A Miracle Like a Bolt from the Blue

The sky gradually darkened. Before long, Eternal Night would arrive on schedule. The members of Defense Line No. 7 nearby set to work as well, unloading the Soul-Devouring Sculptures from Fan Domain's high-speed rail, setting them onto horse carts, and driving quickly toward the distant stretches on either side of Defense Line No. 7. Defense Line No. 7 was a full ninety-seven kilometers long. Before Eternal Night descended, it was certainly impossible to finish placing every Soul-Devouring Sculpture. But one more placed meant one more ghost stone saved. That single ghost stone saved might well be the key to Defense Line No. 7 making it through this rainy season. Not long after, darkness thick as ink once again covered the whole continent. Shao Qiu brought the members of the Shadow Pavilion, followed behind Seventh Elder, and climbed the city wall of Defense Line No. 7. In the instant Eternal Night descended, the sea seemed to boil, waves surging up without cease. In almost the space of a few breaths, along with a thick stench, ghost creatures stretching nearly out of sight charged out of the seawater, roaring as they rushed Defense Line No. 7. At the same time, the patterns on the Sword Rain Cannon Towers placed along Defense Line No. 7 glowed with pulses of white light. At nearly the same moment, every Sword Rain Cannon Tower that met the enemy activated. Sword after sword of cold white light, each about the size of a palm, swept toward the ghost tide in a near-blanketing strike. Seventh Elder stood the whole time beside one Sword Rain Cannon Tower, his eyes locked on the consumption of ghost stones. After about the time it takes one stick of incense to burn, the excitement in his eyes had grown stronger and stronger. It was true. It really could cut the cannon towers' ghost stone consumption by forty percent! For Defense Line No. 7, this was an immense boon! "Thank you!" Seventh Elder drew a deep breath. The rims of his eyes were faintly wet as he looked toward Shao Qiu. "In the whole Guandong Plain, I am the only one who can contact the Eternal Night Hall. I swear I will not leak this news to anyone outside." "About what happened last time—" "I never expected it either. But you have to believe me. I am not a traitor." Shao Qiu shook his head. "You certainly aren't. If you were, Defense Line No. 7 would have fallen long ago." He knew what Seventh Elder meant. Last time, during the rainy season, the Eternal Night Hall had sent seven Celestial Master-level architects to reinforce them. On the journey back, though, they were assassinated one after another and died at the hands of their own people. The matter had left Seventh Elder blaming himself ever since. And so Seventh Elder could understand why the faction helping him insisted on remaining anonymous, and further required that he not report it to the Eternal Night Hall. If word leaked, the faction behind it would surely enter the Ghost Clan's sight. That was no good thing. "In the Eternal Night Hall... there are still more people whose hearts turn toward the Eternal Night Continent." Seventh Elder's lips moved as he added this. Though the Eternal Night Hall had quite a few traitors, there were more people who truly wanted to protect the Eternal Night Continent. "Of course." Shao Qiu smiled. "The Eternal Night Continent is our home. Those who want to guard their own home are certainly the majority." "Oh—right." "There's something. Last time, when Defense Line No. 7 was breached, at the same time the Eternal Night Continent sent seven Celestial Master-level architects, it also sent a Nightwatcher whose cultivation was nearly that of a Martial Saint." "Normally, a Nightwatcher cannot raise his own cultivation." "Do you know how that Nightwatcher, nearly a Martial Saint in cultivation, managed it?" The Domain Lord had not told him to ask this. He wanted to know for himself. After a long silence, Seventh Elder turned toward the coast beyond Defense Line No. 7, where the ghost tide was endlessly perishing beneath the sword rain, and said hoarsely, "Do you know what a Nightwatcher is?" "A kind of special cultivator, like an architect." "Not quite the same." Seventh Elder shook his head. "Special cultivators such as architects and alchemists may later have a chance to become one by other means. A Nightwatcher is different. If you are not born a Nightwatcher, you can never become one afterward." "Nightwatchers have a unique trait." "Their flesh is like an array. It can seal and compress extremely strong energy. Array patterns formed of bloodline and meridians clamp down on the energy within the body. The moment they activate, the array splits. That is the day the energy erupts." "Though a Nightwatcher's power is enormous, faced