News of Fellow Travelers

The two stayed at Li Muxuan's house for three days.

Boss Li wasn't fierce; he was always smiling, politely addressing Liu Jin as "Senior Brother Liu," and then subtly trying to get information out of him—how his son was behaving on the mountain, whether he was slacking off, causing trouble, and whether the sect leader was satisfied with him. Liu Jin always replied, "Not bad," "Not bad," or "Master has his own arrangements." Boss Li couldn't get any information out of him after a few tries, so he gave up.

On the evening of the third day, Liu Jin was alone in his guest room organizing his notes. He went over the outlines he had come up with from Mr. Dongshan and wrote three more pages. There was a knock on the window.

It wasn't Li Muxuan. Li Muxuan always knocks three times and then pushes the door open to come in. This person knocked very softly, only twice, and then waited outside.

Liu Jin got up and opened the door. Standing outside was a man, thin with a long face and sparse eyebrows. He was the young apprentice who had stood next to Wang Yaozu that day. He had changed into a cleaner short-sleeved shirt, and a not-so-standard smile was on his lips. He seemed to be trying hard to appear friendly, but he couldn't hide his thuggish nature.

"Greetings, Senior Brother Liu," he said, bowing slightly, his movements somewhat awkward, clearly something he'd only recently learned. "May I come inside to talk?"

Liu Jin glanced at him and stepped aside to let him in. The young man sat down in the chair, poured himself a cup of tea, took a sip, and then spoke.

"My name is Chen Xiaoman. I'm not from this world."

Liu Jin sat down opposite him. Chen Xiaoman put down his teacup, placed his hands on his knees, and sat rather awkwardly. He looked away, seemingly unaccustomed to looking people in the eye.

"I also like Zuo Ruotong and Li Muxuan, so I'm on the same timeline as you." He paused, "When I traveled through time, I chose the Voice of the Great Dao."

Liu Jin remained silent. He remembered the choice he made on the screen before his transmigration: the Republican era timeline, near the San Yi Gate. If Chen Xiaoman made the same choice, it meant they were destined to meet from the very beginning.

"How did you get in?"

"It's super simple, and it's closer than you." Chen Xiaoman grinned, revealing a row of slightly crooked teeth. "Just follow Wang Yaozu. Although he's from Quanxing, he's not bad to his disciples. I'm not exactly a good person; before I transmigrated, I was just a street thug. I've worked behind a counter, run errands, and collected debts. You want me to go to Sanyimen? I can't stand it. There are too many rules. Someone like me is suited to Quanxing. I can do whatever I want, as long as I don't cause too much trouble."

Liu Jin looked at him. He spoke with a hint of self-deprecation, but without offering any explanation; he was simply stating the facts. A person who clearly understands who they are, even if they are a hoodlum, lives a more enlightened life than most.

"Your goal is Wang Yaozu's position? To manipulate events from all sides?"

Chen Xiaoman nodded, then shook his head, picked up his teacup, swirled it, but didn't drink. He seemed unsuited to sitting still under the gaze of others, always needing to keep his fingers busy. "The 'Turning the Eight Directions' is just the first step. I want to use it to comprehend gravity, not the gravity at the level of cultivation techniques, but the gravity at the cosmic level. Universal gravitation. The Voice of the Great Dao gave me a hint, saying that the essence of 'Turning the Eight Directions' is a low-dimensional expression of gravity. If I can understand it, I can move upwards. Towards the 'Dao'."

"So what do you mean by coming to see me?"

"I've come to tell you that you don't need to keep an eye on Wang Yaozu anymore." Chen Xiaoman put down her teacup and finally looked up to face Liu Jin. "I'll fill Li Muxuan's position. Wang Yaozu needs a disciple, and I happen to need him to teach me. I won't let him stay around Li Muxuan for long; we'll leave first thing tomorrow morning. As for Li Muxuan, don't worry, no one will try to seduce him. You've done what you needed to do; the rest is up to fate."

Chen Xiaoman walked to the door, then stopped.

"By the way," he turned around, scratched the back of his head, and a hint of eagerness flashed in his small eyes under his sparse eyebrows, "Before I leave, can I spar with you a bit? I haven't fought anyone from the Sanyi Sect since I came here. Wang Yaozu doesn't count. He taught me, but he doesn't really fight me."

Liu Jin glanced at him and put down the tea in his hand.

