Cen An stood calmly in front of the wooden door.

The wooden door opened slowly. Yu Lin lowered his head and said softly, “Brother Cen, you should go home first. I have something to take care of today and can’t entertain guests.” A sharp snort came from Su Rui beside him, but Yu Lin, unusually, didn’t snap back at him.

Cen An said quietly, “I don’t need you to entertain me. I’ll just come in and sit for a bit. What’s the matter? Am I not even allowed to step inside your home anymore?” Yu Lin’s hand, which was pushing the wooden door, trembled…

Cen An suppressed his anger. “Speak up!”

Yu Lin instinctively turned his head away. “I really can’t today. Otherwise, another time I’ll…”

As he spoke, his voice grew softer and softer, as if he could already see Cen An’s disappointed expression. He couldn’t help but give a self-deprecating smile.

He, Yu Lin, had lived his whole life without a care in the world, doing as he pleased, not caring about anyone—not even his older brother could change him. When had he ever cared so much about what one person thought? But he just didn’t want him to see him like this… He was afraid both that he would be disgusted and that he would worry.

Suddenly, he heard a gentle sigh, and someone ruffled his hair. Then, a soft voice said, “All right, Xiao Lin, look up and let me see—what’s going on?”

Sunlight streamed into the dark corner, dispelling the damp air. Everything—the shameful, the filthy, the cowardly, and the longed-for—slowly came to the surface—

Yu Lin met Cen An’s gaze. That look was one of shock, heartache, and deep concern—but, as expected, not a trace of disgust.

Cen An was truly startled. About three-quarters of the face before him was covered in black cursed energy, leaving only his left eye exposed—as if he were wearing a hideous, terrifying mask…

“What happened?” he exclaimed. “Weren’t you controlling it well before? What about the Hundred Flowers Spirit Dew? Did you drink it? Or did you not drink enough…”

He clearly remembered that the last time he saw Yu Lin, the curse effect had already been reduced to a mild level!

“The curse energy has erupted,” a hoarse voice suddenly came from behind him.

Cen An instinctively looked up. Yu Fei was standing behind him, his black robe speckled with grass leaves and covered in dust—he looked as if he’d just returned from the mountains. Cen An glanced down and saw that the man was holding two Pure Heart Grasses in his hand.

Pure Heart Grass does indeed have the effect of dispelling negative states, but it’s primarily effective against mental conditions—such as charm or confusion. As for its effect on curses, it’s only marginally better than nothing.

Moreover, Pure Heart Grass was scarce near Yongning Village; who knows how much effort Yu Fei had to put in to find these two.

Cen An felt a pang of sympathy—both for Xiao Lin and for Brother Fei. “Let’s talk inside. You two need to explain this whole thing to me clearly today.” Who dared to stop him? They just let him walk right into the house.

Yu Lin still said, “Brother Cen, we can handle this ourselves…” 

Su Rui nodded in agreement, “Exactly. What’s it to you…”

Cen An’s temper flared instantly. He scanned the area, grabbed a stick lying on the ground—he didn’t even know what for—and lashed out at Yu Lin: “I don’t need to get involved? Handle it yourselves? You handle it? Go ahead, handle just one of them and let me see!”

Yu Lin was momentarily stunned by the blow. Even though he was physically weak right now, he was, after all, a Level 4 ability user. Standing there taking a beating from Cen An wouldn’t really do him any harm. But this was the first time anyone had ever gotten so worked up over him that they’d actually laid a hand on someone… The stick stung when it hit him, but he didn’t seem to feel it; only the corners of his eyes reddened slightly.

After whipping him, Cen An casually gave Su Rui a couple of lashes as well. Su Rui was much more experienced; he quickly covered his head to dodge and kept his mouth shut.

After finishing, Cen An felt a pang of pity. In his heart, Yu Lin was well-behaved and obedient, much like Xiao Yi—these two younger brothers, one a little older and one a little younger. Plus, Yu Lin wasn’t in the best of health, so he actually cared deeply for him; sometimes, when he made spicy dishes, he’d even prepare extra portions for him and Xiao Yi.

