Chapter 138
It’s not that corpses and skeletons are uncommon in the game; having experienced dungeons before, Ye Bai had a good adaptability in this regard. Rather than being frightened by the corpse itself, she was more alarmed by the potential existence of a "undead creature."
The clothes on the skeleton were nearly rotted away, mostly a dark, clumped mass. Under Ye Bai's magnifying glass, a hint of metallic sheen was revealed.
Then, a system notification chimed in:
[You have discovered a 'Fragment of the High Vale Sentinel's Chainmail'. You gain 2 historical experience points and 1000 experience points.]
If Ye Bai had been observing alone, she likely wouldn’t have uncovered this elusive clue. Archaeological tools proved quite useful. However, judging by the experience rewards, this clue seemed to pertain only to the sentinel's personal quest.
The only useful information was that Ye Bai confirmed this area belonged to the High Vale Duchy.
Not finding any further information, Ye Bai stood up, ready to move on. But as she turned her head, she realized Ottofis, who had been by her side, had vanished without a trace.
Ye Bai's heart skipped a beat as she continued her search.
She walked down the corridor and soon stepped out of the outpost.
Outside the outpost, the surroundings were hardly better than the abandoned structure.
A wide road connected the outpost, stretching toward distant hills. On those hills, dark buildings loomed, vaguely resembling a fortress, but it was too far to discern clearly.
Surrounding the road, the remnants of a long-decayed town came into view.
What greeted her was a scene of desolation.
The entire town looked as if it had been pillaged countless times. There were no crops in sight, nor any decent, orderly buildings—just shabby shanties, haphazardly piled together, gray and black, filled with signs of patchwork repairs.
Ye Bai had never imagined that her first encounter with a town in the divine realm would present such a sight.
As her gaze swept around, Ye Bai paused.
Initially worried that Ottofis might have gone missing again, she was surprised to spot a familiar gray figure not far from her after stepping out of the outpost.
Ottofis was standing beside a crumbling wall, curiously sniffing at some wildflowers sprouting from the corner. It took a bite, chewed a couple of times, then spat it out, clearly displeased with the taste.
Not far from it, Ye Bai noticed three children wrapped in burlap, watching Ottofis with wide, curious eyes.
People!
Ye Bai felt a surge of joy; encountering living beings made things easier. She could ask these three children about the situation nearby.
However, as Ye Bai stepped out of the abandoned outpost and approached the children, she changed into a simple outfit of a common villager to appear more approachable.
To her surprise, before she even reached Ottofis, the moment the three children caught sight of her, they became agitated. They jumped up like startled birds and then scattered like frightened mice, disappearing into the surrounding dark shanties in the blink of an eye.
"That shouldn’t have happened..."
Ye Bai was taken aback. Having never made a mistake in communicating with NPCs before, she looked down at her attire, which was indeed that of a common villager.
Seeing the three children dressed in tattered burlap, clearly impoverished, she had deliberately avoided wearing anything flashy or expensive, even stowing away her sword, the Xue Se Zhi Jian, in her backpack to avoid scaring them.
She hadn’t expected them to deny her even the chance to communicate.
Ottofis approached Ye Bai, grinning mockingly and pointing back at the abandoned outpost.
"Is it because I came out of there?"
Ottofis nodded and opened its mouth, asking for bread.
This time, although Ye Bai had brought more bread, Ottofis's requests had also increased significantly. The bread she brought this time was a "plus" version; unlike the initial plain dough, the bakery in Bai Ye Town had started raising cows, so this batch of bread was infused with a delightful buttery aroma.
"Only if you promise not to run off."
Seeing Ottofis nod in agreement, she handed it a piece of bread.
After feeding Ottofis, Ye Bai looked again at the dilapidated town. It was now evening, and the setting sun cast a somber glow over the place. If she hadn’t just seen the three children, she might have thought this place was completely deserted.
Children were usually the least guarded in any area, and judging by the attitude of those three, it was clear that even if there were people here, they were not inclined to engage with her.
Ye Bai pondered for a moment, transforming her Qian Huan Yi into a gray windbreaker. She decided to follow the direction the three children had fled, delving deeper into the chaotic ruins, with Ottofis trailing behind her.
"Clang!"
"Wait..."
As she passed a half-collapsed wall, Ye Bai heard an accidental clatter and caught sight of a small figure. Just as she called out, the figure darted away like a nimble rabbit into the ruins behind.
[Slow Spell]
The figure's agile movements slowed, as if caught in quicksand.
Ye Bai hurried over. "I mean no harm; I just want to ask you..."
The person, startled, curled up tightly, clutching their head.
Seeing this, Ye Bai took out a piece of bread and offered it to them.
Sensing no threat and catching a whiff of the sweet aroma, the figure finally lifted their head.
Ye Bai saw a gaunt face, either an elderly person or a middle-aged one, so thin it was hard to tell. Upon seeing the bread in her hand, their pupils widened, revealing a clear struggle within.
Then, while Ye Bai was momentarily distracted, the person suddenly lunged forward, snatching the bread and stuffing it into their mouth.
It was a true shove, with no swallowing motion, and the speed was faster than Ottofis.
"Don’t be afraid, take your time eating," Ye Bai said, watching as the person gulped down the bread. "I’m just passing through. Can you tell me where this place is? Is it the High Vale Duchy?"
"High... Vale..." The old man glanced at Ye Bai cautiously, then somewhat woodenly repeated her words in a low voice, unsure if he understood.
Ye Bai paused, then rephrased her question: "Have you seen any strange people around?"
As soon as she finished speaking, the old man suddenly screamed:
"Don’t kill me! Don’t kill me!"
He struggled to stand and flee, but Ye Bai quickly grabbed him. The lingering effects of the Slow Spell made him feel an unfamiliar sense of helplessness, and in a fit of panic, he began to shout:
"Evergreen withers... the sky falls... the king's... crusade... never ends... wuwu..."
"The king's curse... the king's name... no one—"
Hearing this, Ye Bai was momentarily stunned, her grip loosening. With the effects of the Slow Spell wearing off, the old man broke free and ran away.
At that moment, Ye Bai couldn’t care less about holding onto him. The information that had just spilled from his mouth felt like a bard's song, and its content was anything but ordinary...
Evergreen withers, the sky falls.
Upon hearing these two phrases, Ye Bai immediately thought of the Emerald Forest and the Sky City.
And the king mentioned afterward?
Did it refer to the king of a kingdom, or... the God King?
The mention of a "crusade" was worth pondering. Ye Bai had always thought that the chaos in the divine realm, as described by the paper figure, was due to the various races fighting among themselves. Now, the tone of this song hinted that the God King might be the one orchestrating it all?
Ye Bai stood there, contemplating for a while. She felt she had gathered a lot of information, albeit vague. When she finally came to her senses, she looked up to find that night had fully descended.
"Where am I supposed to find the Infernal Cultists?"
Ye Bai instinctively asked, realizing that the method the paper figure had mentioned might not be easy to execute. Cultists typically moved in secrecy, making them hard to track down. The people here seemed unwilling to engage with outsiders, let alone divulge any information about the cultists.
Just as she finished speaking, she unexpectedly heard the paper figure from the magic scroll say, "Don’t worry, my lady. They’ll come out on their own at night."
Ye Bai: "...Huh?"
Come out on their own? That was not what she had expected!
As if to prove the paper figure's words true, just after saying this, Ye Bai spotted a flicker of firelight in the distance.
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