Put away your magical powers now!.

Chapter 144 [It's all fate!] (6400)

Chapter 139 [It's all fate!] (6400)

Chen Yan's trouser legs and elbows were covered in mud. The mud was damp, and when he wiped it off, it just stuck to his clothes and couldn't be wiped clean.

Suppressing his surprise and trepidation, Chen Yan carefully observed his surroundings.

Is it... a secret realm?
Similar to my experience in Japan, where a magical ring was used to create a secret realm?

Oh, right, there's also a transmission of will within the ring, so there's a spirit inside the ring?
He stared at the surrounding woods...

The strange trees in the woods didn't look benevolent at all; they resembled the ghostly, dark forests from fairy tales or movies I read as a child.

Even the trees looked eerie.

Surrounded by dense forests that seemed to stretch endlessly, Chen Yan was in a bit of a predicament.

Logically, he should have wandered around and perhaps discovered something. But at this moment, there were no stars or moon in the sky, and the branches of these trees grew in strange shapes, making it difficult to discern directions.

He took out his phone and opened the compass app, but to his dismay, it malfunctioned.

There will naturally be no signal or anything like that.

The thick fog in the woods mixed with the air, and when inhaled, it gave a cold and damp feeling. Chen Yan tightened his clothes.

He got out of bed in his bedroom to go to the practice room. He hadn't planned to go out anyway, so he was wearing his home clothes—the clothes weren't very thick, and since his house had underfloor heating, the temperature could be kept above 25 degrees Celsius in winter.

What frustrated him even more was that he wasn't wearing socks, just a pair of slippers.

Fortunately, the alchemy furnace hanging around my neck, which served as a storage device, was still there; there were clothes inside.

But when Chen Yan tried to take something out of the alchemy furnace, his expression changed!

The alchemy furnace remained completely unresponsive!

No, to be precise, it's not that the alchemy furnace isn't responding, but rather...

"Can't mobilize vital energy?"

Chen Yan's heart sank immediately.

He retreated to the base of a strange tree, his mind racing.

Don't rush! Don't panic!

Maintain composure in the face of great events!

After reminding himself several times, Chen Yan raised his head, his eyes now much calmer.

The strange tree behind me felt cold to the touch, almost like metal, and it also had a damp feel to it.

He felt increasingly cold; the air here was biting, yet nothing seemed to freeze.

We can't stay in one place; we still need to explore the surrounding area.

Looking at the almost identical darkness around him, Chen Yan frowned.

Since we can't tell which way to go, we can only rely on luck.

"My luck should always be pretty good."

Chen Yan casually picked up a broken branch from the ground and threw it into the air.

The branch fell to the ground, and he walked in the direction the branch pointed.

After taking a couple of steps, he turned back and picked up the broken branch.

This thing feels very hard, unlike ordinary dry branches which are brittle. It would be good to hold it in my hand, even if it's just as a tool or weapon. I'm currently empty-handed and have no energy left.

If you encounter any danger, such as monsters or wild animals, you can't exactly take off your slippers and use them as weapons.

The branch was about the length of two chopsticks, and it was very hard, almost like an iron rod.

·
He walked in one direction for a while in the woods—Chen Yan judged in his mind that he should be walking straight ahead.

Although it's hard to say, because if a person is in a place without any reference points, even if they think they are walking in a straight line, they will still deviate from the target if they go too far.

Human legs are not exactly the same length; there are always subtle differences. Over time, subtle differences will appear in the muscle exertion of the legs and feet, the stride, and so on. Without a reference point, it is actually very difficult to walk in a straight line.

After walking for about seven or eight minutes, Chen Yan felt that his body was almost frozen.

Fortunately, although I can't mobilize my vital energy, my body is still strong enough after being nourished by it.

There's nothing wrong with my physical strength, but I'm losing a lot of body heat.

Along the way, Chen Yan also caught some subtle clues.

It was very quiet in this grove.