That was exactly why he’d gotten so angry when he heard that remark!

If this had happened right after he’d first crossed over, Cen An would’ve turned on his heel and walked away the moment he heard those words—he wouldn’t have cared whether you lived or died! If you died, he’d just burn some joss paper for you and be done with it! But now…

Boss Cen sneered. “Don’t need me to take care of you? Try saying that again! Not a single one of my friends is going to be left out!”

He pointed forward, his aura radiating. “You two, shut up! Fei, you tell me—from start to finish, explain everything clearly, step by step.” Yu Lin and Su Rui instinctively covered their heads…

After a few seconds, Su Rui lowered his hands, realizing, Wait, this doesn’t really have anything to do with me, does it? I just got beaten up for nothing because of that kid Yu Lin… Ahem… Anyway, poor Yu Fei—the most taciturn person in the room—was forced to talk for an entire year.

To start from the beginning: Yu Fei and Yu Lin were originally ability users at the Feixue Base. Donglu is divided into three provinces: Jiangzhou, Rongzhou, and Danzhou. Yongning Village is located in Jiangzhou, where the largest base is Chishen City. The Feixue Base, meanwhile, is the largest power in Rongzhou.

For certain reasons, Yu Fei and Yu Lin had left the Feixue Base, hoping to find another base to join. Since Jiangzhou was closer to Rongzhou, the two decided to come here and try their luck.

“But as soon as we entered Jiangzhou, we were ambushed,” Yu Fei said. “A total of thirty ability users attacked us, including at least ten with rare abilities. Each had abilities ranked Level 3 or higher, with the highest reaching Level 5. We were no match for them, but we barely managed to escape with our lives by playing our trump card.”

Such brief words concealed a harrowing ordeal. Cen An couldn’t help but draw a soft breath. He asked, “Was Xiao Lin’s negative condition caused by that incident?”

Yu Fei nodded. “That’s right. Among ability users, one possessed a curse-based ability. Curse power is very difficult to remove; even if it’s temporarily weakened, it quickly rebounds. We’d always assumed there was no way to eradicate it completely.”

Cen An looked surprised. “Is that the case?”

Yu Fei shook his head, opened his mouth, then closed it again, glancing at Yu Lin as if to say: Since we’ve gotten this far, why don’t you explain it yourself? Yu Lin looked at Cen An with a pitiful expression.

Cen An looked back at him. He was still angry, but she also felt a pang of sympathy. “Did that hit hurt just now?” Yu Lin cautiously leaned closer, humbly shook his head, and discreetly pushed Su Rui aside. 

Su Rui:?

Cen An’s anger completely melted away. The kid was a good kid; he’d kept it from him only because he didn’t want him to worry. “Then tell me yourself—tell me the truth.”

Yu Lin quickly nodded and said in a timid voice, “It was Senior Lin who told us the truth… Come to think of it, the reason Senior Lin was willing to help us was because of you, Brother Cen.”

Cen An was taken aback once more. “Senior Lin?” Didn’t he spend every day lounging in his chair, drinking tea and gazing at himself in the mirror? Yu Lin also recalled the events of that day.

That day, the effects of his curse had only just subsided. He was in such a hurry to find Brother Cen that he rushed out the door before the black mark had completely faded. As he passed by Senior Lin’s door, he happened to run into this mysterious elder taking a stroll.

Since Cen An held him in high regard, Yu Lin was quite polite and took the initiative to greet him.

Lin She glanced at him and noticed the mark on his hand. “I recall you’re Xiao An’s friend, right?” he asked. Yu Lin nodded, curious to hear what he had to say.

Lin She gestured toward the mark with his chin. “Once you’ve been cursed, you must deal with the person who cast the curse as soon as possible. Do you know why?” Yu Lin shook his head.

Lin She explained, “Because a curse is a mark. Once you’ve been cursed, the caster can always find you and control the curse on your body at any time. So, as long as that person is alive, your curse can never be lifted. With a single flick of their finger, you’ll die without a proper burial.”

