Chapter 394: Rewards (I)
Dead fish?
Tang Ling smiled as Kun’s voice entered his ears. Kun finally came. Even though it was later than expected, it proved that Tang Ling had landed in the Mysterious Store and not some other strange place.
However, in the next moment, the smile on Tang Ling’s face froze because if he remembered correctly, Kun had also described him as a dead fish last time. How was it possible that he ended up back here like a dead fish every time? Tang Ling scowled.
He mustered all his strength and pushed his body up to look at Kun. “I’m just conserving my energy. I’m not a dead fish.”
“Oh?” Kun did not show any emotions about the comment. Standing behind the counter, he was wearing a bright yellow robe with a complex design of ‘a hundred birds’ homage to a phoenix[1]’. He looked even more alluring under the dim lighting.
“Yeah,” said Tang Ling stubbornly.
“Great, I guess you don’t need any treatment then,” said Kun. He then waved his hand and a beam of light flew out from Tang Ling’s body. A handful of Dream Coins floated above Kun’s palm, resembling sparkling stars that garnished the night sky.
No treatment? Tang Ling was shocked. If he returned with this level of injuries, even with Boss Huang’s capabilities, how long would he take to recover? How long would he need to return to his prime?
With the upcoming h.e.l.l Ledge Challenge, the fight with Tang Long, and the upcoming Storm Voyage, Tang Ling did not have the luxury to stay in bed and recover. Moreover, if he remained injured, he could not earn money either, so how would he pay Boss Huang for the medical fees?
“No, I need treatment. I might not look like a dead fish, but I’m injured,” Tang Ling immediately expressed his thoughts.
“Oh? You are giving me a hard time here…” With a helpless expression, Kun picked up a piece of exotic incense and put it into the delicate incense pot with a gold-gilded dragon head on top.
“What’s the problem here?” Tang Ling was shocked. He was on the brink of falling but his willpower held him up.
“Of course, there’s trouble.” Kun put the lid over the incense pot, green smoke slowly floated out from the seams, filling the entire Mysterious Store with an unusual and intoxicating aroma.
“It’s because I only treat dead fish here. How is that not a problem for me?” Kun propped his chin on his hand as he explained, watching Tang Ling with a ridiculing gaze and waiting for his response.
Tang Ling’s blood boiled and it almost choked him when it rose to his throat. “Fine, I’m a dead fish. Hurry up and treat me.” He finally gave in two seconds later. A person who understood the tide of the situation was wise. He would not lose anything by calling himself a dead fish anyway.
“Great.” Kun finally gave him a smile, but just as he was about to do something, Tang Ling added a question, “Before you treat me, can I have a look at the price for the treatment before I make my choice?
“No,” Kun rejected Tang Ling straightaway.
From previous experience, Tang Ling knew that arguing would do him no good, so all he could do was suppress his heartache and let Kun do his job. Still, earning Dream Coins was not easy at all.
A while later, Tang Ling finally felt better after Kun injected two syringes of powerful serum into him.
He hated to admit it, but Kun’s treatment was super effective. Not only did he feel his wounds on his back and all over his body were quickly recovering, but he could even feel his flesh growing rapidly. The itch from the growing flesh was so p.r.o.nounced that he had to scratch his body.
On top of that, even his exhausted spirit and some internal injuries that he could sense were recovering rapidly.
However, anything done in the Mysterious Store had a price. For just two syringes of unknown medicine, 20 Dream Coins were taken away from Tang Ling. If he could trade the payment for vicious beast meat, he would have probably gotten a small pile of meat. Tang Ling blinked helplessly, becoming numb from the heartache.
Kun did not respond at all as he looked at the Dream Coins. Then, he said, “Not bad. After paying the fee of 20 Dream Coins, you still have 71 left. You’ve earned a lot this trip.”
“Apparently, it’s not that much either. A single treatment cost me 20 Dream Coins. I’ll probably go broke if this keeps up,” said Tang Ling as he bolted up.
Kun giggled and did not comment.
Tang Ling gulped nervously and said, “So, Kun, can I buy things now?”
Kun did not answer as he stared at the Dream Coins in his hand in deep thought.
“Can I?” Tang Ling pressed the topic again carefully. He had put his life at risk in the Dream Domain for this particular moment.
“No.” Kun curled his palm. The sparkling Dream Coins disintegrated into tiny light particles and disappeared.
Tang Ling felt a suffocating heartache. His Dream Coins! This dream was a lot more difficult than the previous one, and he had spent most of the time fighting and fought until the very end, yet the Dream Coins that he had earned through the ferocious battles were easily destroyed in Kun’s hand.
Kun did not even allow Tang Ling to make a purchase! “It’s only the second dream entry and you want to make a purchase at my place? Do you think you are capable enough to find something that you really need among the plethora of products in my Mysterious Store? We’ll talk after a few more dream entries.” Kun shook his head.
Tang Ling could not argue at all! In fact, he believed Kun was not trying to scam him because, in the last dream, the items that Kun had given him were unusually fitting. Somehow, he felt nervous deep in his heart. It felt as if Kun could see through things and predict what he needed the last time, hence the fitting items.
If Kun gave him any more ominous items this time, such as some ice that could freeze people forever, he ought to get to the bottom of it.
