Chapter 68 – Life and Death in Eight Hours
“You’re talking nonsense, aren’t you?”
Lu Jing asked reflexively.
The threat of the Great Wilderness had existed since the dawn of time.
No one doubted that, given the chance, the Great Wilderness would unhesitatingly devour the Twelve Continents, shrouding the mortal realm in darkness and plunging civilization into chaos. The Immortal Sects guarded the continents, and the Thirty-Six Islands protected the heartlands, both sides locked in a stalemate at the borders of the mortal realm. However, once the Great Wilderness expanded, war was inevitable, and calamity would follow.
The most recent expansion of the Great Wilderness had occurred a thousand years ago, in the West Continent.
The Beast Taming Sect of the West Continent had urgently requested aid from the other eleven continents. Although the other Immortal Sects dispatched reinforcements with the utmost speed, half of the West Continent had already been devoured by the Great Wilderness. It was only through the combined efforts of the Immortal Sects that the advance of the Great Wilderness was halted. Afterward, the Beast Taming Sect spent nearly three hundred years forcing back the darkness, allowing the devoured land to see daylight once more.
However, every household had turned to ghosts, every room to zombies. The smoke and fire of human life on that land had become a thing of the past. In the end, the Beast Taming Sect spent nearly another century clearing the dead cities of zombies and wild ghosts, and purging the withered earth of plagues and miasma.
Lu Jing truly couldn’t comprehend how he, just by running away from home, could have the “fortune” of encountering such a world-shaking event, one large enough to be recorded in the annals of the Twelve Continents and passed down for millennia.
It was too ridiculous!
“Cough, cough, cough,” Half-Diviner said, struggling to pry Lou Jiang’s hand away while tremblingly holding up the Star-Pushing Plate. He forced a smile that was uglier than a cry. “This humble Daoist wishes he were talking nonsense, but this wasn’t my divination at all. This is the celestial phenomenon displayed by the Star-Pushing Plate… See for yourselves!”
The Star-Pushing Plate held the same status in Ghost Valley as the Taiyi Sword did in the Taiyi Sect. It was also one of the three renowned “Revelatory Divination Tools,” composed of two stacked plates. The upper plate’s inner three layers formed a star chart, while the outer three layers were divided into twelve sections, marked with the twelve Earthly Branches. The outer plate was fixed, divided by horizontal and vertical lines, and covered in grooves with twenty-eight dark red beads.
At this moment, the southeast corner of the star chart was swirling with black miasma, obscuring the stars corresponding to Qing Province.
“What does this mean?” Lou Jiang asked, pointing to the outer three layers of the inner plate.
The outer three layers of the inner plate, engraved with the twelve Earthly Branches, also had a silver needle pointing to the “Zi” section.
“The outer three layers represent the two-hour periods,” Half-Diviner said, his face as pale as paper. “In other words… the expansion of the Great Wilderness and the fall of Qing Province will happen at the Zi hour. That’s in eight hours.”
“Eight hours?! Surely not!”
Lu Jing moved closer, wanting to examine the Star-Pushing Plate more carefully. What if it was just too dark and he had misread it?
A light illuminated the entire Star-Pushing Plate, revealing every groove and marking with perfect clarity! Lu Jing lunged forward and fell off the gate-tower. Immediately after, everyone scattered like startled swifts.
A branching bolt of lightning struck the gate-tower. The blinding light illuminated the entire street as if it were broad daylight. The crimson wooden corridor snapped in two, and the flanking wing-towers collapsed with it. Fire ignited, only to be extinguished by the heavy rain, sending black smoke curling into the sky.
“Crap! I almost got struck by lightning!”
Lu Jing was still in shock.
The moment the lightning struck, Chou Bodeng had kicked him out of the way. Otherwise, Lu Jing’s fate would have been no better than the corridor’s. A cultivator at the Soul-Fixing Stage wouldn’t be killed by a single bolt of lightning, that was true. The problem was, Lu Jing’s Soul-Fixing Stage was so watered down it was a vast ocean, an excellent conductor of electricity. A lightning bolt that thick would have left him well-done on the outside and tender on the inside.
No one heard what Lu Jing said.
The sound of thunder drowned out the world. Everyone felt like an ant thrown onto a giant drum, their flesh, blood, and soul trembling in unison.
