The Starry River Eternal

Chapter 43

It wasn't a dream. Of course it wasn't a dream.

Shen Wang smiled. He was already exceptionally good-looking, with a pair of peach-blossom eyes that tilted slightly upward, carrying a reassuring warmth and a faint, alluring aura that made people want to keep looking at him.

'Captain Zhou, did you finally notice something off?'

Zhou Xiangzhe, suddenly being called 'captain': ...

To be honest, Shen Wang hardly ever called Zhou Xiangzhe 'captain'. At most, he'd thrown in a bit of polite courtesy when they first met, but after that he never used it again. At his core, he was a self-centered person who didn't give others much respect, and he couldn't even be bothered to open his mouth for a trivial little honorific.

Only when he was being sarcastic would he deign to call him 'captain'.

Zhou Xiangzhe was about to explain when a loud bang shook them so violently they could barely keep their footing.

Shen Wang clicked his tongue. 'Nice work you did there.'

This wasn't a dream at all — it was the painting. A dream might be virtual and untouchable, but a painting is real pigment on paper. Deer God carries extreme corrosiveness, and after he used his talent the whole building lost a layer of color.

Zhou Xiangzhe realized it too, and the two of them quickly left the area.

The moment they stepped out of the hospital, the building behind them collapsed with a roar, leaving only broken walls and rubble.

'If you're not a dream, then this place probably isn't a dream either.' Zhou Xiangzhe picked up on more details. 'Rather than my dream, this place is more like a combination of things I've experienced and things I wanted to do?'

Shen Wang glanced at him. 'Because this is a painting. A Hundred Eyes painting.'

"Grade A contaminant Hundred Eyes?" Zhou Xiangzhe was a bit surprised. "It's still alive?"

'Not its true form.' Shen Wang was thinking about how to smooth this over.

Ah, right!

'The director pointed me the way to find you, but when I reached the location I ran into the renegade, Lan. I tried to avoid him but failed, and he shoved me into the painting.'

My good gege, take the fall for me — it's not like you're here right now anyway.

'Lan again?' Zhou Xiangzhe frowned, then turned back to Shen Wang. 'Then why did you appear inside the contamination source? Before the mission, Qiang Li'an communicated with me many times, and every time he assured me you were handling contamination incidents outside the source.'

'You can't blame him for that. I was investigating in Zone 3 and accidentally walked into the contamination source. Zone 3 and the source are connected.'

'Connected?' Zhou Xiangzhe was genuinely shocked. 'The contamination source is expanding, contamination zones are appearing around the perimeter, but the bodies of all contaminants are still contained inside the source. Team Two hasn't screwed up badly enough to let high-level contaminants out. So how can there be a place connected to the source?'

Shen Wang answered casually, 'In Zone 3 I found a river that shouldn't exist. It's very wide and the water is flowing. The river appeared out of nowhere and isn't a contaminant stronghold. I followed the river upstream looking for its source, and as I walked I ended up inside the source, where I happened to run into Xiao Ershiyi.'

'The kid who always sneaks off to play on the swings during meals?'

Shen Wang clicked his tongue. 'Your memory really is absurdly good. At the time I almost couldn't match the face.'

Zhou Xiangzhe let out a soft sigh. 'He took you to the orphanage? I went there, but they wouldn't let me in.'

'Looks like we can't get the umbrella back either.'

'Didn't I already say it? I'll give you a new one.' Shen Wang hadn't expected him to still be dwelling on that. 'Leave that umbrella at the orphanage. Think of it as leaving it with your memories. We're not the same as we were when we were kids.'

Hearing this, Zhou Xiangzhe turned his head to look at Shen Wang.

After a moment, Zhou Xiangzhe nodded. 'Alright. I want an umbrella that two people can use together.'

Zhou Xiangzhe thought: this reunion was pretty interesting.

They didn't cry and embrace each other, they didn't demand to know why it had taken so long to meet again, Shen Wang didn't even ask him why he'd known all along that Shen Wang was Xiao Shiwu and hadn't said anything. They just confirmed each other's identities in an ordinary way, and then, as always, exchanged mission information.

It was as if those dozen-plus years hadn't passed, as if Shen Wang had only gone to the hospital for a few days of treatment.

Finally, when the treatment was done, he waved at Xiao Qi waiting for him at the hospital gate. No need to explain — they both understood.

He was back.

No awkwardness, no estrangement, no feeling that the other person had grown into someone unfamiliar. They used the same tone, the same gestures, the same smile.

