Chapter 141: One for You, One for Me

Two flashes of golden light appeared before their eyes, and a massive amount of experience points surged into the bodies of both Zhao Nan and Finina simultaneously. With a crisp ding, they both leveled up directly. This dungeon's quest was not restricted to a solo completion; whether it was delivered by his hand or Finina's hand, the result remained the same.

At this moment, the shield in Zhao Nan's hand and the Sword of the Lionheart in Finina's hand simultaneously turned into golden light and fled, heading toward the direction of the temple. The quest was complete, and so the shield and sword had reached the end of their service, returning to the hands of the Lionheart statue. Zhao Nan shook his head with a slight sense of regret, lying flat on the ground, feeling a bit bruised and sore.

The final clash with the Earl of Roses had caused the top floor of the building to collapse. He had no idea which floor they were currently on. Finina dismissed her Pandora transformation, reached out to pull Zhao Nan to his feet, and without a word, pulled him into a tight embrace. Her face was somewhat pale, and both of them could clearly hear each other's heartbeat.

"That scared me to death!"

Zhao Nan chuckled softly, brushed a lock of hair from the beauty's forehead, and smiled lightly, "I had confidence in your speed, not to mention the Pandora transformation. Catching the sword I threw wasn't anything difficult."

"But... what if I had missed?" Finina murmured, still shaken with lingering fear.

Zhao Nan teased, "Then we would have died. What do you call that? Dying beneath the peony blossom, even as a ghost, one is still romantic."

Finina gave a coy, reproachful huff, "You're asking for a beating, deliberately trying to piss me off."

Zhao Nan laughed heartily, holding the beauty in his arms, and plucked a rustic-looking necklace from behind her flowing hair. He then whispered softly, "Wear this necklace from now on as well."

Heart of Pristine Glaze (Special Item): The wearer can generate a barrier around their body, isolating them from the harmful components in the air.

The Earl of Roses had released demonic Qi, causing the indigenous people to become demonized. Presumably, if Finina inhaled too much demonic Qi, she would also undergo demonization... Just wondering if, once she was demonized, that princess majesty would swap out. Thinking about it this way, back at the Exquisite Palace, it was probably due to inhaling a massive amount of demonic Qi that the Black Princess had emerged.

Since he had figured out the crux of the matter, preventing such an incident from happening was not difficult. For instance, there was the Heart of Pristine Glaze necklace that could be redeemed from the temple.

Yet at this very moment, above the two of them, specks of fluorescent light drifted out into the air, swirling backward like drifting flocs. At the center of the fluorescent vortex, a speck of light gradually solidified, and finally slowly descended. Finina reached out her hand, and that speck of golden light transformed into a tiny seed in the palm of her hand.

Zhao Nan subconsciously took a look.

Seed of the Pure Flower Fairy: A seed from legend rumored to be able to nurture a fairy of the flowers.

Finina was stunned and muttered, "What is this... why do I have such a sad feeling?"

Zhao Nan frowned and said, "This should be the reward for your final strike."

"But how are we supposed to plant it to make it grow?"

Zhao Nan shook his head, indicating he had no idea, "Keep it safe for now, maybe we'll figure it out later."

Finina nodded and smiled, "Let's go back."

......
......

The demonic Qi had vanished, and the indigenous residents of Listening Wind City began to return to normal. When they recovered, it happened to coincide with a scene of utter chaos: a middle-aged auntie gripping a kitchen knife in a standoff with the players' weapons, a stableman wildly swinging a pitchfork, and a little child lying on the ground biting someone.

"Eh? What was I even doing?"

"Your Excellency the Chosen One, could you please move your sword away for a moment?"

The bearded man's imposing momentum of holding a pass against a thousand men was gone, but his fierce expression remained. Just standing there, he frightened away many people. The bearded man Fuyun did not pay much attention to it, let out a long sigh, sat directly on the ground, pulled a bottle of strong liquor from his backpack, uncapped it, and chugged. The fiery liquor spilled from his mouth, soaking his full beard, and then he burst into loud laughter.

On another street, Xiongyu and Yanan quietly embraced, followed by a passionate kiss, and then cheers.

From atop a certain building, one could overlook the various expressions on the two streets. Ye Anya let out a soft sigh, wiped the sweat from her brow, lowered her head to write the words "Rest in Peace" on a piece of paper, and then strummed her zither. The zither music drifted away into the air, playing a requiem.

The Soul Crystal flashed at this moment, and the depleted health points began to slowly climb back up. At the edge of Listening Wind City, a transparent protective barrier began to appear, shimmering and merging in the air, gradually coalescing overhead. It made the entire sky look like a surface of water that had just been rippled, before returning to calm.

Zhao Nan poked his head out from the building. The dungeon was over, and everything in Listening Wind City had returned to normal. Aside from the destroyed buildings, there was not the slightest trace of abnormality left.

He broadcasted through the City Lord's announcement system: "Bury the dead, and then get some good rest."

In this dungeon, the indigenous residents suffered many casualties and injuries, but on the players' side, quite a few unfortunate souls also died miserably amidst the chaotic blades. Fortunately, the death toll was controlled within an acceptable range. Through the announcements, the indigenous residents gradually dispersed.

