Chapter 13: Leaving Dragonbone Town
The call ended soon afterward.
Liufeng reached the entrance to the Trial Grounds and paid the registration fees for both of them.
Not long after submitting the names, he opened the game forum.
Sure enough, someone had already made a post.
[Title: Guess Who’s Entering the Arena This Week?]
The game was well-designed in almost every respect, but it had no world chat.
If players wanted to say something publicly, they used the forum.
[OP: I refreshed the registration list just now and…]
[Floor 1: Spit it out already.]
[Floor 2: Who?]
[Floor 3: Who else? Go look for yourself.]
[Floor 10: Guess he got tired of killing monsters and came back to chop up people.]
[Floor 11: No, he came back to secure his number-one ranking.]
[Floor 12: Wouldn’t be so sure. How long has it been since he entered the arena?]
Players could only enter the server-wide combat-power rankings after participating in the arena.
Lufiel hadn’t fought there for two or three months.
His stats from the last update still held first place, but the player ranked second was about to overtake him.
[Floor 14: He hasn’t been in the arena because he’s been grinding dungeons. Did everyone forget the title he just got?]
[Floor 15: As expected of Tianheng Star’s biggest celebrity. Might as well rename the game Lufiel at this point.]
[Floor 20: So what if he’s strong in a game? Put him on a real battlefield and his own people will die before the enemy does.]
Seeing the direction the thread was taking, Liufeng exited without reading further and casually hit the report button.
Lufiel was extraordinarily gifted, but his mental power was also far too aggressive.
During combat simulations, he had a tendency to injure his teammates by accident.
That was hardly a secret.
Combined with his bloodline and family history, it gave people endless reasons to criticize him.
There were always people saying Lufiel was simply lucky.
An accident had left the former Chief with only one surviving blood relative.
And since the galaxy was currently in an era of peace, Lufiel would never truly have to command soldiers on a battlefield.
Otherwise, they said, he would never deserve to become the Empire’s future Chief.
Liufeng used to think Lufiel didn’t care about those comments.
Or rather, Lufiel revealed so little emotion that no one could tell whether he cared.
Later, Liufeng realized Lufiel was more likely suppressing everything deliberately.
Only when dealing with the former Chief did his emotions occasionally break through in an obvious way.
And then…
Lufiel fell in love.
That period had probably been the happiest and most relaxed Liufeng had ever seen him.
Liufeng browsed through a few other threads and sighed.
He knew what he had said earlier would hurt Lufiel.
But the truth was, Liufeng wasn’t completely confident about the data transfer either.
Even if they successfully “took” Dong Li out of the game, there was no guarantee he would return to the version Lufiel remembered.
It was like losing someone after a breakup.
Sometimes the person you once loved simply couldn’t be brought back.
No matter how difficult that was to accept, reality eventually had to be faced.
Their only remaining hope was that Dong Li’s spirit body was still unusually special.
And no one knew why.
Liufeng rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
He decided to log off later and search through the data again.
—
At the herb field, Dong Li had blended into the crowd, thinking he would attract less attention.
Instead, people still kept glancing at him.
The arena was about to open, and the herb field happened to be free for one day, so more and more players were arriving.
With his golden hair, violet eyes, and striking appearance, Dong Li looked almost like a high-level NPC.
Yet there was no spirit form beside him.
Several players tried to come over and start a conversation, hoping to add him as a friend.
But before any of them got close, they were attacked by something hidden in the grass and forced to retreat to safer ground.
There were already plenty of small insect-type demons throughout the herb field.
Most were poisonous.
Their demonic energy was faint and difficult to detect, but they still couldn’t be underestimated.
Many players wore defensive armor, but the effectiveness of their gear depended on their own level.
In any case, none of the players who were attacked noticed anything suspicious.
Dong Li knew nothing about it either.
One player suddenly screamed nearby and startled him so badly that he jumped.
He stared blankly as the man hurried away.
Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Lufiel again.
It was almost noon…
Dong Li quickly looked away.
Then he sat down in the soft grass to rest and soak up the sun.
