When the second slap landed, Gao Yang reflexively hunched, feeling a sympathetic pain like he was the one getting slapped.
Silence lingered for two seconds.
Wang Zikai stroked his reddened cheek and slowly turned his head back, the rage in his eyes was intense enough to kill. “You’ve got balls, Fat Jun.”
“Brother Kai! Brother Kai, I didn’t...” Fat Jun looked at his right hand in panic. “I don’t know what happened, but I lost control of my right hand suddenly. It wasn’t me, I swear!”
“And you think I’ll buy that?”
Wang Zikai tightened his fists, his knuckles crackling.
“Brother Kai! I’m sorry, Brother Kai!” Fat Jun staggered back in fear. “It wasn’t me, I swear to God...”
“I won’t stop until I break a leg or two!” Wang Zikai growled and charged at Fat Jun.
Fat Jun bolted at once. “Help! Help me!”
“Shit. We’ve got to do something.” With a long-suffering look, Officer Huang chased after them.
Gao Yang was just about to do the same when a cool, soft hand grabbed his.
He looked over. It was the vendor.
“Follow me!” The girl turned around and ran, dragging Gao Yang along.
“Hey, wait...” Gao Yang was going to say something, but the girl was stronger than he expected.
Like a pair of tropical fish, the two of them dove through the crowded marketplace swimmingly and rushed out of the haunted house in no time. Finally, Gao Yang found the chance to break out of her grip.
“What are you doing?”
“Tee-hee.” The girl smiled sweetly and handed Gao Yang the glove. “This is for you!”
“For me?” Gao Yang questioned his ears.
“Yeah, in exchange for you riding the ferris wheel with me.” The girl’s voice had an upbeat lilt to it. Despite the fisherman hat and the sunglasses covering her face, her excitement and anticipation were apparent.
Gao Yang was immediately alerted. There was something very strange and very wrong about the girl!
He used Lie Detection on her.
—The target did not lie.
Gao Yang then accessed the system to make sure that his Luck points were accumulating at a regular rate.
Although he didn’t understand what was going on, he had ascertained that the girl didn’t lie, and that she wasn’t hostile to him. This wasn’t a trap.
He considered the glove in the girl’s hands and asked for confirmation. “Are you really going to give me that?”
“Yes!” The girl jumped in excitement and pointed at the ferris wheel near them. “Take that with me! The ferris wheel!”
“Alright.” Gao Yang took the glove. “No take-backs!”
“Of course!”
Gao Yang followed the girl as she skipped toward the ferris wheel. His heart was still pounding with nervousness. Wasn’t it a little careless of him to ride a ferris wheel with a girl he didn’t know just for a glove?
Gao Yang cleared his throat and asked, “What’s your name?”
“Me?” The girl turned around and pointed at her face. “Fresh Snow.”
“Fresh Snow?”
Gao Yang went through his mental list of the top 100 awakeners. No matter how hard he thought about it, he didn’t remember a Fresh Snow.
“I’m Dark Horse of the Twelve Zodiac Signs,” Gao Yang introduced himself. He was basically telling the girl to not get any funny ideas since he was someone with the backing of a proper organization.
“Dark Horse,” Fresh Snow muttered before saying seriously, “I don’t like the name. It doesn’t sound nice!”
Gao Yang paused and smiled awkwardly. “Well, I didn’t like the name at first, either.”
Mostly because it sounded too arrogant and would be detrimental to his plan to get stronger while keeping a low profile.
“Right?”
Fresh Snow smiled. Most of her fair, palm-sized face was hidden by the fisherman hat and the big sunglasses.
Soon, they reached the bottom of the ferris wheel. It seemed that it hadn’t seen any use for a long time. Even if it wasn’t broken, there would be no electricity to power it.
“It’s not working,” said Gao Yang. “Are we still getting on?”
“Yes!” Fresh Snow jumped onto the pod nearest to the ground, waving down at Gao Yang happily. “I’m getting to the top!”
Gao Yang was surprised. The girl moved well. She must be quite the formidable awakener.
He was glad that he had decent Agility, enough for him to climb up the ferris wheel, at least. However, he couldn’t do it as gracefully as the girl did.
