Naming Technique of the Night

Chapter 153 152, The indulgence of grandparents spoils the children (Extra update for the Penguin Gold League)

The young man abruptly turned to look at the large willow tree before him, to see another branch pluck a milky-white fruit from somewhere within the canopy and extend it in front of him.

Qing Chen silently observed, somewhat astonished; the terrifying willow tree seemed to lift its leaves and twigs, pointing at his mouth as if a palm was motioning him to ”please eat.”

Truth be told, Qing Chen was truly puzzled. He instinctively felt that the tree wouldnʼt harm him upon approaching, but this gesture of offering food was indeed... surprising?

An entity that appeared extremely terrifying to others was inviting him to eat!

After pondering for a moment, Qing Chen chuckled, ”If you really wanted to kill me, you wouldnʼt need to go through so much trouble, right?”

With that, he quickly devoured the fruit to the core.

The fruit didnʼt seem to differ much from an apple, but it tasted faintly of egg.

The anticipated magical scene of the fruit melting in his mouth did not occur, nor did he feel anything special.

Qing Chen glanced at the willow tree with some bewilderment, but it remained still.

”Thank you,” the young man said, then prepared to turn and leave.

But just as he turned, a strong wind swept through from the depths of Taboo Land. Amidst the wind, someone was whispering, as if speaking or singing; the words were unclear, but Qing Chen understood the meaning.

The sensation was strange, as if someoneʼs intentions were transmitted directly into his heart.

The voice was warm and friendly.

Qing Chen turned abruptly to look deep into the interior of the land, reflective, ”Are you saying that someone is already coming to kill me, and Iʼm not strong enough to defeat them?”

Another warm gust enveloped him.

Qing Chen questioned, ”Iʼm still young. Itʼs quite normal for me to be unable to defeat him...”

Why did he suddenly start comforting himself?

After some thought, he earnestly asked, ”What do you think I should do then?”

The willow branch rose, pointing westward as if gesturing with a hand.

”You want me to scale that mountain?” In this moment, Qing Chen was certain that the entity speaking to him must be the will of a predecessor sleeping here, caring for the younger generation like an elder.

The young man deeply bowed towards the heart of the land, ”Thank you.”

Having said that, he dashed westward.

Qing Chen had once asked Uncle Li Dong, when should they scale the mountain? After all, their trip was for the purpose of climbing it.

But while Uncle Li Dong familiarized him with Taboo Land, he always said the time was not yet right.

Qing Chen asked why the time was not right.

Uncle Li Dong replied, ”Although you have mastered the techniques, you lack a catalyst. Climbing that mountain relies not on technique, but on the courage to make irrevocable moves.”

At that time, Qing Chen asked, ”Teacher, can you translate that for me, what does ʼthe courage to make irrevocable movesʼ mean?”

Uncle Li Dong simply smiled without saying a word.

Now Qing Chen understood, it was missing someone coming to kill him...

...

Shortly after Qing Chen left the large willow tree.

Uncle Li Dong strolled leisurely to the tree with his hands clasped behind his back.

The corpses had been reduced to dry, white bones by ants, and any traces of blood on the ground were absorbed by weeds and roots, leaving no sign.

By directly giving him something to eat, and then showing him the timing and the way, youʼre sort of cheating,” Uncle Li Dong remarked wistfully, ”Luckily, in this world, thereʼs no such thing as a storybook that completely cleanses and extracts marrow, otherwise, would you all pick it and give it to him?”

No one in the woods responded to Uncle Li Dong; he seemed to still be talking to the air.

Only the branches of the large willow swayed back and forth, looking somewhat smug.

Uncle Li sighed, ”I never received such treatment back in my day. You talk about fairness and justice, yet you treat him differently and help him cheat?”

But then again... itʼs fine to cheat a little on your own turf!”

To be honest, I never expected anyone to use the rule Master hated—the Mic Hog—to kill. Itʼs such a surprise...”

Itʼs hard to comment whether thatʼs wisdom. But as youʼve seen, a student who can use the rules to kill so many enemies as an Ordinary Person, this is a first for Taboo Land No. 002, isnʼt it?”

At this point, Uncle Li Dong suddenly looked into the distance and even asked with some pride, ”Everybody, isnʼt my ability to take on students a bit stronger than yours?”

