Chapter 165: Iron Barrel Toad

"Beastification Syndrome."

Some people think it is an infectious disease used to destroy intelligent creatures, and others believe it is a terrible curse originating from moonlight and wilderness.

For countless years, people have had different opinions about its origin.

Is it a distorted creation of a mad mage with whimsical ideas in the ancient era, or an evil conspiracy planned by gods to spread faith and cultivate offspring...

It is undeniable that, to this day.

"Beastification Syndrome" has become one of the most terrifying and fearful terms on the Aifala continent.

It can transform a normal, healthy intelligent creature into a murderous beast without rationality.

And the method of infection does not require any complex rituals or long prayers.

Through blood.

As long as you are harmed by a beast-man, this terrifying curse that cannot be seen or touched will invade your bloodline in silence and gradually corrode your body and rationality over time.

Eyes emitting unusual light in the darkness, increasingly sharp canine teeth, dense hair suddenly growing like a wild beast...

Under the shining of moonlight, it won't take long for you to degenerate into a cruel beast-man who is like an uncivilized, standing, and possesses wild beast characteristics.

Of course, there may be some individuals who can resist the erosion of the curse on personal rationality by virtue of their own will or the characteristics of the curse's fine-tuned variants.

After becoming a beast-man, they still retain the rationality and cognition before transformation.

But they still need to be careful on those nights when the moonlight is bright.

Xia Nan has been hanging out in Baishanque for a long time, sitting in the tavern every day listening to the adventurers around him bragging and chatting.

He has a little understanding of this curse.

He roughly knows what kind of influence it will have on ordinary people, and has also heard a few related events whose authenticity is uncertain.

It's probably about a few unlucky adventurers who were infected with this curse during the mission, and after returning, they fell ill and started a massacre in the village.

The original him just regarded it as a topic mentioned casually by wine guests when chatting, and didn't take it to heart.

Now that Ha Li Te mentioned it, the clues in his mind were connected together vaguely.

"Adventurer returning halfway through the Hunting Day," "bandages wrapped around the body," "body emitting herbal medicine smell," "beast roar in the middle of the night," "missing Ba Ke"...

That magistrate's inference seems to be correct.

All the signs in front of him indicate that Ba Ke was infected with Beastification Syndrome during his adventure in the Mist Forest, and after the curse broke out, he lost his rationality and attacked his family.

Then, things became very simple for Xia Nan.

Find him, kill him.

If Ba Ke hasn't left Niumu yet...

After roughly determining that the mission target was Ba Ke, who was infected with Beastification Syndrome.

The first thing Xia Nan had to do was naturally to find the other party's trail.

According to Ha Li Te's description of that night, Ba Ke should have broken the glass of the back window and fled out before the guards arrived.

And Niumu is so big; if he is determined to hide, he can just find a place to nest in the Lower City District, which is full of countless small roads and alleys and full of ruins and shacks. Xia Nan is afraid that he won't see a corner of the other party's clothes even if he wanders around the city for two years.

Therefore, he can only start from other aspects to see if there are any clues worth paying attention to.

Fortunately, the curly-haired girl named Ha Li Te beside him, although she usually relies on the inheritance left by her parents to stay at home and live a life of day and night reversal like a modern young person in her previous life.

But as a neighbor, she also had contact with the Ba Ke family from time to time.

It's probably that when she woke up in the afternoon and went out to find food, she would chat with Ba Ke and others who came out for a walk after eating afternoon snacks.

Over the years, she also roughly knew the few places he often went to.

——"Iron Barrel Toad" tavern is one of them.

Xia Nan stood on the street, looking around.

It is also not a wealthy area, and the surrounding environment is even much worse than the Grey Tree Lane where Ha Li Te lived just now.

Scattered debris vaguely permeates a foul smell, and unknown sewage from somewhere forms water pits of various sizes on the uneven road surface.

From time to time, one can also see a few decadent figures in the shadows of the street alleys.

The overall environment is almost indistinguishable from the slums of the Lower City District.

But on the other hand, since he entered Niumu with the caravan, this was the first time Xia Nan saw more than three people dressed as adventurers in his sight.

Although it is far less prosperous and full of vitality than Hegu Town, "Iron Barrel Toad" has also attracted a large number of adventurers in Niumu City to patronize it by virtue of its own fame accumulated over the years.

