A roar of laughter, as deafening as a tidal wave, crashed toward me. I instinctively covered my ears, but the violent gust of air split before my eyes, leaving me untouched by its force.
Future Ethan Zhang's long hair whipped in the raging wind. He stared coldly at the massive form of the Chaos Fiend before him.
“I don't know. You're not of this world, are you? Since you don't belong here, you shouldn't interfere. I'll devour that anomaly. My job is to consume everything that exists in the cracks of time. Heh.”
As the Chaos Fiend spoke, it flapped its wings and lunged at us. Startled, I stumbled back several steps in fear.
With a thunderous crash, I widened my eyes—Future Ethan Zhang caught the Chaos Fiend’s massive descending claw with one hand. The Chaos Fiend’s blood-red eyes turned toward him.
“Do you want to die?”
“Tell me—what did the Ethan Zhang you saw look like? Where exactly is he?”
Future Ethan Zhang’s tone grew harsher, but the Chaos Fiend only laughed, its fur trembling violently.
A low buzzing filled the air. The red-black tricolored vortex on the Chaos Fiend’s belly began to spin wildly. Its mouth gaped open—then, suddenly, I saw a thread-like line slash across its body.
With a tearing sound, blood sprayed everywhere like waves crashing on the sea. The Chaos Fiend’s lower half plummeted into the darkness below. It stared in disbelief at its body, split in two by a single blow, fear flickering in its eyes. I had no idea what was happening—this was far beyond my comprehension.
This beast was anything but simple—its strength immense. But only Future Ethan Zhang could split it in two with a single strike. The Chaos Fiend turned and desperately tried to fly away, but in an instant, thick black ropes, like whips, coiled around its upper body, binding it tightly.
“Wait...”
“Say your piece and get lost.”
Future Ethan Zhang said coldly. The Chaos Fiend immediately began to speak.
“I only saw Ethan Zhang once on my turf. He was with Four Not Alike, and they seemed to be looking for Nuwa. That’s all I know.”
“Get out.”
The Chaos Fiend vanished quickly. The darkness around us faded away, and in the blink of an eye, I found myself back on the hillside behind the village. I let out a breath of relief. But the Chaos Fiend’s mention of seeing Ethan Zhang once left me puzzled. I glanced at Future Ethan Zhang. When he returned, he sat down and closed his eyes. Just as I was about to question him, he lay on his side on the ground, apparently unwilling to answer.
But right now, panic filled my heart. The Ethan Zhang mentioned by the Chaos Fiend might be the Ethan Zhang of this world.
“Can you tell me—”
“You don’t need to know, Rachel Lan. Get some rest. After you eat.”
With a soft thud, Future Ethan Zhang waved his hand and a small cloth bundle dropped in front of me. When I opened it, I found food and water. I could only eat quietly, then searched for a softer spot to lie down. I felt no cold; holding this sword, I could sleep in peace.
Even though I felt sleepy, my heart was restless. I understood my situation: the Eye of Time would find me, the anomaly, and try every way to eliminate me. Things would only get worse. All I could do was wait for Past Ethan Zhang to return.
Gradually, drowsiness overtook me, and soon I fell asleep.
Morning came with the cheerful calls of birds, and I woke refreshed. The moment I opened my eyes, I saw Future Ethan Zhang sitting nearby, eyes closed.
"Has that guy not come back yet?"
I asked, but then noticed villagers at the foot of the mountain preparing to climb up. I grew anxious.
"Just sit quietly. They can't see us."
Sure enough, after the villagers entered the forest and looked around for a while, they headed deeper into the mountains. They carried lots of food, but it didn’t seem like they planned to go far. Thinking it over, I realized the food was probably for offering to ghosts.
The day passed quickly, and night fell again. After eating, I looked helplessly at the village lights below. I’d spent the whole day with Future Ethan Zhang, barely exchanging words. I’d asked him a few things, but he never answered.
"So boring."
I muttered. I’d thought we’d only be here for a few days, but now it seemed we wouldn’t leave for at least ten days, maybe even half a month.
"He’s coming."
