Chapter 109: Wild Beasts of the Barren Mountain

Chen Shicheng roughly looked at the items in the exchange list, but he had nothing he wanted to exchange.

Or rather, the things he wanted to exchange were beyond his means, and the ones he could afford he had no use for.

Still, it wasn't absolute; in the end he found an Elixir that was quite useful to him for now.

【Bi Gu Dan: Concentrated food essence refined into a pill; one grain sustains the body for three days; price: 5 points.】

Cheap, but useful! His current level is 13, Qi Refining eighth layer, and according to Song Bingyuan, he can rank within the top five of the whole C City.

It looks high, but not high enough; at the very least he still cannot achieve the "eat wind and drink dew" state to forego eating.

So when he's in the game with PUA Hui Siye, he often quits halfway and logs off to take care of eating, drinking, and bathroom needs.

With this Bi Gu Dan, he can stay in the game for a long time, and it also solves his predicament of being hungry for three days and eight meals.

Place the order, wait.

Like a delivery, after only half an hour the door of his rented room was knocked; when Chen Shicheng opened it, he also used Eye of Bai Ze to glance at the deliverer's identity—a level‑3 new player.

He wasn't sure whether it was due to the consultant's status or his own level, but the admiring look from this freshly graduated youngster made Chen Shicheng feel lightheaded.

He forced his upturned mouth down, pretended to be calm as he sent the person away, and cheerfully swallowed a Bi Gu Dan.

He hadn't eaten much this morning; the hustle at the Cultural Tourism Bureau had nearly burned it all off, but after swallowing that pill, he instantly felt full.

Patting his belly, Chen Shicheng calmly entered the game.

He opened his eyes and saw a dilapidated small shrine.

Of course, calling it a ruined temple isn't quite accurate; it's just a shabby thatched hut made of yellow mud.

If not for the peeling gold‑painted plaque hanging on the lintel and the indistinct mud statues inside, people would even believe it was a temporary shelter built by hunters.

At this moment, dark clouds gathered outside; a draft ox was tied at the doorway, occasionally lowering its head to chew stray grass, while Hui Siye sat calmly on one side, silent.

Only La Tiao heard Chen Shicheng's waking sound, hopped over, and kept rubbing against him.

Chen Shicheng glanced at the Tai Sui in his Storage Bag, casually took out a dead wild rabbit and tossed it to La Tiao, then looked at Hui Siye and asked, "Siye, where are we now?"

"We've already entered Huanglong Jun; a few more miles and we'll reach Huanglong Jun City," Hui Siye said casually without even raising his eyes.

Hearing that, Chen Shicheng felt a bit anxious; his plan estimated that reaching Huanglong Jun would take about a month.

But Hui Siye's heart was set like an arrow; each time Chen logged on, he would cut shortcuts to shorten the journey, and when Chen logged off, he would stick to the main road to avoid accidents.

Thus, with stops and starts, the month-long trek was literally cut down to half a month.

And during those half a month, he never gave up trying to coax Hui Siye into living inside his Evil Ghost Mask.

But Hui Siye neither accepted nor refused, just left him hanging.

Now, with the destination in sight and no clear answer, how could he not feel anxious.

Boom—

Just as Chen Shicheng was about to keep urging Hui Siye, a flash of lightning streaked across the sky, followed by deafening thunder and a torrential downpour.

Accompanying it was a chaotic clatter of footsteps rushing toward the ruined hut; after spotting the draft ox at the doorway, they clearly paused, then a voice asked.

"Is anyone inside? I was passing by and was caught in a mountain rain; may I…?"

"Why say so much? It's a wilderness ruin, not someone's home; if he can get in, we can too."

As soon as the words fell, a man in a brocade robe led the way inside, followed by three men, two women, and several maidservants and guards; a dozen‑plus people packed the small ruined hut tightly.

"This temple is really small."

"Isn't it? There's even a statue erected here, though we don't know which wild deity it's dedicated to."

"Shh, keep quiet, don't talk about ghosts or gods."

"There's someone! He's wearing a mask on his face, how scary."

After the group entered, they began scanning the surroundings; the two women saw Chen Shicheng's Evil Ghost Mask on his face, clearly frightened, they shrank back and hid behind the guards.

The guard captain, also with a wary expression, positioned himself between Chen Shicheng and their party.

"I am Zhao Dongyang of the Huanglong Jun Zhenwei Escort Agency. Today I am escorting the county magistrate's son for a visit. We didn't expect the sudden mountain rain, and in our haste to seek shelter we forced our way in; please forgive us, brother."

If he were just an ordinary civilian, Zhao Dongyang probably wouldn't behave so theatrically.

But the man seated there wore a ghost‑face mask; outside, dark clouds swirled, thunder rumbled, and a fleeting flash of lightning illuminated the mask, adding an eerie dread. This made it hard for him to gauge the man's background, so he invoked the county magistrate's son's status, hoping to intimidate and avoid conflict.

