Chapter 141: Stay with me, please

The gate was carved from white jade, gleaming brightly in the darkness. The closer we get to it, the milder the storm becomes.

Ning Mingmei immediately recognized that this was what he was looking for.

The patterns on the door panels are so complex that it is difficult to decipher their meaning at first glance. There was only one thing that Ning Mingmei could see clearly.

From top to bottom, the gate was nailed with seventy-seven forty-nine chains, and each chain had a lock on it, which looked ferocious, like the fangs of a ferocious beast biting its prey.

Such a hideous object does not seem like something that would appear in the "world-saving" sword.

And what exactly is nailed behind these locks?

Now more than half of the forty-nine locks have been opened. The white jade door was also half open, and no one knew what was hidden inside. But Ning Mingmei knew that he had found what he was looking for.

He placed the candle at his feet. The tiny flame remained on, creating a vacuum in the storm to his side.

"Only those who possess the sword bone can reach here safely. No matter if they are recognized by the sword or the vengeful spirits in the sword, they dare not attack them."

"But what's inside the door will do its best to invite her/him in and merge with it."

"The person who seals the sword often has hallucinations in front of the door. They will see the things or scenes they desire most or regret the most. You need to chant a spell for each lock, and each lock will produce an illusion test. During the illusion test, you only need to do one thing -"

"Don't stop chanting."

"Keep your mind straight, regard everything as false, and lock the opened lock. That's all you have to do."

These words flashed through Ning Mingmei's mind.

Now, twenty-five locks on the huge door have been opened.

In other words, Ning Mingmei has to face twenty-five "hallucination" tests.

The inside of the giant gate was pitch black, but one could vaguely see some outlines from it. Because it is unknowable, it adds to the horror. The world is empty, as if there is only this door.

It is difficult to remain calm in such an environment.

A voice seemed to be saying to Ning Mingmei, "Go in."

Enter the gate and come to me.

Ning Mingmei turned a deaf ear to this. He closed his eyes and began to chant a spell. At this moment, he heard a chuckle in the sky.

The system was staring at Qi Miancheng. It saw Qi Miancheng lift up a strand of wet hair for Ning Mingmei.

His eyes were dark, and he used all his spiritual power to suppress the divine sword.

The system could not see the content of the hallucinations that Ning Mingmei experienced - this kind of hallucination trial might be the reason why the sword-wielding elders often practiced the ruthless way and were raised by the sect to be a blank sheet of paper who only knew how to retreat.

When people have experience, they will have desires.

Where there is desire, there is anger, disgust, hatred, and jealousy.

Sealing the divine sword is a task that only Baizhi can accomplish.

Can Ning Mingmei complete this task?

"Ning Mingmei's heart is even colder than that of the Merciless Sword Master who has been in seclusion for ten years." The system thought, "He must be fine. And the head of the sect even wiped Ning Mingmei's sweat."

The system did not notice that Qi Miancheng's palm was as hot as the magic sword.

Occasionally he looked at the holy sword in the boiling cold pool, his eyes expressing neither joy nor sorrow.

Ning Mingmei saw everything in the world of immortal cultivation.

Either Qingji Sect or Piaomiao Peak. Or the days of being neglected, or his big office building, or the bleeding Wen Siheng, the crying Gui Taoran, the gritting teeth and flying Lin Heting, and the weeping Ren Miao. He just chanted the spell with no expression.

The sealed chains are like walking into a deep fog, stepping into the past life and the pursuit solidified in the heart little by little.

So at the fourteenth lock, the scene in front of me changed.

Ning Mingmei saw the university square overexposed to sunlight.

The body that fell in the middle of the square was put into the beeping ambulance. The square, where people usually rush around, is now crowded with people. Several students groaned.

"Director Ning..."

"Help, what about my recommendation letter?" the undergraduate student wailed.

Ning Mingmei had no expression on his face and just focused on reciting scriptures.

The next lock was inside the laboratory, where the centrifuge was spinning frantically, making a rumbling sound. Because all the students ran downstairs to watch the death, no one was near the laboratory table and no one noticed the abnormality.

Does anyone read the laboratory safety manual?

Where is the lab safety officer? ?

Ning Mingmei continued to chant.

Then, it is the leaders of the cooperative companies. The leader read the project application report and said to the people around him: "Yes, this data is real. But we need better data. Yours... this doesn't reflect the value of ours!"

"It's not as good as the one from another lab... It doesn't matter. The leader who approved this won't do a replication experiment anyway. Let's get the subsidy first..."

It turns out that the project that I spent so much time working on was rejected like this. Ning Mingmei was reciting the scriptures without stopping and had no idea of ​​breaking in.

And his heart is as hard as stone.

Then, there are the job title evaluations, the social interactions at conferences where people flatter each other, the promotion or leave system, and the titles that can only be applied for within the age limit... Ning Mingmei has become very familiar with walking among the kaleidoscope of all living beings.

He didn't even have the time to stop and look around.

Until the picture was covered with thick morning fog. Bicycles and electric bikes are intertwined at the chaotic intersection, it is still dark, and there are small stalls without lights on.

In such a dim sky, the only lights on were in the senior high school classroom.

On the teaching building, a whole row of white lights are like a beacon in the thick fog. Young girls and boys entered the school through the security booth, carrying their schoolbags.

One after another.

This is just the most ordinary corner of the countless lit-up senior high school classrooms in a city that has not yet awakened. They are dotted like stars, shining on the still dormant map, making up the hundreds of thousands of candidates in each province every year. They are light bulbs, moths, flying test papers, book boxes, knowledge repeated over and over again, morning readings that one dares not get a single word wrong, and dreams that are listless yet uplifting.

