Chapter Sixty-Seven: The Sinner

He checked the wanted notices. One line after another appeared before his eyes.

[The Glutton – Big Belly: During the famine disaster, succumbed to the temptations of calamity, consuming all the grain in the granary. Bounty: 5 White Day Coins! Appearance…]
[Beast Tormentor – Greedy Tiger: Fell under the spell of an evil disaster beast, offering the trained exotic beasts to the calamity creature. Bounty: 6 White Day Coins! Appearance…]
[Apprentice Puppeteer – La: Bewitched by disaster, turned his own wife into a puppet. Bounty: 7 White Day Coins! Appearance…]

All the wanted criminals had committed horrific crimes.

Chen Qi’s gaze paused on one piece of crucial information—the only criminal listed whose offense was unrelated to bloodshed or disaster.

[Book Seller – Shazo: For distributing, translating, and producing forbidden books, and privately selling them. Bounty: 10 White Day Coins! Appearance…]

Chen Qi’s heart raced as he read. It wasn’t the bounty that excited him, but the crime itself.

Translating forbidden books…

He happened to possess a forbidden book himself! The Dog Master had told him that only a learned bibliophile could translate the Book of the Black Prison. To find such a scholar, he had traveled far from home. Perhaps this man could help him.

If he could locate Shazo, never mind the reward—if he could persuade the man to translate the forbidden book, it would be a tremendous gain.

But two problems remained: how to find him, and what was the difference in their strength?

With enough information on the criminals, and thanks to his innate gifts, the first issue was not insurmountable for Chen Qi, who was a living, breathing human GPS. The real challenge was the second: how strong was Shazo compared to himself?

If Shazo was more powerful, and without any external aid, compelling him to translate the Book of the Black Prison would be a bold and dangerous move.

Chen Qi manipulated his game character, inquiring in detail about the “Book Seller.”

[“Friend, your intuition serves you well. That fellow who translates forbidden books is indeed the weakest among them, but criminals are all monsters. Even if luck is on your side, bringing him back won’t be easy. Trying to catch someone in this blizzard is nearly impossible for us. After all, even the prison hunters haven’t managed to capture them.”]

[You, to be sure, ask for more detailed information about the Book Seller.]

[The messenger looks up to the sky. Cold ice crystals strike his face. He tells you that all these criminals are shackled and fell from such great heights—these weak ones can barely survive, let alone defeat you.

“The Book Seller is a frail criminal. Perhaps you could search to the south. My divination tells me he’s in that direction, and still alive.” The messenger smiles at you, clearly not believing you could actually find the man.

In his eyes, the weak ones were surely already reduced to pulp; these warrants are just the Black River Prison’s way of comforting itself.]

So that’s how it is… Chen Qi stroked his chin, pondering. These criminals had fallen from a great height, bound in shackles, and were thus severely weakened and injured.

A stroke of luck…

Definitely worth a try.

Chen Qi memorized every detail about the Book Seller from the wanted notice.

His Morningstar Quest had an added effect: in the midst of calamity, Morningstar’s search could expand across the entire disaster area.

At present, a blizzard covered District 8 of the New City.

Following the rules of Morningstar, if he didn’t limit his search keywords, he might stumble across someone else entirely, turning a treasure hunt into a death trap. Still, it was worth the risk. Chen Qi calculated his spiritual power, then used the information from the wanted notice to input precise keywords.

Target: Translator of the Book of the Black Prison!

[Amid the disaster, Morningstar rises into the sky, melding with the falling snow.]

[Your target is quite far; Morningstar hovers in midair…]

Chen Qi let out a sigh of relief, surprised that Morningstar even waited for him.

Love you, Morningstar.

[You pack your belongings, lead your little donkey, and set off into the distance.]

["Good luck, herbalist friend," the messenger says, sipping the last of his flower tea, wishing you well.]

Chen Qi rubbed his hands together, hoping the Book Seller hadn’t frozen to death, hoping the man was still alive.

Even with Morningstar’s guidance, luck was still necessary.

…

[You gaze into the distance, where the mountains are buried beneath snow, the whole world shrouded in a white terror.]

[You exhale a warm breath; these snowflakes are far from enough to extinguish the lamp of adventure burning in your heart.]

[You press on through the storm…]

Once he was far enough from the Tower of Medicine,

Chen Qi summoned his Shadow Fox!

["Master, the world is so white—and I’m hungry," the Shadow Fox complained, its belly rumbling. It activated its giant shadow form, scooped you onto its back, and wrapped you and the donkey in its fluffy tail.]

As a disaster beast that traveled the world, the Shadow Fox seemed adaptable to any environment—even this cold was nothing to it.

Chen Qi summoned the Soul of Shadow, offering one of its arms to the fox to sate its hunger for now.

He’d gather more shadow materials when time allowed.

Chen Qi opened the herbalist’s map. On the way back, he could visit the Muddy River, where shadow herbs grew in abundance—perfect for feeding the Shadow Fox.

