Chapter 71

In Bai Su's delicate hands, a worn and ancient piece of paper suddenly appeared, with what seemed to be some kind of drawings on it.

This worn piece of paper exuded a mysterious, ancient, and powerful aura, instantly invigorating Su Peng.

"This is..." Su Peng looked at the worn ancient paper in Bai Su's hands and asked her.

"Sir, about three years ago, for some unknown reason, every time there was a heavy rain, an ancient tomb would emerge from the mud in the depths of the Thousand-Eyed Swamp. I have seen it a few times, and out of curiosity, I entered it to investigate... However, the tomb was extremely dangerous, with various traps and zombies guarding it. I entered several times but only managed to reach the secondary burial chamber, where I found this piece of paper..."

"I have some cultivation skills, and when I saw this paper, I immediately felt that it was extraordinary... It seemed to contain some powerful force and had remained uncorrupted for a thousand years. However, the tomb's owner might not have known the great power of this paper, so it was only placed in the secondary burial chamber. I was greedy and took it out of the tomb."

"I have studied this ancient paper many times over the past few years, and I feel that the aura it contains is unfathomable, with an overwhelming sense of righteousness. I speculate that it might be part of an ancient cultivation manual, but as a fox, I cannot cultivate, so I have wasted a lot of time on it."

"I have thought several times about destroying this ancient paper, but I couldn't bear to. I don't know how to handle it. Today, seeing you, Sir, I feel that if this ancient paper really contains the cultivation method of an ancient human sage, it should be given to you. This way, I can put my thoughts to rest, and you might have the opportunity to inherit the legacy of an ancient sage, which would also be a way to repay your kindness."

Bai Su held the ancient paper and explained to Su Peng.

Su Peng listened and smiled, "Madam Bai Su, you have already saved me from the zombie's poison today, which is enough to repay your kindness. Please don't mention it again."

Bai Su smiled and said, "A drop of water should be repaid with a gushing spring."

Su Peng nodded inwardly, thinking that this fox, Bai Su, was more righteous than many humans.

"Then, I will accept it with gratitude," Su Peng said, taking the ancient paper from Bai Su.

However, as he took the paper, he noticed that it seemed to have drawings and many mysterious characters. As he looked at it, he suddenly exclaimed, "Hmm," because the more he looked at the ancient paper, the more familiar it seemed.

"What's wrong, Sir?" Bai Su asked.

"I think I've seen this before..." Su Peng said, lowering his head in thought. His memory was excellent, and he quickly recalled, "Ah! Yes, I saw this ancient paper in a mysterious shop in Jiangning County, where the shopkeeper, who looked like a manager, was selling it. The characters and drawings were similar, and it seemed to be a different page from an ancient scroll. The shopkeeper was selling it for ten taels of gold, but I thought it was too expensive and didn't buy it."

"Ten taels of gold is not expensive. If you can collect the entire set of ancient scrolls, it might be worth ten thousand taels of gold," Bai Su said to Su Peng.

Su Peng nodded, feeling curious. What was this ancient paper, and why did it appear both in the mysterious shop in Jiangning County and as a burial item in the ancient tomb?

As he touched the ancient paper, Su Peng felt that it was made of some kind of animal skin. His fingers felt a strange sensation, as if a force was flowing through the paper. Su Peng suddenly had an idea and infused some internal energy into his fingers, touching the ancient paper.

"Snap!"

As soon as Su Peng used his internal energy to stimulate the ancient paper, a small blue electric spark burst from it, hitting his finger.

Su Peng quickly withdrew his finger, feeling amazed. He wondered how this ancient paper could have such a magical reaction.

"Thank you, Madam Bai Su, for this... ancient paper. If I have the fortune to collect the entire set in the future, I will come back to show you the complete set," Su Peng said, putting the ancient paper into his Bag of Holding and bowing to Bai Su.

"Sir, you don't need to be so polite... Sir, my daughter and I have limited time to maintain our human form, so we must take our leave. If we have the chance to meet again, we will do so," Bai Su bowed deeply and said to Su Peng.