”No, thatʼs not right,” Uncle Li Dong shook his head, ”It seems like Iʼve included myself in the loss. This is like saying Iʼm not as good as him...”

”Fine, I wonʼt chat with you anymore. I have already found my successor, and you probably canʼt even foresee the change he will bring to the inheritance of the Knight Organization. Anyway, itʼs going to be good,” he said.

”Now I have to go take care of my own business.”

No one responded to Uncle Li Dongʼs words.

The entire Taboo Land number 002 was a tomb for the knights, and he was like a younger generation speaking in front of the eldersʼ gravestones, blathering on about something irrelevant.

It didnʼt matter whether they could hear him or not, as long as it helped alleviate his longing.

The next moment, a howling wind came from the depths of the Taboo Land, and Uncle Li Dong listened carefully to the sound in the wind, his expression changing abruptly, ”What do you mean I donʼt help him? Itʼs that he doesnʼt let me help!”

As another gust of wind blew, Uncle Li Dong spoke in annoyance, ”What do you mean he doesnʼt have any Taboo on him? Since when did Taboo become standard for a knight? I never heard of it, and I didnʼt see my master giving me any when I was young! Stop making a fuss, favoritism can spoil the kids!”

...

Enjoy new adventures from empire

Countdown 52:00:00.

Eight oʼclock at night.

Qing Chen leaned against a tree trunk, breathing slightly heavily. He had been running since the afternoon, yet he still hadnʼt seen the shadow of the mountain.

Ravaged by hunger, he reached into his pocket, which contained only a piece of chocolate that Qin Yiyi had slipped to him secretly before parting.

Before he could eat it, Qing Chen suddenly became alert and got up to continue running westward.

Not until he had run a few kilometers did he sit down again.

He was too hungry and excessively fatigued, to the point that his body began to show symptoms of slight weakness.

But whenever he thought of stopping to eat something, he could always sense an omnipresent sense of danger behind him.

At this moment, the young man tore open the foil wrapping the chocolate, which was almost melted inside.

He chewed vigorously, in the end licking the melted chocolate syrup off the foil into his mouth.

It wasnʼt until he finished the chocolate that he finally felt a bit more settled.

But this food was still not enough.

He had eaten the ginkgo nuts given by the great willow tree before, but why did it feel like they were of no use at all?

Qing Chen took out a dagger and scraped off a piece of tree bark directly from the trunk to stuff into his mouth, chewing it hard.

The bark tasted awful, some parts were soft, and others were so hard that he couldnʼt swallow them at all and had to spit them out.

The next moment, Qing Chen seemed to realize something, cursed silently in his heart, and got up to continue running for his life.

Not much later, Cao Wei, carrying his backpack, appeared without a sound. He looked at the foil on the ground and the spat-out tree bark.

The corners of Cao Weiʼs mouth lifted slightly: Iʼve found you.

Cao Weiʼs eyes sparkled in the night—this was the powerful sensory ability gifted to him by the Genetic Potion.

There were many types of Genetic Potion, and each type enhanced oneʼs physique, but that was just the basics. For instance, the FDE Genetic Potion injected by Liu Dezhu enhanced the strength in his lower limbs, while Cao Weiʼs enhanced his senses.

Better vision, hearing, smell, and taste.

Thatʼs why he was able to find Qing Chenʼs traces time and again in the vast Taboo Land.

Just as he was about to continue the pursuit, Cao Wei discovered that a layer of bark had been peeled off the tree trunk, and someone had carved an extremely tiny word into it.

”Hold?”

Cao Wei looked around and soon found another tree trunk with its bark peeled, carved with another small character: Cao.

He wondered: ”Cao Hold?”

Wrong.

Just as he was about to reverse the two words and read them, his mouth stopped short.

Cao Wei chuckled coldly. He knew more rules than other people could imagine.

For this trip, he had specifically visited the black market and learned two new rules regarding Taboo Land number 002: no killing and no swearing.

A hint of doubt arose in Cao Weiʼs mind: Was the young man still trying to use the rules to kill him at this point in time?

The other party should have been at his witsʼ end, yet he could still set a trap for him even when he had to gnaw on tree bark for survival?

Is he really an ordinary person?