Outside the herb-field fence, Lufiel leaned against a tree, watching his back.
[Do not attack others in this area.]
[Do not attack others in this area.]
…
A long string of red warnings filled his interface.
But Lufiel hadn’t actually killed anyone, so the warnings didn’t matter.
Rongrong was still playing farther away.
Several wisps of sword aura followed the little fox as well, occasionally driving off small demons that tried to attack.
Before long, Dong Li got up and went to fetch Rongrong, preparing to leave.
The little fox burst out of the bushes with a cluster of wild berries in its mouth and nimbly jumped into Dong Li’s hood.
Dong Li adjusted his clothes, then went to the nearby pool to wash his hands.
He had spent a long time in the herb field, but every herb he gathered had gone into his little medicine furnace.
There was no way to tell how much he had actually collected.
On his way out, Dong Li happened to pass near where Lufiel was standing.
He kept his head down and continued forward.
Only after walking a short distance did he relax slightly.
Good.
He hadn’t been nearly as nervous this time.
Besides, Dong Li told himself, he would be leaving Dragonbone Town in a few days anyway.
Still…
Something felt strange.
Lufiel had spent the entire morning at the herb field and seemed to have done absolutely nothing.
Dong Li slowed down.
When he reached a bend in the path, he glanced back.
Far behind him, that familiar figure appeared again.
Dong Li’s mind went blank.
He immediately whipped his head forward and kept walking.
At this point, even someone as slow to catch on as Dong Li had to realize what was happening.
When Dong Li went to the herb field, Lufiel followed.
While Dong Li gathered herbs, Lufiel stayed there the entire time.
Now Dong Li was leaving—
and Lufiel was leaving too.
What exactly was he trying to do…?
Dong Li felt confused and helpless.
Was his ex-boyfriend secretly following him after all this time?
Did it even count as secretly following him?
Lufiel wasn’t exactly hiding.
He simply kept his distance and never approached.
And besides…
Wasn’t Lufiel the one who wanted to break up in the first place?
Dong Li’s thoughts became a complete mess.
He had no idea what he was supposed to do.
He wanted to ask the forum, but he was outside right now and couldn’t conveniently pull out the metal plate.
So he stopped looking back.
Instead, every so often, he quietly asked Rongrong inside his hood.
The little fox had a much easier time checking.
It would cautiously poke its head out, take a quick look, then duck back in.
And Lufiel…
kept following them.
Dong Li forced himself to remain calm all the way back to town.
But when he reached Dragonbone Town, he found the area outside the Trial Grounds packed with people.
He moved closer.
Then he saw the impressive giant leopard again.
The mayor sat on its back, leading a group of NPCs past the Trial Grounds.
The group was escorting an iron cage.
A black cloth covered almost all of it, hiding whatever was inside.
Curious, Dong Li asked an NPC standing nearby, “What’s that?”
“The mayor borrowed a half-demon from Maidong City,” the NPC replied. “It’ll be used to track suspicious demonic beasts.”
Dong Li froze.
A half-demon?
For tracking?
Plenty of players were watching too.
Dong Li slowly made his way around the crowded area, overhearing their conversations.
“If this is such a big deal, why isn’t there a quest? I’d help escort it!”
“So the Taotie isn’t a bug? It still hasn’t shown up anywhere. Don’t tell me it really snuck into Dragonbone Town…”
“Are you kidding? If it got inside, it would’ve eaten half the town already. How could it hide?”
“There have been Taotie bug reports the last couple of days. Whatever, let’s just wait and see.”
From the players’ perspective, everything seemed to connect back to the missing Taotie.
It was probably the start of a new storyline.
So the demonic beast they were searching for had to be the Taotie.
There hadn’t been much movement over the past two days.
But today, a half-demon had suddenly been brought into town, and patrols had been strengthened.
The players were eager.
A new storyline meant new quests, new rewards, and new opportunities to level up.
Dong Li quietly pulled his coat tighter and hurried away.
The moment he returned to the medicine shop, he went straight into the back room and shut the door tightly.
