NOVEL NEXT Ch. 7
Chapter 7. Mark of the Adventurer
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"It's you?!"
When the young man saw Jiang Cheng's figure, his gaze suddenly tightened.
"Who is she?"
The old man beside him frowned and looked at the young man, asking.
The other party, however, did not answer. He simply stared intensely at Jiang Cheng’s nun’s habit.
"Are you the Saintess?"
"Ha, you don't even know who I am? And yet you dare to steal from me?"
Jiang Cheng began to laugh. Her smiling eyes curved like crescent moons, but they carried nothing but coldness.
"Sir," Lyle stepped inside, turning to look at the old man as he spoke.
"We came here to ask you a few things," Lyle said, bowing slightly.
"No, no, no," Jiang Cheng shook her head and wagged a finger.
"That's only your purpose, Lyle, not 'our' purpose."
Lyle frowned and turned to Jiang Cheng, unable to fathom what crazy thing this woman was up to now.
"Mr. Luan," Jiang Cheng smiled at the old man with eyes narrowed into crescents.
"My intention today is to find the thief who stole my gold coin~"
Jiang Cheng smiled and stared at the old man, enunciating each word, "The thief is right here."
"You investigated me?"
Luan's brow furrowed as he heard his name, and he eyed Jiang Cheng.
There was a depth in his gaze, as if he were trying to see through the young woman smiling before him.
"I did not," Jiang Cheng shook her head. "If Mr. Luan were so easily found, he wouldn’t have survived until now."
"But, well, I do know plenty of things~" Jiang Cheng grinned.
"So, in order to avoid me saying something inappropriate, you might as well agree to my request first, don't you think~?"
Jiang Cheng smiled.
"For example, how about you return my gold coin first?"
"Ferran," Luan frowned and finally spoke up.
"Return the money to her."
"..."
The youth was silent for a while, but in the end, he reluctantly handed the gold coin to Jiang Cheng.
"Ha, how obedient," Jiang Cheng smiled as she received the gold coin, but then flicked it toward Luan.
"Ding—" Luan raised his hand and caught the gold coin, looking at Jiang Cheng.
"What is the meaning of this?"
"Just a small compensation," Jiang Cheng said with a grin.
"Two suits of protective clothing for venturing deep into the corrupted zone."
"What are you going to do in such a place?" Luan stood up, and while heading to the back to fetch something, he asked.
"Ha, isn't it natural for the Hero and Saintess to go deep into the corrupted zone for a trial?" Jiang Cheng replied with a laugh.
"Since you know my name and address, you should also know what kind of place it is deeper inside."
Turning around, Luan gave Jiang Cheng a deep look and said,
"Tch," Jiang Cheng curled her lip and lifted her chin, indicating in Lyle's direction.
"He doesn't have a clue, but he insists on going. What can I do~"
"After all," as she spoke, a trace of wickedness appeared in Jiang Cheng's smile, "I'm just a harmless, powerless, insignificant little Saintess."
"If you were a harmless Saintess, there wouldn’t be a single normal Saintess."
Luan picked up two sets of protective clothing and said, "I happen to know the previous Saintess."
"Ha, you even know my predecessor?" Jiang Cheng cocked her head in interest.
This was news she hadn't discovered in the original work.
"Yes, she was holy and pure. The hero of that generation killed the Demon King with her by his side."
As he spoke casually, Luan walked over holding the two sets of protective clothing.
At this moment, a storm surged within Jiang Cheng’s heart.
She had always felt something was off, and now, she finally realized.
All the previous heroes, and the ones before them, had accompanied Saintesses during their trials.
However, in the original story—before Jiang Cheng's arrival—Lyle had never had a Saintess by his side!
There were only other party members, such as the young man Ferran in this room.
Some of the female teammates had nothing whatsoever to do with the title of Saintess.
So, what exactly had happened in the original work? And was there something wrong with the process that placed her here as Saintess via the system?
"System, get out here and face me," Jiang Cheng cursed the system in her heart.
"I'm here."
"My becoming the Saintess—was that arranged by someone?"
"No," the system's voice answered. "No one arranged for you to become the Saintess."
"If you must say someone arranged it, then the one who arranged it might be destiny itself."
"What do you mean?" Jiang Cheng frowned.
"I mean, becoming the Saintess was a predestined fate for you."
"The reason?"
"The time has not yet come, so I cannot yet tell you, Host."
After saying this last line, the system seemed to freeze and made no further response.
"Damn it," Jiang Cheng cursed inwardly. This damn system was dropping the ball at another critical moment—still playing riddles.
She turned to the protective clothing Luan handed over and frowned.
"So ugly. I already said I know a lot. There's no need for you to pretend at this stage, is there?"
Jiang Cheng brushed away the protective gear with a slap, frowning at Luan.
"You—" Luan hesitated, as if still wanting to protest, stubbornly saying, "Pretend what?"
"Tsk," Jiang Cheng clicked her tongue. "The secondary Adventurer’s Mark, quickly."
At this stage, Luan knew there was nothing left to hide and could only sigh helplessly.
He raised his hand, and suddenly, a magic circle appeared in his palm.
Then, he pointed at Jiang Cheng and Lyle. In the next second, a mark appeared on the backs of their left hands.
The mark resembled a sword, beneath which were wave lines symbolizing mountains and rivers.
"So, what is this?" Lyle, long confused, finally found a gap to ask.
"It's just a mark that the gods left for their followers. Even as a secondary mark, it has many uses—like protecting from the toxins deep in the corrupted zone."
Jiang Cheng said with a smile, but Lyle's eyes suddenly widened.
"They're heretics?"
On this continent where the gods reigned supreme, being a heretic was a grave sin.
"Haha," Jiang Cheng burst out laughing but did not answer.
Across the room, Luan’s expression had darkened to coal.
"Enough," Jiang Cheng shrugged and turned to face Luan.
"We lack a guide, so how about lending me your godson for a few days?"
"No way!" Luan refused firmly. To him, Ferran was more important than his own life; there was no way he’d hand him over to someone like Jiang Cheng.
"Take it as compensation for stealing my money," Jiang Cheng said, still smiling.
"Fine!"
Before Luan could refuse, Ferran suddenly looked up and gazed seriously at Jiang Cheng.
"I’m the one who stole your money. I’ll take responsibility. Let me be your guide—don’t trouble the old man."
"Ha," Jiang Cheng chuckled lightly, "Is this what family is? How irritating."
With those words, Jiang Cheng turned and left without looking back, only leaving two sentences behind.
"Lyle, come with me. I know you have many questions, but there's no rush. Once you enter the depths of the corrupted zone, you’ll understand."
Upon hearing Jiang Cheng, Lyle was silent for a moment and then followed after her.
As for Ferran, Jiang Cheng left him with one last sentence: "Follow me. If you can't keep up, you might as well die."
Lyle's gaze lingered on Jiang Cheng’s back, slightly perplexed.
He had been following her for some time now. Their progress on the trial had advanced by leaps and bounds, but his doubts still remained.
Not only had he failed to find any trace of his teacher and the others—even the trial itself was shrouded in deep fog.
"But…" Thinking of this, Lyle raised his hand and gripped his longsword tightly.
It was a gift from his teacher.
"Teacher, I will find you, no matter what fog or conspiracy lies ahead on this path."
I swear I will.
-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
Lyle a simp for his teacher...
【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】