“Crack””Crack””Crack”
The petrified bats fell from the sky one after another like sculptures, crashing onto the ground.
But now, over a hundred bats were surrounding Ouroboros Yuren, scattered in all directions around him. Yet Ouroboros Yuren’s petrifying demon eye on his forehead could only gaze forward. After he petrified the few bats in front of him, the bats behind him fluttered onto his shoulders.
A powerful sense of unease surged in Yuren’s heart. He had never seen such a bizarre magic. It seemed like a clone spell, and these bats were not ordinary. They appeared to have other special attacks as well. Feeling the bats baring their fangs at him, he hurriedly spun in place and dodged to the side. But as his field of vision shifted, the bats on the ground fluttered up again.
In this way, the bats fell one by one, only to take flight again shortly after. The clone magic was simply the natural counter to his petrifying demon eye!
However, he was not entirely without options. From time to time, he used lava magic to attack those bats. Soon, more than a dozen bats were pierced by his sharp stone spikes, turning into patches of blood mist and vanishing without a trace.
He knew that clone magic also had its limits. If he killed enough of these bats, he could force the magic user to revert to their main body. At that point, it would be Ye Chui’s end!
Although Ye Chui’s companions had already left under his cover, killing Ye Chui alone would still net a reward of over a hundred thousand gold coins. Ouroboros Yuren already regarded this sum as his for the taking!
Sizzle,
In the midst of dodging the bats, Ouroboros Yuren swiftly released a stone spike spell. A sharp stone spike rose rapidly from the ground, precisely piercing a bat fluttering in the air.
Killing another bat clearly inflicted great damage on Ye Chui. The remaining bats gathered together and, using the cover of bushes and trees, scattered in flight.
“Want to run?” Ouroboros Yuren sneered coldly. He chased after them. By nature bloodthirsty and with exceptional strength, he rarely suffered setbacks like this tonight, so his heart was filled with rage. With a swing of his arm, a tree standing before him instantly turned to ashes and dissipated before his eyes. In his field of vision, he just caught sight of a human figure appearing under the dim shadows of the trees.
It was Ye Chui!
He looked quite fatigued, gazing at Ouroboros Yuren with a face full of terror.
Then, Ye Chui completely froze in place. He had been petrified by Ouroboros Yuren!
“You are done for, almighty magical mentor!”
Ouroboros Yuren shouted aloud. He condensed a terrifying stone axe in his hand. Rushing up to Ye Chui, he slashed diagonally with a whoosh. In the next moment, Ye Chui’s head flew into the air…
…
Debby and the others, who had followed Ye Chui’s instructions and fled the hot spring villa, hid in a patch of woods, waiting for Ye Chui to return.
The night was silent. Whether due to their arrival or some other reason, the birds nesting in this woods suddenly screeched and flew away.
Debby looked up. Moonlight filtered through the mottled branches, casting dappled shadows on her small face. She revealed a worried expression. “Why has not Ye Chui come back yet? He will not have run into trouble, will he?”
“Little brother never does anything without a plan. Since he told us to leave first, he must have a way to deal with that fellow. Big sister, you do not need to worry about him.” Lessa comforted Debby. But even as she said this, her face bore a similar trace of concern.
“But I have a bad feeling…” Debby clasped her hands together and said in a low voice. “My intuitions are always spot on.”
“If you say that, I have some objections…” A teasing voice said. Accompanied by the sound of fluttering wings, bats rapidly flew in from all directions, condensing beside Debby into Ye Chui’s body. “The facts prove that your intuitions are not reliable at all.”
“Guild leader!” Green shouted happily. “You are back. What happened to that Ouroboros Yuren?”
“That fellow was indeed quite tricky, so before I left, I specially left him a big gift…” Ye Chui immediately chuckled and said.
…
In the hot spring villa, Ouroboros Yuren chopped off “Ye Chui’s” head with the stone axe, his heart filled with immense joy. In the recent Star Empire, Ye Chui was probably the most renowned magical mentor, but so what? Had he not still died by his hand?