At that moment, Chen Shicheng's mind was full of how to persuade Hui Siye and he had no desire to deal with these inexplicably encountered people, so he simply waved his hand and fell silent.

Seeing this, Zhao Dongyang inwardly grumbled about the county magistrate's son's affectation, but also sighed in relief, bowed and said, "Thank you for your magnanimity, brother."

Meanwhile, as the two spoke, the others began patting the rain off themselves, ordering a servant to light a fire and brew tea, making the already cramped hut even more chaotic.

Ever in a hidden state, Hui Siye was squeezed out of any space by the crowd and, with a helpless expression, flew onto Chen Shicheng's shoulder to hide.

Chen Shicheng glanced at the bustling crowd, turned his head, and began transmitting a Divine Perception message to Hui Siye, continuing his covert PUA.

But before he could say a few words, a man and a mouse simultaneously turned to look at the hut's doorway.

"Something's happening outside," Hui Siye said nonchalantly.

"Hmm, I noticed it too."

Chen Shicheng twitched his nose; a foul odor drifted in, faintly overpowering the fragrant steam from the gentlemen's tea brewing.

At the same time, Zhao Dongyang, the escort leader, seemed to sense something amiss; with a "Cang Lang" shout, he drew the ghost‑head knife at his waist and nervously aimed it toward the doorway.

In an instant, the whole house fell deathly silent.

The county magistrate's son still thought Chen Shicheng was plotting something, and in fright the tea cup in his hand fell to the ground, rolling and scrambling to the other side, his eyes watching Chen Shicheng warily.

But he soon realized that Zhao Dongyang was aiming not at Chen Shicheng but outside the door, and he rose with an embarrassed face, scolding, "Zhao Escort Leader, what happened to make you so startled?"

Aoo!

Moo

Before he could finish speaking, a howl erupted outside, then the draft ox let out a tragic wail and fell silent.

The torrential rain fell like a curtain, obscuring what was happening outside, leaving only a chilling gnawing sound.

The county magistrate's son and the others froze on the spot, their faces awash with horror, regretting their earlier actions.

Recently, multiple demonic spirit cannibalism incidents broke out in Huanglong Jun city, unsettling the whole populace; the elders at home have also barred them from venturing out freely, lest they meet unforeseen danger.

But from their perspective, the victims are all ordinary civilians, which implies that the demonic spirit is not very powerful and dares not attack someone who has guards.

So, on a whim today, they secretly hired the city's escort bureau to escort them into the mountains for a wilderness outing, thinking it would be wonderful to find a scenic spot to compose poetry.

But they didn't expect that after entering the mountain they got lost, wandering around until they arrived at this ruined temple, and with a mountain rain arriving, they took shelter inside.

The combination of wilderness, ruined temple, heavy rain, strangers, eerie masks, screams, and chewing sounds made the Magistrate's Son and the other companions go berserk, huddling together and pointing at the stunned Chen Shicheng in the corner, shouting.

"It's him, he's the one causing trouble, Zhao Biaotou, act quickly!"

But Zhao Biaotou made no move, merely staring rigidly at the doorway, cold sweat beading on his forehead.

Chen Shicheng also heard the young master's shout, couldn't help rolling his eyes, then looked at the rain curtain at the doorway with a pained expression.

"Nima, my steed!"

He hadn't expected that this suddenly appearing, unknown thing was so mobile, immediately attacking the mount he had spent a fortune to purchase.

This loss is huge, and he doesn't know whether killing the guy at the doorway can make up for it.

Thinking that, Chen Shicheng prepared to stand up, intending to act directly.

But before he could rise, a layered eerie voice sounded from outside the door, "Hehehe, the taste of this steed really can't compare to the tender flesh of a two‑legged goat, little brother, hurry up and act, this fresh blood dish must be savored promptly."

Perhaps having heard the earlier conversation inside, the thing outside began sowing discord, filling Chen Shicheng's mind with dark thoughts.

Meanwhile, the Magistrate's Son and the others, convinced it was true, turned pale with fear, all huddling behind the guards, keeping as far away from Chen Shicheng as possible.

In other words, those guards remained clear‑headed and didn't believe the thing outside; otherwise, without that thing acting, Chen Shicheng would have killed everyone in front of him.

In an instant, everyone in the ruined temple fell into Silence, and no one spoke.

Seeing no one speak, the Magistrate's Son still thought the escort bureau men were frightened, wanting to abandon themselves, and trembling, shouted at Chen Shicheng, "Brother, I am the son of the Huanglong Jun magistrate; now lost in the wilderness, my father will surely send people to search; I hope you will not bring about your own misfortune!"

Although his words were a plea for rescue, the threatening tone was evident even to La Tiao, let alone Chen Shicheng.

He, speechless, pointed at the doorway and said, "Has that thing outside eaten your brains? Didn't you see it also killed my steed, and now it wants to take you down, still needing to cooperate with that thing outside? I alone could easily kill you all!"

(End of chapter)