Ch. 19 - Death Reappears

"You all saw what just happened, everyone knows the truth," Ye Fan said, holding the ancient bronze lamp in his left hand and the broken wooden fish drum in his right. He didn’t retreat but instead took a few steps forward toward the group. "Since I’ve already taken the fish drum, there’s no way I’m giving it back."

The divine light emitted from the bronze lamp was brilliant like the sun, pure like the moon, and resembled a holy rainbow, sparkling and vibrant, streaked with auspicious colors. It merged with Ye Fan as if they were one, making him appear otherworldly, like an immortal wearing divine robes descending to the mortal realm.

The fish drum in his right hand, though broken and now dim, had earlier displayed divine might, purple lightning and thunder roared. Now that it was in Ye Fan’s hand, it was still something others feared.

“Li Changqing was indeed wrong to speak carelessly and cause others to become greedy, resulting in this unpleasant situation. But Ye Fan, taking away his life-saving item is going too far,” Liu Yunzhi stepped forward, holding the radiant vajra in his hand, which exuded weight and power, giving him an imposing presence.

By his side were a man and a woman who had from the start defended Li Changqing and tried to stop Pang Bo, now they followed Liu Yunzhi forward.

“Ye Fan, I understand you’re angry. Anyone would be furious after something like this. But we should be more forgiving,” said the female classmate calmly, appearing neutral and reasonable, as if taking a fair stance. “In this situation, taking away his only means of survival is too much. We all know what that means.”

On her fingertip was an old copper bell, long covered in dust, dim and unremarkable. Though it looked ordinary, it drew attention. As she spoke, her delicate fingers unconsciously made slight movements, occasionally causing the bell to ring faintly.

The male classmate beside Liu Yunzhi also spoke: “We should all have a forgiving heart. We’ve known each other for four years and are going through this together. We should support one another. Let’s end this unpleasantness here. Ye Fan, return the fish drum to him, you don’t want to see him die, do you?”

In his lowered right hand, there was a rusted incense burner, palm-sized and damaged, with cracked sides, but it gave off a simple, ancient aura.

The three stood together, each having acquired an artifact from the Grand Thunderclap Temple. Their words naturally carried weight.

Clang!

Pang Bo strode forward and slammed the large copper plaque of the Grand Thunderclap Temple into the ground, saying, “You talk so nicely it’s almost poetic. I see now, you’re all masters of twisting the truth. First, you should understand what actually happened. Second, people should have some integrity! It was Li Changqing and another who tried to kill Ye Fan, how has this turned into Ye Fan being in the wrong? Someone tried to kill him, and Ye Fan took away his crutch, what’s wrong with that? According to your logic, Ye Fan is the villain, and Li Changqing is innocent? Stop pretending to be righteous, it makes me sick!”

At this moment, Pang Bo was still glowing. The three characters “Grand Thunderclap Temple” on the plaque radiated skyward, Buddhist chants echoed like thunder, and faint chanting could be heard. He looked like a blazing sun, full of momentum.

His words made the faces of the man and woman who had just spoken turn ugly.

“We didn’t say Ye Fan was wrong. We just hope he considers the bond of classmates and doesn’t take away Li Changqing’s only hope of survival.”

They deliberately avoided the core issue, how Ye Fan was nearly pushed off the altar, and instead focused on how Ye Fan’s actions now could lead to someone’s death.

After listening, Ye Fan gave a calm smile and said, “Actually, you three don’t need to worry, I don’t intend to hold a grudge against him.”

His entire body shimmered with divine radiance, giving off a gentle and tranquil aura. There wasn’t a speck of dust around him, and everyone felt peace and serenity.

“But I must clarify, Li Changqing and someone else almost got me killed. It’s not, as you keep repeating, me trying to kill him. Everyone saw what happened.” Ye Fan glanced at Liu Yunzhi’s trio. “Several classmates here didn’t find anything in the temple, yet they survived, why? Because not long ago we shared the divine relics. I took the fish drum from Li Changqing not to harm him, but to take away a weapon he could use for evil. If he could plot against me, he could do the same to others. As for his safety, don’t worry, we’re classmates, and we’ll continue sharing these relics. He’ll be fine. But if you three don’t want to share your bell, incense burner, or vajra with him, then let him stay by my side. I’ll make sure he survives.”

Ye Fan first pinpointed the root issue, then mentioned the shared relics. Without boasting, he reminded everyone that his earlier proposal had saved many lives. Finally, he subtly rebuked Liu Yunzhi and the two classmates, touching all the right points and leaving them speechless.

