Chapter 352: Goodnight, Xie Hong

"You agreed?" Xia Qinglan's eyes were filled with surprise.

"I think any hot-blooded man would certainly agree!"

Ye Lin wore a look of righteousness. He swore to the heavens that agreeing was absolutely for the sake of the human ancestors, and had not the slightest bit to do with the Canglan Ring!

"The other half of the flagpole is in Uncle Jiang's hands; I will take you to find him! As for the remaining flag surface... that will have to depend on you. The flag surface is in the hands of those human skins."

Xia Qinglan took Ye Lin out the door to find the Uncle Jiang she spoke of.

Along the way, Ye Lin also learned that Xia Qinglan was actually a class-changer, though her level was a pitiful 23.

After all, in a place like the Millennium City where skin-corpses were everywhere, there weren't many places for her to improve her strength, and even her class-change ceremony had been held in secret.

After passing through several alleys, Xia Qinglan brought Ye Lin to a half-hidden iron door, with a sliver of light shining from behind it.

Xia Qinglan stepped forward and knocked gently on the door.

"Uncle Jiang, it's me, Qinglan. I've brought a friend over."

The door creaked open, and a middle-aged man of about fifty, dressed in simple clothes, appeared behind it. The lamplight shone on his rugged, furrowed face, revealing a touch of tenacity.

Seeing Ye Lin, a flash of scrutiny crossed Uncle Jiang's eyes, and he then nodded toward Xia Qinglan.

"Child, come in and talk."

After welcoming Xia Qinglan and Ye Lin inside, Uncle Jiang closed the iron door and locked it behind them.

"Who is he?"

Uncle Jiang asked, pointing at Ye Lin.

"He is an outsider named Xie Hong. His strength is very high; I saw him kill a human skin with my own eyes! Uncle Jiang, perhaps this time we can truly restore the glory of the Human Emperor Flag and let the ancestors within this Millennium City find release!" Xia Qinglan explained.

Upon hearing this, Uncle Jiang did not show the slightest bit of joy. He merely frowned, looked Ye Lin up and down, and his eyes were filled with suspicion.

"Those human skins were all powerful human ancestors in their lifetimes. The skin-corpses they turned into are at least level 50 at their weakest. Someone so young? Able to kill a human skin?"

Seeing that Uncle Jiang did not believe him, Ye Lin had no choice but to reveal his aura.

"I am but a humble person, already level 73, a Forbidden Spellcaster by profession."

The terrifying aura caused both Uncle Jiang and Xia Qinglan to feel an intense sense of oppression.

"Level 73 at such a young age? And a Forbidden Spellcaster?" Uncle Jiang was overjoyed. "Good, good, good! It seems our human kin outside have developed to a level beyond our understanding!"

Xia Qinglan also felt a sense of longing upon hearing this. What was the world outside like?

"I know why you have come. I have hidden that half of the flagpole over there. You two should rest well here for the night and get your energy up; I will go and retrieve the flagpole!"

Uncle Jiang was an impatient man. Once he confirmed that Ye Lin truly had the strength, he arranged a room for Ye Lin and Xia Qinglan and immediately hurried out the door to retrieve the remaining half of the flagpole.

Ye Lin and Xia Qinglan could not dissuade him and could only stay here to rest obediently. The awkward part was that Uncle Jiang had only arranged one bedroom for the two of them, though fortunately, there were two beds.

The two lay on their respective beds, and the atmosphere was somewhat awkward for a moment.

"Xie Hong," Xia Qinglan said, breaking the silence. "What is the world outside like?"

"Hmm... not much to say. It's a pretty shitty place, but when you have free time, you can go to the docks for some fries and a glass of cold beer; it's not too bad," Ye Lin said truthfully.

"Really? Don't you have to worry about being attacked by monsters?" Xia Qinglan asked.

"No, the city walls block the monsters, and ordinary people can live and work in peace, though it's not quite as free," Ye Lin replied.

"That's wonderful... If we can succeed, the people of the Millennium City will also be able to live like that."

Xia Qinglan smiled, her smile full of longing for a future life.

"Do you think we will succeed?"

"We will."

Ye Lin nodded. If nothing else, the Human Emperor Flag was a nine-star divine artifact! Even if it was in a damaged state, what if Qiu Xingyuan could repair it when he brought it back?

Furthermore, the corpse of the Skin-Corpse King was his goal for this trip anyway.

Getting the Skin-Corpse King's corpse, plus getting a Human Emperor Flag and a Canglan Ring for free—this deal was a massive profit no matter how you calculated it. This was the reason Ye Lin was willing to take the risk; otherwise, he would have run away long ago. He was the type who never got out of bed unless there was profit to be made.

Just as Ye Lin was curious about what abilities the Human Emperor Flag might have, he suddenly felt a warmth beside him, and a soft, warm body lay down next to him.

"I know it's an excessive request to ask you to risk your life for the people of the Millennium City to deal with those skin-corpses, but other than the Canglan Ring, I really have nothing else to give you... If... if you need it... I can give myself to you... I am very clean..."

By the end of her sentence, Xia Qinglan's voice was as soft as a mosquito's, but she still gathered her courage and began to unfasten her clothes.

She had witnessed with her own eyes her loved ones being gnawed away bit by bit by skin-corpses. Kind people who have been rained on want to hold an umbrella for others; she simply could not bear to see this scene repeat itself for anyone else in the Millennium City.

Ye Lin reached out and refastened the clothes Xia Qinglan had undone.

"You are a person, not an object. There is no need to describe yourself as clean or unclean. The reward for me taking action is enough with just the Canglan Ring," Ye Lin said with a sunny smile.

However, his explanation did not sound that way to Xia Qinglan's ears. She felt a bit aggrieved, bit her lip, and looked up to ask.

"Xie Hong, do you... think I'm ugly?"

"Of course not, I just don't like taking advantage of people in distress," Ye Lin explained.

In all fairness, Xia Qinglan was definitely not ugly. Her fresh and lovely face could be described as that of a delicate beauty, and her pool-like eyes added much to her appearance.

It was just that Ye Lin really had no interest in taking advantage of people in distress. When he lied to people, it was usually to improve his strength or obtain information; Ye Lin disdained the act of tricking someone into bed.

To put it bluntly, with his current status as a level 73 Forbidden Spellcaster, if he were to say he wanted a woman, the women willing to lie in his bed would be enough to line up from the Capital to Qingcheng.

"Really?" Xia Qinglan returned to her own bed, half-believing. Thinking of her bold actions just now, her ears felt a little hot.

"Of course it's true. If I'm lying, may I, Xie Hong, be unable to take a shit for a month. Get some rest now," Ye Lin vowed.

"Alright... then... goodnight, Xie Hong." Xia Qinglan quickly pulled up the quilt.

The night color spread across the sky like ink, adding a touch of softness and mystery to the quiet night.

Just as Ye Lin and Xia Qinglan both fell into a deep sleep, a pale human skin, like flowing liquid, silently crawled in from under the crack of the door...