Red Dust Has Changed
"Right." Ning Ruyu seemed to recall something. He took out an Envelope from his pocket and handed it to Chen Ling.
"What is this?"
"A letter sent to you from the liaison in the Red Dust Main City." Ning Ruyu paused. "Someone must know you're with us, so they sent the letter here directly through the liaison... I only received it today as well."
Chen Ling took the letter and saw a few large characters written on the envelope: "To [Six of Hearts]". However, there was no signature.
He dubiously turned the envelope over and found a Playing Card tightly glued to the back:
—[Six of Spades].
Seeing this Card Face, Chen Ling froze.
This letter was sent to him by Jian Changsheng?
"Thank you, Senior Brother."
Chen Ling put the letter away safely. After cleaning up the dining table, he returned to the Home of Old Six early.
Chen Ling sat down in front of the desk. The dim yellow lamp light illuminated a corner of the envelope. He then placed that [Six of Spades] by the edge of the desk, and while tearing open the envelope's outer shell, he began to ponder.
It had been several months since he left the Red Dust Domain. Calculating the time, this guy Jian Changsheng should have already established a firm foothold in the Casino and made that place the operational base for the Dusk Society members in the Main City... But since this letter appeared here, there was probably some unexpected event again.
After all, this guy Jian Changsheng wouldn't write him an idle letter for no reason to report on his working situation in the Casino, or to discuss the food rankings of the Red Dust Main City, asking how he was doing in the Ancient Vault of the Drama Path.
Chen Ling had even started filling in the blanks in his mind: as soon as he opened the letter, it would be six large words: "Red Dust has changed, return swiftly!"
However, when Chen Ling tore open the letter, he found that he had overthought... This guy simply didn't have that level of culture.
On the letter paper was a string of messy, illegible handwriting resembling dog scratches:
[Six of Hearts, why aren't you back yet! The Beidou Consortium has gone crazy! The Red Dust Domain is in chaos! This morning, when Senior Bai Ye arrived at the Casino, he was also heavily injured. I feel like something bad is about to happen recently. I can't hold the fort by myself! Help me help me help me help me...]
Chen Ling: ...
For some reason, seeing this letter from Jian Changsheng suddenly gave him the feeling that matters were urgent, yet somehow not that urgent...
However, the contents of this letter still plunged Chen Ling into deep thought. The most crucial pieces of information were "The Beidou Consortium went crazy", "The Red Dust Domain is in chaos", and "Bai Ye was inexplicably heavily injured"... Chen Ling couldn't connect these several events together. After all, judging from the situation when he left half a year ago, there shouldn't have been any major changes in the Red Dust Main City.
"Master and Mo Jue left one after another, and the atmosphere in the Ancient Vault of the Drama Path is also a bit subtle... Could these be related to the changes in the Red Dust Domain?"
Chen Ling's brows furrowed tightly. His intuition told him that during this period he stayed in the Ancient Vault of the Drama Path, something extraordinary had probably happened in the outside world.
"I can't delay any longer." Chen Ling put away the letter, a flash of determination in his eyes.
"Tomorrow, regardless of whether First Senior Brother is ready or not... I must leave."
...
Early the next morning, Chen Ling knocked on Ning Ruyu's door.
But this time, Chen Ling waited for about ten minutes, and still, no one came to open the door. Ning Ruyu didn't seem to be home.
"Little Junior Brother, is something the matter?" Wen Renyou passed by nearby and asked proactively.
"Third Senior Brother, do you know where First Senior Brother went?"
"He should be in the imaging area..."
"The imaging area?" Chen Ling glanced at the sky, seemingly hesitating whether to wait for him a bit, but after pondering for a moment, he still spoke firmly, "Third Senior Brother, when First Senior Brother comes back, say goodbye to him for me."
"Goodbye?" Wen Renyou froze. "Where are you going?"
"The Red Dust Domain."
Hearing these four words, Wen Renyou's expression became a bit subtle. He opened his mouth, but still said, "Little Junior Brother... how about you wait until First Senior Brother comes back?"
"It's getting late. I still plan to arrive at the Red Dust Main City before dark."
Chen Ling bowed respectfully to Wen Renyou and spoke sincerely, "Thank you, Third Senior Brother, for your care during this time. I'm just going to the Red Dust Domain to handle some matters, and I will be back afterwards."
"Then... sigh, alright." Wen Renyou nodded slightly. "Have a safe journey."
