Master of Kaidan
Chapter 453: Encounter

Chapter 453: Chapter 453: Encounter

"San check!"

Although there wasn’t actually a role-playing game system in place, Feng Xue always felt that this was the moment when a dice sound effect should play in his head, followed by a deduction of a few sanity points out of respect.

However, that was just a fleeting thought. As the green smoke and unpleasant smell slowly dissipated, the detective once again pinched the bridge of his nose, starting to activate his illusion object that could detect over a wide area.

"They’re all dead."

That was his response.

"It seems they were indeed corrupt creatures of the Hos lineage." Qing Jin, as if afraid of being burned, quickly caressed his own illusion object. A faintly hot breath diffused, but nothing happened.

If one had to say, it was only that Feng Xue felt considerably uncomfortable when that breath wafted over him.

It wasn’t a matter of physical injury, but purely a dual discomfort stemming from both mind and body.

"Is this the real property of the illusion object, similar to an Old Seal?"

Feng Xue reviewed the capabilities of this illusion object named "Feces" and felt a touch of sentiment, while Qing Jin simply stated:

"No ambush, we can move now."

"I’ll have the snake swarm scout ahead, do not use area attacks." She Tong seemed to grade her own snakes differently and, following her command, the snakes that had barely escaped earlier surged back into the sewer. This time, however, Needle stuck out like a sore thumb as he took the lead.

Feng Xue casually blocked an unexpected attack from the ghost hand and then followed Needle, and soon after, he saw a hell scroll that was far more gruesome and sanity-draining than anything on the surface.

Various kinds of highly corrupted meat were soft and squishy against the already filthy sewer walls. Even though the green smoke had cleared away, there still lingered a small amount of uncomfortable sour corruption smell.

Needle, however, seemed accustomed to this smell. He stretched out his hand clad in thick gloves, picked up pieces of the corrupt flesh, and tossed them into his not-too-large leather arrow quiver.

Pieces of rotten flesh fell into the arrow quiver, which then began to squirm.

"Why does it always make sense in such bizarre places!" As he watched the arrow quiver digest the flesh and produce arrow clusters, Feng Xue silently cursed in his mind, but his eyes were constantly fixed on the depths of the sewer.

Although he still didn’t know what the target of this mission was, in his heart, Feng Xue had already equated it with something like an alien queen.

The group of five slowly advanced into the sewer. Even though neither the poison snakes at the front nor the detective, who had established a mental network with the snake swarm through his illusion object, gave any warnings, everyone tacitly chose the slowest strategy of advancement.

However, it seemed that the target had sensed their approach, intending to concentrate all its power. It didn’t continue to send out "offspring" to hassle them, which made Feng Xue wonder if the enemy had indeed pooled all its power for a major attack.

"We’re close." Suddenly, the detective let out a slightly hoarse voice, and She Tong immediately reacted, activating the power of her illusion object to gather the snake swarm, providing a broader field of vision.

With the cooperation of the two, a clear path was marked out, but before they could catch a glimpse of the final target, a new wave of attacks had already begun.

However, the initiator of this attack was not a monster, but the ghost hand!

It seemed to understand that it could never "directly" kill Feng Xue, so the ghost hand simply opted for a trip.

Although Feng Xue’s martial arts realm meant such a trip should not have upset his balance, the ghost hand possessed the power to turn the impossible into possible.

Under an indescribable coincidence, Feng Xue, who should have regained his balance after a staggering step, stepped into a void instead. The loose floor tile lifted at just the right moment, causing Feng Xue to lurch forward again.

It was this sudden transformation that seemed to trigger a chain reaction. Figures darted out from the dim corners, and though devoid of any mental fluctuations, they did not attack Feng Xue, who’d lost his balance, but rather set their sights on those whose attention had shifted slightly due to Feng Xue’s movements.

"The intelligence of these is nothing like those lesser monsters!"

Feng Xue propped himself up with one hand, and although he still slipped, he was ready for a wrist sprain. However, he found the ordeal almost too easy. Twisting in midair, he regained his footing and, at the same time, kicked a monster heading for Qing Jin.

That creature, small as a rat and resembling a sludge monster, was kicked by Feng Xue towards the detective’s nape. But it wasn’t an act of betrayal, for before it hit the detective, it merged with another creature that had darted out from the corner, and under Feng Xue’s precisely applied force, both were reduced to puddles of flesh.

At that moment, Feng Xue swung another punch, aiming to take down the monster approaching She Tong. But before that, a spiked arrow had already felled it. Meanwhile, the hand wrapped in the illusionist gloves, the hand that had just fired the arrow to save She Tong, held yet another creature.

"Snap!"

Without any sense of guilt, the creature that even Feng Xue found nauseating was crushed into a pulp and stuffed into the arrow quiver. Needle looked at the ghost hand beside Feng Xue, appearing innocent, and ultimately didn’t say anything.

The side effects of an Obsession Object were all too clear to him. He was acutely aware—without delving into details—that, between his lineage, master and disciple spanning three generations, at least ten had died due to this arrow quiver.

However, after this skirmish, the detective and She Tong readjusted their state, not focusing all their attention on investigation anymore, while Qing Jin simply took a clump of flames in hand, ready to set fire at the first opportunity.

Yet the monsters once again concealed themselves, leaving only snake corpses, incomplete and broken, continuously reminding the investigators to remain vigilant.

But this time, Feng Xue showed a scornful smile; although no one else had seen the target, it was all too conspicuous in his eyes.

Because...

In the gloomy sewer, a fireball floating in midair was just too conspicuous!

"Directly above, twelve meters on the ceiling!"

Feng Xue didn’t waste words and called the location. Although Needle didn’t understand how Feng Xue could be sure, he followed the direction pointed out and shot a spiked arrow.

The corrupted creature, which had been confident in its ability to stealth, was forced out of its stealth state. A creature resembling a smaller version of a Xigus fell from the sewer ceiling. Dodging Needle’s shot, it sprayed a stream of murky green mucus towards the group.

Boom!

This time Qing Jin didn’t disappoint, and the flame he had readied in hand was thrown forward. The flame collided with the mucus, setting off a grating noise, and at the same time, that nauseating stench once again spread through the sewer.