CH 10

Ji Ning’s consciousness was plunged into darkness, his ears ringing with overlapping voices. They came from many different people and languages. Male and female, old and young, human and animal – roars and cries and other sounds. Some voices Ji Ning didn’t even recognise.

They all called his name, weeping, whining, screaming in resentment as if they were crying blood. Ji Ning felt a chill in the bottom of his heart but couldn’t help being attracted to the calling in his head. 

He tried to step forward but his body plunged into nothingness, sinking into an abyss that never ended. As he fell, flashes of a blurry image appeared before him in the darkness…

The vision was of a darkened room, filled with dozens of white candles. They burned with an azure light, bathing their surroundings in a faint blue hue, and vaguely illuminating a huge altar of white bones.

Beneath the altar of bones there lay a mountain of skeletons, both man and beast alike. The bones trembled slightly, making a faint humming sound. After listening for a while, Ji Ning realised these were the voices that had been crying his name.

As he continued to fall, the image changed, displaying the centre of the altar. Under the blue candlelight, a silver haired man was illuminated. 

The man was clothed in black, silver hair scattered like waterfall foam across his shoulders. His appearance was handsome but he carried a chilling and stern aura. Sat on a throne of bones, one look at the man was enough to make people sweat.

When Ji Ning first saw him he felt a twinge of trepidation, but looking closer he found the man felt inexplicably familiar.

Before he could fully recall why, the silver haired man appeared to sense something, sweeping his eyes towards Ji Ning. But the next moment the scene disappeared like mist. The figure of the man vanished and Ji Ning was still falling.

He didn’t know how much time passed before he reached a pile of bones at the end of his fall. Although he had landed, his body was like air and he was unable to feel the bones around him.

Before him was the same altar he’s seen glimpses of previously, but now Ji Ning was really standing in front of it.

An inexplicable force pulled him towards the altar and he walked over slowly. The blue candlelight revealed a figure.

Lying on the altar was a young man wearing a deep red wedding dress. He was beautiful but his face was pale and lifeless.

It was Ji Ning. 

At the film’s celebration feast Ji Ning, who had taken a single sip of wine, held the glass precariously in his hand.

Seeing that he looked unsteady, Gu Chen stretched out his hand to support him but Herinos, one step ahead of him, had already embraced Ji Ning, looking down at the person in his arms in concern.

Ji Ning’s sudden collapse startled the director. Worried that his previous injury had not healed he quickly asked, “What’s wrong with Xiao Ji?”

“He’s fine.” 

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“Efjiis?”

Ktf vlgfmabg mbeivc’a yfilfnf la. Coafg jii, Al Rlcu tjvc’a yffc vglcxlcu. Pa kbeiv yf wbgf jmmegjaf ab rjs tf vlqqfv j yla bo jimbtbi bc tlr ilqr. Ggecx? Ktlr kjr rlwqis jc jimbtbi jiifgus!

But since it was said by Ji Ning’s friend, the director had no reason not to believe it, so he said with a smile, “Then you have to help him recover for a while. Do you want me to ask someone to help you?” 

Herinos was about to decline the proposal when Gu Chen smiled and said, “I can help, okay?”

“…” Herinos glanced at him silently, then raised an eyebrow as if an idea had just occurred to him, and agreed to Gu Chen’s suggestion. The two of them carried Ji Ning by the arms and brought him to the lounge area.

The rest area and dining area were connected, separated by elegant potted plants and many sets of sofas and coffee tables. Although the dining area was very lively, the floor of the lounge was equipped with sound-absorbing devices, giving it a much quieter atmosphere.

“Let’s put him down.” 

Herinos helped Ji Ning to the sofa, leaning him against the backrest and carefully adjusting his posture so that he could sleep more comfortably.

After settling Ji Ning, Herinos sat down next to him, his long legs crossed in a relaxed yet elegant position. He clearly had no intentions of returning to the crew.

Gu Chen stood and watched him, as if he didn’t plan to leave immediately. Herinos gave him a sideways look, curled his lip and said lightly, “It’s enough for me to watch Xiao Ning here, you can go back now.”

“Senior seems to have a good relationship with Mr. Herinos.” 

Gu Chen didn’t seem to care about his indifference and maintained a gentle attitude. He smiled and said, “You must be friends that have known each other for a long time.”

“What are you trying to say?” Asked Herinos.

“I’m just envious.” Gu Chen replied, “Because I also want to become good friends with Senior.”

Herinos’ expression darkened. The smile dropped from his face leaving cold indifference and scrutiny. He stared at Gu Chen in silence, before barking out a laugh, “What you said was very direct.” 

“So I hope to get along with you because you are a friend of Senior’s.” said Gu Chen, “I’m curious what you think about that?”

“You want to be friends with us? Yes.” Herinos smiled in a friendly manner, “As long as you don’t interfere with me.”

