"It's talking! By the Rose, it's really talking!"
"Hmm?!"
The corpse was talking?
Will froze, then a faintly exhilarating thought rose in his mind.
Could it be...?
He strode over to Chen Lun's corpse and crouched down, bending close to listen.
Faint murmurs reached his ears.
He really was talking!
Will listened quietly. He seemed to be saying:
"...Once upon a time, an old man was gathering herbs in the mountains when he stumbled upon a cave. Its entrance was hidden and dark, with jagged rocks scattered outside..."
Will's pupils trembled.
An instant later, his shocked expression turned to wild delight.
"Quick! Get this fellow up!"
Will's hands shook with excitement as he pointed at Chen Lun.
"He's the only sacrifice who survived the ritual. He understood what was in the notebook!
Sister, hurry and write down what he's saying!"
The mustached man and the other guards exchanged glances, then hauled Chen Lun off the floor.
Chen Lun still looked vacant, sitting on the altar with a foolish grin and murmuring strange words as though an evil god had possessed him.
Soon, a guard in a leather coat and brimmed hat ran over with paper and a pen, handing them to Froy so she could transcribe his words.
Froy accepted the paper and pen, lifting her eyes to study the man who had survived the sacrifice with curiosity.
She was the only person present who knew that Chen Lun hadn't eaten the apple at all. He wasn't under their control. This was all an act!
Yet she had been powerless to stop the ritual, and she had no idea what he had seen in the notebook or what state he was in now.
A ripple of emotion stirred in Froy's heart.
"...The old man rescued a pangolin inside the cave. The pangolin told him that it had accidentally dug through Gourd Mountain and released the Serpent Monster and the scorpion demon.
But it had seven gemlike seeds. Once they sprouted and grew, they could give birth to powerful beings rivaling gods and demons. The pangolin also said..."
Everyone, including Monk Will, listened intently to Chen Lun's story.
"The pangolin also said... also said..."
Will grew increasingly agitated, but Chen Lun simply kept repeating those two words.
"What else did the pangolin say?! Tell me! Hurry up and tell me!"
Will seized Chen Lun by the collar, completely forgetting that it was still covered in Chen Lun's drool.
But Chen Lun seemed to have switched into broken-record mode, repeating those two words without offering anything more.
"Damn it!"
Will was beside himself.
Watching his furious expression, Chen Lun fought back a laugh and kept up his vacant, babbling act, as though he knew nothing at all.
He paid Will no further attention, focusing instead on the notifications that had appeared when he opened the notebook.
[You have discovered hidden supernatural pathway knowledge (complete)!] [Fate Faction: Sequence 9 Beast Tamer] [You have met the advancement requirements. Would you like to make this your main class?]
A hidden pathway!
Chen Lun suppressed his joy and silently selected yes.
On his status panel, the previously empty main class field instantly gained an entry-
Main class: [Sequence 9 Beast Tamer LV1] (Fate Faction)
Those weren't the only notifications the notebook had triggered.
[You have discovered a mystical book of the Fate Faction!] ["Beast Tamer's Handbook" (progress: 4%)] [Through careful reading, you have gained 40 EXP.] [Through careful reading, you have gained insight and learned the skill [Beast Speech]!] [Beast Speech LV1] Skill description: Years as a beast tamer have allowed you to barely understand animals' language and emotions. You can also communicate with animals on a basic level. But promise me you won't make them solve advanced math problems anymore, all right? Protecting animals is everyone's responsibility. They haven't asked you to eat your own excrement, have they?
Chen Lun hadn't read it closely at the time. Now that he had, his expression darkened.
[You have discovered a quest item!] [Philip's Diary] Item description: This is a diary written by an outlander named Philip. It records his bizarre adventures and insights into combat, and perhaps some lofty, great philosophical ideas and his grueling daily training. Hey, buddy, by the time you find this diary, I'll already be dead... But don't worry. I'll live on in your heart.
Chen Lun closed the notification window, his face darker still.
If someone drew a crescent moon on his forehead right now, he could make his acting debut as Bao Zheng on the spot.
Chen Lun began reflecting on his assumptions.
He had been wrong. Spectacularly wrong!
Given the Red Apple Church's way of doing things, they were deeply obsessed with [Mysterious Objects].
That, coupled with the deaths of the previous sacrifices, had led him to assume from the outset that the object of the ritual was a high-level [Mysterious Object].
But he had overlooked one thing.
Aside from an exception like him, the other NPCs couldn't see the interface.
They couldn't trigger quests, much less receive quest items.
So in their eyes, the quest item [Philip’s Diary] was a [Mysterious Object] containing [Mystical Contamination]!
But to Chen Lun, it was nothing more than a simple quest item.
Though he wasn't a player, he still retained some privileges exclusive to players.
Chen Lun couldn't help letting out a long breath.
Having narrowly escaped death, he decided to lie low for now.
Revenge could wait ten... no, even ten days was too long.
Once he finished reading the extra material tucked into the diary-the Beast Tamer's Handbook-and saved up enough EXP, he would teach them a lesson.
"I understand now."
After pondering for a while, Will seemed to have realized something.
"He only read the first two pages of the notebook. Of course he only saw a little of its contents..."
Excitement gradually spread across his face, and his breathing quickened.
"But judging by the few fragments he recited just now, the notebook must contain precious, lost mythological history. It might even conceal supernatural knowledge unknown to anyone!"
"Good! Excellent!"
Will suppressed the almost frenzied joy inside him and, his face flushed, ordered the guards to take Chen Lun away.
At the last moment, he hesitated, then added:
"Give him something decent to eat, and have him take a bath while you're at it. I've had quite enough of that piglike stink!
We'll still need him to continue interpreting the notebook for the church."
"Yes, Monk Will."
Chapter 7: Trust Me
Three days passed in the blink of an eye.
Life in the underground prison was utterly devoid of daylight, leaving Chen Lun to gauge the passage of time solely by how often the guards brought his meals.
During that time, however, he had gained quite a lot.
Every day, he was taken to Basement No. 7 to interpret the notebook, while Froy stood beside him and recorded the "mythological history" he recited.
As more and more material was recorded, Will gradually became less irritable.
The brother seemed to see a wonderful future and bright prospects ahead. Filled with hope, his mood improved by the day.
But Chen Lun couldn't stand seeing him happy, so he promptly slowed his pace on purpose, recounting less each day, much like certain authors whose updates kept getting shorter.
Will wanted nothing more than to strangle Chen Lun on the spot, but he didn't dare.
So far, Chen Lun was the only person who had survived exposure to the notebook, and only he could "interpret" its contents.
Will even had to look after him with utmost care, lest his own impatience make Chen Lun read too much and cause an irreversible accident.
Chen Lun truly had him wrapped around his little finger.
Chen Lun had already read more than half of the Beast Tamer's Handbook hidden within the diary, earning roughly 500 EXP in total.
On top of that, he had struck lucky again and learned another exclusive [Beast Tamer] skill-
Before you continue