Chapter 123: Danger Lurks Everywhere

After Feng Yan had drunk, he again placed the wine gourd in his hand back on his waist.

At that very moment, his finger touched the damaged scroll.

What he saw next was the damaged Adventurers' Book; Feng Yan's mind always held the image of a girl he could not shake, feeling that girl was very important to him. Unfortunately, he could not recall her name, and behind her were two other girls who also seemed quite important to him.

Alcohol rushed to his head, Feng Yan felt his mind growing increasingly fuzzy, then his body tilted backward and he fell heavily to the ground…

As Feng Yan felt his consciousness weakening, he saw the children's frightened, panicked expressions, but what he thought about was something else.

Her—who exactly is she?

As he lay on the ground, watching the children run toward him in panic, his doubts grew. Many people appeared in his vision, all shouting his name.

Feng Yan, Feng Yan…

"What exactly am I doing? Is this place worth it?"

Darkness—only endless darkness lay before him; Feng Yan remained in this darkness, continually turning his head to look around.

Until that moment arrived, Feng Yan stopped.

What lay ahead in his vision was merely a tiny white dot, yet to Feng Yan it signified the place of hope.

As the white light point grew larger and became glaring, Feng Yan covered his eyes, leaving only a sliver at the corner to peek secretly at it.

Feng Yan felt that there was someone or something he cared about there.

This would be his chance to obtain an answer, Feng Yan thought.

As the white light gradually dimmed, Feng Yan lowered his hand and stared fixedly ahead until a black silhouette appeared in front of him!

Feng Yan widened his eyes, wondering what kind of person could appear here, while also feeling anticipation, hoping that this person would resolve his doubts and give him the answer he sought.

Feng Yan watched the black silhouette walk toward him, and he also stepped forward to meet it.

One step, two steps, three steps—getting closer…

Feng Yan's anticipation grew; he could not restrain his excitement, he touched his chest, but his hand passed straight through his own chest!

Feng Yan was first startled, then slowly recalled that he had apparently fainted earlier; thus this was merely an illusion!

Yes! An illusion! After confirming it, he continued walking forward.

The distance between them grew ever closer; although they could not see each other's faces, Feng Yan felt that the person before him was very familiar.

The black shadow began to slowly reveal its true form, gradually dispersing like ink, exposing the face beneath the shadow.

Feng Yan finally saw the shadow's face clearly—a girl; the moment he saw her, his empty chest actually felt pain.

"Why did you come here?" Feng Yan, without giving her a proper glance, turned his face aside and spoke coldly.

And, the moment Feng Yan saw her, he did not know why he spoke that way; he only felt a deep sense of being deceived.

It was like a best friend playing a dirty trick on you, then mocking you behind your back as an idiot.

If this saying were applied to feelings, when two people like the same girl, what would that be?

Is it baseness, or is it that the person makes him feel disgusted? Feng Yan's mind suddenly conjured this question.

In the next second, the girl's voice came out, and his thought shattered instantly like a whole pane of glass, emitting a clear ringing sound!

Splash!

This was the sound in Feng Yan's heart; he couldn't help but turn his head to look at the girl's face before him.

A face both familiar and strange, the girl smiled, yet her expression was tightly closed, her complexion pale, but her black eyes remained bright; her eyes met Feng Yan's and she spoke in a bell-like voice: "Long time no see, Feng Yan… I feel I have done something wrong."

It was precisely this sentence that made Feng Yan feel the girl was very familiar, that she was an important person in his heart! But, but! I actually, actually can't remember her name!

"Ah…"

Feng Yan shouted, jumping up from the bed; he looked around at the exquisite royal-style décor, realizing he had been brought to the palace by the soldiers.

Feng Yan's head ached slightly; he recalled the illusion from before he fainted, that familiar girl, and his heart began to ache softly again.

Feng Yan touched his chest, then took out the damaged Adventurers' Book, staring at it as if it were a living creature.

Feng Yan solemnly said to it: "You should be a book with a story, right?"

Yet the only reply was the silence of the whole room; although there were guards outside, not a single sound was made.

Feng Yan slowly rose, put on his clothes; his long sword lay beside his bed, quietly leaning against the bed's edge.

