Chapter 164 It is Looking at Me

Morning.

Nym, West District, Crowbeak Street.

The metal rings of his chainmail rubbed and clinked with his movements, emitting a soft, crisp chime. Bright morning sunlight spilled down, refracting a deep luster off the smooth, flawless surface of the Pitch-Black Arm Shield.

Xia Nan walked alone down the street, two swords on his back.

His face held no extra expression; he merely walked in silence.

Fully armed like an adventurer preparing to delve deep into the Misty Forest, his sharp features and icy aura prompted oncoming pedestrians to avert their eyes and quicken their pace.

They were terrified of drawing the attention of an adventurer who clearly looked like trouble.

Xia Nan naturally noticed this.

And he was perfectly happy to enjoy the peace and quiet.

He had just left Jeff's house and was on his way to his quest destination.

He had to admit that even though it was just a temporarily cleared guest room, the large, soft bed that he could roll across twice without falling off, the peace away from the noise of a tavern hall, neighboring rooms, and stairs, and even the delicious breakfast that perfectly suited his tastes made the actual living experience far better than staying at an inn.

It made Xia Nan once again consider buying a property in Nym or Rivervale Town.

Unfortunately, his savings, which had just climbed into the high triple digits, had plummeted back to rock bottom from his expenses at the blacksmith shop.

Given that he needed enough for pre-quest supplies and daily expenses, his funds couldn't support another triple-digit purchase.

'I should save up more money first.'

Xia Nan figured inwardly.

Right now, he was finally a proper Class Holder. Once he completed this Advancement Quest for the Association, his money-making efficiency would definitely rise far above what it used to be.

His little treasury should fill back up very soon.

When that time came, he would have choices—whether to keep saving to upgrade the Snake-Scale Arm Shield on his arm, or buy a house first to improve his quality of life.

Speaking of which, the chain of events triggered by the wood carving last night was undoubtedly a sudden crisis that Jeff and his family—who had retired from the caravan to an ordinary life—wouldn't encounter even once in several years.

Fortunately, Jeff had reacted quickly, and handled the situation well.

After receiving the purification of the Holy Light at the church, Daisy, Lilina, and the others had also returned to their usual peaceful state.

Given the time, they should have already arrived at the tailor shop by now and be getting ready to open for business.

As he reminisced, the soft, silvery light—bright and gentle as moonlight—that he had seen in the Moon Goddess Church last night surfaced in his mind.

Though he wasn't sure if it could truly dispel and purify the influence of the wood carving, the divine spell cast by the Cleric inside the church clearly had an excellent effect on relieving mental stress and restoring stamina.

It had even helped Xia Nan gain a bit of proficiency in [Gravity Control].

The unique visual perspective of the world provided by [Heart-Guided Vision] seemed to have allowed him to detect some faint laws regarding the operation of magic and divine spells on the level of "gravity."

It was still too early to draw a conclusion, but it had given him an idea for the future development of his abilities.

Perhaps... if he had the chance in the future, he could observe more with [Heart-Guided Vision] while Spellcasters were casting magic.

Even without any substantial gains, raising his combat technique proficiency by a few points would be nice.

Amid his thoughts, Xia Nan came to a halt.

He shifted his gaze to the building beside him.

Entering his sight was a somewhat old-looking two-story house.

It naturally couldn't compare to a "mansion" like Jeff's, and the residential area it was located in was quite ordinary, lacking anything remarkable.

Sweeping his eyes over the house number, Xia Nan pulled out the slip of paper containing his quest destination from his pocket.

—West District, Crowbeak Street, No. 32 Ash Tree Alley

Checking it against the sign, he gave an imperceptible nod.

Stepping forward slowly, he knocked gently on the door.

Even though he had encountered so many things right after arriving in Nym, he hadn't forgotten the reason he came to this big city from the "countryside."

Wood carvings and ability development were secondary; he had to first complete the Advancement Quest assigned to him by the Association. Only then would he earn the right to access the Association Second Floor, thereby obtaining information on how to raise his Class Level, class advancement, and the like.

Perhaps because he had arrived too early, the owner of the house hadn't gotten out of bed yet.

He stood at the door, knocking intermittently, and waited for three to five minutes.

