Chapter 754: Night Crow Harbor

One person soiled themselves on the spot, while more collapsed to the ground as if their bones had vanished.

“Don’t be afraid. He only died because he wanted to kill me.”

At this, Hu Qi’s gaze fell upon Old Butte, his meaning clear.

“As long as you do as you’re told and keep your mouths shut, I won’t kill you!”

“Yes, sir, you can rest assured! We won’t breathe a single word of what happened today to anyone. If anyone dares, I’ll be the first to take care of them!”

Old Butte slammed his forehead against the ground, cold sweat soaking the back of his shirt.

…

As autumn approached, a damp sea breeze carried thunderclouds, sweeping in from the direction of Night Crow Harbor.

The caravan advanced slowly along the muddy road, its wheels making a muffled squelch as they rolled through puddles.

Between the heavy timber they were hauling, the frequent thunderstorms, and the necessary rest stops, the caravan’s progress was slow, covering no more than a dozen or so miles a day.

The rain-slicked roads were muddy and treacherous. The horses’ panting hung heavy in the damp air, and the teamsters frequently cursed the wretched weather.

Hu Qi, however, was in no hurry.

He used the slow journey to focus on conditioning this body.

Whenever the caravan stopped to rest, he would sit cross-legged under a tree or beside a cart. With his eyes closed in concentration, he assumed a unique posture, circulating his Qi and Blood to nourish his body.

As time went on,

this body slowly reached its limit.

Unless he became Extraordinary,

it would be impossible to make any further progress.

Aside from that one incident,

the journey had been fairly smooth.

The bandits along the route had a pact with Old Butte; as long as they paid a set fee, they were allowed to pass safely.

And Hu Qi hadn’t killed anyone else.

After all, his advancement ritual was complete,

and slaughtering these ordinary people wouldn’t grant him any Modification Points.

So, of course, he didn’t bother.

The only thing that had changed, however,

was that ever since witnessing Hu Qi’s methods,

everyone, including Old Butte, treated him with an attitude that was deferential to the extreme. No, to be more precise, it was terror.

「On the fourteenth day.」

The caravan finally reached its destination:

Night Crow Harbor.

Normally,

a trip like this would have taken at least twenty days.

The reason they were so much faster

was that they were desperate to be rid of Hu Qi.

To that end, they had forced their pace,

arriving several days early.

As for their petty schemes,

Hu Qi couldn’t be bothered to care.

They now stood on a high cliff, the morning breeze washing over them with the scents of sea salt and coal smoke.

It was dawn.

Looking down, Night Crow Harbor spread out below in the dim light.

The entire city, like the lair of some colossal beast, sprawled along the winding coastline.

Countless spires, smokestacks, and domes loomed in and out of the thin mist. Gothic black towers pierced the morning haze, while rows of factory roofs looked like overlapping plates of rusted armor.

Brass-colored pipes clung to the buildings’ surfaces, resembling blood vessels from a distance.

Farther out, the harbor’s silhouette came into focus.

Cranes stood like sleeping steel giraffes, dockside warehouses were arranged like building blocks, and the breakwater stretched into the gray-blue sea like a scar.

On the horizon, where sea met sky, the rising sun was staining the clouds the orange-red of molten iron.

A few early-morning steamships chugged toward the horizon, trailing plumes of coal smoke and carving pale wakes into the calm surface of the sea.

Closer to shore, fishing boats had already lit their lamps. The faint points of light bobbed on the waves like scattered stardust.

The city had not yet fully awoken, but the faint sound of steam whistles already drifted from the port district.

As time passed,

Night Crow Harbor awoke in a palette of copper-yellow and iron-gray.

Massive steam funnels spewed plumes of gray-white vapor that intertwined with the thin mist drifting in from the sea.

And due to the massive discharge of hot steam, a permanent, ochre-colored cloud cluster hung over the city.

According to the teamsters,

condensed metal particles would form ‘gear snow’ once winter arrived.

When it landed on your skin, it would leave temporary copper-rust patterns.

Hu Qi withdrew his gaze.

He swung down from his horse and, under the nervous watch of Old Butte and the others, walked silently toward Night Crow Harbor.

Only when Hu Qi’s figure had faded into the distance

did the men finally let out a collective sigh of relief.

“He’s gone?”

“Did that monster… really let us go?”

The tense atmosphere instantly dissipated, and some even managed a smile, relieved to have survived.

