Chapter 966: Face Mask

Seventy-two hours after the earthquake, there was only one fatality here, and twenty-seven people were rescued.

For the search and rescue team, it was a miracle they would never forget, nor would they ever forget the mask-wearing, unharmed teenager they dug out from under the boulder...

With such a massive boulder pressing on him, his body remained as still as iron. Even when he was discovered, his breathing chest barely caused the boulder and other debris to move, and not a single speck of dust had touched him.

Even more striking was the mask on his face. It was grotesque and terrifying, like a malevolent spirit, scaring the rescue team members away and even making death itself retreat.

When the rescue captain finally gathered the courage to remove the mask, the eerie atmosphere gradually dissipated, and a sleeping boy's face was once again bathed in sunlight.

At that moment, Chen Ling felt his surroundings begin to shatter, and a familiar dizziness washed over him!

Rumble—

The train hummed as it passed through a tunnel, light and shadow flickering outside the window, and Chen Ling jolted awake.

“What’s wrong?” Shen Nan asked, seeing Chen Ling staring blankly at the mask.

Chen Ling took a deep breath, shifted his gaze from the Nuomen mask, and carefully observed Shen Nan, now a young man, whose features slowly overlapped with those of the boy he had just seen.

“Nothing,” Chen Ling said, rubbing the corner of his eye tiredly. “Just a bit tired.”

Shen Nan put away the Nuomen mask from the table and glanced out the window:

“You can sleep for a bit; it’s still some distance to Guanzhou.”

“No, I can’t sleep yet.”

“Is there anything else you need?”

Under Shen Nan’s puzzled gaze, Chen Ling raised a hand to call an attendant and spoke seriously:

“Hello, I’d like two portions of fried rice.”

“Certainly, sir.”

Shen Nan paused, then instinctively waved his hand. “I don’t eat fried rice… Do you have instant noodles? Just give me a portion of instant noodles.”

Chen Ling gave him a deadpan look, hesitated for a moment, then turned to the attendant and said:

“Two portions of fried rice and one portion of instant noodles, please.”

Shen Nan: …

The train Chen Ling was on did not go directly to Guanzhou.

According to the route Shen Nan had arranged, after they got off at a certain station, they bought tickets for an old bus and drove along a winding mountain road.

After a long, bumpy ride, Chen Ling and Shen Nan finally got off the bus slowly by the side of a highway near a small town.

There was no platform here, not even any signs. Beyond the highway stretched endless rapeseed fields, and a gravel path branched off from the roadside, seemingly leading to a village.

“Aren’t you able to fly? Why did we have to take a car?” Chen Ling couldn’t help but ask, checking the time. “If we had flown directly, we could have saved at least half the time.”

“I’m not like you; my power isn’t so easily activated,” Shen Nan replied helplessly.

“As I said before, the essence of a Nuo is to transform into a god and respond to others’ prayers… If there’s no one around praying, I have to complete a prayer myself first. Otherwise, if I put on the mask rashly, I’d be bedridden for days.”

Chen Ling sighed deeply. While Shen Nan’s power was strong and seemed omnipotent, it also came with significant limitations… Besides other things, just traveling was incredibly inconvenient. If it were Chen Ling himself, he could cover the distance with his Cloud Steps in no time.

On the almost deserted highway, Chen Ling and Shen Nan crossed the road and walked along the winding branch path for a long time until the outline of the village grew increasingly clear.

Wisps of smoke curled up from the village houses. There were almost no young people here, only elderly residents or children under ten. They sat on the open ground outside their homes, chatting while watching Chen Ling and Shen Nan pass by, then whispered to each other in confusion.

“I haven’t been back here in a long time; it’s changed quite a bit,” Shen Nan said, looking around. “The roads are wider, and every house has a cemented yard… It seems the pond has been leased out too.”

“Yes, even the open space for bonfires has become a parking lot.”

Shen Nan looked at Chen Ling in astonishment. “How do you know that??”

Of course, Chen Ling knew. He had personally witnessed what this place used to look like and had seen the scene of Shen Nan and his father making masks by the bonfire over a decade ago… Faced with Shen Nan’s bewildered gaze, Chen Ling simply smiled mysteriously.

“Guess?”

Shen Nan stared at Chen Ling, his expression becoming utterly priceless.

“I have some special abilities; occasionally, I can see the past of a certain place.” Chen Ling felt that if he didn’t explain, the guy wouldn’t be able to sleep tonight. He then naturally changed the subject,

“These villagers have been staring at us. Have they recognized you?”

“Probably not. I was just a child when I left, and I’ve changed so much now; they wouldn’t recognize me.”

Shen Nan looked at Chen Ling suspiciously for a long time before finally shifting his gaze. The two eventually arrived in front of a small rural house. The house was two stories tall, with a dilapidated, old facade. In front, there was a small, rugged plot of land, and beyond that, an overgrown vegetable patch. Judging by the vegetable patch and the spiderweb-covered wooden frame at the entrance, no one had lived there for a very long time.

“So this is your old home?”

“Yes, I lived here since I was little. Later, my dad took me to another place because he needed to get me medical treatment… But after all these years, the old house was never sold.”

Shen Nan pulled a key from his pocket and tried to insert it into the rusted lock for a long time, but couldn't. Finally, with a little more force, the key snapped in half inside the lock.

Shen Nan: …

Just as he scratched his head, a hand casually touched the lock. The rusted lock instantly reformed, and with a click, it opened automatically.

Shen Nan turned to look beside him, seeing Chen Ling in his coat, palms spread, making a “Was that so hard?” expression at him.

“The house is a bit old; I don’t think it’s very livable… Let’s go in and take a look first.”

Shen Nan pushed open the main door.

With a harsh creak, the scent of old wood mixed with dust assailed them. Visible dust motes surged like waves past them, and both men simultaneously raised their hands to cover their mouths and noses.

Though it was an old house, the lighting was quite good. Sunlight streamed through dense spiderwebs, illuminating the dusty tabletop and floor. Cluttered items were piled in the corners of the room, and even a few mice could be seen scurrying through them…

“So, you brought me all the way here. How exactly do you plan to solve this ‘one body, two souls’ issue?”

Chen Ling’s gaze swept across the old room as he couldn’t help but ask.

Shen Nan stepped into the house and rummaged through a pile of miscellaneous items in the corner for a long time. He pulled out various oddly shaped tools and arranged them all on the dusty tabletop.

“Solving the ‘one body, two souls’ problem is both incredibly difficult and incredibly simple, as long as…”

He raised a finger and pointed to the wall opposite him. Several old Nuomen masks hung there silently.

“As long as I make you a Nuo as well.”