Using both hands and feet, Gao Yang climbed onto the nearest pod.
Following Fresh Snow and jumping between the metal beams of the ferris wheel, he quickly reached the topmost pod. Fresh Snow opened the door, and the two of them got in.
The pod wasn’t big, and it was dim. Sitting face to face, their eyes couldn’t help but meet.
It was more awkward than intimate. At least that was the case for Gao Yang.
“You’re a member of the Hundred Rivers Union, aren’t you?” Gao Yang asked just to fill the space.
“I’m not.”
“Then the Qilin Guild?”
Fresh Snow shook her head. “No.”
“An unaffiliate awakener?”
“Wrong again.” Fresh Snow chuckled and put her legs up, resting her chin on her knees. “I’m a ghost.”
She put it so simply and naturally that Gao Yang wasn’t so much shocked but confused. He wondered if he had heard her wrong.
“Come again?”
“I’m a ghost.” Fresh Snow’s smile widened.
After two seconds, Gao Yang laughed along. “Nice to meet you. It’s my first time running into a ghost.”
It was Fresh Snow’s turn to be surprised. She studied Gao Yang. “Are you not afraid of ghosts?”
“I am,” Gao Yang said half-jokingly. “But my teacher said that I wouldn’t stand a chance against ghosts at the moment, so I’m not gonna waste my energy running away.”
Fresh Snow puffed up her cheeks bemusedly before breaking into a grin, revealing a sharp white canine tooth. “Your teacher is right.”
“Well, so we’ve taken the ferris wheel.” Gao Yang got back to business. “Our deal is done, right?”
Fresh Snow didn’t say anything. She tilted her head to look outside at the sky, her eyes distant.
Gao Yang wondered if she was regretting the deal.
He wasn’t sure what he could say, so he looked out of the window as well.
Below, the amusement park was an abandoned wasteland, and beyond it was the distant city adorned with specks of light. With heavy clouds covering the moon, the heaven and earth were awash in a dark gray.
“Why is the ferris wheel different from the one on TV?” Fresh Snow asked, disappointed.
“Mostly because the power to the amusement park has been cut off,” Gao Yang explained seriously. “There’s no neon light, so it doesn’t look good.”
“Ah.” Fresh Snow leaned toward the window, her upturned nose pressing into the fogged glass.
Gao Yang hesitated for a moment. It’s better to make sure both parties leave with what they want in a deal.
It was clear that Fresh Snow was dissatisfied with the ride on the ferris wheel. Although it wasn’t his fault, it wouldn’t hurt to do something within his ability to make her happy. After all, fragrance lingered on the hand that gifted away roses.[1]
“Do you want to see fireworks?” Gao Yang asked.
“Fireworks?” Fresh Snow turned to him and nodded excitedly. “Yeah!”
“Give me a moment. Ah, it’s best that you close your eyes first.”
“Okay!”
Gao Yang opened the pod door. Against the chilling night wind sweeping inside at once, he popped out of the pod and, with a single thought, conjured two unstable balls of fire in his palms, hurling them above.
“Alright, open your eyes!” Gao Yang returned to his seat.
When Fresh Snow opened her eyes and looked out of the pod, the two fireballs were slowly descending against the backdrop of the night sky. Due to the unstable energy and the strong night wind, the flames quickly scattered into embers.
Although it wasn’t as extravagant and enthralling as fireworks, it was still quite the romantic sight.
“Whoa!” Fresh Snow gaped at the display and took off her sunglasses without thinking. Then a strong gust of wind stole the fisherman hat from her head. Her silver hair ran down like a waterfall, upon which the ‘fireworks’ cast golden specks of light.
Gao Yang threw her a glance.
The girl had stunning delicate features, graceful silver hair, eyes as red as rubies, and skin pale like that of vampires.
Suddenly, Gao Yang was reminded of what War Tiger had told him.
‘I don’t have to tell you. You'll know when you see them.’
‘I don’t want to be all doom and gloom, but if you ever run into them, it means they have decided to kill you, and there’s no escaping that.’
Wait, what’s going on?
Can the girl really be a ghost...as in a member of Spectres?