Zhou Yi had been standing at the front the whole time. Aside from initially opposing Ye Fan taking the drum, he’d quietly listened. Now, he finally spoke: “Li Changqing was definitely wrong, and any punishment is justified. But Ye Fan, don’t you think having two relics is a bit wasteful? Many classmates here don’t even have one.”

Zhou Yi came from a well-off family but was never arrogant. He was always refined and composed. His comment made Pang Bo frown, though he couldn’t refute it.

“I was willing to share my bronze lamp with everyone. Now that I’ve taken the drum, I’ll handle it the same way.” Ye Fan smiled and waved to a male classmate behind him. “Zhang Ziling, this is for you. If danger comes, make sure to share it with those near you.”

This classmate, Zhang Ziling, had been standing behind Ye Fan and Pang Bo the whole time. They had bonded through soccer back in school, and he was closer to Ye Fan than most. Although he hadn’t acted like Pang Bo, he had clearly taken Ye Fan’s side.

Ye Fan’s decision was unexpected. Zhou Yi’s mouth twitched slightly, but he said nothing.

Liu Yunzhi frowned. The female classmate beside him immediately objected: “Many male classmates got relics from the temple, but few girls did. I think you should give it to a female classmate.” She gestured subtly to a girl behind her.

Pang Bo sneered and said, “We’re classmates, what difference does it make? Everyone with relics must share them anyway. Does it matter who holds it? Or are you saying you wouldn’t help someone else if it came down to it?”

He selectively ignored the logic and emphasized her hypocrisy, turning her own argument against her with a mocking tone. The female classmate grew angry and flustered, her face turning pale and red. “Don’t twist my words!”

Zhang Ziling stepped up naturally and accepted the fish drum from Ye Fan. Neither said anything, everything was understood between them.

Ye Fan didn’t even glance at Liu Yunzhi. Instead, he asked Zhou Yi, “Zhou Yi, what do you think?”

“I have no objections. We’re all in trouble here. We should help one another and avoid further conflict.” Zhou Yi replied calmly and then said no more.

The other classmates had watched everything closely. They all felt the subtle tension in the air. Though it looked peaceful, there had been several invisible confrontations, all of which Ye Fan had quietly defused.

It reminded them of the Ye Fan they knew from school, calm and gentle when needed, sharp and forceful when the time called for it. He never caused trouble, but never feared it either.

Pang Bo held the copper plaque of the Grand Thunderclap Temple and looked toward Liu Yunzhi and the others. “Ye Fan doesn’t hold grudges. But I’ll say this, what goes around comes around. At this point, we can’t deny that gods exist. So it’s best to live with integrity and not do shady things!”

It was a blatant slap in the face to those people, but no one could argue back, because he stood on the side of reason.

Liu Yunzhi showed no emotion. His face was calm as still water. He simply nodded and said, “Well said. Let’s avoid this kind of thing in the future.”

Lin Jia and Wang Ziwen stood silently in the back. They had taken a neutral stance and hadn’t spoken earlier. Now they spoke in turn:

“To avoid more conflict, I think we should have a proper discussion.”

“We should decide how those who got relics will help others, and how many people each person should support.”

Li Xiaoman had said nothing from beginning to end. She quietly watched Ye Fan from a distance, observing how he calmly resolved the situation. Her gaze was calm, with no expression, siding with no one.

Beside her, Cade, whose Chinese wasn’t very fluent, finally understood what had happened and silently clicked his tongue in disbelief.

Bang!

Suddenly, a shattering noise rang out, and everyone jumped. The protective barrier outside the five-colored altar had been pierced. Something had gotten in, and everyone turned to look in that direction.

A streak of black light shot by at incredible speed. With a “puff”, it pierced a male classmate’s forehead. Blood splattered, and he collapsed with wide eyes, instantly dead.

If it weren’t for the barrier, they wouldn’t even have noticed the black light. It was that silent. Remembering the previous mysterious deaths, everyone felt a chill in their bones. That black light was hidden in the darkness, utterly undetectable.

The black light’s reappearance was like the return of the god of death!

Cries of terror broke out. Chaos erupted on the altar. Those without divine relics lunged at Liu Yunzhi, Zhou Yi, Wang Ziwen, and others, clinging to them, refusing to let go, desperate to share their relics.

"Awooooo!" Suddenly, a terrifying sound came from the storm, shaking the heavens. Even the thunderous sandstorm was drowned out by it.

“It’s from the Grand Thunderclap Temple…”

In that moment, many people turned pale. They recognized the direction of the sound, it came from where the Grand Thunderclap Temple had once stood!

“But the temple is already destroyed, was it suppressing something beneath it all along…?”

When Pang Bo said this, many people felt their scalps go numb, a wave of dread surged through the group.

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