Rongrong jumped out of his hood and handed over the bunch of wild berries it had picked earlier.
Dong Li took them, distracted.
A half-demon…
Was it looking for Heidan?
Or Yuanbao?
Dong Li put the berries aside and took both little beasts out of his pockets.
Heidan had just woken up.
It yawned, shook itself, then looked around with bright, energetic eyes.
Yuanbao settled quietly in place and flicked the tip of its tail at Dong Li.
Dong Li had personally seen both of them in their giant forms.
They really were the “demonic beasts” everyone kept talking about.
But Dong Li still didn’t quite understand why everyone hated demonic beasts so much.
Why did they have to drive them away or kill them?
The beginner’s guide on the forum had said that demonic beasts and half-demons in the game were evil and bloodthirsty, and players should attack them on sight.
But…
they were obviously adorable.
Dong Li anxiously stroked both little beasts, then fed them one after the other.
Yuanbao had always been obedient.
And Heidan was pretty well-behaved too, now that it stayed with him.
Dong Li didn’t want to see either of them injured or killed.
Even if dungeon bosses probably didn’t truly die, just like NPCs and players could respawn.
Still…
Players and NPCs could choose to avoid dungeon bosses.
Yuanbao, on the other hand, had been forced to stay in that cave and get beaten every day.
Heidan was probably the same.
That day outside town…
Dong Li suddenly remembered something.
The last time Heidan had gotten beaten up—
Lufiel had been the one who did it.
Dong Li hugged both little beasts tighter.
A wary thought surfaced.
Could Lufiel be following him because he had discovered Heidan?
Either way, Dong Li needed to leave Dragonbone Town as soon as possible.
He had gathered almost enough herbs.
Heidan and Yuanbao had also mostly recovered.
After thinking it over through lunch, Dong Li decided to say goodbye to Shu Bai.
Shu Bai stared blankly at him.
“You’re… leaving?”
“Mm.” Dong Li nodded. “I don’t know when that Dog Spirit from before will respawn… but he’ll definitely be fine. And thank you for taking care of me these past few days…”
To Dong Li, Shu Bai was a friend.
Coming to Dragonbone Town hadn’t turned out the way he’d imagined.
He hadn’t really gotten to play with Shu Bai.
But Shu Bai had given him somewhere to stay, shared his food, and never told anyone about the two little beasts.
Shu Bai nodded too.
“Okay.”
Dong Li waited hopefully for him to say something else.
But Shu Bai simply continued clearing the dishes.
All right…
Dong Li curled his fingers together.
Then someone knocked on the front door.
He and Shu Bai both looked up.
Shu Bai seemed confused and instinctively got to his feet to check.
It was lunchtime.
The medicine shop was unattended, and Shu Bai had already hung up the Closed for Break sign.
Normally, no one should have come.
Rongrong jumped down from the windowsill, instantly alert.
Dong Li followed behind and peeked through the crack in the door.
The visitor was an NPC.
Another Dog Spirit.
The same race as the one Heidan had eaten before.
His expression was cold and severe.
“Did my younger brother come here?”
Shu Bai couldn’t lie.
“He did.”
The NPC asked again, “Where did he go afterward?”
This time, Shu Bai stammered and couldn’t answer.
Dong Li’s heart sank.
The text above the NPC’s head read [Level 10].
He seemed much stronger than the last one.
The wolfhound spirit at his side sniffed the air.
Its sharp gaze immediately turned toward the door to the back room.
The NPC had come here because his spirit form had led him.
The wolfhound had caught a familiar scent.
And the last place that scent had appeared…was here.
Following the wolfhound’s gaze, the NPC shoved Shu Bai aside and strode toward the back room.
The wolfhound moved even faster.
Dong Li didn’t have time to escape before the door burst open with a bang.
He hurriedly backed away, protecting his medicine furnace and the pockets of his coat as he watched the NPC warily.
“A fox spirit?”
The NPC glanced at Rongrong.
“Why is there a second fox spirit in Dragonbone Town? Where’s your entry pass?”
His expression and tone were exactly like the NPC Heidan had eaten before.
