Chapter 236

At the same time, back in his room with the door closed, Su Bei immediately opened his notebook and continued reading from the last page he had seen. He was certain that this particular array hadn’t appeared before that page, so it had to be further on.

His luck was good this time, mainly because he had already read so much last time, and there weren’t many recorded arrays left. After turning fewer than five pages, Su Bei found the relevant content — the “Life Extension Array.”

The array’s creation method was identical to what he had just seen in the notebook, and its function, beyond concealing aura, had an even more critical purpose — transferring a person’s soul to another, completing a flesh and blood revival.

However, the cost was absorbing the lives of others; the more people sacrificed, the longer the life extender could live after revival. As it was a very evil array, it had long since disappeared. The “Destiny” organization’s warehouse had it because an old array master had traded it for points.

However, this array also had many restrictions. First, the four people creating the array must be blood relatives, so that the four arrays could connect to form a complete, true Life Extension Array.

Secondly, those to be sacrificed, the villagers, had to remain almost all day within the array once its creation began, at least nine-tenths of the time. Otherwise, their aura would leak, causing the array to fail.

Moreover, the sacrificed individuals could not be controlled and could not have too much resistance, otherwise, their effect would be greatly diminished. If one person could normally extend a life extender’s life by three days, a resistant person would only add three hours.

Finally, the life extender needed a continuous supply of life force. This life force did not refer to the sacrifices but to other forms of life force. The array absorbed the life force of the sacrifices to reshape the life extender’s physical body. During this process, a third-party life force was needed to sustain the life extender’s soul.

After all, a prerequisite for using this array was that the life extender had to be on the verge of death. A healthy person would only become a sacrifice in the array.

“The Old Ancestor isn’t dead yet!” This was Su Bei’s first thought after reading the description of the Life Extension Array. This array could only extend the life of the dying, not resurrect the dead, so the Old Ancestor must still be alive.

He wanted to use the lives of the entire village to extend his own life!

Su Bei frowned. This matter originally had nothing to do with him, but the problem was that he was also in the village now! Once the array formed, his life force would also be absorbed, forcing him to become a sacrifice.

“I must leave the village before the fourth person dies,” Su Bei immediately decided.

It was known that the destinies of everyone present showed their inevitable death. Unless Su Bei expended a large amount of mental energy, or even life force, to change it, others would certainly not be able to alter their fate.

In other words, he couldn’t prevent the fourth death from occurring; he could only leave before it happened.

Their prerequisite for leaving was to successfully create the Aura Concealment Array. Only then could they bring back the Life Stone without attracting the attention of Nightmare Beasts.

As for Jiang Tianming’s earlier suggestion of leaving one person behind while the others went out to find cinnabar, it was no longer feasible given the current situation.

According to calculations, the Old Ancestor had left the villagers at most a month and two weeks. With them having moved the Life Stone, the array absolutely had to be completed within a month and two weeks after the Old Ancestor’s death. Otherwise, the Life Stone’s aura would leak, and a Nightmare Beast army would rush over in an instant.

And now, at least a month and eleven days had passed since the Old Ancestor’s death; they had at most two days left.

The reason for the uncertain answer was that the Old Ancestor’s death time itself was uncertain. He didn’t like going out much in his old age. The villagers only realized his death when they noticed he hadn’t left his house for a full week.

The village gravedigger estimated the time of his death based on past experience. The woman who gave Su Bei this information said that the gravedigger’s estimate was extremely accurate, usually with an error of no more than twelve hours.

The array had to be completed in approximately one month and two weeks. The villagers knew this, so they would definitely find the last person for the array as quickly as possible within these two days. While Jiang Tianming’s group was present, they might have some reservations, but once they left, the fourth candidate would surely emerge quickly.

By then, once the array was completed, everyone in the village would die. The Old Ancestor, having successfully extended his life, would definitely flee with the Life Stone. By the time they returned, it would be too late.

If they stayed, that was, of course, even more impossible. Without cinnabar, they couldn’t take the Life Stone. Whether the villagers acted or not, they were doomed.

The normal approach would certainly be to send one person to find cinnabar, while the others tried to control all the villagers to prevent them from completing the array during that time.

But the Destiny Compasses above the villagers’ heads told Su Bei this method wouldn’t work. Since they were fated to die, executing this plan would likely result in some loopholes.

“Forget it, I’ll touch the Life Stone tomorrow, then find a way to leave.” Giving up was the easiest thing in the world. Unable to find a solution, Su Bei quickly decided to throw in the towel.

