WTYTIAAN Chapter 169

Yan Yunqing casually tossed the invitation aside and clapped his hands.

The small fry have been shaken off, and next up is this ‘Heart of Morgan’.

Yan Yunqing fiddled with the chess piece in his hand. This ‘Heart of Morgan’ felt cool to the touch, with a texture like jade, but without its warm, smooth sensation. Instead, it was icy cold, with a chill spreading from the piece through his palm.

He looked at the appraisal result displayed on the system panel, and slightly raised an eyebrow at the [Tracking Magic (Active)] in the status bar.

Yan Yunqing had noticed the tracking magic on this ‘Heart of Morgan’ the moment he obtained it. After a little speculation, he quickly figured out that the tracking magic was most likely placed by the auctioneer—that is, the person who initially obtained the ‘Heart of Morgan’ from Mandipell.

The purpose was likely to lure out the force that issued the reward, in order to achieve some goal.

It was a pity that the appearance of him, this variable, had disrupted the other party’s purpose.

Yan Yunqing narrowed his eyes, but didn’t erase the tracking magic on it, nor did he even put it in his backpack to isolate the magic. He simply stuffed it into the inner pocket of his clothes.

No matter who it is, he’ll meet them.

Yan Yunqing sent a message to Isabel, telling her people to go to the address he had given to that group of beastmen earlier to pick up the new NPC labor force, and then headed towards a secluded part of the city.

He used a few smoke bombs along the way to confuse the small fry who had sneaked over, leading them in circles, before Yan Yunqing finally completely escaped the encirclement that had vaguely formed since he left the Auction House.

“Boom—”

A cacophony of noises came from the distant Auction House, and the sounds of fighting could be faintly heard. Even though Yan Yunqing was already about to leave the city, he could still hear the commotion from over there.

It seemed that the people from ‘Blood Mist’ had taken action.

Yan Yunqing glanced back, suddenly feeling a slight unease.

Someone was following him.

Were they here?

Yan Yunqing was a little surprised. He originally thought that it would take the person behind the scenes a bit longer to find him using the tracking magic, at least another day or two. He didn’t expect that as soon as he shook off those people, before he had even completely left the city, this person would impatiently come after him.

Yan Yunqing paused slightly, then quickly ran towards the outside of the city. The person tailing him seemed to have anticipated this, easily keeping up with his pace, running one in front of the other out of Slanley Parker City.

Before Yan Yunqing could even react, the person behind him had already launched an attack. Yan Yunqing, in turn, pulled out the heavy sword from his backpack that he had used so smoothly at the Sigrid Swordsman Academy, and met the attack head-on. Immediately, a harsh and grating sound of friction rang out.

Claws scraped against the blade of the heavy sword, creating sparks. Missing the mark with one strike, the attacker quickly adjusted their stance, and the next claw struck again.

Yan Yunqing swiftly bent over to dodge this attack, swinging the heavy sword in his hand, chopping towards the figure opposite him. It was only at this moment that Yan Yunqing realized that the attacker was actually Yower, the boss of ‘Blood Mist’.

The other party had done some disguise, their face was obscured, and the dark clothing wasn’t obvious in the pitch-black night. There were no recognizable items on their body, making it difficult for the average person to discern the other party’s identity from this appearance. However, Yan Yunqing was someone with a cheat.

The bright NPC name above the other party’s head had already exposed their identity to Yan Yunqing.

The shock was only momentary, and no trace of it appeared on Yan Yunqing’s face. The other party’s attack speed was simply too fast, to the point that he couldn’t spare the focus to think about whether Yower was the person who had auctioned off the ‘Heart of Morgan’.

He could only passively respond to the attacks.

When he was in his twenties, all he saw when he looked at Yower was question marks. Now that he was level seventy-four, he still saw nothing but question marks. He didn’t know if it was because the other party’s level was far beyond his current range of detection, or if the other party had some special ability that blocked the detection function.

He had only seen a similar ability to block even the system’s detection once, and that was when he accidentally bumped into Divik in Mandipell.

Yower’s movements were decisive and swift, and the iron gauntlet that looked like claws was wielded with fierce momentum, each strike aimed at Yan Yunqing’s vitals.

A flash of silver light streaked past, the sharp claw tip brushing past Yan Yunqing’s nose. Yan Yunqing dodged it by a hair’s breadth, and then unceremoniously slammed the heavy sword up.