1. A Chinese idiom that means what goes around comes around, but in a strictly positive sense. ?
When the second slap landed, Gao Yang reflexively hunched, feeling a sympathetic pain like he was the one getting slapped.
Silence lingered for two seconds.
Wang Zikai stroked his reddened cheek and slowly turned his head back, the rage in his eyes was intense enough to kill. “You’ve got balls, Fat Jun.”
“Brother Kai! Brother Kai, I didn’t...” Fat Jun looked at his right hand in panic. “I don’t know what happened, but I lost control of my right hand suddenly. It wasn’t me, I swear!”
“And you think I’ll buy that?”
Wang Zikai tightened his fists, his knuckles crackling.
“Brother Kai! I’m sorry, Brother Kai!” Fat Jun staggered back in fear. “It wasn’t me, I swear to God...”
“I won’t stop until I break a leg or two!” Wang Zikai growled and charged at Fat Jun.
Fat Jun bolted at once. “Help! Help me!”
“Shit. We’ve got to do something.” With a long-suffering look, Officer Huang chased after them.
Gao Yang was just about to do the same when a cool, soft hand grabbed his.
He looked over. It was the vendor.
“Follow me!” The girl turned around and ran, dragging Gao Yang along.
“Hey, wait...” Gao Yang was going to say something, but the girl was stronger than he expected.
Like a pair of tropical fish, the two of them dove through the crowded marketplace swimmingly and rushed out of the haunted house in no time. Finally, Gao Yang found the chance to break out of her grip.
“What are you doing?”
“Tee-hee.” The girl smiled sweetly and handed Gao Yang the glove. “This is for you!”
“For me?” Gao Yang questioned his ears.
“Yeah, in exchange for you riding the ferris wheel with me.” The girl’s voice had an upbeat lilt to it. Despite the fisherman hat and the sunglasses covering her face, her excitement and anticipation were apparent.
Gao Yang was immediately alerted. There was something very strange and very wrong about the girl!
He used Lie Detection on her.
—The target did not lie.
Gao Yang then accessed the system to make sure that his Luck points were accumulating at a regular rate.
Although he didn’t understand what was going on, he had ascertained that the girl didn’t lie, and that she wasn’t hostile to him. This wasn’t a trap.
He considered the glove in the girl’s hands and asked for confirmation. “Are you really going to give me that?”
“Yes!” The girl jumped in excitement and pointed at the ferris wheel near them. “Take that with me! The ferris wheel!”
“Alright.” Gao Yang took the glove. “No take-backs!”
“Of course!”
Gao Yang followed the girl as she skipped toward the ferris wheel. His heart was still pounding with nervousness. Wasn’t it a little careless of him to ride a ferris wheel with a girl he didn’t know just for a glove?
Gao Yang cleared his throat and asked, “What’s your name?”
“Me?” The girl turned around and pointed at her face. “Fresh Snow.”
“Fresh Snow?”
Gao Yang went through his mental list of the top 100 awakeners. No matter how hard he thought about it, he didn’t remember a Fresh Snow.
“I’m Dark Horse of the Twelve Zodiac Signs,” Gao Yang introduced himself. He was basically telling the girl to not get any funny ideas since he was someone with the backing of a proper organization.
“Dark Horse,” Fresh Snow muttered before saying seriously, “I don’t like the name. It doesn’t sound nice!”
Gao Yang paused and smiled awkwardly. “Well, I didn’t like the name at first, either.”
Mostly because it sounded too arrogant and would be detrimental to his plan to get stronger while keeping a low profile.
“Right?”
Fresh Snow smiled. Most of her fair, palm-sized face was hidden by the fisherman hat and the big sunglasses.
Soon, they reached the bottom of the ferris wheel. It seemed that it hadn’t seen any use for a long time. Even if it wasn’t broken, there would be no electricity to power it.
“It’s not working,” said Gao Yang. “Are we still getting on?”
“Yes!” Fresh Snow jumped onto the pod nearest to the ground, waving down at Gao Yang happily. “I’m getting to the top!”
Gao Yang was surprised. The girl moved well. She must be quite the formidable awakener.
He was glad that he had decent Agility, enough for him to climb up the ferris wheel, at least. However, he couldn’t do it as gracefully as the girl did.
