Chapter 1734 - 1729: Bitter Fruit (23)

Chapter 1734: Chapter 1729: Bitter Fruit (23)

The old lady was indeed very familiar with this place.

Not only did she take a nearly flawless route without waste, but even the room with the light on, heavily concealed, was hard for ordinary folks to notice.

In her numerous nocturnal wanderings, she must have seen this more than once and had a clear understanding.

As for the reason she took the initiative to light the lamp, it was quite simple—as they neared the destination, she clearly didn’t plan to accompany him further and offered him an illuminating tool before leaving.

Very considerate, but unfortunately, in doing so, it seems he startled her a bit.

"Are you injured?"

The old lady turned her head, constantly looking him up and down, and finally exclaimed.

Oh?

Faced with the attention the old lady paid not to his face but to his multiple wounds, Fu Qian felt a touch of surprise.

"It’s nothing, just minor injuries."

He waved his hand, indicating it was nothing to worry about.

Given his surgical skills and healing ability, the wounds were barely visible by now, which was quite convincing.

"That’s good... here, take this."

After a moment’s hesitation, the kind-hearted old lady handed the lamp over, glancing at Fu Qian’s face a few more times.

"Are you an outsider?"

The next moment, she seemed to finally realize something and was suddenly startled.

...

Could she really not recognize him?

In fact, when the light came on, Fu Qian worried that it would scare the old lady, not due to his injuries, but his face.

This was why he initially altered his voice slightly.

Appearing so mysteriously, there was no need to cause further psychological pressure by emphasizing his outsider identity.

However, the old lady’s initial reaction upon seeing him in the light made Fu Qian feel something was amiss—his disguise seemed pointless, as she didn’t recognize him.

This wasn’t entirely impossible. For instance, in the healing Dream, she might have guided him as part of Dorian’s casual arrangement, which didn’t really occur.

Furthermore, Dorian might have motives for keeping it that way, given the Dream’s theme—maximizing the lure to prevent him from straying into Darkness, remaining ensnared in Hilary’s embrace.

Such a setup would convince him thoroughly.

But—what if it wasn’t the case?

What if he truly arrived in Akons as an outsider, asked the old lady for directions, and then proceeded to the clinic for treatment?

Her current lack of recognition might represent something deeply unsettling.

After all, it was like having a storyline handed to you by the storage.

"Why do you ask? Do outsiders often come to Akons?"

While thinking calmly, instead of rushing to confess, Fu Qian casually asked her this.

"Not often, I haven’t seen an outsider in a long time."

The surprise on her face showed a hint of oddity, as if even the name Akons made her uncomfortable.

Yet she quickly regained her composure, slightly shaking her head as she looked at Fu Qian’s face.

"But clearly, your face is very unfamiliar."

...

Indeed, she didn’t recognize him.

Even the fact she hadn’t seen an outsider in a long time largely ruled out the possibility of merely having his appearance altered previously.

The old lady’s answer made Fu Qian increasingly sense the peculiarity of this place.

"You’re right, I am an outsider. But from your earlier reactions, I probably shouldn’t use the name Akons?"

He then candidly confirmed his identity and expressed curiosity about the old lady’s reaction.

He thought a pilgrim who journeyed through the night might be more elated by the name.

"This place hasn’t been called that for a long time, and I don’t like the Cold Mountain name either."

Yet her demeanor suggested she wasn’t too shaken by the decline of the name Akons.

"In any case, you’d better not mention it to others."

"Understood, thank you."

So after the collapse of belief, it was renamed Cold Mountain, a name that rolls off the tongue quite nicely.

Despite the internal assessment, Fu Qian didn’t press for more information and finally accepted the lamp following her advice.

"Outsiders usually don’t come here; you should look for Dorian."

It seemed the old lady had a liking for polite folks, even after losing interest in conversation and planning to leave, she still gave this additional advice.

Clearly, she couldn’t understand why Fu Qian would come here.

"Alright, I’ll go in a moment."

With a smile, Fu Qian readily accepted her suggestion.

...

Ultimately, the old lady disappeared into the Darkness, shuffling away with some difficulty without choosing to head towards the town’s edge.

As Fu Qian watched her leave, he removed accumulated blood clumps from his shoulder and waist.

Considering her psychological endurance, he didn’t show this earlier, resulting in slight accumulation.

Thud, thud!

Having handled it simply, Fu Qian wasted no time and headed straight for his target, reaching out to knock on the door.

Inside, without a doubt, was that dejected brother, even in a pose identical to the one in the chapel.

Knock, knock, knock!

There was no response, but Fu Qian was unsurprised and continued knocking.

In theory, the old lady’s suggestion wasn’t wrong.

Considering her unusual behavior, including not recognizing him, the best move now seemed to be returning to Dorian’s place to verify some things.

Despite the unceasing intensity of sobbing echoing in his mind, its effect kept accumulating, with "Heart Strikes" becoming increasingly frequent.

In this scenario, whether to spend time visiting the remaining locals theoretically merited consideration.

Nevertheless, Fu Qian didn’t hesitate, choosing to visit this unspeaking fellow.

Ultimately, it wasn’t about having much to say to him, but for another thing inside the house.

Even before the old lady lit the lamp, Fu Qian had sensed a special anomaly aside from the owner behind the curtains, a subtle indication.

Standing here now, that feeling grew even more distinct.

Located right beside the dejected brother, it seemed to take on the shape of a sword, holy and cold, with a high Ranking.

Such a Holy Artifact obviously out of place with the "Cold Mountain" atmosphere posed a challenge to imagination.

Yet thus far, the party inside gave no sign of reacting to the knock, as if cutting himself off from the world.

"Open the door, outsider."

Despite this, Fu Qian didn’t mind and knocked again more persistently.

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