Seeming surprised that Yan Yunqing’s strength was unexpectedly high, Yower’s movements became even more ruthless, not leaving a single chance to escape, making it slightly difficult for Yan Yunqing to swing the heavy sword.

Fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead, and he looked at Yower with a greater sense of caution.

This guy was strong.

Too strong, seemingly without a limit. No matter how Yan Yunqing probed, the other party’s movements remained fluid and aggressive, and even seemed to get stronger as the fight went on.

Tsk.

Yan Yunqing knew that he had no chance of winning if he continued to fight the other party. He simply couldn’t defeat this martial arts monster with swordsmanship alone.

He had to run.

Yan Yunqing didn’t have many other skills, but he had no shortage of life-saving skills. It wasn’t difficult to run. The Substitute Doll he left nearby could accomplish this.

Before he even confronted Yower, Yan Yunqing had considered the possibility that the other party would be too strong, and he would need a skill to escape.

The teleportation of the Portable Anchor required channeling, and with [Unbending Will], he could also teleport away while channeling. However, this Yower was too mysterious, and Yan Yunqing couldn’t even figure out the other party’s level and strength. The low health and [Healing Prohibition] debuff after using [Unbending Will] were too fatal. Yan Yunqing wasn’t sure if this guy would pursue relentlessly and track him down again during his debuff period. If that were the case, what difference would there be between him and a fish on a cutting board?

[Selenvall’s Longing] could also be used, although it also required channeling, but the time wasn’t long. It was just too inconvenient to be sent directly to the elven territory in one go, so it could only be used as a last resort.

In comparison, the Substitute Doll was the best option. By alternating and swapping positions, he could create distance, and Yan Yunqing could continue to use other skills to cooperate and escape.

The only thing he needed to consider was: the distance of the Substitute Doll’s exchange wasn’t far. If the other party’s reaction speed was too fast, Yan Yunqing wouldn’t be able to create too much distance, and he wouldn’t be able to escape.

He had to have a skill to shock the other party, giving himself enough time to create distance.

Yan Yunqing’s thoughts raced, and he thought of the talent skill [Demon King’s Descent], which had always been at the bottom of his inventory and hadn’t been used much, only used a few times before to scare people.

This talent skill was the only one among all his skills that ignored levels and could cause a real shock to everyone.

After all, the name was Demon King’s Descent, so the actual purpose could be imagined.

Was there anything more terrifying than the aura of the Demon King in this world? Even the Earth God, one of the six high-ranking gods who had survived the God War, wouldn’t dare to say that they weren’t afraid of the Demon King.

The reason why the Earth God was able to survive that war was also because He was unwilling to participate in the war, did not have the blood of innocent creatures on His hands, and resolutely stood on the side of the Demon King when the war was about to end. Furthermore, He made a contract with the Demon King, that after the end of the God War, He would forever stay in the temple and would never come out to harm living beings, and was then let off by the Demon King.

Even the gods were afraid of the Demon King, so how could you, a human, not be fearful?

Just a brief flash of thought allowed Yower to seize the opening, and a claw struck straight at Yan Yunqing’s face. Yan Yunqing couldn’t dodge in time, and the sharp silver blade left a bloody mark below his left eye.

Fortunately, the distance wasn’t enough, and the bloodstain only brushed past, not causing a laceration.

Yan Yunqing’s heart skipped a beat, knowing that his speed had already dropped in the constant, high-intensity fighting, which was why he couldn’t dodge in time.

Now it was just a bloodstain on his face, but if he waited any longer, he was afraid that the claws would directly stab four holes in his chest.

Not a friend, but an enemy, escape was the best option.

Yan Yunqing didn’t have time to think too much. According to his previous plan, he swung the heavy sword to resist the opponent’s attack, and then slashed towards the opponent, not at all surprised that the other party was able to block it in time. It was just at that moment that Yan Yunqing’s talent skill was activated.

[Demon King’s Descent]

You are the supreme king of this world. You ended the disastrous God War, you led the races to rebuild their homes, and you brought light to this world again… Your people are still waiting for your compassion. (After use, you will briefly become the Demon King, casting a glance of affection on your people.)

