Leng Jing walked toward the valley nestled within the great snowy mountains. This valley was hidden deep within thousands of miles of frost; for a millennium, no soul had ever reached it. Yet, as he drew closer, he discovered that the vast valley actually contained a magnificent city.
Unlike the towns outside, the buildings here were towering stone blocks. Bright light spilled from rows of square windows. Even on a night of such raging wind and snow, the city streets were lined with tall, unextinguished "torches" that stood on either side, illuminating the entire thoroughfare.
The scenery was so utterly different from the world outside that Leng Jing concluded this must be a kingdom isolated from the rest of the world.
He leaped over the high perimeter wall at the valley’s entrance and landed on a street. This was the first time he had seen such a smooth, level road in the mortal realm, and he couldn't help but lean down to inspect it. While he was busy observing his surroundings, a dazzling iron carriage suddenly rushed out from nearby, knocking him to the ground.
"Damn it! I hit someone! Why the hell were you standing in the middle of the road?" Someone grumbled as they climbed out of the iron carriage and walked over to check on Leng Jing.
"Young people these days... wandering around in the middle of the night wearing such weird clothes... aren't you cold? Dammit!" The newcomer stomped his feet, pulled a small square object from his pocket, pressed it a few times, and spoke into it. "Hello, is this the hospital?"
Leng Jing lay on the ground, watching the youth dressed in strange garments—his attire was not that of a person from the Central Plains.
The youth spent a long time on his mobile phone before cursing again. "Dammit, why won't it go through! Fine, fine! Consider this an act of kindness; I'll take you to the hospital myself! But remember! This happened because you didn't follow traffic rules! Even if we go to the police station, you're the one in the wrong!"
He then dragged the seemingly unconscious Leng Jing into a seat in the carriage and drove toward the nearest hospital.
Leng Jing lay on the back seat, watching this strange iron carriage that ran at high speeds even without a horse to pull it. Then, he closed his eyes. This was truly a marvelous kingdom; he wanted to see exactly how it differed from the world outside.
The youth brought Leng Jing to the hospital. Soon, several people were called over to lift Leng Jing onto a stretcher and wheel him into the emergency room.
"Excuse me, sir, could you come over and register?" A female nurse called out to the youth standing at the emergency room door.
"Fine, but I want to make it clear: I didn't hit that guy. I'm just a Good Samaritan," the youth said flusteredly.
The nurse waved her hand. "I know, I know. Don't get worked up, sir. Just give me your name, age, and occupation."
"My name is Qiu Yu, twenty-four years old. I'm an employee at an electronics company," the youth answered truthfully.
"Alright. And the person inside? What's his name?" the nurse asked, her large eyes blinking.
"I told you, I don't know him at all!" Qiu Yu stomped his foot in frustration.
"Wow! This guy is so handsome! He looks better than the stars on TV!" A group of young nurses crowded around Leng Jing’s bed as if observing a rare animal.
"Hey, let's call him 'Super Handsome Guy' from now on!"
"Yes, yes!" The group of nurses immediately gave Leng Jing a new nickname.
"Hey! What are you all doing crowding around there? Move it!" The attending physician arrived with Qiu Yu and chased away the group of fangirls.
After an examination, it was determined that nothing was seriously wrong with Leng Jing; he simply wouldn't open his eyes. The hospital concluded he had a mild concussion and arranged for him to stay in a general ward. However, in order to extort some money, the doctor gave Qiu Yu a completely different story.
"Doctor, is he alright?" Qiu Yu asked nervously.
An old man in a white coat stood with his hands in his pockets, adjusting his glasses. "What is your relationship to the patient?"
"No relationship," Qiu Yu said with a pout. He had a baby face and was often mistaken for a student.
"The patient's condition is very complex. His bone structure is abnormal. After the accident, although he seems fine for now, it's very likely to trigger a rare skeletal disease." The old man pulled out an X-ray. "Look here. This patient's ribs, spine, cervical vertebrae, and the bones of his limbs are all congenitally deformed."
"What will happen then?" Qiu Yu became apprehensive.
"Due to the minor displacement caused by the accident, it might result in total paralysis," the old man said irresponsibly. "However, if he takes our hospital's special medicine, we might be able to improve the situation."
"How much does this special medicine cost?" Qiu Yu asked, worried. His salary wasn't very high, and even the car he drove was bought on a loan.
"It's not expensive. Only three thousand yuan a box." A glint appeared in the old man's eyes.
"Fine. I'll take one box for now." Qiu Yu thought to himself that when the guy woke up, he would sell it to him for four thousand a box.
