Ye Chui and Debbie were undoubtedly the hottest topics in Stan Town recently, but in the tavern, the focus of everyone’s discussions about them was that they might be in big trouble: the Bullhead and Goddess’s Kiss guilds had shifted all their anger onto them. The two youngsters had not yet woken up, and the moment they did, the two guilds would surely launch a brutal pursuit and interrogation…
Now they were awake, and as expected, the two guilds, along with a motley crew of others, had surrounded them completely.
But the result… the blood-filled trench on the street outside Ye Chui’s house was simply shocking.
From this day on, among the residents of Stan Town, legends about the bald heroic spirit began to spread…
Let us return to the scene.
When the One-Punch Heroic Spirit disappeared, those who had planned to make trouble for Ye Chui and Debbie fled in panic. In an instant, the crowded street became wide open. Ye Chui, feeling a bit pained, flipped through his iPad magic guide book. Unlocking the player, the One-Punch Heroic Spirit, and the punch thrown by the heroic spirit had cost a total of 800 points. The One-Punch Heroic Spirit had also earned some points by killing those riffraff, but only 120 points, leaving him with a remaining balance of 490 points.
(PS: Considering I’ve messed up simple arithmetic within ten before, I used a calculator this time to make sure it’s correct…)
In the blink of an eye, more than half of his points were spent. What a splurge…
“The One-Punch Heroic Spirit will be my trump card from now on,” Ye Chui secretly resolved. This thing was practically on par with a pay-to-win knight. Then he wondered curiously, if he had summoned the One-Punch Heroic Spirit during the fight with the red devil, could it have taken down the red devil with one punch?
Well, he believed in the strength of Saitama-sensei.
“Where did this bald heroic spirit come from? Why didn’t you summon him during the fight with the devil!” Debbie, clearly thinking along the same lines as Ye Chui, hurriedly asked, her big eyes sparkling.
“I just made a contract with him. Let me tell you, that bald heroic spirit just now wasn’t even at full power. If he unleashed his full strength, to put it bluntly, no one on the entire Kaslot Continent would be his match,” Ye Chui said confidently.
“Wow!” Debbie looked utterly stunned.
Silas still maintained her dumbfounded expression, walking dazedly to the two of them, “Is this what you gained from the adventure in the ruins?”
Before Ye Chui and Debbie could answer, a group of people ran over from a distance. It was Loss and the others who had heard about what happened here and rushed over. Seeing their worried expressions, Ye Chui and Debbie smiled and waved at them. The expressions of Loss and the others turned to surprise, and after Silas recounted what had just happened, their surprise turned to shock.
Loss was practically speechless.
At this moment, the “gurgle” sound from Ye Chui’s stomach broke the silence. Loss gave a wry smile, “You must be starving after sleeping for two days, right? I’ve long said I’d treat you to a meal. Let’s go to the mercenary guild hall, let us treat you properly and hear about your adventure in the ruins in detail.”
“Sure,” Ye Chui rubbed his stomach awkwardly, then thought of something and said to Loss, “Can you lend me two silver coins first?”
“Borrow money? Sure,” Loss took out two silver coins from his money pouch and handed them to Ye Chui.
Debbie asked curiously, “What do you need to borrow money for?”
Ye Chui glanced at his magic guide book and said, “Riken’s body is still in the storage space. I need to go bury him.”
Debbie’s expression immediately turned respectful, “I didn’t expect you to care so much about this old friend…”
“It’s not that. He’s starting to stink in the storage space…” Ye Chui interrupted.
Debbie: “…”
So Ye Chui parted ways with Debbie, Loss, and the others for the time being, heading to the cemetery, while Debbie and the others went to the mercenary guild to have a hearty meal. As he left, Ye Chui overheard their conversation—
“You were the ones who brought me and Ye Chui back, right? Why did you put me in the same bed as him!”
“Huh? Aren’t you two a couple?”
“No way!”
“Is that so? But you two seem even closer than a couple…”
Hearing the conversation fading into the distance, Ye Chui shook his head with a smile. Thinking of Riken’s matter, his expression grew heavy again. He still needed to visit the church sometime to figure out why Riken harboured such deep hatred toward him.
However, when he arrived at his destination, he saw the figure of an old nun from afar.
The large church was actually managed by only one nun. Although called a church, few people came here to pray on ordinary days. It was more like a relief station. Some orphans were sent here to be raised, and those with severe injuries nearing death often spent their final days here. The old nun cared for them with selfless devotion.