with a ghost tide they seem utterly powerless." "Later..." "The Eternal Night Hall happened to discover a special circumstance. A Nightwatcher's flesh has no upper limit. It can seal and compress a very great deal of energy, and once activated that way, the power is astonishing in the extreme." "When the milky-white liquid of hundreds of liquefied ghost stones is forcibly squeezed into a Nightwatcher's body, the energy those ghost stones have become is sealed inside the Nightwatcher." "At the start, the Nightwatcher is in extreme pain. But slowly, slowly, the body adapts to that pain, and the upper limit of what the flesh can seal can also be raised." "And at that point, this Nightwatcher is a level-2 cultivator. They can erupt with greater power than an ordinary Nightwatcher." "Repeat it without end, and one can become a Martial King, a Martial Emperor, even... a Martial Saint Nightwatcher." "The pain keeps increasing. At every moment they suffer as if ten thousand insects were devouring their bodies. It is a torment more painful than death. A Nightwatcher of this cultivation, once activated, has power to shake heaven and earth." "When Defense Line No. 7 fell last time, I saw the Nightwatcher the Eternal Night Hall had sent." "He no longer had a human form." "He was like an enormous ball of flesh, his body covered in huge lumps. Those were the lumps raised where ghost-stone energy was sealed inside him. His neck was squeezed by the lumps. He could no longer open his mouth and speak normally. Even breathing was difficult. When our eyes met, I saw release and resolve in his." "That is a Nightwatcher whose cultivation is nearly that of a Martial Saint." "After he activated, at the breach where Defense Line No. 7 on the Guandong Plain had fallen, the greater part of the ghost tide was almost entirely cleared, and several great ghosts vanished like smoke along with it." "Some say Nightwatchers are pitiable. The only purpose of their birth is to activate." "Others say a Nightwatcher is the incarnation of the Heavenly Dao, and that the only purpose of their descent into this world is to resist the invasion of the ghost tide." "There are all kinds of sayings." Shao Qiu did not answer at once. He followed Seventh Elder's gaze toward the ghost tide pouring without end against Defense Line No. 7, and he remembered Fan Domain's Da Yu. Da Yu was a Nightwatcher too. A Nightwatcher's ending seemed fated to be a tragedy. And this fate was not even one they chose. It was already decided at birth. Seventh Elder went on, his expression somewhat dazed. "Every Nightwatcher cultivated by the Eternal Night Hall accepted the injections of their own will. They wanted... the blast of their self-detonation to be a little bigger, so that heaven and earth would remember they had existed." "The ghost tide runs rampant." "Some secretly go over to the Ghost Clan and leak secrets." "Some forget themselves and give their bodies, to share the grave with heaven." "Many factions completely ignored Defense Line No. 7's requests for aid. But you—I don't even know what faction you are, nor which region you are in. I never even sent you a plea for help, and you took the initiative to bring aid." "There must be many bad things in this world." "But—" "it is precisely those good things that make us feel that giving our lives to protect this continent is something of great worth." "Then even death is worth it." Shao Qiu was silent and did not reply. He only stood quietly where he was, looking beyond Defense Line No. 7. The ghost tide, vast enough to blot out sky and earth, struck the line like a plague. Rising and falling roars sounded without cease atop the wall. The explosions that rang on and on, and the blossoms of blood flung into the air below, formed the main melody of this battlefield. And a war on this scale was only the daily life of Defense Line No. 7, something undergone every day. It could not even be counted as large-scale. Only when the rainy season descended would the truly large-scale war arrive. Today Seventh Elder seemed unable to hold back the wish to speak. Whether Shao Qiu answered or not, he went on muttering to himself. "Fortunately the ghost tide here has no real wits. Otherwise, if they struck the defense line only in the rainy season, and instead gathered the whole ghost tide to launch the assault then, Defense Line No. 7 truly could not be held." "Without the daily attacks of the ghost tide, Defense Line No. 7 would not even have anywhere to obtain ghost stones." "To speak honestly." "There are many times when I feel the Eternal Night Continent truly cannot hold on any longer. I cannot see a turning point. The more I come to know, the more I despair. And yet, in a situation where it nearly cannot hold, the