An indescribable invisible aura spread out, overwhelmingly attacking the man wearing the iron gauntlet on his left hand. As Yan Yunqing expected, Yower’s movements paused slightly for that moment.

Due to the close-quarters combat, even in the darkness, Yan Yunqing could clearly see the other party’s pupils constrict for a moment, as if they were completely intimidated by his talent skill.

Yan Yunqing knew he had succeeded, and didn’t stop at all. In the next second, he activated the active skill of the Substitute Doll, swapping positions.

Space distorted for a moment, and in the blink of an eye, Yan Yunqing had already appeared five hundred meters away. Without taking a few seconds to catch his breath, he directly maxed out his escape speed, using all kinds of agility magic, and ran into the crowd without looking back. He also changed his disguise, and in a few short breaths, he slipped away like a fish in water.

By the time Yan Yunqing completely blended into the crowd, Yower had already arrived at the position where he had swapped with the Substitute Doll, clutching the Substitute Doll Yan Yunqing had left behind, his face as dark as water as he stared at the empty corner.

*

After confirming that Yower wasn’t following him, Yan Yunqing breathed a sigh of relief.

Yan Yunqing returned to Slanley Parker City, playing the trick of hiding in plain sight. Yower probably wouldn’t have thought that after he had used so many methods to escape with great difficulty, he would turn around and return to Slanley Parker City.

If he was discovered again this time, Yan Yunqing would really have to use [Selenvall’s Longing] and run to the elven race. The journey back would be extremely far.

Yan Yunqing returned to the crowd, silently and without letting anyone notice anything amiss.

However, even if he made a little noise, probably no one would pay attention to him.

Because the city was in chaos, with noisy crowds everywhere. The people on the street, even in their panic, still had time to gossip. After listening to a few words, Yan Yunqing had to sigh at the good mentality of the residents of Slanley Parker City.

The people from ‘Blood Mist’ were still fighting fiercely with the guards who were disguised as ordinary servants around Fitch. Yan Yunqing took a few more glances, then returned to the hotel where he had been staying for the past few days, waiting for tomorrow’s developments before considering the next step of his plan.

The ‘Heart of Morgan’ had already been completely placed into Yan Yunqing’s backpack, isolating it from the outside world. This way, the tracking magic on it would also be ineffective.

Yan Yunqing washed up in the hotel’s washroom, put the fashion outfit into his backpack and took it out again to put it back on. The cash shop fashion outfit had a built-in cleaning function that made his clothes look brand new, and he didn’t even need cleansing magic to put on a clean set of clothes.

After doing all this, Yan Yunqing, with his hair still a little damp, fell onto the made bed.

At that moment, fatigue washed over him from all directions, and as he completely relaxed, Yan Yunqing felt a slight stinging sensation on his face.

Reaching out to touch the scratched area, because the wound wasn’t deep, and the player’s body had strong healing abilities, the wound had almost scabbed over and disappeared in this short amount of time.

Logically speaking, he shouldn’t be feeling any stinging pain. Yan Yunqing frowned, opened the status bar and saw that the [Poisoned] debuff was already hanging in his status bar, shining brightly to show its presence.

Yan Yunqing: …

Alright, the case was solved. The iron gauntlet had been coated with poison.

What a sinister guy, and probably not a simple poison. Otherwise, with the player’s body, at most there would be a countdown debuff, without affecting the status.

Yan Yunqing rubbed his temples.

This debuff didn’t have much impact, at most he would just turn around and ask Merlin for help. With Merlin’s abilities, what debuff couldn’t be removed? If that didn’t work, he could go to Reggs. Elves were best at removing negative status magic.

The main thing was that Yan Yunqing was a little melancholy.

He originally thought that at level seventy-four, he would at least be able to fight against any opponent, and wouldn’t be suppressed throughout the whole process. As a result, he really was—completely suppressed by Yower throughout the whole process.

He had been a bit lazy in leveling up recently, and had been held back by all sorts of things. Sure enough, it wouldn’t work. He still had to do his best to improve his strength.

Now it was just the boss of ‘Blood Mist’, but what if he encountered the Eternal Divine Church and the Light Church in the future? What if the other party’s strength was also much higher than his?

He wasn’t the Eternal Lord who could get a response from everyone with a single call, and he didn’t have the strength of Demon King to fight against a hundred enemies alone.