His mission objective this time was simply to make contact with the Life Stone, using it as an excuse for Wu Mingbai to test its material. As for other things—the villagers’ lives, the Life Stone’s whereabouts, or the Nightmare Beast siege—none of it concerned him.

During lunch, Jiang Tianming voiced his thoughts: “Teacher Lei said he hasn’t seen this array. He’s currently asking his array master friends. I’m not sure what this array does, but I have a hunch it won’t be used for good, so I want to stop them from completing it. What do you all think?”

Despite only having partial information, Jiang Tianming still made the most correct choice based on his past experience in handling problems.

The others naturally agreed; they also felt that an array made with human blood couldn’t be anything good. The only other array they had seen that required human blood was the one that summoned Cyril in the Tri-School Competition. With that as a comparison, it was hard for everyone not to be suspicious of the array left by the Old Ancestor.

Seeing everyone nod, Jiang Tianming laid out his plan: “Then we’ll first attend the Zhou family’s mourning ritual. Afterwards, we’ll split into two groups. Two people will go buy cinnabar, and the rest will stay to guard the north side of the village. This is the last direction for the array to form; as long as we guard this spot well, the villagers won’t be able to complete the array. Driver Wang, you’ll be driving, so you definitely have to be in the outside group. Who else wants to buy cinnabar?”

Honestly, even Su Bei couldn’t find any flaws in this plan. He was genuinely curious how the villagers would complete the last step of the array under such strict surveillance from Jiang Tianming and the others.

He somewhat wanted to stay and watch the show, but he was also worried about getting entangled in trouble. He couldn’t have his cake and eat it too. After much deliberation, Su Bei finally raised his hand: “I’ll go.”

He could always wait until everything was over and read the comic King of Abilities to find out what happened. The author’s artwork was good, often giving readers an immersive experience.

But if he got caught in trouble, it wouldn’t be so easy to get out.

Most importantly, Su Bei needed a period of time away from the team to create the illusion that he had secretly made contact with the Life Stone.

His choice didn’t surprise anyone; they would have been surprised if Su Bei didn’t raise his hand. Jiang Tianming calmly nodded: “Then the rest of us will stay.”

Changing into black clothes, everyone went to the Zhou family’s mourning hall. In the center of the hall was a very valuable-looking black wooden coffin, inlaid with gold. The entire mourning hall clearly cost a lot, with suona players playing and mourners wailing, creating a lively scene. There was certainly enough honor given after death, though it was useless.

Su Bei’s gaze casually scanned the mourning hall and then fixed on a person in the corner. This person wore a long black dress with a white flower pinned to her chest. Her face was as pale as paper, and her back was slightly hunched. Even without a close look, Su Bei could tell her health was very poor.

Presumably, this was the critically ill second daughter of the Zhou family whom Ling You had mentioned.

However, what surprised Su Bei wasn’t her identity, but the Destiny Compass above her head. Amidst a sea of compasses with major pointers down and minor pointers to the right (indicating certain death), hers was conspicuously different, the exact opposite of everyone else’s.

She was the only “living person” Su Bei had seen in this village so far, besides the protagonist group and Driver Wang.

“What’s special about this person that allows her to escape the Old Ancestor’s clutches?” Su Bei rarely showed such surprise, staring intently at her.

“Su Bei… Su Bei?”

Jiang Tianming’s voice interrupted his thoughts. Su Bei looked away, asking confusedly, “What is it?”

“What are you looking at? That second daughter?” Jiang Tianming followed his gaze, only seeing that one person.

Without denying the question, Su Bei said meaningfully, “That person’s destiny is very interesting.”

Hearing this, Jiang Tianming immediately had a bad feeling. He knew that Su Bei’s “interesting” wasn’t usually a good word for normal people. What exactly was interesting about it?

However, Su Bei didn’t give him a chance to ask further, instead asking, “Why did you call me just now?”

Jiang Tianming then remembered what he wanted to say: “Oh, I wanted to say I just looked it up, and there’s a lot of fake cinnabar out there. Be careful not to buy counterfeits.”

If they made all the preparations but were discovered by Nightmare Beasts because of fake cinnabar, that would be too ridiculous a way to die.

Imagining that scene, Su Bei couldn’t help but shiver, then confidently guaranteed: “Don’t worry, I have my own unique way to buy genuine goods.”

As long as his luck was good enough, he wouldn’t encounter fakes at all. Everything he saw would be genuine.

After their banter, Su Bei continued to ponder the matter of the Zhou family’s second daughter. He was truly curious how this lucky girl, despite her frail body, managed to escape a crisis that affected the entire village.