Eternal Night Continent has held for one year after another." "It makes me feel as if the Eternal Night Continent can manage again after all. Perhaps it can hold a little longer." "Have you ever been out to sea?" "When a ship meets great waves at sea, it is like this. It rocks as if it might capsize at any moment, yet sometimes it stubbornly holds on until the wind and waves are calm. I don't know whether the Eternal Night Continent can hold until that day. If—" Seventh Elder's voice grew lower and lower, and less and less logical. He clearly had not been drinking, yet he was like a man drunk. And Shao Qiu gradually could no longer hear him. His attention was wholly drawn by the ghost tide beyond Defense Line No. 7. The first time he came to Defense Line No. 7, he and every member of the Shadow Pavilion had felt a sense of loss rise unbidden. Their cultivation could play no role at all on a battlefield of this scale. Their power to sway the battle was extremely, extremely low. But now he had found his direction. His direction was not the defense line. It was the rear. The moles within the Eternal Night Continent would be for their Shadow Pavilion to root out. The moment Fan Domain formally entered the heartland of the Eternal Night Continent, every traitor would face the judgment of Fan Domain's Shadow Pavilion, one by one. This was what he was good at. It was also what the Shadow Pavilion was good at. After a night of battle, the sky gradually brightened. Eternal Night receded on schedule. The people who had held the wall through the night came down one after another and walked toward the cafeteria put together from a great stretch of sheds, ready to eat a little and then sleep. Those who remained began to take over the work that followed. Part of the walls of Defense Line No. 7 gradually sank back into the ground. Hundreds of thousands of common people of the Guandong Plain, tools of every kind in hand, rushed out of Defense Line No. 7 with practiced ease and set to dissecting the corpses of the ghost creatures along the line, skinning them, taking the bones, and digging out ghost stones. The whole process was extremely practiced. It was like sun and moon taking each other's place. No one needed to give many orders. Everyone knew what they ought to do, and the changeover happened of itself. Shao Qiu prepared to leave as well. He refused Seventh Elder's idea of preparing another banquet. Alone in the cafeteria, he found Uncle Liu, who had just gotten up. Uncle Liu sat there as usual. Two bowls of food were set on the table. He knew one of them was his. Shao Qiu walked to the table, picked up the bowl of noodle soup, and swallowed it down in great ravenous gulps. Only then, quite satisfied, did he wipe the grease from the corner of his mouth, lift his head toward Uncle Liu opposite, and smile. "Thanks." As usual. In this half year on Defense Line No. 7, he guarded the line by night, and Uncle Liu worked by day. The two of them had little time to meet. Basically, they could only see each other at meals. And at the handover, Uncle Liu always used his privilege of getting food first to get a portion ready for him, so he would not have to line up and could eat while it was hottest. "Thanks for what?" Uncle Liu curled his lip and tapped what remained of his thigh with the pipe in his hand. "The rule of Defense Line No. 7. The disabled may get their food first. There's a privilege for me to use. Not using it would only waste it." "Leaving again, are you?" "I won't ask which faction you come from. I'll ask only one thing. Is it safe around that faction of yours?" Shao Qiu thought a moment, then still shook his head. "I can't say." He did not know whether anything he said would give away Fan Domain's existence. Best to say nothing at all. "Must be unsafe." Uncle Liu muttered to himself, "Where on the Eternal Night Continent is there still a safe place? Anyway, you must look to your own safety." "Go on." "I won't see you off. Getting up once is awfully tiring." "Go on, go on." Uncle Liu was like a man shooing a fly. He did not look at Shao Qiu, only waved the pipe in his hand with some impatience. Shao Qiu rose and, with a slight hesitation, said, "Uncle Liu, will you leave with me? I can keep you alive a few years longer than you would last on Defense Line No. 7." "Not going." Uncle Liu gave a cold snort. "My father didn't leave. My son didn't leave. And when it comes to me, I get to leave?" "What's more, both my legs are gone. Where am I supposed to walk?" "Then I'll go." "Go on." Shao Qiu paused a moment, then did not look back again. He walked out of the cafeteria, met the members of the Shadow Pavilion, and strode toward the Soul-Devouring Sculpture stopped a kilometer away. Uncle Liu did not look back