allonlinenovel Chapter 8 Mother and Son
Chapter 8 Mother and Son
The guesthouse only had two bathrooms. Yan Huai was the last one to enter, and Wu Xie had already said goodbye to him and left five minutes earlier, so he was the only one nearby.
Looking at his own pants, now soaked through, in the corner, and then at the short-crotch work pants Wu Xie had given him, Yan Huai faced the cement wall in front of him with a helpless expression, as if he wanted to cry but couldn't.
"System, can you change my pants?"
"Host, you do not have enough points, the system cannot fulfill your wish."
Yan Huai closed his eyes and buried his head, dejectedly leaning his hands against the wall. As his gaze fell, he seemed to feel the dragon eyes on the heat-revealed tattoo on his chest looking at him and mocking him...
"However, you can offset it with the points you earn after completing Task 1, in short, on credit."
"Twenty points?"
Yan Huai recalled the first task the system initially released and its reward: after eliminating the boatman Lu Lao Er and the old ox herder, the system would reward him with twenty points and 10x10 cubic meters of system space.
Just altering my pants... and I have to pay all twenty points?
"Yes, twenty points! After you use the points, your pants will automatically change to your perfect size, and others will just think it's normal." The system heard Yan Huai's thoughts.
"..." Wow, no side effects! Damn, that was expensive!
"I'll pay on credit!" Yan Huai admitted defeat, considering the twenty points as a waste. Anyway, he still had his pride and couldn't just leave like that.
"The host has confirmed the points offset and the contract has taken effect. If the host fails to complete Task One, he/she will be subject to the system's vinegar soup penalty and the system rewards for the next three tasks will be canceled."
"!? You didn't mention that earlier!"
“Host, I haven’t even had a chance to say anything, and you’ve already confirmed it.”
"(?▼DRAN▼)"
Yan Huai looked at the pants in his hand that had now become a good fit, pursed his lips, and then turned to pick up the shirt: "What about this one?"
"Host, your top and shirt, like your pants, have been adjusted to the optimal size."
“（-.-）” is still considered fair.
Yan Huai immediately put the matter out of his mind. He tidied himself up, washed his dirty clothes, and hung them on the clothesline in the front yard before returning to his room, wanting to rest for a while.
However, as soon as Yan Huai stepped inside, he saw Wu Xie lying on the kang (a heated brick bed), seemingly laying out the bedding for the three of them to sleep in that night. Zhang Qiling, though still asleep, seemed to have woken up, as the knife that had been beside him was now in his arms.
"Brother Yan, you're back!" Wu Xie lowered his voice. "Brother Yan is asleep again. Let's go over first and bring him some food later."
Upon hearing this, Yan Huai gave up the idea of resting. He nodded and followed Wu Xie to the restaurant owned by the landlady.
A cement road of moderate width separates the landlady's guesthouse from her restaurant, but this doesn't affect anything; eating and sleeping only take a few minutes.
When Yan Huai and Wu Xie arrived, Wu Sansheng, Da Pan, and Da Kui were already there. There were several side dishes on the table to accompany the drinks, while the kitchen was still busy.
"Xiao Xie, Brother Yan, come in! Sit down!" Wu Sansheng waved to the two who had come later and shouted into the kitchen, "Boss lady, hurry up! We're starving!"
"Hey? Okay! Coming right away!" That was the proprietress's voice, full of laughter.
Yan Huai turned his gaze over. The proprietress, wearing an apron, stood by the door, busily carrying dishes to the serving trays. Further inside, he saw the little boy who had led the way during the day, peering over the stove at the cook, or more precisely, at the flames rising from the bottom of the pot...
"Brother Yan, when we were in the cave today, you said you could sense a menacing aura. Do you have any confidence in finding the location of the ancient tomb?"
Since Wu Sansheng had decided to recruit Yan Huai, he naturally needed to learn more about the latter's background. In addition, the scheme he had laid out meant that his probing of Yan Huai along the way was indispensable.
"It can be found." Searching for the tomb, Yan Huaihui.
"It's good that we found it, but the mountains here are too dangerous. We are not familiar with the local conditions, and we may encounter unnecessary trouble if we go into the mountains on our own. It seems that we need to find a guide to take us into the mountains first."
"Are you going into the mountains?" The proprietress walked over, wiping her hands on her apron, followed by a chef carrying plates of food.
"Yes! Boss lady, do you have any guides familiar with the mountain roads?" Wu Xie asked innocently as she stood up to help serve the dishes.
The proprietress paused, tilted her head and thought for a moment: "Yes, there are some, but they were hired by some people who came earlier yesterday, and they haven't returned yet."
"You mean, someone went into the mountains before?!" Wu Sansheng's expression turned somewhat grim.
"Yes!" The proprietress said, puzzled. "Years ago, a landslide in the mountains unearthed a large cauldron. Some villagers rushed over to see it and found that the cauldron was full of human heads! This incident alarmed the higher-ups, and then an archaeological team came. But not long after, for some reason, they all left. Since then, outsiders have frequently come and gone from this village. Look, those people yesterday were one of them."
"How many of them were there? When exactly did they enter the mountains?"
"There were quite a lot of people, maybe twenty or thirty. I didn't look closely, but I think we went in after lunch yesterday."
"Oh... are there any other people in this village who are familiar with the mountain roads?"
"I!"
Just as the group was talking, a childish voice caught their attention. They turned around and saw the little boy who had led the way during the day running over and heading straight for the bewildered Yan Huai.
"Ah Zhao, stop fooling around and go back to your room!" The landlady couldn't stop the boy in time, so she came over and scolded him with a stern face.
"Mom, I know the way into the mountains, please let me go! This older brother will protect me!"
The little boy called A-Zhao reached out and grabbed Yan Huai's arm, his head tilted back, his eyes stubborn.
"No! Go back to your room!"
The proprietress was unusually firm this time. She looked apologetically at Yan Huai, then reached out and pulled the suddenly stubborn A Zhao. The two walked towards the restaurant entrance, most likely to go back to their room.