The water in the spring began to glow with a faint golden light.
It was the residual energy left behind after the jade pendant had been absorbed; clumps of golden light swirled within the water.
When Ji Qingyan gently brushed the surface of the water, the golden current silently seeped into his body through his fingertips, rapidly transforming into warm spiritual energy that nourished his Dantian bit by bit.
"Hmm?"
He paused for a moment, then looked down at the water.
The spring, once crystal clear, now held a faint golden halo flowing deep within its source, and the spiritual qi contained in the spring water was several times denser than before. Just crouching down and breathing it in was enough to make someone feel refreshed and energized—something he hadn't even noticed while playing around in the water earlier.
He hesitantly dipped his hand into the spring.
A wave of pure energy flowed into his body through his palm, and his depleted Wood Attribute energy visibly recovered, going from exhausted to full in just a few breaths.
The withered Little Vine in his Dantian suddenly straightened. Its previously drooping branches unfurled and swayed gently.
"This water... its effects have become stronger." Ji Qingyan was somewhat surprised.
Hearing that, Gu Jinfeng crouched down as well and put his hand into the spring.
A faint ice-blue light flickered across his palm, and his remaining internal injuries healed rapidly under the influence of the spiritual energy, gradually restoring color to his pale face.
After a while, he withdrew his hand, looked up at Ji Qingyan, and regarded him calmly.
"The jade pendant shattered, and all its energy fused into the spiritual spring." There was a deeper meaning in the gaze he directed at Ji Qingyan. "I suspect the contract was triggered by our blood."
Ji Qingyan was startled.
He remembered the blood dripping from Gu Jinfeng's lips while he was unconscious, falling drop by drop into the spiritual spring.
He lowered his head to look at his hand, which had been scraped by the stone steps when he was exhausted. The wound no longer hurt, but a faint red mark remained.
So the blood of two people had dripped together into the spiritual spring, activating the power of the contract sealed inside the jade pendant.
What was he supposed to say?
What a coincidence!
Or should he say—
It was all fate.
Gu Jinfeng tried hard to hold back his laughter, glanced at Ji Qingyan, and remained silent. But that barely restrained laughter traveled through the soul link like a tiny electric current, tickling Ji Qingyan and making him even more irritated.
The silence dragged on.
Ji Qingyan suddenly raised his head, his gaze sharp. "You don't seem surprised at all by where we are."
Gu Jinfeng's eyes were expressionless, and the corner of his mouth twitched slightly, though the curve was barely noticeable.
"I've been able to guess a few things about you since the first time I saw you."
Ji Qingyan frowned slightly, his thoughts returning to their first encounter at the back gate of the hospital.
At the time, he had felt that this man seemed to know something, and sure enough, his sixth sense had been frighteningly accurate.
"You were staring at my hand then..."
"Yes," Gu Jinfeng said calmly. "You were protecting that nurse... I saw you suddenly holding a knife in your hand!"
Ji Qingyan's pupils narrowed slightly. The situation had been chaotic, and he had thought no one would notice that detail.
"You..." Ji Qingyan's Adam's apple bobbed, his voice slightly tense.
"From the moment you protected the nurse behind you and drew your scalpel," Gu Jinfeng stared straight into his eyes, "you were a doctor who, when faced with zombies, didn't scream or run. You picked up a knife instead. I haven't met many people like that."
"So?"
"So when I met you again at the Treasure Pavilion and saw the green Dao light on the jade pendant when you touched it, I knew it was you."
The corners of Gu Jinfeng's lips curved slightly, but the smile never reached his eyes. "You have a spatial ability, and it's not some ordinary space."
Ji Qingyan fell silent.
He had to admit that the man in front of him possessed incredibly sharp powers of observation.
Although he had thought he had hidden his cards well, his opponent already knew most of his tricks.
"What about you?" he countered, his tone slightly probing as he fixed his gaze intently on Gu Jinfeng's expression. "The first time we met, you appeared alone at the back door of the hospital and happened to save us. The second time, you were at the Treasure Pavilion, conveniently in the exact place where I retrieved my jade pendant. Gu Jinfeng, are you really just a passerby who happened to be a survivor?"
Gu Jinfeng remained expressionless.
He reached into the inner pocket of his jacket, took out a waterproof ID holder, and handed it over.
Ji Qingyan took it and opened it.
The ID photo showed Gu Jinfeng with a cold, stern expression. The insignia on his shoulder made Ji Qingyan's pupils tremble slightly.
【Chinese People's Liberation Army Special Operations Command】 【Major Gu Jinfeng】 【Code Name: Netherworld】 【Affiliation: Netherworld Special Forces Captain】
Tucked inside the documents was a yellowed transfer order, its edges worn and frayed, clearly examined countless times.
The transfer order stated:
【Special Mission: Major Gu Jinfeng will lead the Third Unit of the Netherworld Brigade to Yun City to carry out the 'Panshi Project'—escort core research personnel and vital supplies to the strategic 'Dawn' shelter in the north before the apocalyptic crisis fully erupts.】
The transfer order had been issued three days ago.