But in the next second,

their smiles froze on their faces.

“Ugh… something’s wrong… Hot… It’s so hot!”

One of the men seemed to realize something.

He looked down at his palm, and his pupils contracted violently.

His skin had turned crimson, and flames were beginning to erupt from it.

“AHHH!!”

A bloodcurdling scream erupted.

Flames erupted from within each person’s body. Their flesh carbonized in the intense heat, and their bones CRACKLED.

Curses, wails, and pleas for mercy were twisted and warped by the flames before finally falling silent.

Ten seconds later,

only a few terrified horses and a pile of burnt-out timber remained on the scorched earth.

A light breeze picked up, carrying the ashes toward the harbor like a flock of funereal crows.

…

Hu Qi didn’t look back.

Ordinarily, he might have spared them.

But this time was different. The Ten-star Novel World was far from simple, and with three Managers in the picture, it was better to be cautious.

He had no desire to be targeted by this world’s powerful Professionals before he had become strong enough.

‘In this world,’

‘only the dead stay silent forever.’

At that moment,

as Hu Qi strode forward, the body beneath his clothes rippled like the surface of water.

His bones shifted slightly, and the muscle fibers under his skin writhed and re-formed like living things.

His shoulders narrowed, his waist and abdomen grew taut, and even the contour of his neck softened.

His once-coarse knuckles tightened, the bones within them adjusting until his fingers became noticeably more slender.

This wasn’t an Illusion Technique, but rather absolute control over every inch of his body’s muscle and fascia.

After these subtle adjustments, his facial features also quietly changed.

His brow ridge lowered slightly, the bridge of his nose softened, and the sharp angles of his jaw were diminished.

The overall effect made him somewhat more handsome.

Though it was still the same face, he looked like a completely different person.

…

The light inside the tavern was dim, cast by a gently swaying gas lamp in a copper shade that dyed the murky air with an amber halo.

A tall, red-haired woman leaned against the oak counter, her slender fingers polishing a crystal glass.

Wisps of hair fell across her porcelain-white cheeks, where a few light-brown freckles made her red lips seem all the more vivid.

The clamor of the tavern’s drunks seemed to quiet inexplicably in her presence.

Any foolhardy drunk who tried to approach her would be immediately grabbed by a companion and dragged back to their corner.

The regulars all knew that while this rose was beautiful, her thorns were deadly.

Those who failed to take the hint would invariably turn up the next day in some dark port-side alley, their eyes staring sightlessly, forever open.

Just then, the tavern’s oak door was pushed open with a CREAK.

A slender Young Man with red hair and red eyes strode in, walked directly to the counter, and sat down on a worn high stool.

He knocked his knuckles on the countertop. His voice was hoarse. “Give me a ‘Blood Joy’.”

Ophelia, who was in the middle of polishing a glass, paused.

She looked up, her dark red eyes glinting in the lamplight.

They met a pair of red eyes identical to her own.

Silence stretched between them for several seconds.

In the end, she asked nothing, simply turning to grab a bottle of spirits from the top shelf.

A silver shaker danced between her fingers, ice cubes clinking crisply inside.

As an arc of ghostly blue flame bloomed over the rim of the glass, the charred aroma of citrus exploded into the air.

The patrons let out a collective, low gasp of amazement.

Unmoved, she simply quirked a corner of her lips and gently pressed the flaming orange peel into the drink.

The moment the flame was extinguished, a thin wisp of smoke curled upward.

Ophelia pushed the finished drink in front of Hu Qi. The bottom of the glass made a soft thud as it met the wooden countertop.

“Enjoy.”

“Thanks.”

Hu Qi reached out and took the glass.

In the dim yellow light, the dark-red liquid looked like congealed blood, but as he brought it closer, he could smell a strange, fragrant aroma.

He tilted his head back and downed it in one gulp.

Instantly, a searing heat burned its way from his throat to his stomach, as if he had swallowed a ball of fire.

But soon, the intense heat transformed into a surging power that flooded his entire body, clearing even his mind.

After a few breaths, he slowly opened his eyes.

“Excellent drink.”

Seeing that Hu Qi had finished it,

Ophelia’s cold expression softened slightly.

“Follow me.”

She turned and walked toward a room behind a beaded wooden curtain.

Hu Qi didn’t hesitate.

He stood, pushed back his stool, and followed her.

Seeing this,

the eyes of the other patrons filled with envy and jealousy.