"Madam Bai Su and your daughter, have a safe journey. I am still recovering, so I won't see you off. If we have the chance, we will meet again," Su Peng said, bowing to Bai Su.

Bai Su nodded and, holding the little girl in white, 'floated' out of the cave.

As Su Peng watched the two women leave the cave, he was about to reflect on their conversation when he saw the little girl in white suddenly run back in, approach him, and pull his hand, placing an item in it.

Su Peng looked and saw it was the same dark green seven-leaf plant, possibly for curing the zombie poison. The little girl smiled shyly at Su Peng and then looked at the unconscious Ling Xiaoyu.

The little girl ran to where Ling Xiaoyu had fainted and... bit her shoulder through her clothes!

Ling Xiaoyu groaned in her sleep, seemingly in pain, and the little girl then stood up and ran to the cave entrance, bowing to Su Peng before running out.

"Uh..." Su Peng was first surprised, then couldn't help but laugh. This little white fox was still resentful about Ling Xiaoyu's threat to skin her and make a fur coat, so she bit Ling Xiaoyu's shoulder as revenge.

"At such a young age, she already knows the difference between right and wrong... She will surely be a great talent... or rather, a great fox talent."

Su Peng smiled and shook his head, muttering to himself.

After the two fox women left, Su Peng felt a moment of dizziness, then his mind cleared. He looked around the cave, where the phosphorescent flames still burned on Zhang Jin's body, Ling Xiaoyu was still unconscious, and the black-robed man's head was separated from his body, his blood drained.

Su Peng sighed, walked over to the black-robed man, and began to search his body.

After a while, Su Peng found several bottles, two books, and a money bag containing about twelve to thirteen taels of gold.

Upon inspection, the contents of the bottles did not seem to be good things, possibly various poisons or powders for controlling zombies, but they were labeled with names.

Among them, Su Peng found a small bottle labeled "Ten Fragrances Softening Powder." By its name, it seemed to be the only thing that could have caused the dizziness and weakness he and Ling Xiaoyu experienced.

There was another small porcelain bottle identical to the one containing the Ten Fragrances Softening Powder, but it did not feel like a poison. Su Peng guessed that it was the antidote.

He opened it and sniffed. The contents were a black paste with a pungent smell. After sniffing it, Su Peng sneezed, and the lingering numbness in his body gradually subsided.

Su Peng nodded, put the bottles into his Bag of Holding, and checked the properties of the Ten Fragrances Softening Powder.

The game's property inspection system was peculiar. Not all items could show their properties. Generally, only gray and white items could show properties, while higher-quality items required two conditions to be met.

One was that the player's "Jianghu Knowledge" and "Eyesight" attributes were high enough, and the other was that the player had used the item at least once.

Su Peng's "Jianghu Knowledge" was average, and his "Eyesight" was not high but not low. However, he had been affected by the Ten Fragrances Softening Powder and used the antidote, so he could see the properties of both items.

"Ten Fragrances Softening Powder, Light Blue item, Incense. Effect: Causes sleep for those with less than 100 internal energy and a constitution below 10. Causes weakness for those with internal energy between 100 and 280, with the degree of weakness being (current internal energy + total internal energy) / 3 * constitution weight. Causes a slight effect for those with more than 280 internal energy."

"Light Blue item, not bad," Su Peng thought, feeling satisfied.

Then, Su Peng looked at the two books. One was titled "Secret Techniques of Zombie Control," and the other was "Thousand Insect Techniques." When he tried to read them, he received a message that he lacked the prerequisite skills and could not use the manuals. However, both manuals were silver items.

"This game's background seems more complex than I thought. Not only are there fox spirits, but also zombie control techniques and insect techniques... However, from what Bai Su said, I can sense that the main path is still martial arts. Other dark arts are just side branches, and when martial arts reach their peak, nothing can stand against them."

Su Peng thought to himself and then put the two manuals away.

Finally, Su Peng found two pieces of cloth from the dead man's shirt and picked up the Hundred Filth Pearl.

The Hundred Filth Pearl had been used once, so Su Peng could now see its properties:

"Hundred Filth Pearl, Silver item, Unique. Effect: Converts any type of poison into zombie poison. Conversion efficiency: 30 minutes + 10 minutes per level of the poison being converted."