I couldn't hear any birds chirping, and I didn't encounter any snakes, rats, or insects along the way.

The air and the ground were damp, and underfoot were only wet mud, broken branches, and fallen leaves.

The branches are hard and cold, but the fallen leaves are more normal, either fragile or rotten.

After walking for ten minutes, Chen Yan found a longer stick. This stick was longer and straighter, and it could be used as a walking stick or a cane.

My slippers were covered in mud, and my feet were exposed to the cold, damp environment. They felt cold and gradually went numb.

He shouted loudly several times on the road, but received no response.

He couldn't take out any of his magical treasures or weapons—he couldn't even retrieve the talismans or the origami boxes.

However, the only thing that intrigued Chen Yan was...

The thumb ring was still on his left thumb.

and so……

"I didn't enter the ring itself, but rather a space, a secret realm, created by the ring?"

Fortunately, after walking for about half an hour, Chen Yan's luck finally turned out to be not too bad!
The forest ahead seemed to be reaching its edge, and the trees were beginning to thin out.

What really struck Chen Yan was that he discovered some clues.

He found several tree stumps on the ground!

These are clearly traces of human logging – tree stumps left after the trees were felled.

These tree stumps are all located at the edge of the forest, and there are at least dozens of them at a glance.

This is evidence that someone lives nearby!

This made Chen Yan even more suspicious.

The secret realm created by the magical artifact is actually inhabited by people?
·
At the edge of the forest, the vegetation not only becomes sparse, but also gradually becomes much smaller.

Chen Yan was shivering from the cold, and his breath came out in puffs of white air, clearly indicating that the temperature here was extremely cold.

The moment Chen Yan stepped out of the woods, he saw what appeared to be a long, glowing strip on the ground ahead.

But when he got closer, he saw it clearly.

This is a small river, about four or five meters wide—it could probably be considered a stream.

The stream that lay before me stretched endlessly to the left and right—perhaps because it was too dark.

The reason the entire stream reflects light is because...

It's completely frozen! It's like a long strip of ice lying across my face!

The temperature was indeed very cold; the stream was frozen, so it must have been below zero!

However, what excited Chen Yan a little was that he saw a light far away in the darkness ahead.

It's...light!
·
This must be... a village?
Chen Yan wasn't entirely sure.

But the scene before him forced him to accept the reality he was seeing.

The wooden houses were oddly shaped—Chen Yan, who grew up in the countryside, had seen "villages" before.

But the buildings in the countryside of the Dragon Kingdom are at least all neat and orderly.

The wooden house in front of us looks oddly shaped, as if it was cobbled together to accommodate the shape of the material itself and to save effort in cutting it.

For example, in the wooden house closest to Chen Yan, the left wall is noticeably higher, while the right wall is shorter, which makes it impossible to have a flat roof.

Indeed, the roof of the wooden house was pieced together from several pieces of wood, and it looked as if it might collapse at any moment. There were also some branches interspersed among them.

Chen Yan roughly judged that the material of this wooden house should be the strange tree in the forest.

In the village, there were quite a few wooden houses at a glance; Chen Yan could see seven or eight, while many more were hidden in the darkness and could not be seen clearly.

The light he saw was hanging under the eaves of the wooden house not far in front of him.

It looks a bit like a kerosene lamp, but it's too far away to see clearly.

The lamp was hanging there, and it swayed gently in the wind.

Chen Yan didn't want to act rashly, but he was just too cold.

The thin loungewear I was wearing offered no protection against the biting cold that seeped in from all directions.

Chen Yan could even clearly feel that the omnipresent chill had already penetrated his loungewear and was recklessly drilling into every pore of his body.

If it weren't for the fact that my physique is superior to that of ordinary people after being nourished by vital energy, I would probably have frozen to death and collapsed on the ground after walking out of the forest for half an hour!
They might have even frozen to death long ago!
At this point, there were no conditions to do anything like secretly observing and figuring out the situation.

