Two or Three Events in the Last Days 039-2
Chapter 39 Part 2 of 3
The three families wished each other good night before parting. Jing Lin led the sleepy Le Le home, the little one rubbing his eyes the whole way. Duckie faithfully waddled along at his feet, while Croakie had once again disappeared somewhere in search of food and hadn’t been seen for several days.
After returning home, Jing Lin heated water for a bath, only to find Le Le already asleep on the sofa. He reluctantly woke him, gave him a bath, then filled a basin with cold water so Duckie could bathe as well. Only after both little ones had been cleaned up did Jing Lin finally wash himself.
After returning to his room, Jing Lin didn’t begin cultivating immediately for the first time. Instead, he drew several basic attack formations. No matter how busy he had been each day, he had never neglected meditation or practicing talisman drawing. The talisman strokes that had once felt awkward now flowed with familiarity.
The attack formation Jing Lin drew had also evolved from the spirit gathering formation. It transformed the spiritual qi within the formation into weapons for offense and was called the Minor Sword Formation. Because it was only a basic array, it couldn’t incorporate the formation master’s conscious intent. As a result, any living thing that entered the Minor Sword Formation—whether human, animal, or plant—would be attacked indiscriminately. The formation wasn’t particularly powerful. It could injure people but wouldn’t kill them. If the target’s strength exceeded that of the formation, the weapons formed from spiritual qi couldn’t harm them, rendering the attack ineffective.
Since they were heading into the mountains the next day, Jing Lin decided that simply drawing several Minor Sword Formation talismans wasn’t enough. He also wanted to prepare several basic defensive formations.
There were two types of basic defensive formations. One used talisman paper as a medium, assisted by specific footwork, and was little different from how Jing Lin had set up the spirit gathering array. The other relied on drawing talismans directly in mid-air.
Jing Lin first drew several defensive formation talismans before beginning to draw talismans in mid-air.
This was Jing Lin’s second attempt. He had already cultivated the Initial Movement chapter of the cultivation method to the tenth level. Once he broke through this stage, he would advance into the Heaven and Earth chapter.
He pointed a finger at an empty space, and spiritual qi began gathering at his fingertip. This time there wasn’t the overwhelming resistance or suffocating sense of danger he’d experienced before. Following the talisman strokes, he slowly guided the spiritual qi with his finger.
It felt as though his hand had plunged into a mass of sticky liquid, making every movement incredibly difficult. Soon, fine beads of sweat covered Jing Lin’s forehead, and his hand trembled uncontrollably. Before him, a transparent talisman shimmering with flowing light was already more than halfway complete. It needed only one final stroke.
Two or Three Events in the Last Days (TELD) is translated by Betwixted Translations. The site you’re reading this chapter on stole our translation.
Jing Lin felt he was reaching his limit, but he didn’t want to give up with success so close. Without realizing it, he began circulating the tenth level of the cultivation method. The mass of qi at the center of his forehead spun rapidly, drawing in another surge of surrounding spiritual qi. It rushed through his meridians, colliding and coursing throughout his body. The sudden, intense pain nearly disrupted his breathing.
Yet even as his body screamed in pain, strength returned to his fingertips. Delighted, Jing Lin subconsciously closed his eyes. Darkness filled his vision for only an instant before everything became bright again. He saw the nearly completed transparent talisman floating before him, constantly shifting as streams of qi flowed through it. Fine threads extended from every stroke of the talisman, firmly grasping the surrounding spiritual qi. Jing Lin continued tracing the remaining strokes. The moment he completed the talisman, he saw that the rapidly spinning mass of qi between his brows had vanished. In its place remained a pool of pure white, viscous liquid.
He had broken through the Initial Movement stage and advanced into the Heaven and Earth chapter of the cultivation method!
Jing Lin examined himself and found that his meridians seemed to have widened. Even without actively circulating the cultivation method, spiritual qi still flowed gently through them. If his meridians continued being nourished by spiritual qi over the years, then even if the process was slow, even if he stopped cultivating altogether, a long life and freedom from illness would only be a matter of time. Just as he was studying the changes intently, an image of his backyard suddenly appeared in his mind. Startled, he then saw the scene shift beyond his courtyard wall. Outside the illusion formation he had set up, a little mouse was running in circles before Croakie’s tongue suddenly shot out from nowhere, wrapped around it, pulled it into its mouth, and swallowed it whole. Croakie squatted there for a moment before hopping away.