As he was thinking, the second daughter weakly coughed. Upon hearing this cough, the people around her immediately changed expressions, retreating as if fearing contagion.

This was natural. She had a serious illness, and in many people’s eyes, illness was contagious, so they naturally kept their distance.

“Wait… illness?”

Su Bei suddenly thought of the difference between the second daughter and the others: she was suffering from a terminal illness!

If being on the verge of dying of old age was a dying state, then was suffering from a terminal illness also a dying state?

If his conjecture was correct, then things would be very interesting. When there were two dying people in the Life Extension Array, whose life would the array extend first?

Just looking at the second daughter’s Destiny Compass, Su Bei didn’t know if the Life Extension Array had extended the Old Ancestor’s life, but he knew for sure that the array had extended the second daughter’s life. If the array, given a choice between two, only chose the second daughter, and the Old Ancestor, who had been busy, ended up with nothing, Su Bei would truly die laughing.

Just imagining this possibility made his lips curl into a smile. Now Su Bei somewhat regretted choosing to buy cinnabar. If such a scene truly happened, missing it would make him very sad. Even if he could re-experience it through the comic later, it would definitely not be as funny as witnessing it firsthand.

Today was the last day of the mourning ritual, and the Village Chief also came. Of course, he wasn’t just there for the deceased, but more importantly, for the living. Looking around, he saw Su Bei and the others and quickly walked over: “How did you all sleep last night, students?”

Three people were present, and all but Ling You were good at socializing. But when three were together, Su Bei was naturally lazy to socialize, so he winked at Ling You, and the two silently moved aside.

Finding their conversation uninteresting, a bored Su Bei’s gaze fell on the second daughter again. He developed a slight interest in this lucky girl. Since he was free anyway, learning about her family’s case wouldn’t take much time.

Thinking this, he strode towards the girl, who was probably only fifteen or sixteen: “Excuse me, do you know where the restroom is?”

Su Bei, of course, knew where the restroom near the mourning hall was. It was a bit roundabout, behind the hall, through a small path, to a public outhouse. So, giving directions would likely require personally leading the way.

Sure enough, the second daughter thought for a moment: “I’ll take you.”

She wasn’t worried about encountering danger. Many people were mourning, and plenty went to the restroom. She’d surely encounter a few people there, and if danger arose, a shout would certainly bring help.

However, her main reason for helping Su Bei was that he was indeed very handsome. It had to be admitted that good looks always played a significant role in social interactions. Handsome people, male or female, reduced strangers’ wariness.

On the way, Su Bei asked, feigning gossip: “Second Miss, may I confirm some rumors I’ve heard?”

His frank gossiping actually made her less annoyed. The second daughter coughed, looked at him twice, and replied weakly, “No need to call me Second Miss, just call me Zhou Min. Go ahead and ask.”

Seeing her agree, Su Bei immediately guided the conversation: “I heard that Old Master Zhou and his children didn’t have a very good relationship. Is that true?”

He didn’t ask, “you and Old Master Zhou,” but used language that put both into a third-person perspective. This would make her more relaxed and objective in answering, effectively preventing Zhou Min from lying due to personal emotional issues.

“It’s true,” Zhou Min answered briskly, clearly unsurprised by Su Bei’s question, and with a cold laugh.

Hearing this, Su Bei immediately stated his stance, offering emotional validation: “For all his children to have such a bad relationship with him, Mr. Zhou himself must have had a big problem.”

This indeed pleased Zhou Min, and her expression softened: “I thought you’d think us unfilial.”

“If it were just one or two people, I might have that thought,” Su Bei said honestly. “But for five children to have the same attitude, it can’t possibly be that all five children have issues, can it? Even if that were true, then Mr. Zhou’s parenting definitely had big problems.”

After this exchange, Zhou Min’s attitude had changed from aloof to much warmer: “Anything else you want to ask? While I’m in a good mood, ask away.”

“If you had to rank ‘the degree to which siblings dislike their father,’ who would be first?” Su Bei asked his next question, making it sound light-hearted so no one would detect its true intent.

“Me,” Zhou Min answered without hesitation.

Su Bei deliberately feigned disbelief, half-jokingly saying: “I bet if you asked all the children in your family this question, everyone would give that answer, right?”

Just like her previous answer, the girl was equally resolute this time: “They would all say it’s me.”

Such a firm answer made Su Bei raise an eyebrow, solidifying his suspicions to about eighty or ninety percent. Given that these five children likely collectively decided to make their father the array’s material, Zhou Min’s certainty that she hated her father the most could only mean one thing: she was the first to propose, or even led, the idea of pushing her father to his death.