He suddenly leaned over Ji Ning and placed a light kiss to his lips, then tilted his head at Gu Chen with a smile.

“Because I have never just wanted to be his friend. Do you understand?” 

Cu Chen’s pupils shrank suddenly.

Ji Ning was taken aback by the sight of the boy wearing a wedding dress who had his face, when he suddenly realised who the silver haired man was.

His name was Ying Qianqiu, the male protagonist of the Xuanhuan world. The reason why Ji Ning hadn’t recognised him before, was that when he first met Ying Qianqiu he had been an introverted and shy young man, with ordinary dark hair. The changes to his appearance made him near unrecognisable.

If it wasn’t for seeing this body in a red wedding dress, Ji Ning probably wouldn’t have guessed his true identity for a while, but the dress gave it away. After all, he had only had the opportunity to come into contact with such clothes in the Xuanhuan world, where his identity had been Ying Qianqiu’s fiance. 

But where had the body come from, it shouldn’t exist.

Ji Ning was confused, his ending in that world had been as miserable as ever, and in the end he was completely crushed to dust. So where had Ying Qianqiu got that body from?

【That is not a real body. It was made from various materials in the Xuanhuan world.】

The mechanical voice of Future spoke in Ji Ning’s mind. 

It was rare for him to take the initiative to talk to Ji Ning, meaning the situation was important, so Ji Ning asked,「What’s happened, why am I here?」

【Your soul is in a delicate state. Ying Qianqiu performed a blood sacrifice ritual for you, causing part of your soul to be attracted to this world, which has brought you here.】

「You mean soul summoning?」Ji Ning was taken aback,「So that means this is Ying Qianqiu’s world?」

【Yes. Ying Qianqiu’s world is also merging with Gu Chen’s world. The universes of the two worlds have combined to form an interconnected existence.】Future said,【Ying Qianqiu’s soul summoning ceremony came into effect because of this, but it is not stable.】 

「How will this affect me?」Ji Ning focused on the key point.

【The worst case scenario is that your soul will split, meaning two of you will exist in two different worlds at the same time. A split soul can cause you to go mad.】

Future continued,【Under these special circumstances I can appeal to a superior to heal your soul, lowering the possibility of soul splitting. However, it will most likely result in a situation where your consciousness alternates between the two worlds.】

【You are currently unable to go back, but without the protection of a body, your soul will become damaged and might even dissipate. You need to find a suitable body as soon as possible.】 

「I understand.」

Ji Ning nodded but didn’t panic. There was a suitable body provided by Ying Qianqiu right in front of him. As for how to deal with Ying Qianqiu, that was a problem to be considered later, but he believed he could manage it.

Despite having exchanged only a few words, Ji Ning could see his fingers becoming more transparent. Thankfully Future had taken the initiative to speak to him, the speed at which his soul weakened was frightening.

Ji Ning knew that the method for returning a soul to a body was actually very simple. It was similar to getting into bed. However when he tried to enter the body, he found he was completely blocked from it, as if the body was rejecting his soul. 

【The body hasn’t been fully refined yet, you cannot use it.】Future said,【You need to find another body immediately.】

「Next time, you should say that kind of thing first!」

Ji Ning turned and ran from the altar of bones, searching for a suitable body in the expansive darkness, but all he could see were skeletons. The further he travelled, the fresher the corpses became but they were already decayed and marked with the aura of death and Ji Ning was unable to bind to them.

To make matters worse, the cave system was huge. Although the path out was simple, Ji Ning was unable to find the exit even after travelling for a long time, his soul becoming more and more transparent. 

Ji Ning ran to the point where it was near unbearable, pushing himself forward until he finally found an intact corpse. It was a monster corpse, with dirty white fur and the appearance of a puppy.

The current situation didn’t allow Ji Ning to be fussy. He touched the white cub’s body with his finger, slowly integrating his soul inside of it.

It took a while before he opened his eyes again. The tip of his nose could sense the rotten stench emanating from the surrounding bones, but it was not as strong as it should be, indicating that the bones had been treated with something. Normally the smell would have caused him to faint immediately.

He looked down at what should be his hands, to see two small white paws, stained with blood. He picked one up to look underneath and found pink fleshy pads… 

It would be better to think about leaving the cave first.

Inside the cub’s body, Ji Ning staggered up. He did his best to maintain his balance but before he could take a few steps, he tripped and started rolling.

Ji Ning was rolled so badly he almost vomited, but when he finally stopped, he found a pair of feet blocking his vision.

A pair of feet in black boots. 

This was my favourite comment: ‘The humble male protagonist has become a furry.’

I completely forgot how cool Herinos was in this chapter, wow!

Here he is, my beautiful Xuanhuan protagonist: Ying Qianqiu!! I’m so excited to introduce him to you all