He couldn’t possibly encounter the Eternal Divine Church, and still have to awkwardly use his talent skill to shock the other party, and then run away, right? That would be too embarrassing for the Demon King.

Yan Yunqing thought gloomily.

However, after returning to a safe place, Yan Yunqing also had time to start thinking.

First of all, Yower wasn’t necessarily the person who auctioned off the ‘Heart of Morgan’. The target of ‘Blood Mist’ this time was obviously Fitch, and the people they had deployed were also aimed at Fitch.

If the ‘Heart of Morgan’ was in their hands, there was no need to take it out and lure Fitch again.

According to Yan Yunqing’s initial guess, the person who auctioned off the ‘Heart of Morgan’ was also fishing. The other party probably didn’t have a specific target, so they needed to observe through the auction who was more attentive to the ‘Heart of Morgan’, who wanted to obtain the ‘Heart of Morgan’ the most, and that would become the other party’s target.

The tracking magic on the ‘Heart of Morgan’ could also explain this problem. The other party definitely didn’t have a clear target at the beginning, so they had to rely on tracking magic to find this person.

However, the person who argued with Yan Yunqing until the end was Fitch. If there hadn’t been this accident of Yan Yunqing, presumably the person who would have won the ‘Heart of Morgan’ in the end would also have been Fitch, and then Fitch would have become that person’s target.

This conflicted with the behavior pattern of ‘Blood Mist’.

To be honest, Yan Yunqing was also very surprised when he discovered that the person following him was actually Yower.

He didn’t expect it to be Yower at all, it didn’t make sense.

If his previous guess about the person who auctioned off the ‘Heart of Morgan’ was correct, then there was only one possibility for Yower to appear behind him and fight him like that.

Yower also knew the origin of the ‘Heart of Morgan’, or rather, he also wanted to obtain the ‘Heart of Morgan’.

If he remembered correctly, at the time of the auction, there was indeed another top-level private room competing with them for the ownership of the ‘Heart of Morgan’, but after Yan Yunqing took the lead in raising a high price, the other party retreated.

Only the most luxurious private room and Yan Yunqing continued to compete for the ‘Heart of Morgan’.

If Yower hadn’t suddenly appeared, Yan Yunqing would have really forgotten about this.

There were too many chaotic thoughts, causing Yan Yunqing’s head to ache a little. It was likely that the poison debuff was affecting him, temporarily preventing him from untangling the thread from the chaotic ball of yarn.

Forget it, he didn’t want to think about it anymore.

He yawned, and a magic wand appeared in Yan Yunqing’s hand. He flicked it lightly, and a magic containing fire elements wrapped around his still-dripping hair, instantly taking away the water droplets on his hair, returning it to a dry state.

Yan Yunqing pulled open the quilt, wrapped himself up, and prepared to sleep and see Isabel’s progress tomorrow morning.

He crossed his hands and placed them relaxedly on his lower abdomen. Yan Yunqing closed his eyes, lying down very straight.

Lying flat.

“…”

The noisy sounds outside seemed to be far away from him at this moment, and the clock in the room ticked away, Yan Yunqing slowly entered sleep…

The faucet in the washroom didn’t seem to be tightened, the sound of dripping water came, accompanied by the sound of the clock ticking, gradually hypnotizing Yan Yunqing, causing him to feel a little sleepy.

The fragrance in the room was quite pleasant, he didn’t know what fragrance the hotel was using.

“…”

That’s not right.

A cheap hotel would be lucky to ensure that the bedsheets and covers were clean, how could they use any fragrance for the guests?!

Yan Yunqing immediately opened his eyes, forcibly dispelling his sleepiness. He sniffed carefully, and could indeed vaguely smell a faint floral fragrance in the air, but it wasn’t obvious. Yan Yunqing was almost asleep, and only noticed this fragrance when his senses were amplified by being completely relaxed.

He sat up, sniffing everywhere, and was shocked to discover that this fragrance was actually emanating from his own body.

Yan Yunqing:?

What was going on? Hadn’t he just washed? He didn’t remember his bath beans having any floral fragrance, it was still a bath bean that he used often.

Yan Yunqing frowned tightly. It would be one thing if he smelled this fragrance in the room, but it was actually emanating from his own body, which made him have to be a little suspicious.

