Chapter Thirty-Six: Mystery—Fragments of Mythical Artifacts (Part One)

Gu Feng pondered for a moment before saying, “It’s not that there’s no chance of winning, but it’s extremely dangerous. My main strength lies in magical attacks, but dragons are essentially immune to magic. Only forbidden spells can harm them, and aside from Baldy, the combat power of the others…”

Lu Daoxuan replied, “I’ll take care of that. Before slaying a dragon, we have to be fully prepared. Baldy specializes in close combat, so we can gather some high-impact combat skill cards and I’ll handle the fusion. Also, since Wood has true essence, he must know some cultivation techniques.” He looked at Wood as he spoke.

Wood gave a wry smile and said, “My true essence was formed when my master forced the world’s energy into me during his breakthrough to Nascent Soul. I don’t actually know any cultivation methods myself, nor do I have any cultivation attack techniques.”

As he spoke, he suddenly remembered something. “But I do have a cultivation artifact, though I can only use it in ten days. It’s a flying sword my cheap master refined, but I have no idea what grade it is or how to use it.”

“I’ve done my research on cultivation too,” Lu Daoxuan said casually. The others were even more astonished—who was this guy, to know so much about everything?

“What stage has your true essence reached?” Lu Daoxuan asked.

“The liquefaction stage. My master said that’s a level most people can only reach after decades of cultivation.”

“The liquefaction stage, huh? That’s just the beginner’s level for wielding cultivation power and controlling artifacts, but true essence at this stage gets depleted easily. If you could reach the Nascent Soul stage, or at least the Golden Core stage, that would be ideal.” Lu Daoxuan spoke calmly, though there was a hint of disappointment in his tone. “Still, since you’ve only been a plane agent for just over a month, achieving this stage is already impressive.”

Wood thought to himself, So you do realize it’s not so easily obtained. He too had gotten this power by a twist of fate.

He suddenly had an idea. “If it’s just about slaying a dragon, maybe we can manage it. Gu Feng, you’ve seen my Fearless One, right? How does his combat strength compare to a dragon’s?”

At the mention of the Fearless One, Gu Feng brightened. “How could I forget your helper? That… what’s it called… King Kong’s combat power is truly extraordinary. With him on our side, we’re already halfway to success.”

Lu Daoxuan frowned, “King Kong? What’s that?”

Wood hurriedly explained King Kong’s origin. For once, Lu Daoxuan—who always seemed to know everything—fell silent. “A silicon-based lifeform from another plane? That, I truly don’t know about.” Everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief. “If you knew everything, would there be any justice left in the world?”

“Well, that’s settled then. Our future direction is clear, and I don’t think anyone objects,” he said (everyone was grumbling inwardly: As if we could object; you plan everything anyway!). “We’ll talk more about the dragon-slaying later.” With that, his figure shimmered and departed from the space-time management realm.

“Hey, how did you meet such a genius? He’s got such a high IQ. With just a bit of information, he deduced so much. Is he even human?” Zigu asked loudly, relieved after Lu Daoxuan left.

Gu Feng added, “Damn! He talked so long, he practically led our thoughts around by the nose. I even forgot to ask which plane he’s from.”

Baldy quickly whispered, “After signing the contract, everyone’s information is public. You can check his plane in your system!”

Reminded, Gu Feng immediately opened the system. “Dreamland Plane agent—so it’s that mysterious plane known for skill and bloodline cards! Damn, he’s the first to pass the hidden trial too.”

The four of them discussed for a while longer, finally concluding that Lu Daoxuan was definitely a genius, and it was best to follow his plan. Besides, with the contract signed, they weren’t worried about being backstabbed.

As they parted ways, Gu Feng couldn’t help but bring up one last thing, “Wood, about those discs… I’ve watched them all. You’ve got to get me some more. When the dragon-slaying comes to my plane, I promise I won’t forget to send you a maid as a reward!”

“What! You’re giving him a maid? Why not give me one too? That’s not fair!” Zigu protested as his figure faded, still pestering Gu Feng for a maid as Wood left the space-time management realm.