At that moment, Leng Jing happened to open his eyes. Qiu Yu cried out in joy, "He's awake!" He rushed to Leng Jing's side. "Hey, kid, hurry up and tell me your home address—"
Leng Jing was sharp-witted. Although he hadn't quite understood the previous conversation, he had heard the old man's attempt to swindle them loud and clear. He frowned and said, "Why can't I feel my legs at all?"
"AAAAAAAAHHH!!!" Qiu Yu began to scream, clutching his head. A tragedy had indeed occurred.
"Then hurry up and handle the hospitalization procedures! Our hospital is at the cutting edge of treating paraplegia! The daily fee is only fifteen hundred!" The old man's eyes shone brilliantly.
Qiu Yu nearly grabbed Leng Jing by his clothes, shouting, "Tell me where your home is! Tell me now!"
Leng Jing shook his head. "My head hurts so much. Who am I? Where am I?"
"AAAAAAAAHHH!" Qiu Yu's screams echoed through the hospital corridors.
Word was that if his family couldn't be found, the hospital would throw Leng Jing out. For someone who had just become a paraplegic and lost his memory, being out in that freezing weather would surely mean freezing to death. To save the fifteen hundred yuan in hospitalization fees, Qiu Yu temporarily took Leng Jing back to his own home. He didn't understand why he was being so kind; perhaps he just pitied the guy. In truth, he could have left him there and walked away, but...
His heartless parents had abandoned him in much the same way back then... A flicker of hidden pain crossed Qiu Yu's eyes, which he quickly replaced with his usual impatient expression. He asked Leng Jing in the back seat, "Hey, how much can you remember? Think! Do you have any idea what a big trouble you are?"
" I can't remember a thing," Leng Jing said, his arms crossed.
"Dammit!" Seeing that they had reached his apartment building, Qiu Yu parked the car in a spot out front, dragged the "paralyzed" Leng Jing into a wheelchair, and pushed him through the apartment doors.
Leng Jing observed his surroundings. So this was how the interiors of these block-like buildings were arranged; the environment seemed quite decent.
Qiu Yu's home was a rented studio apartment. The room wasn't very large, and there weren't many furnishings. However, every modern object was incredibly novel to Leng Jing. He rolled the wheelchair over to the computer, curiously studying the device.
"Don't tell me you've even forgotten what a computer is?" Seeing his expression, Qiu Yu found it amusing. Looking closely, this guy really was good-looking! Someone like this should have been a star.
"What is this place?" Leng Jing asked.
"This place? It's humanity's last Eden... the lonely city of ice and snow." A trace of sorrow flashed in Qiu Yu's eyes as he looked at the sprawling city outside the window.
"What do you mean?" Leng Jing stared at him.
"You've even forgotten history? Bastard, you really did a clean job of losing your memory. Let me put it this way: our city is the only remaining human habitation in the world." Qiu Yu pointed out the window. "A long time ago—according to experts, about two thousand five hundred years ago—humanity reached a highly civilized industrial age. Back then, humans squandered all the world's resources. Eventually, they were punished. Because they were too arrogant, a world war broke out, and human civilization was destroyed. Humanity went extinct. At that time, the ancestors of this city came to this hidden snowy valley and established the world's last Eden. Our ancestors escaped the disaster and managed to survive in isolation. But civilization has stagnated. They say this city hasn't changed for a thousand years... Dammit, there's no point in you knowing this. I'm just a low-level clerk..."
"I see. So this is a place where time has stopped," Leng Jing said, looking outside. "To the gods, it has only been the duration of a short game, yet countless earth-shattering changes have occurred in the mortal realm."
"Could you not be so philosophical?" Qiu Yu turned to get something from the refrigerator. But as he turned, he felt a sudden gust of cold wind. The cup in his hand shattered on the floor. The window had opened at some unknown point, and the wheelchair was empty. Could it be...
He jumped!!!?
***
"Xiao Jing, where did you go? You only came back in the middle of the night." Leng Qingqing sat on a straw mat at the entrance of the inn, draped in a bedsheet. He was with many other guests who couldn't enter their rooms; some were enjoying the cool air, while others were playing cards.
"I found an interesting place," Leng Jing said. "Why aren't you all going inside?"
"Because..." Before Leng Qingqing could finish, a group of martial artists grew excited. "The real Young Master Leng Jing is back! Everyone, come look!"
Unbeknownst to him, in just a few short days, Leng Jing had become the top figure on the martial world's "Hidden Rankings," a name synonymous with ferocity.