either. He only stared blankly at the bowl of noodle soup before him, still untouched by his chopsticks. The broth had gradually set. What had been noodle soup had become like half-dried noodles. Only after a long while did he let out a long, dazed sigh. In the end he still could not help turning to look behind him. That high-speed rail, long as a dragon, was already speeding toward the Guandong Plain. He slowly braced himself on the crutch beside him and stood, watching the rail vanish at the end of his sight, and murmured, "Shao Qiu. Shao Qiu." "In youth, one does not understand the autumn wind; only when looking back does one know how cold the years are." Defense Line No. 7, once bleak and lifeless, had made him feel quite a bit younger because Shao Qiu had come. The spirit of youth was a thing that could not be brought back to life. A long time ago, he too had wanted to see the whole of the Eternal Night Continent, had even wanted to go to the Eternal Night front. But now he could go nowhere. Defense Line No. 7 had taken in many failures with no home to return to. A half-crippled man like him, who had lost both legs—if he left Defense Line No. 7, where could he go? Dying on Defense Line No. 7 was their only final home. They were not Nightwatchers, and yet they were very much like them. Day had broken. Eternal Night Calendar, year 380, the eighth day of the seventh month. Fan Domain. Within Nameless Mountain, Chen Fan rose early as usual. After washing up, he took the high-speed rail to the Jiangbei Defense Line, stood on the city wall looking far out over the sea, and stretched in a long, lazy stretch. Today he would go on building the Jiangbei Defense Line. The Jiangbei Defense Line was nearly ready to be formally finished. Only, as it stood, it was much newer than the Defense Line No. 7 he had seen. It had all just been built. It had never undergone the baptism of a ghost tide, and it did not have that heavy, weighty feeling. "It's getting warmer." He lifted his head toward the blinding sun overhead and muttered. Summer had already come. After summer came autumn, and close on the heels of autumn's end came the rainy season. After the rainy season ended came winter. Winter was just winter. There was nothing special about it. It would not be like the rainy season, with ghost tides running rampant. It would simply be a winter when snow fell and the weather was rather cold. He said nothing more. He set to work. As yesterday, he boarded a flying boat and stood on its deck. The wall beneath him began to move slowly, and he began once again to build structure after structure. When dusk came, the Jiangbei Defense Line, after days of continuous labor, was completely finished! Chen Fan stood on its wall and looked toward the far ends of the line, head and tail, his eyes full of satisfaction. He had been in this world for nearly two years. In those two years, he had built a Jiangbei Defense Line. One hundred and seventy kilometers long. Uniformly level-five walls, the air prohibition option, Ghost Blood Patterns. Every twenty meters, one max-level God-Slaying Cannon. Every hundred meters, one max-level Anti-Air Cannon and one Soul-Devouring Sculpture. Behind the wall, unlit ghost fires were linked together through copper pipes, ready to be activated at any time. This was a perfect defense line. Of these, there were 8,500 max-level God-Slaying Cannons, at a cost of 320 million ghost stones. One thousand seven hundred max-level Anti-Air Cannons, at a cost of 64 million ghost stones. One thousand seven hundred max-level Soul-Devouring Sculptures, at a cost of 4.4 million ghost stones. The level-five wall, 170 kilometers long, at a cost of about 400 million ghost stones. Add the scattered copper pipes, altars, ghost fires, and the rest. This Jiangbei Defense Line, standing upon Jiangbei like a natural chasm, 170 kilometers from end to end— its total cost was about 800 million ghost stones. A year and a half ago, he had set himself a goal. "Four years, three hundred million, hold Jiangbei." Now he had already surpassed that goal. "Two years, eight hundred million, the Jiangbei Defense Line." With no one accompanying him, Chen Fan walked alone along the Jiangbei Defense Line upon the wall, leaning on a cane, heading into the distance. One footprint after another. He walked extremely slowly. He had no particular goal. He only wanted to measure it with his feet, to feel this Jiangbei Defense Line he had built. Every stretch of blue-gray brick seemed to hold a warmth, as if celebrating that the line was at last completely finished. One hundred and seventy kilometers. If he relied on his two legs, it would take a long time to walk from here to the end of the line. To him of a year and a half ago, this had been a project