Delighted, he bent down to pick up “Ye Chui’s” head, while the demon eye on his forehead also closed. Activating the demon eye each time cost him dearly, bringing several days of fatigue and physical discomfort. However, these symptoms would gradually fade as his control over the demon eye strengthened.
His hand touched “Ye Chui’s” head.
But his expression abruptly changed, because the sensation in his hand told him that what he had touched was not a person’s head, but wood!
What he had just beheaded was not Ye Chui, but a wooden statue that perfectly resembled him!
This made alarm surge in his heart, and almost instantly: “Boom,”
“Ye Chui’s” remaining body exploded with a roar. Flames scattered in all directions. It was another [Explosion is Justice] at thirty percent magic power yield!
Amidst that soaring mushroom cloud, Ouroboros Yuren’s furious roar echoed far into the distance.
“You tricked me…”
…
“I used the woods for cover to condense my real body, then quickly employed elven magic, [Wood Escape: Wood Clone], and hid a thirty percent yield bomb inside the wood clone. Then I hurriedly left the area. Ouroboros Yuren mistook my wood clone for me and used the petrifying demon eye, but his petrification cannot affect the bomb inside the clone, so…”
Ye Chui and the others had already arrived outside this villa district. Looking back at the mushroom cloud rising in the night over there and the faint trembling of the ground, the corners of his mouth curved into a satisfied smile.
“This trick really never fails!”
Debby, Green, and the others all showed expressions of admiration. Only Denny’s face was one of bitterness, gazing towards the hot spring villa with a face full of worry. “My family’s hot springs…”
Having been nuclear-levelled twice by Ye Chui in succession, plus the traces from the other battles, that place probably could not operate even if returned to the Anduin family. But Denny soon thought of her father again, and of Ouroboros Yuren who, even if not dead, must be gravely injured. The expression on her face quickly calmed. “Just consider it revenge for Father. It is just, I do not know how Father’s injuries are…”
“Uncle will definitely be fine. We have obtained the blood serpent beast’s gall. Even if Uncle is injured, the gall can heal him.” Jacob hurriedly comforted Denny. He was cradling the blood serpent beast’s corpse in his arms.
“The city guards will arrive here soon. Let us leave quickly and head to the Anduin family mansion!” Ye Chui said hurriedly.
Next, they returned to the bustling urban area, found a place to change out of their somewhat dishevelled clothes from the battle. Denny was very familiar with this city and, under her lead, they safely and without incident arrived at the Anduin family mansion in the central district.
Standing here, one could see the red imperial palace. In the imperial capital, the closer a residence was to the palace, the higher its value. Among these, the Anduin family mansion was absolutely top-tier. As the saying goes, a centipede does not topple even when dead. Although the Anduin family now ranked fifth among the four great families of the Star Empire, the grandeur of the former first family still remained.
Seeing her family’s old mansion, Debby’s expression was one of momentary sentiment. She still clearly remembered the layout of everything in this large house. It was just a pity that things had changed with the passage of time. Under her lead, they easily entered the mansion grounds through a low wall.
“This is the route I often took to sneak out for adventures.” Debby even pointed at that low wall and said.
“And every time you were caught and brought back, right?” Ye Chui said with a smile. He still remembered Debby mentioning how her old man had put out a bounty to catch her.
Debby looked around with some nostalgia. Some parts of this house were vaguely familiar, but more had changed from her memories. She pointed in a certain direction. “That room over there is where I used to live.”
“I live there now.” Denny interjected. Returning home, she seemed somewhat excited. “Next to it is where Father stays… Eh, why are the lights off?”
Denny’s body trembled abruptly, sensing something amiss. She hurriedly quickened her pace, wanting to run into that room. Ye Chui quickly pulled her back, signalling everyone to be cautious, then they all sneaked together to the outside of the house where Denny’s father resided.
Ye Chui’s eyes scanned the magical tome map and he frowned. “There is no one in the room. Denny, your father is not here.”
“Then he might be in the study now…” Denny pondered.
But moments later, when they quietly arrived at the study, they still found no sign of Denny’s father.
At this time, they encountered two passing servants. The group hurriedly hid in the shadows and overheard their conversation.
