NOVEL WEB Ch. 89
Chapter 89: Waiting
[Detected that the update target has been achieved.]
[Opening the passage for you...]
[Welcome back to reality.]
...
I felt that the system picked a good time this time.
At least it didn’t pull me back to reality in the middle of a fight like before.
Since the manga artist adjusted the update schedule, I didn’t need to go to the manga world for the remaining four days of the week, so I signed up for a few summer classes to learn more things.
Last week, the manga artist updated two consecutive chapters of the Ranmu Arc, and I speculated that the artist wanted to align the progress of both storylines.
That meant this week’s update of the main Zhusheng Arc content would likely pick up from the time when An Heyu and I brought the undead to find Dan.
On Wednesday, the manga updated the main storyline.
Continuing from the previous chapter, Yan Changxiao was telling Yiming and the others about his master’s deeds, inevitably mentioning the Former Ability Guild.
This was the third time the manga provided information about the Former Ability Guild after An Huyu’s introduction.
An Huyu only knew about the process—the existence and dissolution of the Former Ability Guild—while Yan Changxiao knew more.
Because of Sang Feiling, he had met some of the guild’s higher-ups.
In the dark night, a few enemies who had once crossed blades sat together, facing the long river in Zhusheng City, under a sky full of stars, sharing night talks.
Yan Changxiao described the Former Ability Guild he had once seen.
"At that time, I was following my master, moving bricks with them when they built Dawn City," Yan Changxiao recalled with a smile.
"Moving bricks?" An Huyu couldn’t imagine it. "Weren’t you all ability users? Why did you have to move bricks yourselves?"
"Because most members of the Former Ability Guild were ordinary people and low-rank ability users, right?" Yiming speculated. "If high-rank ability users did everything, it would only make them dependent, always expecting high-rank ability users to solve problems. That would go against their philosophy of mutual help."
"That’s right," Yan Changxiao nodded in agreement.
He recalled those scenes, slowly recounting the days of sweating under the scorching sun.
And those people from the past.
The introverted and socially anxious sharpshooter Shen Qingqing, the bold and generous iron warrior Shi Quan, the flirtatious hypnotist Xuan Ying...
The manga included their faces and Sang Feiling as seen through Yan Changxiao’s perspective.
They smiled under the sunlight, alongside companions who shared their beliefs, building their Dawn City.
Their eyes seemed to shine, filled with hope for the future they anticipated and worked toward.
The black-and-white panels froze those smiles, carrying an indescribable sadness.
They had long since passed away.
Except for the noble-born Sang Feiling, they all died in the upheaval six years ago.
"They were all good people," Yiming said.
He was clearly empathizing, his eyelashes lowering, his face showing sorrow.
"Good people don’t live long in this world," An Huyu said.
Yu Xiao stared at the water’s surface, as if looking at the reflection of the stars.
He didn’t say anything, and Tang wore an expression of wanting to speak but held back.
Later, Yan Changxiao parted ways with Yiming and the others.
He was preparing to formally challenge the highest prize set by the Sang clan nobles, using the winner’s reward to save his master.
This challenge, designated by the Sang clan nobles, required the challenger to defeat all ability users in the coliseum in a series of battles, killing each opponent.
The only way to win was to survive—a fight to the death.
The Sang clan nobles loved watching commoners fight desperately for the rewards they offered.
"I’m prepared to die for this," Yan Changxiao said.
As he had once told Li Baige, he would die for his beliefs.
After Yan Changxiao left, Yiming and the others were left pondering the information they had just received.
"Yiming, you’re not thinking of getting involved, are you?" Tang asked warily.
Yiming nodded and said, “Don’t worry, I won’t fight them head-on.”
He had a plan, and after explaining it to An Huyu, An Huyu nodded, finding it feasible.
A day later, Yan Changxiao stood on the arena, beginning his challenge.
Meanwhile, Yiming and the others took advantage of him being the crowd’s focus and secretly infiltrated the coliseum.
The Sang clan nobles on the viewing platform laughed as they watched Yan Changxiao’s efforts, indeed not noticing Yiming and his group.
Yan Changxiao had said he suspected Sang Feiling was imprisoned in the lowest level of this coliseum, so Yiming and his group’s goal was to find Sang Feiling in the deepest level.
If Yan Changxiao failed, they would do everything to help Sang Feiling escape.
However, during their infiltration, Yu Xiao got lost again.
Yiming and Tang: “…Typical of him.”
An Huyu, encountering this situation for the first time and unaware of the context, naively asked, “Should we go find Yu Xiao?”
The other two shook their heads decisively, their expressions practically cold.
Tang said coldly, “If he’s not dead, leave him be.”
An Huyu: “…You’re so harsh, Tang.”
Seeing this, Li Li similarly exclaimed, “As expected of the flipping fish.”
She felt Yu Xiao’s luck was entirely spent on helping him avoid danger.
Afterward, the protagonist trio, through considerable effort and heart-pounding moments, successfully reached the lowest level.
And there, they indeed saw Sang Feiling.
In a crude cell, chains filled the entire space.
In this darkness untouched by sunlight, she was dressed in tatters, her clothes torn.
Deep within the chains, she lit a candle, illuminating her face.