that could well be called impossible. Now it was finished ahead of schedule. As he walked, Chen Fan stopped before a God-Slaying Cannon Tower, looked toward the distant sea, and smiled. "I'm ready." "Come." These past few days he had consumed quite a few more of Fan Domain's ghost-stone reserves. Only about 500 million remained. He needed to leave enough ghost stones to serve as ammunition. Once the defense line was fully activated, every day would consume ghost stones by the tens of millions. Without sufficient reserves, the line would go completely dead after firing for only a few days. Time slipped away bit by bit. Time reached the year's end. Eternal Night Calendar, year 380, the end of the tenth month. The rainy season was about to descend. Half a year had passed. In this half year, Fan Domain's development had advanced at a steady pace. Mining on the New Continent continued, and Wang Mazi's exploration continued as well. And after he built several more flying boats, and Fan Domain's Commerce Pavilion took in another batch of members, the pace of exploration over there quickened considerably once more. By now they had nearly finished exploring the entire continent. After the calculations, a conclusion was reached. To cover every region of the whole New Continent with ghost fire would require about 169,361 max-level ghost fires. That was under conditions of essentially full use. If the placement went wrong and too many areas of ghost fire overlapped, still more would be needed. The cost of one ghost fire was 19,963 ghost stones. Nearly twenty thousand. After he gained the effect of the Heavenly Dao blessing, upgrading ghost fire required no heavenly materials and earthly treasures. Only ghost stones were needed. Only, the rainy season was about to arrive, and the temperature was gradually falling. Chen Fan, wrapped in a wool blanket, sat in a rocking chair on the wall of Cave No. 1 and looked at the figures Wang Kui had presented, silent for a long time. "Domain Lord." Wang Kui reported in a low voice, "According to our calculations, to cover the entire New Continent with ghost fire would require..." "About 3.38 billion ghost stones." "The total time to lay them is estimated at one year." "Adding the consumption of flying boats and the like, the total should be about 3.39 billion ghost stones." Chen Fan's brow creased slightly. He stared at this string of astronomical figures on the kraft paper. Only after a long while did he let out a long sigh, lean back in the chair, and wave a hand for Wang Kui to withdraw for now. The number had frightened him. The Jiangbei Defense Line had consumed only 800 million ghost stones in all. Covering the New Continent with ghost fire required 3.39 billion. Was this truly a task a person could finish? If he had not possessed that Heavenly Dao blessing for ghost fire, then even with enough ghost stones, there would not be enough heavenly materials and earthly treasures for him to complete it. Most important of all, Fan Domain did not have that many ghost stones. From the seventh month, saving all the way to the end of the tenth, the reserves at this moment had only reached about 1.9 billion ghost stones, far short of that mark. At the present speed of mining on the New Continent, they would need at least another year or so before they could save so many. The mining had sped up because, at the end of the seventh month, Fan Domain had recruited another fifty thousand auxiliary personnel and shipped them to the New Continent. And even if he truly saved that many ghost stones, he was loath to spend what he had accumulated for so long on claiming this Sovereign of All Under Heaven reward. Chen Fan lightly rubbed his temples. From his experience in his previous life, many factions were developing perfectly well, then suddenly took out a great mass of wealth to build one enormous thing, and the faction collapsed along with it. Only two years remained until the seabed ghost tide made landfall. He had still meant to build some more Heaven-Reaching Pillars during this year's rainy season. Though pillars built at a time like this certainly could not be used when the seabed ghost tide came ashore, they could be used in the year after the landfall, and that still counted as foundation. Build a little every year. Accumulate them as wealth. He was the only person on the Eternal Night Continent who possessed a player panel. Just as when he had been the first to build a max-level structure and claim the reward, the Eternal Night Continent had already had max-level structures long before him. In other words, any reward or building that required the panel could be claimed and used by him alone. Right after that, he picked up a voice transmission talisman and contacted Wang Kui. Very