[You promise the Shadow Fox a grand feast on the return journey!]

["Really, Master?" the fox’s eyes sparkled with excitement after its hunger was eased, and it picked up the pace, dashing eagerly toward your destination.]

[Braving the storm, you travel swiftly…]

[With the Shadow Fox’s full sprint, you quickly approach Morningstar's indicated location.]

Almost there…

Even in reality, Chen Qi exhaled, nerves taut.

Suddenly, several danger warnings flashed!

[You look at the devastation ahead; once a small grove, now every tree is buried beneath the snow.]

[Monsters have wrought destruction here.]

[A dangerous aura approaches. You grip your Debt-Clearing Blade!]

[A monster building a snow tomb notices you!]

[In the distance, you see a one-eyed, stag-headed creature, six meters tall.]

[An Ice-Eyed Giant Deer has spotted you! Seeing your warmth, unburied by the blizzard, it charges with fury!]

Chen Qi quickly checked its status panel.

[Ice-Eyed Giant Deer
Level: 11
Nature: Frost Phantom
Health: 150
Strength: 50
Agility: 12
Description: A calamity beast born of the blizzard, it delights in burying creatures beneath snow tombs, spawning more storm monsters.]

That’s a lot of health.

Chen Qi gritted his teeth—this was nothing like the low-health shadow beasts, minor calamities he’d faced before. At least its agility was lacking.

The next instant, a line of black text appeared.

[Morningstar’s Gaze triggers. This calamity beast’s weakness is its eye.]

[To you, the Ice-Eyed Giant Deer already bears the mark of death!]

His Star-Lord’s second talent activated—he could deal 50% extra damage to a calamity beast’s weak spot.

But as useful as this seemed, most creatures fiercely guarded their vulnerabilities, like brains protected by thick skulls.

[The giant deer’s eye widens; you feel the temperature plummet around you!]

[The chill closes in!]

[You enter a moderate cold state, your body growing stiff.]

A field ability!

Chen Qi was alarmed—if he became completely frozen, more monsters might arrive!

[BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!]

["Don’t you dare glare at my master!" the Shadow Fox shouted, seeing the deer fix its gaze on you. In a blur of black, it charged the enemy.]

[BANG!]

[A thunderous crash!]

[The fox’s giant shadow shell shattered as it rammed into the Ice-Eyed Giant Deer, slamming it to the ground with tremendous force!]

Shadow Fox! Well done!

Chen Qi’s eyes flashed with icy resolve.

[“Slash.”]

[Catching the moment as the Shadow Fox shrank, you leaped forward, blade flashing!]

[Black Fire Infusion! The blade is wreathed in tearing black flames!]

[With swift steps, you drove the blade toward the giant eye!]

[Slash, thrust!]

[The deer, still struggling to rise, was struck by a flurry of frenzied blows!]

[That strike!]

["Die!"]

With the final blow, you sheathed your blade.

[The deer let out a wailing cry as its massive body shattered like ice.]

[You have slain the Ice-Eyed Giant Deer. 200 experience gained; Blade Aspect triggers, granting 40 extra experience.]

[Your level rises to 8, experience bar now 35/400.]

A flawless combination. Chen Qi exhaled in relief—the Shadow Fox was not only a swift runner but a formidable fighter.

[You look at the fox, now back to normal size. Still uneasy, it kept battering the deer’s shattered remains with its tiny paws!]

["Ora ora ora!" The Shadow Fox unleashed a flurry of scratches!]

…

Come back, little one.

Chen Qi recalled the Shadow Fox.

[At your call, the fox climbed onto your shoulder, wrapping its fluffy tail around your neck like a scarf.]

With the Ice-Eyed Giant Deer dispatched, it was time to find the Book Seller.

Chen Qi stretched, ready to get to work.

[In your vision, Morningstar slipped beneath a small snow mound—the target you’d been tracking was buried by the deer.]

Buried—could he have frozen to death?

Chen Qi made a decisive choice, ordering his game character to start digging!

[You picked up the Debt-Clearing Blade and began shoveling snow!]

["Master, are you digging up something to eat?" the Shadow Fox chimed in, excitedly joining the excavation.]

[Digging…]

He grew anxious.

[A battered hand appeared in the snow.]

[The Shadow Fox opened its mouth to bite.]

[You stopped the fox, carefully using your blade to extract the person from the snow.]

He’s out!

Chen Qi’s heart raced as he looked at the next line.

[You drag a man from the drift.]

[You study this “man”—clad in tattered clothes, covered in wounds, frozen like an ice sculpture…]

Could he really be dead…

Chen Qi bit his lip.

[Suddenly, the man covered in runes opened his eyes and stared at you.]

“He’s alive!”

Chen Qi clenched his fist in triumph.

[On the verge of freezing, the Book Seller Shazo stared at you, shuddering as he said:

“Ugh… ha… It’s as if I glimpsed a tattered, yet fascinating, book of life—hahaha!”]

[Smack!

Sensing the man was delirious, you slapped him across the face.]

(End of chapter)