99: Chapter 99 Hidden Mission?

The heart-wrenching cries echoed in the quiet alley for a long time.

Chen You did not urge her, nor did he offer clumsy comfort.

He just stood quietly to the side, like an emotionless stone statue.

This was the sorrow and joy of an NPC, a story already written in the data.

He was merely a passerby, a messenger.

After an unknown amount of time, the crying gradually subsided, leaving only suppressed sobs.

Meng Xiao haphazardly wiped her face with her sleeves, which were washed pale. Her swollen eyes looked up at Chen You again, her voice terribly hoarse.

"Big Brother... I, I want to take this to show my mother."

She opened her tightly clenched little hand. The [White Feather Insignia] lay quietly in her palm, soaked by her tears and sweat.

"My father always said, he promised Mother he would definitely come back..."

Chen You's heart stirred slightly.

[Ding!]

[Quest [Hero's Orphan] has been updated!]

[Quest Objective: Escort Meng Xiao to the [Tranquil Graveyard] in the northern suburbs of Zhao City to complete the final farewell.]

[Quest Reward: Experience X50000, Zhao City Reputation X500, ???]

The final reward was three question marks.

Chen You raised an eyebrow.

A random reward?

"Alright," he nodded succinctly. "I'll take you."

...

The road from the Old District to the northern cemetery was quite far.

Chen You originally planned to directly spend money to hire a system carriage, but Meng Xiao just shook her head silently, insisting on walking there herself.

As if this path was also part of the farewell ritual.

Chen You didn't mind and followed behind her, walking neither too fast nor too slow.

Silence reigned the entire way.

The further north they walked, the sparser the population became. The air was filled with a damp, earthy scent, so quiet it felt somewhat oppressive.

After leaving the city, the two walked for about five more minutes.

Finally, they stopped in front of a graveyard enclosed by a low stone wall.

[Tranquil Graveyard].

Most of those buried here were ordinary residents of Zhao City, and... nameless soldiers who sacrificed themselves to protect the city.

Meng Xiao, familiar with the layout, passed through the tombstones and finally stopped before a very inconspicuous stone tablet, then slowly knelt down.

The stele bore no magnificent inscription, only a gentle name carved upon it—

"Tomb of My Beloved Wife, Lin Wanqing."

Meng Xiao said nothing, merely extending her small hand to gently brush the dust off the tombstone.

Then, she carefully placed the [White Feather Insignia] before the stele.

Having done this, she remained kneeling, motionless, like a tiny statue.

The wind blew past, stirring up a few fallen leaves that rustled among the graves.

Chen You stood not far away and waited for five minutes.

Meng Xiao did not move.

He waited another ten minutes.

Meng Xiao still hadn't moved.

"..."

Chen You tried calling out once, but there was no response.

The quest was to escort. The person was delivered, so what now?

Surely this quest wouldn't just stop here?

How was he supposed to get to the next main city then?

The main quest shouldn't just break off like this.

But how long would he have to wait?

Waiting like this, he might as well find a place to grind monsters!

Chen You looked up again, surveying his surroundings. Just then, the corner of his eye suddenly caught a hint of strangeness.

Something was wrong.

Chen You narrowed his eyes slightly. Under the effect of the passive skill [Spiritual Sight],

A strange transformation was occurring on Meng Xiao, who was kneeling before the tombstone.

Wisps of black energy, thinner than strands of hair, were slowly rising from the damp earth and from beneath the surrounding nameless tombstones.

As if drawn by some invisible force, they scrambled to drill into Meng Xiao's small body.

It looked like some kind of pure, icy negative energy.

Sorrow, deathly silence, despair...

This black energy seemed to be the accumulation of all the negative emotions that had settled in this graveyard over thousands of years.

And Meng Xiao's current state of extreme grief acted like a massive vortex, wildly drawing this energy towards her.

Her health points were dropping slowly but steadily at a rate of -1 per second.

[Meng Xiao (Weakened)]

[Health: 79 / 120]

If this continued, this little girl might just grieve herself to death!

"What kind of situation is this?"

Chen You was a bit confused.

Was this part of the quest's plot?

Or would the quest fail if Meng Xiao died?

He couldn't just stand by and watch!

With a thought, he brought his sword fingers together, and a wisp of extremely condensed golden spiritual energy gathered at his fingertip.

This was the Pure Yang energy accompanying the spiritual energy condensed by the Nine Revolutions Primordial Chaos Art, which had a certain purifying effect on this kind of non-corporeal negative energy.

Without the slightest hesitation, he flicked his finger.

"Whoosh!"

A grain-of-rice-sized golden light shot through the air, silent and precise, hitting the densest clump of black energy surrounding Meng Xiao.

In his mind, this single strike should be enough to dispel these filthy things and return the quest to normal.

However, the moment the golden light touched the black energy, a sudden change occurred!

"Sizzzz—!"

A harsh sound, like pouring boiling oil onto ice, rang out.

Not only did the golden light fail to dispel the black energy, but it acted like a spark dropped into a wok, instantly igniting the entire scene!

The countless black energies that had been slowly seeping in suddenly recoiled as if violently stimulated.

Then, they transformed into streaks of black lightning, tearing through the air, and poured into Meng Xiao's body at a speed a hundred times faster than before!

"Ugh—!"

Meng Xiao let out a muffled groan of pain, and her small body trembled violently.

Slowly, in an extremely stiff posture, she lifted her head.

All the sorrow and fragility vanished from her tear-streaked little face, replaced by a cold indifference that reached her very bones.

Her eyes, which had been swollen red, now had pupils that had turned completely into an unfathomable black.

The temperature of the surrounding air dropped sharply.

"Why... why... disturb... her... peace...?"

A cold, eerie voice, as if overlapping the sounds of countless men, women, and children, spoke out word by word from Meng Xiao's mouth.

Chen You was stunned.

What was the situation now?

Before he could react, a new system notification appeared.

[Ding!]

[Because your actions deeply stung the hero's orphan, you have triggered the Hidden Quest—[Disturbed Rest]!]

[Quest Introduction: The maiden's resentment has awakened a certain power slumbering here.]

[She will use the hero's bloodline as a guide to make you pay the price for your arrogance and rudeness!]

[Quest Objective: Survive for ten minutes under [Meng Xiao]'s revenge!]

[Quest Hint: During combat, you cannot leave the [Tranquil Graveyard] area, nor can you inflict any damage upon [Meng Xiao].]

Immediately following this, another World Announcement appeared.

[World Announcement (Zhao City Region): A hidden public quest in Zhao City has been triggered!]