After confirming his belongings were still there, Feng Yan felt relieved.

Feng Yan rarely showed a smile; then he heard children's laughter outside, followed by a joint delighted cheer.

Feng Yan was drawn by that laughter, walking step by step to the gate, trying to hear something.

"He's alive! He's alive! Big brother will surely be pleased, hahaha, I really want to see big brother's smile!"

Feng Yan heard the children making a ruckus, opened the gate with a smile, which creaked; the children turned and all rushed toward Feng Yan.

Some children still had tears in their eyes; Feng Yan looked at their smiles, and his own smile grew richer.

"Big brother is fine, that's great…" The children all said this together, then let out a choked tremor.

"I'm not fine?" Feng Yan looked at the children before him and said calmly.

The children gradually calmed down as well; the sensible ones began to report to him the condition of the girl he had carried back.

After hearing the children's words, Feng Yan let out a breath of relief, and his anxious heart also settled at that moment.

The children told Feng Yan that the girl had been revived by the king's physician; now she only needed subsequent nourishment.

Feng Yan nodded, then solemnly told the children: "You stay here; older brother I must undertake a very important matter."

The children nodded, not blocking Feng Yan; they watched him leave, expecting that this brave older brother would bring better news.

Feng Yan stepped away, eager to learn the condition of the girl he had brought back, and also hoping to obtain from her some details about that strange courtyard—why the children feared it so much that their legs went weak at the sight of those people; also, where was the sister of the boy who had died on his back? Was that place truly the rumored hell on earth?

Feng Yan had no answers to these questions; he could only search for clues bit by bit, awaiting the final answer.

At the same time, he felt some unease, fearing that the answer he obtained might be the opposite of the true one.

Walking step by step, Feng Yan no longer had the mind to admire the so-called royal-style garden; instead, these problems troubled him, he gradually organized his thoughts, but he always felt the clues were too few, and that he needed to enter that place himself to gain useful information.

Feng Yan arrived at the gate of the king's palace; the king was waiting for Feng Yan, and upon seeing him arrive, the king smiled and said: "Sir, you have finally returned; I believe you are the war god sent by our deity, the divine child who will lead us to unify the world."

Son of God? What nonsense? Feng Yan heard the king say that, and couldn't help feeling something was off, yet he had no way to refute it. He could only remain silent.

The king laughed, seeing Feng Yan's silent appearance, and thought Feng Yan had already agreed with what he said.

The prince also looked at Feng Yan, his eyes full of contempt; in his view, the so-called adventurer before him was nothing but a good-for-nothing who just ate and loafed around, and perhaps he himself didn't have any real talent.

Especially after receiving it, the prince deepened this notion even further; seeing his father so humbly begging the talentless person before him again, his contempt reached its peak, and the anger in his heart was enough to kill Feng Yan twice!

"How is that child now?" Feng Yan suddenly raised his head and asked the king this question.

It was obvious the king was also taken aback by the question; he hadn't expected Feng Yan's reply to him to be such a sentence, and moreover it had nothing to do with his request. Earlier he had elevated Feng Yan to the status of a Son of God—did he not care about that?

"That girl, that girl is fine; she has already been saved by the imperial physician of the Wanggong, and is now undergoing the next step of treatment." The king replied.

"Then, tell me another answer."

"What answer?"

"When I left the imperial palace earlier, I came to the courtyard of a wealthy family, where many cries of children could be heard. There I saw a boy who had been tortured to death; the boy begged me to rescue his sister. So I think, as the king, issuing this order shouldn't be difficult for you." Feng Yan asked the king, and at the same time explained the girl's background. Of course, Feng Yan concealed the danger of the mass grave, merely leaking the news of that courtyard.

"You are a respected person on this continent; I think everything you do is noble, you are this!" The king deliberately used honorifics when speaking to Feng Yan, and at the same time gave him a thumbs-up.

"Well, I'll just say it straight: I want to enter that courtyard. I don't know if Your Majesty the King could issue an imperial edict for that?" Feng Yan didn't buy the king's act; this time he directly stated his idea.

The king was in a dilemma; his original intention had been to request the adventurer join his country, but now he didn't know what to do. Just as he was at a loss, panicked and confused, he only heard two words.

"Release the arrows!"