Cellar Key

What is going on? Where did this monster come from?

Both of them were baffled, but the red name floating above the monster's head was no joke.

Regardless, kill it first and ask questions later.

Xiao Jie raised his shield to meet the onslaught, blocking a rapid series of slashes. The Demon Person's attack frequency was incredibly fast, striking the shield five or six times with a rhythmic thudding sound.

I Want to Become Immortal seized the opportunity to swing his Battle Axe from the side.

Stone Cracking Slash!

Crack! One axe blow sent the Demon Person sprawling to the ground.

Xiao Jie took the chance to land a finishing blow.

One Cut Two Segments!

The monster, caught in a hit-stun animation, had no way to fight back; it was the perfect moment to deal damage.

Swish! Where the blade passed, it actually triggered a Limb Severing effect. The arm Tian Li Shi was using to hold her knife was severed clean off. Yet, Tian Li Shi continued to curse furiously, twisting her body as if she had gone mad, suddenly lunging at I Want to Become Immortal. She grabbed him tightly with her remaining hand and bit down hard.

-

-5! -3! -5! -4!

Red damage numbers popped up continuously.

I Want to Become Immortal couldn't shake her off for a moment. Xiao Jie slashed repeatedly at the Demon Person's back, landing seven or eight blows before finally slaying the strange creature.

"Damn, where did this mob come from?" I Want to Become Immortal muttered, speechless as he drank a Blood Potion.

Xiao Jie was also puzzled. Previously, there had only been Scarecrows in this Wheat Field; it must have spawned suddenly.

But that wasn't right. No one else should have been hunting here before them, meaning if there were any rare monsters, they should have been in their default spawn state.

Unless this monster only appeared because they had triggered some specific condition.

But they hadn't done anything other than kill monsters. That was it—it was most likely that killing a certain number of Scarecrows triggered this spawn.

Xiao Jie looted the monster's corpse, but it only dropped two white-tier items.

[Sharp Kitchen Knife (Dagger). Attack Power: 9. Weapon Effect: Kitchen Sharpener. Increases skill proficiency gained while cooking by 10%. Item Description: A sharp kitchen knife. An excellent culinary tool that integrates slicing, paring, chopping, and mincing functions. Can increase the wielder's cooking skill proficiency.]

[Cellar Key (Key). Usage: Opens the door to the cellar of the Tian Family Old House. Item Description: A rusty key that can be used to open a specific lock.]

Huh, good stuff.

The kitchen knife was standard enough; it should be like the Firewood Knife or Shepherd's Whip—just a basic tool-type weapon.

But the key really caught Xiao Jie's eye.

In most games, cellars or secret doors usually hid some decent loot inside.

"Tian Family Old House? Could it be that farmhouse over there?"

Xiao Jie looked toward the abandoned farmhouse not far away.

"Let's go take a look."

The two arrived in front of the large house, and Xiao Jie tried pushing the door.

System prompt: The door is tightly shut and cannot be opened from this side.

Huh, it's locked? Could there still be people inside this farmhouse? That's not right; judging by how dilapidated the house looked, no one should have lived here for a long time. Or perhaps there's a back door?

The two circled the large house.

Calling it a "large house" was a bit of a stretch; it was just a two-story ancient-style building, about the same size as the Village Chief's residence.

After a full lap, they hadn't found a single entrance, let alone a back door. Even the windows had been nailed shut from the inside.

This was truly bizarre.

Returning to the front door after the lap, Xiao Jie tentatively slashed at it.

Immune!

Huh, it has a health bar!

Xiao Jie's spirits lifted. This door should be breakable; if it were an indestructible structure, the attack would have simply deflected, not displayed "Immune."

The fact that it displayed "Immune" meant the door could be broken, just that his attack type was wrong.

Many tool-type weapons in this game had specific effects, suggesting that breaking down a door likely required a heavy weapon.

"I Want to Become Immortal, you try. Use your axe."

BOOM! An axe slammed into it.

0! No damage dealt!

Stone Cracking Slash!

BOOM! -

0! No damage dealt!

The door's Health Bar had appeared, showing a full 500 points of durability.