"In the courtyard."

The courtyard of the guest rooms was small, with a half-dead jujube tree and pebbles on the ground. Moonlight shone directly into the center of the courtyard, its edges cut into neat squares by the shadows of the eaves. Chen Xiaoman stopped, took a deep breath, and assumed a stance in front of him, more like a street brawl, but with a hint of "dominating all directions" in his posture. His hands were positioned one higher than the other, palms slightly concave, as if he were holding two invisible stone balls.

"Brother, please."

Liu Jin stood three steps away from him, his hands hanging naturally at his sides, making no stance. Chen Xiaoman didn't hold back either, slamming her right foot into the ground and leaping forward. Her speed was fast for her age, but in Liu Jin's eyes, the trajectory of each movement was as clear as a slow-motion shadow play. Chen Xiaoman's right hand grabbed Liu Jin's wrist, while her left hand was hidden behind her back, gathering momentum. This was the starting move of the "Turning the Tide" technique, first controlling the joints, then using the momentum to flip him over.

Liu Jin did not dodge.

Chen Xiaoman's fingers hooked onto Liu Jin's wrist. In that instant, Chen Xiaoman felt a surge of joy; he had secured it, and the next move was to twist it, using the opponent's force against him, shifting his balance. However, the moment his fingertips exerted force, Liu Jin's wrist suddenly changed. It didn't harden, nor did it become slippery; instead, his entire hand, from skin to flesh to bone, instantly turned a translucent pale white, like grasping a warm, flowing stream, or a piece of jade that had just melted. The Qi energy from his fingertips seeped in, but vanished without a trace, without any feedback. Before he could even retract his grip, a hand was already pressed against his chest.

It struck the Tanzhong acupoint precisely. The force wasn't great; it didn't even wrinkle his clothes. But the Qi of the peak of the second level of Reverse Life penetrated his body, and the hair on the back of Chen Xiaoman's neck instantly stood on end. He had no doubt that if he had used just a little more force, he would have been completely pierced through.

His body froze, then he slowly raised his hands.

"I admit defeat."

Liu Jin withdrew his hand. His Qi-infused wrist returned to its normal color, as if nothing had happened. Chen Xiaoman rubbed her numb fingertips, glanced at Liu Jin, and her expression wasn't one of frustration, but rather a knowing "I knew it" kind of understanding. Having spent so many years on the streets, having been beaten and beaten herself, she had long since learned not to be reckless.

"Double." He grinned, revealing his slightly crooked teeth. "I was a bit overconfident. But it's alright, now I know the difference."

He dusted off his hands, took two steps towards the gate, and glanced back at his chest. The spot where Liu Jin had pressed against his chest was perfectly smooth, without a single wrinkle. This effortless control sent chills down his spine more than mere destructive force.

"I'll come back to fight you after I figure out gravity. Don't catch me with one hand then."

"There's one more thing. I originally thought there would be a lot of people coming to this timeline. Zuo Ruotong and Li Muxuan have so many fans, there should be quite a few people who want to change the fate of the Sanyi Sect. But so far, it's just you and me." He turned to look at Liu Jin. "That's good."

Liu Jin didn't get up to see him off. Chen Xiaoman walked out of the room and disappeared into the night. Her footsteps were very light, quickly drowned out by the cries of street vendors. Liu Jin sat on the chair for a long time, then chuckled softly.

Liu Jin turned to a new page in his notebook and wrote four words in the blank space next to it.

"There are others who share the same path."

Outside the window, the lights of Qing Shi Town began to illuminate the town one by one. In the distance, the faint sound of Li Muxuan calling him to dinner could be heard, carried on the evening breeze and sounding far more lively than the chimes of the San Yi Gate.

"But... it's just the two of us."

......

"Big news! The number of people is less than expected?"

"Uh, actually someone had already died and was teleported back."

"Brother, how did you know? You can't possibly..."

"Don't talk nonsense, it's a friend of mine..."

"Hahaha, we get it, we get it! We told you earlier that some people had already been eliminated, and we were just trying to comfort you! Hahaha!"

"But if you guys have time to leave comments, you probably didn't bring anything back, did you?"

"Nonsense, the stuff we brought back was already taken by the government for testing..."

"Aaaaaah! Anyone still here has to beat this game! I still want to cultivate immortality!!!"

......