Lightning rained down mercilessly, concentrating on the nine cities stretching for thousands of kilometers on the Black Tortoise’s back. It treated the man-made structures of earth, wood, and tile as its stage, with thousands of silver flashes like a grand firework display between heaven and earth. Amidst the fireworks, one painted pavilion and storied building after another was shattered in the incandescent light. Double eaves flew, bracket sets collapsed—life and death in an instant.
Screams, wails.
People rushed out of their houses, running and jostling in the streets.
Living on the Azure Sea had accustomed the people of Zhunan to strong winds and heavy rain. Many could even wrap themselves in blankets and chat, saying things like, “The Yinglong Division disciple patrolling our street sounds good-tempered, I wonder if he’d be willing to buy some wine for us,” or complaining that the humidity was too heavy and their joints were aching again. They had thought this lockdown would be like the ones before, that as long as they closed their doors and windows and waited patiently in their homes for a month or two, it would be over. Even when the whistles of the Yinglong Division disciples calling for help had risen and fallen just now, people had only worried slightly. Few had stuck their heads out to cause trouble.
Until the lightning struck, shattering all illusions.
The five of them regrouped, leaping and running across rooftops and streets, dodging the lightning.
This time, everyone smelled the scent of blood.
The dense lightning bolts were terrifyingly powerful. Sometimes, a single flash would tear up the stone pavement of an entire street. This was no longer in the realm of a thunderstorm; it was as if the whole of Zhunan had been thrown into a forest of electric halberds. Often, with a flash of lightning, swathes of the fleeing crowd would be turned to ash.
The smell of burning wood and scorched flesh and fat mingled together, casting a layer of dust over everyone’s hearts.
The prophecy of the Star-Pushing Plate was being confirmed step by step.
The prelude to the fall of Qing Province was playing out before everyone’s eyes.
Chou Bodeng and the other four frantically ran through one lightning strike after another, pulling away fallen old people, terrified children, and women who couldn’t run fast enough. Before this, they hadn’t even known their lightness skill could be this fast. But when you watch a living person about to be turned into charcoal right in front of you, your body’s reaction can even surpass your mind’s.
Lou Jiang felt that what was flowing through his meridians was no longer spiritual energy but blades and fire. He knew this was a sign of his cultivation method being pushed to its limit and that he needed to meditate and regulate his qi immediately, or risk a backlash. The others were in no better condition, but no one stopped.
“What do we do!”
Half-Diviner shouted at the top of his lungs.
No one answered him.
The lightning was endless. They didn’t know how many people in the entire city had died, nor how many they could save.
This was a calamity that could not be resisted by individual strength.
A White Jade Umbrella flew into the high sky above Azure Flower City in Zhunan. Its shadow expanded in an instant, covering a full third of the city. Lightning struck the umbrella’s surface, like countless dazzling bolts of refinement. Amidst the roar of thunder and wind, a clear female voice, enhanced with spiritual energy, rolled out:
“Yinglong Division disciples, hear my command—”
“Groups of five! Three to escort, two to cover the rear! Immediately escort the populace to the inner city!”
Hearing this voice, Lou Jiang’s expression immediately relaxed.
“It’s Pavilion Elder Tang, who’s in charge of the Yinglong Division!” he said joyfully. “That umbrella is her life-bound artifact!”
Even a scion like Lu Jing, who usually found the elders’ nagging most annoying, felt his spirits lift. After all, they were all just youths. In the face of a calamity involving tens of millions of lives, they would all be at a loss, subconsciously looking for an elder they could rely on.
High in the sky.
A strong wind swept past Pavilion Elder Tang.
“Pianyi!” Ying Zhong’s tone was severe. “The inner city should not allow mortal merchants to enter!”
Zhunan city was divided into three tiers.
The lower city was the Tranquil Sea surrounding the Black Tortoise, where the fishermen lived. The middle city consisted of the outer sections of the nine cities on the Black Tortoise’s back. Its inhabitants were of mixed status, mainly mortals who had settled there for generations and merchants with low cultivation levels who lived in Zhunan long-term. The upper city was the inner city built against the mountain, floating in the air, which was the main pavilion area of the Mountain Sea Pavilion, where the disciples, elders, and honored guests of the immortal sect resided.
The inner city was the location of the Mountain Sea Pavilion’s main gate and had never allowed residents of the middle and lower cities to enter.