Half of it was lively and beautiful, like an antelope running freely in the fields, yet numbed and exhausted from years of imprisonment and hardship.
The other half was covered in scratches, with flesh turned outward, forming old scars, the surface pitted and uneven, leaving only her eyes reflecting the candlelight.
She was the traveler, the free Sang Feiling.
But now, she was trapped in this damp, sunless prison, her face no longer rosy, no longer resembling her former self.
The Sang Feiling in Yan Changxiao’s memory was not this person before them.
Yet, when Yiming and the others arrived, she showed a joyful smile, her eyes seemingly sparkling with starlight.
She looked at the few youths outside the cell, her facial muscles twitching in the candlelight.
“You’re here,” she said.
The perspective shifted, and the scene moved to the arena.
Yan Changxiao faced his final opponent, someone of the same rank but with an unknown ability.
He wounded his opponent to the brink of death, on the verge of victory.
Then the ability activated, and the ability user swapped their states.
Health and near-death switched instantly; Yan Changxiao lost all strength, on the verge of death.
The audience laughed and shouted, and the Sang clan nobles looked down from the high platform, as if mocking the challenger’s naivety.
They waited for Yan Changxiao to be torn apart by the ability user.
…
The manga ended here, leaving an itching cliffhanger.
Li Li admitted she was hooked by the manga artist.
If Ranmu City weren’t in its current state, preventing Li Li from going to spectate, she would definitely have gone to tease Yiming and meet Sang Feiling.
Readers in the same boat as her were already screaming wildly on the forum, but Li Li, with more information, couldn’t help but think things over.
Sang Feiling’s words were directed at Yiming, Li Li was certain.
She clearly knew something, and considering her connection with the Prophet, Li Li naturally assumed the Prophet had told her she would meet Yiming here.
It wasn’t hard to guess, but Li Li wanted to know exactly what the Prophet had told Sang Feiling.
But she’d have to wait a week for the main story’s next update to find out.
For the first time, Li Li felt the manga artist should draw more, at least enough to let her know why Sang Feiling was waiting for Yiming.
While thinking, Li Li flipped through the manga, returning to the page where Sang Feiling met Yiming and the others.
Looking at the light that suddenly sparked in Sang Feiling’s tired eyes, she suddenly thought of Lin Ran.
She recalled the first time she met Lin Ran, how she seemed similarly pale, similarly surprised.
“I almost feel like she was waiting for me back then…” She laughed, thinking she was overimagining.
But then she froze slightly.
No, Lin Ran couldn’t control Eternal Night, so why did she expend her ability to appear at night?
Li Li always found Lin Ran’s attitude toward her strange.
She didn’t think saving someone on a whim would make Lin Ran see her differently, and Lin Ran’s words even hinted at wanting her to become the city lord and manage Ranmu City in her place.
But what if she had known she would meet someone in the dark? What if someone had told her she would find a close friend?
It was a wild thought, but Li Li suddenly felt it made sense.
“What am I thinking? Lin Ran hated the Prophet; there’s no way she’d believe in something like a prophecy.” She felt conflicted, thinking it unlikely.
Though Lin Ran was dead, Li Li felt the questions she left behind were growing.
Or maybe she was just overthinking.
…
Three days later, the Ranmu Arc updated.
The content of the Ranmu Arc was largely consistent with what happened: Lin Ran’s death, Ranmu City’s Eternal Night continuing.
Thanks to Li Li’s denial, the forum didn’t pin the blame on her.
But in this chapter, due to Li Li’s conversation with Dan, Dan’s identity as a cross-dressing bigshot was revealed.
[Ahhh, Manga Artist, look at how cute Dan is, so cute! And you’re telling me he’s a guy?]
[A guy isn’t that bad, hehe…]
[Bad my ass!!!]
For a while, forum authors writing Ranmu Arc fanfiction about marrying the city lord or becoming Lin Ruye’s stepdad mourned Lin Ran, while those writing about dating Dan or adding him to their harem went crazy, covering their ears and refusing to believe.
【Ruye, your mother died, but don’t be sad, your stepdad will take good care of you!】
【I don’t believe it, I don’t believe it! Dan-chan must be a girl! Such a cute girl!】
Li Li thought that stepdad declaration was something she’d love to read aloud to Lin Ruye, not for any reason other than it seemed fun.
Besides that, there were posts related to her, though those posts were far from serious.
【I’m a doggo, Heige is coming to pick me up, woof!】
【Heige! Are you getting another dog besides me?!】
【Open the forum, and hear a chorus of woofs.】
【Woof woof woof woof woof woof!】
Li Li: Be serious!
She couldn’t handle that many dogs!
...
After the Ranmu Arc updated, it was time to head to the manga world again.
[Preparing to cross over.]
[Passage opened. Wishing you to become a highly popular character, bringing new vitality to the manga.]
The sky was overcast, explosions and screams rising and falling.
The people of this city had lost the protection of their city lord, forced into a hopeless, endless eternal night.
A black figure vanished from the spot.
Li Li faced the raging wind, the mask at the corner of her eye turning into red patterns.
Her smiling face froze in that moment.
District 13 was within reach.
The next second, she crossed that boundary, entering District 13.
No one stopped her—or rather, the boy who would guard this place like a vicious dog was unable to stop her.