HCB Chapter 13 Mission 1 Completed
Chapter 13 Mission 1 Completed
"System, what's this about the scales Zhang Qiling mentioned?" As soon as he returned to the room, Yan Huai, who had forced himself to calm down, immediately asked in his mind.
"Host, this is an ability you originally possessed: transformation. The reason why scales appeared last night was because your subconscious resonated with the Branding Blade. Under its prompting, you had the opportunity to transform for the first time. This is not out of control."
"......" This isn't considered out of control! Everyone's watching, Zhang Qiling might think he's a monster!
"So, if I don't keep the knife next to me when I sleep, I won't feel any connection to it anymore?"
"Host, no, those who possess the Azure Dragon bloodline sleep in their original form. The Branding Blade only plays an auxiliary role. Currently, it's just that your memories are incomplete and your connection with the world in the book is not close enough, so there won't be a greater transformation."
"What should I do if I fall asleep and don't want to show any signs of human form?"
"Host, please explore on your own."
"..." Yan Huai was furious, but helpless. He didn't even know what the original world and the world in the book were, let alone whether he was the same person in the two worlds. If so, could all of this be related to his memories that he hadn't recovered yet?
"Host answered correctly, no reward."
"Get lost!" Yan Huai uttered the first word of greeting he had used since encountering the system.
After half an hour of mental preparation, Yan Huai reluctantly accepted his uncertain future. He changed into his original clothes, folded the two sets of clothes given to him by Wu Xie and Yin Lan, and put them in the room. After packing the necessary items for the next leg of the journey (which was actually just a knife), he and the others bid farewell to Yin Lan and A Zhao for the time being.
As they were leaving, A-Zhao cried uncontrollably, but Yan Huai and the others had no choice but to harden their hearts. Even if Yin Lan could be so heartless as to let A-Zhao come along, they couldn't bring themselves to do it. Moreover, Yan Huai already knew the way into the mountains after his memories of Puyang Village, so there was no need to put a six-year-old child at risk.
The terrain near Puyang Village is a mix of flat slopes and steep mountains, making it difficult to traverse. Yan Huai led the way, and the group climbed the mountain path for an hour.
As they walked, Yan Huai faintly heard the sound of flowing water, along with an old man's humming voice. At first, he didn't pay any attention to it, until...
"Ding—Another target to be eliminated in the host's mission one has been detected. Please proceed to complete the mission. Reward: 20 points (already mortgaged), 10x10 cubic meters of system space."
Yan Huai paused, his gaze sharpening slightly as he looked northeast, where the old man herding cattle was getting closer.
Seeing that Yan Huai's reaction was strange and not knowing why, everyone stopped in their tracks, becoming wary as they looked over. And what they saw was the old man who had been herding cattle earlier, carrying half a bucket of water and a bundle of firewood, humming a song as he walked toward them.
"Damn it, that old bastard, letting him live such a carefree life!" Da Pan spat, reaching for his waistband. Just as he was about to step forward and grab the old man, someone beat him to it.
Yan Huai made no attempt to hide anything and went straight to meet him. When the old man sensed something was wrong and looked up, he was nearly scared out of his wits.
How are these people still alive?!
The old man abandoned the bucket and firewood, turned and ran, with Yan Huai trailing behind him.
As they drew closer to the riverbank, Yan Huai quickened his pace, twisted his body, and delivered a flying kick that struck the old man squarely in the back.
The old man was kicked into the river. The water was shallow, and he struggled a few times before trying to surface. But as soon as he took a breath, someone grabbed the back of his neck and forced his head back into the water. No matter how much he struggled, the person grabbing his neck wouldn't let go, as if they wanted to drown him!
"Brother Yan, wait a minute. Let me ask you a few questions before I kill him."
Wu Sansheng and the others followed behind. Seeing that Yan Huai had no intention of holding back, they did not try to persuade him, but there were still some things they needed to clarify.
Yan Huai calmed down a bit, pulled the old man's head out of the water, turned him around, and faced the crowd.
Wu Sansheng smiled and cupped his hands in thanks to Yan Huai for giving him face.
After the old man kneeling on the ground had recovered his senses for a while, Wu Sansheng squatted down and mocked, "Old man, you're quite cunning! At your age, you still dare to plot murder. You've done quite a few of these things, haven't you!"
"Gentlemen! Gentlemen, spare my life! This isn't entirely my fault! It was all that boatman Lu Lao Er's idea. If I refused to work for him, he would kill me!"