Cen An took a shallow breath, but he didn’t doubt what Senior Lin was saying. Senior Lin had told him before that, in order to find his brother, he had spent many years researching rare supernatural abilities. If you were to ask who knew the most about rare supernatural abilities in all of Yongning Village—or even the entire Silver Moon Mountains—it would undoubtedly be him.

After getting over his surprise, Cen An rubbed the corner of his forehead. “So, why did the power of the curse suddenly erupt? Did that person just decide to do it on a whim?”

At this, a hint of embarrassment flashed across Yu Lin’s face—he was now even darker-skinned than Tian Yuan after his disguise, and it was a wonder Cen An could even read his expression. “What’s wrong?”

Yu Fei finally spoke up for him: “He was trying to use the power of the curse to track that person down, and then he was discovered.” 

Cen An: …

He stared at Yu Lin for a moment, then raised his hand and gave him a sharp slap on the head.                     “Ouch!” Yu Lin cried out dramatically, rubbing his forehead and grinning sheepishly at him. The next second, the person in front of him vanished.

Yu Lin took half a second to react, then whipped his head around—that damn Su Rui had used his spatial ability to move him out of the way and was now standing right next to Brother Cen… Yu Lin was seething with rage. He hated this kind of brute-force, reckless type the most! Is that how you’re supposed to use spatial abilities?! So what if you can use them—big deal!

Cen An pressed his hand to his face as he pushed Su Rui away, insisting, “Fine, then explain why you didn’t tell me about this? If I’m not mistaken, Tian Yuan and Sister Qu must already know about it, right?”

Yu Lin put on a pitiful act. “Brother Cen…” 

Cen An smiled. “Go on.”

Yu Lin had no choice but to admit honestly, “Curse-type abilities are unpredictable. I was afraid that if you stepped in to help me, that person would discover you through me…” 

Cen An sighed, gave him another roasted chestnut, and furrowed his brow as he pondered a solution…

Of course, he believed Senior Lin’s words—compiled by experience—but he was pondering a question: If that curse-type ability user had left a mark inside Xiao Lin’s body, was that mark a form of negative state? And could it be removed?

They were all psychic abilities after all; he didn’t believe curse-type abilities were that difficult to break. Otherwise, the leaders of all the major bases would be curse-type ability users… Suddenly, someone poked his eyebrow. The force—neither too light nor too heavy—made it obvious who it was. He said helplessly, “What now?”

Su Rui turned his face away and muttered, “Why are you frowning? I can save him.”

Cen An was taken aback. “You can save Xiao Lin?” Even he knew these two were constantly at each other’s throats behind the scenes—bickering over who knew what—so why would Su Rui suddenly offer to save Xiao Lin?

Of course, if saving Xiao Lin’s life were that easy, given Su Rui’s character, he certainly wouldn’t refuse. But if it were really that simple, wouldn’t Su Rui have said something long ago?!

He immediately asked, “Is there a price to pay?” Su Rui looked at him. “Well, some of my lifespan or something like that…” 

Cen An pressed further, “How much?”

Su Rui looked at him and said earnestly, “Half—if you’re willing…” Cen An hesitated, and the room fell silent.

After a long moment, he turned his head and said calmly, “I’m sorry, Xiao Lin, I can’t.”

Su Rui originally had no connection to Yongning Village—or even human society at all. He was like a wild beast living in the desolate mountains and ancient forests—a lion, a tiger, or a wolf… He’d lived all these years freely and haphazardly. It was only because he’d met him that he’d developed a curiosity about human society.

The sole reason behind everything this guy had done for Yongning Village was him.

He had indeed been treating this guy more and more harshly—making him catch piglets, clean the livestock pens, and help Yongning Village clear the resource area—but he couldn’t let Su Rui lose half his lifespan for his sake. Not even to save a life, whether it was his own or someone else’s.

Even though he knew that as soon as he asked, this silly dog would agree immediately.

But he couldn’t. No one could do that to this dumb dog—not even him.

It’s as if no one could take his friend’s life right in front of him—unless he, Cen An, went down first.

