Chapter Sixty-Three: Farewell, Qi Guan

Mutian Yoshihiro’s suggestion met with no objections from Xiao Zhang or Liya.

They crossed the arched bridge and reached the other side of the altar, walking for about two minutes down a wide corridor. Suddenly, Mutian Yoshihiro whispered, “There’s one here!”

At the end of the corridor was the door to a side hall. Standing at the entrance, Mutian Yoshihiro glanced up and saw a stone plaque hanging beside the door, inscribed with three characters Xiao Zhang didn’t recognize.

Xiao Zhang also noticed the plaque, gazing at it intently for a few moments and memorizing the three characters before stepping into the hall.

Once everyone was inside, Mutian Yoshihiro quickly closed the doors behind them and let out a long sigh of relief.

“It’s safe here,” Mutian Yoshihiro said, sighing, then smiled. “No monsters will enter this room. Even those patrolling shrimp and crab soldiers will never set foot in such a place.”

As soon as Xiao Zhang entered, he began to look around.

This side hall was quite spacious, about the size of a classroom, and square in shape.

It was filled with gold, silver, and jewels. The only peculiarity was that all the treasures here were colored like stone.

Mutian Yoshihiro, from somewhere, had already produced two candles and lit them, brightening the room considerably.

“Why is it that monsters won’t attack us in this room?” Liya asked with a frown. “Is there a safe zone in this boss dungeon?”

“I don’t know why, but monsters simply can’t come in,” Mutian Yoshihiro replied with a faint smile. “We’ve run into monsters before—chased all over the place. But as soon as we ran into one of these rooms with a plaque by the door, the monsters would immediately give up the chase, even if we were still in plain sight. Those shrimp and crab soldiers would turn away as if they hadn’t seen us. Anyway, these rooms with plaques are safe.”

Liya thought for a moment and turned to Xiao Zhang. “Do you recognize the writing on the plaque?”

Xiao Zhang considered for a moment. “It should mean ‘Jewel Pavilion.’ It seems every Dragon Palace has a room like this.”

Saying this, Xiao Zhang walked over to the injured man, took a first aid kit from his pocket, and began to dress his wounds.

The man, whose name was Charlie, didn’t say much. His expression was grateful as he muttered, “Thanks.”

Xiao Zhang opened his shirt and saw a deep gash on his shoulder, the flesh torn open but with a remarkably clean cut.

“How did this happen?”

“Struck by a shrimp soldier’s sword,” Charlie said with a wry smile.

Xiao Zhang quickly treated the wound, applied some medicine, and wrapped it with a bandage, stopping the bleeding.

Watching Xiao Zhang’s deft movements, Mutian Yoshihiro asked curiously, “So, brother, you’ve trained in this before?”

Xiao Zhang smiled faintly. “I learned first aid at home.”

“Do you know someone called Grievance Wraith?” Mutian Yoshihiro asked, trying to sound casual.

Xiao Zhang paused, feigning nonchalance. “Who?”

“Oh, nothing.” Although Xiao Zhang acted well, Mutian Yoshihiro—an old fox—was not fooled.

Mutian Yoshihiro pulled out a piece of paper and sketched a rough map.

“But there’s a problem. We’ve been wandering here for over an hour, nearly covering every part of the Dragon Palace. But the main hall at the top—we can’t get in. The doors are closed, and we can’t even climb the steps, as if something’s blocking us. In the other two halls, shrimp and crab soldiers patrol back and forth. They appear out of nowhere—you never know where they’ll be. We fought several times and killed quite a few, but sometimes when we retraced our steps, the shattered stones from earlier battles were gone. It seems these things are endless.”

After speaking, Mutian Yoshihiro fixed his gaze on Liya.

Xiao Zhang finished dressing Charlie’s wound, then sat down and focused on the map Mutian Yoshihiro had drawn. “It seems the White Dragon’s true form must be in the main hall. Have you seen anyone else go inside?”

Mutian Yoshihiro smiled bitterly. “We followed that little dragon to the main hall, but just as he was about to go in, we were discovered. That’s when Charlie got hurt.”

“So there’s some main quest that hasn’t triggered yet,” Xiao Zhang mused. “Maybe only after that little White Dragon enters the main hall can we get in.”

“There’s no point sitting here talking. We might as well go take a look,” Liya said, already standing up.

Xiao Zhang thought for a moment and agreed. “Alright, time is running out. Let’s head to the main hall and see if we can find any clues.”

Everyone stood up. Xiao Zhang glanced at Zhao Bai and hesitated. He had wanted to leave Zhao Bai in the safe room, but on second thought, Zhao Bai might not agree, and he wasn’t sure he’d be comfortable with that either, so he abandoned the idea.

They left the Jewel Pavilion and walked down the corridor. Luck was on their side this time—they encountered no shrimp or crab soldiers. After turning a couple of corners, they reached the side hall’s outer corridor, where a passage stretched ahead. In the main hall of the side wing, vessels were displayed, along with a few stone statues of guards.

Xiao Zhang studied the statues for a moment, then strode over, grabbed a stone halberd from one of the guards, weighed it in his hand, and grinned, “This will do as a weapon.”

Liya’s eyes lit up and she went to grab one as well.

Watching the two, Mutian Yoshihiro tossed away his nearly broken stone spear and picked up a shield from a statue, while Charlie found two small stone blocks to carry.

Zhao Bai fancied the sword hanging from a statue’s waist, took not just two for himself but stashed several more in his inventory.

“This cursed dungeon is infuriating—imagine not being able to use your own weapons,” Charlie grumbled. “If only I had my gun…”

They continued forward and arrived at the main doors of the side hall. Just as they were about to push them open, two people appeared from the other end.

Qi Guanbei and Marcus walked side by side. Qi Guanbei’s hair was disheveled, and he looked rather battered, blood at the corner of his mouth. Marcus was panting, limping as he walked.

The two started at the sight of Xiao Zhang and the others, but when they recognized Xiao Zhang and Mutian Yoshihiro, Qi Guanbei visibly relaxed and managed a bitter smile. “Xiao Zhang, I didn’t expect you to survive. I thought you were dead. Where’s Zhao Bai?”

Xiao Zhang sighed and pointed at Zhao Bai. “Qi Guan, we were lucky—fell into a trap. How did you two make it here?”

“It’s a long story,” Qi Guanbei said, shaking his head. “Let’s just say it was tough. There’s not much more to say.”