After greeting his fellow martial artists with great leadership flair, Leng Qingqing finally told him the news: some Taoists had come to exorcise demons today, but they had accidentally turned the exorcism array into a ghost-summoning array. The entire interior of the inn had become a nest for vengeful spirits, so everyone had to sit outside.
"I'll go in and take a look." As the quasi-spiritual leader of the martial world, Leng Jing felt it was his duty.
"Isn't it too dangerous to let you go in alone?" A lazy, majestic voice came from behind. A dark carriage stopped in front of the inn, and an elegant, noble man in black stepped out.
"You are the Third Prince of the Demon Realm," Leng Jing said.
"Little White Dragon, you still remember me. Truly, one should be viewed with new eyes after three days of absence. I didn't expect your aura to grow so much in the few days we haven't met," the Third Prince said with a cold chuckle. Recently, there had been upheavals in the Demon Realm; the Second Prince had been defeated and killed, and the First Prince had gone mad, leading to the total annihilation of his army. Now that the Demon Realm's vitality was severely damaged, the Third Prince had time to wander around, and he happened to come looking for the Little White Dragon who had been weighing on his mind.
However, when the Third Prince's gaze met Leng Qingqing's, his heart skipped a beat. Leng Qingqing's silly, country-bumpkin appearance was exactly the kind of thing that appealed to his eccentric tastes!
Love at first sight! The Third Prince instantly felt himself falling into the trap of love. He immediately swore a heavy oath: in this life, he would love no one but this snake demon. If he couldn't have his heart, he would have his body!
Thus, the habitually arrogant Third Prince gave a haughty smile, ignored Leng Jing entirely, and walked toward Leng Qingqing. He reached out a large hand and pinched Leng Qingqing's chin. "What is your name?"
"Leng Qingqing." Leng Qingqing's helpless, large eyes almost made the Third Prince stop breathing. He couldn't wait to kiss those small, vermilion lips. With a wicked, charming smile, he moved to carry Leng Qingqing toward the carriage.
Without a word, Leng Jing grabbed his arm. "What are you doing? He is mine!"
"Yours? What a joke. There is nothing in this world I cannot have." The Third Prince looked at Leng Jing askance.
"He is mine. Do not make me angry." Leng Jing's expression also turned solemn.
"Hmph." The Third Prince gave a cold laugh. Infusing his fist with powerful demonic energy, he swung at Leng Jing. Leng Jing countered with dragon qi, and the two began to fight fiercely over Leng Qingqing.
"Heh heh heh..." An eerie laugh echoed from within the inn. A second-floor window opened, and a woman in red poked her head out.
Both the Third Prince and Leng Jing stopped to watch the ghostly scene. The female ghost smiled from the window, making everyone feel very uncomfortable because her proportions were completely mismatched with the window. Upon closer inspection, one would realize the ghost's body was actually three times the size of a normal person.
Leng Jing transformed his dragon qi into an arrow, preparing to shoot the ghost, but the Third Prince was a step faster, firing a bolt of demonic light at her.
The change that followed in that instant surprised even Leng Jing. Before he could see clearly what had happened, a streak of green light shot out from the inn, striking the Third Prince in retaliation. Without even having time to scream, the Third Prince was reduced to ashes.
Leng Qingqing, Leng Jing, the white marten, and everyone present turned pale with shock. To kill a Prince of the Demon Realm in a single move—this demonic power was definitely no ordinary ghost!
The Third Prince's guards began to shout, intending to immediately report back to the Demon Realm. But before they could take three steps, they too were instantly killed by the light shooting from the inn's windows.
Could it be that the ghost could kill at will and simply hadn't been provoked to slaughter yet?
The people outside trembled, but no one dared to leave easily, fearing they would become the next target.
"Take me out of this Myriad Phenomena Tower." The female ghost finally spoke. She seemed to be addressing Leng Jing.
"This is clearly the Yunlai Inn!" Leng Jing said in shock.
"Hurry up and take me out of here!!!!!!!!!" the female ghost began to shriek.
***
**Glossary**
Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation
--- | --- | ---
裘雨 | Qiu Yu | A character in the hidden city.
医院 | Hospital |
警察局 | Police station |
超美型gg | Super Handsome Guy | "GG" is internet slang for 'gege' (brother/guy).
伊甸园 | Eden | Used to describe the hidden city.
魔三太子 | Third Prince of the Demon Realm |
土包子 | Country bumpkin / Village bumpkin |
万象楼 | Myriad Phenomena Tower | The name the ghost uses for the inn.
秒杀 | Instant kill / One-shot | To defeat or kill an opponent instantly.
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