Human Skin

Half a month later.

Hu Long walked out of a Buddhist temple with a look of disappointment on his face.

After finishing off Xue Wu's family and disposing of the items in his bag and on his person, he had returned to his original appearance.

However, having done all that, he did not choose to return to Huanyang City.

Instead, following his original plan, he began to travel and sightsee around the southern province of the Yu State, which was the excuse he had used for leaving.

Of course, this so-called sightseeing was merely a facade.

The destinations he had set were all famous historical sites and ancient temples.

Naturally, his goal was to see if he could find other sources of Source Value.

Having experienced the thrill of accumulating ten points of Source Value at once, Hu Long was no longer satisfied with the slow method of soaking up the sun.

Most importantly, he did not have much time.

After downloading the Green Bag Fragment, he had naturally learned how to read physiognomy.

According to the records within, his own face showed a dark aura between his brows, with Yin energy seeping into his bones.

At this rate, the Blood Soul Guide might take effect long before four years had passed.

This only made him feel increasingly urgent.

Unfortunately, over the past half month, he had visited more than a dozen Buddhist temples.

He had walked through almost every famous temple and Taoist monastery in the vicinity, yet he had gained nothing.

This could not help but make him feel somewhat irritable.

Without a way to accelerate the acquisition of Source Value, he had no way to download other skills to strengthen himself.

To him, this was no different from a slow death.

If it were ordinary times, he could afford to wait, but the eerie figure upon him was like a Sword of Damocles hanging over his head, ready to fall at any moment.

However, Hu Long also understood that such things could not be forced.

Besides that, the incident involving Xue Wu's family had fermented and ultimately proceeded in the direction Hu Long had anticipated; no one had linked it to him.

At least, based on the information he had gathered, it had gone more smoothly than he had imagined.

However, this was not impossible.

Technology in this era was limited, and even in his past life, many cases remained unsolved.

Furthermore, even if someone were to track down his identity, he did not need to worry about being executed.

It wasn't because his original self's family had strong connections or wealth—it was because he was mentally ill.

Much like in his past life, the mentally ill in the Yu State enjoyed special treatment and were fundamentally exempt from the death penalty.

This was the reason he had acted so decisively.

Still, this was the first time Hu Long had killed someone in two lifetimes, so he still felt some discomfort and nausea.

People are just like that; the higher the intelligence and the more human-like the creature, the more uncomfortable one feels when raising a blade against them.

It was fundamentally different from killing a dog or crushing an ant.

That family truly didn't have a single good person among them.

However, if they hadn't tried to kill him, he wouldn't have done it either.

Of course, even if he had to do it all over again, Hu Long would still make the same choice; he could not watch someone try to kill him and not fight back. That was not his character.

Returning to the hotel, Hu Long closed the door behind him.

He took an object from his pocket.

It was a yellowed piece of parchment—the Green Bag Fragment he had scavenged from Xue Hai's home.

As his fingertips brushed against the rough, cracked surface of the leather, Hu Long felt no ripples in his heart.

To him, this item was of minimal use.

Aside from a little information regarding physiognomy, most of the content recorded on it was useless to him.

The only reason he kept it on him was that this object could provide Source Value.

He had been wearing gloves previously, so he had never noticed this property.

It was only when he took off his gloves and his fingertips touched the parchment that a faint, ethereal stream of cool air seeped into his body along the texture of his skin.

This made Hu Long realize that the acquisition of certain "Source Values" required direct physical contact.

He secretly noted this detail.

In the future, when encountering any strange objects, the safest method might be to touch them first.

If he were to miss out on Source Value, that would be a truly massive loss.

He glanced at the panel.

[Source Value: 9.91 strands]

Aside from basking in the sunlight, this item had provided a total of eight strands of Source Value in bits and pieces over this period.

As these thoughts turned, Hu Long's gaze fell back onto the sheepskin scroll in his hand.

After all these days, the cool air that had originally come in intermittent pulses had completely vanished today.

Clearly, this item, much like the vines within the Bodhisattva Lotus Platform, had become completely useless.

Confirming there was no more Source Value to be squeezed out.

He casually picked up a sharp pair of paper-cutting scissors from the table and cut into the sheepskin scroll.

He couldn't open the Bodhisattva statue at Wood Buddha Temple yet, but he could certainly handle this; besides, he had already memorized all the content on it.

He wanted to see what the source of this Source Value actually was.

The crisp sound of cutting was exceptionally jarring in the silent room.

The edge of the sheepskin snapped apart as expected.

However, when the scissors touched the core of the scroll, it felt as if he were cutting into a piece of incredibly tough ox tendon.

No matter how much force he applied, that seemingly thin layer remained completely unmoved!

"There's definitely something fishy here!"

Hu Long's eyes narrowed. He stopped forcing it and instead quickly trimmed along the edges.

After a few deft movements, the outer layers of sheepskin were peeled away.

Soon, an object as thin as a cicada's wing, made of a jade-like material, lay quietly in his palm.

It felt warm and smooth to the touch, delicate as grease, and even possessed a strange softness, as if it were fine silk.

But Hu Long dared not underestimate it in the slightest.

The toughness that even the scissors couldn't cut was proof enough of its extraordinary nature.

He walked to the window and slowly held the object up to his eyes, against the sunlight streaming in from outside.

The light shone through.

He could clearly see that inside the jade-like material, there were countless tiny holes distributed densely throughout, along with various patterns.

This looked very familiar.

He held up his other hand.

His gaze swept back and forth between them.

The next second.

Hu Long's pupils constricted slightly.

An absurd yet incredibly fitting thought surfaced uncontrollably in his mind.

"This thing... could it be human skin?"

In that instant, Hu Long felt an indescribable eeriness radiating from the object.

But how could that be possible?

What kind of human skin is like this, to the point where even scissors can't cut it?

However, considering the origin of this item.

Hu Long's heart stirred; such a thing was not entirely impossible.

"Perhaps it is the skin of an extraordinary being from this world. Yes, that is the only way it makes sense."

"But since this was hidden inside the sheepskin scroll containing the Green Bag Fragment, it must have some other use."

Thinking of this, a flash of regret crossed Hu Long's eyes.

He touched it with his hand, but the Primordial Plain Panel did not react; clearly, he could not download skills from this piece of skin.

Currently, there were three sources from which he could obtain Source Value.

This suspected extraordinary human skin, the withered roots inside the Wood Buddha Lotus Platform, and the sunlight—what exactly did these three have in common?

As he pondered this, a thought seemed to hover vaguely in his mind, but he could never quite grasp it.

Buzz, buzz...

Just then, a vibration came from inside his trouser leg.