Chapter 121: A Day of Reincarnation

Turbulent music echoed in his ears. In a daze, he gradually regained clarity, though the vivid scene before him left him somewhat bewildered.

Unable to resist, he seized a passerby and asked, "Friend, what’s going on here?"

The young man blinked in surprise. "Strange question! Are you playing dumb? Don’t you know this is an anime festival? Are you joking with me? They even have someone dressed as a monk..."

Listening to the youth’s words, he felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity. Why did the young man’s speech sound so well-known? The scene before him seemed oddly familiar.

Moreover, the terms—cosplay, anime festival—should have been foreign, yet he understood them perfectly.

Right, he recalled that he and Ter had left that tall building but were chased by assassins from the organization. In panic, they fled into this scenic area.

Remembering this, he scanned his surroundings to see what his companions were doing.

Meowpu was licking his paws on the ground, nonchalantly remarking, "Of course it’s strange. Don’t you see these people don’t look like ordinary folks? There’s something discordant about them..."

He stopped mid-sentence, a feline instinct alerting him to a subtle anomaly.

Raising his eyes to him, Meowpu suddenly froze in a daze.

It seemed everyone sensed something off but couldn’t quite pinpoint it. So he shared his analysis: "These people seem to have special black holes on their bodies, as if controlled by some sort of sorcery."

This was the moment to seek Xun’er’s help. Yet he felt a growing dread—if she stepped into this place, something terrible might happen to her.

He even hoped she wouldn’t follow, but soon he saw Xun’er and Ter entering together. They had clearly sensed the abnormality, carefully avoiding the anime festival crowd before joining him and the others.

"This place is far from normal. These people are all..." Xun’er began explaining the situation but suddenly shivered and trembled. "Wu Jue, we should leave. This place feels wrong. I have a very bad premonition."

Alice couldn’t help but laugh. "This is an anime festival! Don’t you want to join the fun?"

Wu Jue cut her off sharply. "Is now the time for that? Our pursuers might already be here."

"They seem to have infiltrated already," Ter observed cautiously. "If we leave rashly, they might attack, causing chaos and endangering the people here."

Xun’er clenched her fists, snapping, "Then let’s deal with them swiftly and decisively!"

The five of them resolved to confront the trailing enemies immediately. Wu Jue eyed Alice curiously, beginning to question her about the background of their pursuers.

When they mentioned the name "The Sweeper," a sudden, unsettling memory surged in Wu Jue’s mind. Something ominous was about to unfold.

The Sweeper—why did that name feel so familiar?

Suddenly, a child nearby pointed at him and asked, "Mom, he looks just like Bald Strong. Can I take a picture with him?"

Turning around, he saw a mother and child approaching. The child, no more than seven or eight, looked excited.

Under normal circumstances, such innocent mother and child would disarm any suspicion, but inexplicably, Wu Jue felt a profound aversion toward them.

This pair was dangerous. He could even sense their next move: the child would reach out his hand, palm holding a deadly weapon; the mother would pull out a phone to take a photo, the flash concealing a lethal bullet.

Almost simultaneously with these thoughts, the smiling child stretched out his hand toward Wu Jue’s body.

"Trap!" Instinctively, Wu Jue shouted a warning, grabbing the child’s hand and twisting it, forcing him to release the palm.

A gleaming blade dropped but was swiftly kicked away by Wu Jue, striking the mother’s raised phone. In an instant, a burst of light exploded, scattering sparks like a flower blooming in place.

Without hesitation, Wu Jue turned and scooped up Xun’er, fleeing immediately. His reflexes made him overlook Alice, choosing instead to protect Xun’er.

At that moment, the enemy cast sorcery, halting the midair explosion briefly, buying a precious second or two for the others to escape.

Wu Jue hurriedly led Xun’er, Ter, and Meowpu away. Along the way, they passed a dancing stage, where a man stood guard, blocking their path.

Their eyes met—no pleasantries exchanged. Wu Jue launched a sudden assault, a fierce onslaught imbued with over a dozen secret techniques from Dalin Temple, sending the man flying onto the stage.

Charging onward, passing familiar scenes one after another, the group finally escaped the plaza, arriving outside the movie city.

Staring at the enormous set before them, Wu Jue suddenly exclaimed, "I remember now. Everything happening today is repeating yesterday. We never left this place—we’re trapped in a cycle."

Xun’er stood stunned, swaying weakly. "So it’s true. That strange sense of wrongness came from this. What should we do?"

"This can’t be! My head..." Ter suddenly lost control, roaring wildly as a fierce light radiated from his body, seeming about to tear apart as he writhed in agony.

"What’s wrong? Ter, what’s happening to you?" the others asked anxiously.

Meowpu turned back. "I know now. Mirror Hero’s power comes from light and represents the flow of time. Being forced to relive the same day causes bodily discord and fragmentation. If he can’t escape, he’ll self-destruct within two days due to the cycle."

"Time’s running out. We must find a way out quickly." Understanding the truth, Wu Jue set out to seek an escape.

Previously, he had encountered a mysterious Taoist in this place who hinted at a possible solution.

As Wu Jue prepared to delve deeper into the scenic area to find the Taoist, eerie calls echoed around the movie city.

Xun’er looked around in panic, suddenly grabbing Wu Jue’s arm. "This is bad—I sense many ghosts approaching us. They could mean us harm!"

"What’s going on? Last time, there weren’t so many ghosts. Why now?" As the voices grew nearer, countless phantoms appeared, drifting toward them relentlessly.

Xun’er cried out in terror, "It’s because I recovered my memories. These ghosts want to eliminate us. I understand now—this place is..."

Before she could finish, a ghost wrapped around her, pulling her aside.

Wu Jue struggled fiercely, unable to reach her, his anger flaring. "Everyone, get out of my way! Don’t block me!"

A powerful protective aura surged around him, exploding outward and scattering the approaching ghosts.

In that instant, everything bizarrely froze.

All motion ceased, with everything suspended in strange poses like sculptures.

A unique figure appeared before Wu Jue, smiling at his fury. "This won’t do. Playing too hard ruins the fun of the game, doesn’t it?"

"Let’s start over."

He pointed a finger and lightly touched Wu Jue’s forehead.

Suddenly, time seemed to rewind.

All objects began retreating to their original positions.

Wu Jue’s body involuntarily replayed the events like a rewinding tape, perfectly retracing his life’s path back to the origin.

At the final moment, as he reached the entrance of the anime festival, his body struggled strangely.

The trajectory of the rewind twisted mysteriously.

The cycle had begun anew.