A Trip to Heyu Village in the Western Outskirts!

The pill entered his mouth and instantly dissolved into a stream of liquid that flowed down his throat.

"Argh!"

A wave of pain swept through Li Yao's entire body.

Every meridian in his body felt as though it were being stretched until it split, torn apart, then put back together.

Li Yao felt as if he were about to pass out.

I used to read novels where the protagonist took a Marrow-Cleansing Pill and nearly died from the pain of having his meridians rebuilt. Now I know it really does hurt that much.

Li Yao's vision began to blur. His mind could no longer bear the pain and was ready to shut down.

"Ding! Host, this system can switch off your pain receptors."

The system popped up again a second before Li Yao passed out.

"You... damn... system. You tell me... now? Why didn't you... say so earlier...?"

Li Yao used the last of his strength to get the words out before his consciousness sank into darkness.

The night passed without incident.

The next morning.

"Ring-ring, ring-ring."

The alarm Li Yao had set went off.

Li Yao opened his eyes and shot upright.

"This part's fine."

"This part's fine too."

He checked every part of himself he could reach, including that part.

"And this part's fine."

"Phew..."

Li Yao let out a long breath.

Last night, he had thought the pain would kill him.

Thank goodness he was still alive.

Then something occurred to him.

"System!"

Li Yao's voice rang with anger.

"Get out here and explain yourself! Why did you wait until it was too late to tell me?"

"Ding! Host, you didn't ask."

"Aaaaaagh!"

Li Yao genuinely thought his system was artificially stupid.

"I didn't ask, so you didn't tell me? So I deserved to spend the whole night in agony?"

"Ding! Host, this system provides assistance, not unsolicited advice. If you don't ask, I naturally won't tell you."

"You just wanted to watch me suffer! You stupid system!"

Fuming, Li Yao jumped out of bed and stretched.

Still, the Marrow-Cleansing Pill might have hurt like hell, but it had worked.

His body felt much lighter, his meridians were far wider than before, and his Spiritual Power circulated more than twice as fast.

"Ding! Host, the Marrow-Cleansing Pill has taken full effect. The width of your meridians has increased by 200 percent, your Spiritual Power recovery rate by 120 percent, and your physical capabilities by 70 percent."

"Now that's more like it."

Li Yao nodded in satisfaction.

The process had been agonizing, but the results were impressive.

He already had a Heaven-Grade Spirit Root. His talent had probably climbed even higher now.

He was about to test how much stronger he had become when he heard Li Wenbin call from downstairs.

"Young master! I found something on the matter you asked me to investigate!"

Li Yao quickly ended his conversation with the system and headed downstairs.

He took the stairs two at a time and found Li Wenbin standing in the living room, a file in his hand and excitement on his face.

"Uncle Bin, what did you find?"

Li Yao sat down on the sofa and took the file Li Wenbin handed him.

"I have a lead on that incident in the western outskirts."

Li Yao hurriedly opened it to the first page.

Several photographs greeted him.

Li Yao studied them one by one.

Scales—sparse clusters of them scattered across several places.

Each scale looked nearly as big as Li Yao's phone.

There were also marks left by a slithering snake.

Trail after trail appeared in the photographs.

They were clearly traces of a Snake Demon.

But if it was a Snake Demon, it was enormous.

Judging by the trails, it had to be at least two people wide and twenty or thirty meters long.

Never mind. I've found a lead, so I can turn in the mission. Let the higher-ups worry about who to send after it.

His mission had only been to investigate traces of a monster.

All he had to do was photograph these pictures and upload them, and he was done.

He was about to take the photos when the system suddenly spoke.

"Ding! New location check-in mission issued. Check-in location: the western outskirts of the Imperial Capital. Reward: 10,000 Background Value. Failure to go: Little Yao loses ten centimeters."

"System, you're doing this on purpose, aren't you?"

"You could've given me this mission earlier or later, but you waited until I was about to turn mine in. Do you have nothing better to do?"

The system remained calm in the face of Li Yao's outrage.

"Ding! This system has no rules, Host. Please proceed to the check-in location as soon as possible, or 'it' won't be safe."

"Fine, fine. You win."

Damn system.

Li Wenbin saw Li Yao staring at the photographs and did not disturb him.

He sat nearby and waited.

"Uncle Bin, how about we take a trip to the western outskirts?"

After all that silence, this was what Li Yao came out with.

Li Wenbin looked at him. "All right. Let's take a trip to the western outskirts."

On the way, Li Yao uploaded the photographs and detailed information to the Special Operations Bureau.

The western outskirts of the Imperial Capital.

Heyu Village.

Heyu Village had long been a prosperous place.

Though it was called a village, it covered an enormous area. And since the Spiritual Energy Revival had caused plants and animals to grow unusually large, its location near the sea had turned it from an impoverished village into the undisputed wealthiest village in the western outskirts.

Ordinarily, a prosperous place would have plenty of people coming and going.

But now, every household had its doors and windows shut, as if everyone feared something might suddenly appear.

It was around noon when Li Yao and Li Wenbin arrived.

Yet as they walked through the village, something felt strange.

Despite the broad daylight, there was not a single person on the street.

With every door and window shut, something was clearly wrong.

Was the monster so terrifying that the villagers of Heyu Village no longer dared to leave their homes?

"Creak."

As Li Yao was thinking, he heard a creak.

Not far ahead, a young woman was about to close her door.

"Wait!"

Li Yao called out and sprinted toward her.

The young woman froze, apparently surprised that anyone still dared to wander outside at a time like this.

In an instant, Li Yao reached her front door.

"Come inside, both of you."

With the two men already at her door, the young woman had little choice but to let them in.

As soon as Li Yao and Li Wenbin entered, she slammed the door shut.

"Phew."

Only then did she let out a long breath and slowly relax.