Chapter 163: It is looking at me

Morning.

Niumu, West City District, Ravenbeak Street.

The metal buckles of the chain mail rubbed and collided with each other as the body moved, making a subtle and crisp sound; the bright morning light spilled down, refracting a deep luster on the smooth and flawless umbral arm shield surface.

Xia Nan walked on the road alone, carrying two swords on his back.

There was no extra expression on his face, just walking silently.

The adventurer attire fully armed as if about to go deep into the Mist Forest, the sharp facial features, and the cold and biting temperament made the passersby walking toward him move their gazes away one after another and speed up their pace.

For fear of attracting the attention of this adventurer who looked like he was not to be trifled with.

Regarding this, Xia Nan naturally noticed.

And he was happy to be quiet.

The current him had just come out of Jeff's house and was on his way to the mission destination.

It must be said, although it was just a guest room temporarily cleared for him.

But that soft big bed where he wouldn't fall to the ground even if he rolled twice, the quiet environment without needing to endure the noise from the hall, next door, and stairs, and even the delicious breakfast that was quite to his taste just now.

The actual experience of living was far better than in the tavern.

Making Xia Nan consider the feasibility of purchasing a property in Niumu or Hegu Town once again.

It's a pity that his savings, which had just risen to the high three digits, had fallen to the bottom because of his consumption at the blacksmith shop.

Under the condition of needing to ensure mission supply procurement and daily expenses, it did not support another expenditure of over three digits.

"Save more money first."

Xia Nan calculated in his heart.

The current him was at least a proper professional, and after completing this association promotion mission, the efficiency of making money would definitely be much higher than in the past.

His small treasury should be full again very soon.

By then, whether it is continuing to save money to upgrade the snake scale arm shield on his body, or buying a house first to improve his quality of life, he can have a choice.

Speaking of which, the series of events triggered by the wood carving last night was undoubtedly an emergency that Jeff and his family, who had retired from the caravan and returned to ordinary life, would not encounter once in a few years.

Fortunately, Jeff reacted quickly, and the relevant handling was still appropriate.

Doris, Lilina, and others who had been purified by the holy light in the church also returned to their usual calm.

Counting the time, they should have arrived at the tailor shop now, preparing to open for business.

Recalling, the soft silver light mist like moonlight in the Moon God Church last night couldn't help but emerge in his mind.

Although it is unclear whether it can really play a role in dispelling and purifying the influence of the wood carving, obviously, this divine art cast by the clergy priest in the church has a very good effect in relieving mental pressure and replenishing physical strength.

Even, it also helped Xia Nan increase a point of 【Gravity Control】 proficiency.

The special perspective of observing the world from 【Gravity-Sensing Vision】 seemed to allow him to perceive slight regularities related to the operation of magic and divine arts at the "gravity" level.

It is still too early to draw a conclusion, but it also gave him a little idea about the development of future capabilities.

Perhaps... if there is a chance in the future, he can observe more with 【Gravity-Sensing Vision】 when spellcasters cast spells.

Not to mention any substantial gains, gaining a few points of combat technique proficiency is also good.

While pondering, Xia Nan stopped.

His gaze looked toward the building beside him.

What came into view was a two-story small building that looked slightly old.

It couldn't compare to Jeff's "mansion," and the residential area it was in was also quite ordinary, with nothing special.

His gaze swept across the house number, and Xia Nan took out the note with the mission location from his arms.

——No. 32, Grey Tree Lane, Ravenbeak Street, West City District

Comparing it, he nodded imperceptibly.

He walked forward slowly and knocked on the door gently.

Although he encountered so many things just after arriving in Niumu.

But he wouldn't forget the reason why he came to this big city from the "countryside."

Wood carvings, ability development, and the like are all secondary; he must first complete the promotion mission assigned to him by the association, so that he can obtain the qualification to go to the second floor of the association, in order to obtain information about how to improve professional levels, job transfers, and advancements.

Perhaps because he came too early, the owner of the house hadn't woken up yet.

Standing at the door, knocking intermittently, and waiting for three or five minutes.

