CHAPTER 34: SECRET REALM: WELCOME TO HALLOW CITY!

"Master, do you see anything?" The Elf Siri asked after Li Chunhua tried to inspect the hole with her headlights.

Li Chunhua moved her head inside, but other than thin tree roots and soil, she couldn’t see anything suspicious. The only thing unusual was that she couldn’t see the hole’s bottom even with her qi-enhanced vision.

She spent another minute probing inside until she was certain there wasn’t anything worth noting before withdrawing her head completely from the one-meter hole. Li Chunhua covered her head afterwards before shaking her head as a reply to the elf’s previous question.

The elf had expected that answer and wasn’t surprised. He approached the hole, bent his knees, and touched the edges of the hole while contemplating whether to explore the secret realm ahead of schedule.

On every third day of the week, the game system will open a secret realm and let the candidate players explore it. The purpose of the secret realm was not only to give players suitable items and blueprints for defending their territories for the upcoming beast tide. It also provides players with hints as to what kind of monsters will join the ranks of the siege.

Siri reluctantly stood up, since it was not his decision to make. "Master, you get to choose. Are you planning to venture now, a few days later, or not at all? "

"Ji Ji Ji." The little ginseng spirit hugging Li Chunhua’s right thigh shook its little leaf, expressing its disagreement.

Li Chunhua was also on the same page. If one goes to the secret realm, there’s a probability of death because one cannot know what kind of monsters are there. Although there are good rewards for accomplishing missions issued by the game system, it still comes with a huge risk. A player cannot also access inventory while in there.

Most importantly, from the moment you enter, you’ll be immediately dealing with monsters after your flesh. Definitely not for a foodie and salted fish like her.

"Brother Siri, I’m not going." Li Chunhua vehemently refused, which made Siri quite disappointed, but it was quite understandable since the level of danger cannot be determined beforehand. As much as he wanted to experience at least one secret realm, only with the permission of their master would he have the qualifications to enter.

With his master’s refusal, Siri wouldn’t insist anymore.

Li Chunhua was also relieved.

Little Mantou didn’t stay close to them. He was four meters from Li Chunhua with his head lowered and hadn’t spoken a word since she returned and led them here.

As the one who always uses his privilege as a prince to escape punishment, Little Mantou was used to being the one that received an apology and not the other way around, so it was quite awkward for him to be the one initiating it. Still, it was his fault, and he needs to rectify it.

He cleared his throat and, in a low voice with a tinge of shyness, said, "Master, I’m sorry if I said things that hurt you."

Li Chunua turned towards the little fox. After running around the forest, her resentment had vanished. Truthfully, she shouldn’t blame Little Mantou because what he said was really the truth. Her cooking was fatal, and it might make no difference if Brother Siri teaches her their food culture.

Li Chunhua was about to forgive the little fox, but Little Mantou felt a cold wind blow over his fur and something latched on his shoulder.

The little fox craned his neck to see what it was. Once he did, his eyes widened, and he let out a shrill scream before leaping towards Li Chunhua.

（ΩДΩ）

"Ah! A Ghost!"

"Where?" Li Chunhua hadn’t even finished her question when she was tackled on her stomach. It might not have caused her damage, but because she was standing close to the entrance of the secret realm, the slight wobble caused her to slip and drop inside.

"Eh? "Li Chunhua only had a puzzled expression when she was falling into the bottomless hole. It took a few seconds for her to realize what was happening, and once she did, her scream reverberated within the hole. "Mantou!"

"Master! "Siri wasn’t able to help her because something cold and bony had also grabbed both of his ankles, holding him in place and slowly creeping towards his legs.

Mantou had not come out of his senses and was currently trembling while looking inside. He had completely forgotten the frightening things he saw before, and his mind was now only occupied by her scream.

(°△°|||)

I’m finished.

I’m finished.

I’m finished.

I’ve sent Master inside. Hu hu hu.

Siri pulled out what’d been coiling around his ankles. He might not be able to see it clearly, but he could sense it through his touch; it was a bone—human bones.

Why is there a human bone in this place?

It took him not long enough to answer because the game system sent them a notification.

[You’ve stumbled upon a graveyard. Beware of the ghouls that seek feasts at night.]

"Ho ho." One dark figure after another emerged from the soil with their rotten bodies. High-Pantheon Elves’ senses are weaker at night, making it hard for Siri to have a clear vision of the situation; he could only rely on the rotten smell and the snarling sounds the ghouls were making to determine which direction they’re coming from.

Contrary to him, Little Mantou, because of his gifted vision as a member of the nine-tailed celestial fox clan, could see everything clearly, and he nearly fainted at the sight of many ghouls slowly surrounding them.

[Underworld Ghoul Lv. 4– (100/100)]

[Underworld Ghoul Lv. 4– (100/100)]

[Underworld Ghoul...]

There were more than a dozen of these screens floating around.

It was fine when Master was here, but how come they popped after she was gone?

With countless ghouls appearing, the two were being pushed back.

"This is bad. With such a small space and their numbers, we will surely be caught in their claws and gain a debuff," Siri remarked, frowning in the process.

Little Mantou was crying inside, and without any choice, he jumped inside the hole. Siri was startled, but followed a second after the bold little fox.

Meanwhile, Little Chunhua, who arrived at the secret realm before the two had just opened her eyes, was instantly greeted by the sight of a huge, rotten face several times larger than her with several chunks of flesh missing, both eyes bloodshot, nose crooked, lips chewed, and bloodied.

The creature opened its huge mouth and roared at her from such a close distance. "Rawr."

(Ò囗Óױ)

Li Chunhua’s eyelids fluttered wildly, and her eyes showed signs of whiteness. She felt her soul almost leave her body with its stinky breath, resembling the spoiled fish guts Auntie had forgotten to bury.

Unable to bear it, Li Chunhua raised her hand and slapped it on the cheek. "You stink!"

The huge rotten flew to the side and knocked on the wall of the shop, forming a hole with the outline of its figure.

There was a loud sound of something collapsing.

The huge rotten creature laying under the rubbles of the wall twitched for a while before it became motionless.

Without it, Li Chunhua could finally breathe fresh air. There was something wrong; the air around seemed not fresh but had the same rotten scent as that creature’s breath.

She looked around and was stunned to see three thin people in shoddy clothes with wounds all over their bodies staring at her with their mouths wide open.

(⊙_(⊙_⊙)_⊙)

One of them gulped before asking in disbelief, "Did she just kill it with one slap? "

At the same time, Li Chunhua heard a notification that attracted her attention.

[You’ve entered the Secret Realm: Hallow City!]

[Mission before System Clearance: Taste 3 Dishes with Grade A and Above Evaluation

- Mission Grade: S

- Mission Rewards: Food with Essence]

Σ( T□T )

"Mantou!" Li Chunhua remembered why she was here and called the name of the culprit in grievance.

(A/N: Thank you Kerry_Peters_0100 for the gift. )