“Entry pass?” Dong Li feigned confusion. “No one asked me for one when I came in…”
The NPC scoffed.
“No entry pass? Suspicious behavior. You’re coming with me to the mayor for questioning.”
Dong Li had no intention of going anywhere with him.
He tried to talk his way out.
“Can’t I just leave right now? Besides, weren’t you looking for your brother? I know where he is!”
The NPC hesitated.
“You do?”
Dong Li nodded quickly.
“He… had something to do. He went to the Fuling Region. He’ll be back soon.”
In reality, he had gone into Heidan’s stomach…
Feeling guilty, Dong Li finished speaking and immediately turned toward the back courtyard, intending to slip away.
The wolfhound blocked his path.
“No.”
The NPC frowned.
“There’s a scent on you…”
Dong Li panicked.
He thought the NPC had discovered Heidan hiding in his coat.
And the first NPC still hadn’t respawned before this one came looking.
This was definitely going to become a problem.
But…getting rid of one NPC or getting rid of two NPCs made no real difference.
Once they respawned, they would forget everything anyway!
Dong Li reacted instantly.
He grabbed a flowerpot from the windowsill and hurled it.
The NPC easily raised an arm to block it.
Hard metal wire was wrapped around both sleeves.
At the same time, he drew a section of flexible whip from his waist.
Dong Li had no combat experience.
He was just about to call Heidan out to eat him when Rongrong swiped at the wolfhound and spat out a burst of golden flame.
The fire sank into the wolfhound’s body.
It immediately let out a pained howl.
And because a spirit form’s injuries were shared with its owner, the NPC felt the pain too.
His face twisted in rage and shock.
“You—”
Before he could finish, Dong Li smashed his little medicine furnace over his head.
The NPC dropped unconscious.
Heidan immediately crawled out of Dong Li’s pocket and squatted beside the fallen man.
Then it looked up at Dong Li.
As if asking:
Can I eat him?
“Wait…”
Dong Li nudged the NPC with his foot.
He wanted to check whether the man had any money first.
But after searching every pocket, Dong Li found only a plaque.
Four words were written across it:
Trial Grounds Supervisor
Shu Bai stood in the doorway and watched the entire scene.
Just like last time, he had gone completely blank again.
Dong Li examined the plaque, then looked up.
“What’s this?”
“He… he’s…” Shu Bai answered slowly. “He manages the Trial Grounds medicine room. Every week, he brews spirit medicine for the outsiders.”
Dong Li didn’t really understand what that meant.
He was mostly disappointed that he hadn’t found any money.
While he stood there turning the plaque over in his hands, Heidan opened its mouth wide and, as usual, swallowed the unconscious NPC and his wolfhound spirit whole.
“…”
Dong Li grabbed the tip of Heidan’s ear.
“Are you that hungry? You couldn’t wait a minute?”
Heidan licked its mouth as if nothing had happened and crawled back into Dong Li’s coat.
Shu Bai remained rooted to the spot.
His expression had become even more vacant.
Afraid he might be frightened, Dong Li hurried to reassure him.
“It’s okay, it’s okay. He isn’t actually dead…”
Shu Bai opened his mouth.
Then quietly nodded.
“I’m going outside to check,” Dong Li said, still uneasy. He wanted to make sure the NPC hadn’t brought anyone else with him. “Stay here and act like nothing happened.”
Shu Bai nodded again.
“Okay.”
—
At the same time, deep inside the underground prison behind the Trial Grounds—
The half-demon inside the cage suddenly stirred.
Its entire body trembled.
A pair of dark green eyes turned toward a certain direction.
The giant leopard stood guard outside the cage.
The mayor’s expression turned grave.
“You sensed something already?”
—
Elsewhere, Lufiel paused his training and casually wiped the sweat from his face with a towel.
He opened his communicator.
Then frowned slightly.
The monitoring device was still installed on the medicine shop roof.
But at that moment, both Dong Li and Rongrong had left the back room and moved outside its detection range.
Yesterday at this same time…
Dong Li hadn’t gone out at all.
