Chapter 48: The Flag Has Fallen
【No, there isn’t.】
Qingqing muttered inwardly: If I let you finish everything at once, what would happen to my performance quota?
Feng Shi nodded, assuming those two items simply didn’t grow in this place, so he didn’t ask further.
Arriving at the marshland, aside from some dark, muddy rotting roots and a few decaying animal carcasses, the surroundings were barren.
Feng Shi wasn’t discouraged and continued following the underground river downstream.
Sticking close to the water source couldn’t be wrong.
However, as he walked, Feng Shi noticed something was amiss.
Although the underground river was still there, the vegetation downstream was becoming increasingly sparse. Everywhere were bare rocks and traces of friction and dragging, as if some massive animal had coiled here.
The first thing Feng Shi thought of was a snake.
He had watched Animal World before and knew a little bit about the tracks animals left behind.
Only…
For the tracks to be this huge, just how big was this snake?!
Feng Shi’s entire body tensed up, and his mind uncontrollably conjured scenes of being swallowed whole by a giant serpent.
A chill ran through him, making him shudder violently. He turned around, ready to head back upstream to take a look.
Qingqing appeared, pushing a small, fleshy cyan hand against Feng Shi’s nose to stop him: 【Host, the Snake-Holding Grass is just ahead. are you sure you want to give up halfway?】
Feng Shi felt like the System had been setting him up all along, so he said gloomily, “Can’t I just look in a different spot?”
Qingqing shook its head: 【This is the only one. Opportunity knocks but once!】
Feng Shi felt his breath hitch, muttering, “What kind of broken grass is this? So precious that only one grows?”
Qingqing felt a wave of guilt and coughed twice to cover it up.
Feng Shi didn’t notice its shifting gaze. Although he was afraid of actually encountering a giant snake monster, for the sake of the mission, he braced himself and continued forward.
Without the Trailing Gold Moss, the bottom of the abyss became dim again.
Fortunately, Feng Shi had itchy hands earlier and had plucked a few stalks to pin on his lapel and hair. With the Mermaid Heart in his hand, he managed to illuminate the surrounding ground.
After walking for about another quarter of an hour, the surroundings were so quiet that only Feng Shi’s own breathing and footsteps could be heard.
Suddenly, an abrupt wave of heat rushed from Feng Shi’s side, hitting him with scalding force.
It was like the breathing of something.
“Grass,”* Feng Shi gripped the handle of the lamp tighter, his palm sweating as he quickened his pace.
*(Translator’s Note: “Grass” (Cao) is a common homophone for a curse word in Chinese internet slang.)
He could only blame the absolute darkness here; flying on his sword would be even worse. If he couldn’t see clearly, he might crash right into the snake monster.
These cold, slippery, boneless animals had actually always been objects of his extreme loathing.
But that heat would spray onto his body at intervals, as if he couldn’t walk past it no matter how far he went.
Not only that, but as Feng Shi pricked up his ears to listen toward the source of the heat, trivial sounds began to drift over—like the massive body of a snake monster subtly crushing the gravel beneath it that was making it uncomfortable.
The more he listened, the more creeped out he felt, his heart pounding like a drum.
As luck would have it, just when he was overly tense, the path ahead was suddenly blocked by a vertical black wall.
The underground river was cut off by the black wall, forced to change direction and flow outward. The silt in front of the black wall had been largely washed away by the backflow, accumulating into a deep pit.
Feng Shi had a fear of this kind of strange water, so he had no choice but to step onto his sword, planning to fly over from above.
Poor guy, he hadn’t even found his footing when the heat stream attacked again.
This time, the hot wind was stronger than ever before, and a muffled, thundering rumble echoed from the empty bottom of the abyss.
Feng Shi’s hands and feet instantly went cold and numb.
Now he could be certain: that was the sound of the snake monster snorting.