Just as Xia Nan began to think no one was inside and prepared to leave and come back later, he heard a sudden clattering sound, as if something had been knocked over, followed by panicked, hurried footsteps.

"Who is it!?"

Panting, a muffled female voice drifted from behind the door.

"An Adventurers' Association commission, remember?" Xia Nan gave two dry coughs, cleared his throat, and raised his voice. "I'm the adventurer sent by the Association."

Silence.

Creak—

The front door was pulled open gently from the inside, revealing a pale face through the crack—one with messy long hair and sleepy eyes, belonging to someone who had clearly just been woken up.

The icy morning air rushed into the warm room. The stern figure standing in the doorway was silhouetted by the sunlight, his exact features obscured, with only the terrifying, cold glint of the longswords on his back reflecting the light.

It gave the homeowner such a fright that she shuddered instantly, her voice trembling as she subconsciously blurted:

"How... how can you prove it?"

Xia Nan frowned.

...

...

Piles of sundries made the otherwise spacious living room feel exceptionally cramped; one had to constantly watch their step to avoid stepping on anything.

However, observing carefully from within, one would notice that these so-called "sundries" were all useful items, devoid of actual garbage like food scraps or discarded packaging.

Furthermore, although the arrangement seemed haphazard and chaotic, there was a certain underlying order to it; they hadn't simply been tossed around at random.

Coupled with the faint scent of incense permeating the air and the crackling of firewood burning in the fireplace, it oddly gave off a sense of coziness.

"I am truly sorry, Mr. Xia Nan."

"I went to bed a little late yesterday, so I was groggy when I woke up and accidentally spoke some nonsense."

Xia Nan sat on a small sofa in the living room, a steaming cup of tea in his hand, his eyes surveying his surroundings.

In front of him, the owner of the house—a young woman named Harriet—apologized with a nervous expression.

At this moment, she naturally wasn't wearing the loose pajamas from earlier. Instead, she had quite solemnly changed into an exquisite, expensive-looking dress. Her messy, curly brown hair from when she first woke up had also been neatly arranged, draping obediently over her shoulders.

This was why Xia Nan had ended up sitting in the living room, waiting for her for another twenty minutes.

He knew she had done this to express her respect for him, with no intention of slighting him at all.

Still, he merely waved his hand, not planning to waste any more time on such useless formalities.

Placing his teacup back on the table, he cut straight to the chase. "Miss Harriet, the Association hasn't provided me with much information. Even now, I still don't know the specific details of the quest."

"Could you please explain it to me?"

"Of course, of course!" Harriet nodded hastily. She leaned over to refill Xia Nan's tea, then sat back upright in her chair and recalled, "It goes like this."

"Um... how should I put it."

"My neighbor, Mr. Buck, must have been an adventurer in his youth. Later, after saving up some money, he settled down in Nym."

"He has a beautiful, gentle wife and two adorable, well-behaved children. I remember I used to run into their family a lot when I went out. You wouldn't believe it, but even though Mr. Buck looks fierce and is built like a bear, he's actually so..."

"Sorry, I'm getting a bit off-track."

"Anyway, it seems that in recent years, Buck's family ran into some business troubles and fell into a lot of debt."

"To fill the hole in their finances, Mr. Buck would travel back to Rivervale Town every so often to earn some bounty money."

"Uh... if I remember correctly, it should be called 'Hunting Day.' I'm sorry, I'm not very knowledgeable about these things."

Xia Nan nodded slightly, not speaking, signaling for her to continue.

"Anyway, in recent years, whenever it was time for Hunting Day, Mr. Buck would go on a long trip. Factoring in the round trip, it would take him at least three months to return."

"His wife mentioned this to me during a chat before, so I remember it very clearly."

"But this year was a bit different."

"After only a little over a month—about fifty days or so—Mr. Buck came back."

"He wasn't in very good shape."

Hearing this, Xia Nan subconsciously made an estimate in his mind.

The journey from Rivervale Town to Nym alone required around twenty days.

A round trip would add up to over forty days.

Which meant that Buck could have stayed in Rivervale Town for a maximum of ten days or so.

It was far from the end of Hunting Day.

"Was he injured?" he asked.