Looking at the adventurers coming and going in front of the tavern, wearing all kinds of armor and carrying weapons, Xia Nan actually had an illusion that he had returned to Hegu Town.

Just like the name of the tavern "Iron Barrel Toad," its sign is printed with a toad sneaking its head out of an upright iron barrel with a sketch.

Push the door and enter.

"Ding-a-ling..."

The crisp sound wrapped in the warm current of strong wine fragrance and food smell wrapped his body.

Xia Nan could clearly feel that as he walked into the tavern, gazes, either hidden or undisguised, looked at him from all directions.

Staying slightly on his young face, and after sweeping to the long sword behind him and the exquisite chain mail on his body, they suddenly withdrew.

Long accustomed to it, he maintained a cold expression on his face without extra expression.

He moved his footsteps and walked straight to the bar.

"What to drink?"

The one speaking was an old man in his fifties or sixties, with gray hair on both temples, behind the bar.

His spirit was very good, without the twilight that an old man of his age in this world should have.

A pair of eyes were exceptionally divine, and his sleeves were slightly supported by the bulging muscles between his arms, and his body was as strong as a young man in his twenties.

——Nickname "Stubborn Donkey," the owner of Iron Barrel Toad tavern.

He had done relevant homework before coming, and Xia Nan recognized the other party's identity at a glance.

Sitting at the bar, his gaze swept across the menu:

"A portion of stewed meat, two pieces of wheat bread, a mug of black beer, hmm... another portion of cream mushroom soup."

It was noon, and Xia Nan, who had spent a whole morning at Ha Li Te's place because of the association mission, had originally thought of finding a restaurant to solve his lunch.

It happened to be just right now.

As for alcohol and the like, although it is during the mission, with his physical fitness, just one cup will not have any influence at all, and to a certain extent, it will also help him inquire about news later.

And as for the mushroom soup...

Since it was seen on the menu, what's wrong with ordering one?

"1 silver 3 copper."

Fumbling in his waist bag, he took out a few coins and handed them to the other party.

Xia Nan sat at the bar, waiting quietly, pondering from which angle he should cut in to ask the other party about "Ba Ke" information later.

Is it better to be direct, or a little circuitous?

Should I give a tip, after all, I am asking the other party for help, five silver, seven silver, or just give a gold coin?

Or, don't rush, just chat a few words, and leave an impression.

Wait until the tailor shop closes at night, and let Jeff take him to come again.

It seems that Jeff mentioned before that he had some friendship with "Stubborn Donkey," the owner of "Iron Barrel Toad," maybe he could ask the other party to help.

While pondering, Xia Nan also subconsciously observed the tavern he was in.

The hall area is very large, and just looking at it at a glance, it is almost twice the size of Baishanque.

But the interior decoration inside is average, there is nothing to praise, and it even looks a bit messy, with only one or two women wearing waiter uniforms shuttling through it, sweating profusely.

The adventurers in the hall, compared with Hegu Town, seem to be missing something, as if...

Xia Nan's gaze paused suddenly, staying in a cold corner of the hall.

What came into view was a middle-aged man wearing black leather armor, with an ordinary and plain appearance and an extremely weak sense of presence.

"Yo, what a coincidence?"

Recognizing the other party at a glance, a smile appeared on his face unconsciously.

Xia Nan stood up and walked straight over.

At the same time.

On the other side of Iron Barrel Toad tavern.

Beside a dining table filled with cheap wine bottles.

"Hoo... hoo..."

Just like the last drop of clear water for a lost person in the desert.

Walker lay on his back, his mouth wide open, revealing the rotten yellow-brown teeth inside, and above the tongue with sticky saliva was a drop of crystal clear wine hanging upside down at the mouth of the glass bottle.

"Drip."

The wine dripped.

Walker smacked his lips hard, seemingly savoring the wonderful taste that was only left.

His right hand reached toward the purse at his waist, only touching an empty space.

With some unwillingness, he shook the wine bottles on the table in front of him one by one, confirming that there was no wine residue in them.

This middle-aged man, who was flushed with alcohol and full of alcohol smell, suddenly felt like he had lost all his energy, and he lay on the table, about to fall asleep.

A hard touch suddenly came from his chest.

As if suddenly remembering something.

He tore open his collar violently and pulled out a package wrapped in black cloth from his clothes.

Pinching open the cloth wrap with his fingertips, he could vaguely see two twisted curved horns winding upward inside.

His gaze swept across the wine bottles behind the bar in front, and he swallowed his saliva.

Walker stuffed the package back into his arms, gathered his strength, supported the table and stood up swaying, intending to leave.

But just after walking two steps, a force suddenly came from his side, making him lose his body's center of gravity suddenly, and the whole person fell to the ground.

The cold touch of the tavern floor came with severe pain from his spine.

In his ears, there was the crisp noise of wine bottles falling from the table, and the sound of contemptuous mockery.

Already in a trance under the numbness of alcohol, such an encounter made Walker feel a difficult-to-speak anger in his heart.

Picking up a wine bottle at random, his mouth opened, and a classic dirty word that often appeared on the streets of the city was about to blurt out.

But immediately after, when he stood up and saw the appearance of the few people in front of him.

He felt like he had been poured a basin of cold water, and the anger in his heart dissipated in an instant, leaving only a piece of ice cold.

The people standing in front of him right now were not drunk wine guests, nor were they those bad-tempered urchins.

But a few sturdy men with tattoos on their skin who looked fierce and evil.

The one who deliberately knocked him to the ground and mocked him just now was one of the sturdy men with a bald head standing at the very front, looking like a leader.

"Grey Badger Gang!"

Walker's heart suddenly froze, as if even the original drunkenness had dissipated by more than half in an instant.

The wine bottle he was holding tightly was put down silently, and the dirty words that had already reached his throat were forcibly swallowed by him, and a stiff and ugly smile was squeezed out on his face.

"Sorry... hiccup, sorry, lords, it's my fault for not seeing when I got up, and bumping into you."

Seemingly having experience in how to handle this incident, he lowered his head, bent his waist, and put his posture very low.

Sure enough.

Seeing him perform like this, the bald sturdy man who was still sneering and waiting to see the joke just now suddenly frowned, and his interest disappeared.

"Damn, really bad luck!"

A kick went straight to the chest and abdomen.

"Get out, don't let me see you on this street again in the future!"

"Eh, eh!" Walker was kicked to the ground, his body rolled forward, and he stuffed the package that was shaken out of his arms back.

Then he covered his stomach, nodded and bowed, and fled toward the exit of the tavern quickly.

Behind him, the voices of the Grey Badger Gang members came.

"Boss, did that old thing offend you before?"

"Why, you don't know Walker the loser?"

"Walker? The one whose wife died because of drinking sewage?"

"But I remember his family had two little ones, how did he become like this now?"

"Tsk tsk, both hands and feet are there, where can't he beg for a living? He is just buried in the wine pile, relying on a little one to sell newspapers to earn money for him."

"Although our Grey Badger Gang hasn't done anything good, if I see anyone among you in the future like this old thing, losing face for the Grey Badger Gang..."

"Boss, don't worry, there are no cowards in our Grey Badger Gang!"

"I would rather work until I die than learn from him to be a loser!"

"..."

His footsteps accelerated uncontrollably, and his staggering back looked even more embarrassed.

In front of so many people, the mockery from the Grey Badger Gang members sounded exceptionally harsh to Walker at this moment.

The complex emotions of resentment, regret, guilt, and sadness that emerged in his heart followed.

But the next second, when he breathed hard.

The wine fragrance permeating the air surged into his nasal cavity with breathing, soaking his heart and lungs along the throat.

Recalling the wonderful experience of the cool and refreshing wine sliding over the tip of his tongue, the wine fragrance lingering in his mouth, the whole person seemed to fall into a beautiful dream, forgetting all troubles, as if even time had accelerated.

The guilt and regret in his heart dissipated.

Only the deep and dark desire under the action of instinct drove his body.

Through his clothes, he touched the package in his arms.

The statue inside that was ugly at first glance but tasted a bit more the more he looked at it emerged in his mind.

"I don't know how many silver coins it's worth?"

"If it could cover my wine money for two months, that would be great..."

Already in a semi-drunk state, his ability to perceive the outside world was greatly reduced.

Therefore, what Walker didn't notice was.

After he stumbled out of the tavern.

Those few Grey Badger Gang punks also looked at each other and followed him quickly.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 166 =====