Chapter 113: You Really Are a Dog
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“It was a bird. It brought an invitation, something that looked like parchment.”
Chu Ping said, “I saw Long Yi receive one back then. He even showed it off to us.”
“He said that, as one of the few lords in Zone 1, he had received an invitation to the Lord Challenge. Unfortunately, you became a lord too late and seem to have missed your chance to receive one.”
“I also heard Long Yi say that the winner of this Lord Challenge would receive a City-Building Decree.”
“If only you could win, my lord! As one of the earliest subjects to join you—practically an elder statesman—I might be able to become a high-ranking official in the future!”
“What a shame, what a shame…”
Chu Ping sighed with endless regret.
But as Ye Da listened to his description of the invitation, he felt that he had seen something like it somewhere before.
Without hesitation, Ye Da dumped everything out of his backpack.
Then…
From the chaotic heap, he quickly found the parchment scroll Chu Ping had described. It was spoils he had obtained after killing Long Er.
At the time, however, Ye Da had been far too busy to examine his loot carefully.
“Is this it?” Ye Da asked, handing the parchment scroll to Chu Ping. “I took it from Long Er, though I haven’t read it yet.”
“Yes!” Chu Ping’s eyes lit up. “That’s the one!”
“Let me see…”
Ye Da opened the parchment scroll, which had been tied with a thin hemp cord. It felt somewhat like leather, though softer and more pliable.
There were even bits of short fur clinging to it, as though it had not been properly cleaned.
But this was not Earth. Everything here was primitive, so Ye Da could hardly demand more of them.
He slowly unrolled it and saw that several crooked lines of writing had indeed been inscribed across the parchment.
The writing was unquestionably Chinese, but…
The characters were hideously ugly.
It looked as though a young child who could barely write had painstakingly copied the shapes of unfamiliar characters. The structures were wildly disordered, the radicals and main components were spread far apart, and parts that should have been large were tiny, while parts that should have been small were enormous.
That was not all. Strokes that ought to have connected were broken apart, while strokes that should have ended separately had been joined together. In short, the handwriting was unbelievably atrocious.
Not only was it ugly—it was nearly impossible to read.
“This handwriting…”
Ye Da’s scalp prickled as he stared at it. “It seems the person who wrote this invitation could not actually write Chinese. But to keep the invited lord from misunderstanding it, they did their absolute best.”
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“My goodness, my lord!” Chu Ping exclaimed in shock. “You said exactly the same thing as Long Yi! That was precisely what he said when he saw this invitation!”
“Then could it be…”
Ye Da grinned and delivered an ancient joke. “The scheming frog has been rubbing your belly all along!”
“Hahaha, that’s hilarious!” Chu Ping immediately understood the cold joke. “Are you saying there is only one truth?”
“Mm-hmm!”
Ye Da acknowledged him and began carefully reading the contents of the invitation.
The writing was so atrocious that, although there were only a few sentences, understanding them had been elevated to the highest possible level of difficulty.
[Congratulations, Lord Long Yi of Zone 1. You have qualified for the Regional Challenge. This is your invitation. Lords from ten zones will participate in the challenge at the appointed time and place. The winner will receive a Village-Building Decree!]
[P.S. To prevent anyone from falsely claiming a lord’s qualification, please stand at the place where you received this invitation three days from now. The invitation will then transport you to the challenge venue. If you fail to appear at the designated location, the invitation will automatically become void.]
[Signature: Wishing you every success!]
After reading the invitation, Ye Da frowned. “Chu Ping, do you know where Long Yi received it?”
“I do.” Chu Ping nodded. “It was in Long Yi’s stone house. A bird flew to the window and began tapping on the glass with its beak. We were all rather surprised. Then, when we opened the window, the bird flew in, left the invitation, and flew away.”
“When did Long Yi receive it?” Ye Da asked again.
“The day before yesterday,” Chu Ping replied.
“Be more specific!”
According to the invitation, one had to appear at the same place during the time period in which the invitation had been received. The invitation would then transport them to the challenge.
Ye Da therefore needed the exact time.
He had to see whether he could make it in time.
If he could not, he had no intention of wasting any more time.
“Around noon…” Chu Ping tilted his head, trying to remember. “Probably about one o’clock. I don’t remember the exact time. I only recall that we had just finished eating.”
“All right, that’s enough.” Ye Da patted Chu Ping on the shoulder. “You really are my lucky star. Tomorrow, we’re heading to Long Yi’s stronghold!”
“Sounds good… Ah!”
Chu Ping’s skin had long since melted away in patches, leaving bare spots scattered across his body.
When Ye Da slapped his shoulder, he struck exposed flesh directly. Chu Ping immediately hissed in pain.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” Ye Da had been so excited that he had nearly forgotten about Chu Ping’s injuries. “I’ll prepare a life potion for you right now. Just bear with it a little longer!”
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“Thank you for your concern, my lord. I’m fine,” Chu Ping said gratefully.
[Loyalty +1]
When Ye Da saw that Chu Ping’s loyalty had increased by another point, his heart filled with comfort.
This subject was truly excellent. He knew how to be grateful.
If only all his future subjects could be like Chu Ping.
“The recipe for a life potion is…”
Ye Da quickly opened the Compendium of Medicinal Herbs and began searching through it.
Any herbs he had obtained and any potions he was capable of producing appeared in color on the pages. Everything else remained gray.
Thus…
Ye Da soon found the recipe for a life potion.
[Low-Tier Life Potion: 0.1 unit of Rotting Wolf Heart, 2 units of Wolf-Tail Grass, 1 unit of Ghost-Faced Vine, and one drop of fresh blood.]
He had gathered all of those herbs in the medicinal garden.
As for the primary ingredient, the rotting heart, Ye Da had acquired quite a few Rotting Wolf hearts when he slaughtered them instantly before. They would now come in handy.
If there was one thing he lacked at present…
It was that single drop of blood.
But that was hardly a problem. He had one human and two wolves from whom he could draw blood, making it an extremely easy ingredient to obtain.
As long as Ye Da asked, Chu Ping, Little Gray, and Little White would certainly not refuse him.
Heh heh heh!
“Woof?”
Just as Ye Da let out a sinister chuckle…
Little Gray suddenly raised his head and stared at him in disbelief.
His eyes seemed to say:
I may not be human, but you are truly a dog!
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