Returning to the villa and finding the three women absent, Wood guessed Mu Siyu had gone out to exchange gold for cash again. During his trial missions, he had traded food and water for several small cases of gold—each one as much as Baldy had given him. So Mu Siyu would occasionally take some out to exchange for cash.

Mu Siyu was clever, too. She only exchanged a few hundred thousand’s worth of gold each time, always with different shops or gold dealers, so there were never any issues. Being an evolved power, she could handle herself even if there was trouble, so Wood never worried.

“Darling, don’t leave me…” Suddenly, a song blared out, startling Wood. It was his phone. He picked it up and saw it was a call from the fat guy at the antique shop.

“Hey, Wood! What have you been up to lately?”

“Not much. I thought you’d run off with some big shot. I’ve got something here with some ancient script no one can read. I remember you studied history at university and know your way around old texts. Come help me take a look!”

“Well…” Wood was about to refuse.

“What do you mean, ‘well’? You’re not even going to do me this little favor?” the fat man said anxiously. “Come on, I’ll buy you lunch!”

“Alright…” Wood couldn’t resist his pleading.

———

“Shaoxia, bring the item over!” When Wood arrived, the fat man greeted him with rare enthusiasm—the kind he usually reserved for experts appraising antiques.

At his words, a beautiful woman descended from the shop’s loft. She was tall, with a curvaceous figure like a model, and her most striking feature was her large, sparkling eyes that could bewitch a soul. This was the fat man’s stunning wife, whom he’d married recently. She had just graduated from college and was a year younger than Wood.

Seeing Wood return, she merely nodded, saying lazily, “Wood, where have you been making money?”

Wood quickly replied, “Boss lady, I haven’t been making money anywhere! I’ve been at home.”

Shaoxia frowned, displeased. “Don’t call me ‘boss lady’; that makes me sound old. I’m a year younger than you—just call me Shaoxia!” She handed him a dusty, tile-like object of indeterminate material—neither metal nor silver.

Wood grinned and took it. The object had been carefully cleaned, and engraved upon it were patterns and symbols—ancient scripts that were not quite seal script nor pictograph, including sun, moon, insect, fish, and bird motifs.

The fat man, watching Wood examine it so closely, asked, “Can you actually read these strange characters?”

Wood replied calmly, “These are tadpole script. But why is it carved here?”

At once, the fat man’s worried expression brightened.

“Tadpole script?”

“Tadpole script, also known as tadpole writing or tadpole seal, is a style of ancient script. The strokes are numerous, with large heads and small tails, resembling tadpoles—hence the name,” Wood explained. Seeing the fat man listen attentively, he continued, “The term ‘tadpole script’ only appeared after the Han Dynasty, referring to pre-Qin ancient characters. In Chinese legend, it was said to be used by immortals, or referred to ancient script that no one could understand…”

At that moment, a voice sounded in his mind—Ding… Mythical object fragment detected.

What? A fragment of a mythical object? Wood’s heart leapt as he excitedly asked, “What mythical object?”

“Broken mythical object, cannot be identified!” The reply dashed his hopes.

“Wood, what’s wrong?” the fat man asked, seeing Wood suddenly dazed.

“Oh, nothing!” Wood replied. “I was just recalling information about this script. Some believe it was left by the ancient She people; some link it to the Xiantang people of Xianju from six or seven thousand years ago—remnants of our ancestors; some say it was carved by Yu the Great when he controlled the floods; others imagine it to be the work of aliens.”

“Hm!” The fat man was delighted. “You know so much. Does that mean you can read it?”

Wood shook his head. “I have an interest in ancient scripts, so I know about this little-known writing. But in truth, no one in the world can read it. In Yunnan’s Miao region, in Danzhu Township, there’s a mountain called Weiqiang, covered in strange patterns—sun, moon, insect, fish. Locals say it’s tadpole script carved by Yu the Great, but no one can decipher it.”

“Oh!” The fat man thought for a moment, then asked, “Wood, do you want to make some money?”

(Brothers, here’s the third chapter from Wood! It’s my first day since signing the contract. To celebrate, how about a little tip from anyone, big or small, and let me break the ice! As thanks, I’ll post a fourth chapter today!)