Chapter 493: Chapter 493

Under the tense gaze of the crowd, Lin Yi slowly pushed open the old wooden door. The silver-white moonlight poured in the moment the door was opened, casting Lin Yi’s tall shadow.

As soon as Lin Yi pushed the door open, a foul moldy smell rushed to his nose:

Caught off guard, Lin Yi coughed twice uncomfortably.

Zhang Xinying’s voice came from behind:

Lin Yi shook his head, indicating:

Through the layer of bright moonlight, Lin Yi could clearly see everything inside the house appeared simple and plain. At the same time,

When Lin Yi stepped inside, the wooden floorboards creaked, breaking the silence within.

"Is there anyone here?"

But there was no response from inside; the silence in the house was terrifying, so quiet that Lin Yi could hear the sound of his own heartbeat.

Lin Yi slowly walked towards the inside, but just then, a dark voice came from inside, startling Lin Yi:

A flicker of firelight came, and the dark red candlelight illuminated the silent and dark little house.

An old man with a face full of wrinkles held a candle and floated slowly in front of Lin Yi:

Demon Resistance Commander of Ussuri City

Because Lin Yi could only see his upper body, there was no lower body!!!

Seeing the elderly man up close, even though he was mentally prepared, Lin Yi was still frightened by the old man’s appearance, his skin prickling with goosebumps.

If it were daytime, it would be fine, but it was night...

The main thing is, why would a spiritual body need to light a candle?

This scene felt extremely eerie to Lin Yi.

Lin Yi quickly composed himself, then respectfully bowed to the old man:

"It’s a pleasure to meet you, Senior Luke."

Then Lin Yi actively took out that [Evil Soul] and handed it to the old man, respectfully asking:

"Do you recognize this?"

The door behind Lin Yi suddenly closed with an invisible force, startling the unprepared Lin Yi again, causing a tremble in his hand.

However, by the time Lin Yi reacted, he only felt a breeze pass by, and his hand was empty.

The gem that had been in his hand just moments ago had disappeared without a trace, and Lin Yi looked to the side in shock:

The weak candlelight flickered continuously in the room.

By a square table, the old man held the [Evil Soul] Lin Yi had given, a nameless, ancient sorrow reflected in his cloudy eyes.

After about ten minutes, the old man finally moved his gaze from the gem, as if falling into a kind of memory, and began to slowly speak:

"I can’t quite remember how many years ago it was."

"But I clearly remember, the moon that night was unusually large, unusually red."

"And because of this, rumors spread throughout the city that this was an ominous sign, and we were about to face the greatest catastrophe in history." ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ novel(ꜰ)ire.net

"Sure enough, not long after, demons from the Abyss descended upon this continent, and the Hundred Races faced an unprecedented existential crisis."

Saying this, the old man fumbled around his body for a while, taking out another half of a gem, identical to the [Evil Soul], merging the two into an oval shape after a burst of radiance, leaving Lin Yi dumbfounded:

"This, what is this?"

But Luke ignored Lin Yi’s presence and continued:

"Back then, the Demon Race launched a massive invasion on our Ussuri City."

"During this time, our City Lord of Ussuri City, who was supposed to confront the Demon Race the next day, mysteriously disappeared the day before."

"Due to City Lord Gibson’s mysterious disappearance, Ussuri City, thrown into chaos, suffered a disastrous defeat in the confrontation with the Demon Race that day."

"Since then, City Lord Gibson has been seen as a criminal in people’s eyes, and to this day, everyone still blames him for the fall of Ussuri City."

The old man then revealed a bitter smile:

"But is City Lord Gibson really the betrayer who fled alone, as people say, abandoning the Hundred Races’ pact?"

At this moment, the gem floated out of the old man’s hand, drifting slowly towards Lin Yi.

Lin Yi reached out to catch it, with no time to examine the changes of the [Evil Soul], the old man continued:

"I thought this secret might be buried forever with my death, but thankfully you came."

Lin Yi solemnly looked toward the old man:

"Is there anything I can do for you?"

Luke looked at Lin Yi with a heavy expression and said:

"Beneath our Ussuri City lies a seal, I hope you can find it and destroy it."

"When that seal is lifted, the truth of City Lord Gibson’s disappearance will come to light."

The old man sighed wistfully, saying:

"As a hero of the Human Race, he should not be scorned by the townsfolk in this way, labeled a historical criminal."

Although Lin Yi didn’t yet understand what the so-called truth was, he could still gather some secrets from the old man’s brief words.

This also led to a newfound respect for this City Lord he’d never met.

It was at this moment that Lin Yi’s mission evolved, remaining the same until the final task prompt changed to:

Proceed to the dungeon [Cursed Forest] (Hell Level), activate: Cursed Totem.

Then the old man’s phantom disappeared before Lin Yi, leaving behind two sentences:

"When you see City Lord Gibson, tell him: Luke did not fail him and successfully completed the mission he entrusted."

"I’m just sorry I cannot say goodbye to him in person, now Luke must leave first, take care."

As the old man’s soul dispersed into white light, the house returned to its previous stillness.

In the empty house, only Lin Yi’s heavy breathing could be heard.

But the next moment, a man appeared out of thin air in front of Lin Yi:

Once again startling Lin Yi:

Lin Yi focused his eyes; it was a man appearing to be about fifty or sixty years old, with the information above his head displaying:

City Lord of Ussuri City

This man, upon appearing, instinctively glanced at the [Evil Soul] gem in Lin Yi’s hand, then earnestly said to Lin Yi:

"Chosen One, I am grateful for your arrival, helping Luke’s soul find peace."

"However, the matters that follow are rather dangerous for you Chosen Ones, so I hope you can hand it over to me, allowing me to help fulfill Luke’s final wishes during his lifetime, bringing him peace."

As Frankie spoke, he pointed towards the [Evil Soul] in Lin Yi’s hand.

But in response to this City Lord’s request, Lin Yi wore a meaningful smile and said:

"Sorry, I decline your proposal."

Having spoken, Lin Yi unhesitatingly placed the [Evil Soul] into his bag. Frankie’s expression changed, thinking he had misheard, asked again:

With the shadow of an ’Ice Crystal’ around Frankie’s body, Lin Yi, without a moment’s hesitation, declared word by word: