Chapter 20: Eye of Bai Ze

Wait!

Chen Shicheng suddenly recalled what the Li family old man had once said: all the players in Huangchi County Seat have disappeared. Thinking further, this man attacked on sight, trying to kill and loot, even threatening to finish me off in reality—could it be that he killed all the players, so killing him once earned me so many Merit Points?

Holy shit!

Chen Shicheng was startled by his own thought, his heart hardly able to believe it.

But no matter how I think, this reason seems the most plausible; thinking of how I escaped a catastrophe from the hands of a blood‑stained person, he couldn't help but shiver.

This guy is probably a psychopath, right?

He hurriedly looked around, fearing a big fireball would shoot out from that dark corner; he now couldn't muster the blood and qi to swing that blade again. "Squeak squeak squeak squeak!"

Just as Chen Shicheng was still observing his surroundings, La Tiao came limping over, climbing up his pant leg onto his body, and kept calling at him.

"Mmmm!"

Chen Shicheng didn't hesitate, giving La Tiao's little face a fierce kiss, "Great job, La Tiao, I'll give you extra food later!"

To be honest, if it weren't for this little thing's sudden move, his sword qi might not have landed on that man; therefore La Tiao is definitely the hero who saved him once.

Moreover, he didn't expect that the pet he had just deceived into his hands less than two days ago would be so loyal—not only did it not run away, but it risked its life to come to his rescue.

"Squeak squeak."

La Tiao wiped its face with its two front paws in disgust, then looked at Chen Shicheng with pleading little eyes, gesturing a big circle.

"Mm, I'll give you a big one, the biggest drumstick!"

Chen Shicheng miraculously understood what La Tiao's action meant to express, and agreed in a heartbeat—compared to risking life to save him, a drumstick is nothing! Eat, eat till you drop! After leaning against a tree trunk to recover a bit of strength, he didn't dare linger too long here; without even examining the newly obtained ancient relic, he tucked La Tiao into his arms, turned, picked a random direction, and continued on his way.

He ran until the sky darkened and the sun and moon lost their light.

Only when the sky began to lighten did he stop, retching.

"Can't go on; if I run anymore I'll cough up blood."

Chen Shicheng swallowed, moistening his already slightly bloody‑sweet throat, sat down heavily, and took out from his storage the item called the Eye of Bai Ze, an ancient relic.

Although the ring's description said it was made of bone, its appearance showed no sign of bone at all; upon touching it, one immediately felt a warm, smooth texture, flawlessly slick with no pores.

Rather than calling it bone, Chen Shicheng felt it was more appropriate to call it jade.

He tried slipping the ring onto his right index finger; as it got closer to the base, the ring, which was originally a size larger, automatically began to shrink until it fit his finger exactly, then the change stopped.

Seeing this marvelous sight, Chen Shicheng eagerly began to check its other attributes.

【Eye of Bai Ze】

【Quality: Ancient Relic】

【Passive Effect: Scans all types of targets; information completeness depends on the level difference between the two sides.】

Hmm. Information is certainly indispensable, but it's not exactly a necessity; Chen Shicheng feels that in terms of ability, this definitely cannot compare to his Stealing Heaven Pendant.

But thinking of the only two characters behind his pendant, he quickly came to terms. Hehe, what grade—this kind of ancient relic that might have several copies, how could it compare to his! But having something is better than nothing; he turned his head to look at La Tiao, which had run out of his arms and was now chasing butterflies in circles.

【Lv.? La Tiao, Jing? Qi? Shen? Skill???】

"?"

Seeing the string of question marks on La Tiao's info, Chen Shicheng's head also filled with a row of question marks.

What the heck use is this broken equipment? Although he and La Tiao have a full six‑level gap, it shouldn't be that he can only see a name, right?

Moreover, he seriously doubts that the name appears only because it came from his hand.

In other words, this broken ring shows nothing—"Sure enough, it's trash; it's useful, but not very useful."

After confirming that this piece of equipment had no great use for him at present, Chen Shicheng stopped paying attention and turned to determine his current location.

But soon he thought of a serious problem.

His level is too low to check La Tiao's specific details, but that man from last night was of a higher level than him—so, "He already knows my name!!!!"

Chen Shicheng jumped three feet high, rose from the ground, and began spinning in place, "Don't panic, knowing my name means nothing—I covered my face with a cloth yesterday, so he can't find me."

Although he said that, it really had no comforting effect at all.

Chen Shicheng constantly felt a sharp blade hanging over his head, waiting for the moment to fall and chop off his dog head.

"No, I need to level up quickly!"

He abruptly stopped in place, drew his Tang Sword from his storage, and glared around fiercely, hoping to find some monster to vent on.

Unfortunately, he lacked any jungle exploration skills and couldn't track beasts by subtle traces; he almost strained his eyes, yet found no monster clues.

Instead, he discovered a fact that left him somewhat speechless.

When it rains, it pours—his sword is ruined! An ordinary‑quality Tang Sword couldn't possibly withstand the full infusion of his blood and qi from last night.

After last night's stunning sword qi, the blade that once flashed with cold light is now covered in cracks; not to mention killing monsters, even a slight force could shatter it.

"Fine, you're impressive—this is a perfect chance to go to the mine and forge a new sword, right?"

Huangchi County Seat and its surrounding villages—he dare not go, for if he runs into that killer, it would be delivering himself to death.

Of course, he could also wrap a cloth around his face 24/7 to hide his true appearance, but doing so could lead to two consequences.

First, it might attract patrolling NPC constables; second, it would be too conspicuous, and the pervert would spot him right away.

Although dying once or twice isn't a big deal, what he fears most is his pendant being dropped.

Even worse, after he dies, that man could lift the cloth off his corpse's face and really cause trouble.

Conveniently, he's also lost in the forest, so he might as well head straight to the mine at Bu Xian Shan to see if he can complete the blacksmith's task.

(End of chapter)