Although from what Shen Wang was saying... he'd actually known Zhou Xiangzhe was Xiao Qi before he got here. But Zhou Xiangzhe felt he'd given himself away far too much, and he couldn't tell exactly when Shen Wang had seen through him.

'An umbrella two people can use together?' Shen Wang gave him an odd look. 'Who are you planning to use it with?'

Zhou Xiangzhe thought for a moment. 'I could use it with the person who gave it to me. Though we might suffer a visual assault from bystanders.'

Shen Wang: ...

Just think about it: Zhou Xiangzhe is a major celebrity in Central City, always out on missions. The one time he comes back, he's suddenly, out of character, sharing an umbrella with someone else. Everyone would have their jaws on the floor. If they didn't get a good look at such a terrifying sight, what would they do if they never got another chance?

Shen Wang clicked his tongue in distaste. 'Don't drag me into your mischief. I've got no interest in that.'

Boom — another sound of shattering glass.

They turned to look at the sky not far away. The human shape formed by butterflies was still slamming violently against the glass.

'If this is a painting, then what it's hitting is the frame glass?' Zhou Xiangzhe suddenly caught on.

'Probably.' Shen Wang answered casually.

'Can we just let it in directly?' Zhou Xiangzhe was mulling it over. 'Originally I wanted to find its true form inside the dream.'

Shen Wang glanced at him. 'This isn't a dream.'

'I know. Dream or not, it doesn't matter. I just want to make contact with it.'

'If its original body really is An Heng, then I judge its form to be non-physical — it roams in a spiritual state. I need to grab hold of its soul.'

Shen Wang understood.

This contaminant was like a soul leaving the body in a paranormal novel. Its original body was in a vegetative state. After being contaminated, its soul left its body and went around causing havoc. It could also transform contaminated people into leaves hanging from trees. Caterpillars ate the leaves, molted into butterflies, and the butterflies were under its control, becoming its spokesmen.

'Judging by how berserk it is, it should smash through the frame glass on its own pretty soon,' Shen Wang said.

A flash of purple flickered through his eyes. He quietly subtracted five of the eight layers of glass he'd put up. Yep, the Phantom Butterfly was now ramming into the third layer.

'There's actually something I'm curious about.' After the deed was done, Shen Wang changed the subject.

Zhou Xiangzhe looked at him. 'What?'

'This place is a painting based on you... yeah, Lan said so.'

"Since your past is the blueprint, I saw the orphanage and this hospital too, so why wasn't there Yutang South City and the Grade S Contaminant [Deer God] that you killed?"

Shen Wang asked with curiosity, 'Isn't that a pretty big deal for you?'

Zhou Xiangzhe seemed not to have considered this kind of question before. After Shen Wang asked, he hesitated and just fell silent.

The S-level contaminant Deer God was the fearsome enemy that had made Zhou Xiangzhe's reputation. Zhou Xiangzhe had paid a lot to deal with it: difficulty using his talent, a Contamination Level that wouldn't go down, even changes in his appearance. That event had nearly upended his entire life.

Yet in this painting, not a single trace of anything related to the Deer God had appeared.

Wasn't that strange?

'Maybe it's not absent,' Zhou Xiangzhe said the words, but in truth even he wasn't sure. 'It's just hidden somewhere.'

'Hidden?'

"It's a Grade S born from the thousands of believers of the Deer God Cult. Each believer would devoutly offer their own body to it. Deer God is also a contaminant that exists mentally, so this makes it possible for it to occupy any believer's body and transfer itself."

'Back then, even locating it took enormous manpower. To pinpoint its position, the Anti-Contamination Center used a decoy plan — they sent people in to be deliberately contaminated and lure the Deer God into their own bodies.'

Shen Wang was curious. 'Did it work?'

'Of course not.' Zhou Xiangzhe shook his head. 'Those people who were contaminated all became its most devout believers.'

'Then how did you find it?'

Zhou Xiangzhe fell silent again.

Shen Wang caught on. He clicked his tongue. 'I get it. Another one of your 'sacrifice yourself for others' methods?'

'Not exactly,' Zhou Xiangzhe said. 'It's just that the Deer God also knew that contaminating and controlling one S-level mutant was a far better deal than contaminating thousands of ordinary people.'

People are profit-driven animals. A contaminant born from humans is naturally also a monster that chases after gains.

So, with just a hint of suggestion from Zhou Xiangzhe, it was tempted to try controlling an S-level mutant. After all, even if it failed, it could jump to another devotee. But what it didn't know was that Zhou Xiangzhe's talent was Devour, so once it entered Zhou Xiangzhe's body, there was no leaving again.

