Bao Residence

"Boom!"

As the skill within the Thunder Pearl erupted, a bolt of lightning lit up the previously gloomy sky. An arm-thick lightning strike crashed onto the lake's surface. The water's conductivity, combined with the immense energy of the thunderbolt, instantly made the carp in the pond float belly-up.

Now the entire pond was full of dead fish with their mouths hanging open.

"Whoosh!"

Before long, a green figure shot out of the pond. Covered in algae, Cao Xiaochun could not make out what it was at all.

A black figure swept across the lake's surface. The Three-Headed Demon Tiger floated in midair, its wok-sized tiger claw accurately seizing the green shadow while another massive claw smashed down viciously!

Smack! Smack! Smack! Smack!

After beating it for nearly three minutes, the Three-Headed Demon Tiger gave it a heavy throw. The green figure slammed into the ground in an instant, bright red blood flowing from its body as its entire frame trembled faintly.

Only then did Cao Xiaochun finally see the monster's appearance clearly.

The creature was about half a meter tall and looked like a monkey, but its skin was dark green. It had a blue face and protruding fangs. Perhaps because it had spent so long in the water, its whole body was covered in aquatic weeds and felt sticky all over.

"Was this the thing that was toying with us just now?"

Li Hanyi frowned. Looking at the ugly creature, her expression was full of disgust.

"Probably. If there's still something down there, then we'll have to evaporate all the water in this pond."

Cao Xiaochun curled his lips and replied calmly.

The Thunder Pearl had only blasted this thing out. If there really were more monsters hiding at the bottom of the pond, he would summon Binuoxiu and evaporate the entire pond!

Li Hanyi nodded, then had the Three-Headed Demon Tiger lift the monster and search it carefully. She had a feeling that there had to be some clue on this creature.

Very soon, the Three-Headed Demon Tiger stripped all the aquatic weeds from the monster's body and tore off a rusty iron tag from its neck. Though it was covered in rust, they could vaguely make out the character "Bao" on it!

Li Hanyi took it and examined it closely before handing it to Cao Xiaochun. She wanted to hear his judgment.

"We've already searched the area nearby. If there really isn't anything else, then this iron tag is our only clue. But given the current situation, we probably won't need it yet."

"Let's leave this place first and enter the next scene."

He rubbed the rust on its surface. Although the item looked ordinary, its design resembled some sort of status symbol. If the owner of this strange dungeon had the surname Bao, then everything would make sense.

Of course, that was only Cao Xiaochun's own guess. To unravel this mystery, they would have to continue onward.

"Crack!"

Hearing Cao Xiaochun's words, Li Hanyi nodded and immediately commanded the Three-Headed Demon Tiger to snap the monster's neck.

If it were not for this thing, how could they have wasted most of the day here?

"Crack, crack, crack!"

The instant the monster died, the entire area suddenly emitted a sound like shattering glass. Before the two could react, the incredibly realistic scene split into fragments in an instant.

Cao Xiaochun and Li Hanyi were plunged into darkness once more.

After roughly ten breaths, a white light appeared within the darkness. When Cao Xiaochun opened his eyes again, he discovered that they were standing in a bustling marketplace.

This seemed to be a small town. People filled the streets, while merchants of every sort continuously shouted, hoping to draw passing pedestrians over to inspect their goods.

Their clothing also looked strange. It was nothing like modern attire; instead, it resembled the clothes from three hundred years ago, during the early days of the game, when the lands of the Nine Provinces were ravaged by foreign races.

"Looks like this is the second stage. This is probably the dungeon owner's obsession, and it may very well be a place where he once lived."

Cao Xiaochun looked around and spoke calmly.

"What do you want to do, then? Slaughter this entire town directly?"

Li Hanyi watched the crowds coming and going. For the moment, she could not determine anything either.

But after the lesson from that monster earlier, she felt it would be easier to simply kill their way through!

"No rush. Look at what these people are wearing. Don't they resemble the clothes from the era when the Nine Provinces were divided three hundred years ago?"

"If I'm not mistaken, although we're inside a memory right now, we can truly experience that era. This is history that every person of the Nine Provinces must remember."

"I heard that the foreign races beyond the universe refuse to acknowledge their invasion now. If we can find some traces of evidence here, perhaps it might prove useful after we get out."

Cao Xiaochun did not consider himself a good person, but he had still remembered the history he had learned from childhood to adulthood. Besides, they still had plenty of time.

They might as well follow this memory to its end. If they truly could not get through or failed to find anything, then they could resort to the most brutal method afterward.

This entire dungeon was only Black Iron rank anyway. If he wanted to clear it quickly, all he had to do was release Binuoxiu and her sister along with Xiao Qiang. They could probably clear it in less than half a day.

"What do you want to do, then?"

After hearing Cao Xiaochun's words, Li Hanyi considered it for a moment before nodding lightly.

"What else? We put on an act."

"First, don't treat this place as a memory. Treat it as a real world."

Cao Xiaochun smiled faintly. The two moved into a secluded spot, and he casually took an arm-thick silver statue from his spatial ring. He chipped off a large piece of silver and kneaded it into broken silver pieces.

He did not know what currency was used in this era, but gold and silver had always been accepted everywhere.

He brought Li Hanyi to a stall selling jewelry and slowly began picking through the accessories.

"Honored guests, take your time choosing. These are all new styles."

The stall owner was a guileless, burly man. Seeing customers approach, he greeted them warmly.

"Boss, I'd like to ask about something. Is there a family named Bao in this town?"

After carefully picking out a rather exquisite-looking piece of jewelry and haggling over the price, Cao Xiaochun completed the transaction with a small piece of silver.

Casually stuffing the jewelry into Li Hanyi's hand, Cao Xiaochun began chatting with the vendor.

"Boss, is there a family named Bao in this town?"

Perhaps because of Cao Xiaochun's generosity, the owner became exceptionally enthusiastic.

"Sir, you've come to the right person. In Peace Town, who hasn't heard of Master Bao? He's a famous philanthropist within a hundred miles."

"You know Master Bao?"

"Oh, is that so? Then it seems we've come to the right place. To tell you the truth, we're distant relatives of Master Bao. We could no longer make ends meet, so we came here specifically to seek his help."

Cao Xiaochun's expression was somewhat exaggerated, but his effortless acting did not reveal the slightest flaw.

"Oh my, so that's how it is. But Uncle has to advise you: something big has happened to the Bao Family."

"Master Bao's youngest son organized students to march through the streets and resist the foreign races. Now he's been locked up. The foreign races demand all of the Bao Family's property before they'll release him."

"I'd advise you to find another way out." The vendor shook his head, his eyes full of regret.

In times like these, vast regions of the Nine Provinces were controlled by the foreign races. Wasn't the Bao Family's young master only bringing disaster upon himself by doing this?

"Thank you for telling us, brother. But since we've come all this way, we can't just turn back without even paying them a visit. Please point us in the right direction."

Seeing that Cao Xiaochun insisted, the vendor said nothing more. After letting out a sigh, he pointed ahead and marked the location of the Bao Family estate.

Cao Xiaochun and Li Hanyi walked down the street, and he took out the plaque once more for a look.

"See? Just by asking around, didn't we uncover the clue on this iron plaque?"