Chapter Eighteen: All Things Possess a Spirit

Saturday morning.

Nangong Yuchen opened his tired eyes. After work last night, he had spent another hour cultivating. Although his physical strength had surged thanks to the nutrient solution, he never dared to slack off in his training, so he went to bed very late.

Yet at seven o’clock, Angel began calling him incessantly, waking him up with no hope of further sleep. He could only resign himself to getting up early—after all, he had promised her in person just yesterday.

After washing up, he hurried to the rapid rail station and made his way toward District C.

From the outskirts of District D to the eastern side of District C was a journey of about an hour. There was no helping it—Qinghu Town was located to the east of District C, and transferring between lines cost even more time.

Just past half-past eight, his phone rang again. Nangong Yuchen didn’t need to look; he knew it was Angel. At first, he didn’t want to pick up, but the phone kept ringing, and his annoyance finally got the better of him.

“Hello? What are you in such a rush for? It’s only eight-thirty,” Nangong Yuchen said irritably.

“Hmph, I’ve been waiting at the station for you for half an hour already. Can’t a big guy like you get here a bit earlier?” Angel’s voice rang out, clear and pleasant.

“You were the one who said nine o’clock, wasn’t it, class leader?” Nangong Yuchen couldn’t make sense of her logic. If not for Le Han yesterday, he wouldn’t have agreed to wander around with her, especially not in Qinghu Town.

“I don’t care. I’ll wait another twenty minutes, and if you’re not here, I’ll tell the homeroom teacher on Monday that you bullied me!” Angel declared shamelessly over the phone.

“I bullied you?” Nangong Yuchen was speechless. “With your attitude, I wouldn’t want you even if you threw yourself at me!”

Of course, that last part he kept to himself. He didn’t dare say it out loud. Offending her would mean social death in their class—after all, she was the well-rounded, beloved class leader, trusted by every teacher.

Over twenty minutes later, the train’s broadcast sounded: “Next stop, East Station of District C. Passengers, please prepare to disembark…”

Squeezed off the train with the flow of people, Nangong Yuchen searched for a while before finally spotting his target in a corner.

Today, Angel was dressed in a white long dress, which accentuated her delicate, graceful figure perfectly. Her black hair was tied in a ponytail as always, but the dress lent her a serene elegance, quite different from the youthful energy of yesterday’s sportswear.

“What a pity, those freckles…” When his gaze finally landed on the girl’s pretty face, Nangong Yuchen felt a tinge of regret.

At that moment, Angel spotted him as well. She said with some annoyance, “Hmph! You’re ten minutes late!”

“Look, you asked me to come with you—I didn’t ask you to wait for me!” Nangong Yuchen retorted bluntly. He didn’t feel aggrieved, but she was already complaining.

Angel lifted her chin, threatening righteously, “Fine, then leave. I’ll just tell the homeroom teacher on Monday that you bullied me!”

Nangong Yuchen felt a headache coming on. He couldn’t stand this girl—how had he never noticed her shameless side in class before?

In the end, he compromised, sighing, “Forget it. Didn’t you want to go to Qinghu Town? Let’s get moving.”

With that, he stopped arguing and strode toward the bus station. Qinghu Town wasn’t part of the city or the suburbs; it was an independent town under the jurisdiction of Ruxia City. The rapid rail didn’t go there—they would have to take a short-distance bus.

Angel trailed behind him, the two of them walking apart as if they didn’t know each other. It took them over twenty minutes to reach the station.

Inside the ticket hall, Nangong Yuchen said to Angel, “Money—fifty bucks, our bus fare.”

“You’re actually asking me for that little money? From a girl?” she said loudly, drawing the attention of passersby.

“I…” Nangong Yuchen turned red under the strange looks and simply paid the fifty himself, buying two tickets.

He felt like coughing up blood—this girl completely had him under her thumb, and he couldn’t do a thing about it.

Angel covered her mouth, giggling, and the two boarded the bus, sitting at the very back to wait for departure.

More and more passengers boarded until all the seats were taken. Then the driver started up the bus, heading for Qinghu Town.

...

Two hours passed before they knew it.

Nangong Yuchen led Angel off the bus and headed for a crossroads nearby.

“Wow, Nangong, is this Qinghu Town?” Angel stood at the roadside, gazing at the misty valley ahead. “It’s beautiful! I never thought you could see scenery like this in the city!”

In the distance lay a hazy valley, veiled in soft mist, elusive and dreamlike.

Here, clouds floated lazily, trees gleamed with dew, and everything was as pristine as untouched nature. A gentle breeze carried the fresh scent of the wild, making one’s body and soul relax and linger in silent delight.

Nangong Yuchen didn’t answer her. Instead, he followed a winding path down the hillside.

Angel’s face was alight with excitement. She chattered nonstop, captivated by everything around her, wishing she’d been born here.

Nangong Yuchen appeared calm, but the familiar scents and sights made his heart tremble. Every blade of grass and tree was deeply etched in his memory. After so many years, he had finally returned.

“Up ahead is Qing Lake, the namesake of Qinghu Town. As for the town itself, beyond the hills… we—we’re not going there,” he said quietly, not looking back.

