This was an extremely dilapidated house with all the attributes of a ‘broken house’ such as leaking air and rain, but the house was fairly tidy.
The only relatively complete piece of furniture was a wooden chair on which the emaciated Old Father Lal was lying feebly.
Old Father Lal with a long beard was actually not very old. His actual age was only in his 50s, but he looked like a walking dead.
Seeing that Little Jim didn’t bring back any food, but a stranger who ‘didn’t look like a good person’ (Chen Rui), Old Father Lal didn’t save Little Jim’s face at all. He yelled at him, and he even started throwing things to drive Little Jim and Chen Rui out.
“Your injury is not ordinary, but a deadly poison.”
Chen Rui’s first sentence stopped the old dad’s scolding abruptly.
“You can see that Little Jim seems to be forced by me to come here. You’re afraid of implicating him, so you deliberately drive him away. Don’t worry, I have no ill intentions.”
When the second sentence fell in his ears, Old Father Lal’s eyes suddenly froze. Little Jim was about to say something when he saw a dazzling white light emitting from Chen Rui’s body. He couldn’t even open his eyes for a while.
After the light subsided, Old Father Lal’s expression had changed from shock to surprise. The haggard look on his face gradually faded away, and his face became rosy.
Old Father Lal let out a low grunt, and a momentum containing power burst out and spread to the surroundings. The muscles of his whole body swelled like an inflated ball. The shirt was almost burst, and some kind of tattoo on the chest was revealed. The whole house was shaken.
Little Jim couldn’t believe his eyes. He had only seen such power in the famous powerhouse in town, Sir Sheriff William. When did dad have this kind of power? It is even more powerful than Sir Sheriff William!
This strong man… is the sick old guy?
Old Father Lal took a few deep breaths, “Thank you, sir.”
Although he said thank you, Old Father Lal’s tone didn’t show any gratitude. The expression on his face was also very cold, and his eyes were full of vigilance.
“You burst out that kind of momentum on purpose. If I can’t stand it, I’m afraid your ‘thank you’ is another way.” Chen Rui frowned and glanced at Little Jim, “A person who is willing to raise an orphan and behaved like that just now, you should not be the kind of ruthless and unrighteous person. Why do you treat people who are kind to you with this attitude?”
“Sir doesn’t need to go around in circles. I didn’t expect that I was hiding here for more than 10 years, but I was still found here.” Old Father Lal sighed, “I don’t think sir is the kind of judge who kills indiscriminately, you should hold a high position. I can go with you. But this child is innocent. He has no strength or value at all; please spare his life. Otherwise, once I die, even if I can’t die with sir, sir will inevitably suffer a minor injury.”
Judge?
Hiding for 10 years?
Chen Rui shook his head. Okay, another misunderstanding.
Nonetheless, he had a lot of experience of being misunderstood. At this time, the more he explained, the more unclear it was, so Chen Rui didn’t say much. He moved his fingers slightly.
Little Jim felt his vision blur as if something had happened. Old Father Lal was already standing there, his eyes full of horror and despair – Little Jim couldn’t sense it, but he could sense it clearly. That kind of power he sensed just now, almost shattered the entire space. The power was far beyond his imagination. It was not something he could shake at all. A finger could annihilate him. The funny thing was that he just threatened to perish together with the other party.
“Let’s clarify 1 thing first. You have misunderstood. I’m not a member of the church, and I don’t know you. I came to you today just for something else, understand?”
Old Father Lal was startled. Chen Rui walked over and sat directly on his chair. He shook his head for a while before he came to his senses. He couldn’t help but smile, and his body shrunk again, returning to his usual thinness. He deeply bowed down and saluted.
“Understood! With the strength that sir just showed, my life and death are completely under your control. I can’t even commit suicide. There is no need to lie.”
Chen Rui thought to himself. No doubt this is the best way to cancel the misunderstanding. Unfortunately, for other misunderstood people such as Python and Satan, I’m afraid it’s impossible to use this method to solve it. Even the Elemental King’s real body should be an incomparable presence.
“To tell the truth, I was the target of the church’s pursuit back then, and I have been hiding in this small town for 17 years. The dispelling power that sir activated to remove the poison from me could only be activated by the senior executives of the Holy Church. That’s why I have such a misunderstanding. Please forgive me, sir.”
Chen Rui nodded, “The poison on your body is unique and stubborn. In fact, it hasn’t been completely healed just now, but this ability of mine can only be used once an hour. I will activate it several times later again, and it should be completely removed.”
“Sir’s power is simply amazing.” Old Father Lal lamented, “You can actually detox the poison of the Phantom Springwater.”
“Phantom Springwater?” Chen Rui’s ears pricked up suddenly. Can it be the treasure that repairs the elemental heart of water?
Wait a minute, the ‘Phantom Ice Spring’ and ‘Phantom Springwater’ are just 1 word difference, I but are they the same thing?
“Sir heard of the Phantom Springwater before?”
Chen Rui calmed down and asked, “I’ve heard about ‘the Phantom Ice Spring’, is there any connection between the 2?”