soon Wang Kui returned, bringing an anomalous treasure. He handed it to Chen Fan and withdrew again. "Anomalous Treasure Name": Heaven-Inquiring Incense. "Anomalous Treasure Grade": Green. "Anomalous Treasure Effect": Light one stick of incense, and one question may be asked. After a certain number of ghost stones are sacrificed, an absolutely correct answer will be obtained. If the question cannot be answered, or not enough ghost stones are sacrificed, that stick of incense will shatter on its own. This was an anomalous treasure he had obtained a very, very long time ago. There were three sticks in all. The first two had helped him obtain the Spirit-Nurturing Pavilion. This was the last. He had never been willing to use it, and had meant to wait until he collected related anomalous treasures. But in all this time, Fan Domain had never collected anything similar. Now he decided to let this stick help him decide. He slowly lit the incense before him. After thread upon thread of blue smoke drifted out, he drew a deep breath and said in a low voice, "I ask of Heaven." "The max-level effect of ghost fire, Sovereign of All Under Heaven: fill a continent with ghost fire, and the special reward Sovereign of All Under Heaven may be obtained. I now have the chance to complete this task, but it requires me to consume 3.39 billion ghost stones." "This sum of ghost stones is no small pressure on me." "Can you tell me what the Sovereign of All Under Heaven reward is, or tell me whether it is worth trading 3.39 billion ghost stones for one such reward?" Very soon, the threads of blue smoke rising from the incense stand slowly gathered and formed a line of characters. "One million ghost stones must be sacrificed." Seeing this, Chen Fan let out a relieved breath. The price of answering this question was great. The previous two questions together had cost him only 1,100 ghost stones. But this also indirectly proved that the answer was genuine. The cost was worth paying. After a million ghost stones in the warehouse turned to liquid and streamed without end into the incense burner, and after the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the threads of blue smoke before him formed two lines of characters once more. "If there is a great crisis within one year, it is not worth it." "If there is not, it is worth it." But after he saw the answer, he fell silent where he was. Was there a great crisis within one year? No. His great crisis was the landfall of the seabed ghost tide two years from now. But... why this restriction? It meant Sovereign of All Under Heaven was a growth-type reward. It had to ferment for a certain time before it could earn back its cost. If he were to die tomorrow, then rather than trade for this reward, he would be better off building defense lines. To put it plainly, this was a reward that raised the ceiling. If one could live long, choose it. If one was close to death, better to settle one's mind and build the defense line first. But the landfall of the seabed ghost tide two years from now was already fixed. Whether some other crisis would appear before then, no one could say. What if the seabed ghost tide came ashore early? What if the seal on the Thunderstorm Sea was suddenly released? By then, all the ghost stones of Fan Domain's foundation would have been used to lay the New Continent. Once a crisis of that scale struck, there would not be a single means of resistance. Pure gambling. A gamble that no great crisis would occur within one year. If it was completed as hoped, Fan Domain's ceiling would be higher. If an accident came midway, Fan Domain would perish midway. Was it to be safe, steady growth, or a gamble for a higher ceiling? Chen Fan sat on the wall, looking at the blue smoke gradually dispersing before him, silent for a long time. He had originally meant, before this rainy season arrived, to use this batch of ghost stones to raise the Jiangbei Defense Line to level six. That would be much more secure. At least the rise in strength would be visible at a glance. It would be truly and solidly in hand. As for that Sovereign of All Under Heaven reward, no one knew what it was. Six hours later, the sky gradually darkened. Eternal Night was about to descend. Zhou Mo, Wang Kui, Xiao Qiu—the core members who had followed Chen Fan all the way since the rainy season—and Shao Qiu, Qi Yue, and a few others all gathered today after a long time apart. Even Quehou, far away on the New Continent, had been called over. "There's a matter I need your opinions on." Inside the wooden cabin in the cave, Chen Fan leaned back in his chair, eyelids slightly lowered, and spoke softly. Fan Domain had developed better and better this year, but the layout of this cave had not changed much. This wooden