novelzi Chapter 55 Unwanted Burden
Chapter 55 Unwanted Burden
Without hesitation, his sword flashed.
In one swift motion, he drew his blade and pointed it directly at them. His crimson eyes burned cold, sharp enough to pierce through their hesitation.
"Listen." His voice was low and deadly, his aura pressing down on them like a storm waiting to break. "I don't care about your reasons, but you'd better stop following me while I can still control myself."
The blade gleamed under the faint light, steady, unwavering.
"Don't make me use drastic measures."@@@@
This was his first warning.
With the second, he would take their lives.
The young woman halted, confusion flickering across her face. Why did Wen Ran choose violence so easily? But as she thought about it, she realized something—their village had been too peaceful. Sheltered. Perhaps... this was how the real world worked.
And this stranger? He was the perfect person to learn from.
She clenched her fists, not willing to let this opportunity slip away. Suddenly, her parents' teachings surfaced in her mind—"If you desire something, you must offer something in return."
Without hesitation, she reached into her robes and pulled out a scroll encased in a jade container, its surface adorned with the intricate carving of a dragon's head. A rare treasure, one not meant to be carelessly given away.
But she threw it at Wen Ran anyway.
He caught it easily, his sharp reflexes ensuring it didn't even graze the ground. The moment his fingers wrapped around the jade, a mysterious aura pulsed from within, its energy thrumming against his palm like a restrained beast.
His eyes shone with intrigue.
Wen Ran paused for a moment, his thoughts racing. A hundred-year-old spiritual herb pack? Now that was worth considering.
Wen Ran's eyes widened in feigned surprise. To the onlookers, it seemed like he had been moved by their story, that their hopes had been lifted. But in reality, he didn't know whether to laugh or cry. This quest was far too easy. The reward was enticing—the hundred-year-old spiritual herb pack could definitely be worth the trouble.
But the real issue wasn't the reward. It was the fact that he now had to spend days, possibly weeks, with this group of children. Babysitting them was the most annoying part of this whole deal. He didn't know where the Heaven Shattering Sect was, and searching for it was already a headache. Now, he had to deal with these idiots on top of that, or else fail his quest.
"Will you help us?" The woman asked again, her voice laced with desperation, but also hope.
Wen Ran exhaled sharply, a brief flicker of irritation crossing his features, but he quickly masked it with a calm expression. He could already see where this was headed. He could either take the easy reward and deal with the nuisance or turn them away and miss out on everything.
"Fine," Wen Ran finally said, the words slipping from his lips. He was resigned to the task. "I'll help you, but you better keep up."
The woman's face lit up, relief washing over her, but Wen Ran's thoughts were already elsewhere. This was going to be a long, exhausting journey.
"Do you truly mean it?" The faces of the group lit up, hope and excitement flashing across their expressions.
"Yes," Wen Ran said, his voice flat, devoid of any emotion. He accepted the offer and the quest, knowing that any reward—any—would be beneficial. But what he didn't know was just how much he would soon regret his decision.
The journey began, and as expected, the constant wailing of the children grated on his nerves. They cried every single day, asking for their parents, wanting reassurance that everything would be okay. Wen Ran could barely control himself from raising his voice, but he did his best to ignore them.
The group trudged forward, and with each step, his patience grew thinner.
On one particular day, as they passed through a thick, dense forest, one of the younger boys went missing. His absence wasn't noticed immediately, and it took Wen Ran half a day to find him—wandering lost and crying.
This was just the first of many frustrations.
Despite his growing impatience, Wen Ran didn't express it outwardly. He kept his cool, focusing on the path ahead. But the pestering from the two siblings—Feng Chenxi and Feng Yulan—became unbearable.