Until Xia Nan felt that there might be no one inside and planned to leave temporarily and come back later.

Did he hear a sound of footsteps that sounded like something was knocked over, hurried and urgent.

"Who!?"

Panting, a blurred female voice came from inside the door.

"Commission from the Adventurer Association, remember?" Xia Nan coughed twice, cleared his throat, and raised his volume, "I am an adventurer sent by the association."

Silence.

Squeak—

The house door was gently opened from the inside, revealing a pale cheek in the crack of the door that was obviously just called up from the bed, with messy long hair and sleepy eyes.

The cold air of the early morning poured into the warm room, and the sharp figure standing at the door was set against the sunlight, unable to see the specific face clearly, only the sharp cold light refracted by the long sword behind him.

It gave the owner of the house such a shock that even the words that came out of his mouth subconsciously stuttered twice:

"You... how can you prove it?"

Xia Nan frowned.

Piled with all kinds of sundries, making the living room, which was originally quite spacious, look exceptionally cramped, requiring constant attention to one's feet when walking to avoid stepping on anything.

But if one observes carefully while in it, one can find that these so-called "sundries" are useful things, and there is no garbage like food residue or discarded packaging bags.

And the placement seems random and chaotic, but there is a certain regularity, not just thrown away at will.

Plus the faint aromatherapy smell permeating the air, and the crackling sound of firewood burning in the fireplace.

It unexpectedly gave people a sense of warmth.

"I'm really sorry, Mr. Xia Nan."

"I slept late last night, and I was dizzy when I got up, so I accidentally said some nonsense."

Xia Nan held a cup of steaming tea in his hand, sitting on the small sofa in the living room, looking at the environment around him.

In front of him, the owner of the house, a young girl named "Ha Li Te," apologized nervously.

At this moment, she was naturally not wearing the loose pajamas from just now, but had changed into an exquisite long dress that looked exceptionally expensive, and her brown long curly hair that was messy just after getting up had also been tidied up, hanging obediently on her shoulders.

This made Xia Nan wait for the other party in the living room for another twenty minutes.

He knew clearly that the other party did this to express her importance to him, without any intention of negligence.

But he just waved his hand, not intending to waste time on such useless things anymore.

Putting the teacup back on the table, he went straight to the topic:

"Miss Ha Li Te, the information provided to me by the association is not much, and until now I don't know the specific content of the mission."

"Can you please introduce it to me?"

"Of course, of course!" Ha Li Te nodded quickly, leaned over to help Xia Nan fill the tea, and then sat upright on the chair, recalling.

"The thing is like this."

"Hmm... how should I put it."

"My neighbor, Mr. 'Ba Ke,' should have been an adventurer when he was young, and later saved some money and settled down in Niumu."

"He has a beautiful and gentle wife and two cute and well-behaved children. I remember that I often met their family when I went out. You really don't say, Mr. Ba Ke looked fierce and strong like a bear, but he was really... to his wife..."

"Sorry, I digressed a bit."

"Anyway, it seems that in recent years, the Ba Ke family has had some problems with business and owes a lot of money."

"In order to fill the hole in the family, Mr. Ba Ke would go back to Hegu Town every once in a while to earn some bounties."

"Uh... if I remember correctly, it should be called 'Hunting Day,' sorry, I don't know much about this aspect."

Xia Nan nodded slightly without speaking, signaling the other party to continue.

"Anyway, in recent years, as soon as the 'Hunting Day' period arrives, Mr. Ba Ke will go on a long journey, and adding the round-trip time, it will take at least three months to return."

"Regarding this point, his wife mentioned it to me when we chatted before, so I remember it very clearly."

"But this year is a bit different."

"It only took about a month, fifty days or so, and Mr. Ba Ke came back."

"The state was not very good."

Hearing this, Xia Nan subconsciously calculated.

The journey from Hegu Town to Niumu alone takes more than twenty days.

Adding the round trip, that's more than forty days.

And this means that the time Ba Ke could stay in Hegu Town was at most ten days or so.

It was far from the end of the Hunting Day.

"Injured?" He asked.

