Chapter 9: Misunderstanding

Upon closer inspection, a faint mist emanated from the old man in blue, keeping every raindrop at bay.

"The savior's here!"

"That's Lord Han?"

"I know this routine—honestly, I'm a game designer from another game; I've designed countless cutscenes. This situation? Clearly a cutscene. That means we're safe…"

Boom!!

Before he could finish speaking, the mound of earth beside the greenhouse exploded violently.

The erupted earth shot straight toward them.

1!

1!

1!

The shards of dirt, propelled by kinetic force, somehow had lethal power, injuring several refugees inside the greenhouse.

The refugees had barely any blood left to begin with; many were crushed to death on the spot by the flying dirt.

Others screamed in terror and scrambled backward.

Shi Wuliao rolled and crawled backward until he slammed into a support post of the greenhouse.

Where's the safety you promised?!

He cursed inwardly and looked up ahead.

The old man in blue, who had just been at the village entrance, now stood beside their greenhouse.

The earlier commotion was caused by the old man's landing.

So we're not even considered human, are we?

Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west—don't underestimate the players!

When I, Shi Wuliao, level up, the first person I'll kill is Lord Han!

Shi Wuliao seethed with hatred; other players muttered curses, every insult imaginable.

But when Lord Han slowly turned his head and glanced at them, the crowd fell instantly silent—no one dared speak again, only the rain continued.

Lord Han finally withdrew his gaze, his expression grim as he stared ahead, the faint mist around him thickening slightly.

"Rain-level anomaly, get out of Gu Yue Cun immediately! This is my final warning!"

Fang Yue shook his head urgently: "Old man, I'm not an anomaly—I swear I'm not! It's a misunderstanding!"

Lord Han's expression hardened, and he ceased urging Fang Yue to leave.

Thud!

He stepped forward, and the muddy ground collapsed instantly into a small pit; all the rainwater within it shot upward, forming a vacuum zone centered on the point where his left foot landed.

Fang Yue saw this step clearly—but the next instant, the old man in blue vanished.

Tap-tap-tap-tap-tap!

Dozens of small water pits exploded beneath the ground, water splashing high—but no figure was visible!

Fuck!

Fang Yue's heart leapt in shock; he had no time to react before a tremendous force slammed into his chest, sending him flying backward to crash into the muddy ground.

When Fang Yue scrambled to his feet and looked up, a figure stood before him—clearly the old man in blue, Lord Han.

But Lord Han's expression now held confusion and bewilderment.

Fang Yue didn't care about him—he immediately looked down at his chest, only to find no wound, not even a scratch.

2!

And then, slowly, a large, awkward number appeared above his head—radically different from the rain's "-1" damage—and Fang Yue immediately hid it.

Ah, this…

That's it?

That's it? That's it? That's it?

So I'm this strong?

Coming to his senses, Fang Yue's expression grew increasingly arrogant…

Then he saw Lord Han, puzzled, sheathing his Wooden Sword, then bending down and slapping both hands onto the ground.

Thud!!

The ground shook violently, as if hit by a magnitude-18 earthquake.

Water splashes were instantly flung outward, mud flew everywhere, and the surrounding rain vanished in an instant, forming a vacuum zone.

The ground plunged downward sharply, forming a pit five to six meters wide.

Fang Yue tumbled to the ground, his arrogance instantly shattered.

He fell silent, staring up at Lord Han in terror.

Lord Han, however, stared back at Fang Yue, bewildered.

Fang Yue: …

Lord Han: …

The two stared at each other in silence, the rain still falling.

But Fang Yue's body was spewing continuous health loss numbers, while Lord Han didn't lose a single point.

"I understand."

Lord Han suddenly said.

"You're not an anomaly!"

…Wait, after all those tricks, that's the conclusion you came to?

Fang Yue's face was full of gloom.

"Of course not, I told you long ago that I'm a human."

"But…"

Lord Han hesitated slightly: "I can sense it — you're not a martial artist either. An ordinary person who isn't a strange one — why can you move freely in the rain?"

Lord Han's Wooden Sword was no ordinary item.

Its power was astonishing, but… it only worked against the strange.

Once the target wasn't one of the strange, the damage would be nullified.

The HP Fang Yue had lost earlier was just from the impact of being sent flying.

To kill the strange, Lord Han used the Wooden Sword; to kill people, he had a separate set of weapons and gear.

But Lord Han had come in a hurry — hearing about a Rain-class strange, he had grabbed the Wooden Sword and rushed straight to the village entrance, never expecting that the other party wasn't a strange at all.

"The way you put it… old man, aren't you also moving normally in the rain?"

"It's not the same."

Lord Han shook his head but said nothing more, instead reaching out to help Fang Yue up.

Lord Han's hand was very cold, with a thin layer of frost clinging to it. The moment Fang Yue touched it, he gave an involuntary shiver.

"Young brother is quite remarkable. May I ask what brings you to Gu Yue Cun this time?"

Though the hostility had been dropped, Lord Han was still trying to probe Fang Yue's purpose from the side.

"What am I here for… uh, I want to get stronger."

"So it's to study martial arts. That's no difficult matter — with young brother's talent, our Gu Yue Cun would be very welcome… cough!"

Just as he was saying this, Lord Han's face suddenly changed. He covered his mouth with his hand and coughed hard. When he pulled his hand away, his palm was covered in bright red blood.

That in itself wouldn't have been much, but when Fang Yue's peripheral vision caught the numbers floating above Lord Han's head, his eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

1100.

Damn!

A thousand-HP monster!

Shrinking back slightly, Fang Yue's attitude instantly straightened up.

"Lord Han, I was terribly rude just now…"

"No matter, no matter. Tell me, young brother…"

"Lord Han may simply call me Yese Liming."

"Ye… Young Friend Ye's name is quite peculiar."

Was the name Yese Liming really that peculiar?

Fang Yue felt a bit gloomy. Well, fair enough — it was true that no normal person would be called a name like that.

"That is my formal name. Lord Han may call me by my childhood name — Xiao Ye."

"Very well." Lord Han didn't stand on ceremony either, and said: "Xiao Ye, I see that though you have talent, you don't have much common sense about martial arts. If there's anything you don't understand, feel free to ask me."

A real newbie-tutorial NPC!

Fang Yue's eyes immediately lit up.

"Thank you, Lord Han. I do have many questions — for instance, why did those villagers earlier call me a Rain-class strange? What exactly is a Rain-class strange? And how should I go about studying martial arts and getting stronger?"

Lord Han gave a slight smile: "Rain-class strange refers to those powerful strange who can move freely in Heavy Rain weather. An ordinary strange, at most, can endure the rain for a little while before needing to take shelter.

Corresponding to the Rain-class strange is the Rain-class strong. There aren't many Rain-class strong in the surrounding area, and near our Gu Yue Cun there isn't a single one.

Yet you can walk through the black-night Heavy Rain without any tool to aid you, and without even lighting a Human Soul lamp.

Any normal person who saw you would never think you were human — they'd only think you were a terrifying Rain-class strange."

After a pause, Lord Han continued: "As for studying martial arts, once you enter the village I'll naturally have someone arrange it."

"I see… but what exactly is a Human Soul lamp?"

(End of chapter)