Chương 4: Encountering a Ghost Again

The Li Family. Taking a month or two to build up his strength was necessary, so Song Que wasn't in a rush. He smiled and said, "Uncle, let's settle it then. You absolutely must teach me how to throw stones."

"Stone throwing is mostly about practicing until your hands are used to it. After we eat, I'll teach you the core techniques so you can practice on your own," Li Tie agreed without hesitation. Hearing this, his two little "tails," Gou'dan and Er'ya, immediately clamored to learn as well.

"I want to learn too, Dad! I want to learn!"

"Daddy, Er'ya wants to too!"

"Alright, everyone will learn." Old Li smiled as brightly as a blooming chrysanthemum. There wasn't much entertainment in this small mountain village, but they always knew how to find joy, making the family atmosphere incredibly warm and cozy. Everyone ate with tremendous appetite that meal. Perhaps it was because they hadn't tasted meat in so long that their palates were completely wide open. After dinner, Li Tie kept his word and taught the three children the basics of stone throwing.

It wasn't until the sky turned dark that everyone contentedly returned to their rooms to rest.... A week had passed since that day. Song Que's life fell into a highly disciplined and healthy routine. Every day, he went out to forage for wild greens and visited Ghost Lake to catch crabs and snails. Once his stomach was full, he trained his body and practiced throwing stones. Perhaps due to the Tesseract's remodeling, his physical perception had become incredibly acute.

He felt an instinctual ability to mobilize every single muscle fiber, allowing him to adjust his force generation with exquisite mastery. After just one week, he had mastered the basics of stone throwing, achieving a remarkably high hit rate. At this rate of progress, it wouldn't be long before he reached the realm of "hitting wherever he pointed." Song Que's body had also fleshed out, his face gaining a healthy, rosy hue.

He had tested the stone mill at home; he could barely lift it off the ground, but hoisting it over his head was still a long way off. Even so, he was extremely satisfied. The sensation of growing stronger day by day caused his confidence to absolutely skyrocket.... Ghost Lake. The sky was a blanket of gloomy gray, the sun nowhere to be seen despite it being broad daylight. However, to have such dry weather in the dead of winter already made Song Que quite content. Today, he came again to harvest crabs and snails.

He didn't know if the local ghost legend was actually true or if the entity was just out of town, but he hadn't caught a glimpse of it during his multiple visits. This left him with a hidden sense of anticipation, followed by a tinge of disappointment. Due to his relentless harvesting over the past few days, the aquatic population had dwindled significantly. Now, Song Que had to spend a considerable amount of time just to fill half a basket. Fortunately, the Tesseract did him a massive favor.

He had unlocked a new function: Magnetic Field. He could release particles of electrical energy to densely surround him like tiny satellites. They transmitted movement signals back to his brain at lightning speed. Within his mind, even with his eyes closed, Song Que could perceive a virtual model of his surroundings. He called it his "Domain." He had tested it: on land, his Domain could expand to a radius of two meters; underwater, it reached over ten meters.

Because of this, even if the crabs and clams hid deep in the mud, they couldn't escape his grasp. Thanks to the Domain, his recent harvests had surged. It was just a pity there were no large fish in the lake—only occasionally some finger-sized, incredibly slippery ones that he couldn't be bothered to catch. While bending over to pick up a snail, Song Que suddenly flinched. He sensed something carrying a cold, tyrannical aura rushing rapidly toward him along the lakebed.

Operating on pure instinct, he whipped around and sprinted for the shore. But the thing was too fast. The ten-meter gap was closed in the blink of an eye. Before Song Que could react, he felt something wrap tightly around his ankle. An icy chill shot up his leg, traveling straight up his spine and into his brain, freezing him to the core. Panicking, he triggered the Tesseract. His legs jolted as if short-circuited, instantly discharging bright silver arcs of electricity.

The bizarre entity wrapped around his leg let go, emitting a piercing screech that made Song Que dizzy. The electric current dispelled some of the freezing numbness. Feeling the sensation return to his body, Song Que didn't dare hesitate. He pulled his legs up and ran for his life toward the shore. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. Walk the night often enough, and you'll eventually run into a ghost. If you don't seek death, you won't die.

Song Que cursed his own foolishness in his heart. Just as his feet hit dry land, before he could even rejoice, he was horrified to find his legs entangled once more. Caught off guard, he face-planted into the dirt. Looking back, he realized that at some point, the aquatic moss behind him had grown wildly, wrapping around his ankles and rapidly spreading up his thighs and waist. He struggled with all his might, kicking his legs and trying to crawl away from the lake, but it was futile.

In no time, the moss completely bound his body. Two thick arms made of moss coiled around his neck, restricting his airflow. Song Que's eyes bulged as he stared fixedly at a face slowly forming right in front of him. It was a ghastly, deathly pale face with long hair made of tangled moss. Its mouth split all the way to its ears, revealing rows of sharp, pitch-black teeth. A nauseating stench washed over him, making him want to throw up.

