178: You are not a good person

Starfire City, South City.

Since the Meiya People hid here eighty years ago, they have established a large stronghold by relying on the environment here.

As time passed, Starfire City has now become a magnificent city with a style seven or eight parts similar to Liyue City.

This is actually normal. After all, Liyue City was originally built by the Meiya People, but was later occupied by humans.

After leaving Boxi's blacksmith shop, Ye Xiao followed Boxi's guidance and went to South City alone to find the ancient ruins researcher, Milad.

Along the way, Ye Xiao also saw various Meiya People coming and going.

Each of them had large identity information floating above their heads, which made Ye Xiao a little dazzled and also curious.

Before this, who could have imagined seeing so many NPCs walking on the streets in their lifetime?

However, along the way, Ye Xiao also discovered the clues about the identities of these Meiya People.

From the first time he met Remi in the Miasma Hidden Forest, to finally meeting Boxi.

These NPCs basically all had their own identities.

For example, Remi's name was preceded by 'Insect Master', and the two in Linhai Village, not to mention, were 'Blacksmith' and 'Village Chief'.

Even Boxi of the Shadow Prison organization was once the East Gate Guard of Liyue City.

And Boxi was a senior forging master of Liyue City.

But now, he looked around and found that almost all the NPCs he encountered only displayed their names, without any other identity descriptions before their names.

At first, Ye Xiao thought these people did not hold any NPC functions before the Extinguish Yuan Battle, but just now he met an old woman whose name was preceded by 'Ordinary Citizen', which made him realize.

Presumably, these NPCs whose heads only displayed names were born after the Extinguish Yuan Battle, so they did not have any identity descriptions.

This surprising discovery made Ye Xiao have a new understanding of these NPCs.

All along, because Eternal World digitized humans, Ye Xiao always unconsciously treated this place as a game world, at most a real game world.

Except for humans, other creatures in Eternal World, including NPCs, were just some parts of this world.

But at this moment, he suddenly realized that these NPCs in his eyes were also living beings, and living species almost indistinguishable from humans.

Of course, Ye Xiao would not have any special emotions because of this, just a rather strange feeling.

Shaking his head, Ye Xiao cast off this strange thought.

Then, following Boxi's instructions, he quickly arrived at the residence of the ancient ruins researcher, Milad.

However, when Ye Xiao saw the somewhat dilapidated thatched hut in front of him, with thick dust even covering the courtyard, his heart sank slightly.

According to Boxi, Milad had been obsessed with researching various ancient ruins since childhood and was often elusive.

Boxi had also heard that he had returned a while ago, so he told Ye Xiao to try his luck.

If he was unlucky, the matter of the black dragon scale would have to be dropped.

However, for Ye Xiao, since he knew the efficacy of the black dragon scale, he was unwilling to give up easily.

Besides, since he was already here, he had to try.

Thinking this, Ye Xiao pushed open the dilapidated small iron gate in front of him.

“Creak!”

The small iron gate made a harsh sound, and then, to Ye Xiao's surprise, it clanged to the ground.

Ye Xiao, seeing this scene, was a little speechless.

Then, he entered the courtyard and looked around, but found no trace of life.

Is he really not here?

“Excuse me, is Master Milad here?”

Ye Xiao called out, but received no response for a long time.

This made Ye Xiao greatly disappointed. This was his first NPC quest, would it end without success?

Unwilling, he called out again, but still received no response.

Ye Xiao sighed helplessly.

Suddenly, a thought flashed through his mind, and he immediately immersed his consciousness into the Red Moon Space, quickly seeing the chubby figure lying beside a pile of corpses.

He had forgotten that Little Gold was also a dragon, and a Golden Dragon of extremely noble bloodline.

If the black dragon scale could increase the power of equipment, then wouldn't the more noble Golden Dragon also be able to?

Thinking of this, Ye Xiao's gaze towards Little Gold suddenly became a few points more eager.

However, just as this thought arose in Ye Xiao, Little Gold, who was dozing, suddenly opened his eyes and looked at Ye Xiao with a vigilant expression.

“What do you want to do?”

Ye Xiao coughed lightly, not caring about Little Gold's tone, and instead said with a smile, “Nothing, just came to see you.”

Little Gold blinked his large, bell-like eyes, and his huge dragon head lifted slightly, revealing an extremely human-like expression of disdain.

“Hmph! You actually want my scales, you are not a good person.”

Ye Xiao was stunned, “You can detect my inner thoughts?”

Little Gold rolled his eyes, “I am one of the Seven Sacred Beasts. Before I met you, I just hadn't left home, which doesn't mean I'm stupid. I heard your conversation with that old man earlier, and anyone with a little brain could guess it, okay?”

Ye Xiao was a little embarrassed, this little guy actually managed to show off.