Yu Lin smiled too, with a hint of petulance. “I’m not going to let him save me—he annoys me. I’ll just let Brother Cen save me.”

Cen An ruffled his hair and pulled out a Healing Heart. “Wear this. If you feel like you can’t hold on anymore, use it once.” The power of the curse devours life force; the Healing Heart can’t cure the root cause, but it can provide temporary relief.

With that, unable to wait to say goodbye to the two of them, he leaned against Su Rui. “Let’s go home.”

Su Rui was only too happy to oblige. This time, he didn’t summon a whirlwind; instead, he immediately sliced open a spatial rift and teleported them home.

As soon as they landed, just as he was about to say something, Cen An shoved something into his hand. He looked down—it was a Healing Heart. Cen An said, “That’s enough. Xiao Lin only has one; you’ve got two. Stop messing around.”

Mr. Silver Moon Wolf thought about it for a moment, decided that it made sense, and cheerfully pocketed the second Healing Heart before strolling off to the kitchen in search of something to eat. Cen An, meanwhile, went inside and began rummaging through every nook and cranny.

There were just too many things in the house; he kept the ordinary supplies piled outside—after all, no one dared steal his stuff… As if! It’d be a miracle if there weren’t more stuff in the house; how could there possibly be less? That’s not how things work.

As for the house itself, it held only the supplies that he and Xiao Yi particularly liked, or those that were special or valuable—take that spatial storage box, for example; these days, it contained nothing but rare supplies.

After hearing Xiao Lin and Brother Fei’s descriptions, Cen An had a nagging feeling that he had something useful on hand, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it, which was why he’d rushed back to look for it.

“Spirit-Vision Flower? No, Moonlight Vine? No…” He rummaged through it for a long time, even doubting whether such a thing existed at all… Finally, at the very bottom of the box, he dug out two dried flowers.

Divine Flowers.

Earlier, while praying before the divine statue, Cen An had obtained several bottles of Soul Nourishing Elixir, which he later gave to Senior Lin and Team Leader Shi to use. The raw material for the Soul Nourishing Elixir is the Spirit God Flower, and the Spirit God Flower is actually a mutant form of the Divine Flowers.

In fact, there are three variants of the Divine Flowers: the Spirit Divine Flower, the Holy Divine Flower, and the Nightmare Divine Flower. Among them, the Holy Divine Flower is the raw material used to craft Sacred Nectar.

Sacred Nectar is one of the most effective potions in the game; it can 100% remove all negative status effects and is infinitely more effective than recovery potions or Hundred Flowers Elixir. If there is any potion in the game capable of removing the mark of a curse-type ability user, it must be Sacred Nectar.

Cen An’s brow relaxed slightly; these two Divine Flowers had been brought back to him by the ability user who had gone to Dongying Village to gather intelligence. Perhaps he would have to adjust his plan.

After listening carefully to what Cen An had to say, Team Leader Shi asked, “Are you suggesting we make a trip to Dongying Village, Chief?”

Cen An looked a bit embarrassed. “Yes, I need to go there to find something important. But with the village so busy lately, wouldn’t it be inappropriate for me to leave?”

Team Leader Shi smiled. Now that was the kind of consideration a responsible leader should have—what kind of person just up and disappears without a second thought? “It’s no problem. If you want to go, just go. In fact, I’ll send some people along, and we can carry out our plans in Dongying Village together.”

Cen An was surprised. “Is that okay?”

“Why not?” Team Leader Shi replied calmly. “It’s just Dongying Village. If you weren’t aiming to subdue them without a fight, we could send people to take them down right now.”

Cen An: “…It’s still better not to fight.”

Shi’s efficiency speaks for itself; in just half a day, he had arranged the personnel and supplies.

Since the private mission had turned into an official one, he didn’t have to prepare his own supplies for this trip. Little Boss Cen smiled—it was fine; he was used to it.

