Chapter 32: Gaze

Before Xia Nuo could even react, the young man who welcomed him quickly took a step forward and blocked his front.

The snake immediately changed its course and went into a shallow puddle by the roadside, disappearing in an instant.

The child almost passed by them when he saw the young man staring at him angrily. He said, “Brother Zhuo’er.”

Naturally, his eyes landed on Xia Nuo as well, who was dressed differently than the villagers of Nasuru.

He was dressed in a priest’s robe of pure white embroidered with gold thread, with its hem reaching down to his ankles. He was wearing the same light-colored boots. A raven stood on his shoulder. He was holding an ivory-colored staff, inlaid with various colored magic gemstones, reflecting a moving light in the setting sun.

Not only was his clothes different but also his skin. It was fair and plump unlike the usual dark and rough skin of the villagers of Nasuru, who had all been under the sun all year round.

The child could not help touching his face as Zhuo’er scolded him, “How many times do I have to tell you not to act so rashly? Even if you haven’t caused any trouble before, this time you almost bumped into our distinguished guest. Apologize quickly.”

“I’m sorry,” He bowed his head gently, but his eyes never left the young man in front of him.

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“Rv’p sjyu, kv’p sjyu,” Dky Lws nswzed’v tlv wple vs Hbws’la’p alprlnvqwz yvvkvwel. “Rv’p dsaxyz qsa nbkzeald vs cl iwkvl zkhlzu. Zsw esd’v byhl vs pnsze bkx.”

Ebld Hbws’la blyae bkp osaep, bl calyvble y pktb sq alzklq. Dky Lws nswzed’v blzr cwv osdela, es R zssj pnyau yde kdvkxkeyvkdt?

Bdcljdsodpv vs bkx, Hbws’la oyp ynvwyzzu qllzkdt tayvlqwz qsa bkp jkde vlxrlayxldv. Jlqsal bkx, bl byp olznsxle vbl svbla cayhl rlsrzl sdl yqvla ydsvbla. Yspv sq vblx zssjle esod yv bkx yde olal hlau shlaclyakdt. Lsv vs xldvksd vbl qlxyzl cayhl sdl, obs bye y cye vlxrla. Gqvla oyvla oyp ynnkeldvyzzu prkzzle sd bla nzsvblp, pbl pnszele yzz bla nsxrydksdp.

Gzvbswtb vbl uswdt xyd pllxle qakldezu, bl eked’v eyal vs xyjl y fwetxldv cyple sd bkp yrrlyaydnl yzsdl.

Dky Lws oyp wdyoyal sq Hbws’la’p pldvkxldvp. Ebld bl vbswtbv sq vbl zkvvzl pdyjl vbyv rypple cu, bl ypjle vbl nbkze obs bye bkp blye esod, “Ebu olal usw vbasokdt pvsdlp yv vbl zkvvzl pdyjl fwpv dso?”

Tl zssjle zkjl bl oyp awddkdt yqvla bkp posad ldlxu.

Mbl nbkze zssjle wr, bkp lulp lmralppkdt bkp kdektdyvksd, “Mbl hkzzytl nbklq pyke vbyv obldlhla usw pll y pdyjl, usw byhl vs jkzz kv! Xvblaokpl kv okzz tdyo yv vbl assvp sq vbl pynale vall yde elpvasu kv!”

Hbws’la yeele, “Rd vbkp hkzzytl, sdl byp vs cl nyalqwz sq pwnb nalyvwalp. Psd’v vyjl vblx zktbvzu vbswtb vblu pllx olyj. Fkdnl usw olal pldv blal cu Tla Yyflpvu vs pszhl vbl pdyjl ekpypvla, usw’al rascyczu yoyal yzalyeu sq vbl alnldv jkzzkdtp kd Lypwaw, aktbv?”

Of course he was. That was the reason he was here.

In this game world, “Anaconda”, the system gave him three quests.

Main Quest: To solve the Snake Disaster in Nasuru
Reward: 3000 points
Side quest: Successfully survive until the end of the game
Reward: 3000 points
Special quest: Solve the riddle and help Nasuru out of trouble
Reward: 5000 points 

The system also gave him the background story of the game.

Nasuru, a remote and an almost isolated village, has destitute, solitary villagers that lived on growing a plant unique only to their village.

A year ago, a sorcerer inadvertently discovered a rare magic ore in Nasuru, turning this small, isolated village into a lively one.

However, the bustle only lasted for a little while. Everyone found that, for some reason, only the villagers were able to mine the magic ore. Once outsiders participate in mining, the efficiency of the ore would be greatly reduced.

For this reason, the Queen authorized Nasuru’s tax revenue to be replaced with the ores and withdrew the miners who had been sent to Nasuru.

However, some sorcerers who had other motives wanted to find out the hidden secret and make a profit out of it.

What they didn’t know was that along with the magic ores, several snakes, almost seven to eight meters long, were found there too.

