Chapter 16
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A fine, steady rain washed over the mountain forest. Not a single bird called among the trees; the world was utterly silent.
Cen An had never taken the path to the bamboo grove before, so he hesitated, stopping to determine which way to go.
Behind him, the black-robed man’s fingers twitched, and he leaned forward slightly.
Suddenly, Cen An turned around. The brim of his bamboo hat hung low, revealing only his perfectly shaped chin.
“Are you not coming out?”
The black-robed man paused but made no move.
Cen An frowned. Ever since leaving the village, he had sensed that someone was following him. It was a strange feeling, as though he were surrounded by some peculiar aura.
He opened the map and glanced at it. The map could not display the movements of other people, yet the sensation of being followed lingered.
Just as he began to think he had been mistaken, the bushes behind him rustled, and a black-robed man stepped out.
“It’s you?” Cen An exclaimed in surprise. “Why have you been following me?”
The newcomer was Yu Fei.
This peculiar psychic ability user walked up to Cen An in a few steps. Raindrops struck his ugly black robe, then bounced off without leaving it wet. He extended a hand and offered Cen An something.
“For you.”
Cen An lowered his eyes. It was a little rabbit woven from blades of grass, with a round body, two long ears, and two glossy black grass seeds for eyes. It was adorable, filled with childish charm.
Yu Fei’s voice was as emotionless as a dead man’s.
“He said, ‘Brother Cen, don’t forget me, okay? Remember to come visit me—or wait until I’m better, and I’ll come see you. The little rabbit is cute, right?’”
Cen An: ...
The robotic, deadpan “okay” and “right” could really have been omitted.
“All right. Thank you.” Cen An put away the grass rabbit. He did not feel like asking why Yu Fei had followed him for so long merely to deliver something. “I’ll visit him when I have time. You can go back now.”
Yu Fei spoke again.
“Can’t.”
Cen An stared at him. “What?”
“Mutated beasts everywhere.”
“Hm?”
Cen An was just about to reply when a clump of grass beside his foot stirred. A slender body marked with golden patterns slithered out.
A second-level mutated beast—the Golden-Striped Snake!
He jerked his head up. At some point, rustling sounds had begun to fill the previously silent mountains. One low-level mutated beast after another crawled out from between the grass and trees.
—
Back in the village, Qu Yue and Zhao Wu were chewing on radishes with their daughter. Their girl had yet to awaken an ability, so feeding her radishes worth four crystals each was somewhat wasteful.
But the white radishes were sweet, crisp, and fruity in texture. The couple did not mind spending the money to let their daughter indulge.
Suddenly, someone kicked the gate open. Ji Yong’an stood there and shouted, “Sister Qu, Brother Zhao, come out quickly! The patrol team on the mountain says a small mutated-beast tide has appeared!”
“What?” Qu Yue shot to her feet and strode outside. “Have you notified Captain Shi? Sound the alarm throughout the village and the surrounding area, and bring back all the villagers who went up the mountain!”
Zhao Wu followed her out. Their daughter, Qu Huihui, sensibly gathered up the remaining radishes, ran into the house, and shut the door.
“Everyone’s been notified.” Ji Yong’an looked anxious. “It’s the overcast-rain season, so the villagers haven’t gone far. They’re all returning now. But one of the mountain patrolmen said he saw Brother Cen heading deeper into the forest. He may not have heard the warning.”
“What?” Qu Yue was even more agitated than before. “Then go find him! Who saw him? Why didn’t they warn him?”
“It was one of Captain Shi’s men.” Wang Lie came running over as well, his baby-faced features unusually solemn. “They aren’t familiar with Brother Cen. They only noticed him because someone was heading into the mountains during the overcast-rain season. But the patrolman remembered the direction. I was just about to take a group to look for him.”
The members of the grocery-shopping squad followed behind him.
“I’m going with you.” Qu Yue’s expression was murderous. “Old Zhao, where’s my seed pouch?”
Zhao Wu pulled a small pouch from inside his robe and handed it to her.
Qu Yue was already bristling with fury.