"Hmm, it should be, but..." Ha Li Te frowned, the expression on her face somewhat hesitant, "I remember when I saw Mr. Ba Ke at that time, although he was wrapped in some bandages and I could smell a strong herbal medicine smell, his daily actions were not affected at all, and he even smiled and greeted me when he went out."

"I originally thought it was just some accident during the mission that caused Mr. Ba Ke to end his adventure early and return to Niumu."

"Until that night more than a month ago..."

"Boom!"

Thunder light flashing with silver-white brilliance flashed suddenly, and the street merged into the night became clear for an instant.

Explosive thunder roared in the sky, and bean-sized raindrops collided with the thick glass windows under the wrapping of the strong wind, making a crackling sound.

It was late at night, but Ha Li Te had no sleepiness at all.

On one hand, the new work of "Gals Cuifeng" that she bought in a hurry before the bookstore closed in the evening after getting up in the afternoon.

Had already reserved her entire night today.

On the other hand, she also sincerely liked the contrast of thunder and lightning and heavy rain outside the window, and the fireplace fire flickering and warm and cozy inside the house.

Curling up on the sofa, feeling the soft firelight of the fireplace beside her, sipping a cup of fragrant tea, and turning two pages of a book, it couldn't be more pleasant.

Ha Li Te originally thought that today would be like usual, until the rain stopped outside and the hazy light of the early morning leaked out from the depths of the clouds, she would go to bed under the urge of sleepiness.

But just when half of the book in her hand had been turned, and the night was still thick outside the window.

A strange cry suddenly came from next door.

She didn't care at first, just thinking it was some wild cat in the breeding season, or some wild dog scared by the thunder.

Until the strange cry became more and more high-pitched, and even vaguely exceeded the thunder.

Ha Li Te finally realized that something was wrong.

That kind of high-pitched whistling that made the eardrums tremble was by no means a sound that ordinary human vocal cords could make.

The violence and ferocity contained in it, for some reason, made her subconsciously think of the dirty male lion that was skinny and locked in a narrow iron cage when she went to the circus to watch a performance with her parents when she was young.

As a young woman living alone, going out alone at night was by no means a safe thing in the street where she lived.

She had never had such courage either.

But for some reason, Ha Li Te that night actually had a courage far beyond the ordinary.

She changed into thick clothes casually, opened an umbrella, and rushed out of the house.

Following the direction of the roar, she came to the door of the Ba Ke family next door.

At this time, the originally high and loud whistling had gradually subsided.

But just like a vicious dog baring its fangs when snatching food, the low and hoarse roar gave people a more dangerous feeling.

Close enough, in the cold air shrouded in heavy rain, Ha Li Te vaguely heard the chewing sound of tearing that made people subconsciously associate and stand on end.

The moist rain air surging into the nasal cavity with breathing seemed to have a little unpleasant blood smell.

The thin body under the umbrella trembled, wanting to run away.

But her right hand seemed to be lifted lightly uncontrollably.

Her wrist turned, five fingers curled, and her knuckles faced down.

It fell lightly on the door.

"Knock knock."

The low roar and chewing sound disappeared in an instant.

Replaced by a near-eerie silence.

Clearly the rain was still falling, and the thunder echoed in the air from time to time.

Ha Li Te only felt that the surrounding world stopped at this moment.

The highly concentrated attention made her even hear her own heartbeat.

But she didn't dare to move at all.

Because Ha Li Te could feel that a pair of cold and sharp eyes were staring at her quietly through the wooden door.

Maybe it was her good luck.

A team of night-patrolling guards happened to pass by on the street in the distance, attracted by the roar, and rushed toward this side.

The swaying lights and the sound of metal armor colliding startled some kind of creature inside the door.

Then, there was a sound of footsteps moving away quickly, and the sharp sound of glass breaking at the back door of the house.

"Do you know, I didn't feel wrong."

Sitting on the sofa, an expression mixed with lingering fear and terror appeared on Ha Li Te's face, and even her lips lost their blood color.

"Later, when the guards broke into the house with me..."

"Less than half a foot from the door, there were two footprints stained with blood."

"It was really looking at me."

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 164 =====