In the end, the personnel accompanying him were arranged as follows: From the squad, Team Leader Liao, Qu Yue, Zhao Wu, and Wang Lie, as well as Xiao Ji and four other ability users. On Cen An’s side, Tian Yuan was definitely coming along; Yu Fei and Yu Lin couldn’t be left behind either; and as for Su Rui, needless to say—if he wasn’t brought along, he’d catch up on his own.

As for Xiao Yi, Cen An didn’t want to put the child through such hardship, so he entrusted him to Senior Lin. In truth, Xiao Yi was perfectly capable of taking care of himself; Senior Lin only needed to check in on him occasionally.

And so, what could be considered Yongning Village’s strongest fighting force set off in single file. When the villagers heard the news, they hurried over to see them off.

Since Cen An had arrived in the village, he hadn’t left once, so the villagers were terribly worried.

An elderly woman held his hand, worried, “Young Master Cen, can’t you stay? Let someone else go in your place—the road is very dangerous!” Cen An could only reassure her, “I’m afraid not, Grandma. This is something only I can handle.”

A child clung to his legs, sobbing, “Little Boss Cen is leaving us! Waaah, Little Boss Cen is leaving!”

Cen An helplessly ruffled their fuzzy little heads one by one. “That’s not true. I’ll be back as soon as I’m done. Will you all be good and listen to your parents at home, okay?” Meanwhile, more villagers were quietly slipping things into his luggage cart…

Eggs they’d secretly saved up, dried meat, jars of honey they’d been too reluctant to eat… Before his eyes, the gaps in the luggage cart were quickly filled. Cen An, who hadn’t noticed, turned around and was instantly: …

Furious, he pointed at a few ability users: “Why didn’t you stop them? With all this stuff, how are we supposed to hit the road?” The people from Yongning Village were one thing, but why had the folks from Stone Spring Village picked up this bad habit too? Stuffing in eggs, too? How many eggs does Stone Spring Village even have in total?

The ability users all looked sheepish; they’d gotten so used to turning a blind eye that they’d forgotten they were supposed to be tagging along this time… In any case, after a bizarre send-off ceremony, the group finally set off.

Cen An found it all quite novel; in the past, he’d only ever seen himself seeing others off—this was the first time others were seeing him off… So they walked and walked, for a full day, still within familiar scenery.

He didn’t realize it himself, but in reality, having followed Su Rui all over the place every day, he had become very familiar with the nearby mountain ranges. By now, he had traveled farther than many of the elders in Yongning Village. After all, they were afraid of encountering danger when they went out. Him? The most dangerous creature in the area was right by his side.

Besides, traveling in this world was indeed inconvenient. Although there were vehicles, they were meant for hauling luggage and supplies; if a person were to ride in one, their butt would be sore after less than a kilometer.

So, in this world, people have no choice but to travel on foot.

Little Cen considered himself to be in pretty good shape now, but after walking for a full five or six hours, he still felt utterly exhausted. “Are you tired, Brother Cen?” Tian Yuan asked with a smile. “Do you want me to carry you?”

Cen An couldn’t possibly accept that; he quickly waved his hands. “No, no, I can manage on my own.”

Su Rui, standing nearby, let out a snort of derision. After getting kicked by Cen An, he cleared his throat, lifted the hem of his robe, and crouched down. “Wanna hop on?” Cen An snorted coldly, then hopped up onto his back. “Giddy-up.”

A hint of a smile played on Su Rui’s lips as he took off on the wind. “I’ll take him ahead to wait for you guys.” Tian Yuan got a faceful of wind and rubbed his nose. “Alright, then.”

Cen An was gradually beginning to appreciate the joys of traveling.

Su Rui knew many fun places; his range of activities wasn’t limited to the vicinity of Yongning Village, nor even to his own territory—he was as familiar with the wilderness as if it were his own home.

He would take Cen An to see a species of small mouse that lived in symbiosis with mushrooms.

This species of mouse is unique to this world; it’s called the white-bearded mouse. It looks a bit like a small hamster, with a tuft of white whiskers on its chin that makes it resemble a tiny old man. They live in symbiosis with a type of white mushroom, eating the insects on the mushrooms and using the mushroom caps to build their homes.

