Meanwhile, hearing Evans's question, the Sword-man grinned and sat up straight in his chair.
“Oho, you've got some great luck right off the bat.”
He pointed at the glass bead in Evans's hand, his tone full of mystery.
“This is an A-rank Anomaly. It once caused a massive bloodbath.”
“A-rank?” Evans was somewhat surprised, and his previously casual movements instantly became a bit more guarded.
But this beautiful little bead... did not look like something that would “kill a whole crowd of people on contact.”
“Yep.” The Sword-man nodded, leaning back in his chair and crossing his legs, putting on the air of a storyteller. “It's a long story.”
“Once upon a time,” he began, slowing his voice down with a rhythm unique to storytelling, “in a... uh, there was a hidden sect...”
“Cough, cough, cough!”
The moment the words left his mouth, the Sword-man coughed violently and quickly corrected himself.
“I mean, a small tribe on the Wilderness. Yes, a small tribe.”
“In that small tribe, there was a woman known as the greatest beauty of the Wilderness.”
“It was said she was a natural beauty, born with a spiritual aura, drawing everyone's gaze wherever she went.”
“There were even rumors that cultivating with her could... uh, make you stronger.”
Evans's face was a map of confusion. “What do you mean, 'cultivating with a beauty makes you stronger'?”
“And how come I've never heard of this 'greatest beauty of the Wilderness'?”
“Never mind that.” The Sword-man waved his hand dismissively, his tone taking it for granted. “You weren't even born back then.”
Evans shut his mouth and gestured for him to continue.
“And then,” the Sword-man lowered his voice, carrying an air of 'the good part is coming.'
“The previous greatest beauty—the wife of a major tribe's chief—grew deeply resentful as her own looks faded with age.”
“So she egged on her brother and her husband to launch a joint attack on the tribe of the new greatest beauty.”
The Sword-man drew a circle in the air with his finger, as if outlining the battlefield.
“That battle shook the heavens and earth. It was said they even deployed several innate spiritual treasures... I mean, S-rank Anomalies.”
“They fought for three days and three nights, with countless casualties. In the end, that small tribe was wiped out, and the greatest beauty vanished without a trace.”
“Normally, the story should have ended there, and no one would have ever known about this bead.”
The Sword-man paused, his tone turning somewhat strange.
“But strangely, after that great war, the tribal chief's wife didn't age. Instead, she grew more and more beautiful.”
“She reclaimed her title as the greatest beauty of the Wilderness, standing alongside her husband, the chief of the Wilderness's grandest tribe.”
“A handsome man and a beautiful woman, a match made in heaven. Everything seemed perfect, right?”
“But the good times didn't last.”
The Sword-man's voice suddenly dropped.
“She was so beautiful that even her own brother began to harbor wicked thoughts.”
“Word of this... or rather, certain rumors... reached the chief's ears. He began to suspect that his wife was having an affair with her brother.”
The Sword-man paused and looked at Evans.
“So the chief took his blade and killed them both?” Evans guessed tentatively.
“No, no, no.” The Sword-man shook his head and smiled, a look of unspeakable oddity playing on his lips.
“The chief was indeed planning to catch them in the act, but when he violently threw open the tent flap, there was no scandalous, passionate affair going on inside.”
“The tent was empty except for the brother-in-law, who was sitting there completely unbothered, drinking wine with a massive charcoal brazier set before him.”
“Just him?”
“Just him.” The Sword-man nodded, his eyes deep.
“And that brother-in-law was drinking merrily, his mouth glistening with grease. Roasting over the brazier was a tender, juicy 'large leg of lamb'.”
“...” Hearing this, the muscles on Evans's face suddenly stiffened.
Then, he suddenly realized something and immediately clamped his mouth shut.
The Sword-man watched the shift in his expression, his grin widening.
“After that, the greatest beauty vanished completely,” the Sword-man continued slowly, thoroughly enjoying the horrified look on the youth's face.
“Don't rush, it's not over yet.”
“After his sister disappeared, for some unknown reason, that brother-in-law also began to grow increasingly handsome and beautiful.”
“They say that one day, the chief, whose suspicions had never truly faded, sneaked into the brother-in-law's tent all by himself.”
“No one knows what happened that night, but from then on, no one ever saw the brother-in-law again.”
“The chief announced to the outside world that his brother-in-law had also gone missing.”
“But two months later—”
The Sword-man lightly tapped his finger on the table, letting out a soft clack.
“The two of them were found dead together inside the chief's tent!”
“No one knew why the brother-in-law had appeared there.”
“It was said their deaths were incredibly gruesome. The two of them had bitten and torn at each other in a frenzy, to the point where their bodies couldn't even be separated, as if they had succumbed to Qi Deviation.”
“Aside from their corpses, only this bead was left at the scene.”
“And then?” Evans asked.
“Then?” The Sword-man shrugged. “The Wilderness's largest tribe fell apart just like that. The survivors fought tooth and nail among themselves for power and wealth.”
“Eventually, they scattered or died off, completely vanishing from the Wilderness.”
Evans listened to the story with rapt attention.
Hiding in the dark, Ren Yi felt his teeth ache as he listened.
Why does this story sound stranger and stranger the more I think about it?
The greatest beauty of the small tribe "vanished without a trace," and then the chief's wife became increasingly beautiful.
The husband went to catch them in the act, only to find the brother-in-law roasting a "leg of lamb" alone.
Then the chief's wife disappeared, and after the brother-in-law went missing, he and the chief both ended up "succumbing to Qi Deviation" together...
Thinking of "attractiveness," "appetite," "regardless of gender"...
Ren Yi shuddered violently.
The more you think about it, the more terrifying it gets.
Right now, in his perception, that bead looked like a predatory beast.
And more importantly...
Ren Yi now fully understood Evans's assessment of the Sword-man.
Mr. Sword-man, you really have a mouth but absolutely no filter on it!
Are you telling a story, or are you just finding creative ways to leak information?
Would you mind explaining to me what on earth "sect," "innate spiritual treasure," and "Qi Deviation" are supposed to mean in this world?!
Rate on N.U.
