Chapter 50 – The Fiftieth Ray of Light

When Laki woke up from his sleep, he realized that “the times had changed.”

First off, he was the center of attention at his own “funeral.”

The military tent was so small, and there were so many teammates. They were divided into three groups: front, middle, and back, all surrounding his bed. Their expressions were serious, and the atmosphere was solemn. Meanwhile, Laki was wrapped up in army-green blankets, secured with nine layers of safety buckles, his whole body aching, unable to move.

His lips moved, trying to say something, “I…”

To his surprise, Laki’s voice was hoarse. He had screamed his lungs out during the “concert” the night before. The word “I” came out sounding like “U,” and just as he spoke, his teammates’ faces changed dramatically.

Then, he heard Jiang Qining shout, “Oh no! He’s about to say ‘Ura’!”

Instantly, his teammates turned into alert watchdogs, rushing over to cover his mouth and restrain his hands, urgently shouting, “Doctor Liang, hurry! Tranquilizer! Give him a shot!”

Laki: …Wait a minute!

He struggled violently but ended up getting another shot, quickly falling back into a deep sleep, this time all the way to midday.

Afterward, he took the center stage.

As his consciousness gradually returned, it felt like the events from a few hours ago had just been a dream. This time, the tent was empty, with Ji Si sitting next to him. There were no safety buckles, no “clueless teammates,” and the pain in his throat was gone. His injured body had returned to normal.

“What happened to me?”

Ji Si smiled and succinctly explained, “Last night, you turned into a beast, and in front of everyone, you did something even worse than a beast to the rats. Now, everyone who knows you calls you ‘the beast in human clothing.’”

Laki: …

He lifted the blanket with trembling hands. Honestly, he had no memory of “losing control” during the awakening. All he remembered was jumping into the rat swarm in a fit of excitement, feeling a rush of intense pleasure… Wait, could it be?!

Laki’s face turned pale with horror. “No way! Even if I was sleepwalking, I would have found the toilet to pee!” He said this seriously. “I’m a disciplined person. I would never pee in a rat swarm!”

Ji Si: …

His hand holding the staff trembled slightly. The High Priest suddenly understood why every man in this team was outstanding but still struggling to find someone. With the ability to kill a conversation with just one sentence, they were truly a rare breed.

Laki stepped out of the tent, looking like a superstar walking through the sunlight. At that moment, someone’s half-spoken sentence abruptly stopped, someone’s laughter froze mid-air, and all eyes from every direction focused on him, shock, attention, and warmth pouring onto him!

There was a five-second silence, followed by a thousand-word imagination.

Laki appeared calm on the surface, but inside, he was in turmoil. He suspected that he really had peed in the rat swarm last night, which was why he had to face the crowd’s gaze today.

When a “clueless teammate” ran up to him, grinning, “Laki, come on! Let’s see the good things you did last night!”

Laki almost blacked out, his mind going blank.

Fortunately, he was a disciplined person. Other than uprooting the land of Ningyuan Mountain, pushing the edges of the devil’s cave out by an inch, destroying half of the forest, and digging deep pits into the earth… he really didn’t do anything that could be considered beastly.

Before Laki could breathe a sigh of relief, he found himself caught in the whirlpool of his teammates’ teasing.

Qi Xinli said seriously, “Amitabha, so kind, so kind! Laki, my friend, take a moment to reflect on your past life as an animal, and how you made the rats fear you so much?”

Si Nuocheng added, “Probably a cat? The explosive power and speed with which you attacked me last night were just like a cat pouncing on a bird.”

“Ssssnake?” Jiang Qining pointed to the devil’s cave, “Slithering in, biting the rats without letting go, and swallowing a spine whole. No way a snake would escape!”

“I think it’s an eagle!” Yu Mingyang refuted, “I’ve watched the military footage. You leaped over a hundred meters, landing with a crater. Definitely someone who can soar and dive with great speed!”

Laki complained, “Can’t I just be a human?”

Yu Mingyang sighed dramatically, “A pure-blood human can only sit in a wheelchair, stroking their broken leg, or yell from the sidelines while you guys fight. You don’t deserve it.”

Jiang Qining sighed deeply, “A pure-blood human can only clean up the battlefield afterward, shouting ‘holy shit’ while watching the footage. You don’t deserve it.”

Laki: … After one night, have I ceased to be human?

“Then, at the very least, I could be a bear, right?” Laki tried to salvage his dignity. “The speed of a cat, the bite of a snake, the swiftness of an eagle, and it fits perfectly with ‘Ura’ and Zhongzhou’s diplomatic method of ‘making friends with bears.’ It’s politically correct and charming, right?”

“Yeah!” Jiang Qining slapped his thigh, “It’s totally a mix of cat, snake, and eagle traits!”

“So your past life must have been a ‘horned owl!’”

Everyone: …

Laki was led astray, “Why? How can an owl represent a cat, eagle, and snake, just because it has ‘cat’ and ‘eagle’ in its name?”

“Tch!” Jiang Qining looked down on everyone, speaking with disdain, “Horned owls have the cuteness of cats, the appearance of eagles, and the habit of being active at night, just like you. What’s not suitable?”

Everyone: I can’t believe I think he’s kind of right.

Laki: After awakening, have I changed species?

From then on, Laki’s peaceful life was drowned by his teammates’ endless teasing. In the end, he could only cover his face in surrender, wishing the time could rewind to last night. He would rather stand in the rat swarm and pee than overturn the land of Ningyuan again.

……

That night, at 1 a.m.