cabin was still the one Chen Fan had built during the rainy season. It looked crude. But it gave him a sense of ease. Chen Fan's voice sounded slowly in the room. "At present, Fan Domain's ghost-stone reserves are 1.9 billion." "This is the foundation Fan Domain has accumulated this year. If the Jiangbei Defense Line is entirely raised to level-six walls, it will consume 850 million ghost stones." "And in two years, the seabed ghost tide will formally make landfall at Jiangbei." "Now an opportunity lies before us." "With 3.39 billion ghost stones we can trade for a great opportunity and make Fan Domain's future ceiling higher. But it will exhaust all of Fan Domain's foundation now and for nearly the next year, and the results will only show after one year." "Within this year, if Fan Domain meets a great crisis, there will not be enough foundation to resist it." "Which do you say we choose?" "Take the gamble, or develop steadily?" As his voice fell, everyone in the room looked at one another. No one spoke at once. They already held high positions, but when the talk turned to where several billion ghost stones would go, they still did not quite dare open their mouths. The matter was too large. They did not even dare offer a suggestion. After a while, Wang Kui was the first to speak. "Domain Lord, does this opportunity have a time limit?" "No." Chen Fan shook his head. "It can be at any time. But the number of ghost stones consumed is fixed: 3.39 billion." Wang Kui nodded and went on. "In that case, my suggestion is... if we aren't clear on what this opportunity actually is, better to develop steadily." "Fan Domain as it is now is already growing very fast." "Over on the New Continent, a hundred thousand Fan Domain auxiliary members are constantly digging ghost stones. At present, more than half the ancient battlefields still haven't been fully mined. If the ancient battlefields of the whole continent are all mined out, we should be able to take in about twenty to thirty billion ghost stones." "I think we can entirely develop steadily first, wait until Fan Domain has gotten through the seabed ghost tide's landfall two years from now, and then go claim this opportunity. It won't be too late." "That makes sense." Zhou Mo nodded thoughtfully. Chen Fan did not speak. He only leaned back in the chair, his knuckles unconsciously tapping the armrest. "Wait, wait. How many more years can the Eternal Night Continent wait?" Qi Yue had also been invited to this meeting. After hearing Wang Kui's suggestion, he was the first to object. "Domain Lord." "How many more years can the front lines of the Eternal Night Continent hold? One? Two? Or ten, a hundred?" "No one knows." "But I know one thing. Once the Eternal Night Continent collapses, the defense lines everywhere across it will fall in an instant, and we will not escape death either." "Since the seabed ghost tide will not make landfall until two years from now, better to take the gamble and let Fan Domain develop a little faster." "That way—" "even if the Eternal Night front collapses, our Fan Domain might hold up a final defense line and give the Eternal Night Continent a thread of hope." "We cannot assume the Eternal Night front will keep holding forever. Since we have this ability and this chance, we have to take the gamble." "And—" Qi Yue paused a moment, then said, somewhat hoarsely, "It isn't that I'm pessimistic. Given the Eternal Night Continent as it is, one more Fan Domain or one less changes nothing of the war." "The Eternal Night Continent needs a miracle." "A miracle like a bolt from the blue." "Since Fan Domain has this chance, I hope Fan Domain can become that miracle for the Eternal Night Continent." As his voice fell, Zhou Mo, sitting to one side, gave a small start. He looked first at Wang Kui, then at Qi Yue, and scratched the back of his head in some bewilderment. "That makes sense too." Seated in his chair, Chen Fan suddenly smiled after hearing Qi Yue through. In truth he had not been seeking the opinions of Qi Yue and the others for their own sake. He only wanted to hear the voice of his own heart. On the other hand, everyone had not gathered in a long time, and he rather missed this bunch. When he heard Wang Kui's suggestion, his brow had unconsciously creased. After he heard Qi Yue's, he smiled. That meant that in his own heart, he wanted to gamble for a higher ceiling. Follow the thought in his heart. Even if he lost, he would be able to accept it. Since that was so... He slowly rose, looked at everyone, and smiled. "It's rare for everyone to gather. I've had the people below prepare food. Let's eat a reunion meal together." "Come to think of it, it's been a long time since we all gathered." "Domain Lord, what have you decided?" Zhou Mo