Those who chase profit ultimately fall because of it.

'Alright.' Shen Wang shrugged. 'It's all in the past anyway. Keep digging and it just gets annoying.'

Zhou Xiangzhe watched Shen Wang, a very faint trace of a smile in his golden eyes.

He actually really wanted Shen Wang to keep digging, because he could feel from those words that Shen Wang was worrying about him.

People always like being cared about — and of course he was no exception.

'Let's go to where the butterfly's hitting the wall. We can make contact right away,' Shen Wang said.

Zhou Xiangzhe watched as Shen Wang took a step forward. The black combat uniform that matched his own was lifted by the wind, flipping up the hem to reveal the same-color tightening layers underneath.

'Shen Wang.' He called his name.

Shen Wang stopped and turned his head to look at him, only to be met with an embrace.

Zhou Xiangzhe was very warm. He had a bit of a clean-freak streak, so his clothes were always clean. Unlike his cold appearance, he carried a warm, sun-like scent.

Zhou Xiangzhe thought: it might be terribly cliché, but I want to hold him.

'Shen Wang.' Zhou Xiangzhe called his name again.

'Xiao Shiwu, I missed you so much.'

Shen Wang felt the strength in Zhou Xiangzhe's embrace, and that coldness deep in his eyes gradually softened. His gaze was tinged with a warmth he hadn't felt in a long time.

He reached out and hugged back, completing the half-finished embrace.

'Mm. I know.'

...

On the other side, the butterfly finally smashed through the last layer of glass. It cautiously flew forward, only relaxing once it was sure there was no more glass ahead. The butterflies flipped up and down, lengthening and shortening their form, looking even more eerie.

It let out a distorted laugh, searching everywhere for Zhou Xiangzhe and Shen Wang's location.

'Where are they?!'

'Gotta stuff you back into the dream!'

'Can't wake up. No one wakes up from my dream!'

The Phantom Butterfly condensed into the shape of a person, but Zhou Xiangzhe was still an S-level mutant, and the painting based on him was enormous. In front of it were unfamiliar buildings everywhere. Searching like this, who knew how long it would take.

After a moment's hesitation, the Phantom Butterfly instantly dispersed. Countless butterflies flew off in all directions.

This was the best way to find them.

Every single butterfly was it. Once it found them, it could summon the other butterflies back and condense again.

All around were small pavilions, with buildings standing around them. The butterflies flew back and forth, but just then, crack — a clap of thunder rang out from the sky.

'Hm?' The Phantom Butterfly lifted its head to look at the sky.

The weather gradually darkened, the moisture in the air growing heavier. Within minutes, rain came pouring down. The butterfly wings grew heavy, their flight slower and slower, until finally they had to stop under anything that could shelter them from the rain.

But the Phantom Butterfly couldn't make sense of it.

'Why?'

'It's just ordinary rain, but it's affecting the butterfly flight?'

The Phantom Butterfly was an A-level contaminant that existed in spiritual form. All those butterflies were parasitic contaminants it controlled. In other words: the butterflies were a manifestation of its contamination.

Ordinary rain naturally wouldn't soak butterfly wings, let alone affect their flight.

But now, this rain was truly, actually affecting everything.

The Phantom Butterfly's heart sank. On instinct it felt something was wrong, but then again, what could be wrong?

"It's a contaminant of Mental Contamination. The moment something goes wrong, it can leave immediately, not getting hurt at all. Even a Grade S mutant could only choose to enter dreams to find it."

So, everything must be fine.

The Phantom Butterfly reassured itself, yet it felt increasingly restless and uneasy.

As an A-level contaminant that had entrenched itself in this contamination source for nearly twenty years, it had never encountered a contaminant of higher rank. So it didn't understand that this restlessness came from a contaminant's instinct — the most primal fear a prey animal feels toward its hunter.

The rain grew heavier, everything becoming drenched. The butterflies' wings stuck together as if coated in glue, unable to even tremble.

Boom — the thunder grew louder, and the sky darkened even more.

The Phantom Butterfly finally began to waver. It wanted to leave.

It controlled a single butterfly to fly out, but the moment it left the shelter of the pavilion and touched the rain, it let out a shriek.

The intense pain nearly made it pass out. The wings that touched the water might as well have been splashed with concentrated sulfuric acid — they corroded halfway in an instant.

'What is this?!' The Phantom Butterfly screamed in terror.

Through the rain came the sound of a bell tolling. The Phantom Butterfly whipped around toward the direction of the sound.

