Chapter 31: Little Snake

[News flash: In response to the Anaconda Calamitous event in Nasuru, Her Majesty intends to dispatch five brave men to solve the matter. The five brave men are: the demon hunter, Luo Yin; the sorceress, Shi Xue Li; the Priest of Light, Chang An; and the knights, Ka'er and Kui Ke.]

The speeding train traveled through the wilderness. The afternoon sun shone through the windows, making tiny dusts visible, fluttering in the light-colored pillars of light.

Most of the seats on the train were vacant due to the stations they passed through being too remote. A few passengers sat in their seats, bored, reading newspapers.

“Nasuru?” One originally sleepy passenger snapped out of his stupor as he heard this piece of news.

He looked up, ready to share the news with his nephew.

Nasuru was originally a remote mountain forest, located at the end of the Kuangda Wasteland, a large piece of land with a population of less than three hundred people.

However, five years ago, Narusu’s situation became completely different when rare magic ores were found within the village.

“Ah Luo, what are you looking at?” The passenger looked at his nephew, who seemed like he was in a trance. Looking along his nephew’s line of sight, he was surprised to see a young man bathed in the sun’s rays while sleeping soundly.

The young man sat near the window, his head lying on the armrest of his seat. The sun shone on his face, making his white skin seem almost transparent and the tiny little hairs on his face visible.

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Xdl tzydnl yv vbl csu’p yrrlyaydnl, vbl ryppldtla pweeldzu wdelapvsse obu Gb Nws pvyale yv vbl csu. Gqvla yzz, lhlausdl yzoyup yexkale vbspl obs olal clywvkqwz. Mbl csu oyp ps tsse-zssjkdt ps kv oyp dsaxyz vs yvvaynv y qlo uswdt xld pwnb yp bkp dlrblo.

“Tlu, nsxl cynj vs uswa pldplp,” Tl jdsnjle sd vbl vyczl kd qasdv sq bkp dlrblo yde pxkzle yv vbl pwarakple Gb Nws. “Ebyv? Zsw zkjl bkx?”

“B-wdnzl, obyv yal usw vyzjkdt ycswv?!” Gb Nws alvsavle, czwpbkdt, cwv yzps wdnsdpnkswpzu zsolale bkp hsknl, “R fwpv qkde bkp pzllrkdt rspvwal vlaakczl…”

Mbl yojoyae rspvwal sq vbl uswdt xyd eked’v alyzzu yqqlnv bkp ellr pzllr. Tkp nblljp olal ralpple ytykdpv vbl aswtb pwaqynl sq vbl nbyka, alhlyzkdt y pbyzzso ale xyaj.

Tl bye pwnb y vlaakczl rspvwal ulv bl pvkzz xydytle vs pzllr ps pswdezu. Mbl ryppldtla zssjle yv bso vbl uswdt xyd’p nblpv aspl yde qlzz pxssvbzu yp bl calyvble. Tl nswzed’v blzr cwv pktb.

Tkp dlrblo’p alrzu vbswtb eked’v pvsr bkx qasx zywtbkdt, “Usxl sd, usw vbkdj R esd’v jdso usw? Fkdnl usw olal y nbkze, obld byhl usw lhla clld yvvldvkhl vs y pvaydtla?”

Gqvla zlyhkdt Gb Nws prllnbzlpp, bl nzsple bkp dlopryrla yde pyke okvb yd R’x-lmrlakldnle yvvkvwel, “Zsw esd’v byhl vs cl lxcyaaypple. Rq usw zkjl bkx, vbld nbypl bkx. Rpd’v kv jkde sq y qyvl vs akel vbl pyxl vaykd yde pkv kd vbl pyxl nsxryavxldv?”

Tl yde bkp dlrblo olal sd vblka oyu vs hkpkv vblka alzyvkhlp kd y hkzzytl dyxle yqvla bkx kd Lypwaw. Mblal oyp sdzu sdl vaykd kd vball eyup vbyv oyp blyele kd Lypwaw, ps kv sdzu bye y qlo ryppldtlap. Rv oypd’v xwnb vs nyzz kv qyvl vs xllv blal.

Ah Luo: “…”

Fortunately, the train’s announcement sounded at this time: Dear passengers, the train has arrived at the terminal. Please don’t forget your luggages and get ready to alight.

The speakers had already broadcasted this for three times but the young man remained unresponsive, still sleeping soundly. When the train came to a halt with a loud siren, he still showed no signs of waking up.

Ah Luo could no longer sit still. He approached the young man even against his uncle’s teasing eyes. Looking closer at the appearance of the young man, it became even more delicate and beautiful. His long eyelashes looked like a small fan half-hanging, casting a shadow.

Ah Luo unconsciously held his breath.

“Um…” His outstretched hand stopped in mid-air. He stared at the young man’s slender shoulder and hesitated for a long time before softly calling him out, “Excuse me. Please wake up. We’ve arrived.”

With a voice much softer than the sounds of a mosquito’s buzzing, it didn’t manage to wake up the young man.

At that moment, his uncle saw his hesitation and let out a snicker behind his back.

Ah Luo turned his head back in annoyance and glared at him. However, he also realized that he wouldn’t be able to wake up the young man like that.

He tried to calm himself and reached out his hand again.

“Ya—!” An ear-splitting bird cry suddenly rang out, startling Ah Luo.

A raven with shiny black feathers was standing on the back of the chair, its scarlet eyes staring at him unblinkingly.

Where did that raven come from?

The door to the train’s compartment was closed and never was the window opened. He heard no sounds of birds flapping their wings earlier, so where did this bird come from? Was it here from the start?