The immortal pavilion in the clouds was naturally distinct from the mortal world.
“You are not the Pavilion Master; you have no authority to make such a decision!” Seeing Tang Pianyi unmoved, Ying Zhong snapped again.
“Bastard!”
Tang Pianyi delivered a slap that flew through the air.
She struck fiercely and sharply. Ying Zhong, not expecting a fellow Grand Elder to be so merciless, was caught off guard and slapped squarely. His figure staggered back several dozen meters in mid-air.
“You!”
“What time is it to be talking about who should and shouldn’t enter!” Tang Pianyi didn’t deign to waste a single glance on him. She turned and flew into the city, personally leading group after group of citizens through the lightning and thunder, escorting them into the inner city, where the buildings were protected by formation arrays.
Ying Zhong, left behind, had a ferocious expression for a moment.
Grand Elder Meng Shuangqing, who had arrived later, placed a hand on his shoulder and shook his head slightly.
“Grand Elders, please intercept the yin lightning and blazing electricity,” a clear voice rang out above the nine cities of Zhunan, reaching everyone’s ears distinctly. “Disciples of the Yinglong and Red Friend Divisions, protect the populace and retreat to the inner city. Disciples of the Torch Dragon and Closing Dragon Divisions, work together to slay the demons.”
After Zuo Liangshi’s voice sounded, various life-bound artifacts were summoned one after another into the high sky.
The forest of lightning was blocked, and the nine cities of Zhunan were finally not as chaotic as before. Whether they were residents of Zhunan or merchants staying there, they were all led by the disciples of the Mountain Sea Pavilion, retreating towards the highest point, the inner pavilion.
A rumbling sound came from underground, as if some enormous, deeply buried gear had begun to turn. The commotion was so great that even Chou Bodeng and the others standing in the outer city could feel the ground tremble.
Amidst the roar, one exquisite pavilion and storied building after another, floating in mid-air, slowly moved into position, like parts being rapidly assembled. A molten-gold brilliance continuously rolled down from the conical roofs and hip-and-gable eaves. The magnificent, shrine-like main pavilion of the Mountain Sea Pavilion revealed its majestic side at this moment.
“So the rumors were true…”
Lu Jing’s eyes were wide with amazement.
“Your Mountain Sea main pavilion itself is really a spiritual artifact!”
In the world, only the Mountain Sea Pavilion had the immense wealth to forge its own main pavilion into a spiritual artifact. This was… this was so rich it was an offense to both gods and men! Even the scions, who were not short of money, were stunned!
“The Sea-Suppressing Mountain,” Lou Jiang said, his tone filled with unconcealable pride. “A defensive spiritual artifact that took twenty thousand years to forge. It has just been awakened. When it is fully activated, it will form a grand formation that envelops the nine cities of Zhunan. At that time, all the streets and alleys will be like golden feathers, hence it is also called the ‘Golden Feather Diagram.’ Any evil spirit that steps into the Golden Feather Diagram will be locked on, suppressed, and have nowhere to hide!”
“So… so damn rich.”
Monk Budu twirled his Buddhist beads. Seeing his expression, it was hard to say whether he would be able to control his hand from digging for gold if the streets really turned into gold when the Golden Feather Diagram was formally formed.
A golden radiance descended along the layers of winding corridors and trestle paths, stretching towards the city just as Lou Jiang had described. However, just as it was about to cross the boundary of the inner city and spread towards the outer city, a laugh cut through the night sky. The laugh was so bizarre, like two pieces of metal scraping sharply against each other.
Cultivators who heard this laugh felt their heads spin and their blood churn.
Zuo Liangshi had been standing on a tide-watching tower in Zhunan city, gazing at the turbulent surface of the Azure Sea. Hearing the laugh, his expression changed. His figure flickered and disappeared from his original spot, reappearing in the high sky.
In a patch of churning black clouds, there was actually a figure sitting, completely shrouded in a black cloak, holding a long staff wrapped in cloth strips. If she hadn’t laughed on her own accord, none of the many Grand Elders of the Mountain Sea Pavilion would have noticed that such a dangerous enemy was hidden in the firmament.
“It’s you,” Zuo Liangshi said.
“It’s me,” the laughing person said, raising a hand to remove the hood of her cloak. The lightning in the clouds illuminated a bewitching face. Her eyes were long and upturned at the corners, with a touch of mysterious blue, like the tail feathers of some bird. “It’s been a long time, Liangshi.”
