3 Chapter 3: Break the Ruse

Xia Zhou's fears became a reality.

He, Little Nose, the chubby kid, and the short kid, all four were led into the alchemy room together.

Little Nose had swollen eyelids; he hadn't slept enough.

The chubby kid and the skinny kid, these two seldom-seen cellmates, had pale, waxy complexions. They had barely eaten any bread when they were pulled over here. Their legs were trembling with hunger, their foreheads dripping with cold sweat.

Xia Zhou used his hair to hide his face, appearing distraught and dispirited. However, he was actually in the best condition amongst the four.

The Evil Old Man had the four boys line up against the wall, making them watch him concoct a potion.

This time, it was not a simple drug test.

"For tens of days now, I've still not been successful."

The Evil Old Man poured a spoonful of white powder into the crucible, lightly patted the mechanical arm to stir the thick potion.

"I gave you all the chance to become apprentices, gave you bread, gave you a place to stay."

The Evil Old Man turned around, his eyes faintly revealing a ruthless light, staring at the boys.

"Failure, again and again. You guys didn't succeed. No, no, no, no…"

The Evil Old Man shook his head, heavily pounding on the table, creating loud thumps.

"It's me! I failed!" The Evil Old Man roared.

He took two bottles of dark green potion from the alchemy table, poured them all into the crucible, threw them against the wall, allowing the glass bottles to shatter into pieces.

Then, he took up two more bottles of potion and repeated the same action, becoming increasingly rough and fierce.

"It's because I've been too kind!"

"It's because I've been too indulgent!"

"I should have done this long ago!"

The Evil Old Man picked up a pot of potion from beneath the alchemy table, pouring it into the crucible. A bizarre green mist rose from the surface of the water, the sound of bursting bubbles became incessant, and boiling hot water splashed all over the alchemy room.

The four boys huddled together out of fear.

Using his companions as a shield, Xia Zhou's gaze swept across the room, in search of that extendable cane.

Found it! It was on the table, the body concealed by several books, leaving only the small handle visible.

Xia Zhou bit his lip, contemplating to use an opportunity to strike and backstab the almost crazed Evil Old Man.

However, it seemed like the Evil Old Man had calmed down. He leaned on the alchemy table, his lungs inflating and deflating like an old bellows, panting heavily.

The Evil Old Man scooped up boiling potion with a spoon, filling up exactly four tubes with the hot, roiling remedy.

"You guys, drink them!" The Evil Old Man commanded from his wooden stool.

The chubby kid, the short kid, and Little Nose, as if they were either too used to complying or afraid of being hit and scolded, immediately went to the alchemy table and drank their potions.

This left Xia Zhou standing in place, looking very conspicuous.

After they had all downed their potions, the three of them collapsed onto the floor and rolled around in pain. At first, they could still scream, but after ten or so seconds, those screams turned into grinding teeth and whimpers, then ended in silent curling of their bodies, grabbing hold of anything they could.

"You! Drink the potion!" The Evil Old Man hammered the armrest of his stool.

Xia Zhou threw a Detection Spell at the potion, this time it was "32-point HP deduction within 60 minutes".. no matter how much he upgraded, it would be futile... he could save the one Free Attribute Point offered by reaching LV.2...

Is this truly the end? Should he add the attribute points to his strength for a final struggle?

"Stop! Wait a moment!"

The Evil Old Man suddenly stood up, grabbed Xia Zhou by the collar, and growled with spit flying from his mouth, "I just remembered! You've been idling, pouring the potion away! I discovered your little trick!"

Xia Zhou was shoved against the wall by the Evil Old Man, his back hitting hard.

"I will, punish you!" The Evil Old Man brought out the remaining three pots of potion from beneath the alchemy table, pouring them all into the crucible.

"Hehehe!" The Evil Old Man laughed villainously, himself stirring the crucible with a spoon.

In an instant, a thick mist burst forth from the water, blowing the Evil Old Man's scruffy hair about, revealing his overpowering evil aura.

Xia Zhou kept his eyes fixed on the table, slowly moving towards it.

Gurgle, boom.

A fist-sized bubble emerged in the crucible, the sound of it bursting was like muffled thunder.

Xia Zhou's body seized up, was that bubble that just burst... carrying sparks?

Gurgle, boom.

It did have sparks indeed!

Gurgle, boom.

Gurgle, boom.

The bubbles were appearing faster and faster! Sparks were emerging one after another in the air above the crucible.

Xia Zhou's brow furrowed, hesitating whether to get to the table or retreat into the corridor of the cell.

Gurgle, boom.

Gurgle, boom.

Gurgle, boom.

Xia Zhou started moving backward, silently making his way towards the room's door.

Gurgle, boom.

Gurgle, boom.

Gurgle, boom.

Gurgle, boom.

The Evil Old Man looked blankly at the sparks, counted the overturned empty pots at his feet, and screamed while sticking his hands in his hair, "What have I done! What have I done! No, I have to remedy this!!"

The Evil Old Man took a spoon, reached into the violently churning water, and retracted it to find half the spoon melted.

"Things are going to get messy!"

"Get moving!" Xia Zhou shouted. He grabbed the unconscious Little Nose lying on the floor and began to drag him towards the corridor with all his strength.

He had just turned the corner when the popping explosion behind him rang out like a rage-firing machine gun.

Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop!

Boom!!

The soup suddenly exploded, the blast wave shattered the crucible, smashed the reagent bottle, and overturned the Evil Old Man.

Majestic red flames swallowed everything living and all the tools in the alchemy room, following the fierce airflow into the hallway.