The security guard at the security booth has not yet grown old. The head teacher in charge of morning reading is still wearing high heels which look very impressive.

Ning Mingmei chanted the spell for the years that had passed, without stopping or looking back.

Forward, forward, forward.

Facing the childhood that once flowed freely in the tree-shaded river, move forward.

Faced with the loneliness of being unable to fit into a small group under the wisteria flowers, move forward.

Faced with all the years that we cannot turn back but must go through, move forward.

"...There is only one lock left." The system heard Qi Miancheng say in a low voice, "Although I don't know what he saw. But twenty-four locks are not enough to shake his mind?"

Until the last picture.

Not only is it not gloomy or scary, it also feels a bit warm. As the sun sets, a college student wearing glasses is busy working in the laboratory.

This laboratory is not grand, not high-tech, and not advanced. Instead, it was rough, old, and sparsely populated. The college student finished writing the last point of the report. His hands were working seriously, but his face showed a bit of impatience.

He was looking at the laboratory next to this one.

On the door of the lab next door was a news report about a collaboration with Stanford.

The college students stared at the report for a long time, with longing and ambition in their eyes. An old professor came over from behind him, smiling. When he turned around, he looked like a good student again.

The old professor thanked him, praised him for coming to the laboratory specifically for a course assignment, praised his achievements, and offered some further suggestions. The opinions were very valuable. The college students listened with “hmm”, but what they were thinking about was the laboratory next door.

The old professor's direction is too old-fashioned and has no future. It can no longer keep up with the development of the times.

"I heard from the teaching assistant that you want to study for a doctorate abroad? It seems that applying for a doctorate abroad requires...several letters of recommendation. A student asked me for a copy before in order to study for a doctorate. When you apply in your junior year, let me know and I will write you a letter of recommendation." The old professor smiled and said, "You are the best student I have ever seen. I am glad that you want to develop in the academic world! Society, our country, the world, and all mankind need outstanding academics and outstanding scientific research talents. I am glad that you have made the pursuit of truth your life goal at such a young age."

The old professor was very emotional. The college student said, "Thank you, professor. This has always been my dream."

He avoided the topic of recommendation letters and looked at the poster in the laboratory next door.

For the sake of academics, we need to reach a higher platform.

For academic purposes, you need better letters of recommendation.

This makes sense, it's the basis of dreams.

The old professor was even happier. He mentioned a few of his points and asked the college student if he was interested in doing something more in-depth during the holidays - it would be a bit difficult, but he would provide all the help he could and it would definitely help him learn more.

The college student declined.

"You will become a very good academic." The old professor encouraged him.

As dusk fell, the college student left a message on WeChat.

"Brother, I want to know about your laboratory. Do you need anyone to do odd jobs?"

…

"I walked through the sea of ​​people, and when I reached the end, I suddenly burst into tears."

…

The sword suddenly began to hum.

Intense, very intense. The cold pond was in turmoil, the chains were trembling, and the magic sword seemed to be about to break out of the ground.

The system was horrified. It heard Qi Miancheng say, "You seem very angry...similar anger."

"What do you see that makes you so angry? Are you attacking the world for it, or are you attacking yourself?"

Qi Miancheng held Ning Mingmei's face. He stared at him as if staring at a mystery that shouldn't be here.

The next moment, the sword fell silent.

It seems that the 25th lock has also been locked. As expected, nothing could stop Ning Mingmei.

Qi Miancheng's lips curled up into a smile, until...

He suddenly realized something.

Qi Miancheng turned his head and looked at the candlelight beside Ning Mingmei. I don't know when the candle went out.

Maybe when the twenty-fifth door lock was sealed, or maybe...

The ground is hot. But Qi Miancheng found a subtle water stain.

The water stains came from the cold pond and from the magic sword.

"Do you like him so much? You even stirred up the cold pond water and extinguished the candlelight?" Qi Miancheng said to himself, "This is not a good thing."

Qi Miancheng made a prompt decision. He lowered his head and pressed his forehead against Ning Mingmei's.

Immediately, he closed his eyes and sank into the magic sword.

…

Ning Mingmei suddenly woke up. He saw that he was still standing in front of the door, but his hand was holding the door.

This made him break out in a cold sweat.

The door was still half open. But the 25th lock has been locked. It seems that even in the face of hallucinations, Ning Mingmei still completed his work.

He gasped twice and then turned around without any regrets.

Yesterday cannot be retained.

Today is a day full of worries.

Just move forward, always move forward.

But when he took a step forward, the boy's voice came from behind him: "Brother."

The boy's voice was sticky, like fine satin, or like a sticky and cold poisonous snake. He tilted his head and said, "Brother, you look so strange. You are not the person who came to see me before."

"That man is so annoying. He told me that it is right to sacrifice everything for the people. There should be no resentment or hatred. I hate him very much. But you are using his body, but you are different from him."

"Who are you?"

Ning Mingmei did not answer his question, but just kept walking forward. The boy's voice lingered in his ears.

until……

A pale hand suddenly stretched out from the door!

At this moment, Ning Mingmei was already some distance away from the gate. But that hand could suddenly stretch out to several meters long, like a strange and strong noodle, and grabbed his arm.

"Stay and play with me, okay?" the boy said innocently, "You can't go forward, there is danger ahead...stay and play with me, okay?"

Ning Mingmei suddenly realized something. He looked forward.

Saw the candle flame go out.