Chapter 258: Xuan Mingzi |
Bai Mu read the inscriptions and put the bronze lamp away, plunging the Tomb Chamber back into darkness.
Today, he had actually barged into the dwelling of these Ghost Children for no reason, giving them quite a fright. Since they had no intention of harming him, he figured he should return the courtesy.
By all accounts, they were just a group of innocent victims. Even after death, they could find no peace and were still subjected to enslavement.
In the eyes of the King of Huainan, these children were nothing more than disposable resources for his cultivation.
After waiting in place for a short while, the Ghost Child that had disappeared earlier suddenly popped out from the darkness, holding something in its hands.
Bai Mu shone his Night Vision Camcorder on it. To his surprise, it was a bracelet strung together with beads and a red string. The black beads were covered in numerous cracks. [Name: Damaged Lightning-Struck Wood Bracelet]
[Type: Special Item]
[Note: A weathered and broken bracelet made of lightning-struck wood. It has lost its original function, but seems to retain some useful information.] Bai Mu took the bracelet and examined it closely. He discovered that the beads, which bore charred black patterns, actually had words carved into them, though they were fragmented. "Mountain thirty-two... Xuan Mingzi..."
Xuan Mingzi sounded like the name of a Taoist Priest. The strokes of these characters were deeply carved and filled with cinnabar. Now, the cinnabar had faded, leaving only dark red remnants embedded in the lines.
As soon as Bai Mu obtained this string of beads, he suddenly heard a notification sound.
[Side Quest "Xuan Mingzi" has been triggered.]
[Quest Requirement: Find the remains of Xuan Mingzi.]
[Quest Reward: ???]
"A Side Quest?" Bai Mu's interest was immediately piqued.
Based on his past experiences, the rewards for Side Quests were always quite good.
Moreover, these were the remains of a Taoist Priest. He might be able to obtain an item or piece of equipment that countered ghostly entities. At the very least, it could help him dig up some news to earn a little extra on the side.
He did not feel that doing a Side Quest was a waste of time. Who knew what that Zombie King was doing right now anyway? Since it was not right in front of him, he would just pretend it did not exist. Besides, he did not think that solely focusing on finding an exit was the right approach.
As the old saying goes, knowing yourself and the enemy ensures victory in a hundred battles. At this point, their understanding of the King of Huainan was limited to a few isolated phrases from the Script's introduction, which basically amounted to knowing nothing. Uncovering the background of the Script might allow him to figure out what kind of evil art the King of Huainan practiced and find his weakness. As for how to complete this Side Quest, Bai Mu shifted his gaze to the Ghost Child beside him.
The little guy was staring eagerly at the Blood Jade in Bai Mu's hand. Since it was the one who retrieved the bracelet, it definitely knew the location. Thus, Bai Mu shook the bracelet, then shook the Blood Jade, clutching the gem in his hand and holding it out in front of the Ghost Child.
It hurriedly leaned in and took a deep breath, its face full of intoxication, as if savoring a rare delicacy. Just as it was getting thoroughly absorbed in sniffing it, Bai Mu suddenly snatched the jade away.
It grew anxious again, hopping up and down, bearing its fangs like a fierce dog guarding its food. But when it saw Bai Mu's face, its expression wilted. It still possessed basic rationality and would not just hiss at people like a fixed line of code.
Bai Mu manipulated it back and forth a few times. It seemed to realize that Bai Mu wanted something else in exchange for letting it take a few sniffs of the Blood Jade, so it dove back into the darkness.
Bai Mu quickly brought out the bronze lamp, illuminating its trajectory, and followed a few meters behind it.
The Ghost Child glanced back, and seeing him following, simply emerged from the shadows and walked barefoot on the ground.
One human and one ghost navigated through the intricate tomb. As for the task of finding the Evil-Warding Beast and the exit, Bai Mu temporarily tossed it to the back of his mind. If it were not for the pathfinding skills Bai Mu had honed during the apocalypse, he really would have lost his sense of direction following the Ghost Child.
Winding left and right, after passing several narrow and dilapidated intersections, the Ghost Child squeezed into an inconspicuous corner. Bai Mu peered closely for several seconds, and it was not until the Ghost Child popped its head out from a spot that Bai Mu realized a remarkably narrow gap had suddenly appeared there. "Is it some kind of illusion?" Bai Mu frowned.
With his size, there was no way he could fit into this passage.
Seeing him standing outside without moving, the Ghost Child lay down and tilted its head back, looking at him curiously.
"Completing this Side Quest won't be easy, either."
'The remains are probably right behind this wall,' Bai Mu thought. 'If I use my skills to tear it down, it will cause a massive racket and might even bury the corpse.'
Xiao Wei's size would allow her to squeeze through, but he was worried there might be a battle behind the wall. Sending a squishy mage like Xiao Wei into such an unknown area was far too dangerous. She had a lot of spells now, but her body was as fragile as paper. Even if he equipped her with Rare-grade armor, in a C-rank Script, her ability to protect herself was practically non-existent.
He rummaged through his inventory. When his eyes landed on the Tranquilizer Watch, a nearly forgotten item suddenly surfaced in his mind, and he took it out.
[APTX4869 (Special Edition)]
As a specially made shrinking drug, it would not cause the user to die from poisoning. The effect lasted for twenty minutes, after which the user would automatically revert to normal. Although using it would weaken all of Bai Mu's attributes, "shrinking" was considered an additional status effect of poisoning within the system's settings. Therefore, he could instantly revert to normal using a "Purify Status" method.
In the previous Script, Xiao Wei had coincidentally obtained a healing skill capable of purifying negative effects. That meant he could revert to normal anytime and anywhere without worrying about the time limit. Thus, he directly swallowed a pill of APTX4869 (Special Edition).
Ten seconds later, the drug took effect. His body shrank to the same size as the Ghost Child, resembling an elementary school student.
The clothes, pants, and shoes he wore shrank along with him. After all, these were equipment from Paradise, and any gear listed on the interface would automatically adjust to fit the Player's body size.
Seeing that Bai Mu had also shrunk, the Ghost Child widened its eyes in extreme astonishment. However, it quickly became much closer to Bai Mu, showing absolutely no signs of timidity anymore. It seemed to treat Bai Mu as a playmate, reaching out to grab his hand.
An icy, freezing sensation transmitted through his palm, like grasping the hand of a corpse, and it felt completely weightless. If it were an ordinary person, they would likely find it utterly terrifying. Bai Mu, however, did not panic in the slightest. Without a single ripple of emotion, he followed the Ghost Child into the hole.
After crawling for about a minute, they entered a space where they could barely stand up.
For convenience, Bai Mu placed the bronze lamp on the ground. The Ghost Child still avoided the light, but it clung to the wall, poking its head out from above. In front of them sat the remains of a person in a seated posture. The moment he saw the skeleton, a notification chimed in his ears.
[Side Quest "Xuan Mingzi" has been updated.]
[Quest Condition Changed: Examine Xuan Mingzi's belongings.]
Unlike the shriveled, hideous walking corpses they had encountered earlier, this skeleton was very peaceful.
He leaned against the tomb wall with his legs crossed and his spine straight—a meditative posture.
The Taoist robe on his body had long since decayed to shreds, leaving only a few strands of dark brown fabric clinging to the bones, though the traditional cross-collared design with the right lapel on the bottom was still recognizable. His hands rested on his knees, his left palm facing upward, and his right thumb pressing against the first joint of his middle finger in what seemed to be some sort of protective hand seal. It was clear that before his death, he had been meditating right up until the very last moment.