asked, somewhat curious. "Gamble for the ceiling." "That's what I thought too." Zhou Mo's face turned solemn, and he stuck up a thumb. "The Domain Lord is wise." "You mean the Domain Lord only counts as wise when he thinks the same as you?" Quehou, to one side, could not help teasing. "Huh?" Zhou Mo froze where he was, at a loss, anxious for a moment and not knowing how to explain. How had this Quehou dug him such a huge pit? "Let's go." Chen Fan could not help laughing, and threw an arm around Quehou's shoulders. "Haven't seen you in a while. That mouth of yours has gotten a lot oilier." "Heh heh." Quehou limped along shoulder to shoulder with Chen Fan, grinning. "I manage a crowd of oily fellows every day. I've caught it from them." "Is the managing going all right?" "It's all right. The ones who don't go along all got turned into fried dough sticks by Qi Yue." "Not bad. Feel any pride, being able to manage so many people already?" "Actually, a little. But it still feels happiest when I'm beside the young master." "What's so happy about that?" "That I can't say either. Anyway, it just makes me happy." Eternal Night Calendar, year 380, the end of the tenth month. This year's rainy season was about to arrive. Two years remained until the seabed ghost tide made landfall. Chen Fan and the others sat on the wall of Cave No. 1. Just as when the first rainy season had come, they did not order the people below about. Everyone took the field in person. Da Yu went on sorting the vegetables. Qi Chong rolled up his sleeves and once again set to cooking, lighting the fire. Soon a pot of clear water, steaming with heat, was carried up and set out. "Today we're eating dabianlu hotpot." "I've prepared a lot of ingredients." Qi Chong said with a merry chuckle, "In weather like this, a dabianlu hotpot will warm us up quite a bit. Two hours ago I had the people over at the port catch a good number of fish. Fresh as anything—every one of them lively and leaping." Soon the water rolled, and the fire was going. Slice after slice of deboned fish tumbled in the clear pot, sending up waves of heat and fragrance. Chen Fan sat smiling in his chair, picked up a chopstickful of fish, and put it in his mouth. It really was rich and succulent. Jiangbei lay beside the sea. But fish was not in Jiangbei's main diet. In the past, no one had dared run so far, leaving the safe zone to catch fish at the sea. Once Fan Domain stood guard over Jiangbei, that changed. Over in Jiangnan, people ate a bit more fish. This dabianlu hotpot was mainly something the people of Jiangnan loved. Only after Fan Domain's high-speed rail opened had Jiangnan customs gradually spread to Jiangbei. Before that, where would Jiangbei have had anything like dabianlu hotpot? And truly, the taste was quite good. "The rainy season is almost here." Chen Fan picked up another chopstickful of fish and said offhand, "Later, Quehou, come with me on a trip. It's been a long time since you went out with me." "We'll make a trip to the Guandong Plain." "This year's rainy season over there, they may not have an easy time of it. Even now they still haven't received support from the Eternal Night Hall. Soul-Devouring Sculptures alone may not be quite enough." "We'll go build them some copper pipes, altars, and the like." "All right!" Quehou nodded hard, somewhat excited. It really had been a long time since he had gone out with the young master. Everyone ate this dabianlu hotpot with great delight. It was as if they had returned to two years ago. They had met on the Jiangbei wasteland in the rainy season that descended ahead of time, huddling together for warmth. Over there Zhou Mo had recorded, bit by bit, the time as the rainy season passed, and in the end they completed a miracle, surviving on through the rainy season that had come early. That time, Fan Domain had been Jiangbei's miracle. And now, Fan Domain wanted to become the miracle of the Eternal Night Continent. To become a miracle, one naturally had to take a gamble. No one talked about work. None of them spoke of how they themselves had grown these two years. They were all recalling together the moment they had first met two years ago, recalling when they left the old camp two years ago and came to Nameless Mountain for the first time. Even Weiwei, sprawled to one side, listened entranced, and did not open its mouth wide waiting to be fed. Its eyes lost focus, and its thoughts gradually drifted far. It too remembered when it had first met Chen Fan. Remembered the moment it had gathered its courage and gone to him of its own accord. Zhou Mo listened to the talk of those beside him. The rims of his eyes gradually reddened. He lifted a cup of wine and poured it down into his belly. He was thinking, if Er Gou had not died—