So Croakie actually ate mice. Its mutated tastes were certainly unusual. But what interested Jing Lin more was how he could clearly see both the courtyard and the area outside while remaining inside his room. Could this be related to his recent breakthrough into the Heaven and Earth chapter? This unique perspective resembled the legendary divine sense.
Jing Lin immediately experimented further. He soon confirmed that it really was divine sense. However, it had only just awakened, so its range was still very limited. He could see only a small portion of the backyard, and the reason he could see beyond the courtyard wall was that the wall of his bedroom and the courtyard wall lay in the same direction. The total area he could perceive extended no more than three meters in every direction from himself.
Even so, Jing Lin considered it an excellent ability. As long as he wished, he could activate his divine sense at any moment. It was like carrying a personal surveillance system wherever he went. For traveling outside, this was genuine protection.
After testing his divine sense, Jing Lin finally turned his attention back to the defensive void* talisman that still floated before him.
*because it was drawn in mid-air, or in empty space, in a void. Basically, paperless talisman
Two or Three Events in the Last Days (TELD) is translated by Betwixted Translations. The site you’re reading this chapter on stole our translation.
The void talisman itself formed a self-contained, miniature defensive formation. Though only a small talisman, every line contained complete formation nodes and a formation core. Jing Lin took the void talisman with his left hand and pressed it against the palm of his right. The talisman immediately disappeared into his hand, but he could clearly sense a hidden power resting within his palm.
This was the greatest advantage of void talismans. They could be drawn anytime and anywhere without the need to set up an elaborate formation. Once completed, all it took was a tap. Unless the talisman’s power encountered something stronger than itself and collapsed, it would remain with its owner wherever they went.
After some thought, Jing Lin began drawing a second void talisman. Following his breakthrough, drawing them had become much easier. He quickly completed another one. When he attempted a third, however, he ran out of stamina. Halfway through, his concentration faltered, and the talisman collapsed. Jing Lin didn’t mind. He placed the completed talisman by the bedside, intending to finish two more the next morning.
Accomplishing two major breakthroughs in a single night left him somewhat tired, but it did nothing to diminish his good mood. He quickly fell asleep.
The next day, after a restful night’s sleep and his usual morning meditation, Jing Lin smoothly completed the remaining two void talismans in one continuous effort. That made exactly four defensive talismans—one for each of them.
When everyone gathered to depart, dawn had only just begun to break. The group walked quietly down the road carrying all kinds of improvised weapons for self-defense. A few people yawned repeatedly, clearly still short on sleep. It was a sizable group. Jing Lin counted; there were exactly twenty people.
According to Tang Yunyan, Mimi had grown to the size of a tiger. There were three mountains surrounding the village, so the twenty volunteers split into three groups to search each mountain’s base for tracks left by either a large animal or a child.
While Ma Chunzheng was dividing everyone into groups, Jing Lin quietly called the other three aside. None of them were left-handed, so he asked them all to hold out their right hands.
Although none of them understood why, they obediently did as instructed. Jing Lin then took the three void talismans from his pocket and, as though performing a simple ritual, pressed one onto each person’s hand.
Zhao Zhiwen’s eyes widened. He repeatedly turned his palm over before whispering, “What is this?”
Jing Lin replied, “Something that might save your life.”
“It feels like I’m living in a magical world,” Yan Lu said. In her eyes, Jing Lin was the extraordinary magician who had brought them into it.
Feeling the hidden power in his hand, Yan Fei looked at Jing Lin and couldn’t help saying, “You look especially handsome like this.”
Because Yan Fei had also persisted in practicing talisman drawing, he understood that even with extraordinary talent, Jing Lin could only have reached this level through countless hours of hard work. That realization captivated him all the more, making it even harder to tear his gaze away from Jing Lin.
