The Three Realms Thief Chapter 7

“No use.”

A hushed voice sounded in Xu Yuan’s ear.

The shadow, with no way to avoid, suddenly passed through the fiery blaze, its figure flashing, appearing directly on the other side of the corridor.

It even reached out and gently pressed something in the void.

Sword energy and Dan Fire extinguished together.

Taking advantage of the opponent’s move—

Xu Yuan turned and ran out like mad.

—He had tried his best, but that shadow could teleport!

Damn it, it could even pass directly through flames!

It had effortlessly extinguished the two moves he had unleashed with all his might!

What was the point of fighting?

—It was completely beyond imagination!

The end of the corridor was a window.

Smash it.

Jump directly from the third floor.

This was the only escape strategy at the moment!

As Xu Yuan was thinking, he suddenly caught a glimpse of the black shadow in the corner of his eye again—

“You have exceeded my highest expectations.”

The shadow praised.

Xu Yuan’s heart sank, and he abruptly stopped.

It came too fast.

This monster was ethereal, and its power was extremely terrifying.

It wasn’t something a high school student could deal with.

But it seemed to have no intention of fighting.

It seemed…

to be testing him?

“What are you? What do you want?”

Xu Yuan held his short sword in front of his chest and asked in a deep voice.

“A small hint.”

“I’m not actually in this hospital.”

“—If you can find me with this sentence, I will give you a satisfactory answer.” The shadow floated in the corridor, saying leisurely.

Not here…

How could that be?

If you’re not here, then who am I fighting?

It’s simply being mysterious!

Xu Yuan was about to retort with a cold smile when something suddenly occurred to him, and he shivered all over.

“Impossible…”

He mumbled in a low voice, then suddenly jumped up and rushed into the bathroom at the end of the corridor like crazy.

He leaned over the sink, pressed his face against the cold mirror, and pulled open his eyelids with his hand.

Left eye.

In his eyeball—

Dense black incantations converged into a human figure.

—This monster was in his eyeball!

So it wasn’t in the hospital!

That’s why the flames and sword energy couldn’t hit it!

Silence all around.

Xu Yuan only felt a chill rise from his back.

A black shadow grew in his eye?

Why hadn’t he noticed it at all!

A low laugh sounded in his ear.

“How sharp you are, not bad.”

“Then—”

“As a reward, let’s begin.”

In the mirror.

Xu Yuan saw endless black runes seeping from his eyeballs, connecting to each other to form an inverted cross shape.

The entire mirror was covered in a misty haze, blurring everything in front of him.

Xu Yuan wiggled his nose.

From somewhere, a scent of burning charcoal ashes crawled in through the four windows, lingering around him.

Fire.

The scent of fire mingled with the grass and wood, as if a ritual had been completed, allowing a special, putrid smell to rise from underground, gurgling and bubbling.

A certain force, like rippling water, swept silently through the surroundings.

Xu Yuan froze.

The mirror—

The bathroom mirror had disappeared.

A hazy glow penetrated from where the mirror had been, as if there was an unknown room deep within the mirror.

“Go.”

A催促 sounded in his ear.

No.

I won’t go to that ghostly place.

Xu Yuan abruptly turned around and made to leave the bathroom.

“Go, your situation is not good, this is your only chance.”

The voice urged softly.

Xu Yuan stopped.

“How do you know my situation isn’t good? My situation is excellent,” he retorted.

“Because you don’t know… something has happened…”

The black shadow spoke intermittently.

Xu Yuan was stunned.

Three days later, a flying sword pierced him.

The original owner didn’t even know why he was killed, but this black shadow seemed to know something.

“What’s going to happen? Tell me.”

Xu Yuan said.

The black shadow remained silent.

It seemed to have disappeared again, no longer making any sound.

Choice.

—Only choices lay before Xu Yuan.

How to choose?

Leaving here was a simple matter.

But that shadow was already born in his eyeball.

—He wasn’t sure if digging out his eyeball would make it disappear.

What if it parasitized other organs?

Then, escape.

Where could he escape to?

Perhaps this was why the original owner was impaled by a sword three days later?

The answer was before him.

To escape?

Escape first, then wait three days, and then be impaled on the bridge?