Yet the tears they shed made one's heart ache. The sorrow and pain displayed because of the death of loved ones could unexpectedly induce an inexplicable heartache in one's chest. A player lowered his head, walked over to a weeping auntie, and said in a hoarse voice, "Aunty, let me help you up."

The auntie looked up in a daze, then suddenly pulled the person into a tight embrace and burst into loud sobs.

This cry suddenly sent a pang of anxiety through the hearts of the nearby players.

For the first time, the players inside Listening Wind City underwent a subtle and marvelous shift in their perception of the indigenous residents.

......
......

When Zhao Nan returned to the City Lord's Manor, it was already after sunset. The interior of the manor was in complete chaos, having been smashed up by the servants who had been demonized. Now that they had recovered, they hurriedly began to cleaning things up.

Before him stood the butler, Blade Edge, dressed in a black swallowtail coat, with a bandage wrapped around his arm which was hung from his neck by a sling, while his other hand leaned on a cane as he directed the servants' work. This fellow was quite lucky to have survived. It was rare not to see his usual elegant and leisurely demeanor on his face this time.

Seeing Zhao Nan and the others return, he hobbled over, tapping his cane on the floor, and said in a panic, "My Lord, I..."

Zhao Nan waved his hand and said, "Don't speak, just focus on recovering from your injuries. Have the injured people stop working too; repairing this place is a matter for another day."

The Vulpin butler was slightly stunned, but quickly regained his usual elegance and composure. He turned away to continue arranging the matters, and the pace of his cane no longer seemed hurried.

......
......

"Quest completed. Do you wish to submit the quest?"

"Submit."

"Ding! Congratulations to player Zhao Nan for obtaining..."

A great deal was obtained, starting with three flashes of golden light across his body with three distinct ding sounds. Previously, using Divine Punishment had reduced his level by 1, but after slaying the Earl of Roses, he had gained 1 level back. Now, with the quest completed, another 3 levels were granted. Zhao Nan's current level had reached 28. This efficiency was far higher than normal monster grinding. However, Zhao Nan never wanted to go through a quest like this again. He would rather grind monsters, because some things were too precious to risk losing.

Contribution points were an excellent asset and would naturally come in handy in the future. As for the monetary reward from this quest, Zhao Nan no longer cared too much about it; the City Lord of Listening Wind City held the right to collect taxes within the city. The level increase alone was delightful, but what followed were rewards that brought even greater surprises.

Kingdom Viscount Title: Experience gain increased by thirty percent, attack power increased by thirty percent, and a fifteen percent discount on redeems. This redeem referred to the process of exchanging items from the temple. Zhao Nan smiled with satisfaction; the benefits this title granted him were unimaginable.

Heroic Badge (Bound): Obtained only by those who have made outstanding contributions to the kingdom. The holder gains a fifteen percent damage immunity. This was already the second badge Zhao Nan had obtained. A 15% damage immunity meant his personal safety was naturally guaranteed to a great extent.

Next was the special equipment, Wings of the Blazing Firmament.

Wings of the Blazing Firmament (Bound): Special equipment, no quality rating, upgradable. The holder gains the ability of flight.

Being able to fly was a wonderful thing. Aside from a few race-specific characters who could attain the ability to fly once they reached a certain fixed level, other players needed this kind of special wing equipment if they wanted to fly.

Zhao Nan never expected that before he could even learn certain wind-type flying skills, he would acquire a pair of wing equipment in advance—and upgradable wings at that.

The Wings of the Blazing Firmament merged into his body. With a single thought, a pair of feathered wings, resembling those that only grew on the Angel race after logging in, unfurled behind him. With a gentle flap, his body floated up off the ground, and his mana began to slowly drain away. He could even maintain this floating state indefinitely until his mana was completely exhausted.

Zhao Nan retracted the Wings of the Blazing Firmament with satisfaction, and after wave upon wave of pleasant surprises in his heart, he finally calmed down. The title, badge, and Wings of the Blazing Firmament obtained from this special dungeon were all extremely rare treasures.

However, although this matter had come to a temporary close, the name Earl of Roses left an indelible thorn in Zhao Nan's heart.

A thorn concerning Finina's background.

Perhaps back in Dongyuan City, Finina's adoptive father, Haydn, knew some secrets, but he had simply never revealed them. Of course, this was merely a hunch in Zhao Nan's heart.

"I wonder if there are any intelligence merchants in Listening Wind City. If there are, perhaps I could find out more."

Under the cover of night, Zhao Nan fell into deep contemplation. In Listening Wind City, some people were celebrating while others were mourning, but funerals outnumbered weddings. Finina pushed the door open, holding a bowl of steaming warm soup in both hands.

Although items like Elf Biscuits could sustain the stamina a player needed for a day, if given the choice of delicious food, no one would willingly eat something that tasted like chewing wax.

The technique for brewing this soup had been taught by Zhao Nan back during the "Time Dungeon," and was subsequently carried forward and perfected by Finina, who possessed a natural talent for cooking.

"Little Anya has fallen asleep. You didn't eat dinner, so have some food."

Zhao Nan set aside his thoughts, looking at the golden soup inside the bowl infused with some special ingredients, and his appetite was instantly stirred.

"Right, I'll give you this."

Before his eyes, a strange bead emitted a resplendent glow.

Zhao Nan smiled and said, "We agreed: one for you, one for me. This is a Pet Elixir." (To be continued.)