88: Chapter 88 Lao Tzu's Fist: Specially Designed to Break the Fire of Fate

As Chen Fan's boot sole ground over the first cluster of golden flames, he sensed something was wrong.

That fire wasn't mere light; it was a name etched onto the snow—the characters for "Xiao Ma" (Little Ma) were crooked, like something drawn by a primary schooler with a stick, the edges faintly tinged with pale green.

His steps paused, the hairs on the back of his neck suddenly standing on end.

He remembered this name; he had seen it three days ago in the Molten Heart Dungeon. It belonged to a young nurse who rushed toward the blaze clutching a medicine box, ultimately consumed by the lava while protecting half a bottle of undelivered wound medicine.

"The second blossom," Su Shuang's breath brushed past his ear, as light as a snowflake.

Chen Fan then realized he had already taken two steps. The second cluster of flames burned fiercely, the characters for "Qing Jin" etched with sharp, severe strokes, as if carved by a sword.

His Adam's apple bobbed—Qing Jin was the lone swordsman from the Silver Dungeon who always claimed, "A sword does not strike the nameless." Later, he plunged himself and his sword into the heart of a beast horde to save a newbie team being surrounded.

When the third flame rose, his breath hitched abruptly. The characters "Yan Li" glowed dark red, the brushstrokes still carrying the lingering stench of charring.

This was his nemesis from the Gold Dungeon, who once led the Crimson Nightmare legion to push him to the brink. Before being swallowed by the ground fire of the Molten Eye, he was still sneering, "An ant dares to speak of resistance."

But at that moment, Stone Throat's 'Seven-Year Oath' suddenly exploded in his ears: "I will protect the little fox below the mountain. Whoever tries to burn her home, I will burn the heavens."

Chen Fan's fingers dug deeply into his palm. Su Shuang on his back felt lighter, so light it unnerved him: "You cannot protect Shuanger, I will. This debt is mine."

As soon as the words fell, the system notification chimed lightly in his sea of consciousness, like a pebble dropped into still water: [Obsession Anchor +1, Foresight Stability Enhanced].

He touched the critical hit core at his waist. The warm sensation transmitted through his coarse work uniform, echoing his own heartbeat.

"That light... is not the path," Su Shuang's fingertips suddenly trembled. A phantom fox tail flickered behind her, then quickly dissipated. "It's a soul-guiding talisman written in blood." Her nails nearly dug into his shoulder. "Three hundred years ago, I saw Star Speakers walk upward along this kind of light. They wore white robes embroidered with star patterns, holding jade tablets carved with names... and then they never returned."

Chen Fan could feel her body temperature draining away, like a Fox Fire about to burn out.

He pulled her closer to his chest. The snow beneath his feet crunched softly: "What if what awaits on that platform is also the lie that 'light can only be achieved through sacrifice'?'" Her voice grew fainter, like ash swept away by the wind.

He suddenly laughed, revealing a hint of white teeth: "If light requires life as payment, I will extinguish it. What I want is a path that the living can walk."

Before his words faded, the snow beneath his feet suddenly cracked open.

The abyss resembled a ferocious giant maw, with pitch-black mist surging out from the fissure, wrapped in faint cries of sorrow.

Chen Fan instinctively shielded Su Shuang on his back and stepped back half a pace, only to see dark red bloodstains seeping from the rock wall—the handwriting of a Star Speaker, corroded down to only half a line: "They want me to be a torch..."

"One hundred years ago, the Star Speaker Lin Qi fell into this abyss," Stone Throat's voice squeezed out from the fissure, carrying the damp smell of earth. "His last words were: 'But I don't want to burn myself to illuminate others.'"

Chen Fan's pupils contracted.

He gently placed Su Shuang on a protruding ice rock, tore off a blood-stained sleeve, and wrapped it around his wrist.

When his teeth bit down on his fingertip, the fishy-sweet taste of blood exploded in his mouth. He stared at the faintly visible "Lin Qi" on the rock wall and wrote, stroke by stroke, on the strip of cloth: "I will carry your name up the mountain."

The moment the system notification exploded, he flung the cloth strip into the abyss.

The black mist suddenly churned, as if pulled apart by an invisible hand.

