The Flight landed smoothly at the Pudong International airport. Exhausted Mo Fan hailed a taxi and went home. By the time he reached his apartment, it was already past 1 a.m.
The moment he opened the door, a cold wave of air just blasted right at his face.
Compared to the temperature outside, the apartment was freezing!
_It seems she was cultivating..._ Mo Fan wondered.
He went to his room and raised the temperature of his thermostat and just dived into his bed without changing and went to sleep in his cozy bed. His body practically molded into the mattress.
Today had been a rollercoaster, from chasing a deranged psycho to almost getting laid narrowly dodging death by a colossal snake, and wrapping up his evening in the Enforcement Union, facing interrogation.
If there was a prize for "Most Eventful Day," Mo Fan would win hands down. And he'd gladly take that win lying down in his bed, any day.
…
…
The next day Mo Fan woke up in the morning and groggily dragged himself to the dining table as usual. He spotted Qin Yu'er sprawled on the couch, already awake, her gaze glued to the TV.
That was unusual. She was definitely not a morning person.
*Yawn*
"Good Morning~" Mo Fan greeted her sleepily.
"You're back?" Qin Yu'er turned her head, her gaze narrowing slightly.
"Yeah, I got in late last night," Mo Fan replied, yawning again as he poured himself some water.
"Hmm…" she mused, eyeing him suspiciously from behind the couch. "Where were you yesterday?"
"Just out chasing a bad guy. Took way longer than expected. Sorry for making you eat alone, should we eat out today?" He shrugged, flashing her an apologetic smile.
"…" but Qin Yu'er's eyes didn't leave him, her gaze drifting up and down, scrutinizing him with an intensity that made him shift uncomfortably.
"W-what is it?" he asked, feeling a bit self-conscious.
"You know…" Qin Yu'er crossed her arms, a mischievous smirk spreading across her face. "I didn't think you were that type, Mo Fan."
"H-huh? What are you talking about?" His eyebrows knitted together, clueless.
Sigh~
She sighed dramatically, looking him up and down with exaggerated disapproval. "I feel bad for Xinxia… If I caught my boyfriend fooling around with other women, I'd turn him into a popsicle in a heartbeat," she said, pointing a finger at his neck.
Mo Fan froze, a look of horror dawning on his face. He reached up, realizing too late what she was pointing at—two very prominent hickeys, one on his collarbone and the other just above his Adam's apple.
His hand slapped over his neck, his cheeks tinged red.
"Y-you've got it all wrong!! It's not what you're thinking! Nothing happened!" he stammered, his face flushed.
"Oh, really?" Qin Yu'er teased, raising an eyebrow. "So I'm just supposed to pretend I didn't see those? Come on, Mo Fan, I might've been for quite some time but at least don't underestimate my intelligence."
"Seriously! I was just… um… it's not… I… look, I didn't do anything, okay?!" Mo Fan insisted, fumbling over his words.
Qin Yu'er leaned back, crossing her arms with a satisfied smirk, enjoying the lingering fluster on Mo Fan's face. "Sure, sure… innocent little Mo Fan. You do realize that look of panic isn't exactly helping your case, right?"
Mo Fan scowled. "Ugh… You're impossible…"
She chuckled, her eyes dancing with mischief. "Oh? What was that?? I suppose Xinxia's going to love hearing about this one…"
Mo Fan flinched, his tone reaching an almost desperate pitch. "Don't you dare!"
She gave a wicked grin. "Hehe~ what should I do~?" After that last tease, she finally turned her attention back to the TV, having clearly enjoyed every second of watching him squirm.
_Was she always like this?_ Mo Fan thought, trying to settle his racing heart. _In the past life, she barely even talked to me. I remember her being so introverted…_
After barely managing to escape Qin Yu'er's relentless teasing, Mo Fan downed his glass of water and made his way to the living room, he shuffled over to the couch, sitting down as casually as he could.
But even as he sat down, he couldn't shake the smirk still lingering on her face. She wasn't done with him yet, and he knew it.
Clearing his throat, he tried to shift the conversation.
"So… uh… what are you watching?" he asked, desperate for a distraction.
"It's a live news feed from South Korea," Qin Yu'er replied without taking her eyes off the screen.
"South Korea? Why are you watching the news from Korea?" Mo Fan asked, genuinely puzzled.
Qin Yu'er turned her head, one eyebrow raised, and looked at him as if he'd just asked the silliest question in the world. "Don't you know what happened yesterday? It was quite a shock, honestly. The entire country of South Korea is on emergency lockdown."
"What??" Mo Fan's face twisted with confusion.
"Mmh." Without a word, Qin Yu'er handed him a tablet, where a video of a massive, shimmering blue portal was looping.
The footage showed high-ranking mages assembled in front of it, with none other than the Chairman of the South Korean Magic Association himself standing at the forefront.
Mo Fan watched in stunned silence, his eyes widening as he took in the sight.
The portal was enormous, large enough to fit a train through it, its surface swirling with shades of deep cerulean. A chill crept up his spine, and he felt a bead of cold sweat slide down his temple. _W-what the hell is that?_
Before his regression, there was no such thing in his world, that portal which appeared in Seoul all of a sudden seemed something from out of this world.
This was unlike anything he'd ever seen before—or even heard of.
He'd encountered portals of all types in his previous life, from Space Element portals to Dark and Luminous Plane and Summoning Plane openings, but this… this was different.
The frequency and quality of the magic emanating from it were utterly foreign, as if it didn't belong to any of the three planes he was familiar with.
The magic it emitted felt otherworldly, a frequency so alien that it made his skin crawl.
He gulped, instinctively clutching the tablet a little tighter.
"They completely cut off any type of news regarding South Korea after that video," Qin Yu'er informed him, her expression serious.
"It seems something major is happening there, and the government doesn't want to alarm the public," she continued, eyes still fixed on the screen.
Mo Fan finally tore his gaze away from the screen, a heavy tension settling over him. "So, we don't know anything more than… this?"
"Not much else," Qin Yu'er said, shaking her head. "All we know is that the portal appeared out of nowhere, and since then, there's been a media blackout."
This portal, this anomaly… it felt like something far beyond his comprehension.
"I've never seen anything like it…" he muttered, half to himself.
"Neither have I," Qin Yu'er replied, her tone softening. "Whatever it is, to create something like that, it's on another level."
Mo Fan set the tablet down, his mind racing with questions. He could feel his heart pounding. _A portal outside any of the three known planes… something from beyond… what does that mean?_
Lost in thought, Mo Fan felt a strange mix of excitement and dread.
...
...
MO FAN's CURRENT PROGRESS.
•Blessing of the God's Seal ×2.5: Lightning & Fire Elements.
•Blessing of the Dark Spring ×1.5: Fire, Lightning, Earth, Shadow, Space, Summon & Chaos Elements.
•BASIC LEVEL
-Elemental Magic: Fire, Lightning, Water, Earth, Wind, Plant, Ice, Poison.
-Black Magic: Shadow, Curse, Undead,
-White Magic: Light, Bless, Heal,
-Dimensional Magic: Summon, Space, Sound, Chaos.
-Mind Magic: Psychic
All Elements: Tier 7
•INTERMEDIATE LEVEL
Fire Element: Tier 1
Space Element: Tier 1
Summon Element: Tier 1
Lightning Element : Tier 1
Mental Strength: Lv. 3 (Around 3.8)