He's really as tsundere as ever.

However, since the other party had guessed it, Ye Xiao simply confessed, “Since you already know, how about we make a deal? Would you be willing to contribute one of your scales to me?”

“I won't!”

Little Gold refused without hesitation.

However, Little Gold obviously still understood his identity as a pet, so after a pause, he began to explain.

“A dragon's scales are used to store energy. Losing one means permanently losing that part of the energy, which greatly affects my strength. You wouldn't want to take me into a fight later and have me drag you down, would you?”

Ye Xiao really wanted to say that with his strength, he wouldn't miss that little bit, but he really couldn't bring himself to say it.

At this moment, Little Gold said again, “Besides, even if I were willing to give you a dragon scale, it would be useless.”

“Oh? Why is that? Aren't you the strongest Golden Dragon?”

Ye Xiao asked in confusion, which was met with another big eye-roll from Little Gold.

“I am indeed the strongest Golden Dragon, but whether it's the scales of the Golden Dragon clan or other giant dragons, once they are pulled out, they become useless and cannot provide any amplification to your human equipment at all. These are just rumors spread by those ignorant Meiya People.”

Ye Xiao heard Little Gold's explanation, and his brows couldn't help but furrow.

“Then why didn't you say so earlier?”

Little Gold blinked, “You didn't ask.”

As soon as the words left his mouth, seeing Ye Xiao showing signs of anger, Little Gold was somewhat intimidated and quickly added, “Besides, what that old man said was also correct, what was I supposed to say?”

Ye Xiao was a little dizzy from Little Gold's words.

Fortunately, Little Gold still had some self-awareness as a pet and immediately explained.

“What I just said wasn't to deceive you. The scales of the giant dragon clan indeed have no effect on human equipment, but black dragons are an exception. Strictly speaking, black dragons have long been expelled by all dragons and are no longer members of the dragon clan.”

“Why is that?” Ye Xiao was a little curious.

Little Gold explained, “Because the bloodline of the black dragons was contaminated, they no longer possess the pure blood of the dragon clan.”

A strange thought suddenly popped into Ye Xiao's mind.

Hybrid?

As a pet with a telepathic connection, Little Gold obviously saw Ye Xiao's thought and couldn't help but roll his eyes again.

“Good person, your thoughts are very evil.”

Ye Xiao said grumpily, “Didn't you say that?”

Little Gold, being reprimanded, felt a little wronged, “The contamination of the bloodline I mentioned refers to the black dragon clan actively defecting to the evil Xiling Ancient Clan, thereby gaining abilities far superior to those of other giant dragons.”

“We giant dragons are noble beings, how could we fancy other lower species? That's the low-level taste that you humans and Meiya People like to do.”

Ye Xiao touched his nose awkwardly after hearing this, never expecting that he would also be ridiculed by his own pet.

However, what Little Gold said was also true, after all, Mixed-bloods have a long history.

But compared to this, Ye Xiao was more concerned about what Little Gold said about the black dragons defecting to the Xiling Ancient Clan.

After all, the Xiling Ruins was where he was going this time.

What exactly is this Xiling Ancient Clan?

Regarding Ye Xiao's question, Little Gold shook his head and said, “When I was created, the Xiling Ancient Clan had already disappeared from this continent, and I usually don't like to go out, so I've been sleeping in my own territory. Therefore, I don't know much about the Xiling Ancient Clan.”

“Only through the dragon bloodline imprint do I know some things about the ancient dragons. The black dragon lineage was originally the weakest existence among the dragons, often oppressed by other giant dragons. Later, they somehow connected with the Xiling Ancient Clan, abandoned the pride and dignity of the giant dragon clan, and merged with the evil spirit power of the Xiling Ancient Clan, becoming an invincible existence in the Eternal World at that time.”

“It is precisely because of this that black dragons are essentially no longer considered dragons. Their scales contain extremely strong destructive power, especially having a great restraint on dragons. Therefore, the old man's idea of forging weapons with black dragon scales was not wrong, but my Golden Dragon scales would not be effective.”

After hearing Little Gold's explanation, Ye Xiao suddenly understood.

However, he still had some doubts in his heart, suspecting that Little Gold was unwilling to part with his own scales, which was why he had so many excuses.

Of course, Ye Xiao couldn't verify this point either.

This little guy was still very tsundere. If he got unhappy, Ye Xiao would have to coax him for a while.

But now that Milad wasn't here, where should he go to find the entrance to the Xiling Ruins?

At this moment, Little Gold suddenly said, “There's actually someone in the house, but I don't know if it's the one you're looking for. His life aura is very weak, like he's about to die.”

“Why didn't you say so earlier!”

Ye Xiao glared at the guy, not having time to think much, and rushed directly into the house.

