Reunion

The night wind blew past, and the white cloth swayed in the breeze.

Chen Guan didn't look back.

He knew why they were uneasy.

When a man comes back alive and sees the memorial area that others had prepared for him, that's a scene that's hard to smooth over anywhere.

But for Chen Guan, it wasn't all that strange.

The first time he came to this world, his body was already lying in a coffin.

Death had never been his endpoint.

His phone buzzed again. Chen Guan glanced down.

This time it was Su Yuehe.

[I've reached out to An Changqing. He didn't reply, but he saw it.]

Chen Guan stared at the line of text.

Then, another message from An Changqing popped up on the screen.

Only three words.

[Don't move.]

Chen Guan stopped in his tracks. Seeing him stop, Wang Hanyue leaned over to take a look, and his expression instantly turned complicated.

"Chairman An's tone... sounds like he's coming back to drag you out?"

Chen Guan typed a reply.

[I'm at the school. Not moving.]

After the message was sent, An Changqing didn't reply again.

But a location-sharing request suddenly appeared at the top of the phone.

From: An Changqing.

Chen Guan looked at the request and tapped accept.

The next second.

On the screen, it showed An Changqing was 13,720 kilometers away.

Then 13,680 kilometers.

13,590 kilometers.

The distance was shrinking at a terrifying speed.

Chen Guan watched the jumping numbers, and his eyelid twitched.

"What is he doing?"

Wang Hanyue saw it too, and the metal staff in his hand nearly slipped.

"He's not coming all the way back from the Northern Border, is he?"

Baal let out an admiring whistle in the spiritual space.

"Is he on a plane? If this is pure manual effort, is that how he's using the Shifting Stars technique? That kid's going all out."

Hearing Baal's voice, Chen Guan directly called An Changqing's voice line.

It rang for a long time. No one picked up.

He messaged Su Yuehe again.

[Tell him not to recklessly use his ability to rush back.]

Su Yuehe replied quickly.

[Can't stop him.]

Chen Guan looked at those three words, his brows slightly furrowed.

An Changqing was always calm.

When a calm person makes an impulsive decision, it usually means things have crossed the line.

Chen Guan put away his phone and said to Wang Hanyue, "Go tell Professor Situ that An Changqing is using the Shifting Stars technique to return to campus."

Wang Hanyue's face changed. He turned and ran.

"I'm on it!"

Chen Guan looked at the location.

The distance had already shrunk to 13,200 kilometers.

Even for An Changqing, continuous long-distance teleportation was a massive strain on both body and mind—especially since the Northern Border was a temporary warzone with unstable spatial conditions. One wrong coordinate and he could be flung straight into the middle of a beast tide.

Chen Guan turned and walked toward the academy's spatial formation platform.

Huaqing Academy had a fixed teleportation array, but the Northern Border was a special case—the platform wasn't open to the public, making direct connections difficult.

Still, since An Changqing was rushing back, his final landing point would most likely be the academy's outer spatial anchor.

Halfway there, his phone buzzed again.

This time it was Long Ao, finally replying to his message.

[I'm with him.]

Chen Guan answered.

[Hold him back.]

Long Ao took a few seconds before replying.

[Tried. Didn't work.]

Two seconds later.

[I'm being dragged along too.]

Chen Guan looked at that line and fell silent for a moment, picturing the look on Long Ao's face right now.

Baal laughed with pure mischief.

"Now that's what I call brothers in arms—one wants to die, and the other gets dragged along for the ride."

Chen Guan quickened his pace.

The spatial formation platform at Huaqing Academy was in the eastern district, normally used for inter-school mission coordination. After nightfall it was sealed, with only a few duty instructors left on guard.

When Chen Guan arrived, Situ Ming was already there.

The old man had his coat draped over his shoulders, still holding the pen he hadn't put down, his expression far more worried than before.

These young geniuses—not a single one of them knew how to take it easy.

At the center of the platform, seven silver pillars lit up one by one.

Spatial coordinates flickered continuously.

One of the instructors monitoring the instruments spoke, voice tense. "The target is approaching, but his coordinates are unstable. Student An has two people with him, plus some external interference."

Situ Ming asked, "Can we catch him?"

"We can, but someone needs to go to the outer anchor point to stabilize the field."

The instructors exchanged glances.

The outer anchor point was at the edge of the academy's barrier—normally safe—but An Changqing was forcibly jumping back from the warzone, effectively activating a dangerous route that was never supposed to be used.

Situ Ming was about to speak when Chen Guan was already walking to the other side of the platform.

"I'll go."

Situ Ming looked at him.

"You just got back. Don't push yourself. It's not that difficult—I can handle it."

Chen Guan took off his scythe and rested it on his shoulder.

"He came for me. So I'm the best one to catch him."

Situ Ming's lips moved, but in the end he didn't stop him. He tossed a formation access token over.

Chen Guan caught it, turned, and stepped into the teleportation ring of light.

The surrounding scenery stretched into streaks.

The next moment, he appeared on the open ground beside an artificial lake at the outer edge of Huaqing Academy's barrier.

The lake's surface was dark. A few streetlights reflected in the water, broken into jagged lines by the wind. In the distance, the city lights were as lively as ever, but inside the academy's barrier, it was so quiet it made your nerves itch.

Chen Guan looked up. Having ridden with Guan Jinyue a few times and watched her fight more than once, he'd picked up some knowledge about spatial forces.

His gaze pierced through the space between. Across the sky, a silver-blue trail was closing in fast.

That wasn't a meteor.

It was the spatial trace left by An Changqing's Shifting Stars technique.

Trailing behind it was a messy black current, like the snowstorms of the Northern Border had been dragged along for the ride.

Chen Guan pressed the access token into the ground anchor.

Silver formation lines spread from under his feet, connecting to the academy's barrier.

Chen Guan looked up at the approaching trail. The lake grew restless first.

The wind hadn't picked up, but the water surface began to bulge outward in rings of ripples. The anchor runes glowed so bright they stung the eyes.

Chen Guan watched the sky. The silver-blue trail finally descended.

The moment the spatial rift opened, Long Ao tumbled out first.

He slammed into the ground and rolled once before catching himself, chest heaving.

Then came Hong Yuan.

She landed with her axe on her shoulder, skidding half a meter back. There was a claw mark on her shoulder, the blood already frozen into a dark crust.

Last came An Changqing.

His white robes had been torn in several places by the Northern Border's winds. The sword in his hand was still dripping blood.

An Changqing didn't look at anyone else after landing.

His first glance went to Chen Guan.

The two locked eyes across the formation lines.

The night wind swept over the artificial lake.

An Changqing's hand on his sword loosened, then tightened.

Then he walked toward Chen Guan.

One step.

Two steps.

He stopped half a meter in front of Chen Guan.

Chen Guan expected him to say something.

Instead, An Changqing raised his hand and threw a punch at Chen Guan's shoulder.

It wasn't light.

The force knocked Chen Guan back half a step.

An Changqing looked at him, his voice carrying a weight of relief: "Can you reply to messages a little sooner?"

Chen Guan rubbed his shoulder and smiled. "Sorry. My phone broke."