The old man kowtowed and cried out. If they hadn't known the man's true nature, Wu Sansheng and the others might have actually softened their hearts.
"Tell me, how did you escape from that cave of corpses?"
"Ah? I..." The old man's eyes darted around, but after being glanced at by Yan Huai, he became honest. "There have always been many holes in the top of that corpse cave, big enough to hide people. Lu Lao Er and I climbed up there when you weren't looking. Once you were far away, we planned to blow the whistle and have Lu Lao Er's dog drag the big wooden tub over. After we sat in that tub, we could paddle out."
"But..." the old man said, glancing at Yan Huai standing beside him. He was both frightened and confused.
“Continue!” Wu Sansheng shouted.
"I just never expected this grandpa to be a god! He popped out from some unknown hole, dragged Lu Lao Er down with him, and even took his life!" The old man's raised hand trembled uncontrollably, and he forced a smile onto his wrinkled face. "But, good job, god grandpa! Good job!"
Wu Sansheng sneered, staring intently at the old man: "Good riddance. Besides this one, I also heard that a guide led a group of people into the mountains before. Did you see them?"
"This...I..."
The old man stammered for a long time without uttering a word. Da Kui lost his patience and kicked him, yelling, "I'm asking you a question! Didn't you see me?!"
Looking at the kick, Wu felt a pain in his heart, and he frowned and turned his back slightly.
"Cough cough cough—look, I see them! They're heading north, like they're going to the ancient tomb!" The old man was caught off guard and took the full force of the kick to the chest, leaving him breathless.
Now that Wu Sansheng had asked the question he wanted to ask, he no longer cared about the old man's life or death. He nodded to Yan Huai and secretly pulled back Wu Xie, who was about to say something, shaking his head imperceptibly to signal Wu Xie not to get involved.
Yan Huai also looked at Wu Xie, but didn't say anything. He simply reached out and pulled out the branding knife from his back, bent down, picked up the old man, and walked away into the distance...
"Ding—Task 1 is complete. Congratulations to the host for finally obtaining a 10x10 cubic meter system space, which has been placed into the Buddhist beads on the host's wrist. You can retrieve and put away items simply by using your mind (Note: The space does not currently support storing living things)."
Yan Huai wiped the branding knife clean and put it back in its sheath. He then tested the system space inside the prayer beads. It wasn't too big or too small. The only thing that was always there was the 100,000 yuan reward he received from completing Mission Two. As for the rest... he had absolutely nothing else to put in it.
After returning the way he came, Yan Huai saw the crowd waiting for him in a shady spot.
Wu Xie's gaze fell on him first. His face was a little pale. He looked at Yan Huai approaching and wanted to speak several times, but he held back. He felt that the old man was old and if he sincerely repented, he didn't necessarily have to be killed.
Yan Huai could tell what Wu Xie was thinking just by looking at his expression. He couldn't help but sigh inwardly. He walked up to Wu Xie and took out a cylindrical crossbow launcher and an arrow that had already been released from the launcher from his waist.
"He used it just now. This was specially made, so be careful handling it." Yan Huai shoved both items into Wu Xie's still-stunned hands, then said to Wu Sansheng and the others, "Let's go!"
Wu Sansheng responded, walked over to Wu Xie, patted him on the shoulder, and said, "Let's go, nephew! You don't know how people's minds work yet, but you'll see more of that in the future!"
Upon hearing this, Wu Xie gripped the object in his hand tightly, a hint of sorrow creeping into his expression. Human life is worthless, but the human heart is even less so. What's more terrifying than ghosts and gods is the human heart—hadn't his grandfather told him that long ago...?
After a minor incident, the group climbed up a steep slope, and the sharp-eyed Da Pan spotted the location of the landslide that Yin Lan had mentioned earlier.
The area formed a silt-filled, gravel slope, with a large depression near the ground where many shrubs and wild grasses had grown. It was probably formed by the pressure of the sacrificial cauldron that held the human head. Since there was no further collapse and no covering material around it, the place was preserved.
After bypassing the landslide, the group walked a few hundred meters further before entering the rainforest where ancient tombs were buried.
Yan Huai looked around, but didn't feel anything was familiar. It seemed that unless he remembered something at a specific time, it was impossible for him to have any instinctive reaction.
"The menacing atmosphere here has intensified; quite a few people went in before us."
Wu Sansheng's face was very grim. What he feared most was that someone would beat him to it, so he had to hurry.
"Brother Yan, let's hurry! We need to find the entrance to the ancient tomb as soon as possible."