Her voice was melodious and ambiguous, and she addressed Zuo Liangshi as if he were a long-lost lover.
Before the Grand Elders could be surprised that the Pavilion Master, who had been lovingly married for many years, had an “old flame” show up at his door, a figure shot out from the quiet pavilion where the honored guests from the inner city were staying.
The figure reached the high sky in an instant, staring at the Pavilion Master’s “old flame” with an extremely ugly expression, almost squeezing the words out from between his teeth: “It’s you! The traitor of Kongsang! Moon Mother!”
The Grand Elders were in an uproar.
Immediately, several more figures rushed to the high sky and landed behind Zuo Liangshi, as if afraid the so-called “Moon Mother” would turn hostile.
The Scripture Woman and the Moon Mother were rather special existences among the Hundred Clans of Kongsang.
The other Kongsang clans were merely “descendants of ancient gods,” but the Scripture Woman and Moon Mother clans were very likely “ancient gods and their descendants.” Their clan leaders were ageless and undying. It was said that they were once gods who lived in the Cloud City. When Incomplete Mountain was broken, for some unknown reason, they chose to remain in the mortal realm and led their clans to join Kongsang, becoming one of the Hundred Clans.
Although the Scripture Woman and the Moon Mother had long resided in the Vicious Plow Earth-Mound and had never been heard to have fought with anyone, the mere fact that they had survived from the era of the Cloud City was enough to demonstrate their power and danger.
“What are you talking about?” the Moon Mother smiled charmingly. “It was only my clansmen who joined Kongsang. I never said I wanted to become a member of your Hundred Clans. Little one of the Taiyu Clan, you should be more careful with your words in the future.”
If Chou Bodeng and the others were also in the sky, they would have noticed that this person, addressed as a “little one of Taiyu,” looked somewhat similar to Taiyu Shi, whom they had dealt with the other day. It was indeed the elder of the Taiyu Clan, Taiyu Yi, who had accompanied the clan head’s second son to the Mountain Sea Pavilion this time.
Taiyu Yi held a high position in his clan and had long been respected in Kongsang. Accustomed to being arrogant and conceited, this was the first time he had been mocked so openly, and his gaze instantly turned extremely cold. The hand hanging at his side twitched, almost drawing his saber. In the end, for some unknown reason, he forced himself to endure it.
“As an ancient god, why have you fallen to become a demon?”
A Mountain Sea Grand Elder asked sternly.
The Moon Mother giggled, covering her mouth as if she had heard something amusing. “If I protect you, am I a god? If I’m no longer willing to protect you, am I a demon? Then when you humans kill birds and beasts, aren’t you also demons to them? How absurd. Whether one is a god or a demon, how can it be decided by you humans?”
“You! Fallacy! Sophistry!” the Grand Elder berated. “Heretical ways!”
“Good!” she clapped her hands and smiled. “Then I shall be a demon! Since you cultivators like to kill demons to refine artifacts, then it is only natural for demons to devour humans to sate their hunger.”
Zuo Liangshi’s brow twitched slightly. “The Azure Batfish that appeared in the Tranquil Sea, was it related to you?”
“Yes,” the Moon Mother’s eyes sparkled. “And there are many more little ones who have been reunited with you after a long time, waiting to say hello.”
Her smile was incredibly sweet. The cloud cluster behind her suddenly collapsed and disintegrated into countless black shadows that streaked past, pouncing on the city below. The black shadows were as thin as blades, passing through the gaps in the defensive shields of the life-bound artifacts summoned by the elders. The cries of infants echoed through the sky!
The faces of the Grand Elders changed once again.
It was indeed a “reunion after a long time”!
These black shadows, which cried like infants and were as swift as ghosts, were Gu-Carving Vultures! The Record of Strange Demons in the Raging Sea recorded: “Its form is like a vulture but with horns, its sound like that of an infant, and it eats people.” Like the Azure Batfish, they had been slain to extinction by the Mountain Sea Pavilion long ago! After thousands of years, they had returned to take revenge on their old enemies.
Several Grand Elders flickered and were about to intercept these incredibly fast strange birds.
Lightning crisscrossed, blocking their path.
“Oh my,” the Moon Mother smiled. The cloth strips on her hand fell away one by one, revealing a long staff that glowed with a silvery light. “Young eagles must always face the storm. The elders should not interfere with the trials of the younger generation.”