Its pupil-less eyes resembled two bottomless wormholes, staring deeply into Song Que and giving him full-body goosebumps. A Water Ghost! This was the very demon that terrified all of Giant Willow Village. And to think he vainly believed he could counter evil spirits. He didn't know why this ghost hadn't appeared over the past few days, but today, it fully intended to make Song Que pay a heavy price for trespassing in its territory.

Seeing that grotesque face open its maw wide, intending to swallow his head whole, extreme terror seized him. Even though his body was sapped of strength, his survival instinct kicked in, and his hands shot up to push the face away—which, of course, accomplished absolutely nothing. With life and death hanging by a thread, he had no time to care about anything else. He bet everything on the Tesseract.

Gritting his teeth, he channeled every last drop of energy into his hands, which were now tightly gripping the ghost's head. A blinding white flash erupted, accompanied by loud, crackling pops. The Water Ghost let out a howl of agony and thrashed violently to break free, but Song Que bit his lip and held on with a death grip. Suddenly, the Tesseract in his mind began to spin rapidly. Through Song Que's hands, it aggressively siphoned energy from the Water Ghost.

Sensations of freezing cold and searing heat simultaneously exploded in his head, the agonizing pain threatening to split his skull open. His consciousness blurred. Acting entirely on instinct, he maintained his iron grip on the Water Ghost before completely passing out. In his dazed state, he only heard a shrill shriek that gradually weakened until it fell dead silent. Inside his mind, it felt as though a blazing sun was burning fiercely.... He didn't know how long had passed before he finally woke up.

Staring at the overcast sky, he suddenly felt that the color gray was incredibly endearing and beautiful.

"I'm not dead... That's great. The Tesseract must have taken care of that Water Ghost." Just as he was about to sense the Tesseract within him, a foul stench hit his nose, shooting straight to his brain. He scrambled up and inspected his surroundings. The spot where he had been lying was coated in a thick, slimy puddle of foul black water, mixed with fish scales, hair, and moss. Gagging and dry-heaving, he desperately crawled away from the spot.

Looking at the disgusting slime covering his body, Song Que threw all caution to the wind. Reasoning that since the Water Ghost couldn't kill him, there was nothing left to fear, he jumped straight into the lake, stripped off his clothes, and scrubbed himself vigorously. He didn't stop until his skin was boiled-shrimp red and he had nearly peeled off a layer of flesh. Surprisingly, he didn't feel cold at all despite being in the middle of winter.

Only after washing away the black slime did Song Que notice the changes in his body. He felt a surging power—an illusion that he could punch a hole through the sky with a single fist or crack the earth with a light stomp. He stomped the ground a few times and realized it was indeed just his imagination, but the massive surge in raw physical strength was very real. The swelling sensation in his head was merely a side effect of his power increasing too rapidly.

Focusing his mind on the Tesseract, he was astonished to find it had grown to the size of a serving tray, with bright electric arcs constantly flashing around its surface. To his absolute delight, he clearly sensed a void in the very core of the Tesseract—an entirely separate spatial dimension. Did this 'knockoff' actually feel humiliated after being scolded and bravely step up? Now it was completely transformed, having evolved into the real deal!

Trembling with excitement, Song Que looked at the wet clothes in his hand and mentally communicated with the space. Instantly, the clothes vanished. He could clearly sense them lying silently within the Tesseract's dimension. With another thought, the clothes reappeared in his hand.

"It's real... I actually have a Storage Space!" Song Que cheered wildly.

"This really is a blessing in disguise, hehehe!" But recalling the near-death experience he just survived, his laughter died down.

"It's best if this never happens again. Don't be reckless, youth. Keeping a low profile while grinding is the true king's path." Song Que realized he needed to seriously reevaluate himself; the danger level of this world was far beyond his imagination. He had to be careful, careful, and even more careful. Repeating it three times to etch it into his memory, Song Que wrung out his clothes, grabbed his basket, and headed home.

Entering his house and securely bolting the door, Song Que quickly started a fire to dry his clothes. Glancing casually at the stone mill, an itch to test his limits arose. His intuition told him his body possessed exceptional strength today. Acting on his impulse, he stepped up to the stone mill, gripped it with both hands, gathered his breath, and hoisted it up. Even when he lifted the mill directly over his head, he felt he still had power to spare. This realization made Song Que unbelievably thrilled.

Inside the room, lit by the flickering firelight, a stark-naked youth stood proudly hoisting a heavy stone mill. The light reflected off his bare rear, creating a blindingly radiant and truly...

"aesthetic" scene. Fortunately, no one else was in the house to witness this. Otherwise, the Heavenly Saber Song Que from the Twin Dragons world would likely have cleaved through the fourth dimension just to hack him to death for ruining his name. Thoroughly satisfied, Song Que happily began to cook. Today's meal used the very last handful of rice in the house, and he was completely out of salt, but he couldn't care less.

Humming a cheerful tune, he wiggled his bare bottom, dancing to an eccentric rhythm uniquely his own.