“Why has the master been nowhere to be seen these past few days? The mansion feels eerily quiet…”
“I heard that our master has already… already died.”
“No way? Tonight I prepared food for the master as instructed, and the chief steward took it away.”
“The chief steward is concealing the death to protect the Anduin family. Think about it: apart from the chief steward, no one has interacted with the master recently. It has been several days since anyone last saw him…”
The voices gradually faded into the distance.
Denny had already shown a terrified expression. She subconsciously wanted to stand out and question the two servants, but Jacob held her back. Ye Chui and the others’ faces were also somewhat grim. Had Denny’s father truly died?
“Secret chamber!” Debby suddenly thought of something, her eyes lighting up. “If we cannot find Denny’s father in the mansion, perhaps he is hiding in the Anduin family’s secret chamber!”
“Secret chamber?” Denny looked at Debby in confusion. “What secret chamber? How come I do not know about it!”
“I only discovered it by chance back then. My old man said it was built by the Anduin family ancestor, Saco Anduin. Only the family head and trusted aides know of this absolute secret place!” Debby explained. She then led Ye Chui and the others to search for the secret chamber’s location.
This reignited Denny’s hope. She followed Debby expectantly.
Then, a few minutes later, Ye Chui and the others all grew flustered…
“Miss Debby, are you sure the Anduin family’s secret chamber is here?” Green asked.
“That is right. You did not expect it, did you?” Debby said happily.
“It is not that we did not expect it, it is just a bit…” Green was somewhat at a loss for words.
“The entrance to a secret chamber must be unexpected to be effective!” Debby pointed at the small house ahead and explained.
On the door of that small house, a name was clearly written: Toilet.
Ye Chui wiped sweat from his brow and said, “The Anduin family’s way of thinking is truly unfathomable.”
“Big sister, I kind of do not want to go in…” Seeing Debby about to lead the way inside, Lessa immediately expressed this.
“Do not worry. This toilet has not been used in three hundred years since it was built. I guarantee there is not a trace of odour!” Debby assured hurriedly. She even pointed at a plaque by the toilet door. “See, this plaque is still hanging here.”
The plaque bore a line of small characters: No one is permitted to use this toilet.
Looking at that line, Ye Chui could not shake the feeling that it resembled “There is no silver buried three hundred taels here” no matter how he saw it. He could not help asking Debby, “No one has ever discovered your family’s secret chamber?”
“Of course not. Hiding here is foolproof. Let me tell you, once I hid inside for a whole week without the old man finding me. If I had not been starving to death, I could have died in there and no one would have known. Enough talk, hurry and come in with me!” With that, Debby strode in ahead.
The others: “…”
What could they do besides marvel at the Anduin family’s wondrous bloodline?
“Click click,”
When Debby triggered certain mechanisms, a stone door slowly emerged inside the toilet, leading to a long passageway. Jacob was covering his nose, but soon he realised there was indeed no odour at all. Not only no odour…
“Eh? Is it my imagination? Why do I smell a faint fragrance?”
“You are not wrong. I smell it too. It seems like… the scent of roast beef!” Denny said with a frown.
Gurney sniffed as well. “Roast beef with onions and peppers.”
Ye Chui: “…”
He felt that tonight’s adventure was growing increasingly bizarre.
Debby took a magic light lantern from Jacob and led the way ahead. Their group passed through the long passageway and soon arrived in a stone chamber. Along the way, they noticed that the roast meat scent was growing ever stronger…
Then, in the secret chamber lit by burning candles, they saw a dining table laden with various delicacies. Seated behind the table was a rotund middle-aged man. He was holding a roast beef leg in his hand, dipping it in sauce and bringing it to his mouth.
“Father!?” Seeing that obese middle-aged man, Denny cried out in surprise. “You, you are fine?”
Suddenly seeing the group appear in the stone chamber, the obese middle-aged man was also stunned for a moment. Then he tossed aside the beef leg in his hand, jumping up from the table. “Denny, you, you are back! My daughter…”
Standing nearby and watching this father-daughter pair embrace, Ye Chui and the others were all speechless: “…”
Bloody hell, who said the Anduin family head was gravely injured?