Just as he was wondering, his ears twitched slightly, and a subtle sound of footsteps came from far and near, the speed wasn’t fast, and the person seemed to be working hard to hide their tracks.

Yan Yunqing’s eyes narrowed, and he instantly switched to Joker’s identity, quietly getting up and sticking to one side of the entrance, in the blind spot.

Sure enough, the slight sound of footsteps came closer and closer, stopping in front of his door.

Yan Yunqing felt like he could hear a slight breathing sound coming from behind the door. He held his breath, worried that his breathing would reveal that he was behind the door, waiting for the other party’s next move.

“Click, click…”

The doorknob was gently turned twice.

Yan Yunqing narrowed his eyes, it was really coming for him?

Who was it?

Yower? The people from ‘Blood Mist’? Or the person who auctioned off the ‘Heart of Morgan’? Or had the small fry who failed to grab the ‘Heart of Morgan’ found this place?

Yan Yunqing’s expression was very solemn. After turning the doorknob twice, it didn’t turn again. Yan Yunqing didn’t let his guard down because of this, and still slowed his breathing.

After about ten seconds, there was movement outside again. This time, it wasn’t the doorknob turning, but the sound of the door lock clicking. Yan Yunqing knew at once that the person outside was trying to pick his lock.

The movement was very small. If Yan Yunqing had already fallen asleep at this moment, it would probably be difficult to discover that the door was about to be opened.

Yan Yunqing really wanted to support his forehead. After this incident, no matter who was coming from outside, he probably wouldn’t be able to stay in a hotel in peace in the future. Having his lock picked in the middle of the night once meant there would be a second and third time.

He also missed Lillian a little. Although Lillian was a useless little thing that could only eat and sleep, at least there was a little thing by his side, and the feeling of being worried and afraid together was much better than him being worried and afraid alone.

Yan Yunqing thought this way.

The rustling clicking sound of the door lock lasted for about another ten seconds, accompanied by a subtle click, the door lock was opened.

The doorknob was gently pressed down, and with a slight squeak, the room door was opened a crack.

Yan Yunqing’s back was against the cold wall, staring at a ray of light leaking in through the crack in the door, because the door was opened a crack. The person was outside, Yan Yunqing was very sure.

He still didn’t act rashly, waiting for that person to enter the room, and Yan Yunqing would give the other party a fatal blow to subdue them.

However, the person outside didn’t move.

The crack in the door was open, but the person who picked the lock outside showed no signs of moving.

Yan Yunqing and the other party were at a standstill. Anyone who saw them would think they were playing the game One Two Three, Wooden Man.

The faint breathing sound was still there, and Yan Yunqing was sure that the other party hadn’t left.

Then why didn’t they come in?

They picked the lock and opened a crack in the door, just to stand at the door and stare blankly?

Or had the other party discovered his presence, was wary and didn’t dare to enter? Wanted to wait for him to reveal an opening first?

Yan Yunqing tugged at the corner of his mouth, his spirits instead became more excited because of this, and he didn’t feel sleepy at all because of waiting.

After about two minutes of stalemate, the person outside took the next step. The open crack in the door was pushed open wider, and more light from the hotel corridor poured into the pitch-black room, illuminating a small part of the area at the door.

However, Yan Yunqing was still in the dark area that the light couldn’t reach, waiting for the prey to enter his trap little by little.

The sound of breathing seemed to merge with the sound of the clock ticking. Yan Yunqing was like a patient feline entering a hunting state, and even his heartbeat slowed down.

Finally, a slender black shadow appeared in the light that fell on the ground. This was the shadow formed by the person blocking the light cast from the corridor.

Yan Yunqing leaned forward slightly.

The shadow gradually shortened, approached, and completely stepped into the dark room. The other party’s pace was still light. If Yan Yunqing’s hearing hadn’t been strengthened after crossing over, he might not have been able to hear it.

The person quietly approached the bed, where the quilt was raised in an arc because Yan Yunqing had just slept there, as if a person was lying there asleep in the dark room.

The person reached out towards the bed.

“Don’t move.” A voice rang in the person’s ear.

The person’s body paused, reacting very quickly to retreat, but an icy touch pressed against the position of TA’s heart, and their body immediately stiffened in place.

“Move again, and your heart will be pierced by this dagger.” Yan Yunqing said coldly, and moved the dagger in his hand forward a little.