Yan Lu couldn’t help laughing quietly. So this was what her brother looked like when he was speaking words of affection to someone. Jing Lin, meanwhile, blushed from embarrassment, unable to understand why things had suddenly become so awkward. Only Zhao Zhiwen, with his usual simple-mindedness, saw Yan Lu laughing and joined in with a goofy grin of his own.
“What are you all doing over there?” Ma Chunzheng called after finishing the group assignments.
“Nothing,” Yan Fei answered. “Just giving each other a few words of encouragement.”
Ma Chunzheng didn’t question it further. He handed Yan Fei a piece of red cloth and instructed him to wave it if they encountered any trouble. The other search teams would come immediately if they saw the signal. After reminding everyone to be careful, he led his own group away. Jing Lin’s team, which also included Li Feiyu, Gao Changhui, and Ma Chunjian, the seven of them set off toward another mountain.
The harvested rice paddies were covered with small bundles of yellow straw, making the surrounding landscape feel especially open. As they drew closer to the mountain, the roadside vegetation that had never been cleared grew increasingly dense. Looking up, they couldn’t even see the tops of the towering trees. Standing beneath the massive roots, everyone felt incredibly small.
Two or Three Events in the Last Days (TELD) is translated by Betwixted Translations. The site you’re reading this chapter on stole our translation.
“Look over there, there’s blood,” Li Feiyu said, pointing into the distance.
Gao Changhui couldn’t help saying, “Feiyu, are you seeing things? Weren’t you nearsighted? That’s pretty far away. Can you really see that clearly?”
Li Feiyu scratched the back of his head and smiled. “I used to be. But a while ago, every time I put on my glasses, my head started aching, so I stopped wearing them. Somehow, my eyesight actually became even better than before.”
Jing Lin spread out his divine sense and found no unusual movement nearby, so he took the lead in walking over. Sure enough, there were tiny spots of blood on a blade of grass. They were so subtle that even a careful search might have missed them. Everyone immediately turned to look at Li Feiyu.
Ma Chunjian said, “Feiyu, did you mutate like the animals too?”
Li Feiyu protested, “I don’t think ‘mutated’ is a good word for humans. I’d rather call it a physical evolution.”
“It’s basically the same thing,” Ma Chunjian said. Truthfully, he was a little envious. Every mutated animal and plant had become stronger without exception, and Li Feiyu’s eyesight had improved. He wished something good would happen to him too.
Jing Lin asked, “On your way here, did you meet anyone else with changes like Feiyu’s? Any kind of changes?”
Ma Chunjian shook his head. “No. Even if there were, I doubt they’d reveal it before the situation became clear.”
Li Feiyu said, “Aiyah, does that mean I’ve exposed myself?”
Ma Chunjian teased him, “Yep. If some crazy doctor who likes experimenting on human bodies shows up in the future, I’ll tell him to come catch you!”
To his surprise, Li Feiyu actually turned pale with fright. Ma Chunjian quickly admitted he was joking.
“Hey, bro, I was kidding! Don’t worry. If anyone ever tried to capture you, I’d be the first one to stop them. I was just messing with you!”
Li Feiyu looked like he was on the verge of tears.
At that moment, Yan Fei took out the red cloth and waved it. After a while, the other two search teams could be seen heading toward them.
“What did you find?” Ma Chunzheng asked.
Jing Lin showed him the blood on the blade of grass. Ma Chunzheng scraped it gently with the tip of his knife and found that it had already dried. At the very least, that proved the blood had been there for some time.
Since it hadn’t rained, there were no footprints left behind. Apart from those few drops of blood, they found no other traces. They couldn’t be certain Mimi had passed through there, but if they were going into the mountains, the blood at least provided a direction. Everyone unanimously decided to enter the mountains from that point.
Words from the Translation Crew
Miiya: Two of two for the week.
Pinned note: Chapters 38-47 (except 45) are almost 3times in length.
Translator: Miiya
Editor: MushroomKnight73
Proofreader: Yume
Avid BL reader, editor, and translator with 1 story completed (CLWP) and 1 story in progress (TELD). Support this translation with a Ko-fi. Three Ko-fis will add an extra chapter from the stockpile to the next weekly release.