When everything had fallen silent, Old Jin and his assistant, taking advantage of the night, visited Ji Si. Inside the army-green tent, a light was on, and the man in white with black hair was leisurely leaning on a recliner, flipping through a map of Zhongzhou.

When they entered, he didn’t show the slightest bit of surprise. Instead, he casually gestured to the two empty folding chairs beside him, smiling as he said, “Please, sit.”

Two chairs…

How conveniently there were exactly two chairs!

Old Jin and his assistant were mildly surprised, but they quickly exchanged a glance and then sat down confidently. Upon seeing them settle, Ji Si smiled lightly and raised his hand. They watched as the water bottle in the tent floated up by itself and steadily poured two cups of water. Then, the cups levitated and hovered in front of them.

“Only plain water for guests, I apologize for the simplicity,” Ji Si chuckled.

Old Jin and his assistant: …

Right from the start, they were hit with two symbolic blows, and their composure was starting to crack. However, in the face of such an enigmatic and unpredictable person like Ji Si, holding onto their posture felt almost useless. It was better to abandon any pretenses and get straight to the point.

Old Jin said, “Mr. Ji, I’m just a simple man, not skilled with words. I apologize for visiting so late, but there’s something weighing on my mind, and it’s making me uneasy. I’d appreciate it if you could help me understand.”

Ji Si was polite and composed. “No problem.”

Such a direct response made Old Jin pause for a moment. He thought for a while before continuing, “If there are questions you don’t wish to answer, or can’t answer, please just refill my cup with water.”

Old Jin looked directly at Ji Si. “Mr. Ji, are you the ‘High Priest’?”

“Yes,” Ji Si replied with a smile. “The prophet is me.”

Old Jin pressed his lips together, and his assistant gasped. The two of them sat silently for about half a minute before Old Jin spoke again. “May I ask, where do you come from?”

Ji Si smiled and topped off their cups with water.

“Mr. Ji, with such unique abilities, why not consider cooperating with the military?” Old Jin took a sip of water. “Even if there were obstacles at first, now, with the disasters increasing, who can still say ‘I don’t believe’? If you agree, I can have a military plane take you to Yanjing immediately!”

Ji Si smiled and replied, “I refuse.”

“Qi Xinli, whom you’ve placed under my care, I’ve been teaching him carefully,” Ji Si continued. “I trust the sincerity of the old general, but I don’t trust the people whose hearts are becoming more filled with trickery.”

“Moreover, cooperation needs to be mutual. You’ve chosen me, but I haven’t yet chosen you.”

A long silence. Old Jin realized that as a mysterious and powerful prophet, Ji Si had every right to say such things, and it didn’t seem wrong at all!

After a while, Old Jin shifted the conversation. “Then, Mr. Ji, what is your purpose in issuing prophecies, cultivating awakened ones, and helping the world?”

Ji Si refilled his cup with water.

Old Jin took another sip. “Regarding the second wave of the rat infestation in Ningyuan Mountain, you clearly foresaw it. Why didn’t you issue a prophecy about it?”

“I am a guide, not a ruler,” Ji Si said calmly. “You should distance yourselves from my prophecies, not rely on them. If you depend on me for everything, you’re essentially self-destructing. In the future, my prophecies will gradually decrease, and some crises will need you to predict them yourselves.”

“Humans must reclaim their own strength.”

“By the way, I hold no ill will toward Zhongzhou.”

Old Jin nodded slightly. “Regarding the awakened ones, Mr. Ji, how do you think we should handle them?”

“There’s no need to hide them deliberately, nor to exaggerate,” Ji Si said. “Let things unfold naturally, and the best arrangement will come.”

They continued their conversation for half an hour, asking and answering while sipping water. When Old Jin left the tent, he felt as though a burden had been lifted off his chest.

His assistant asked, “Old Jin?”

“Let’s go,” Old Jin said as he walked away from Ji Si’s tent. When they reached his own quarters, he finally spoke. “He doesn’t seem like a young man at all…”

He felt more like an old fox from his generation! His words were gentle, but when you chewed on them, they carried plenty of meaning.

“He’s willing to teach Qi Xinli carefully, but unwilling to cooperate with the military. What does that mean?” Old Jin said. “He’s clearly telling me that he won’t accept just anyone! And also, that if I give him one, I should stop trying to push the entire military on him. He’s rejecting it!”

Assistant: …

Old Jin quickened his pace. “He says he trusts me, but not people’s hearts. What do you think that implies? Is there something wrong with Yanjing?”

The assistant didn’t dare make a judgment and remained silent.

“This Mr. Ji… he’s really someone we can only admire from afar,” Old Jin sighed. “He cultivates and lets the awakened ones grow on their own, telling us to ‘let things unfold naturally.’ All he does is remind us not to hinder the awakened ones’ development.”

The assistant suddenly spoke up. “Then why not try to recruit the awakened ones?”

Old Jin paused.

“Qi Xinli is one of ours, and the other awakened ones are his partners.” The assistant proposed, “If we can cooperate with this first generation of awakened ones, doesn’t that mean… we’ve indirectly cooperated with Mr. Ji?”

“This is also ‘letting things unfold naturally.’”

Suddenly, Old Jin slapped his hand and laughed loudly. He gave his assistant a hearty pat on the shoulder and said with satisfaction, “I was blind! This too is ‘letting things unfold naturally,’ hahaha!”

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PS:

Sorry for the long wait! It took me six hours to write this chapter, but I only managed to write 3,000 words. Why? Because I got stuck on the dialogue. ==

PS:

Laki: The owl doesn’t suit me!
Si Nuocheng: Oh, then it must be a Maine Coon (Eagle) cat.
Laki: …