Surging seawater choked into his throat. Meng Rui faintly opened his eyes—he was lying on a piece of broken wood, drifting with the waves. Surrounding him was boundless deep black seawater. Meng Rui still didn’t know where he was drifting, when suddenly something pressed against his chest.

Meng Rui originally thought it was that mysterious green stone—but who would have known that what he pulled out was actually that small stone ball he had picked up.

The sea wind blew, causing the patterns on the small stone ball to shift and turn in relief. Frame by frame, the frozen images connected into flowing light and shadow.

Under the silver radiance of sunlight, Meng Rui’s eyes fixed firmly on the light and shadow:

Within the light and shadow was a cicada with transparent, luminous wings. The cicada was crying out, its wings on its back trembling slightly. The background of the singing cicada was changing, from white to black, signifying the transformation from day to night.

The cicada’s cry! Meng Rui’s heart jolted, and he suddenly comprehended the remaining line of the four strange verses: At the fifth watch, the sparse desire breaks.

The cicada’s cry decides and severs!

With his last bit of strength, Meng Rui crushed the small stone ball.

A cluster of purple light dust rose into the air from within the stone ball. As the purple dust drifted down, shadows formed a flickering image in midair:

A four-chi red coffin, a girl with a pale face and tightly closed eyes. And another young girl playing with a stone ball. The young girl lifted her face. Her misty large eyes blinked and blinked. Her mouth moved, mischievously saying the same few words over and over.

Meng Rui memorized the shape of the young girl’s lips. The light dust finished falling, and the image vanished.

The young girl’s lip-reading lingered in Meng Rui’s mind. Was she the Spider Queen?

His heart was beating violently, and he seemed to be revitalized anew. Meng Rui pressed his lips tightly together and glanced at the “Death God” blade behind him—Wan Xiang, as long as your big brother has one breath remaining, no matter the ends of the earth, the azure heavens or the yellow springs below, I will definitely find you.

(The End)