Xia Zhou was overthrown to the ground, his hands subconsciously protecting his head. Scorching red flame scraped past his body, bringing a wave of intense pain and shock. His ears rang, his eardrums swelling to an extremely painful point.

Xia Zhou opened his mouth wide to scream, enduring the pain for a few seconds before finally passing out.

...

After an unknown length of time, Xia Zhou woke up again. Before his eyes was a low-lying grey fog, the entire prison tunnel filled with the smell of burnt residue.

"How much blood do I have left.."

[Health] 10/20 (Slight Concussion, Slight Abrasion, Slight Bruising, Light Burns, Slightly Poisoned)

Cough cough...

Xia Zhou stayed close to the ground to avoid inhaling smoke; he crawled towards the alchemy room. In his sight were three human-shaped charred figures.

Where's the Evil Old Man? Is he dead?

The ground was littered with broken planks and wood strips, the alchemy table and desk were shattered by the explosion. In the original position of the crucible, a pool of black sludge appeared. This was the source of the smoke and burnt smell.

The figure of the Evil Old Man was buried in a pile of burnt waste, with only two legs visible outside.

Xia Zhou stopped at the entrance of the alchemy room, feeling a sour sensation in his nostrils near Little Nose... His eyes probably got smoked, causing a few tears to drop, it's nothing serious.

He continued crawling, turning over the pile of waste.

The Evil Old Man was completely dead, a sharp piece of glass lodged in his chest, the blood soaking his robe turning it black.

Xia Zhou frisked the waist of the Evil Old Man, finding a keychain and a shrivelled small money bag containing some round hard objects.

The cells had six keys of the same type, easy to recognize. The key to the alchemy room was slightly longer. The last key, which was the longest and thickest, was definitely for the iron door behind the desk.

Xia Zhou blew the smoke away from under the iron door repeatedly, and after a few attempts, he found the keyhole and successfully unlocked the door latch.

He laid on his side, his feet braced against the wall, hands holding the heavy door panel. Despite his full strength, he could only open a slight gap.

His strength was too small. The metal door panel was as thick as three fingers, there was no way he could move it.

Right, that cane could be used as a crowbar.

Xia Zhou returned to the Evil Old Man's side and retrieved the cane from under him.

He jammed the cane into the gap, leaving half inside the door, then tried to exert force again on his side.

Screech~ The rusty door hinge was forced to turn.

Crack crack, the cane made a crisp sound and snapped into two after the door panel had turned some angle, revealing its precision double-layered internal structure.

The damaged expandable cane might still be worth some money...

Xia Zhou kept it neatly and crawled out through the door crack.

Outside the iron door was a dirt tunnel extending upwards, steep and narrow. Inside the dirt on both sides, you could see roots of plants and crawling bugs. The thick smoke from the alchemy room was seeping out of the tunnel.

Using hands and feet, Xia Zhou reached the top of the tunnel, which was blocked by a wooden board.

"1, 2, 3, push!"

The wooden board covered in grass was pushed open, dazzling sunlight pierced through into his vision. The long lost fresh air filled nostrils, moistening the lungs that had long been tormented.

"I'm out! I'm out!"

Xia Zhou emerged from the hole, spread his arms and cheered, taking in the fresh air imbued with the smell of grass, he squinted his eyes to the sky, then began to take in his surroundings.

This area was a clearing in the forest, the silent and deep woods surrounded this spot. They were like silent guards, watching the boy who had just crawled out of the hole.

There was a problem.

Why did the woods look very similar from every angle?

Xia Zhou turned left and right, then looked behind and in front of him. Regardless of the direction, the sight was full of tree trunks, the biggest difference was the thickness and color of the trees.

How could there not even be a path? Where exactly had the Evil Old Man hidden his alchemy room...

He looked up to the sun's position, roughly estimated the cardinal directions, then returned to the alchemy room underground again for a search.

When he emerged back to the surface, he had a cloth wrap on his back. Inside was the remaining dry food and freshwater, and a small money bag holding 3 Silver Coins.

The broken cane was tied firmly with a hemp rope, barely usable.

The Silver Coins found on the Evil Old Man were not the thumb-sized coins.

They were palm-sized, genuine silver coins. The front and back side were carved with designs and words such as "Starry Night Kingdom, Casted in Rosak Province," and "Face Value: 1 Silver Coin".

The surface of the coin reflected a bright silver glow under sunlight, appearing very valuable at a glance.

There was no paper information to be found in the alchemy room.

Whether it was the identity of the Evil Old Man, the alchemical experiments he conducted, or a map of this place, everything had turned into ashes in the previous fire..

Unfortunately, before he transversed, Xia Zhou hadn't learned any survival knowledge, he could only rely on his own guess to choose a direction to move in.

Under the trees to the east, there were more bushes. Under the trees to the west, aside from the bushes, there were also many pebbles.

He walked a few steps into the forest to the south, but not long after, he returned looking pale.

That was the burial ground of a deceased boy... It reeked, and an half decayed arm was sticking out of the ground.

Logically, the Evil Old Man would destroy the remains in a direction where no one would pass.

The opposite direction, which was north, might have human activity.

Xia Zhou tightened his cloth bag and used his cane to split open the thorny bush, swinging his hand to drive away mosquitoes, advancing with difficulty in the forest.

This journey carried on for an entire day.

By the time evening fell and the sun was hanging low in the west, there was still no sign of human activity.

He had doubted several times that he had taken the wrong direction, and even feared that he was moving in circles around the hole. But eventually, he resisted the urge to turn back.

That would only waste time on the back and forth trips. Instead, it was better to keep heading north until it was dark, until he ran out of food and water, until he completely lost his strength.