“Why not? I heard the scenery there is beautiful too. Isn’t this your hometown? Since you’re finally back, aren’t you going to see your old friends?” Angel asked, her tone slowing deliberately at the end.

Nangong Yuchen shuddered, snapping back to reality. He snapped coldly, “I said we’re not going, so drop it, will you?”

“You…” Angel wanted to retort, but his cold eyes made her swallow her words and follow him in sulky silence.

Did he really not want to go back? Of course not.

He could still remember his family of four living here, his love for every inch of this land. But four years ago, a fire caused by his own actions had claimed the lives of several children—his childhood friends—and the villagers had driven out his entire family. They left their home, settling in Ruxia City.

“Enough!” The memory made Nangong Yuchen’s head throb. He shook his head to cast off the unhappy recollections and pressed on toward Qing Lake, with Angel trailing behind.

After a while, Nangong Yuchen stopped abruptly and said in a low voice, “Now will you tell me what you’re really up to?”

“Hm?” Angel didn’t understand.

“Last time, outside the Crystal Wall, what did you mean by those words?”

Angel was silent for a moment before finally looking up. “Nothing special. I just felt sorry for you and wanted you to become stronger.”

“Sorry for me?” Nangong Yuchen was about to question her further when Angel spoke again.

“Nangong Yuchen, do you believe in fate and prophecy?”

Her question made him pause. Fate? Prophecy? He shook his head inwardly. If fate truly existed, then everything he’d suffered was predestined?

He gave a self-mocking smile. What did it matter if you believed or not? All that mattered to him now was rescuing his parents, earning his sister’s forgiveness, and bringing Ningxue back to his side.

Angel seemed to sense his thoughts. She clasped her hands behind her back, twisting at the waist with a gentle smile. “Nangong, you must get stronger. Fate and prophecy really do exist in this world.”

With that, she quickened her pace, running ahead and calling out, “Let’s hurry to Qing Lake!”

A few minutes later, they rounded the hill and finally reached the bottom of the valley.

“This… this is…” Angel’s mouth fell open, stunned by the scene before her.

Within their sight, the lake was clear as jade, its surface gleaming like a mirror. Under the brilliant sunshine, it sparkled as if strewn with silver fragments. The lake was ringed with undulating hills, lush with trees and flowers—a true earthly paradise.

The breeze blew gently, carrying the wild fragrance of nature to the horizon, where it met the blue sky and white clouds, painting a picture that needed no embellishment.

Angel stammered, “This… is this Qing Lake?”

“Yes.” The familiar beauty before him still shocked Nangong Yuchen, even after more than four years away.

Giggling, Angel suddenly took off her shoes, skipped barefoot to the water’s edge like a joyful child, and exclaimed, “It’s so beautiful here! I haven’t felt such a presence in so many years!”

“There’s wind, water, sunlight, earth, and even thunder we can’t see. This is the most complete nature I’ve ever encountered here. Thank you so much, Nangong!”

“What do you mean?” Nangong Yuchen watched her spin around and asked, “What do you mean ‘here,’ what nature, what are you talking about?”

Angel turned, flashed him a bright smile, and continued excitedly, “Nangong, did you know? Everything in the world has a spirit. If you quiet your heart and listen, every mountain, every stream, every blade of grass and leaf is greeting us with a smile!”

As she finished, the wind suddenly picked up, tossing her dark hair and billowing her white dress.

“Listen, that’s the wind’s blessing!” Angel stood still, arms open, eyes closed and face uplifted, immersed in the moment.

“…Is…is that so?” Nangong Yuchen was startled by her odd behavior and began to wonder if she was out of her mind, when suddenly he froze.

He realized that Angel, not far away, was breathtakingly beautiful—more than he had ever seen her. Her delicate face was flawless, soft and radiant. Her black ponytail had somehow come loose, her hair now a shimmering purple like autumn grapes, dancing in the wind like a fairy.

Her white dress fluttered around her, highlighting her graceful figure perfectly.

“Is that Angel?” Nangong was shocked. He rubbed his eyes, then looked again.

But she was once again the same girl with a black ponytail and freckles. Perhaps he’d just been seeing things.

At that moment, Angel opened her eyes and smiled faintly, “Nangong, remember—every living thing has a spirit.”

“Everything has a spirit?”

Nangong repeated it to himself, still confused and about to ask more, when a sudden dizziness overcame him and he collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

Angel walked over, spreading her hands helplessly. “No choice. Since the town is off-limits, you’ll just have to sleep for a while.”

Then, gazing at the scene around her, she murmured, “I’ve lingered at the third stage for too long—it’s time for a breakthrough.”

“Wind from the other shore, everywhere and nowhere, dreamlike and illusory, oh wind!

Blazing flames, wild as stars, fierce as light, oh fire!

Glacial ice, freezing ten thousand miles, hard as stone, oh ice!

Crystal water, surging in disaster, oh water!

Vast earth, bearing all things, crumbling as at doomsday, oh earth!

Lightning and thunder, striking evil spirits and demons, oh thunder!”

As she chanted, the air around her shimmered with colors, surging toward Angel at the center…