Chen Yan could feel the last bit of warmth in his chest and abdomen being gradually eroded and growing weaker.

There's no way to delay any longer.

He had no choice but to bite the bullet and walk toward the wooden house with the lantern hanging there.

However, just as he reached the door of the cabin and was still some distance away, a whistle suddenly came from the darkness.

Then it seemed as if a voice roared something in a low, sharp voice.

Chen Yan's ears were already sore from the cold that he heard a low growl, which sounded wary and warning—but he couldn't make out what the other person was saying.

He immediately raised his hands and shouted, "I'm just lost and want to ask for help! I..."

hum!
Before Chen Yan could finish speaking, suddenly a figure jumped down from the wooden house!
The dark figure landed in front of Chen Yan, and he immediately caught his breath!
What hit me was a foul stench... the smell of fur that had been rotting for too long.

Then, a strong gust of wind came rushing towards us!

Although Chen Yan was numb from the cold, he still had some reflexes. In his haste, he could only try his best to back away to the left.

With a loud bang, a huge object crashed down on the spot where he had just been standing.

It was a hammer head the size of a bucket!

The dark figure in front of me was nearly two meters tall, holding a long handle with a hammer head at the end.

Chen Yan's dazed mind instantly cleared up, and without hesitation, he turned and ran into the woods!

At this point, standing still and trying to explain would be foolish!

If I hadn't dodged quickly when that hammer came down, it would have killed someone!
The other party didn't say a word and immediately resorted to such a ruthless attack; they are definitely not a kind person!

Instead of running away at a time like this, staying put and trying to reason with people? That's just plain stupid!

Chen Yan reacted quickly, turning around and running into the woods, but before he could run a dozen steps, he suddenly heard a strong gust of wind behind him.

He felt a tremendous force slam into his back!

Then, he was lifted into the air, about three or four meters high. When he fell to the ground, he was immediately dazed and confused, lying on the ground with no feeling in his body.

He struggled to lift his head, or at least turn it around.

But soon, a dark shadow loomed over him.

As soon as Chen Yan turned his neck, he felt a hand grab his hair, pull his head up, and slam it to the ground.

boom!
This time, he really fainted.

·
When Chen Yan woke up again, everything was black in front of him, and a black cloth, or perhaps a hood, was placed over his head. Chen Yan quickly tried to figure it out.

There was a dense, prickly feeling under my body, probably because I was thrown into a pile of grass or branches.
The air seemed a little warmer, but only slightly; it was still cold, though the pervasive damp chill was gone, and the wind had stopped. So, I'm indoors?
Yes, it must be indoors, because I can smell a strong, foul odor in my nose.

Like a leather shop warehouse where goods have been stored for a long time, the fishy and foul smell made Chen Yan feel nauseous.

His hands and feet were bound, and he didn't know what was used, but he tried to break free, but it was no use.

It shouldn't be an ordinary rope. With Chen Yan's current strength, he could easily break an ordinary rope with a single effort.

He heard a sound that resembled the opening of a door, a creak, but it didn't seem to be a wooden door; rather, it had a sharp, metallic scraping sound.

I heard footsteps; someone was coming in.

Chen Yan lay still.

Then he heard people talking.

Judging from the voices, there should be two people.

One voice was deep and resonant, while the other was slightly higher-pitched.

What puzzled Chen Yan was that he couldn't understand a single word of the language the two were speaking—after all, he was a college student and had passed the CET-4 (College English Test Band 4).

I used to be someone who liked to stay at home and watched a lot of foreign films and television shows.

Even if it's not English, he can at least make some judgments from Spanish, French, and Italian, even if he doesn't understand them.

Spanish is short and fast; even conversations sound like arguments.

French, even when it comes to swearing, carries a leisurely air, like wiping your butt with silk.

Italian, with a slightly frivolous and casual tone...

But the language these two were speaking was one that Chen Yan couldn't understand at all.