Su Peng understood that he had been able to kill the black-robed man because the Hundred Filth Pearl had converted the incense into zombie poison. He had been affected by the zombie poison but could still move, surprising the black-robed man and killing him. The little white fox's herb had then cured the zombie poison.

Su Peng tore a few strips of cloth from the shirt, wrapped the Hundred Filth Pearl carefully, and put it into his Bag of Holding.

He also checked the properties of the dark green seven-leaf plant given to him by the little white fox.

"Black Jade Orchid, Light Blue herb. Effect: Restores 70 internal energy points within one minute. Special effect: Neutralizes zombie poison."

"Indeed, everything has its counter. According to Bai Su, this Black Jade Orchid grows near the ancient tomb, and within seven steps of any evil thing, there is a counter. This Light Blue herb can neutralize zombie poison, which is truly remarkable," Su Peng thought, looking at the herb in his hand.

Next, Su Peng found some cloth to wrap the large piece of zombie bone and put it into his Bag of Holding. He had cleaned up most of the items in the cave.

Looking at Zhang Jin's body, still burning with phosphorescent flames, Su Peng sighed and used the antidote to wake up Ling Xiaoyu.

"Big Brother Su... Uh, I'm in pain..."

Ling Xiaoyu sneezed twice from the pungent smell of the antidote, woke up, and immediately clutched her shoulder, speaking to Su Peng.

"You were bitten by a... big rat," Su Peng said, suppressing his laughter and not telling her the truth.

"Ah!" Ling Xiaoyu screamed, jumped up, and rubbed her shoulder. Then, she saw Zhang Jin's body and screamed again!

"Ah! Isn't this... Isn't this Big Brother Zhang?" Ling Xiaoyu exclaimed, looking at Zhang Jin's body, which was burning with a strange green flame that only consumed the body, not the clothes.

Su Peng nodded and decided not to tell her about the white fox. Instead, he told her that the black-robed man had tried to kill him but was interrupted by the zombie transformation of Zhang Jin. The black-robed man used a strange spell to burn the zombie, and Su Peng took the opportunity to kill him.

Ling Xiaoyu did not suspect anything else and, looking at Zhang Jin's burning body, felt very sad, saying, "Big Brother Zhang died to protect me."

"Sometimes, fate is just that. The glutinous rice you brought did not work against the zombie," Su Peng said. Ling Xiaoyu suddenly exclaimed, searched her body, and pulled out a paper packet.

"I still have half a packet of glutinous rice..." Ling Xiaoyu said, opening the packet.

Su Peng frowned, "This isn't glutinous rice; it's just ordinary Jiangnan rice. You were rushed yesterday and didn't check, so the shopkeeper tricked you!"

Ling Xiaoyu exclaimed, as she was a pampered young lady and had never done household chores, so she couldn't tell the difference between glutinous rice and ordinary rice. However, she believed Su Peng.

"That despicable shopkeeper! He tricked me! Big Brother Zhang's death is partly due to those inn people. I'll tear down their inn when I get back!" Ling Xiaoyu's pretty face turned red with anger, and she clenched her fists.

"Right now, we should hurry back. It's almost dawn. We need to rest and then return to the boat to head for Jiangning County," Su Peng said to Ling Xiaoyu.

"Then... what about Big Brother Zhang's body?"

Ling Xiaoyu looked at Zhang Jin's charred body with sorrow.

Su Peng sighed, "The flames are strange, and we don't know if the burning of the zombie body is toxic. We shouldn't touch it. Let's leave it here for cremation. We'll clean up a bit and then leave."

Ling Xiaoyu felt very sad but had no reason to argue and could only agree.

Su Peng used some yellow earth from the cave to cover the liquid from the zombie transformation, so no one else could benefit from it. They did not handle the bodies of the others, letting them remain where they were.

"Let's go. We'll head back to the town," Su Peng said, having finished everything.

Ling Xiaoyu bit her lip, nodded, ran into the cave, and bowed three times to Zhang Jin's body. Then, she and Su Peng left the cave and headed for the town...