70: Chapter 70 Strange Things in the Forest

After deep reflection, Nie Ning finally agreed.

Because according to Audrey, the speed of elemental erosion would only increase, and the later it progressed, the lower the chance of a cure.

For instance, if eighty percent of the body was crystallized, even if the elemental erosion was removed, the body would struggle to heal itself.

Currently, his elemental erosion had not yet spread to his internal organs, so there was still a chance for treatment.

"In that case, so be it. The treatment requires some preparations. I'll have Ivy notify you when the time comes."

Audrey smiled as she saw Nie Ning agree.

It was rare to find such high-quality experimental material; if she could find a way to treat elemental erosion, she might be able to make a fortune.

However, Nie Ning did not leave; instead, he looked at Audrey somewhat bashfully.

"Is there anything else?"

Audrey's delicate brows furrowed slightly as she asked in confusion.

"My lady, I would like to take you as my master. What do you think?"

Nie Ning asked with a fawning smile.

It could only be said that life as a Wild Wizard was far too difficult.

Aside from the wizard books he had obtained, he was practically ignorant about wizards.

If he had a teacher to guide him from the start, he could have specialized in the path of a wizard and wouldn't have needed to go to the Wantai Forest, let alone contract elemental erosion.

Knowledge is power.

Moreover, doing this might make Audrey put more effort into treating him.

Audrey chuckled. "You certainly know how to seize an opportunity, don't you?"

"Then..."

Hearing this, Nie Ning thought there was hope, but just as he was about to formally ask, Audrey interrupted him.

"Of course not!"

Audrey flatly refused.

"I'm not a hundred percent sure I can cure you. What if you die? Put away those little schemes of yours and go back to settle your affairs."

Nie Ning's mouth twitched. Even with his thick skin, he didn't have the nerve to continue talking about becoming her disciple.

...

After leaving the City Lord's Mansion, Nie Ning happened to pass by the Residential Area where Mrs. Terry lived.

Thinking since he was already here, he decided to go in and see how things were.

As soon as he stepped into the Residential Area, Nie Ning noticed something was wrong.

Although the area used to be quiet, one could occasionally see people, small pets, or even children playing nearby.

But today, not even a ghost of a shadow was to be seen; it was so quiet it was as if everyone had moved away.

Nie Ning frowned slightly, and then a wisp of white smoke gathered and took shape beside him, turning into a bizarre Soul Body with a massive bear head but a body like a small child's.

Looking at the shriveled body hanging from the massive bear head, it looked like a piece of dried bacon; this was the change that occurred after devouring the Hunched Old Man.

Nie Ning didn't know why this change had occurred, but it seemed to be trending toward becoming a Human-Faced Balloon.

Because the Jerky Bear Head could also trigger Malice Perception!

Shaking his head slightly, Nie Ning turned his attention to the nearby houses.

The Jerky Bear Head, like a wisp of mist, rushed into the houses at extreme speed.

Nie Ning approached a nearby house and looked inside through the window; all the items were still there, so it didn't look like anyone had moved out.

As the Jerky Bear Head finished its circuit and returned, Nie Ning discovered that there wasn't a single person in this Residential Area.

He couldn't say there was absolutely no one; he at least found a corpse inside one of the houses.

The corpse lay on the floor next to a wheelchair, hand reaching toward the locked wooden door ahead; it looked like a sudden illness, or perhaps starvation.

Regardless, some unknown event had clearly occurred, causing the people here to disappear for some reason.

Nie Ning looked up at the forest in the distance.

From the side, nothing seemed unusual; the outskirts were still filled with lush, green trees.

After a moment's thought, Nie Ning decided to go take a look.

Naturally, he had no intention of going deep; he just wanted to see if there were any changes, and then reporting it to the authorities would be the best course of action.

...

Relying on his speed as a High-Tier Knight, Nie Ning quickly reached the edge of the forest.

"There's malice. It seems something really has happened."

Recalling the last time he was here, he couldn't sense any malice from the edge of the forest, but now he could feel it clearly.

No need to think further; something had definitely gone wrong inside.

Nie Ning took a step forward, and the surrounding scene changed instantly.

The trees in the forest turned black, and the sky became a strange, dim blue.

Feeling that something was wrong, Nie Ning immediately took a step back.

But the surroundings didn't change; turning around, he found that there were also woods behind him.

"F*ck..."

Nie Ning couldn't help but curse.

He could swear that he really didn't intend to come in; he just had a sudden impulse to pick a leaf and take a look.

After all, the malice was so close; perhaps the trees were also infected, so he thought of picking a leaf to confirm the situation.

Who would have thought such a thing would happen!

With a grim expression, Nie Ning turned and walked back.

But just as he expected, after walking several hundred meters, there was no sign of leaving the forest.

As a materialist, Nie Ning didn't believe in superstitions and threw out a ball of fire, wanting to try and set the whole forest ablaze.

The outcome was beyond Nie Ning's expectations; the trees couldn't be ignited by the fire at all, and the flames were extinguished immediately as if they had been thrown into water.

Nie Ning scratched his head but steeled himself to continue walking in one direction.

Suddenly, the scene before Nie Ning's eyes changed, and he realized he had actually walked to the edge of the Small Lake from before.

Around the Small Lake, a circle of people stood.

These people had dull expressions, murmuring unintelligible words.

It was as if they were praying, or perhaps chanting; it was very strange.

Nie Ning recognized several of them; they were passersby he had encountered back when Mrs. Terry was still around.

One could guess without even trying that these people must be the residents of the Residential Area.

He just didn't know why they had come here, and talking nonsense like Cultists was quite baffling.

Nie Ning looked toward the center of the lake; at some point, a small island had risen in the middle.

In the center of the island, a red flower resembling a Morning Glory was planted there, appearing exceptionally vivid and beautiful in this dim blue world.

"Could it be that flower?"

Nie Ning's thoughts went back to when Mrs. Terry was still around; he had seen this kind of flower on her windowsill.

At the time, because of the stamen in the middle, the whole flower looked like a human face when viewed from above.

However, since the flower did look quite pretty from the outside, Nie Ning had assumed it was just a matter of perspective and hadn't paid much attention to it.

"Isn't this a wizard world? Why is it full of these bizarre things? It's practically impossible to guard against."

Seeing this, Nie Ning didn't even know how to complain anymore.

He only blamed his excessive curiosity; he always wanted to get a closer look at everything, or else he wouldn't have met with this disaster.

It was truly rotten luck.

...