It couldn’t just be for money to treat her illness; that was definitely impossible. The Zhou family was very wealthy in the village. If Old Master Zhou truly wanted to, he could absolutely pay for his daughter’s treatment.

For Zhou Min to unhesitatingly push him to his death, and in the inheritance distribution only ask for money for her treatment, wanting nothing else, could similarly only mean one thing: the deceased Old Master Zhou had no intention of treating his daughter’s illness at all.

And to think more darkly, perhaps Old Master Zhou initially intended to first use the critically ill Zhou Min as the material for the array.

But then again, to be able to turn the tables when she was terminally ill and her own father wanted her dead, Zhou Min was definitely not as simple as she appeared on the surface.

However, being shrewd was a good thing for anyone, especially those in difficult circumstances. Without that cunning, she would be the one drained of blood and lying in the coffin now.

Having learned enough about the case, Su Bei satisfied his curiosity. Just then, they reached the public outhouse. He waved to Zhou Min: “Thank you for showing me the way. I know the path now, you can go back.”

“It’s fine, it was pleasant talking to you,” Zhou Min nodded in good spirits, turning to leave.

After only a few steps, Su Bei’s clear, magnetic voice suddenly sounded from behind her: “By the way, how is your family’s relationship with the Old Ancestor of the village?”

“Why suddenly ask that question?” Zhou Min didn’t turn around but stopped.

Su Bei replied naturally: “Senior Zhou said the Old Ancestor is highly respected in the village, so I thought your father would be happy to associate with him.”

“That’s true,” Zhou Min’s voice lightened slightly. “He often took us to Grandpa Zhou’s house to play. But I wasn’t interested in that, so I usually stayed home.”

After explaining, she said no more, taking steps that gradually carried her out of Su Bei’s sight. Su Bei, meanwhile, retracted his thoughtful gaze, no longer paying attention to her.

The event ended, Su Bei and the others bid farewell, then began to complete their respective tasks according to the earlier assignment. Su Bei and Driver Wang left the village and arrived at the car parked outside. As soon as Driver Wang got in, he heard Su Bei say from outside: “You go buy the cinnabar. I have something else to take care of.”

“Me alone?” Driver Wang asked in surprise. “What if I buy fakes?”

“Don’t worry, you won’t buy fakes,” Su Bei said, casually adjusting a Minor Destiny Pointer for him.

Driver Wang was still hesitant. He privately felt that Jiang Tianming was far more reliable than the frequently lackadaisical Su Bei. With Jiang Tianming having already assigned tasks, was it really okay for Su Bei to suddenly leave the team?

Noticing his concerns, Su Bei waved them off dismissively: “What are you worried about? Buying cinnabar is a small matter; one person is more than enough. But what’s going to happen here next isn’t so simple. If I stay, it’ll be an extra bit of strength.”

At these words, Driver Wang was immediately convinced: “Alright, then I’ll go now. I’ll be back as soon as possible.”

Don’t let his previous show of distrust in Su Bei fool you; that was only distrust in Su Bei’s personality. As for his strength, Driver Wang trusted him 100%. He had watched the Tri-School Competition broadcast, and Su Bei’s performance there was nothing short of brilliant.

When a Destiny-type Ability user says something is about to happen, they must have “seen” something. Since he felt it was more useful to stay, Driver Wang naturally wouldn’t drag him along for a less necessary task.

Having successfully tricked him away, Su Bei found the tallest tree in the small woods on the east side of the village and quickly climbed it, preemptively securing a vantage point. The north side of the village was a wide road, which was why previous deaths hadn’t happened there. Only for the last one, when there was no choice, would they have to spill blood there.

Su Bei’s current position offered a clear view of the road, making it a perfect vantage point. Hidden by leaves, he wouldn’t easily be discovered, and if anything happened, he could immediately rush to assist.

That’s right, in the end, he decided to stay and watch the show. Firstly, Su Bei was curious how the villagers would complete the last array under Jiang Tianming’s strict guard. Secondly, he was curious how the Old Ancestor would ‘capsize in a ditch’ (fail badly), allowing Zhou Min to benefit.

As for safety, as long as he wasn’t within the designated range of those arrays, he was safe. With the protagonist group present, he probably wouldn’t need to intervene much in defeating the boss.

Even if he did intervene, it wouldn’t matter. In the comic, his character was someone who loved to watch the show. Fulfilling his curiosity while staying in character—Su Bei wouldn’t miss such a win-win situation.