The words are short and the pronunciation is strange.

The conversation between the two was not very long, but Chen Yan judged that they seemed to have had some kind of argument.

Then the gruff voice snorted in dissatisfaction and slammed the door shut as he left—yes, he did slam the door shut, Chen Yan heard the sound.

There should be one person left in the room.

Chen Yan tried his best to keep his breathing steady, his mind racing with thoughts.

But there was really nothing he could do—from the moment he was sucked into the ring until now, he still hadn't figured out what was going on.

Finally, a hand came over and forcefully ripped off the hood from his head.

Chen Yan tilted his head and finally saw the scene in front of him clearly.

This is inside a dilapidated and very simple wooden house.

He was lying down next to a pile of branches.

A kerosene lamp was lit in the room.

By the light of the lantern, Chen Yan could see the person in front of him clearly...

Well, to put it simply, perhaps I could be considered a "person"?

·
The creature in front of me, judging from its shape, is about 70% human-like, or more accurately, has a human-like outline.

However, he is much taller, about two meters tall.

However, he was thin and didn't have much fat on his body—normal humans have a thick layer of soft tissue fat on their bodies.

This guy, on the other hand, looks like he has an alarmingly low body fat percentage.

Its skin is gray, dark gray, almost black, but not the glossy black of a black person; rather, it is a dull gray-black.

It has a long neck and long limbs, making it look like a human-shaped grasshopper.

However, the process of driving them away is relatively short.

The head's appearance is a bit frightening, but generally speaking, it has eyes, a nose, a mouth, and ears—the number is neither more nor less.

However, his nose bridge is flat, his nostrils are slightly large, and his ears are also larger.

The mouth has thin lips.

It was holding the hood that had been taken off Chen Yan's head. Chen Yan noticed that this thing also had five fingers.

But it's obvious that its fingers are very long!
The ratio of its fingers to its palms is very different from that of humans—its fingers are probably more than twice as long as human fingers!

Moreover, the human finger joints are divided into two segments for the thumb and three segments for the other fingers.

And this thing, its fingers, all have four joints!

Because its joints are longer, it is obvious that it can grasp larger objects and hold them firmly.

This thing was sizing up Chen Yan; its eyes were narrow and long.

Moreover, because they were quite close, Chen Yan could smell an unpleasant odor emanating from the other person.

It smells like leather.

The other party was clearly a "civilized" creature, because it was wearing clothes.

The clothes were made of leather, probably some kind of animal hide, and had fur on them.

but……

Judging from the style of the leather jacket on this thing in front of me...

Its upper body is relatively slender and long, and the bones of its joints are relatively large.

But there was a noticeable rise and fall in his chest.

Moreover... its lower body, the style of that leather jacket, looks like a "skirt" no matter how you look at it?
and so……

It was a woman?

No, a female monster?

After the two sized each other up for a while, the female monster spoke.

"Are you... a wild man from the mountains?"

Chen Yan understood!
It speaks a human language, and it's even the language of the Dragon Kingdom?
The pronunciation is just strange and stiff.

After a moment's thought, Chen Yan, who had originally intended to refute, suddenly had a new idea.

Taking a deep breath, Chen Yan slowly nodded: "I...yes."

"Your clothes are strange, unlike those of other savages."

The female monster shook her head, seemingly puzzled.

Fortunately, she seemed to be just expressing her feelings and didn't seem to expect Chen Yan to answer.

“Savages who have come out of the mountains… are rare. Now that I’ve captured you, you are mine, my property.”

As the female monster spoke, she drew a knife from her waist.

Chen Yan recognized it as a knife.

The blade was black and very thin.

The hilt was grayish-white and appeared to be made of bone.
The female monster extended her knife and swiftly flicked it at Chen Yan's wrist.

With a snap, the bindings on Chen Yan's hands were severed.

Chen Yan recognized that what was binding his wrists was...

