Chapter 138: Discovery

The gears of destiny have begun to turn; what will ultimately happen to these people from another world?

The old man closed the book and lifted his head to look at the massive stone statue above him.

The old man closed his eyes, praying devoutly to something; the statue above looked solemn beyond measure, holding a huge axe in its hand, with a basket on its back from which wheat ears protruded.

"Wise ancient god, have you seen? Those people, guided by you, have come here; the Norse god‑king and other deities have already been slain by the youth wielding the Black Sword, and he too has had his memory erased by our evil dragon's venom. Now he only remembers his own name."

The old man reported the situation to the statue above, and seemed to sense that the statue was also listening.

"Heavenly Father brings blessings, sending their children as Adventurers to the mortal world to endure hardships; they are not the Father's offspring, yet they will surely fulfill the Father's task perfectly!"

The old man's hoarse voice echoed in a dark room, reverberating repeatedly, making the atmosphere exceedingly eerie.

"It seems like a strange dream," Chen Hao yawned, then rose slowly, dressed himself gradually, performed his daily routine, and finally arrived at the inn's lower level.

At that moment, Jin Meng had already prepared the food and beckoned Chen Hao to sit.

Jin Meng looked around, and after Chen Hao sat down, secretly passed an item from under the table.

Chen Hao watched Jin Meng's movements, initially feeling very surprised, then only saw Jin Meng repeatedly signaling to him, while the hand under the table kept patting its own leg.

Only then did Chen Hao realize that the item must be extremely important.

So Chen Hao nodded, took the item, glanced at it quickly, and slipped it straight into his pocket.

"Scroll? Where did it come from?"

Listening to Chen Hao's question, Jin Meng replied, "I don't know; when I woke up, it was right before my eyes."

Chen Hao found it odd and thought the item must be something that speeds up the game's progress.

Thus Chen Hao told Jin Meng, "Our plan needs to be more meticulous."

Jin Meng nodded, and the two placed a gold ingot on the table.

After the two went upstairs, a server who attended customers came to the table, picked up the gold ingot, bit it, and by the bite mark confirmed without doubt that it was genuine.

By then there were few customers left; the server brought the gold ingot before the proprietor, the ingot slapped against the counter, and when the proprietor looked up, his eyes fixed on the ingot and the bite mark, knowing it was unquestionably real.

So the proprietor gave the server a signal to lean in, and whispered to ask which private room the guest was in.

The server whispered for a while, and after the proprietor confirmed, he slowly moved away from the proprietor's ear.

The server, seeing the proprietor deep in thought, politely withdrew.

The proprietor? He, holding that gold ingot, after careful consideration, nodded.

"It seems the portrait has already been delivered into that bounty hunter's hands," the proprietor said softly.

At this moment, inside the room, Chen Hao and Jin Meng carefully opened the scroll.

The first thing that met their eyes was a painting.

A painting depicting a scene they had witnessed.

The giant dragon seized a figure in blue clothing, lunging forward to fly; its sharp teeth pierced his skin, and the youth consequently could not awaken.

"Ah, so that's it," Chen Hao said, looking at the painting, feeling he now roughly understood the matter.

"According to what the scroll shows, Master Feng Yan lost his memory because of the dragon's venom," Jin Meng voiced his thought.

"Close enough, but we need to ascertain this dragon's name," Chen Hao agreed with Jin Meng and then offered a suggestion.

"Work, huh? Should we use some other method?" Feng Yan muttered to himself, then bent down to pick up the axe handle that had fallen on the ground.

He then glanced at the axe blade in his hand, recalling the Prince's attitude toward the king, feeling a subtle nuance.

"Ah, so this is what they call power?" Feng Yan thought, showing a playful smile.

Feng Yan set the axe handle down and continued to stare at the blade.

After his soul pondered for a while, Feng Yan decided to test whether his idea was correct.

Finally, he crouched and gently tapped with the axe blade experimentally.

As the axe handle emitted a faint cracking sound, wood shavings fell from above, and then he heard the sound of metal striking from within the handle.

Ding…

The crisp sound left Feng Yan even more perplexed; the handle, originally wooden, now resonated with metal collisions inside.

Feng Yan realized that this seemingly ordinary axe head had actually been disguised.

Beyond the blade's dark‑red hue, the handle was merely a very rough piece; the two together were never a good match, and now Feng Yan had uncovered one blind spot.

This axe had been disguised.

Feng Yan slowly shaved the surrounding wood with the blade; as shavings fell to the ground, the handle began to reveal its true form.

It was a dark‑red iron axe handle, and the blade gradually started to change as well.

The center of the blade darkened, and within it a kneeling figure emerged, hands poised to receive something.

The kneeling person, ready to take the axe, did not look up to see the giver's face; this comprised the entire content of that side of the axe.

Feng Yan stared in bewilderment; just as he was about to turn to the other side, the surrounding environment suddenly lit up entirely.

Feng Yan felt a sudden shock in his heart, thinking something was terribly wrong; the current state had confused him so much that he could no longer tell whether anyone else was present besides himself.

"Who's there!"—with a hint of fear in his heart, Feng Yan shouted loudly.

"No, no one. Child, you have not yet uncovered this nation's true origin, but you have already obtained its fragments. Now I will give you another thing."

The voice seemed to answer Feng Yan's question, then a white silhouette appeared.

A white flash appeared in its hand; the light around the white dot gradually faded, revealing what lay within the glow.

Just a rusted iron nail, Feng Yan was very...

"Alas"

The sigh revealed Feng Yan's disappointment without any concealment; just this single nail, Feng Yan truly did not know what it could be used for.

"Fine, let's go out; at least we have made some discovery," Feng Yan resigned, gently reminding himself that there was still a discovery, not a total zero progress.

Feng Yan walked toward the gate; the soldiers had already changed shifts twice, and only then did Feng Yan realize that a day and a night had passed.

"Sir!" The soldier, seeing Feng Yan emerge from the room, saluted naturally.

"Hmm." Feng Yan replied, then waved his hand to summon a soldier, patted the man's shoulder, and said, "Take this now and inform the king, tell him this is my latest discovery."

The soldier saluted, then ran off; afterwards Feng Yan placed the so‑called treasure into his bosom and left.

Feng Yan felt that it had been a long time since he had seen the children, and now he could go see them.

"Hmm." Feng Yan made a sound, then nodded and muttered to himself, "Then, what should I bring?"

The king sat in the great hall, and the ministers discussed the king's decision, considering it highly improper—to hand the nation's supreme treasure to an outsider and even allocate a place for its study was truly unsuitable.

"I know what you're afraid of, but can you repair our treasure?" the king, growing impatient, asked directly.

For a moment the great hall fell silent, and only a unified voice remained.

"Your Majesty is wise!"

"Sigh, if you were even a little useful, we wouldn't have handed our treasure to an outsider for repair." The king sighed helplessly, then shook his head.

"Report! Soldiers sent by Lord Feng Yan are outside!"

Hearing that call, the king snapped his head up, his eyes flashing with an unusual gleam.

"You mean! That person—what did they discover?" The king's face showed unabashed excitement, startling the ministers and arousing their curiosity.

Things that many masters in the kingdom could not repair, once in that person's hands, showed progress within a few days.