Nothing. Rain everywhere, no bell, no person. The rain poured down, and almost all the butterflies had been touched by water. They didn't even put up a fight — they were just stripped away by corrosion, leaving only charred-black traces in the rain.

'Dong, dong...'

The tolling grew closer and closer. The Phantom Butterfly kept trying to search, but found nothing.

'What are you?'

'Where are you?'

'What do you want?!'

The tolling continued, so loud it almost felt like even the Phantom Butterfly's nonexistent ears would burst and bleed. It wanted to charge into the rain, but before its eyes were butterflies corroded into black slag. It didn't dare move a muscle.

The bell tolling stopped. Before the Phantom Butterfly could even breathe a sigh of relief, what followed was the faint sound of thousands of overlapping prayers.

'This world is sinking into error. We are all greedy sinners.'

'The deity sends punishment. All humankind shall be homeless.'

'The world overturned, sun and moon out of order — only the great Deer God has appeared to shelter us!'

'Great Deer God! All-encompassing Deer God! Holy Deer God!'

The Phantom Butterfly stared into the rain. In the downpour, what seemed like human shapes were slowly approaching.

'Who are you?' The Phantom Butterfly wanted to hide, but everywhere was rain.

The rain formed a curtain, blocking all sight. In the blurry rain mist, all you could see were one shadow after another.

It couldn't see anything clearly.

'The Deer God comes to shelter, sprinkling rain that blesses all things. The Deer God comes to save the world, leaving shadows for people to revere.'

'All are the Deer God, and the Deer God is all.'

'And who are you? Why have you come to face the Deer God?'

The Phantom Butterfly could no longer stay still. Intense fear seized its mind. It quickly controlled one butterfly to endure the pain and crash into the rain curtain.

If it didn't leave now, it was going to die!

But even so, it couldn't escape. Golden threads pulled out from within the rain, each thread firmly binding onto its invisible, intangible soul. The Phantom Butterfly shrieked and struggled, but the threads only tightened, until butterfly wings were uniformly severed and fell.

'Ah!' The Phantom Butterfly screamed in pain. 'Let go of me, let go!'

'Heretic!'

'Impure faith is blasphemy against the Deer God!'

'Kill it!'

'No, we must redeem it. The Deer God never takes life. The Deer God is so merciful. It's alright; it will be redeemed by the Deer God.'

The Phantom Butterfly's eyes went wide. It watched helplessly as that golden thread drilled out of the rain and into the butterfly's skull, the colorful wings slowly dyed gold.

'No!'

Not far away, Shen Wang and Zhou Xiangzhe suddenly looked up, both turning their gazes toward the distant sky.

Shen Wang was the master of the painting, Zhou Xiangzhe its foundation, so they both sensed something wrong at the same time.

'What's going on?' Shen Wang frowned. 'Over there... it's raining?'

Zhou Xiangzhe was equally puzzled. 'It rains inside paintings too? I thought paintings were most vulnerable to rain.'

They exchanged a glance, their eyes cautious.

Shen Wang stared at the dark clouds for a moment. 'Zhou Xiangzhe, why is Yutang South City called Yutang South City?'

"Within the country, there are the Five Great Walls, each in a different direction. To preserve the original region's characteristics, they were named accordingly. Yutang South City got its 'rain' character because the High Wall at that location was once called 'Rain City'." At this, Zhou Xiangzhe frowned. "So Yutang South City is rainy year-round."

'...No way.'

Without lingering any longer, they immediately rushed toward where the rain was falling.

The moment they stepped out of that street, the scene before them rapidly switched. Rain came pouring down, instantly drenching their clothes through.

Shen Wang wiped the water from his face. 'Heavy rain.'

Zhou Xiangzhe's long silver hair was soaked and plastered together. He lifted his eyes to look ahead, his gaze sharp and cold.

Along with the sound of a new bell toll came the appearance of a coffin.

The coffin was faintly visible, displayed in the rain. It quickly filled with water, the raindrops smacking the surface and sending up ripples. Shen Wang wanted to go take a look, but Zhou Xiangzhe grabbed hold of him.

'Something's off,' Zhou Xiangzhe said. 'Don't go over there.'

Shen Wang looked at him. 'Why?'

'My talent — it's come back,' Zhou Xiangzhe said, frowning slightly.

Ever since devouring the Deer God, Zhou Xiangzhe had been unable to use his own talent. It had felt like a pipe completely clogged with mud. But now, he felt that pipe called talent seemed to have been cleared open just a little, to the point where he could barely make use of it.

This was definitely not a good thing.