“Let’s go! Damn those mutated beasts. If they dare lay a hand on my little brother, I’ll burn this entire mountain bald!”
In her overwhelming worry, she had apparently forgotten that when she and her husband had once been in danger, it was Cen An who had rescued them.
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Could it be that this little brother of theirs actually possessed the ability to protect himself?
Wang Lie and Zhao Wu immediately led the others after her.
—
In the mountain forest, Cen An stared blankly at the mutated beasts emerging one after another.
First-level beasts included Fang Rats, Purple-Skinned Frogs, and Brown-Beaked Ducks. Second-level beasts included Golden-Striped Snakes, Roaring Rabbits, and Blue-Furred Hounds.
A rough count revealed more than a dozen different species, with over a hundred beasts in total.
Ever since crossing into this world, the only mutated beasts Cen An had ever seen in this forest were Fang Rats.
Cen An was bewildered. “What’s going on?”
“Mutated-beast tide,” Yu Fei said woodenly.
After a moment’s thought, he added two more words.
“Small-scale.”
A small-scale mutated-beast tide...
Cen An’s thoughts raced. He had his iron sword, and he was carrying Emerald Burst Crystal Pellets as well. Staying alive would not be a problem. But whether he could deal with so many mutated beasts was another matter entirely. He had no confidence.
Low-level mutated beasts were not very intelligent. After only a few breaths, a Purple-Skinned Frog came hopping over, its swollen belly bobbing with every leap.
Its long tongue was remarkably elastic, and the mucus coating it possessed a certain corrosive quality. It was not an easy opponent.
Once again, Cen An felt that strange aura, as though he were being encircled. He turned around and saw that Yu Fei’s eyes had turned purple. His ability had been activated.
The level-one Purple-Skinned Frog immediately stopped. Extending its long, webbed forepaws, it obediently crawled before Yu Fei and stretched out its neck to receive a single slash. Its life ended instantly.
“Get behind me.”
The hoarse voice rang out. It took Cen An a moment to realize that Yu Fei was speaking to him.
“Ah, no need.”
He drew his iron sword.
The iron sword increased his attack power, making it more than adequate against mutated beasts below the third level.
He then flipped his hand and took out two Emerald Burst Crystal Pellets. Turquoise was rare, and the pellets were limited in number, but this was exactly the kind of situation in which they had to be used.
The mutated beasts all around them rushed forward, each scrambling to be first.
Cen An swept his sword outward. The corpse of a Brown-Beaked Duck fell to the ground. A Roaring Rabbit nearby was fast enough to evade the first strike, but not the second; it too collapsed moments later.
Seeing that the beasts before him still formed a dense, endless mass, Cen An threw out an Emerald Burst Crystal Pellet without hesitation.
Jade-green smoke exploded through the forest. Every beast surrounded by it immediately collapsed unconscious.
Cen An hurried over and finished them off one by one with his sword.
Yu Fei, who had been about to go support him, froze. He had never seen anyone deal with mutated beasts in such a manner. Even so, he used his ability to lure several more beasts over from the other side.
Cen An, however, was thinking about something else.
He could not bear to leave all those mutated-beast corpses lying on the ground. He wanted them.
But Yu Fei was standing right beside him. Secretly putting a few into his backpack might be fine, but if he took too many, Yu Fei would certainly notice.
Before long, however, Cen An no longer had the time to worry about that.
There were simply too many mutated beasts. Their levels were low and their killing power limited, but their numbers were overwhelming. After fighting for half a day, Cen An and Yu Fei had barely killed a fifth of them.
Cen An’s arm had grown numb from swinging the sword and was beginning to lose strength. If this continued, he might well be injured.
Just as he was thinking this, the motion of raising his sword shifted slightly. He narrowly avoided having his face pecked by a Brown-Beaked Duck.
Fortunately, Yu Fei blocked it in time.
“Thank you.” Cen An exhaled in relief, twisted his wrist, and sent the Brown-Beaked Duck to its end.
Yu Fei silently stood in front of him. His face remained as lifeless as ever, yet somehow, he seemed to offer a greater sense of security.
