After nine lifetimes of reincarnation, I returned to the desolate ancient continent.

The next morning, Gu Qingxuan was woken up by his phone alarm.

When he opened his eyes, it was just dawn. A sliver of grayish-white sunlight peeked through the gap in the curtains, and he could hear the sound of electric scooters passing by outside. The breakfast stalls downstairs were already serving customers, and the fried dough sticks made a series of soft crackling sounds as they were being fried.

Everything was the same as usual.

If the ghostly attack last night hadn't felt so real, Gu Qingxuan would have almost suspected that it was just another vivid dream.

He sat up and raised his hand to press his right eye.

There was no burning sensation, and nothing unusual.

But the feeling that "something is sleeping inside" was even clearer than yesterday.

Gu Qingxuan remained silent for a while, then lifted the covers, got out of bed, and went to the bathroom to wash up.

My reflection in the mirror showed a pale face and faint dark circles under my eyes, as if I hadn't rested well. But compared to the exhaustion I felt a few days ago, drained by dreams, I felt a strange sense of clarity today.

It's like a tiny light being quietly lit up somewhere inside your body.

He stared at the mirror for a few seconds, making sure the bloodstain hadn't reappeared, before turning and leaving.

Chen Ye was already awake and was sitting at the small table in the living room, eating a steamed bun. His computer was on, and there was an unfinished coding assignment on the screen.

"You're up so early today?" Chen Ye looked up at him, a hint of surprise in his voice. "Are you better?"

"About the same." Gu Qingxuan walked over and took a steamed bun from the plastic bag. "What time did you get up?"

"Seven o'clock," Chen Ye mumbled, biting into a steamed bun. "I thought you were going to have to take the day off again today."

Gu Qingxuan shook his head: "I won't invite you anymore. If I invite you again, I'll really get killed."

Chen Ye clicked his tongue: "So you're afraid of getting caught, huh?"

Gu Qingxuan didn't reply, but instead took a bite of the bun. The steam and the aroma of the meat filling spread in his mouth, giving him a long-lost sense of peace.

After breakfast, the two went out together.

The stairwells in the old apartment building were still as cramped and crowded as ever, with peeling paint on the walls and crumbling handrails. The aunt next door was picking vegetables at the door. When she saw them coming downstairs, she casually greeted them, "Little Gu, you look better today than yesterday."

Gu Qingxuan paused, then forced a smile: "Yeah, I feel much better after a nap."

The aunt nodded and then bent down to pick her green beans.

This seemingly ordinary greeting brought a slight sense of relief to Gu Qingxuan.

At least in the eyes of normal people, he still looks "normal".

On his way to school, Gu Qingxuan kept a watchful eye on his surroundings.

GG screen, glass shop window, rearview mirror of a car parked on the side of the road.

But it was very quiet the whole way.

There were no cracks, no snowflakes, and no feeling of being watched through another world by something.

It was as if everything that happened yesterday had only briefly stirred up a ripple in some corner he could see.

The morning classes were as boring as ever.

Advanced mathematics, professional foundation, and experimental arrangement.

The teacher was writing on the blackboard, the chalk making a screeching sound as it scribbled across the board. Some students in the back row were secretly sleeping, while others in the front row were taking notes. Chen Ye sat next to him, occasionally scribbling a formula on a piece of scrap paper.

Gu Qingxuan also had his textbook open, pen in hand, but his gaze would often drift involuntarily to the window.

Sunlight fell on the row of camphor trees in front of the teaching building, and when the wind blew, the light shimmered like scattered gold.

Very normal.

It was so normal that it gave him a strong sense of disconnect.

One is a blackboard, formulas, attendance records, and credits.

One is a crack, a dream, a jade pendant, and a wandering soul.

Unfortunately, these two worlds are now forcibly superimposed on each other.

When class ended at noon, Chen Ye patted him on the shoulder: "Let's go eat."

Gu Qingxuan wanted to refuse, but he swallowed his words and only hummed in agreement.

He can't separate himself too much from his daily life right now.

Especially in times like these, you should try to look like an ordinary student.

The afternoon classes didn't end until 5 p.m.

A stream of people poured out of the teaching building, noisily dispersing towards the school gate and the cafeteria. Gu Qingxuan packed his schoolbag and stood at the bottom of the stairs for a while.

He recalled Xia Zhiwei's words from last night.

Come find me here after school tomorrow.

He took out his phone, glanced at the white carp avatar, paused his fingertip on the screen for two seconds, but ultimately didn't send a message and walked straight out of the school.

The old street is still the same old street as yesterday.

Lanterns, narrow alleys, hardware stores, and iron gates with faded Spring Festival couplets.

When Gu Qingxuan stood in front of the door, his heart skipped a beat for no apparent reason.

He raised his hand, just as he was about to knock, when the door opened from the inside.

Xia Zhiwei stood behind the door, as if she had known he would come at this time.

"Come in." She stepped aside.

Gu Qingxuan walked in and found two white porcelain cups already on the table, one of which was emitting a faint steam.

"Did you know I was coming?" he asked.

"If you hadn't come, you'd most likely have been targeted again tonight," Xia Zhiwei said calmly. "So I guess you wouldn't risk your life."

Gu Qingxuan was momentarily speechless.

Xia Zhiwei glanced at him and gestured for him to sit down on the wooden chair.

"Yesterday you drew energy into your body, but the energy leaked out, which is why the wandering spirit targeted you," she said. "Today, let's not learn anything else; let's learn how to collect that energy."

Gu Qingxuan frowned: "Put it away?"

"Hmm." Xia Zhiwei nodded. "When spiritual energy first enters the body, it's like a newly lit lamp. Once the lamp is lit, things in the darkness will naturally look over. What you need to learn now is to first cover this lamp with a protective layer."