It seemed his line of thinking was correct; seeing a -0 instead of "Immune" meant that at the very least, the battle axe was more effective than a sword.

It just wasn't powerful enough.

This was truly hellish. Did he really need a Siege Hammer to smash the door down?

The cellar door was likely inside the house, but if he couldn't get through the front door, having a key would be useless.

Xiao Jie stepped back a few paces, observing the large manor before him, his mind racing to broaden his approach.

Countless gaming experiences from the past surfaced in his thoughts.

Should he use Light Body Technique to jump onto the roof and enter through the chimney?

No, the chimneys on these farmhouses were too narrow for a person to squeeze through.

The solution had to lie with this door. Perhaps he could check the weapon shop again when he returned.

"I Want to Become Immortal, what's the attack power and weight of your axe?"

"12 weight, 21 slash."

That should be the heaviest weapon in the shop.

Watching the setting sun sink into the distance, Xiao Jie sighed helplessly. It was already five o'clock; it would be dark in no time. "Let's call it a day. We'll head back to the village and try again tomorrow."

I Want to Become Immortal had grown a bit addicted to slaying monsters. "Come on, Brother Feng, let's practice a little longer."

Xiao Jie was actually itching for more too. The key was that these Scarecrows were so easy to kill—much better than the Mountain Bandits—but he knew that there would be plenty of time for that in the future.

"There's always tomorrow. We've already leveled up today; no matter how much we grind, we won't level up again. Let's come back tomorrow."

"How about we just log off here tonight?"

"No, don't leave things to chance. What if we get swarmed by monsters the moment we log back in? You can't log off once you enter combat."

That possibility wasn't non-existent.

If a high-level monster spawned nearby, or some Corpse Driver happened to pass by with a horde of corpses, they would be dead meat the moment they entered combat.

Although the probability was low, even the smallest chance becomes 100% the moment you run into it.

Therefore, he couldn't be careless.

"We'll come back tomorrow. I have a feeling there's something good here."

Looking back, the two of them had already cleared out nearly a third of the Scarecrows in that vast Wheat Field.

Those few Crows were huddled in the wheat, pecking away at the grains, eating to their hearts' content.

Come to think of it, he had these Crows to thank. The Scarecrows were relatively easy to kill; the only thing to watch out for was dodging Flame Embrace, but as long as their health was full, they wouldn't be one-shot.

Still, it seemed the Crows had lured them here just so they could eat the wheat.

"You guys eat slowly, we're heading out. See you tomorrow."

"Caw caw! Thank you, humans, thank you!"

They continued to gorge themselves while calling out, fully enjoying the unharvested wild wheat.

"Don't mention it. Just keep scouting for intel for us in the future and we'll be grateful."

"Caw caw, no problem, caw caw!"

After exchanging pleasantries, Xiao Jie walked straight toward the village. I Want to Become Immortal had no choice but to follow along, albeit reluctantly.

The journey back was smooth. Passing through the woods and fields, they saw the Stockade Wall of Ginkgo Village in the distance.

A sudden sense of returning home washed over him.

Back at the village, while Xiao Jie was at the Blacksmith Shop repairing his gear, he couldn't help but check the weapon list again. Unfortunately, there were no heavier weapons available.

"You two went out to hunt monsters today?" Wang Kai looked stunned to see that both of them had reached level 3.

"Yeah. Why, interested in leveling up with us?"

"No thanks. I've sworn never to leave the village." Wang Kai didn't hesitate at all.

"You could tag along with us, level up a few times, and then come back. Just a few levels would give you dozens of attribute points, enough to double your physical fitness."

"Heh, forget it. If I actually leveled up a few times, I'd inevitably get greedy, wanting to learn skills and hunt for gear. If that happened, I'd be done for. Sooner or later, I'd end up dead. The only way to stay safe is to nip that thought in the bud from the start." Though Wang Kai said this, a hint of envy was clearly audible in his tone.

PS: Thanks to the book friend Ni Xing Zhe for the Alliance Leader donation. I'll add a chapter tomorrow, plus the one I owed earlier. I'll strive to make up for all of them this week.