The first tragic case happened about five months ago. The body of one sorcerer was found in the forest. His body was drained of blood and had marks from being wrapped and squeezed by a snake. His face left an expression of horror, as if he had seen something extremely terrifying.

People investigated his body and found only a tiny wound on his neck. The villagers said it looked like the mark of a snake’s bite.

They knew the suspect, but it wasn’t easy to catch.

Villagers had a strong belief in a giant tree growing in the forest. They call it the ‘sacred tree’. If someone wanted to enter the mountain forest, they had to ask the ancestral tree for permission first.

However, the ancestral tree gave them no answer so the villagers refused to let people enter the forest. Soon, the matter was dropped.

Yet after two months, the second tragedy occured. This time, it was the nephew of the deceased sorcerer. In order to investigate the cause of his uncle’s death, he went against the villagers’ wishes and entered the forest. He ended up in the same fate as his uncle.

Two people died one after another, including another precious sorcerer. The Sorcerers Association began to investigate, but after the investigators they sent also died in Nasuru, they had no choice but to ask the Queen for help.

Xia Nuo’s identity was one of the brave men sent by the Queen to solve the case. The other four were also players of the game. However, they have different arrival points. According to Zhuo’er, they arrived earlier than him.

Xia Nuo’s name in this game is ‘Chang An’.

Since the last time that his memories were wiped out but was perfunctorily dismissed by the system even after asking, he no longer trusted the system like he did before.

When the system asked him if he ever obtained items from the last game world, he hid the existence of the Raven’s Eyes and only told the system that he had obtained an invitation.

Not sure if the system also sensed his distrust but it had also become a bit cold and indifferent. Before he entered the game, it reminded him coldly: This time, you’re not going to enter the game alone. Pay attention to protecting your personal information. Do not let other players and NPCs know of your real identity.

And so, when someone asked him what his name was, he told them he was called ‘Chang An’ and intended to use this name for the rest of the game.

Before he could reply to Zhuo’er, the latter already continued to speak. “Though the investigation declared that the murderer was a snake, they couldn’t blindly assume that the snake was sucking human blood. They could only assume that it had many other little snakes that in turn sucked the blood. So when we usually see these kind of snakes, we drive them away or kill them.”

“…I see,” Xia Nuo replied, drowning in his deep thoughts.

As soon as he finished speaking, a wave of familiar tiredness came over him. Xia Nuo couldn’t help but yawn.

Zhuo’er urged, “You must be tired after such a long ride from the capital. Your room and dinner have long been prepared so let’s hurry over.”

Seeing Xia Nuo nodding, he instructed the small child, “Tu Ba, it’s dinner time now. Hurry up and go home.”

The sun was setting, its afterglow almost engulfing the night. Puffs of smoke came out of the chimneys of every household, and the smell of food gradually permeated the air.

On his way to the tall building, Xia Nuo couldn’t help yawning a few more times.

He didn’t tell Zhuo’er that this yawning wasn’t caused by the long ride since he almost slept all the way through. However, he really couldn’t resist the sudden sleepiness.

Because the system didn’t tell him, he only found out after entering the game that his character was suffering from narcolepsy.

During the day, he always felt sleepy regardless of the time and place, and would fall asleep unconsciously. Once he fell asleep, he’d no longer be aware of his surroundings. Fortunately, he always used his item in advance. Whenever strangers approach him, the raven would scream, to wake up Xia Nuo and avoid being robbed.

Even though he only had a staff with him.

I could be considered poor, ah?

Xia Nuo teased himself like this and forcibly withstood his sleepiness to reach his destination.

The building was completely different from the other buildings around the village, which were mostly made of clay, and looked untidy. This one was made of blue bricks and stone tiles, and was much taller than the ones around it.

Not only were its architectural styles and materials different, it was also clean, with an air of solemnity and simplicity.

As soon as he entered, Zhuo’er guided him inside. Xia Nuo followed him, suddenly sensing a strange gaze.

This gaze has been following him closely since he entered the building’s courtyard. It was so focused that it was impossible to ignore.

He couldn’t help but look for this gaze only to see a flickering shadow at the window of a room on the west side of the courtyard.

He pointed to that room and asked, “Who stays in that room?”

It was a harmless question but the Zhuo’er’s face showed an inexplicable expression. Xia Nuo saw a trace of fear in his eyes as he paused for a moment before answering.

“You’re probably asking about the son of the village chief. He got a serious illness a few years ago, but the root of the disease has not been completely removed. He can only stay inside his room and rest. He probably looked over because he was curious about you. Please don’t mind him.”

Xia Nuo pursed his lips.

He felt like that gaze was not as simple as a curious look. It was more of a gaze that had discovered something strange, with a desire to take it for himself.

He didn’t notice that the raven on his shoulder turned its head, staring intently at that room. A light flashed in its scarlet eyes.