Her explanation wasn't complicated, and Gu Qingxuan understood it.

"How do I do it?"

Xia Zhiwei turned to the back pages of the book "Qi-Inducing Techniques" and pointed it out to him.

"Yesterday you learned how to guide the Qi, today you're learning how to gather the Qi. The methods are similar, the difference is that you're shifting your focus from extending your consciousness outwards to pressing it inwards."

Gu Qingxuan looked down.

Those pages had even fewer words than the previous ones, but many more annotations along the sides, densely packed with phrases like "Don't rush," "Better slow than chaotic," and "A chaotic mind dissipates energy."

"Close your eyes first," Xia Zhiwei said.

Gu Qingxuan did as instructed.

"Find that wisp of energy you left in your dantian yesterday."

Gu Qingxuan slowed his breathing and his consciousness gradually sank into his lower abdomen.

The feeling was strange, like groping in a quiet darkness. After about ten seconds, he vaguely sensed a faint coolness, quietly resting deep in his dantian, like a tiny speck of light.

"Found it," he said.

"Don't touch it." Xia Zhiwei's voice came from the other side, clear and steady. "Just feel it. Then imagine yourself gathering the energy that has spread out around it back little by little."

Gu Qingxuan did as instructed.

There was no response at first.

But slowly, he could feel the faint spiritual energy within his body being gently suppressed by an unseen force, and the originally loose and overflowing feeling gradually sank back.

This process is more difficult than induction.

Drawing in air is like catching a wisp of wind from the outside.

The act of gathering one's breath is like pressing a handful of scattered smoke back into the palm of one's hand.

In less than five minutes, Gu Qingxuan's forehead was covered in sweat.

"Don't rush," Xia Zhiwei said. "It's normal that you can't collect everything yet. If you can collect 30% today, you'll pass the test."

Gu Qingxuan gritted his teeth and continued to press down.

Half an hour later, he opened his eyes, his face already pale.

"How is it?" His voice was hoarse.

Xia Zhiwei looked up at him for a moment, then nodded: "It's better than I expected."

"How much was taken back?"

"About 40%."

Gu Qingxuan was taken aback.

Xia Zhiwei added, unusually, "For the first time doing this, it's not slow."

Upon hearing this, Gu Qingxuan felt a slight relaxation in the tension that had been building up inside him.

"Will anything be watching me tonight?"

"I can't guarantee it won't be as obvious as it was yesterday," Xia Zhiwei said, "but at least it won't be as obvious as it was yesterday."

She paused, then added, "Starting today, you will practice twice a day. Once to guide your Qi, and once to gather it. Don't try to do too much at once; build a solid foundation first."

Gu Qingxuan nodded and wrote all of this down.

The room was quiet for a moment.

It was already dark outside the window, and the sounds of people coming from near and far could be heard on the old street, with the occasional sound of bicycle bells passing through the alleyway.

Gu Qingxuan, holding the booklet, suddenly asked, "Xia Zhiwei."

"Um?"

"You said yesterday that those who have their eyes on you won't let go of those standing beside you." He looked up at her. "So, have you been doing this all these years?"

Xia Zhiwei remained silent for a few seconds.

"Pretty much," she said.

"one person?"

This time she remained silent for even longer.

Gu Qingxuan thought she wouldn't answer.

"It wasn't like that before," she finally said.

Gu Qingxuan's heart stirred slightly, and he wanted to ask again, but Xia Zhiwei had already changed the subject.

"That's enough for today." She stood up and pushed the white porcelain cup on the table toward him. "Drink your water before you go."

Gu Qingxuan lowered his head and took a sip.

The water was warm, with a faint, slightly bitter, herbal taste, but it surprisingly calmed me down as it went down into my stomach.

As he put down the cup, a soft "snap" sound suddenly came from the alley outside.

It looked like something had fallen to the ground.

The two looked up at the same time.

Xia Zhiwei's gaze instantly turned cold.

At that moment, Gu Qingxuan also felt that the air outside the door seemed to suddenly become heavier.

It wasn't the chilling malice of the wandering ghost from last night.

It's a lighter, fainter, yet instinctively uncomfortable feeling of being watched.

Xia Zhiwei raised her hand, signaling him not to move.

The next second, a very light footstep came from outside the door.

Not fast, not slow.

It looked like someone deliberately moved quietly, pacing back and forth around the doorway.

Gu Qingxuan's breathing became slightly sluggish, and his fingertips unconsciously tightened.

He saw a faint white light appear on Xia Zhiwei's palm.

But the footsteps only stopped for two seconds before slowly fading away.

The alleyway returned to quiet.

It was as if nothing had happened.

Gu Qingxuan stared at the door and asked in a low voice, "What's that?"

Xia Zhiwei did not answer immediately.

She looked out the door, her gaze gradually darkening.

"I don't know," she said, "but starting today, things might be a little more complicated than I originally thought."

Gu Qingxuan's heart tightened.

"Is it aimed at me, or at you?"

Xia Zhiwei turned and glanced at him. "Dividing this up is pointless now."

She paused.

"Go back first. Tonight, no matter what you hear or see, don't open the door without permission, and don't be reckless."

Gu Qingxuan nodded.

He paused again as he reached the door.

"What about tomorrow?"

"Classes will proceed as usual tomorrow," Xia Zhiwei said. "We'll continue in the evening."

She looked at him, her tone still calm, but more serious than yesterday.

"From now on, you really don't have much time to gradually adapt."

Gu Qingxuan didn't say anything more, but hugged the book "Qi-Inducing Technique" tighter, turned around and walked into the night in the alley.

A breeze blew from the end of the old street, and the lanterns swayed gently.

He suddenly had a feeling.

Yesterday, only a small crack appeared.

And today, what's behind that crack has begun to try to get really close to them.