Xu Yuan looked up, let out a breath, and walked back, standing in front of the empty mirror.

The mirror was filled with swirling mist.

He couldn’t see what was inside.

Chills permeated his body, stirring an ominous, instinctual desire to flee.

“Go.”

The voice urged softly.

Xu Yuan gritted his teeth, gripped his knife, jumped onto the sink, bent down, and squeezed into the mist-covered area.

At first, it was narrow, barely allowing a person through.

He walked for several dozen more steps.

Xu Yuan slowly straightened his bent back.

The mist became even denser.

A vast sea of fog.

In the dead silence.

Nothing could be seen.

Xu Yuan walked a few more steps, then suddenly saw a broken, ruined wall in front of him.

“You…”

He uttered a sound.

The character “幽” (You) was carved on this ruined wall, but the other parts had long since disappeared.

—He had no idea where this place was.

“Clang.”

A soft sound.

His foot hit something.

Xu Yuan looked down.

It was a bronze figurine.

—The bronze figurine lay on the ground, a strange smile on its face, its hands forming a peculiar mudra.

If one looked closely, they would find dozens of black holes on its body.

Xu Yuan looked at this bronze figurine.

—That black shadow brought him here.

What then?

An endless, misty world.

Only this bronze figurine lay here.

This was too bizarre!

Xu Yuan collected himself, trying his best to calm down.

—The appearance of any object has its basic logic and reason for existence.

This bronze figurine.

And this almost blank world.

What was their reason for existence?

Suddenly.

That whispered voice sounded again:

“Time is running out… you must quickly master… this…”

This what?

“Are you referring to this bronze figurine? Who exactly are you?” Xu Yuan couldn’t help but ask.

“…Learn it… to live…”

“It’s almost too late…”

The voice gradually faded away.

Everything returned to silence.

It was gone.

Xu Yuan turned his gaze, wanting to see the black shadow again.

But the black shadow never reappeared.

Only a strong wind blew from the distant sky.

The wind was extremely powerful.

The ashes on the ground, stirred by the wind, rose high, forming a huge wall that separated everything between heaven and earth.

Nothing could be seen anymore.

Xu Yuan clearly felt the scents of fire, ashes, and decay lingering around him gradually fading away.

Power was receding.

—The power that constituted this strange world was slowly dissipating!

But as the bronze figurine was buffeted by the strong wind, the holes on its body suddenly emitted rhythmic sounds.

Wind—

Flowed through dozens of holes in its body, then made sounds.

Xu Yuan was stunned for a moment, an expression of disbelief suddenly appearing on his face, then he exclaimed:

“What kind of art is this!”

There were twenty-seven holes on the bronze figurine.

The flow of wind, like a kind of power—

If it were replaced by the flow of spiritual energy, it would represent a spiritual energy forming an effective circulatory circuit between the twenty-seven holes.

To display any art, spiritual energy must form such a circuit within the body!

Furthermore.

The circulation of spiritual energy, combined with the secret hand seals that guide it—

A complete art was produced.

And the bronze figurine had already displayed a strange hand seal!

The answer was clear.

The other party brought him into this world to let him see this art!

The next instant.

The entire world turned dark.

Xu Yuan heard his own voice in his ear:

“What kind of art is this!”

He opened his eyes.

He was sitting on a chair by the corridor, holding a copy of “High School Third Year Qi Refining Exercise Collection (Part 1),” open to page 19, working on fill-in-the-blank questions.

The fluorescent lights hung from the ceiling, brightly illuminating the entire corridor.

The voices of patients talking, the sound of delivery drivers running, the loud inquiries of nurses, and the sound of the TV news continuously came from the other end of the corridor:

“We interrupt this program for a news flash.”

“Scientists have discovered a comet approaching our planet.”

“According to joint orbital calculations by the observatory and space probes, this comet will reach near-Earth orbit in approximately seven years…”

Xu Yuan did not listen further.

He just sat stiffly in place, and after his breathing had stabilized a bit, he took out his phone from his pocket and opened his call history.

There was indeed a call a few minutes ago.

It was his call with his mother.

Which meant—

The black shadow had silently waited for him to finish his call before launching its attack!

Everything that had just happened was not an illusion.

Everything was real!