Finally, Future Ethan Zhang stood up. I looked around but saw nothing. A gentle breeze swept by, and a figure in white flashed before my eyes—Past Ethan Zhang stood before us, smiling.
"Truly irresponsible."
As soon as he landed, Future Ethan Zhang said coldly. Past Ethan Zhang didn’t argue, but replied:
"Isn’t that why you’re here? There’ve been two attacks already, haven’t there?"
Past Ethan Zhang said. I nodded—it seemed he knew the Eye of Time had started attacking me.
"The third attack should come soon. But there’s no need to keep waiting. I’ve figured it out: if The Wraithlord escapes, I know where he’ll appear in the living world. Once he shows up, I’ll trap him and wait for the Daoist sect to arrive."
I nodded, but there was no sign of Julian anywhere. I had no idea how he’d show up. It looked like neither Past nor Future Ethan Zhang knew either.
"Maybe that guy just dumped us here for his own reasons!"
I said, and immediately Past Ethan Zhang laughed, shaking his head.
"Doing that gains him nothing. If the Eye of Time can't eliminate you, the anomaly, then time can't flow properly. So the Eye of Time's purging force will only grow stronger. But as long as both of us are here, no matter how many times it comes, we can beat it back."
"Cut the crap. You have a way, don't you?"
Future Ethan Zhang snapped. Past Ethan Zhang nodded, then took out a small, crystal-clear needle from his robe—about the length of a finger, seemingly made of the same material as the sword.
"Julian won't come out easily while we're here. If the Eye of Time finds him, he'll be in danger too. So we have to leave this place. When I first arrived in this world, I made a door to help me enter and exit."
As Past Ethan Zhang spoke, he waved the needle in the air. Gradually, I felt a pure aura wash over me, and a faintly opened door appeared in the air.
"Move quickly."
Once the door opened wide enough for us to enter, Future Ethan Zhang and I slipped through. Past Ethan Zhang followed, and the door slammed shut behind us. I heard the sound of a stream and the wind rustling through the forest.
We stood on a stone path flanked by bamboo groves. Ahead was a rustic wooden cabin, warm yellow light shining from within. With a creak, the cabin door opened and a hunched old woman stepped out. I jumped in fright.
"Aren't you Lady Meng? Why are you here?"
Soon I understood—this Lady Meng must be the Lady Meng from Past Ethan Zhang’s world.
Lady Meng smiled and nodded at me.
"Just as you guessed, young lady—I’m not the Lady Meng you know, nor the one from your world. But I do know a few things. Come in, let’s talk inside."
Soon we were seated inside Lady Meng’s house. She served us cups of hot tea. I took a sip—the taste was excellent. Yet the mood in the room was heavy.
For some reason, Past and Future Ethan Zhang kept bickering, and both seemed to harbor animosity toward each other.
"You two, don’t do this. This world has only just been reborn—don’t start fighting. This old woman doesn’t want to see anything go wrong here."
Even Lady Meng noticed. Future Ethan Zhang stood up, moved to a corner, and sat down against the wall.
"All we can do is wait—for Julian to come find us."
Past Ethan Zhang said, then stood up and sat comfortably by the open door. Lady Meng studied me carefully, while I found myself suspicious of this past Ethan Zhang.
"Let me put it this way, young lady—he’s the same Ethan Zhang you know. It’s just that, thanks to the successful experiment between John Chou and The Immortality Society, he became human. So, naturally, he doesn’t recognize you, and everything he’s experienced happened centuries before the Ethan Zhang you know."
I nodded thoughtfully, finally understanding. No wonder this past Ethan Zhang didn’t know me—and he seemed to be a Daoist.
"Young lady, in our world, the souls of the underworld have long perished. So, in this world, you don’t exist—you can’t appear here."
I stared in shock, my mind flooded with questions, but I didn’t know where to begin. Just then, Past Ethan Zhang turned to speak.
"Old woman, stop nagging. I came today to borrow something from you. After all, if we want to find Laozi, it’ll be tough—and the time Julian sent us might not be right either."
Lady Meng nodded and stood up, then glanced at all of us.
"Follow me, all of you."