After resting at small villages and camping outside for several days. Xiao Ling said they will finally enter the city tomorrow.
On the afternoon of the sixth day, they finally arrived at a city called Bear Forest City. Just like the name implies, the city is located near a Forest area that is known to contain many bears and a lot of precious resources that could be used for martial arts practice
Although not as prosperous as Burning Sky City, one could feel the activity of Bear Forest City especially around its main road. After finding a suitable inn to rest for today, the guards tended to his carriage and reserved several rooms for the night.
While the guards were busy, Ren Qingquan entered a bustling shopping street followed by Xiao Ling and two other guards.
Bear Forest City shopping street doesn't only have stall and store selling basic material needs like food and clothings. There are also some stalls selling specialties or random tinkers found from the forest nearby.
As Ren Qingquan walked around while activating his [Scan], he actually found something that could be devoured for one whole point from a stall selling items from Bear Forest just after entering the shopping area for ten minutes! Purchasing the item, he continued to use [Scan] especially on those stalls selling things from bear forest while looking to win yet another jackpot.
***
Consciousness space
Looking at Ren Qingquan as he used [Scan] on many things one by one, I couldn't help feeling pity and added a function to the system map.
In essence, the system map is actually my [Scan] ability which could see an area within 100 meter radius although a bit blurry while detecting how much energy the things within that area contain. Which is also the principle used to show the size of blue dots in the system map.
Also, I guess I forgot to say it to Ren Qingquan but it is actually possible for him to use [Scan] on anything within half of the system map's range. Afterall I have been doing exactly that for a long time.
With those few things in mind, I updated the system map
***
[Ding! System map has added an adventure mode. Adventure mode will be activated within half of the map's maximum range. Adventure mode differentiates between items, beasts, and humans. The bigger the dots, the more energy they contain.
Notes: it is possible to use the [Scan] function within the area of adventure mode.]
'It came at the right time, and here I thought [Scan] could only be used on items within my sight.'
As Ren Qingquan purchased several dozen more things marked as big sized dots on the system map, Ren Qingquan finally stopped shopping and returned to the inn with Xiao Ling and the two guards.
Finally Ren Qingquan and Xiao Ling entered the inn to rest. The inn he is residing in is built on a wide three storied building, which is slightly higher compared to the surrounding two storied buildings. Entering the third floor, Ren Qingquan separated from the guards and Xiao Ling chose the room next to his. Entering a big room with a huge window that faced the road Ren Qingquan devoured all the things he purchased.
'Open system panel'
[Name: Ren Qingquan
Realm: Ninth stage martial apprentice
Point: 25
Technique: Body Tempering (Martial Saint)
Skills: Tiger subduing palm(Middle),
Feather step (Low), Iron cloth (Low).
System function: Devour, Shop, Scan, Library, Map, Calculate, System Storage (10 cubic meters).]
The harvest today is actually a whole 13 points. I think I should visit the shopping street more often. While feeling happy, Ren Qingquan slept blissfully.
At night, Ren Qingquan woke up due to a sudden urge to answer the call of nature. Still in a daze from suddenly waking up, Ren Qingquan just slowly walked into the bathroom. Although his room is equipped with a chamber pot, Ren Qingquan is still unable to accept the concept of sleeping next to his piss for a whole night and would rather spend some time walking.
On his way to the bathroom on the first floor, Ren Qingquan could hear a huge ruckuss behind him but compared to the call of nature, those things are of much lesser importance. As he arrived at the bathroom on the first floor, a massive explosion sound could be heard from above. He could even hear Xiao Ling's loud voice asking those guards to protect him. With all that noise, Ren Qingquan finally woke up from his daze. Opening his system map, Ren Qingquan madly activated [Scan] on every dot. Looking at the result from one of the dots, Ren Qingquan rolled his eyes.
[Human: Ren Qingchen, unable to devour
Age: 15
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
Realm: Fifth Stage Martial Master
Technique: ???
Please study more about martial arts,anatomy, and other arts related to humans for further details.]
With the explosion and Ren Qingchen's existence, Ren Qingquan could be sure there is some exciting action unfolding above.
'Come on, faster faster. I want to quickly watch the drama above. Also, I should stop drinking so much water before sleeping.'
That is right, after being locked in a carriage with nothing to do except reading novels for close to a whole week, Ren Qingquan is extremely bored and wishes to watch some spicy drama.
(｡’▽’｡)
***
Several minutes ago.
As Ren Qingchen looked at the three storied inn where general Shi's messenger rested according to the information he got. Ren Qingchen looked at the inn's locked main door and took out a small iron rod as he opened the lock used on the door without causing much noise.
General Shi is a general that guarded the border between the Great Azure Empire and the Great Flame Empire. But due to the current incompetent emperor that has been blinded by his minister's collaborative effort to dupe him. General Shi's army has received less and less funds for provisions and salary. After sending two messengers that have been refused several times and finally beheaded by the emperor. General Shi still sent the third and most likely last messenger to ask for the emperor to increase his army's funds.