“Where is the Scripture Woman?” Zuo Liangshi asked. “She should have come too, right? Where is she?”
“What, Liangshi, would you rather see her than me?”
The Moon Mother slowly rose, her black cloak trailing down to reveal the magnificent blue feathers beneath. Just as she had joked, in a sense, she was indeed a demon, not a human!
She spoke pitifully, her expression even more sorrowful.
Zuo Liangshi was unmoved.
The Moon Mother sighed softly. “Her… she has a very troublesome fellow she needs to hold back for a while.”
***
Black miasma surged from the junction of the sea and sky, rolling like a tide, continuously eroding the Azure Sea and pressing towards Zhunan. A shadow was faintly visible, hidden in the miasma.
A blade edge sliced down from above, cutting a crescent-shaped scarlet shadow. The seawater was split in two, the miasma separated to either side. The scarlet crescent swept directly across the sea’s surface, cleaving towards the shadow.
The shadow split in two and vanished like smoke.
“As expected of the Head of the Ten Shamans, an enemy of both gods and ghosts,” a low, hoarse voice sounded. The Scripture Woman, completely shrouded in a black cloak, appeared on the sea surface to the left. “But you’d best be careful. After all…”
She raised her right hand, in her palm rested a hollowed-out jade lamp.
“This is just an ordinary lamp, not some spiritual artifact. Once it’s shattered, this wisp of divine soul inside will scatter.”
Shi Wuluo lowered his scarlet saber, its tip pointing at the sea’s surface. The once-turbulent sea suddenly became as still as ice.
“How strange,” the Scripture Woman said, holding the lamp in one hand and gripping a sword in the other, carefully scrutinizing him. “Who are you? You shouldn’t know him, so why have you been collecting his soul fragments?”
…once it’s shattered, this wisp of divine soul will scatter.
His silver-gray pupils reflected the small, fragile lamplight. The flame flickered in the wind, suddenly transforming into another sky-blotting, crimson fire.
Red, and nothing but red.
White robes stained with blood.
Icy cold, scorching hot, graceful falling flowers, lush ancient trees, joyful abundance, solemn first snow.
I’ll take you to see them later, and you’ll drink with me.
But I still have you…
I’m sorry.
A deep black, gold-lacquered mask was tossed high into the air, and a red-robed figure plummeted downwards.
Shattering into a thousand streams of fire.
Shi Wuluo slowly reversed his grip on the saber’s hilt.
He was a fierce blade forged by hatred. In this world, there was only one person who could make him willingly restrain himself. Likewise, only anything related to that person could turn him into a complete madman.
The Kui Dragon Bracelet on his wrist grew colder and colder, the chill completely severing the final shackles that bound him.
“Let’s make a deal…”
The Scripture Woman’s words were cut short by a cold glint of a blade. The black mist exploded one after another. After dozens of her avatars were shattered, she reappeared on the distant sea surface.
The cold blade, like a festering sore on the bone, followed closely.
The Scripture Woman did not hesitate, tightening her hand to shatter the lamp. However, she suddenly noticed a smooth, severed surface on her wrist. Her left hand had been cut off at the wrist at some unknown point.
“You dare!”
She screamed. Her cloak shattered, and her arms transformed into hideous wings, stirring up hundred-meter-high waves.
The Scripture Woman, having revealed her strange bird form, shrieked and pounced on the madman in black with the red saber.
***
The sound of flapping wings was everywhere.
“Crap, what the hell is this thing,” Lu Jing cursed as he retreated, brandishing his saber. He felt like he was back in Fu City, but compared to these fleeting strange birds, the bird flock in Fu City could only be described as gentle!
The cries of infants were everywhere. The wings of the Gu-Carving Vultures were as sharp as rows of knives, their horns as sharp as spear tips, and their claws were wreathed in wind blades. They were natural-born hunters, cruel and bloodthirsty slayers. When they swooped out of the lightning, the person they met head-on only had time to see a black line before being torn to shreds.
The sound of majestic scriptures rang out.
A golden bell shield with a diameter of ten meters expanded, enveloping all five of them. The Gu-Carving Vultures coming from all directions crashed into the bell shield, creating a continuous series of loud bangs.
