Chapter Fifty-Five: Keeping the Appointment

A few days had passed since the incident in the cave. After that night, Du Gu Ming returned and found the world unchanged, gradually pushing thoughts of Chiyou’s resurrection or the world’s destruction to the back of his mind. He carelessly placed the hilt of the Xuanyuan Divine Sword in a drawer on his desk.

Having learned the old man’s reason for sending him to Ningxia University and satisfied his curiosity, Du Gu Ming began to enjoy his university life. Returning to America seemed meaningless; here, he had the company of a newly confirmed beauty. Yet, the old man's phone remained unreachable.

At this moment, Du Gu Ming was strolling through the campus with his beautiful fiancée, Xuanyuan Lin Wen. It was strange how young men and women behaved: before their relationship was confirmed, they were shy and blushed at each other, but once together, they clung to each other, eager to flaunt their affection to the world.

Now, Du Gu Ming and Xuanyuan Lin Wen were exactly like this. Hand in hand, they walked by the riverside on campus.

Ningxia’s summer was just as Liang Jingru sang—tranquil and beautiful. At night, a bright full moon hung high in the sky. Ningxia, situated on the Loess Plateau at over three thousand meters altitude, had a moon as large as a giant plate, radiant and clear. The sky was cloudless, a sea of stars twinkling mischievously due to atmospheric currents.

Ningxia’s summer nights were especially pleasant, unlike the humid, oppressive heat of the south. Thanks to the dramatic difference between day and night temperatures, even the hottest days rarely exceeded thirty degrees, and the nighttime average dropped below twenty, dry and refreshing, delightfully cool. It was a perfect place to live, truly a summer retreat.

The two walked slowly by the river, their shadows stretching longer and longer under the moonlight, eventually merging into one.

Suddenly, they stopped.

Xuanyuan Lin Wen gently turned Du Gu Ming’s face with her hands, gazing at him tenderly. “Dear Ming, do you love me?”

Moonlight illuminated their faces, making them stand out even at night. Xuanyuan Lin Wen’s eyes brimmed with affection, enough to melt glaciers and stir anyone’s heart.

Xuanyuan Lin Wen was Du Gu Ming’s first woman; he loved her deeply. From the first time he fainted for her, from those inexplicable heartbeats when he first met her, Du Gu Ming understood one thing: this woman before him was the most important in his world.

For Xuanyuan Lin Wen, Du Gu Ming was her only one. She couldn't fathom why she had fallen so madly in love with this man, as if she owed him in a previous life. No wonder people say men and women are destined rivals, that life is but a calamity, and each of us is merely half of someone else’s fate; together, we are whole.

How pitiable that a lifetime is but a fragment of another’s tribulation.

Du Gu Ming gazed into Xuanyuan Lin Wen’s eyes, his left hand gently cradling her head, his right stroking her dark hair. He softly touched her fragrant lips and smiled, “Silly girl, of course I love you.”

Xuanyuan Lin Wen pouted playfully, “Why do you love me then? Is it because I’m your woman?”

What a fool, Du Gu Ming thought. “I don’t love you because you’re my woman; you became my woman because I love you. Understand?”

“Mm,” Xuanyuan Lin Wen replied happily, then rose on tiptoe and kissed his lips. In the moonlight, the sweet embrace of this loving couple blushed the entire summer. Only a few small fish occasionally leapt from the water, then swam away in pairs.

As they kissed, two meteors streaked across the sky and fell into the depths of Helan Mountain in Ningxia Province.

Astonishingly, the meteors did not burn up; instead, two “people” emerged. They appeared human from afar, but those quotation marks were necessary, for ordinary people did not have such purple eyes.

These two were eerily beautiful—lilac hair, delicate brows, pointed ears and canine teeth, and violet pupils matching their hair, strikingly strange.

The darker-skinned one said to the pale-skinned companion, “Duan Xiu, haha, it’s been millions of years since we’ve returned here, hasn’t it?”

“Ha ha ha, yes, Can Gang, millions of years. Life on Mars was no picnic. This time, I mean to enjoy myself here, ha ha ha,” the pale-skinned Duan Xiu replied, licking his pale lips with a scarlet tongue.

“Yes, ha ha, we must enjoy ourselves. Otherwise, how will we make up for the suffering on Mars these millions of years? It’s all that wretched Emperor Gongsun Xuanyuan’s fault—if not for him, we wouldn’t have been stuck in that godforsaken place,” Can Gang said fiercely.

“Enough, business first. The boss will soon break free from the seal. Our primary mission is to find a boy named Du Gu Ming. The boss says he holds Gongsun Xuanyuan’s divine sword and is this era’s savior. We must snuff him out before he can rise,” Duan Xiu said coldly, eyeing the direction of Ningxia University.

The two exchanged glances and headed toward Yinchuan City.

Du Gu Ming had no inkling that a world-ending, sky-consuming plot was slowly unfurling across the earth, and that great danger was approaching him.

...

Time swiftly passed to Saturday.

Du Gu Ming rose early, prepared himself, and donned a formal suit he hadn’t worn in ages, ready to attend Ximen Xiaokun’s banquet.

After dressing, he unconsciously examined himself in the mirror. The mirror was bought by the wealthy Zhang Liming, who was extremely narcissistic; ever since acquiring it, he endlessly admired himself, to the disgust of others. If he were a woman, it might be understandable, but what was a grown man doing preening in front of a mirror? Was this some twisted hobby of the rich? Perverse.

“Bro, are you really going? I don’t think Ximen Xiaokun means well. He hasn’t attended classes these past few days—who knows what he’s up to,” Zhang Liming said as he stared at his reflection.

Du Gu Ming felt touched by Zhang Liming’s concern as he approached the dorm door, but the feeling vanished at the sight of his narcissism. He replied with annoyance, “I’m fine. If anything comes up, look for Lin Xiaowen. I’ll be back after dinner.” Without a backward glance, he left.

“Lin Xiaowen? What help could she offer?” Zhang Liming wondered. To him, Lin Xiaowen—really Xuanyuan Lin Wen—was just a strikingly pretty girl; what help could she possibly provide?

As Du Gu Ming headed to Ximen Xiaokun’s banquet, a shadow darted into Dorm 108 of Building 19 at Ningxia University.

Ps: Here is today’s first update. There will be another before five o’clock this afternoon. Do you find “Remnants of Fate” more and more captivating? Hurry and add it to your favorites—things will only get better from here. What came before was merely the prologue; the real story is just beginning.