nothing about the new rules. After saying this, she fixed her eyes on Bird, and even ignored the dark look on the face of Yin Chubei.
“Siyu, even if he survived this time, the Ghost-Power Masters can’t live on this land. People will run for him. Besides, you are a mind master, too. You also have the responsibility to extinguish the Ghost-Power Masters,” Yin Chubei said to her in a low voice.
“Bird is my savior; besides, he is the student of Quehun, the saint of our Que Family. So he is also one of my family, and I can’t let him be. Cass also mentioned that he lived until now only because he had a good heart, and is thus being protected by the ancient spirits. Though he is controlled by the ghost, the ghost won’t kill him because it also needs the spiritual fire to be renewed. That’s why he is still living, and I regard this as a protection by my uncle’s spirit in heaven,” Que Siyu said steadily; she never thought to give up, looking at Bird’s pale face.
Cass was still focusing on his long narrative about the new game. During this time, some of the competitors feared Bird being fully swallowed by the ghost and then being slaughtered, so they begged Cass to allow them leave first. They were killed by him.
The Cyan-Face Ghost was still absorbing Bird’s spiritual fire. The more it had, the more ferocious it looked. The darker cyan cloud covering Bird became thicker and thicker.
Now Bird’s mind was still in the big library. Time in this library had stilled, and he didn’t feel the outside world, or his coming death.
He was searching the ancient books for traces of the reason why the ghosts turned vicious, and more about the Ghost-Power Masters’ responsibilities. Finally, he found the one in his body. Bird stood up to speak toward the black sky, his words passing through time and space, to reach someone’s ears.
“The Primordial King of the Dead. Your name is Jiang Chen. Thousands of years ago, the stars of heaven fell, and the earth was impacted. This calamity forced the people of that time to dig you out from the deep ocean. You were bothered from your long sleep, and you became furious with them. Your anger led the whole world to death. Peopled died under your wrath, and a new land began. This was the beginning of our land, Canghun. But now, the land again has fallen into chaos. What’s your purpose of turning your spirit into a common ghost shape and attaching yourself to me, Lord of Canghun?”
For a long time, the sky and stars above the library didn’t change. He remembered that his master had told him that the fate of beings on the land was decided by the stars. He never thought that the reason why he had survived the disaster ten years ago was because he had the protection of the ghost or that this ghost was the creator of this land.
“The ancient books had given me the method of conquering you, using goodness to cast spells. And I have found out your name from the book ocean. Let me take your spirit to walk around this new world, Jiang Chen. Thus, I may find out your purpose.”
A cool feeling touched his face, like a wind sweeping across it. Then, rain fell, and then, thunder, lightning crashed and ripped. . . He knew this was the answer from Jiang Chen, the Primordial King of the Dead, now his own ghost. His lips curved up in a beautiful smile. He walked away from this library.
When Bird opened his eyes, the Cyan-Face Walking Dead was still in an unstable situation. He stood up, carrying the terrific ghost as he walked toward Que Siyu step by step.
Yin Xuelan grew panicked at this change, and she nervously protected Que Siyu, her best friend. Yin Chubei had accumulated his powers in his hands, ready to kill Bird if necessary. However, before he could reach Bird, he was forced back by the cyan-black cloud. His body was pushed heavily back into a tree by the strong strength.
Que Siyu stared at the monster on his back sadly for a while. Then, she understood what happened and began to smile.
“Bird, you did it. Congratulations!” Que Siyu called out. Her white eyes hindered her from seeing Bird’s face, but she recognized the change in the ghost. “Bird, you found his name.”
“The ghost has protected me for ten years, and I don’t know its name. That’s why he is angry. Now I that I know his name, I will treat him with honestly. I am sorry I can’t tell you his name.” Bird had used out all his efforts during this long-time struggle, and he fell into Que Siyu’s embrace.
Cass had finished his task. Seeing this change in Bird, he smiled in a uncanny, cunning way, and disappeared into the hall. Soon, the green cover on the top of the hall disappeared with him, together with all the competitors.
Bird fell to the ground in the hall, being beaten by the officer’s underlings.
Que Siyu threw out a black iron token to the officer. The officer was trying to blame her for this movement, but when he saw the character “Secret” on the token, his face turned respectful.
“His name is Bird Three, a survivor of Taohua Village. If you don’t believe, you can check with the host of the Escape Game.” Que Siyu lifted up Bird to leave.
At this moment, a young lady ran in, staggering. She yelled to the officer, “My honor, I have a wrong case!”