Kun remained calm despite Tang Ling’s nervous expression. He took a small piece of vicious beast meat from beneath the counter and at first glance, Tang Ling knew it was a Level 5 vicious beast meat.
The resentful tortoise appeared once again. Appearing disgusted, it reluctantly received the Level 5 vicious beast meat.
After feeding the tortoise, Kun clapped his hand and pondered. The drawers behind him opened and closed repeatedly as if something was being selected although not as decisively as the last time.
Soon, three items were placed in front of Tang Ling, but there was still a fourth which seemed to give Kun a difficult time.
Kun repeatedly opened and closed three particular drawers. In the end, he picked one to open, but he spent quite some time looking at it before reluctantly taking the item out.
Tang Ling did not want to interrupt Kun’s selection. Since there were already three items placed in front of him, he curiously checked all three of them out.
The first one was a piece of a blueprint. However, he could not understand it at all. The blueprint was not a construction plan whatsoever. It was a blueprint with patterns on it. At first glance, it looked like some decorative patterns, but upon a closer look, Tang Ling realized that he knew the patterns. They were the patterns that had appeared on the super-advanced technological machines! It was similar to the patterns on the Genetic Chain Tester when Tang Ling had seen it for the first time. As for its true usage, if Kun did not provide an explanation, Tang Ling would never know what it was for.
The second item was an aged bamboo scroll. Tang Ling carefully unrolled it and realized that there were formations carved on it. Or were they really formations?
He was not sure, he a.s.sumed they were formations based on his shallow Body Arraynology knowledge. The formations were strange. There were a total of nine of them, but when he looked closer, he realized that all nine of the formations were closely connected to each other.
In simple words, they looked like a huge formation divided into nine parts. From the easiest to the hardest, everything was lined up properly on the bamboo scroll. He had a feeling if he drew all nine of the formations, he could form a very powerful one.
Kun never had lousy things.
However, Tang Ling was slightly disappointed because all these things could not be converted into immediate power. He still had no idea what the formations were for.
He put the bamboo scroll down and switched his attention to the third item: a small bottle.
It was only the size of half a thumb, and judging from its size, it could only hold two drops of liquid. On top of that, it was not even full. It only contained a drop and a half of golden sparkling liquid.
What was the liquid for? Dinner?
Tang Ling thought as such instinctively, and even had the urge to realize his thoughts. He wanted to uncork it and drink it. Since he was at Kun’s place, he would not die from drinking the liquid, would he?
“What are you doing?” Kun noticed Tang Ling’s sneaky action, so he turned around and scolded Tang Ling in a mixed tone. He sounded strange, funny, and strict at the same time.
Tang Ling was trying to uncork the bottle, so when he heard Kun’s yell, he was startled and the bottle fell on the floor.
“Argh!” When the bottle fell, Tang Ling’s heart broke. His next thought was if the bottle broke, would Kun compensate him with a new bottle?
Thankfully, the bottle was small but tough. It did not break when it fell. There was not even a scratch on the surface.
Tang Ling picked it up nervously and checked it repeatedly. He grumbled, “Dream Coins are hard to earn! If you keep scaring me like that, what if I break it? Are you going to compensate me?”
Kun’s rage almost erupted when he heard what Tang Ling said. This kid had no idea how much of an advantage he had been given. With those pitiful 71 Dream Coins, he might not even have gotten a single item from Kun. Even if he could, all he would get would be the bottle in his hand. Yet, he was shameless enough to ask Kun to compensate for the loss!
Kun looked cold all of a sudden and Tang Ling suddenly had gooseb.u.mps all over his body. Did he say something wrong? After all, Kun did frighten him and cause the bottle to fall from his grip.
Kun never liked to explain himself. He smiled warmly all of a sudden, and it felt like spring had arrived and the flowers had bloomed. His smile was unusually alluring.
However, in the next moment, a mysterious force came out from the Mysterious Store and bound Tang Ling’s body, lifting him up into the air with his arms and legs spread out.
“Hey! What’s this all about? Kun, are you out of your mind?” Tang Ling got nervous when he was bound and lifted in the air, but Kun remained silent. With a wave of his hand, the wind formed a whip and lashed Tang Ling’s body strongly.
“A gentleman uses his tongue, not his fists!
“You coward, you d*ckless coward! Kun, let me go, and let’s have a go at it!
“Kun, the psychology books say sudden violence is a presentation of suppressed stress. It’s a symptom of becoming a psychotic killer!”
The wind whip continued las.h.i.+ng Tang Ling, and after every beating, it disappeared. No actual damage was done to Tang Ling, but whatever Kun had done, the las.h.i.+ng was painful even without inflicting actual damage.
Tang Ling was crying a river and Kun narrowed his eyes, enjoying his suffering.
[1] TN: A hundred birds’ homage to a phoenix: Originating from folk myths and legends, the phoenix was originally a normal bird. It tirelessly stored food throughout the years for a time of need, and during a huge drought, it saved many other birds from starving to death with its hard work. In order to pay respect to the phoenix’s hard work, all the birds picked the most beautiful feather on their bodies and presented it to the phoenix. The phoenix then became a holy and divine bird that possessed the beauty of all birds. It was known as the king of birds. The birds then wors.h.i.+pped it annually during its birthday. This pattern is usually sewn on traditional wedding gowns and can be seen at wedding ceremonies. It represents auspicious luck and blissful marriage.