“Sir no doubt is well-informed. The Phantom Ice Spring is the essence of the Phantom Springwater. Only 1 drop is produced every few hundred years. The specific function is unknown.”
I toiled efforts to find it to no avail, yet I got the news so easily now! This time, my luck is really good. I actually got this unexpected good news!
Chen Rui was overjoyed, but he asked calmly, “This ice spring is useful to me. Where were you poisoned in the first place?”
The Phantom Springwater has only produced a drop of the Phantom Ice Spring in hundreds of years. I don’t know if it’s time now, but in any case, I must have a look.
“It’s in the Black Prison Desert. I wonder if sir has ever heard the name Dreamy Oasis?”
“The Phantom Springwater is in the Dreamy Oasis?” Chen Rui expressed surprise. This trip to the Black Prison Desert seems to be worthwhile!
Old Father Lal nodded as Chen Rui glanced at him, “I came to you this time just for the Dreamy Oasis. I wonder if you would like to accompany me to find this mysterious oasis?”
Old Father Lal gave Little Jim a look, and Little Jim shook his head quickly, “Dad, I didn’t say anything!”
Chen Rui smiled lightly, “He really didn’t say. You know, there are some things in this world, even if you don’t say it, you may not be able to hide it. Not to mention that he is still a child.”
There should be a lot of secrets about this Old Father Lal, such as why he was hunted down by the church, why he was hiding in this small border town for more than 10 years, and so on. However, for Chen Rui, Lal’s greatest value was the Dreamy Oasis, and he wouldn’t delve into the rest.
Fire condensation crystal sand and the Phantom Ice Spring, I must get them.
“I can guarantee your safety, and the price is not a problem.”
“Although sir is powerful, the Black Prison Desert is not an ordinary place. I’m afraid you can’t even protect yourself by that time. I also barely escaped by luck…” Old Father Lal sighed, “I dare not ask what is the purpose of sir going to the Black Prison Desert, but since you decide to go, you must have a considerable awareness.”
“So, you have agreed?”
Old Father Lal gave a wry smile, “Can I still refuse?”
Soon after, Chen Rui and Old Father Lal changed into a suit of ordinary desert dwellers and walked out of the city gate.
“This is actually not the closest inhabitant to the Black Prison Desert in the Vast Sand Empire. There is also the Stone Horse Town on the outer edge of the desert, which is rich in magical materials such as mystic sand and blue earth sand. There were originally many residents, but now a considerable part is controlled by the sand bandits and is almost turned into their base. Only some businessmen with strong guards dare to trade there. There are also some bold people who bypassed the Stone Horse Town and went directly to the outer edge of the desert to explore and mine materials. However… some of these people were killed by the sand bandits, and some were buried in the desert with a very small chance of surviving.”
“But there are still people going, right?” Chen Rui frowned.
“Just to make a living.” Old Father Lal shook his head. “Me too.”
“Don’t worry. I said you won’t die, so you won’t die.”
“Actually, sir has given Little Jim a huge sum of money, and you killed the city guard leader who is Pino’s brother-in-law. It has saved him from future troubles. As long as that kid is smart, he won’t have to worry about his life.” Old Father Lal laughed at himself, “At that time, I just wanted to raise him as a cover-up, but after so many years, I have some feelings too.”
“We’re going to the Stone Horse Town now?”
“The scope of the Black Prison Desert is as vast as the sea, and the Dreamy Oasis that sir is looking for is in the core area of the Black Prison Desert. It contains special power, and the danger is also multiplied in the periphery. Even if people can survive the terrifying sandstorm on the periphery, they will get lost in the strange power along the way, and they will never find the true core area.”
Chen Rui nodded. It is like in the Dead Sea. Even if I have a sea area map, I’m afraid it is difficult to succeed in a year or half to find the real Crimson Double Teeth Sea Area without the help of the Water Elemental King. Moreover, in this desert, there is no map at all. It is necessary to rely on a well-informed veteran like Old Father Lal.
“I was a little distracted just now. You can continue.”
“Let’s go to the Stone Horse Town and make a deal with the ship factory there, that is to buy or lease a desert boat. With a desert boat, it will be much easier to enter the core desert. Sir, don’t worry. The owner of the ship factory, Old Panrui, and I are old friends. Although we haven’t seen each other for a few years, he will still give me some face.”
Desert boat? The 9-year compulsory education in the other world was undoubtedly a success. Although Chen Rui had been crossover for so long, his first reaction when he heard these 2 words was that it was some kind of animal.
Old Father Lal didn’t speak anymore because he had already entered the sandstorm area. Even though it was only in the outer area, the sand and dust still made it very inconvenient to speak. Most of the time, he used a mask or face towel to cover his face.
When Chen Rui followed Old Father Lal all the way to the Stone Horse Town, he finally saw the so-called desert ship. It was not a camel but a real ship.
On the surface, this kind of ship was not much different from ordinary small sea ships. The masts, ship sails, ship cabins, ship anchors, and so on were all available, but the shape of the ship body was slightly different, and the bottom was a special wheel-type ship paddle.