Ye Chui’s body, Wade, had lived in the orphanage for two years and was quite familiar with the old nun, Rosia. She was an elderly woman who appeared kind but could also show a stern side to the orphans, like a mother. She had dedicated her entire life to her devout faith, making her the most pious believer.
Burying Riken required paying a fee to the gravedigger, who would help with the burial. The gravedigger was also a skilled stonemason, crafting stone coffins and engraving tombstones.
In this magical world, death was a common occurrence. Being buried and receiving a tombstone after death was already a rare privilege.
While talking with the gravedigger, Ye Chui also learned that the old nun Rosia was at the cemetery to perform a soul-cleansing ritual for a recently deceased magic mentor.
When he saw Riken’s body, riddled with holes, being placed into the stone coffin, the old nun’s body trembled, and two tears streamed down her aged face.
“Poor Riken, I tried to persuade him not to join the ruins adventure, but his eyes were blinded by hatred…” The old nun clasped her hands tightly to her chest, speaking with self-blame. She looked at Ye Chui, her eyes not carrying blame but the affection from Wade’s memories, “Wade, how did Riken die? Can you tell me?”
Ye Chui briefly explained, not mentioning the devil, only saying that a powerful sealed creature killed Riken. Then he asked curiously, “He seemed to have some misunderstanding about me, thinking I hurt Lesha. Do you know what that’s about?” After a pause, Ye Chui, following his memories, awkwardly called her, “Old Mother.”
“Oh, little Lesha,” the old nun repeated the name. “When little Lesha was taken away by the church, Riken was very upset and tried to stop it, but of course, that was futile. I didn’t expect he would later transfer his resentment to you, thinking you didn’t help him stop Lesha from being taken away.”
“Just that?” Ye Chui frowned.
“No, of course not…” The old nun’s wrinkled face showed sorrow. “Later, we received a letter from the church. In the third year after Lesha was taken, she died because she couldn’t endure the rigorous nun training—that incident changed Riken’s personality drastically. He used you as an outlet for his hatred, believing you harmed Lesha, and he even insisted on not telling you that Lesha had died.”
Ye Chui was speechless, his mind conjuring the image of that innocent, beautiful, and cute little girl. So she had already died?
“That little fool, I tried to persuade him many times, but he stubbornly believed that Lesha’s death was due to your betrayal and departure. To him, you and Lesha were his entire life,” the old nun sighed.
“…” Ye Chui was somewhat at a loss for words, but also doubtful. Just because of this? Although Riken seemed somewhat obsessive and fanatical, was such a flimsy reason enough for him to harbour murderous intent? Were childhood bonds that significant?
Looking at the sorrowful nun, his brows furrowed deeper… There was probably more to this, wasn’t there?
The gravedigger had already buried Riken. Ye Chui stood in front of the small mound for a moment, listening to the old nun recite the soul-cleansing scriptures, then bid farewell to the old mother and left, feeling a bit down for a while.
After crossing over and occupying this body, Wade’s will had long dissipated. Ye Chui inherited Wade’s memories, which didn’t affect his personality, but from an observer’s perspective, he still felt a bit of mourning for Riken’s tragic fate.
However, when he arrived at the mercenary guild hall, the laughter and joy quickly lifted Ye Chui’s mood. Debbie had summoned the joyful clown again, performing a cheerful act never seen in this border town, bringing waves of laughter. Debbie, holding a wine glass, proudly recounted her adventure stories with exaggerated tones, yet they were thrilling.
Ah, blessings upon this wonderful world.
…
Ye Chui didn’t know that after he left the cemetery, the old nun stayed behind. Her face, originally full of sorrow and kindness, suddenly turned somewhat ferocious. She coldly glanced at the terrified gravedigger, who, trembling, reopened the freshly buried grave. The simple stone coffin was opened, and the old nun looked coldly at Riken’s nearly decayed body.
Ignoring the stench emanating from the corpse, she extended a hand to Riken’s chest. Then, some light gathered in her hand. When she lifted her hand, a magic guide book appeared in it.
She had extracted a magic guide book from the deceased magic mentor’s body!
But this magic guide book was not Riken’s original green-covered one; it had a black cover.
Soon, however, the black-covered magic guide book suddenly burst into flames, quickly turning to ashes.
“Because he’s been dead for too long, the magic guide book couldn’t be extracted intact?” The old nun snorted coldly, looking in the direction Ye Chui had left, muttering mysteriously to herself, “Wade, the dark magic book will eventually devour you…”
She gave the gravedigger another cold glance and turned to leave.
The gravedigger, trembling, reburied the grave.
It seemed this wasn’t the first time he had experienced something like this.