If there’s a whole cluster of mushroom caps, the white-bearded mice even divide the space into a living room, kitchen, and bathroom, and they pick leaves to make hats for themselves… Cen An crouched at the entrance to one of their homes for quite a while, feeling as if he were playing house.

Later, Su Rui asked him if he wanted to catch one to keep as a pet. He thought about it for a moment, then shook his head—these animals were probably social creatures, and being taken home would likely make them miserable.

There was also a kind of bird that looked a bit like a hoopoe, with a colorful crest on its head. It could mimic the calls of other animals, and when it encountered a natural predator, it would imitate the call of that predator’s natural predator to scare the threat away.

Cen An was a bit curious to see if it could learn to speak, so he went there three days in a row. By the end, he’d memorized all the bird’s calls, but the bird still hadn’t learned to say “hello.” Later, the main group wandered too far away, so he couldn’t go anymore.

Sometimes, when he was too tired to walk, Su Rui would go out on his own and bring back all sorts of strange plants, minerals, and soil… Occasionally, he’d come across a nest of baby rabbits, sneak them out to show Cen An, and then tuck them back in.

Cen An felt as if he were raising a Traveling Frog, or a Golden Retriever or something like that… He began to understand a little why Su Rui had chosen to stay and live in the mountains.

Human settlements are always filled with all kinds of despair; struggles against mutant beasts and the scramble for resources against mutant beasts are the only colors that define them. Even in Yongning Village, while everyone is happy to have enough to eat and wear, they occasionally worry about the arrival of the next beast tide.

But it wasn’t like that in the mountains. Here, things seemed much the same as they were before the Cataclysm—cruelty and vitality coexisted, and animals were born, grew up, foraged, and were eaten, in cycles that were all more or less the same.

It seems as though this is only the end of the world for humans.                              

“What are you thinking about, Brother Cen?” Tian Yuan glanced at the ugly little flower wreath in his hand and wisely pretended not to notice it. “Nothing.” Cen An tucked the wreath away and looked ahead. “Are we almost there?”

“Right, about half a day’s journey left.” Tian Yuan chuckled. “Team Leader Shi asked me to come and tell you about Dongying Village.”

“I’ve heard a bit about it before,” Cen An said. “They say Dongying Village is a continuation of a village that existed before the Cataclysm. Everyone in the village has the surname Han; they all trace their ancestry back to a single ancestor and are bound by blood, so they tend to be rather exclusive.”

“That’s right,” Tian Yuan added. “Dongying Village does participate in the annual Mountain Clearing campaign, but they only send a few ability users each time—it seems like they’re just going through the motions. However, their village is probably in a favorable location; they rarely encounter mutant beasts they can’t handle on their own, and they’ve never asked for help from nearby settlements. Maybe they simply don’t need the Mountain Clearing in the first place, so even if they’re just going through the motions, no one can really say anything.”

Cen An thought for a moment. If they faced few disturbances from mutant beasts, Dongying Village was probably a very peaceful place. That was quite good—whether they were looking for the Sacred Flower or seeking to cooperate with Dongying Village, things would go smoothly.

The group walked for a few more hours before they caught sight of Dongying Mountain, where Dongying Village was located.

Dongying Village wasn’t at the foot of the mountain but halfway up its slope. The villagers lived nestled against the mountainside, and the village’s terrain featured significant elevation changes, making it quite complex. A river meandered past the village, cascading down into a waterfall—the sound of rushing water could be heard. It was said that there were caves behind the village, which were quite dangerous.

The advantage of this is that the terrain is so rugged that even mutant beasts would find it difficult to gather in large numbers to attack the village; the downside is that it’s difficult even for the villagers themselves to go out—they can only travel up and down the mountain via a narrow stone staircase that looks terrifying just to look at.

Cen An glanced ahead and felt that the angle of the stone staircase was nearly ninety degrees. Could anyone really climb that? Wouldn’t they fall halfway up…?

Xiao Ji’s voice drifted faintly from ahead: “There’s… someone here… a woman… she’s injured…” Cen An’s eyes widened. Could someone really have fallen down?