The Outcast (异人之下)

As the common adage goes,

"There will always be someone

better than you out there."

And out there,

those extraordinary people

with extraordinary power

are called

the Outsiders.

OUTSIDERS

It was said

that many years ago,

several Outsiders

discovered the Eight Supremes

in a mysterious place.

Those eight abilities,

endowed with immense power,

tore the Outsiders' world asunder.

To obtain those abilities,

the Outsiders fought and waged war

among each other.

It took place during the Year of Jiashen,

and thus it was called

the Jiashen Calamity.

Following the deaths or disappearances of several legendary figures,

the secret was left buried.

The wheel of time continues to turn.

Peace is about to be broken.

Our story

begins one evening.

What a bunch of jerks!

They look down on me.

They deny me swills of alcohol!

But I have my own alcohol anyway!

And one day,

I…

I'll leave this lousy place!

Hey, buddy.

Don't mind if I do.

A man needs his rest.

Get up.

Let's drink.

Goodness gracious! I'll never drink again!

We have got the body.

Let's go.

On this fateful night,

as this body was unearthed and plundered,

the unfinished business

of the Year of Jiashen

resurfaced.

The Outsiders' world

will receive a reckoning.

ADAPTED FROM THE WEBCOMIC YI REN ZHI XIA

THIS IS A WORK OF FICTION

ALL ACTIONS AND ABILITIES PERFORMED SHOULD NOT BE IMITATED

This doesn't make sense.

There are no grave goods

in this forsaken place.

These few are lucky.

That one had it worse.

Just take a look.

Even the body is gone.

I saw it with my own eyes yesterday.

Look.

What kind of grave robbers

take an old body too?

How old is it again?

And whose grave is it?

GRAVE OF ZHANG XILIN

Zhang Xilin.

ZHANG XILIN

XINPU CITY

XINPUKAI UNIVERSITY

My dear juniors,

allow me to introduce

the pride of this university.

In his first year here, he led our gymnastics team

to a group gold medal and a solo gold medal

in the National University Games.

In his second year, he quit the gymnastics team

and became a researcher.

Chulan.

Are you nervous?

No.

Have you been through this before?

I have faith in you.

Go.

…a veritable academic pioneer.

Now, let's welcome

our stellar alumni

to the stage.

Who is this guy?

-What the heck? -Where is Wu?

Where is Wu?

Bring Wu here.

ZHANG CHULAN, MR. NOBODY, PATIENCE 98%

Ladies and gentlemen,

how are you?

Good!

We are young.

We can tolerate diversity

and otherness.

A future of infinite possibilities

lies before us.

And we also have a lot of…

What is it?

Hope!

-Hello? -Yes, hope!

Village Director?

Who?

Someone stole my grandfather's body?

Screw you!

You must be crazy!

LAST STOP, JIULONG VILLAGE

GRAVE OF ZHANG XILIN

Village Director.

What happened here?

If I had the answer,

I wouldn't have called you here.

Chulan, you are your grandfather's only family.

Now that his body is stolen,

I need you to tell us how to proceed.

Don't worry about it.

I will find my grandfather's body.

Your grandfather?

My grandfather is Zhang Xilin.

I am his granddaughter, Zhang Baobao.

I'm your sister.

We've finally met.

You're crazy.

I don't have a sister!

Zhang Yude, son of Zhang Xilin, is my dad.

The Zhangs moved to this village 14 years ago.

The family has three members, one in each generation,

Zhang Xilin, Zhang Yude, and Zhang Chulan.

You're Zhang Chulan, 22 years old, a university student.

Grandpa was killed when you were ten.

Zhang Yude then came to my mom.

I never knew

that the Zhangs had a daughter.

My mom

only told me recently.

She asked me to visit Grandpa's grave.

Liar.

What can a photo prove?

So this is how Zhang Xilin's son looks.

Honestly, she does

take after him.

Right? Look at the eyes.

And the mouth.

I was so wrong!

I always thought that he adopted Chulan.

Is now the time for gossiping?

This is beyond the point!

The point is this woman might be a liar!

Village Director, say something.

I am a Zhang. I will handle Grandpa's affairs.

Thank you, Village Director.

If you need my help,

let me know.

We have already informed the police.

If you find a lead,

do share it with me.

I shall let you two catch up.

Let's go.

-Yes! -Come on!

Enjoy.

Village Director!

She is a stranger!

GRAVE OF ZHANG XILIN

Grandpa.

I made pork knuckles today.

It's a pity that you can't have it.

GRAVE OF ZHANG XILIN

Chulan,

I'm making pork knuckles for you today.

GRAVE OF ZHANG XILIN

For years,

we seemed to be running from something.

But you never told me why.

Your grave was defiled.

Your body was stolen.

Can you visit me in my dream

and tell me

who our enemy is?

GRAVE OF ZHANG XILIN

That impostor.

I bet you stole my grandfather's body.

I have got you now.

This is evidence.

Don't come near me!

What did you kill just now?

Don't worry. I saw nothing.

I will not tell anyone.

Thank you so much. I owe you a meal.

What are you doing?

I saw nothing! I swear!

Help! Somebody!

Don't yell. No one can hear you.

Help!

I'm the only one who can hear you