“Damn it, you broken System! Didn’t you say the danger factor wasn’t high? What is the deal with this snake monster!?” Feng Shi finally couldn’t hold back; he opened the panel and grabbed Qingqing by the ear.
Qingqing whispered in its own defense, revealing everything: 【Host, don’t be scared! This isn’t a snake, it’s an old dragon. And it’s already asleep! We just need to secretly pick the herb from its body!】
Feng Shi’s vision blurred.
Old dragon… asleep… on its body… secretly…
He took a deep breath, then raised his hand and pinched his own philtrum hard.
“You can start making preparations.”
Qingqing: 【For what?】
Feng Shi gritted his teeth: “Prepare to take on your next host!”
Qingqing: 【Sob sob sob~ Don’t be like thaaat~】
“Shut up!”
Qingqing wrung its hands: 【It’s actually not that hard, Host. The Snake-Holding Grass grows on the old dragon’s tail. It has been sleeping for hundreds of years. As long as your movements are small, it won’t wake up.】
Feng Shi took a moment to recover. He felt that a dragon was slightly better than a snake. Besides, once the bow is drawn, there’s no turning back. He had been tricked into coming this far; he had to try, no matter what.
Thinking of this, he pinched the space between his eyebrows and asked, “Where is the tail?”
Qingqing, feeling guilty for deceiving him, answered obediently: 【On the left~】
Feng Shi checked left and right, his face darkening a bit.
The location of the tail was exactly where the heat had been coming from.
” The head and the tail are together?”
Qingqing: 【Oh, snakes and dragons are all one family; they like to sleep coiled up…】
Feng Shi: “……”
He silently withdrew the brightly glowing Mermaid Heart back into his account, leaving only a few stalks of Trailing Gold Moss for illumination. After mentally preparing himself for a good while, he slowly and carefully walked toward the left.
The closer he got to the source of the heat, the clearer the subtle sound of breathing became. Feng Shi’s heart beat like a war drum. A moment later, he finally vaguely saw a drooping dragon whisker.
Yes, that’s right—a dragon whisker as thick as Feng Shi’s arm.
Feng Shi could imagine the old dragon’s massive body even with his eyes closed.
He walked forward lightly. After a long journey, he finally arrived in front of a wall of black flesh.
This wall of flesh was covered in gigantic black scales, each one sharp and bright as a blade.
【Host, the Snake-Holding Grass is right up there.】
Oh, so this is the old dragon’s tail.
Feng Shi broke into a sweat. He took out his broken sword, stood on it, steadied his mind, and flew upward.
The range illuminated by the Trailing Gold Moss was too small, so Feng Shi had to get very close to see. After flying for a moment, he finally saw a medicinal herb emitting a faint green light in the crevice between two soil-covered black scales.
Comparing it to the image in his mind, it was indeed the Snake-Holding Grass.
A smile tugged at the corner of Feng Shi’s lips. Not daring to be careless, he carefully observed his surroundings. Hearing the old dragon’s steady breathing, only then did he reach out, pull the herb up by the roots, and store it in his account.
【Congratulations Host on successfully obtaining the Snake-Holding Grass and completing the temporary mission. Mission rewards have been distributed, please check them~】
Feng Shi gave a hum of acknowledgment, slowly lowered his flying sword, and retreated.
Having picked the grass, he didn’t want to stay a moment longer.
Only when he felt he had reached a safe distance did Feng Shi take the Mermaid Heart out of his account for light.
As soon as the lantern was taken out, the surrounding light suddenly blazed intensely, illuminating a vast space.
“Huh?” Feng Shi muttered, looking down at the Mermaid Heart in his hand. “What’s going on? Why does it suddenly feel much brighter?”
【……】
Qingqing’s voice was as small as a mosquito: 【…Host… the… the flag… has fallen…】
Feng Shi clicked his tongue. “What the hell kind of f…”
Before he could finish his sentence, he felt a powerful stream of heat violently assault him from behind, blowing the water of the underground river in front of him into splashing droplets.
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