Chapter 118: I Had a Bet… Nope, No More Betting, Waaah (4/

"Lord Han, everything you've been saying—Immortal-level, Rain-level, Spirit Root and all that—what does any of it have to do with me?"

True, Rain-level, Immortal-level, Spirit Root and the rest of it did make one's heart surge.

But that had nothing to do with a small, weak, post-heaven third-rate nobody like him, right?

It couldn't be… it shouldn't be… it wasn't very likely, was it…

A possibility occurred vaguely to Fang Yue, and his mouth felt dry and his tongue parched.

Because if this were true, then his situation would truly be far too dangerous!

As if confirming Fang Yue's guess, Lord Han glanced at Fang Yue and said lightly.

"I'm afraid you've already guessed it."

"But if I just state the result outright, I'm afraid you wouldn't understand. Let me start from the beginning and explain."

"We humans are shackled by the Spirit Root; for a long time now no one has advanced to the Immortal-level realm. But likewise, on the Weird side, no Mo-level Weird has appeared in a long time either. The so-called Mo-level Weird corresponds to the Immortal-level powerhouses among us humans."

"I don't know the specifics of the Weird side's situation, but from what I know, over the years the Weird have been capturing certain special humans, and conducting all sorts of research—converting humans into Weirds, and even techniques for turning Weirds back into humans."

"It's clear they've hit a bottleneck and have been seeking a direction to break through."

"And the Weird that have set their sights on you clearly want to obtain something from you."

"What exactly they want, I only have one guess. Whether it's right or wrong, I'm afraid you'll have to find the answer yourself."

Fang Yue's heart gave a jolt, and he said respectfully, "Please speak plainly, Lord Han."

"Have you heard of the Yueye?"

……What was that?

Fang Yue was a little dumbfounded.

"It seems you don't. The Yueye are a very special race. Legend has it that under the moonlight at night, their clansmen become incomparably powerful, and every single one of the Yueye… possesses a Spirit Root! A ticket straight to the Immortal-level!"

What?!

Fang Yue's heart gave a startled lurch.

"B-but didn't you say that nowadays Immortal-level powerhouses rarely appear anymore…"

"That isn't a contradiction. Because the Yueye were wiped out over a thousand years ago. At least in our Qing Guo, not a single Yueye clansman has been seen in a thousand years. And you, you very possibly are a descendant of the Yueye!"

"Me? A Yueye descendant? A ticket straight to the Immortal-level?"

Fang Yue suddenly understood: "Lord Han, you mean… I have a Spirit Root?"

"No."

"Huh?"

"No need to be so surprised. The first day I met you, I already examined you. You truly do not have a Spirit Root."

After a pause, Lord Han continued: "But among the Yueye, before reaching Rain-level, there has never been anyone who could move freely in the Night Rain. So I suspect you carry Yueye blood in your body—but it's a mutated form of Yueye power, or perhaps your bloodline power hasn't been fully awakened yet."

"After all, I don't know much about the Yueye either."

"Perhaps the day you awaken your bloodline, you'll naturally come to possess a Spirit Root."

At this point, Lord Han's eyes revealed a look of envy.

Something countless people had craved their whole lives—this little fellow might only need a bloodline awakening to obtain it!

Such fortune was enough to make anyone green with envy.

Lord Han had made it very clear, but Fang Yue was a little dumbfounded.

Because he knew he wasn't any Yueye descendant at all.

The reason he was especially strong at night and had explosive recovery was purely because of his talent Night Breathing—it had nothing to do with any race.

A misunderstanding, all of it a misunderstanding.

Weird big brothers, don't come after me, I'm innocent.

Fang Yue felt terribly wronged, but Lord Han merely chuckled lightly: "You don't need to be nervous or afraid. As long as I'm here in the village, no Weird will dare touch so much as a hair on your head."

"Besides, you've heard it from the Edgeless Weird yourself—not yet ripe."

"Right now, you haven't activated your bloodline power, you're not ripe, you have no Spirit Root. Even if they captured you, it would just be a waste of effort."

So that's how it was. No wonder Mu Zi said those Weird had changed their strategy, turning it into a compromise-like "giving up."

As long as I'm in Gu Yue Cun for one more day, as long as I haven't activated the bloodline that simply can't be activated, as long as Lord Han is in Gu Yue Cun for one more day, I am safe.

But… I can't stay cooped up in Gu Yue Cun forever.

Gu Yue Cun is just a starter village. When other players grow up and head off to other places, if I'm still stuck in the starter village and falling behind in progress, how could that be acceptable!

Fang Yue touched the Human Skin Mask he had just obtained, and a feeling called anxiety welled up in his heart.

Lord Han's injuries were worsening day by day. If one day Lord Han couldn't hold on any longer, when that day came, and I still hadn't grown strong enough…

Fang Yue could already picture it—infinite Weirds swarming toward him.

It's not the thief you fear, but the thief who has his eye on you.

Clearly, this "treasure" called Fang Yue had already been tagged by the Weirds near Gu Yue Cun, and one day they would come to collect him.

Fang Yue felt the pressure. Drifting along and leveling up like this wouldn't do!

If this were just an ordinary game, Fang Yue naturally wouldn't care.

But the appearance of the parchment, and the appearance of real-life Weirds, both meant this game was no ordinary one.

He couldn't die, he couldn't sit and wait for doom!

Taking a deep breath, Fang Yue suppressed his somewhat impatient mood. After thinking for a while, he couldn't help but ask nervously: "What about you? Lord Han, you've gone to such pains to cultivate me—what for? It couldn't be… also for the Spirit Root?"

Fang Yue admitted, there was an element of gambling when he said this.

After all, Lord Han had already made it so clear. So why cultivate me, why treat me differently—wasn't it obvious?

But Fang Yue still wanted to ask it clearly, to get a clear answer.

Some things, once spoken openly, can be faced properly. Otherwise, keeping them hidden in the heart is just both sides knowing the truth without saying it.

Fang Yue figured there was no need to hold anything back at this point.

Lord Han had already made it so plain that even if he didn't want to think that way, his mind would naturally follow that line of thought.

As if confirming Fang Yue's thoughts, Lord Han said without the slightest hesitation.

"Of course it's for the Spirit Root."

Fang Yue's heart gave a sudden lurch, the hairs on his back instantly standing on end, and when he looked at Lord Han again, a creeping sense of dread washed over him.

The gamble — he lost?!

Gulp!

He swallowed hard, then couldn't help stepping back a few paces, and with a slap, his back pressed flat against the ice-cavern wall behind him.

"Scared?"

Lord Han gave a faint smile, but did not rise.

He seemed to fall into recollection, remembering something from the past, and by the time he came back to himself, his expression had already returned to calm.

Watching Fang Yue, who was nervously searching for the ice vault's exit, he said lightly: "Don't bother looking. The ice vault is where I recuperate from my injuries. I've set up formations here, and with your level of strength and knowledge of formations, you can't possibly get out."

(End of this chapter)