A thought suddenly occurred to Cen An. Could Yu Fei have sensed that he was about to be surrounded by mutated beasts, and followed him for that reason?
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Cen An clenched his teeth, flipped his hand, and clamped five Emerald Burst Crystal Pellets between his fingers.
Fine. He would make it a big one.
Just then, a familiar shout suddenly came from the distance.
“Little Cen!”
“Brother Cen, we’re here!”
A thick vine flew through the air and lashed directly into the mutated beasts before Cen An, sending them flying.
Bright serpents of flame arrived a moment later, burning several beasts until they rolled across the ground. Even much of the moisture in the air was steamed away.
Earth spikes, water arrows, iron nails—every kind of ability arrived as if they had agreed upon the timing in advance.
Cen An looked up and froze.
They had come too? Had they... come looking for him?
Qu Yue controlled the vine to carry herself over, then grabbed Cen An and examined him from head to toe.
“How are you, Little Cen? Are you hurt?”
“No...” Cen An shook his head.
Qu Yue did not have time to listen. Only after checking him thoroughly did she relax.
“You! Going up the mountain alone during the overcast-rain season without telling anyone—you nearly frightened me to death! And then you had to run into a small mutated-beast tide. I was so worried that I—”
“Alone...”
Cen An wondered, What about Yu Fei?
He turned around, but the black-robed man who had been standing beside him only moments before had vanished without a trace.
Judging by Qu Yue’s expression, she had not noticed him at all.
Cen An did not expose Yu Fei. He merely smiled and apologized to Qu Yue.
Wang Lie and Zhao Wu came running over with the others as well. Wang Lie clapped his hands, and a fire dragon flew forward.
“Brother Cen, are you hurt?”
“No.” Cen An smiled and shook his head. “Thank you all for coming to find me. I’ve caused you trouble...”
Wang Lie burst out laughing and said in his usual careless manner, “Look at our Brother Cen. I really admire how approachable he is.”
The other members of the ability squad laughed and joked along with him. They were all experienced at killing mutated beasts, and a small-scale tide posed no great danger.
Cen An was baffled. He did not understand what they meant.
Wang Lie continued, “Brother Cen, do you know how much help all those vegetables of yours have been to us? They ease ability instability! Three hundred years have passed since the Great Mutation, and this is the first time anyone’s found something that works. You could sell a single vegetable for ten thousand—or even a hundred thousand—crystals, and we’d still have to accept it.”
“And yet you treat them like ordinary vegetables. Two crystals, three crystals, then you push an entire cart over and let us pick through it. You’re practically a living golden Buddha now. We wouldn’t have time to worship you properly even if we put you on an altar. How could we possibly let anything happen to you?”
“Exactly!”
The squad members cheerfully echoed him, displaying their wholehearted agreement.
It was the first time Cen An had ever received such direct praise. His face flushed faintly.
“It isn’t that serious...”
“All right, all right.” Seeing his embarrassment, Qu Yue waved a hand. “Let’s hurry up and finish the fight so we can go home!”
Everyone immediately threw themselves into the battle with renewed enthusiasm.
Cen An did not conserve the Emerald Burst Crystal Pellets in his hand, either. He continued tossing them out one after another.
Although the squad members did not complain, many of them possessed only first- or second-level abilities, and fighting was not easy for them.
Their advantage lay in their seamless teamwork and familiarity with mutated beasts.
With the Emerald Burst Crystal Pellets, however, everything changed. Jade-green smoke drifted through the battlefield, and the mutated beasts collapsed unconscious in clusters. All that remained was to finish them off one by one.
With Cen An’s support, a battle originally expected to last several hours ended in only an hour and a half.
This was Ji Yong’an’s first time taking part in clearing a mutated-beast tide, and he was tremendously excited.
“Brother Cen, what are those little green balls of yours? They’re incredibly useful!”
Cen An had not yet figured out how to answer when the young man, whose mouth was faster than his brain, was kicked by Wang Lie.
“Ask, ask, ask! You’re always asking questions!”
Ji Yong’an did not mind. He rubbed his backside and chuckled.
“Fine, fine, I won’t ask. I’ll go count the spoils!”
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