Vague figures floated out of the mist, wearing white robes embroidered with star patterns, with half a broken jade tablet hanging at their waist—it fit perfectly with the other half Su Shuang hid in the secret compartment of the Teahouse.

The figure raised a hand, starlight ignited at its fingertip, and the scattered stones in the abyss began to jump, finally forming a wobbly stone bridge.

"Thanks." Chen Fan bent down, picked up Su Shuang, and deliberately stepped over the crack in the center of the stone bridge as he crossed.

He could feel the stone slabs beneath his feet trembling, as if responding to his weight.

Stepping back onto the path of light, Chen Fan tried to actively guide his critical hit attribute.

He silently recited "Frost Devour," and his right fist immediately erupted with moon-white Fox Fire. As it swept across the rock wall, the ice layer cracked and spread three feet; then he recited "Flame Burst," and his left fist exploded with crimson-gold flames, the fiery storm whipping snow particles into the air.

But he frowned—the transition between the two flames always lacked that final touch, like two hemp ropes that weren't twisted tightly enough.

"Can you still walk?" Su Shuang's question suddenly sounded in his ear.

He looked down at her. Snowflakes clung to her eyelashes, but her eyes were startlingly bright, like two inextinguishable Fox Fires.

Chen Fan's heart skipped a beat.

He recalled being scolded by the foreman while moving bricks at the construction site: "Bum with no future"; recalling the first time he triggered the critical hit system, when the broken sword in Newbie Village turned into an orange weapon with dual attributes in his hand; recalling the first time Su Shuang smiled at him, the Teahouse lanterns reflecting in the corners of her eyes as she said, "Brother Chen, this cup of tea is on me."

He took a deep breath and pressed his fist against his chest.

The warmth from when Su Shuang treated his wounds with Fox Fire still lingered there. "This punch clears the path for the living," he said softly.

The system notification exploded like a great bell: [Emotional Anchor Successful, Cooldown Reduced to 10 Minutes].

In the next instant, he threw a punch into the air.

Moon-white and crimson-gold flames intertwined and shot up, precisely freezing the giant rock tumbling toward them.

Ice shards rattled down, striking the snow, leaving behind dense little pits.

Su Shuang smiled, very quietly, yet it was like a star falling onto his heart.

The outline of the Star Gazing Platform grew clearer and clearer.

The bluestone slabs of the tower were covered in indentations, as if someone had scraped off every name in a frenzy.

Chen Fan counted them. The topmost indentation still held half a character, "Luo," as if it had been violently split by a sword.

The final tremor came from underground.

Stone Throat's whisper mixed with the wind, drifting from an immense distance: "Crimson Nightmare... was once named Yan Li... His last words were—'See for me, did she smile?'"

Chen Fan abruptly stopped walking.

He turned back toward the direction where the kindling stele had sunk; the snow there still held a deep pit.

But the moment he looked over, a streak of golden flame shot into the sky, solidifying into four large characters in the night sky: "Shuanger, Do Not Grieve."

He stood looking up for a long time, until his eyes felt gritty.

Finally, he looked down and gently touched the top of Su Shuang's head: "What you failed to complete, I will not only finish, but I will make her laugh out loud."

The whispers from the top of the tower suddenly became clear, like countless people shouting the same name—"Luo Yan," "Luo Yan," "Luo Yan"...

Chen Fan started walking again.

The Star Gazing Platform at the end of the path of light drew nearer. He could see a dark, black monument standing at the entrance, like a silent gate in the darkness.

Su Shuang's fingers twitched, pressing against his neck: "That monument..." Her voice was so light it seemed ready to melt into the wind, "...has no words..."

Chen Fan's steps paused slightly.

He followed her gaze and indeed saw that the surface of the monument was smooth as a mirror, with only a palm-print shaped indentation in the center, as if waiting for someone to press it.

The night wind picked up snow particles, striking the surface of the monument, making a faint rustling sound.

"We're here," Chen Fan said softly.

He could hear his own heartbeat, like a war drum, beating once after another, shaking the entire snowy mountain.

The whispers from the tower top suddenly changed tune, as if countless voices were layered together, still shouting that same name—"Luo Yan."

And in a place they couldn't see, the door of the Star Gazing Platform was slowly cracking open, revealing the pitch-black space inside.

There was light behind the door, faint, but writhing like a living thing, seemingly waiting for something.