Little Gold, on the other hand, felt a little wronged. Didn't he not ask? Could he be blamed for this too?

Sure enough, as soon as he entered the house, Ye Xiao saw a figure lying in the corner, with the person's identity clearly written above him—Ancient Ruins Researcher Milad.

Ye Xiao's pupils contracted slightly. At this moment, Milad's face was covered in black mist, his eyes were tightly shut, and his breathing was faint, clearly looking like he was about to die.

He quickly knelt down in front of Milad, and Ye Xiao tried to wake him up.

However, at this moment, a strange scene occurred.

Milad, who had looked like he could breathe his last at any moment, suddenly opened his eyes without warning.

“What are you doing?”

After speaking, Milad then slowly sat up.

What's going on?

If it weren't for the black mist still lingering on the other person's face, Ye Xiao would have even suspected that he was hallucinating.

Milad, who had sat up, ignored Ye Xiao's confusion, but simply looked Ye Xiao up and down with his cloudy eyes, then spoke again.

“Human, you actually came to Starfire City, you are truly audacious.”

Thanks to Boxi's prior warning, Ye Xiao, who had recovered, was not surprised that Milad recognized him, and immediately said, “Boxi sent me to find you.”

Hearing Boxi's name, Milad seemed a little surprised, “That old man sent you? What does he want to do?”

Upon hearing this, Ye Xiao directly took out the exploration compass that Boxi had given him beforehand, “He said you would understand once you saw this.”

The moment he saw the exploration compass, Milad had already narrowed his eyes.

At the same time, the black mistentanglement on Milad's face instantly disappeared without a trace, and he took the exploration compass with a spirited look, examining it carefully, completely devoid of his previous dying state.

“That old man finally decided to take this out.”

Then, Milad excitedly got up and walked aside. After rummaging around, he came out with a pile of bottles and jars, and after putting them away one by one, he said to Ye Xiao, “Let's go.”

“Huh? Where to?” Ye Xiao was a little confused.

Milad was a little impatient, “Didn't you come to find me to go to the Xiling Ruins? Where else could we go?”

After speaking, Milad ignored Ye Xiao and walked outside eagerly.

Seeing this, Ye Xiao could only follow helplessly, while secretly thinking: This is a strange person.

At this moment, he found that his quest progress had also changed.

---

【Quest Progress Changed: Please protect the Ancient Ruins Researcher Milad to the Xiling Ruins.】

---

Looking at the quest prompt, Ye Xiao couldn't help but wonder, the quest actually required him to protect Milad, did that mean they would encounter danger along the way?

At this moment, he suddenly thought of Milad's state just now, and his heart stirred.

“What was wrong with you just now?”

Milad heard this and explained without looking back, “I was trying to figure out how to break the Xiling Ancient Clan's curse.”

“You were cursed?” Ye Xiao was a little surprised.

Milad nodded with a habitual expression.

“Then, in your current state, have you broken it?”

Milad smacked his lips, “Not yet.”

Ye Xiao couldn't help but be confused, “Then you…”

Milad glanced at Ye Xiao sideways, “Don't be so surprised. Although the Xiling curse is domineering, I'm not to be trifled with. I've been cursed a thousand times, if not eight hundred, on this body. Getting cursed is just like a common meal. Although I can't break it temporarily, isn't suppressing it an easy task?”

Upon hearing this, Ye Xiao immediately had a different understanding of Milad's abilities, but he thought of a question and couldn't help but ask, “Did you get this curse in the Xiling Ruins?”

Milad said grumpily, “Didn't I say that I've been cursed a thousand times, if not eight hundred? I'm so experienced, how could I be so careless as to get cursed?”

Ye Xiao rolled his eyes inwardly.

He's already cursed, and he's still bragging.

Milad saw Ye Xiao's expression and immediately became displeased, “What's with that expression? I specifically planted this curse on myself for the purpose of studying the Xiling curse. How else can I break it?”

“Uh…”

This time, Ye Xiao was truly stunned.

Is this what they call the legendary Shennong tasting a hundred herbs?

At this moment, Milad seemed to remember something, and immediately pulled out a gray bottle with a pungent smell and threw it to Ye Xiao.

“You keep interrupting me, I almost forgot. If you don't want to get cursed by those things in the Xiling Ruins, remember to take this later.”

Ye Xiao took it in confusion and then checked it.

---

【Curse Cleansing Potion: After consumption, immune to any curse. Duration: 10 minutes】

---

Ye Xiao's eyes lit up.

It was an immunity to curse potion, this was a good item.

One must know that curses, as a special method, often catch people off guard. Once cursed, even if the effect of the curse is extremely weak, it is still quite troublesome for the cursed person.

He hadn't expected that this Milad actually had such abilities. He had underestimated him earlier.