Chapter 41: Underground City

Map? Save it for last—by her tone, it’s more valuable than all her treasure and gear combined.

Luo Si glanced at the scattered coins she pulled out, then fixed his gaze on the Wanderer.

“Kill you, and all this becomes mine.”

He said: “You use my belongings to trade with me? That won’t buy your life.”

Kneeling on scorched earth, the Wanderer clutched a yellowed parchment map with trembling hands; she had stripped off her leather armor, her inner garments soaked through with sweat, blood from her fallen companions still streaked across her forehead.

Under the moonlight, the map’s edges faintly gleamed with a metallic sheen—like filigree woven from mithril thread, something no ordinary adventurer could possess.

“If you kill me, you’ll only get an ordinary map—it requires a special method to reveal the path.”

The Wanderer pleaded: “I ask for nothing else—only to live. Forgive my earlier insolence.”

Luo Si said nothing; his tail curled gently over the map, his dragon scales sharp as blades, yet perfectly controlled, leaving not a single scratch on the parchment.

He lifted the map with his claw and examined it closely.

It was a chaotic tangle of threads, showing no trace of a map—clearly encrypted.

“Look up. Look at me.”

“Tell me—how did a lowly adventurer like you come across clues to a legendary alchemical artifact?”

Luo Si asked.

Though still a hatchling, his voice carried an undeniable command that made the Wanderer instinctively raise her head.

This was a born, infant-scale supreme evil dragon—we had terrible luck to encounter such a creature. Trembling beneath the black dragon eyes of the Iron Dragon Hatchling, the Wanderer said: “It’s like this.”

She recounted the events in fragmented, panicked bursts.

Though her words were jumbled from fear, Luo Si grasped the full sequence.

In short:

The map was stolen by the Wanderer from a greenhorn adventurer in a tavern, using seduction and stealth.

While the adventurer was drunk.

The greenhorn had boasted that the map revealed the location of a legendary alchemical artifact, originating from the lost Deep Dwarf underground city, marked as [Marnes]—the former site of the underground city.

Marnes underground city buried the corpses of tens of thousands of Deep Dwarves.

Its fall, it was said, was caused by the loss of control of a legendary alchemical artifact, which vanished along with it into the Deep Dwarf underground city.

Marnes underground city.

It did exist once, thriving for a time, producing many powerful weapons and gear—some ancient pieces still circulate today.

But time passed, and circumstances changed.

After Marnes fell and was buried beneath the earth, few knew its exact location.

Even now, rumors of the legendary alchemical artifact draw many adventurers, yet none have succeeded—none can find Marnes.

The Wanderer initially didn’t believe the greenhorn’s claim that the map marked Marnes’ location.

But later, a nobleman in her city flew into a rage and issued a bounty.

Only then did she learn the adventurer was the nobleman’s son.

Obsessed with adventure tales, the nobleman’s son stole the map from home to form a party and explore—only to be brutally crushed by reality.

Before even leaving the city, before gathering a team, his purse and map were stolen by the Wanderer; had the crowd not been so thick and noisy, he probably wouldn’t have kept his undergarments.

Luo Si shook the map. “Your story sounds like a phantom tale, not truth.”

The existence of the Deep Dwarf underground city was mentioned in his inheritance.

That it was buried beneath history’s tide—that much was true.

As for its destruction, theories abound; the most widespread is the one the Wanderer offered—that it was destroyed by the loss of control of a legendary alchemical artifact.

Other theories exist too.

For example:

It was destroyed by divine punishment for trespassing into the true essence of alchemy.

Hmm. Among many bizarre theories, the one about the legendary alchemical artifact’s loss of control is surprisingly plausible.

As for the Deep Dwarves:

This sentient race belongs to the dwarves—possessing their strength and exceptional forging talent, yet their temperament is utterly opposite: cunning and cruel, hating most races, universally shunned by all other species, dwelling permanently in underground cities.

Meanwhile:

The Wanderer urgently swore: “I swear by the peace of my fallen companions! By my grandparents’ souls! Not a word of this is false!”

Luo Si grinned. “You know the price of deceiving a dragon—ten times worse than death.”

He looked at the Wanderer and tossed the map back to her.

“Show me the location of the underground city.”

Hearing this, the Wanderer hesitated.

This was her only bargaining chip against the dragon before her—she didn’t want to give it up yet.

After thinking, she forced a humble, flattering smile and ventured: “Noble dragon, once you know the coordinates of the underground city, will you forgive my insolence?”

Insolence?

Luo Si didn’t care.

He smiled. “I swear by my mother’s name—I don’t care about your insolence. You may leave my territory unharmed. A weakling like you—your life or death means nothing to me.”

The situation was clear.

The Wanderer had no room to bargain and feared angering the dragon, so she agreed, fawning: “I believe your promise—dragon’s word is more precious than gems. A great dragon like you values a single word more than ten thousand gold.”

Then:

The Wanderer took the map, walked to an open patch under Luo Si’s gaze, held it up to the moonlight, and tore it violently apart.

The fragments flew—but did not fall to the ground.

They danced in the air, spun, then reassembled into a brand-new map.

Luo Si picked it up again.

It depicted a portion of wild terrain—Iron Fir Hills, plains, lakes, forests—etched with exquisite detail. In the southeast corner, a circle was marked with silver thread.

“According to the map, Marnes underground city lies beneath an abandoned mine.”

The Wanderer flattered: “With your strength and wisdom, you’ll surely claim the legendary alchemical artifact—and become a mighty dragon, feared across the wilds.”

Luo Si stared at the map, ignoring her, and waved a claw. Samantha also leaned forward curiously, her gaze fixed on the map.

The Wanderer slowly stepped back.

Luo Si glanced at her—did not stop her.

Seeing he made no move to prevent her escape, the Wanderer turned and vanished into the thick night, sprinting for her life without pause, darting between the towering Iron Fir trees on the hills.

(End of Chapter)