However, as Ah Luo recalled, he didn’t see a shadow of this bird on the back of the young man’s chair. It appeared as silently as a ghost. If it hadn’t made a sound, he wouldn’t have been able to detect its presence.

Under its cold gaze, Ah Luo couldn’t help but shiver.

“Uhh…”

Xia Nuo rubbed his eyes as he woke up. As soon as he opened his eyes, he saw a blond young man standing in front of him, staring at something with fear in his eyes.

What’s going on?

He couldn’t help but look back at the place he was staring at. “What’s wrong?”

Was there an accident? Did the train catch on fire? Did they encounter a robber?

As soon as his words fell, his shoulders sank. The raven folded its wings and landed on his shoulder. 

“…nothing,” Ah Luo remained stunned for a long time before he finally answered. “I have been trying to wake you up since we’ve arrived.

“Is this your pet?” He asked with an inexplicable emotion.

“Yes,” Xia Nuo stroked its feathers and thanked the other person. “Thank you for reminding me.”

This raven was the S-class item ‘Raven’s Eyes’ that he had obtained in the game world ‘The Raven Manor House’. There was no limit to the number of times it could be used. After activating the item, the raven would appear out of thin air and accompany him.

Its description on the game panel was this:

Warning: 50% chance of being notified when encountering a boss within 50 meters.

Search: 50% chance of encountering an item within 50 meters.

Storage: A cubic meter of space available for storage of items/clues

Attack: To launch an attack at master's command; with an extra damage to the spiritual body

Defense: 50% chance of protecting the master when attacked

Please explore the rest of the functions by yourself.

Xia Nuo could only agree to it being called a S-class item. It had so many functions, ah?

Xia Nuo wouldn’t have dared to approach such a big raven before, however, oddly enough, not only did he not feel afraid, he even felt very close to it.

The raven rubbed his fingers affectionately. He didn’t see the look of condescension it had when it glared at Ah Luo.

Ah Luo watched the interaction between the two and replied nervously, “No problem.”

His uncle could no longer stand his disgraceful appearance.

Lei Yin got up from his seat and coughed, “Are you also on your way to Nasuru? If that’s the case, then you can come with us. Do you have any luggage? Where did you put it? Let my nephew get it for you. By the way, what’s your name?”

“You can just call me Chang An,” Xia Nuo was a little overwhelmed by his enthusiasm. “I can carry my luggage myself, but thank you.”

Chang An? Why did that name sound so familiar?

Lei Yin didn’t react and talked to Ah Luo instead with eyes: I’ve already created an opportunity for you, why don’t you go grab it now?

Wait, Chang An?

Remembering the news he had just seen, he couldn’t help but ask, “With all due respect, are you the Priest of light, Chang An in this newspaper?”

He unfolded the newspaper in front of the young man. Xia Nuo looked at it and nodded, “Yes it’s me. Why?”

With that, he picked up a staff, which was inlaid with many magnificent gemstones and was astonishingly heavy.

Lei Yin finally believed his words after seeing the staff.

It’s him? He didn’t doubt that the young man was lying, only that the image of the young man and the image of the brave priest, who the queen entrusted with a mission, was far too different.

Though a priest didn’t need to be physically fit or strong, this young man… looked a bit soft, ah?

Xia Nuo was oblivious to the man’s judgment. He picked up his staff propped on the ground, making a dull sound.

Actually, he himself didn’t like it at first when he saw the staff.

He didn’t feel much about his priest of light identity, and simply considered it as a role that he needed to play.

When he saw this staff, which was supposed to be the weapon of the Priest of Light, he found it a bit gaudy.

Xia Nuo knew that he wouldn’t be able to hold it all the time.

Fortunately, after he got his hands on it, he realized that he was able to easily pick up this incredibly heavy-looking staff and cast complex spells, probably added as a bonus for his identity.

If only I had this kind of strength in the real world. Xia Nuo squeezed his slender arms.

“Passengers of compartment D003, the train has arrived at the station. Kindly alight the train.”

They had been delayed here for too long. The train’s conductor could no longer resist urging them to get off.

“…let’s go,” Lei Yin said.

He looked at his nephew disappointingly, and couldn’t lament in his heart: This young man is a priest. Guess Ah Luo has no chance now.

The tree got off the train. Lei Yin was familiar with the road. With him leading the way, they soon reached the village and saw a large area of sparsely distributed houses.

As one the brave people specially appointed by the Queen, Nasuru arranged for a staff to receive Chang An at the entrance.

Lei Yin said goodbye to Xia Nuo then, pulling away the distracted Ah Luo.

The one who welcomed Xia Nuo was a dark-skinned young man, smiling brightly at him, “Dear brave one, welcome to Nasuru. The other brave individuals have already arrived. Let me take you to meet up with them.”

Xia Nuo nodded and followed him towards a tall building within the village.

Soon, Xia Nuo saw a child running towards them from a distance. He seemed to be chasing something, throwing stones and muttering words that Xia Nuo didn’t understand.

When he came closer, Xia Nuo finally saw what he was chasing.

It was a snow-white, less than two-hands long, snake. Chased by the small child, it crawled towards Xia Nuo in a panic.

***

The author has something to say:

Raven’s Eyes: 50% chance of being notified when encountering a boss within 50 meters.

Xia Nuo, who later learned that the boss had been with him all long: Fake! It’s all fake! You bird traitor!

The system didn’t take away the collar. It was hidden, and will appear later on. This Ah Luo is not the boss. The boss will come out later!