"Yes, I think so, but..." Harriet frowned tightly, a hesitant expression on her face. "I remember when I saw Mr. Buck at the time, even though he had bandages wrapped around him and smelled strongly of medicinal herbs, his daily movements didn't seem affected at all. He even smiled and greeted me when we bumped into each other outside."

"Originally, I also thought some accident had just occurred during his quest, causing Mr. Buck to end his adventure early and return to Nym."

"Until that night over a month ago..."

...

"Rumble!"

A streak of lightning, flashing with brilliant silvery-white light, suddenly tore across the sky, momentarily illuminating the street that had melted into the night.

Explosive thunder claps boomed in the heavens, and bean-sized raindrops, swept up by the fierce wind, slammed against the thick glass windows with a sharp patter.

It was already late into the night, but Harriet felt not the slightest bit sleepy.

For one thing, the new book by Garth Greenwind—which she had hurriedly bought right before the bookstore closed at dusk after waking up in the afternoon—had already booked up her entire night.

For another, she genuinely loved this sense of contrast: the lightning, thunder, and torrential storm outside the window, opposed to the flickering fireplace and warm coziness inside.

Curling up in the sofa, feeling the soft firelight from the hearth beside her, sipping fragrant tea, and turning the pages of her book—it was beyond comfortable.

Harriet had thought today would be just like any other, and that she wouldn't go to bed until the rain outside stopped and the hazy morning light peeked through the deep clouds, prompting her with sleepiness.

But just as she had flipped halfway through the book in her hands, while the night outside was still thick, a bizarre cry suddenly rang out from next door.

She hadn't paid it any mind at first, assuming it was just a stray cat in heat or some wild dog spooked by the thunder.

It wasn't until the bizarre cry grew increasingly high-pitched, faintly overpowering even the thunder, that Harriet finally realized something was wrong.

That eardrum-trembling shriek was absolutely not a sound an ordinary human vocal cord could produce.

For some reason, the violence and malice laced within it subconsciously reminded her of the filthy, emaciated lion locked in a tiny iron cage that she had seen when her parents took her to the circus as a child.

As a young woman living alone, going out by herself at night in her neighborhood was definitely not safe.

She had never possessed that kind of courage either.

But for some unknown reason, that night Harriet somehow managed to muster a surge of courage far beyond her usual limits.

She casually threw on some thick clothes, grabbed an umbrella, and rushed out of her house.

Following the direction of the roar, she arrived at the front door of Buck's house next door.

By this time, the previously loud and high-pitched shriek had gradually lowered.

But like a vicious dog baring its fangs while fighting for food, the low, hoarse growl paradoxically gave off an even more dangerous vibe.

Close enough now, in the freezing air shrouded by heavy rain, Harriet could faintly hear the sound of tearing and chewing—a sound that made one's imagination run wild and their hairs stand on end.

The damp, rainy air flowing into her nose with each breath seemed to carry a sickly hint of blood.

Her frail frame trembled beneath the umbrella, screaming at her to run.

Yet her right hand seemed to lift gently of its own accord.

Wrist turned, five fingers curled, knuckles facing down.

And tapped lightly on the door.

"Knock, knock."

The low growls and chewing vanished in an instant.

Replacing them was an almost eerie silence.

Even though the rain continued to pour and thunder still echoed through the air from time to time, Harriet felt as if the surrounding world had ground to a halt in that very moment.

Her highly concentrated focus allowed her to hear even her own heartbeat.

But she didn't dare move a muscle.

Because Harriet could feel it: a pair of sinister, icy eyes was quietly staring at her right through the wooden door.

Perhaps she was just lucky.

A squad of night-patrol guards happened to be passing by on the street in the distance. Attracted by the roar, they were rushing over.

The flickering lanterns and the clanking of metal armor startled whatever creature was inside the door.

This was followed by the sound of rapidly retreating footsteps and the sharp crash of the back door's glass shattering.

...

"You know, my senses weren't wrong."

Sitting on the sofa, an expression mingling lingering dread and outright terror surfaced on Harriet's face. Even her lips had faintly lost their color.

"Later, when the guards took me inside the house..."

"Less than half a foot from the doorway, there were two bloody footprints."

"It really was looking at me."