I am a full-level celestial master, you let me enter the strange talk of rules?

Just as Zhang Yangqing had easily gained the trust of the four children through sheer strength and—well, I mean, wisdom and eloquence—and was preparing to set off to face the patrolling envoy…

On another large screen, Song Jae-hyun, the chosen one from South Korea, and his teammate Bengshan had just survived a humiliating escape and had treated their injuries.

They were lucky; in another relatively secluded corner by the lake, they found the one-eyed white boy who had been chased away by the three unruly children and was now hiding.

It was only thanks to their superb tracking skills that they were able to find it.

The boy huddled behind a boulder, still clutching the tattered bundle tightly in his arms. When he saw Song Zaixian and Bengshan appear, his small body trembled violently.

The look in his eyes did not reveal the joy of being rescued, but rather the fear and vigilance of a frightened deer, and he subconsciously hid the package even deeper.

He was clearly afraid that the two unfamiliar middle-aged men were there to steal his things.

Upon seeing this, Song Zaixian felt a pang of sorrow in his heart. He quickly stopped, spread his hands to show that he meant no harm, and explained in the gentlest tone possible:
"Don't be afraid, little one. We're not here to steal your things. We just saw those three bad kids bullying you and wanted to help you, but we couldn't beat them."

He still had injuries on his face, and his tone was somewhat ashamed.

As an adult, I see a reflection of my younger self in this child.

Song Jae-hyun really wanted to play the savior he had imagined in his childhood, but despite his good intentions, the result was dismal. The two of them were beaten and ran away in a panic.

It's somewhat regrettable that I couldn't save my past self.

The comforting thing is that he bravely went to save them.

Instead of regretting it beyond words years later when looking back on it.

As a friend and teammate, Bengshan added in a muffled voice, "Yes, we're here to help you."

After Song Zaixian's patient and repeated explanations and reassurances, the boy with the single white eye relaxed a little. Although he was still not completely at ease, he was at least willing to have a simple conversation with them.

This could also be interpreted as the child concluding that the two uncles probably didn't intend to take his things.

After some hesitant communication, Song Zaixian roughly understood the current situation and the main mission: to help the boy cross the area blocked by the mountain patrol and return to his village as soon as possible.

This way, they can obtain more clues, because the one-eyed white boy doesn't know much.

However, when Song Zaixian mustered his courage and imitated the posture of those powerful chosen ones in his memory, saying to the one-eyed boy, "Don't worry, Uncle will take you through the fog with the mountain patrolmen and send you home," an awkward scene unfolded.

The boy with the single white eye raised his peculiar eyes and scrutinized Song Zaixian and Bengshan from head to toe, especially noticing the obvious injuries they had sustained earlier. His little brows furrowed, and he spoke in a tone that was clearly suspicious yet innocently childlike:
"Uncle, your strength seems quite average. That area is very dangerous. The mountain patrolmen are terrifying. My mother said that if you're not strong enough, you'll become very weak if you get close there and then get eaten. You'd better not take that risk."

These words were like a sharp arrow, piercing Song Zaixian and Bengshan's hearts with pinpoint accuracy, leaving the two adults frozen in place, their faces burning with embarrassment, wishing they could disappear into the ground.

Indeed, neither of them possessed the absolute strength of Zhang Yangqing and the chairman, enough to crush the local monsters. It was difficult for them to convince these natives who grew up in the original environment and had an instinctive sense of power.

To put it bluntly, in the perception of this one-eyed boy, the energy fluctuations and aura emanating from these two "uncles" might not even be as solid as his own.

At least he was still able to run and jump after being beaten up by those three brats, while those two uncles were beaten until they vomited blood and had to flee, almost losing their lives.

The boy with the single white eye might not be able to explain the difference between them, but his instincts told him that relying on these two "average" uncles to cross the patrol officer's territory was far too risky.

Song Zaixian and Bengshan exchanged glances, both seeing helplessness and a hint of bitterness in each other's eyes. They lacked Zhang Yangqing's confidence to say "I say it's okay" and his powerful aura that could command unconditional trust from children.

If they want to gain the trust of the boy with one white eye and complete the mission with him, they must prove themselves in a more practical way.

“Little one, listen to what your uncle has to say,”

Song Zaixian took a deep breath, suppressing his embarrassment, and tried his best to make his tone sound calm and reliable.

“Strength is not entirely reflected in fighting. We know the mountain patrolman, we know its weaknesses, and we know how to safely pass through its territory.”

Bengshan also replied in a muffled voice, "Yes, we know the rules. As long as we follow the rules, nothing will happen."

This guy has become Song Zaixian's straight man, since he doesn't know what to say either, so he just follows Song Zaixian's lead.

The boy with the single white eye looked at them with a mixture of belief and doubt.

Knowing that words alone were insufficient, Song Zaixian suggested, "How about this, if you don't believe me, we can first approach the edge of that fog and demonstrate the method we know. If the method works and there's no danger, then you can trust us and come with us, okay?"

They need to first prove their "knowledge" with "words," and then verify it with a safe "practice" before they can gradually build the trust of this cautious and bullied boy.

This process was far more tortuous and difficult than the model where Zhang Yangqing's domineering aura made the children obediently follow him.

Song Zaixian sighed inwardly; this was the most direct manifestation of the difference in strength.

Zhang Yangqing could stroll leisurely, while he had to be extremely careful with every step, as if walking on thin ice.

After the two managed to temporarily appease the one-eyed boy with "intelligence," Song Zaixian and Bengshan headed towards the mountain range where the patrol envoy was located, following the direction he pointed out.

The closer you get to that area, the more eerie and desolate the surroundings become.

The sky, which was originally just a gray haze, seemed to have been splashed with thick ink here. The light was so dim that it was as if dusk had fallen early, yet it also carried an ominous, solidified quality.

A thick fog filled the air, carrying a rotten and sweet smell. This fog was not evenly distributed, but rather flowed and dispersed slowly among the sparse and twisted dead wood like a living thing.

The outline of the mountain range ahead was faintly visible in the thick fog, and the mountains presented an unnatural, bizarre posture as if they had been twisted by a tremendous force.

What's even more unsettling is that countless blurry, distorted shadows can be vaguely seen swaying in that dim forest.

They have no fixed form; sometimes they stretch out like the shadow of a hanged ghost, sometimes they curl up into a rolling ball of flesh, and sometimes they separate into countless waving tentacles or limbs.
They moved, crawled, and intertwined silently, exuding a chilling malice and chaos.

This was no ordinary ghostly figure, but a terrifying, indescribable vision that was closer to the chaos of the primordial.

Looking at the scene before him that resembled the entrance to hell, Bengshan's thick eyebrows furrowed tightly. He turned to look at Song Zaixian, his eyes filled with worry and doubt, the meaning of which was clear: This place is more sinister than anyone could imagine. Are you sure your set of "rules" really works?

The boy with the single white eye was so frightened that his face turned as white as paper. His normal eye was filled with terror, and his body trembled like a leaf. He whimpered with a sob in his mouth, "Uncle, uncle, do we... do we really have to go in? There are so many... so many scary things."

Song Zaixian himself was also very nervous, and his back was already soaked with cold sweat.

But at this moment, he was the pillar of strength and could not show any weakness. He forcibly suppressed the fear in his heart, forced a smile as calm as possible, patted the single-eyed boy's shoulder, and said in a deliberately relaxed tone, "Don't worry, it's all just illusions. Follow me, do as I say, and there won't be any problems! Watch Uncle lead you across!" (End of Chapter)