Those bent branches?
This thing looks like a wire?
"I hope you don't eat too much. If you eat more than you work, I'll kill you."

The female monster looked at Chen Yan and grinned: "I don't have much food, so I can't support more savages."

Okay, Chen Yan suddenly realized something.

This female monster seems... a bit slow on the uptake?
Her smile was like that of a simple-minded fool.
However, just as Chen Yan's gaze fell on her knife, her expression suddenly changed, turning ferocious. In a flash, she pressed the knife against Chen Yan's neck!

The cold blade pressed against Chen Yan's throat, and he felt a stinging pain.

"Don't even think about running away, and don't resist, or I'll kill you!"

Chen Yan remained unmoved—he naturally understood the principle that those who are discerning in times of need are wise.

Although we still don't understand what's going on, it's clear that trying to reason with a non-human monster is pointless!
Moreover, it was clear that the other party was truly willing to kill him.

“Okay, I won’t run away or resist.” Chen Yan answered immediately and decisively.

The female monster took a step back, reached into her bosom with a large hand, pulled out something, and handed it to Chen Yan.

"Eat! Eat your fill, then get back to work."

Chen Yan was stunned for a moment.

The thing the female monster handed over was a dark, murky thing... a steamed bun, or a pancake?
The dark object was clearly covered with some kind of suspicious animal hair.

And it smelled awful?

Chen Yan swallowed hard.

He didn't want to eat this suspicious stuff... God knows if he would get food poisoning and die from it.

Moreover, this thing was pulled out of the woman's bosom by this dirty-looking monster, and it stinks!

"I'm not hungry," Chen Yan shook his head, but he immediately made a request: "I'm cold, can I have some clothes?"

The female monster looked at Chen Yan, seemingly deep in thought. However, it was clear she wasn't very bright; she pondered for quite a while before nodding, her tone surprisingly cheerful: "Very good, you really don't eat much!"

After saying that, she turned and left the house, slamming the door behind her.

Chen Yan was stunned for a moment.

"No! I need clothes!"

·
On the mountain peaks shrouded in black mist.

A woman with a full head of silver hair stood on the mountaintop, gazing into the depths of the black mist in the distance.

It seemed as if faint sunlight was trying to shine through the black mist, but it was powerless to break through the layers of black mist.

Only occasionally did a sliver of golden light peek out...

The woman looked into the distance and sighed softly.

She stretched out her hand, her fingers quickly making some calculations, then her expression changed! She shook her head and gave a bitter smile.

"It's here, it's here! It's still here... It's all fate after all."

Behind her, on the path leading down from the mountain peak, a figure floated up, dressed in white robes and a tall white crown. After emerging from the thick fog, the figure quickly landed in front of her.

The woman glanced over and shook her head, asking, "What is it?"

"The Twenty-Four Divisions of the A Division have retreated, but their Yama King has been killed in battle. They have come to report this and request Your Excellency's assistance..."

"If someone dies, replace them. Let them nominate someone from within their own ranks." The woman waved her hand.

"...Your Excellency, is this really so hasty?" White Impermanence stared in disbelief: "Well, although the Twenty-Four Divisions of the Underworld suffered more than half damage, it was still a position held by a Yama King..."

Let them push it themselves!
I've been away for years, and I've only just returned? I can't even remember all the names of the people in this Department of Civil Affairs. Whom could I possibly assign?

The woman shook her head and said slowly, "Let them push it themselves. Anyway, the Yama they push out will be responsible for leading them. If they push it well, they'll have a good leader; if they push it poorly, they'll bear the consequences themselves—it's very fair."

Before Bai Wuchang could say anything more, the woman glared at him and said, "Go away quickly, and don't bother this old man unless it's important."

The White Impermanence retreated timidly and quickly disappeared into the thick fog.

The woman looked at the distant mist atop the mountain peak and slowly sat down on the ground.

"My dear grandson... I told you not to come, not to come, but you just wouldn't listen..."

·
(End of this chapter)