"The Panshi Project?" Ji Qingyan looked up.
"The zombie virus didn't just appear out of nowhere." Gu Jinfeng took his ID card, slipped it back against his chest, and spoke in a deep, calm voice, as though recounting a secret buried long ago.
"Three months ago, the military detected cases of zombification in a remote area, but the news was suppressed. Fearing panic, the higher-ups secretly developed countermeasures, but made little progress." Gu Jinfeng looked at the water, drew a deep breath, and continued, "The 'Panshi Project' was launched on the first day of the heavy rain, with the goal of evacuating as many personnel and vital supplies as possible before the situation became uncontrollable."
"So you were carrying out your final orders."
"Yes." Gu Jinfeng nodded. "My mission was to escort three core virologists from the Yun City Research Institute north to Dawn. But by the time I arrived at the institute, it was already too late—the entire building had been swallowed by a horde of zombies, and all three were dead."
His tone was flat, as though he were talking about something unrelated to himself. But Ji Qingyan noticed that the fingers of his clenched fists tightened slightly, and his knuckles turned white.
"That's why you were at the hospital." Ji Qingyan suddenly understood. "You were looking for other potential researchers?"
"I suppose so." He nodded slightly, his gaze resting on Ji Qingyan with a hint of approval. "But I didn't expect to meet a doctor who possessed a space containing a spiritual spring."
"But why were you at the Treasure Pavilion?" Ji Qingyan asked curiously.
"After leaving the hospital, I was just looking for somewhere to change clothes. But one unexpected thing after another happened, and I ended up here." Gu Jinfeng smiled, as though there were a hint of teasing in his voice.
So it really had only been a coincidence.
But what the hell was with this bad luck?
He looked up and was startled to find Gu Jinfeng staring at him with deep, tranquil eyes.
Those eyes were like bottomless pools, calm on the surface while concealing something indescribable and indistinct beneath.
He looked at him for no more than two seconds, yet his heart began pounding for no apparent reason.
A faint flush appeared on his handsome ears, and he almost immediately turned his face away.
Gu Jinfeng found his reaction rather amusing. He said nothing, merely leaned to the side with his arms crossed, looking relaxed as he waited for Ji Qingyan to slowly digest the information.
The military's existence, the premonition of the apocalypse, the "Panshi Project," and Dawn Base—these fragments of information rapidly connected in his mind, like pieces of a puzzle coming together, finally forming an apocalyptic chessboard far larger than he had ever imagined.
This country and its military had already taken action while everyone else remained in the dark.
After remaining silent for a long while, Ji Qingyan drew a deep breath, suppressed the turmoil in his heart, and looked at Gu Jinfeng. "Weren't you leading a mission? Where are your team members?"
At that, Gu Jinfeng sighed softly. "We didn't expect the zombie virus to spread so quickly. By the time we realized the situation was out of control, it was already too late. So I arranged for my comrades to escort the supplies back to Dawn Base first."
"So... Dawn Base was built by the military?" he asked.
"Yes," Gu Jinfeng said. "Right now, Dawn is the largest shelter in the north. It has the main military forces, research teams, and supplies. You could say it's humanity's greatest hope for survival at present."
"So you'll be heading north to Dawn Base next."
"My mission isn't finished." As Gu Jinfeng said this, his gaze settled on Ji Qingyan's handsome face, the young man's reflection visible in his deep eyes.
"But now, there's one more task."
"What?"
"To get you safely to Dawn."
Ji Qingyan was silent for a moment, then frowned. "How can you be so sure I'll go with you?"
"Where else can you go if you don't come with me?"
Gu Jinfeng stood up and bent slightly to look at Ji Qingyan, bringing their faces very close together.
He raised his hand and naturally brushed aside the wet strands of hair clinging to Ji Qingyan's forehead. His fingertips accidentally touched the hot lobe of Ji Qingyan's ear.
The touch felt slightly cool, but it made Ji Qingyan freeze as though someone had struck a pressure point.
"A-Yan, the Soul Contract has bound us together."
Gu Jinfeng's voice was very soft, and every word rang clearly in Ji Qingyan's ears.
"We now share a single life. I can't let you go off alone. We have no choice."
Ji Qingyan: "..."
He wanted to argue, but found himself at a loss for words.
Because Gu Jinfeng was right.
They were bound together.
Life and death, honor and disgrace, fate—from that moment on, everything had become intertwined, never to be separated again.
Instinctively, he wanted to turn his face away. His heart was filled with a tangle of emotions, burning with conflicting feelings. The faint flush that had just faded returned to his ears, which felt as though they were on fire, and even his heartbeat became irregular.
He heard his own heartbeat, and he heard Gu Jinfeng's heartbeat too.
Two hearts, beating at the same frequency.