What Ren Qingchen wished to do tonight is to kill the messenger and make it look like the emperor's order of assassination to start general Shi's rebellion a bit faster.
'Once the rebellion succeeds, Azure Empire's luck should be at its lowest point. With that, I should be able to take the spirit weapon Azure Flute from higher world that is used as a luck condensing treasure by the Azure Empire without much backlash. Actually, I also wished to take the spirit weapon from the other two empire, but there is no more time. Before that, I still need to quickly increase my strength.'
Thinking until that point, Ren Qingchen sighed as he remembered the situation in his previous life.
'Soon, Ren Shiluo will go crazy and chase after me for causing his precious baby boy's death due to crying. I could indeed let myself lose against that crybaby Ren Qingquan, but both of that crybaby's parents have crazy high influences. Leaving him alive might cause massive differences in the future instead and make my advantage of foresight null.'
That is right, Ren Qingchen is actually a regressor that has already reached an extremely high level in his past life. Due to betrayal from his lover that worked together with his enemy, Ren Qingchen has been killed. Luckily heaven has pity and gives him a second chance.
Waking up from his reminiscence, Ren Qingchen circulated his stealth skill which made him become one with the surrounding area. As he started to run stealthily into the room where that messenger stayed, he could actually sense a strong expert at martial saint realm in the room next door.
Rechecking his imitation of the emperor's assassination squad's clothes , Ren Qingchen used his lockpicking skill and opened the door silently. As Ren Qingchen opened the door, he could feel himself triggering some kind of mechanism.
"Who is it!"
Suddenly, the man sleeping on the bed woke up and asked in a loud voice.
Ren Qingchen immediately circulated his Blood energy to activate his dagger martial skill. While doing so, Ren Qingchen doesn't forget to open the window and throw an explosive item he learned from some crazy alchemist to confuse the Martial Lord expert next door.
*Boom*
With a massive explosive sound outside, Ren Qingchen finished circulating his blood energy and struck the dagger he wields. As the messenger just woke up, his blood energy circulation has slowed down. Quickly picking up the sword he placed next to his bed, the messenger quickly pulled his sword to block the blow from Ren.
Before the messenger could feel relieved as he successfully blocked Ren Qingchen's dagger attack, he could feel something piercing his abdomen.
While the messenger's busy with blocking his dagger attack, Ren Qingchen already threw a hidden dagger which is also imitated from the emperor's assassination squad's usual hidden weapon sets.
Feeling the weakening of his body, the messenger retreated and opened one of the pockets on his clothes and started taking an antidote pill inside. After ingesting the pill, he could feel his condition at least stopped worsening.
Without giving the messenger any time to breath, Ren Qingchen immediately followed with multiple dagger strikes accompanied by a hidden weapon coated with a different poison.
"Protect the young master!"
Hearing a slightly familiar loud female voice beside the room, and sensing as the hidden weapon pierced through the messenger right at his heart, Ren Qingchen immediately pulled the weapon and jumped using the window and escaped into the night.
The poison coated in his last hidden weapon is the strongest poison concoction the emperor's assassination squad have which he spent several weeks collecting the ingredients to make. The poison is the top poison capable of killing or at least greatly injuring Martial Emperors and without any antidote in this world. As a top brass of the assassination squad in his previous life, Ren Qingchen still remembered the poison concoction methods.
With all the trace he left, especially the poisons. Anyone with brains will think the messenger is killed by the emperor's assassination squad. Some conspiracy theorists might have thought of other people as the killer, but the last poison he used is a definitive clue. Due to the squad's special traits, the last poison's concoction methods are an absolute secret. Even if the poison is lost in some mission, they will find every method to retrieve it.
From a dark alley far away, Ren Qingchen could see the wall messenger's walls being exploded into smithereens.
***
When he returned to the third floor, Ren Qingquan could see Xiao Ling and the guard are busy looking for someone or something in the corridors and surrounding rooms. Meanwhile, the 'something' they are looking for is shamelessly walking slowly with a mentality of watching drama.
As Ren Qingquan found Xiao Ling standing at the room neighboring hers that has been destroyed to oblivion due to her attack, Ren Qingquan curiously poked his head inside. Looking at a blueish corpse with a distinct piercing wound on its body, Ren Qingquan vomited the dinner he ate that evening. All thoughts about watching a drama left his mind, leaving only two thoughts.'Someone has just died. This world is really dangerous.'
Sensing Ren Qingquan, Xiao Ling started to pull him outside of the room.
"Young master, let's leave here. The corpse has been contaminated with poisons. I am not sure whether the poison could disperse in air. Actually, let's look for other place to rest, as this poison actually give me a sense of extreme danger."
As Ren Qingquan still tried to recover from the shock of seeing a badly mutilated corpse for the first time, he somehow just followed Xiao Ling. The next thing he knows, he is already sitting in the carriage.