Devour and the Deer God were a check on each other. Inside Zhou Xiangzhe's body, neither could destroy the other, so they could only remain deadlocked. Zhou Xiangzhe had become a living prison that held the Deer God captive, and the Deer God in turn made Zhou Xiangzhe's talent unusable.

Any slight change in that balance was a major event.

Shen Wang understood what Zhou Xiangzhe meant. He nodded and didn't keep walking forward. But the coffin gave off a noise.

First a bang — the coffin shook violently. Along with the shaking came screams and choking coughs.

'Let me out! Let me out!'

Shen Wang recognized it. Was this... the Phantom Butterfly's voice?

'Save me, save me!'

'Why didn't any of you notice — cough — I'm awake, I've always been awake!'

'Cough, cough, I'm still alive. I can hear you all talking. Don't give up on me!'

Zhou Xiangzhe understood a bit more than Shen Wang and quickly grasped what the Phantom Butterfly meant.

'An Heng, even though he was in a vegetative state, was most likely the kind of patient who could still feel and perceive the outside world but couldn't wake up.' Zhou Xiangzhe said, 'He lay in the hospital bed, fully aware that his family had abandoned him, that he'd been transferred to a hospice center, and yet he couldn't move a single finger.'

'It was under those circumstances that he came to see sleep as a terrifying thing, which is why he has this kind of Contamination Talent and obsessively drags his victims into dreams.'

Shen Wang imagined it: not asleep, but eyes shut, body completely immobile, hearing every sound, flesh rotting away on the bed until it stank, unable to send a signal even when in so much pain it felt like dying.

...More wretched than a paralytic.

Boom — a flash of lightning illuminated the entire rain curtain.

Only then did Shen Wang and Zhou Xiangzhe notice that behind the coffin stood countless human figures, shadowy forms standing in the rain, each one with hands clasped in a devout gesture.

Thousands of golden threads connected to the coffin, encasing it entirely.

The tolling of the bell drew nearer.

Zhou Xiangzhe's frown deepened. Soaked in the rain, he watched those figures. He was the one who had devoured the Deer God, so he knew these people standing in the rain intimately. His memory was so good, he could even recall where these victims had been standing three years ago, and to what degree they'd been controlled by the Deer God.

All the figures raised their heads in unison, their golden pupils reflecting the silhouettes of Shen Wang and Zhou Xiangzhe.

Shen Wang looked at them. 'Is this the Deer God in the painting?'

'No,' Zhou Xiangzhe shook his head. 'But the contamination on them is the same as the Deer God's.'

'The Deer God is very special. It was contaminated through faith and was born an S-level contaminant. Not just its believers — even statues, literature, and images give it power.'

As he spoke, Zhou Xiangzhe frowned more tightly. 'In a painting based on me, Deer God couldn't possibly not appear.'

So, in this particular form, the Deer God had leaked out a trace of its contamination, condensing within the painting to face Zhou Xiangzhe from afar.

The figures raised their hands, their golden eyes seeming to glow.

They shouted in unison —

'Deer God! Welcome back!'

'Deer God! The world needs you!'

'Deer God! Please have mercy on your children!'

It was just a trace of contamination given off by an S-level contaminant, yet at this moment it was far more eerie than any A-level contaminant Shen Wang had ever seen.

'The world doesn't need a monster like you,' Zhou Xiangzhe spoke.

The usually calm man's brows were now filled with ice. His expression was terrifying and distanced like frost on a cold mountain. The rain soaked his clothes, but only heightened the sense of danger around him.

'Get back.'

The figures didn't retreat. They didn't even stop their mouths. They kept their hands raised and continued shouting in chorus.

The look in Zhou Xiangzhe's eyes grew even more dangerous. He folded back his sleeve, revealing the silver chain on his wrist. He didn't remove them; he simply reached out his hand toward the figures.

The moment he clenched his hand, all the figures' chants came to an abrupt stop. They stood with hands raised, staring blankly into the sky.

A pitch-black ball-shaped thing with ears suddenly burst out of the ground, like a dolphin leaping out of the water. Only it wasn't playing — it swallowed every one of those shouting figures in a single gulp.

The black blob dropped back to the ground, its tail still wiggling outside.

Shen Wang: ...?

Shen Wang turned his head to look at Zhou Xiangzhe. Zhou Xiangzhe had quietly let out a small sigh of relief.

Zhou Xiangzhe hadn't used the Deer God's contamination. He hadn't even taken off his Contamination Suppressor. So this... was actually Zhou Xiangzhe's original talent.

S-level talent 'Devour', a... ball that can swallow up all low-level contaminants in one go.