Chapter 919: Let the Flowers Bloom

Yang Ge has been missing for several days now.

Just as I had expected, after that incident, I haven't seen him again.

The entire Jì Lè Qiánzhuāng was emptied overnight, leaving behind only some shattered statues.

Jiang Ruoxue and I spent several days searching the entire city for Yang Ge, but we had no idea what he might have transformed into.

Would he become more like a "sheep," or more like a "human"?

If it was a sheep, what breed would it be? If it was a human, what would he look like?

Searching for Bái Yáng was no simple task. Jiang Ruoxue and I wandered around the city like two headless flies, our moods shifting from initial faint hope to eventual utter despair.

The novelty of the "next step plan" lasted only a few days before we returned to our previous state.

We lived on mechanically, with the path ahead gradually filling with fog.

We even ventured into alleys we had never entered before, discovering various hidden Shēngxiào in the corners, but we never encountered Bái Yáng.

"Zhīchūn... don't you think it's too quiet?"

Jiang Ruoxue asked me, her head drooped.

We were resting in a narrow alley, with a human-level Shēngxiào standing not far away.

"Quiet...?"

I looked around the street. "Are you talking about here? It's true, there aren't many people."

"No."

Jiang Ruoxue shook her head. "Zhīchūn, ever since Bái Yáng left, everything here has been too quiet..."

No sooner had she spoken than the Shēngxiào a few steps away suddenly started soliciting. He cleared his throat and said to us:

"Would you two like to participate in my game?"

Jiang Ruoxue and I glanced at him, but neither of us responded. These kinds of Shēngxiào were everywhere. His game was set up in a secluded path, probably rarely attracting Cān Yú Zhě.

Jiang Ruoxue turned back to me, her expression serious as she said:

"Zhīchūn, don't you find the atmosphere now a bit strange...? The 'upper level' is quiet, the Shēngxiào are quiet, and even the Cān Yú Zhě are quiet... It seems like no one is making any big moves. Are they all waiting for something, or guarding against something?"

I felt Jiang Ruoxue was right. Ever since Yang Ge disappeared, everything seemed to have quieted down. Even the previously most powerful Cān Yú Zhě had toned down their actions.

The group that had always been conquering Shēngxiào, known as Tiān Táng Kǒu, had stopped risking their lives against them and seemed to be conserving their strength instead.

What were they all doing? Why had the atmosphere here changed so much from before?

"I really feel something's off..."

Jiang Ruoxue frowned at me and said, "Zhīchūn... the current situation is like the calm before a storm. It seems like some massive cause and effect is about to emerge... This place is going to be turned upside down..."

Yes... that was originally Yang Ge's plan. He would return here one day and turn everything upside down.

But where was he now?

I sighed and turned my face, my gaze meeting that of the figure a few steps away—the Rén Hóu.

He had been watching Jiang Ruoxue and me the whole time.

His mask was a bit odd. Although he was a Rén Hóu, it was the face of a decayed baboon.

"Would you two like to participate in my game?"

He asked again.

"We're not participating."

Jiang Ruoxue said, "Don't waste your effort. We're not here to find the Dào. Save your breath."

I furrowed my brow slightly, as if I had thought of something.

"You two, if you participate... I'll give you a plastic fake flower."

The Rén Hóu said again. "Really, won't you try?"

"A plastic fake flower...?"

Jiang Ruoxue slowly lifted her head and stared at the Rén Hóu with me.

His figure overlapped with someone from my memories.

"You... you're..."

Jiang Ruoxue started to speak, but I quickly pulled her back.

"If you don't want to join the game, that's fine."

I prompted her.

The Rén Hóu hadn't called out our names, probably afraid we would suddenly recognize him.

He had indeed come here and become one of the Rén Hóu in Dào Chéng.

This meant he had gambled away the previous Rén Hóu, and it also meant Yù Chéng had completely failed.

Even if Gǔ Yù took everything he learned from Dào Chéng and Wò Chéng back to reshuffle things, he still couldn't cure the city's deep illness.

But how long had Gǔ Yù been here? After all, it had been many years since we last met. Was his appearance in this dim alley recent, or had he been here for years?

Seeing the complicated expressions on Jiang Ruoxue's and my faces, he knew we had recognized him.

"It's okay if you don't participate."

He said again, "But I still want to give you the flower."

He pulled out that familiar black stick from his pocket and handed it to me.

"Rén Hóu... aren't you supposed to give us a flower?"

I said, holding the black stick. "We're not magicians; we don't know how to use this prop."

"Let it bloom."

The Rén Hóu said, his voice choking. "If possible, please help me..."

"Help you...?"

"The flower won't bloom... The iron walls around it are too hard..."

The Rén Hóu said, "I've never been able to break through this hard iron wall, but inside there's a very beautiful flower... If you can't bring out the 'flower,' could you at least try to bring out the 'seed'? It's the seed of 'hope'... I'm begging you. If you can take the hope away, I'll find a way to repay you."

Jiang Ruoxue and I weren't fools; we understood what he meant clearly.

"You're not joking, are you?"

I sighed and said, "That's not our 'flower,' and not our 'seed.' This iron stick has been with you all along, and even you couldn't make the flower bloom. Why expect outsiders to do it for you?"

"I've tried every method..."

The Rén Hóu lowered his head. "But the flower and seed are stuck tight... This hard black iron wall is closing in, and eventually, it'll crush the flower and shatter the seed. I've hit a dead end, but maybe others can think of something I can't..."

"But the iron wall is too hard."

I said, "Jiang Ruoxue and I are just ordinary people. Our nails would break against it, so I won't take the risk, and I won't let her take it either. We've done enough for a magician."

After hearing this, Gǔ Yù's eyes went lifeless, and he slowly lowered his head.

He probably knew how unreasonable his request was. No matter who was left in Yù Chéng that hadn't escaped, it had nothing to do with us.

We had already shared a lot of knowledge about the Èn Place and Shēngxiào with Gǔ Yù, and even guided him on a relatively safe path to escape. Now, asking us to venture into Yù Chéng was something I absolutely wouldn't agree to.

"I'm sorry."

The Rén Hóu said, lowering his head in disappointment. "I was being delusional... Thank you."

"What about the flower?"

Jiang Ruoxue suddenly asked from the side.

"The flower?"

The Rén Hóu looked at her.

"Does the flower want to bloom?"

Jiang Ruoxue asked again. "Does she want to bloom on her own, or hope that someone takes the seed away?"

"If you... Zhīchūn, everything is 'cause and effect.'"

Jiang Ruoxue said to me. "The things we're encountering now were predetermined long ago."

The Rén Hóu sighed deeply and said, "I don't know if the flower wants to 'bloom,' but it definitely hopes someone will take the seed away."