“From now on, I’m eating roasted bird wings every day!” Lu Jing grimaced in pain from a scratch on his face. “I hate birds!”
“More chili, less cilantro. This humble monk will bring his own bowl and chopsticks,” Monk Budu said, clasping his hands together. “Amitabha, well said, well said.”
“Gentlemen, please retreat to the inner city first!”
Lou Jiang was also injured, but fortunately, he still had his wits about him. He remembered that these few scions were not disciples of the Mountain Sea Pavilion. If one of them were to have an unfortunate accident and die a heroic death while slaying demons, it would be a huge problem. Therefore, while swallowing the pill Lu Jing had thrown him to recover his spiritual energy, he urged them anxiously.
“Let’s go, let’s go.”
Lu Jing glanced at the teetering golden bell shield and urged them on, his scalp tingling. The Mountain Sea Pavilion’s massive spiritual artifact, the “Golden Feather Diagram,” was here. It surely wouldn’t be unable to withstand a mere swarm of strange birds.
He was just about to hand a bottle of pills to Chou Bodeng when he suddenly noticed something was wrong.
Young Master Chou was holding the Taiyi Sword, standing straight in the middle of them, his face expressionless, his dark eyes unfocused, as if he had lost his soul, or… or as if it were a prelude to demonic possession!
Lu Jing was shocked, and the pills fell to the ground.
No! Don’t let your karmic obstruction erupt at a time like this, Young Master Chou! The Mountain Sea Pavilion’s protective grand formation was unfolding, and countless Grand Elders were flying overhead. If your karmic obstruction erupted now, even if you weren’t treated as a spy for the Great Wilderness, you’d be hunted down by everyone!
“Young Master Chou! Chou Bodeng!”
Vaguely, it was as if someone were shouting something from far away. What shouting, so noisy.
He thought dimly, forcing his eyes open, trying to remember which suicidal fools were making such a racket. Many fragmented images flashed before his eyes, fleeting and ephemeral: a deep black, gold-lacquered mask, a pale hand, a scarlet saber. No logic, no order.
The images were like layers of paper-thin ice, quickly shattering.
His gaze suddenly froze.
At the end of the heavy ice, he saw a fragmented… forcefully locked by a Kui Dragon Bracelet…
Himself.
All around was a deathly silence, not another sound to be heard.
“Young Master Chou! My dear grandpa!” Lu Jing watched as Chou Bodeng’s fingertips turned white and a faint black mist seeped out. His heart sank to the bottom of a valley.
This was Zhunan, not Fu City.
It was no longer possible to deceive the heavens by just covering one person’s eyes.
He didn’t know what the bald donkey, Half-Diviner, and Lou Jiang would do. Lu Jing spun around, blocking Chou Bodeng with his saber, gritted his teeth, and said nothing.
“He…”
Lou Jiang’s pupils shrank abruptly.
Lu Jing said nothing.
“Move aside.” Monk Budu pushed Lu Jing away and, before he could swing his saber, quickly removed the Bodhi beads and wrapped them around Chou Bodeng’s hand. As soon as the Bodhi beads were on, the black qi seeping from Chou Bodeng’s fingertips vanished instantly. He closed his eyes and fell backward.
“These are Buddhist beads bestowed by the Buddha, but they can only suppress him for two hours at most.” Monk Budu stooped down and hoisted him onto his back. “We can’t enter the inner city. Is there anywhere else we can go?”
“The wind cavern.”
Lou Jiang came to his senses and spoke with extreme speed.
“The Obscure Wind Acupoint. It can conceal us. I know a secret way in.”
“Let’s go, quick.”
Half-Diviner looked up at the sky and urged them on.
“You… you guys…”
Lu Jing stammered.
“What ‘you’? How many ‘you’s are there?” Lou Jiang cursed. “Let’s go!”
The golden bell shield shattered. Lou Jiang ran frantically in the lead, with Monk Budu carrying the unconscious Chou Bodeng close behind. Half-Diviner brandished a horsetail whisk, repelling the strange birds that swooped in from the left and right, while Lu Jing brought up the rear with his saber. They ran wildly through the rainy night.
This was the first time he had been entrusted with such a heavy responsibility as covering the rear.
The first time his back had been entrusted to others.
Don’t screw this up, Lu Shiyi.
Lu Jing said to himself.
Backs entrusted, lives protected, the world is vast, but there is no need to fear!