••••••
Ji Ji returned to the city at sunset, a faint glow of flame still flickering between his fingers.. three red herbs glowing with a soft but stable heat.
The mission was complete.. but he didn't feel satisfied.
He entered the "General Task Association" building without saying a word and placed the herbs on the table. The same elderly man who had handed him the task sheet earlier slowly looked up, his brow rising when he saw the herbs.
"I didn't think you'd come back," he said calmly.
"But I did," Ji Ji replied with the same cold tone.. neither boasting nor expecting praise.
The man nodded and pulled a small pouch from one of the drawers.
"As promised.. twenty low-grade spirit stones. Fifty percent purity."
Ji Ji took the pouch. He could feel a faint spiritual energy emanating from the stones.. weak, but enough for the next step. He said nothing and left.
...
In a quiet alley rarely visited, he crouched down, pulled out a spirit stone, and began absorbing Qi.
He closed his eyes and drew in the spiritual flow. It coursed through his veins smoothly.. too smoothly.
The fourth layer.. it began to tremble.
He opened his eyes abruptly, and they gleamed with light.
> "This isn't normal.. In this body's memories, it wasn't like this. But the Qi enters as if I have a higher spiritual foundation."
"Is it because I'm not from this world.. or is it something deeper?"
...
The next morning, Ji Ji returned to the same mission building. But this time, he didn't ask for a third-grade task.
He stood before the old man and said:
"I want a second-grade mission."
The man stared at him for a few moments, then chuckled lightly:
"Finally thinking like a cultivator? Alright.. but second-grade isn't a stroll in the park. You'll have to leave the city borders. You might not come back."
He opened a small stone drawer and pulled out a leather scroll.
"There's a lake called the Black Mirror Lake, east of the city. Recently, some soul-hunters disappeared there. It's said that wandering souls rise from the water at night and attack anyone nearby."
"What's the task?"
"Identify the cause, or bring something to prove the spirits exist. The reward is fifty low-grade spirit stones.. and if you bring spiritual remains, you may get more."
Ji Ji took the scroll. As he walked out of the building, he muttered:
> "A lake, spirits, and darkness.. Seems I'm about to go deeper than I thought."
Then he headed east, where the shadow from the water awaited.
...
The sun was beginning to set again as Ji Ji left the city toward the east. A dirt path stretched before him, dissolving into a faint mist.. as if the earth hid secrets that could only be whispered to strangers.
Every step he took through the silent woods opened another window in his memory.. his true memory.
"How did I get here?"
That day.. just a few days ago.
When his consciousness first awakened, there was no body, no ground, not even a sound. He floated in a gray void.. cold, empty. Yet despite everything.. he wasn't afraid.
"Did I die?" "Is this the end?"
There was no time to be stunned.. he felt himself fading, vanishing with every second.
But then.. a glimpse of a cave. Qi explosions. Screams. Inside that cave, he saw the original Ji Ji, staggering, barely surviving.
A moment of weakness.. a moment of death.
"Now.." "This is my chance."
He waited.. like a predator in a world without mercy.
Then lunged.. with everything he had left.. toward the collapsing body.
And he took it.
It wasn't smooth. He felt crushed, broken.. as if the body was rejecting him. But his will.. his will was too fierce to be denied.
"This body is mine now."
When he opened his eyes, the world had changed.
A new world.. full of Qi, strict rules, and survival of the strongest.
...
Another night passed.
The sound of crushed leaves brought him back to reality. Black Mirror Lake wasn't far now.
He could feel it.. strange Qi creeping from the depths. Cold, bitter.. as if death itself breathed here.
Ji Ji stopped on a rocky hill overlooking the lake.
The water was pitch black.. it reflected nothing.
He stood at the edge, staring at the still surface. Everything was.. silent. Unnaturally silent. Even the wind that rustled the leaves moments ago had vanished. No birds. No wings flapping.
He crouched by the water and touched the surface with his fingertips. It wasn't cold like he expected. It wasn't anything at all.
"Black Mirror Lake.. They say people vanish here without a trace, as if spirits swallow them."
But all he saw was a still lake.. no ghosts, no ripples.
Even after hours of watching, nothing happened.
A dark cloud passed overhead.. but it didn't change the lake's gloom.
He exhaled coldly and thought:
"Was it just a myth? Or exaggeration by fools?"
He tried to sense any fluctuation of energy.. any sign of danger...
"This place isn't deceptive.." "It's empty."
He stood, brushing dust off his robe.
"I've wasted my time."
He gave the lake one last glance and turned to leave.
But just before he fully turned...
A ripple appeared.. in the center of the water.
Gentle ripples.. as if something fell from the sky.. or rose from below.
Ji Ji froze. His eyes narrowed, and his hand slipped toward his dagger.
What emerged wasn't a monster.. nor a ghost.. but a small boat.. gliding across the surface without oars, as if the lake itself carried it.
Ji Ji watched closely.. and then his eyes widened as he recognized the passengers.
Three people.. all wearing the same uniform: deep blue, embroidered with silver threads on sleeves and chest. A small emblem marked their chests.. a black lotus over a still lake.
"They're from the same sect.." Ji Ji whispered.
That was the first thing he noticed.
His reaction was instant. He ducked behind a black rock at the lake's edge, slowing his breath, watching without making a sound.
One of them stood at the front, holding a round mirror the color of storm clouds, passing it over the water slowly. The other two watched the surroundings.. one held a long spear, the other read from an old scroll.
"Are they searching for something?" Ji Ji squinted.
They showed no fear of the lake.. as if they knew it well, or had dealt with it before. Perhaps they were the reason it was quiet.. or maybe.. something else moved in the shadows.
Ji Ji remained still. It wasn't the time for confrontation.. especially since he sensed they were far better trained than him.
But he couldn't ignore the feeling inside him.. that their appearance wasn't a coincidence. And that this lake hid far more than it revealed.
••••
End of Chapter.
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