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Could it really be this unlucky?

In Baiyun City, as dawn began to break, Jiang Xiaoling felt an icy chill drop to the pit of his stomach...

Because since last night, when he activated the mark, there had been almost no activity!

What’s going on here?

Could the mark have malfunctioned?

That shouldn’t be the case, from a technical point of view, it’s impossible for it to malfunction; this world may mimic reality very closely, but it is still a digital world.

.. The programs here can’t malfunction, if even the programs malfunctioned.

.. this world would have been uncontrollable long ago.

But if it hasn’t malfunctioned... why hasn’t anyone come to save me?

A collective betrayal?

That shouldn’t be the case either, even if there was a betrayal, wouldn’t they want to extract information from me?

Could it be... I’m just unlucky, and of all the Correctors around, not a single one is nearby?

Watching the sun rise, Jiang Xiaoling sat on the ground in the alley, shivering from the cold, and then suddenly remembered something and dashed towards his home.

If the Correctors who were supposed to save him did not appear, it meant that the group of Southern Barbarians would still go to his home looking for him, and if they didn’t find him...

Damn it, why didn’t I think of this before?

The child ran very fast; although he was young, he had always tried to exercise and build a strong foundation. In less than half an hour, he had run from West Street to his home...

But it was still too late.

The normally quiet street was full of people crowding in front of his family’s courtyard gates. Seeing this scene, Jiang Xiaoling’s heart trembled, overwhelmed by a strong sense of unease!

He struggled to push through the crowd to the front, and there he finally saw the scene he had least wanted to witness...

At his family’s doorstep, over a dozen mutilated corpses had been cruelly hung up, all skinned, left out to dry in front of the gate; and the womenfolk, including his sister who was only seven years old, had been stripped of their clothes, chained like dogs, and whipped at the entrance.

A group of Southern Barbarians laughed heartily, seeming to relish the spectacle, while the onlookers from a distance, for the most part, could not bear to watch and sighed at the atrocity, although a few took a perverse pleasure in the scene.

At that moment, Jiang Xiaoling’s mind went blank.

Memories from the past five years flooded his mind—his father who had jumped around excitedly after finding out he had a son, his two older sisters always revolving around him, his mother who, not trusting a wet nurse, had chosen to breastfeed him herself, and had stayed by his side every night.

He had thought about it quite early on, wondering if in a future filled with cruelty, these people who had treated him so kindly might one day suffer a terrible fate.

Only he hadn’t expected it to come so soon...

Even though he had prepared for it long ago, it was only on this day that he truly understood what real cruelty was!

Off in the distance, the beautiful Jiang matron, previously numb, suddenly seemed to notice Jiang Xiaoling. Her eyes cleared in an instant, and seeing Jiang Xiaoling unharmed amidst such tragedy, she couldn’t help but show a tinge of joy.

Then, desperately using her gaze, she signaled for him to leave the place quickly.

Boom!

In that moment, Jiang Xiaoling felt as if his head had exploded. At that instant, all he wanted was to save them... at any cost, whatever it took!

Seeing Jiang Xiaoling as if he was about to rush over, Mrs. Jiang was so frightened she almost cried out, but just at that critical moment, a pair of rough palms blocked him, dragging him back into the crowd...

Mrs. Jiang was stunned, but as she watched her child being dragged away, the heart that had risen to her throat finally fell back into place.

She didn’t know if such a small child could survive, since children were being sacrificed daily here, but as long as she could see that her child was alive before closing her eyes, she was completely content, at least... it was a thought, wasn’t it?

Heaven had already been cold enough to their family. Please, show a little mercy...

--------------------------

"Stop struggling..."

The rough, callused hand firmly pressed the child to the ground, and the elder’s voice, hoarse and indifferent, said, "If you truly care about your family, why would you spend a whole night daydreaming in an alleyway?"

Jiang Xiaoling was taken aback and stiffly turned her head to look at the other person, "Are you... a Fixer?"

"Fixer?" The elder slightly squinted his eyes, "You really do know some things."

"Quick! Save them!" the child immediately grew anxious, "Otherwise, I won’t tell you anything!"

"Can’t save them..." The old man shook his head: "You’re lucky to have met me, not someone even more formidable, but you’re also unlucky because the me you’ve met isn’t formidable enough, so I can’t save the ones you want to save."

"Can’t save them?" Jiang Xiaoling suddenly became anxious, "How can you not save them? Fixers, all of you possess bodies of top-tier demons from the first phase, how can you not save them?"

"First phase?" The elder nodded slightly, "You indeed know a lot. It seems that my ability to sense you means your identity is definitely not that of an ordinary Reincarnator. But as you said, it’s the first phase. The world has already begun to step into the second phase. Those Southern Barbarians committing crimes, you think they’re just ordinary NPCs? "

"They’re not. With the enhancement of the Ghost Temple, they have become half Ghost General in nature.

There are four Transcendent Ghost Generals in Baiyun City alone.

If I dared make a move here, within ten breaths’ time, a Ghost General would arrive.

Neither you nor I would be able to leave this place alive! "

"Ghost General?" Jiang Xiaoling paused, then regained some clarity and shook her head, "You’re lying to me. At this time, Ghost Generals can’t possibly manifest in the yang realm!"

"In theory, they can’t, but an array has somehow been set up here that allows Ghost Generals to walk the yang realm for a brief period..."

"Walk the yang realm for a brief period? Why?" Jiang Xiaoling looked puzzled. Baiyun City was just an unremarkable edge city in Southeast County, with neither a high strategic position nor prosperity level. Was it really necessary to go through such elaborate efforts?

"Is it for me?"

You sure like to flatter yourself!" the elder scoffed.

Jiang Xiaoling: "...."

"Then why?" He was growing anxious. His mother and sister could get killed at any moment; he had to convince the guy before him to save them.

"It’s for Chen Qing!"

"Chen Qing?" Jiang Xiaoling was stunned. The King of Qin from Jiangnan?

He had heard plenty of tales about him over the years: a Scholar from a humble background with nothing to his name had now come to possess Jiangnan and even forced the Imperial Court to confer upon him the title of King of Qin.

Logically, he should also be one of the Fixers!

This current situation... was it targeted at him?

"So, the method that you sensed from me is aimed at all of us, right?"

"If you’re referring to Fixers, then yes..."

"Fixers?" The other laughed, "That’s an interesting name. Let’s not worry about whether you’re a Fixer or not for now. Anyway, my approach has made all of you sense it, right?"

"It should be so..." Jiang Xiaoling said uncertainly.

"Do you want to know why no one has come to save you?"

"Why?" That was Jiang Xiaoling’s biggest puzzle.

"Because someone thinks you’re not important enough, so... you’ve become bait!"

Jiang Xiaoling: "....."

"Who are you talking about? Are you in league with them?"

"Not really in league with them anymore," the old man chuckled, "My being here is purely accidental. I’m just wandering around here, thought I had managed to avoid all these messy affairs. Never expected to get directly stumbled upon. What a drag."

"Let me introduce myself. My last name is Huang, I’m a tutor..."

But Jiang Xiaoling directly interrupted him, "Mister Hua Pi?"

The smile on the old man’s face vanished instantly, "Interesting, a kid just born five years ago knows so much. You’re really not ordinary. So now, you’re the one to tell me first."

"What’s a Fixer? And how do you happen to know me?"