Using both hands and feet, Gao Yang climbed onto the nearest pod.
Following Fresh Snow and jumping between the metal beams of the ferris wheel, he quickly reached the topmost pod. Fresh Snow opened the door, and the two of them got in.
The pod wasn’t big, and it was dim. Sitting face to face, their eyes couldn’t help but meet.
It was more awkward than intimate. At least that was the case for Gao Yang.
“You’re a member of the Hundred Rivers Union, aren’t you?” Gao Yang asked just to fill the space.
“I’m not.”
“Then the Qilin Guild?”
Fresh Snow shook her head. “No.”
“An unaffiliate awakener?”
“Wrong again.” Fresh Snow chuckled and put her legs up, resting her chin on her knees. “I’m a ghost.”
She put it so simply and naturally that Gao Yang wasn’t so much shocked but confused. He wondered if he had heard her wrong.
“Come again?”
“I’m a ghost.” Fresh Snow’s smile widened.
After two seconds, Gao Yang laughed along. “Nice to meet you. It’s my first time running into a ghost.”
It was Fresh Snow’s turn to be surprised. She studied Gao Yang. “Are you not afraid of ghosts?”
“I am,” Gao Yang said half-jokingly. “But my teacher said that I wouldn’t stand a chance against ghosts at the moment, so I’m not gonna waste my energy running away.”
Fresh Snow puffed up her cheeks bemusedly before breaking into a grin, revealing a sharp white canine tooth. “Your teacher is right.”
“Well, so we’ve taken the ferris wheel.” Gao Yang got back to business. “Our deal is done, right?”
Fresh Snow didn’t say anything. She tilted her head to look outside at the sky, her eyes distant.
Gao Yang wondered if she was regretting the deal.
He wasn’t sure what he could say, so he looked out of the window as well.
Below, the amusement park was an abandoned wasteland, and beyond it was the distant city adorned with specks of light. With heavy clouds covering the moon, the heaven and earth were awash in a dark gray.
“Why is the ferris wheel different from the one on TV?” Fresh Snow asked, disappointed.
“Mostly because the power to the amusement park has been cut off,” Gao Yang explained seriously. “There’s no neon light, so it doesn’t look good.”
“Ah.” Fresh Snow leaned toward the window, her upturned nose pressing into the fogged glass.
Gao Yang hesitated for a moment. It’s better to make sure both parties leave with what they want in a deal.
It was clear that Fresh Snow was dissatisfied with the ride on the ferris wheel. Although it wasn’t his fault, it wouldn’t hurt to do something within his ability to make her happy. After all, fragrance lingered on the hand that gifted away roses.[1]
“Do you want to see fireworks?” Gao Yang asked.
“Fireworks?” Fresh Snow turned to him and nodded excitedly. “Yeah!”
“Give me a moment. Ah, it’s best that you close your eyes first.”
“Okay!”
Gao Yang opened the pod door. Against the chilling night wind sweeping inside at once, he popped out of the pod and, with a single thought, conjured two unstable balls of fire in his palms, hurling them above.
“Alright, open your eyes!” Gao Yang returned to his seat.
When Fresh Snow opened her eyes and looked out of the pod, the two fireballs were slowly descending against the backdrop of the night sky. Due to the unstable energy and the strong night wind, the flames quickly scattered into embers.
Although it wasn’t as extravagant and enthralling as fireworks, it was still quite the romantic sight.
“Whoa!” Fresh Snow gaped at the display and took off her sunglasses without thinking. Then a strong gust of wind stole the fisherman hat from her head. Her silver hair ran down like a waterfall, upon which the ‘fireworks’ cast golden specks of light.
Gao Yang threw her a glance.
The girl had stunning delicate features, graceful silver hair, eyes as red as rubies, and skin pale like that of vampires.
Suddenly, Gao Yang was reminded of what War Tiger had told him.
‘I don’t have to tell you. You'll know when you see them.’
‘I don’t want to be all doom and gloom, but if you ever run into them, it means they have decided to kill you, and there’s no escaping that.’
Wait, what’s going on?
Can the girl really be a ghost...as in a member of Spectres?
1. A Chinese idiom that means what goes around comes around, but in a strictly positive sense. ?
