115 Sumwood Has Arrived

“Do you remember where Sumù went?”
Feng Qian nodded and pointed in a direction.
“Let’s go and see if we can catch up.”
Without hesitation, I grabbed Sumù and headed toward the vague direction he had indicated.
As fate would have it, we spotted Sumù just beyond an intersection.
But the Sumù before us was no longer the bullied boy in ragged clothes from before. He now wore a casual, comfortable outfit, and his glasses had been replaced with gold-rimmed frames, giving him the air of someone who had stepped into the ranks of the wealthy.
He seemed to be waiting for someone, but we dared not get too close—if he noticed us, it would surely mean disaster.
They were already awakened Contract Holders; their perception was undoubtedly far greater than ours.
I relied on the ancient mirror’s enhanced vision, but Feng Qian could see nothing from this distance and just stared blankly beside me.
Fortunately, I had taken a basic lip-reading course in university, so I was able to barely make out Sumù’s lip movements.
Though my understanding of lip-reading was still rough, Sumù kept repeating one phrase.
I patiently pondered the word in my mind.
“Don’t come closer.”
That was what Sumù was repeating: “Don’t come closer!”
Had he discovered that I was spying on him, or was there something else?
If Sumù had indeed caught on, perhaps he had deliberately let Feng Qian spot him.
But what was his purpose in leading me here?
Soon, Sumù seemed to receive some message and began to move.
Feng Qian and I kept a hundred meters’ distance as we quietly followed him all the way to a park in the northern city.
Sumù twisted and turned his way into a concealed rocky hill.
Feng Qian and I found a vantage point from which we could clearly see behind the hill.
The person Sumù was waiting for turned out to be Bai Wuchang.
Bai Wuchang wore the same clothes I had seen him in earlier; Sumù was respectful, almost reverent, as if greeting a superior.
Although they spoke rapidly, their speed made it impossible for me to decipher their lip movements in detail.
The general sense was that Bai Wuchang was reprimanding Sumù for breaking some rule, and Sumù appeared to be apologizing profusely.
Bai Wuchang did not stay long; he seemed pressed for time.
After Bai Wuchang left, Sumù remained where he was.
Seeing that Sumù did not leave, we stayed hidden at the high point without moving.
Suddenly, I sensed an unusual sound behind me—two vines wrapped around Feng Qian and me at the waist. Feng Qian let out a startled shout.
I quickly covered his mouth, realizing the vines bore no hostile intent toward us.
They simply lowered us from the vantage point.
I knew this was Sumù’s ability—if he wanted to kill us, he could have done so long ago without such fuss.
The vines gently placed us before Sumù, and a shield of green wild grass enveloped us tightly.

It seemed designed to block outside surveillance, for Sumù carefully inspected the grass shield to ensure no gaps were left.
Only then did Sumù cautiously speak:
“Lin Zijian, you have to survive.”
“Han Xue and Li Xinxin are both waiting for you. You need to awaken soon.”
These words were not unique to Sumù; many had told me the same—I must quickly become an awakened Contract Holder.
“What does this mean exactly, Sumù? Is there such a big difference between awakening and not awakening?”
Sumù spoke with great caution: “Of course there is. Right now, you’re at best just a participant in a game. You have no idea what this ritual truly means.”
“You don’t understand what we Contract Holders are really facing!”
“Perhaps those Contract Holders who died early were luckier—they at least didn’t have to confront this fate.”
“Brother Sumù,” Feng Qian, who had been listening to our conversation, spoke up.
“What exactly are you afraid of? Aren’t you already awakened?”
“Aren’t awakened Contract Holders supposed to be strong? Brother Jian said you can only unleash your true power after awakening!”
“Unlike us, whose strength is suppressed.”
Faced with Feng Qian’s confusion, Sumù gave a bitter smile.
“Indeed, my power is strong. I could destroy this entire small park with a single gesture.”
Sumù’s words were no empty boast—his power was the control and animation of plants.
With the force of wildly growing plants, demolishing a park was effortless.
“But what use is that? I still can’t defeat Bai Wuchang, the Contract Holder of the Plum Blossom suit.”
Bai Wuchang had previously claimed to be one of the hundred-year-old surviving Contract Holders, whose abilities were already fixed. We Contract Holders could surpass them.
We had been chosen by the playing cards as new Contract Holders. If the previous generation hadn’t died and had survived until now, that would explain Bai Wuchang’s words.
It was likely that, besides Bai Wuchang, some other Contract Holders from the previous generation, like Hei Wuchang, also survived.
If so, the difference between us and them was that they had all the information about this war.
They had participated in everything and surely knew the entire process, while our advantage was that my power could still grow, whereas theirs had plateaued.
“Sumù, don’t be impatient. We still have plenty of room to grow.”
“Time! As long as we have time, anything is possible!”
Sumù shook his head, unable to listen to my words.
No matter how Feng Qian and I tried to comfort him, it seemed to no avail.
In the end, with no other options, we had to let him give in to despair.
“Sumù, then why did you call me here? You don’t expect us to just watch you like this, do you?”
Sumù suddenly revealed a faint, pure smile; his tear-streaked face lit up brilliantly.
Seeing this sudden change, I sensed a hint of conspiracy.
He tidied his clothes, wiped the tears from his eyes, and, as if transformed, said:
“Lin Zijian, don’t you think the way I looked earlier suited me better?”

“Sumù, is this your new hobby? Eliciting others’ sympathy?”
“I was just seeing what you would do if I were the old me.”
Sumù shifted from his pitiful expression and looked at Feng Qian and me with interest. The plants behind him grew into the shape of a chair, and he sat down directly.
Feng Qian was clearly bewildered by the rapid change—he was still young and hadn’t encountered such a situation before.
“Sumù, what exactly do you want?”
I asked sharply, but it seemed pointless; the two of us, unawakened, had no power to resist him.
Sumù looked at us like a predator eyeing its prey and said:
“Lin Zijian, I remember when I was bullied, you didn’t help me, did you?”
Clearly, Sumù was trying to find a reasonable excuse to attack me, but I remained calm.
“That’s right. It’s none of my business. If it were you, would you meddle?”
“Good,” Sumù clapped his hands, apparently satisfied with my answer, and continued:
“I bear no ill will toward you, but those who bullied me before are not so lucky.”
Sumù clapped again, and several vines burst from the ground, entwined with nearly rotten corpses.
I hurriedly turned Feng Qian’s head away. Though he had seen corpses before, such grotesqueness was better avoided.
From their tattered clothing, it was clear they were from D University, victims who had died early in the trials—ordinary people.
“Aren’t these people who died long ago?”
Sumù nodded: “Yes, they are the ones who bullied me back then.”
“Even though they’re dead, I won’t let them rest in peace.”
“I won’t allow their bodies to be buried. As for their souls, I’ve already made a deal with the Joker, hehe.”
“You’re ruthless!” I hadn’t expected Sumù to have initiated the meeting with Bai Wuchang as part of a deal, nor did I anticipate such a powerful desire for revenge.
“Of course. Those who tormented me when I was weak—now that I’m strong, I’ll make sure they meet a miserable end.”
Sumù suddenly glared at me, and I shuddered, feeling like prey.
He laughed at my reaction.
“My main reason for coming to you this time is to form an alliance because I believe you have great potential.”
Sumù spoke sincerely, but I knew he wasn’t truly seeking an alliance with me.
Instead, it was because our team included two formidable female warriors—Queen of Spades Li Xinxin and Three of Spades Han Xue, both awakened Contract Holders.
Their presence forced Sumù to take our large group seriously.
Winning over those two seemed impossible, so Sumù focused the idea of an alliance on me instead.