Chapter 48: Enemies on a Narrow Road
The records on the parchment were sparse, but Su Xiao had a feeling that the tone of the writing seemed like it came from a living person who had once lived on this continent.
Besides the parchment in Su Xiao's hand, there was a pile of biological array diagrams below. Su Xiao could understand a small portion of them, which roughly contained the biological cultivation arrays for Shadow Serpents, Tree Erosion, and Moon Maidens. Among these, the Moon Maiden accounted for over 80% of the records, and there was a crucial piece of information: the Moon Maiden's birth occurred only after Dead Silence City first connected to the continent and the residents' attack on the continent failed.
Su Xiao gathered all the parchments, a look of delight on his face. To him, these parchments were more valuable than Epic equipment. Anything he couldn't understand, he would take back to Reincarnation Paradise for translation. The notarization fees for knowledge-based items were generally not high.
The old divine stick had marked an X on the treatment institute, indicating it should be extremely dangerous. Yet, after infiltrating the place, Su Xiao didn't feel it was too perilous. In fact, it seemed much safer compared to the outside.
Following the upward stone stairs, Su Xiao arrived at the stairwell on the third floor. As expected, the five Crow Doctors were on the third floor.
Su Xiao hid behind a wall, fully suppressing his aura. He took out a small mirror and observed the situation on the third floor through its reflection.
The third floor was relatively empty. On one side were several large cages, with Amu locked inside, bound by root-like ropes. On the other side of the room were several stone platforms of varying sizes. Veroni was chained to one of them, a rag stuffed in her mouth, while the five Crow Doctors busied themselves around her.
"Mmph~ Mmph~"
Veroni struggled, but her hands and feet were bound, leaving her only able to twist her body.
*Rip. Rip...*
A small Tree Erosion, about three meters tall, was sharpening a knife nearby. It was a strangely curved blade with dirty, yellow-black cloth strips wrapped around the handle.
Seeing this, Su Xiao retreated to the first floor and quietly approached the Dead Silence City resident lying on the operating table.
*Pfft!*
The long blade pierced through flesh and blood. This Dead Silence City resident wasn't strong and was already injured. Coupled with Su Xiao's sudden attack, one thrust pierced its chest, curing it of its earthly ailments for good.
Su Xiao pulled his arm back, *cracked* the resident's neck with a twist, and tossed the body into the pile of metal instruments.
After doing this, Su Xiao rushed out of the treatment institute and casually tossed an Alchemy Bomb into a nearby building.
Soon, three Crow Doctors rushed to the first floor. Seeing the corpse among the metal instruments, they turned and walked back upstairs. Unlike their arrival, their return was unhurried.
*Boom!*
Magma erupted, nearly filling the entire third floor. Within the magma, Su Xiao kicked a Crow Doctor in the lower back. This Crow Doctor was clearly not adept at combat and crashed *boom* into the wall.
But this Crow Doctor's body was extremely tough. Su Xiao had used full force in his kick, yet the Crow Doctor seemed unharmed.
*Ding, ding~*
With two slashes, Su Xiao severed the metal restraints binding Veroni. Grabbing Veroni, he leaped out the window.
Half a minute later, the five Crow Doctors stood in the chaotic third floor. After a while, they all sat down on the ground, motionless.
Inside a square stone tower over three hundred meters from the treatment institute, Su Xiao watched the direction of the institute. The Crow Doctors hadn't pursued.
Those five Crow Doctors gave Su Xiao a strange feeling. They clearly possessed considerable physical strength, yet they were not skilled in combat. In fact, after being kicked flying by Su Xiao, that Crow Doctor had even paused for a moment, stunned, within the wall.
The old divine stick had warned about the danger of the treatment institute on the map. However, inside the institute, Su Xiao had found a short inscription: 'Rahan, you chose to stand with the Black King, but one day you will return. I hope... you can heal Dead Silence City.'
The name Rahan was quite intriguing. The old divine stick was named Ken Rahan, and his attitude clearly showed he was very familiar with Dead Silence City, even knowing that the black-haired little girl was too eerie and that it was best not to fight her head-on.
Based on the information Su Xiao had now, the old divine stick was once a resident of Dead Silence City but had somehow found a way to be reborn. This process was likely related to the treatment institute.
"Amu, Veroni, how were you captured?"
Su Xiao had one last doubt. Resolving it would allow him to infer the old divine stick's general purpose.
"I don't know," Veroni said, still shaken, shaking her head. "After I entered that place, I suddenly passed out. When I woke up, I was lying there. They kept circling around me, measuring my height, weight..."
Hearing Veroni's description, Su Xiao basically understood what the treatment institute was about. The Crow Doctors there probably weren't too dangerous. Those doctors had lost consciousness, but judging by their various actions, they seemed unwilling to easily harm living people who entered. They followed their habits from life, observing and studying the intruders.
What was truly dangerous was likely some kind of defense mechanism within the treatment institute, one that could instantly incapacitate anyone entering, causing them to collapse unconscious. However, Bubu Wang, who entered later, hadn't fainted, suggesting the defense measure couldn't be activated continuously.
When Su Xiao had entered the treatment institute earlier, he had indeed felt a momentary blurring of consciousness. After asking Amu and Bubu Wang, he got the same result.
Amu had passed out directly, while Bubu Wang had been dazed for a few seconds before returning to normal.
The treatment institute likely held significant secrets, but Su Xiao had no time to investigate it now. The sacrificial altar was just a few dozen meters away. Once inside, he could use the Dark Source to enhance his talent ability.
As for taking revenge on the white-haired woman, the Moon Maiden, there was no rush for now. She had already disappeared to who knows where.
Just as Su Xiao was about to sneak into the sacrificial altar a few dozen meters away, a figure emerged from the treatment institute.
Su Xiao immediately hid back behind the stone wall. The one coming out of the treatment institute was the Moon Maiden.
The Moon Maiden, with her snow-white hair, stood at the main entrance of the treatment institute. The five Crow Doctors stood inside the doorway, watching her. They seemed unable to leave the institute.
The Moon Maiden picked up a small pebble from the ground and *smack* hit one of the Crow Doctors on the mask.
"You scum. You gave me life, yet you also imprisoned me here forever."
As she spoke, the Moon Maiden picked up another pebble and hit another Crow Doctor on the mask. But the five Crow Doctors just stood there, motionless. They seemed to be in repentance, or perhaps waiting for something.
Su Xiao observed all this. He began to retreat very slowly. Five kilometers from the treatment institute, there was a clock tower, which was an excellent sniping point.
Bubu Wang tentatively approached the Moon Maiden. After confirming she couldn't see him, he also picked up a pebble.
*Smack~*
The pebble hit the Moon Maiden on the forehead. Her expression showed a moment of surprise.
"Who!"
The Moon Maiden growled softly, releasing an incredibly terrifying aura.