After bidding farewell to Wen Renyou, Chen Ling went to visit Luan Mei.
Hearing that Chen Ling was returning to the Red Dust Domain, Luan Mei's expression was also a bit strange, but in the end, she didn't say anything, breaking off a plum blossom branch from the corner of the wall to bid him farewell.
A gentle breeze brushed across the grassland, blowing the colorful flags on the eaves to rustle loudly.
Chen Ling packed his luggage and stood at the door of the house he had lived in for half a year. A Great Crimson Theatrical Robe danced in the wind. He looked at the four characters "Home of Old Six" at the door, his gaze showing a hint of reluctance to part...
Ever since he underwent Transmigration into this era, he had never lived in one place for so long, even longer than in the Aurora Domain... It was warm, peaceful, comfortable, and fulfilling here. It was his "home" in this era in the truest sense.
But now, it was time to leave.
No matter how good it was here, he couldn't stop his footsteps... Prolonged comfort would wear down one's will. In order to Reverse the Era, he had to keep moving forward at all times.
Chen Ling took one last look at the grassland, the houses, the colorful flags, and the snowy mountains, and turned to walk into the distance. His palm parted a curtain in nothingness, and with a sway of his figure, he disappeared without a trace.
His figure crossed more than half of the Ancient Vault of the Drama Path, finally passed through the imaging area, and arrived before the exit of the Ancient Vault.
Just as he was preparing to step out of the Ancient Vault, a white-clothed figure suddenly appeared in front of him.
"Little Junior Brother."
The person who came was none other than First Senior Brother Ning Ruyu. His figure blocked the exit of the Ancient Vault of the Drama Path. His gaze swept over the fully equipped Chen Ling, a hint of complexity flashing in his eyes.
"First Senior Brother?" Chen Ling was startled, immediately cupping his hands and saying, "Senior Brother, I just asked Third Senior Brother to say goodbye to you for me..."
"Little Junior Brother, didn't you say you'd wait another two days?"
"There seems to be an urgent matter over in the Red Dust Domain, so I want to go over as soon as possible to take a look." Chen Ling paused for a moment. "As for the 'Fighting' secret method, I can learn it after I finish my business and come back..."
Ning Ruyu's brows furrowed unconsciously. He paced silently at the entrance of the Ancient Vault of the Drama Path for a moment and shook his head,
"No... Little Junior Brother, you cannot leave now."
"Why?"
"It's too dangerous outside right now, especially in the Red Dust Domain. Your Rank isn't high enough. If you go, it'll probably be nine deaths and one life."
Chen Ling was stunned. "The Red Dust Domain? What danger could there be in the Red Dust Domain?"
Chen Ling had been to the Red Dust Domain. It was different from the Aurora Domain. At the very least, he hadn't found any Calamity similar to the Forbidden Sea glaring like a tiger from the outside, nor had he found any signs of collapse in the Red Dust Domain. If one insisted on there being danger, it would probably just be the [Floating Life Painting]'s pursuit of the Dusk Society?
"Little Junior Brother, you haven't left for half a year, there are some situations outside that you might not be too clear about..."
Ning Ruyu took a deep breath, his tone incomparably serious:
"The Lord of Wuji has awakened."
"The Lord of Wuji??" Chen Ling froze.
This was Chen Ling's first time hearing of the "Lord of Wuji." However, right now he still couldn't match the face with the nine doctors from the Timeline Save File, and didn't know exactly which one it was...
"So? His awakening means that the Wuji Domain isn't far from destruction, right?" The doubt in Chen Ling's eyes grew denser. "If that's the case, shouldn't we head to the Wuji Domain as soon as possible and prepare to collect his corpse? What does it have to do with the Red Dust Domain?"
Ning Ruyu shook his head, slowly raising three fingers:
"First, the Lord of Wuji has awakened, but he didn't enter a near-death state immediately like the Lord of the Aurora. Instead, he used some kind of authority to temporarily stabilize his body."
"Second, because of the Lord of Wuji's awakening, the Wuji Domain is currently in extreme chaos. The personnel we originally planted in the Wuji Domain were almost completely wiped out. Only Queen of Hearts Bai Ye managed to escape, and has not awakened to this day..."
"Third... we received a piece of secret information of unknown credibility. The Lord of Wuji intends to... strangle the Lord of the Red Dust before she awakens!"