Assuming a False Identity

Quacks, a bunch of quacks!

Fang Yue looked grimly at the black ring above his head. Every so often, a drop of water fell from it, and he increasingly felt that it was his own personal Sword of Damocles.

"Thousand Ballads Palace... I need to find a way to get to the Capital City soon and ask around about where Thousand Ballads Palace is."

Fang Yue clenched his fists, feeling the pressure of time.

For now, the black ring wasn't much of a threat. These drops of Night Rain fell so slowly that they were nothing against his 7,000 health points.

The question was, how much stronger would the Night Rain become later...?

He glanced at the back of his hand, wrapped in a handkerchief. The spot beneath it burned like a branding iron, making him miserable.

Taking a deep breath, Fang Yue bought a bamboo hat and put it on. But it was only a temporary measure. Once the Night Rain grew heavier, the hat would be useless.

Yet even this stopgap measure seemed to have stopped working...

The black ring slowly moved downward, passed right through the hat, and dropped a bead of Night Rain onto Fang Yue's head.

-1.

Fang Yue: ...

Could this thing actually have a mind of its own??

Fang Yue felt a chill in his heart. He tossed away the hat and hurried onward under the strange looks of the people around him.

The black ring rose a little as well, settling back into place above Fang Yue's head.

As if sulking, Fang Yue pressed on without a word.

But after only a few steps, his ears suddenly perked up, as though he'd heard something. His pupils contracted, his eyes widened, and he froze in place.

"Have you heard? The prize for first