Chapter 643 "Here!"

He clearly hadn't expected the stern-faced, black-haired Adventurer to suddenly mention the clothes he was wearing.

The hunter Old Sonny's expression blanked for a moment, and he subconsciously looked down at the patched cotton coat he had on.

At first, his eyes held a bewildered look, as if he didn't understand why Xia Nan would ask such a thing.

But a second later, when the grizzled middle-aged man saw the fine, dense stitching on his coat, he seemed to realize something.

His pupils shrank slightly, and his expression almost slipped.

Even though he reacted immediately and reined in his emotions, Xia Nan still caught that split-second lapse.

Old Sonny forced a slightly stiff smile and looked up at Xia Nan. "It—it was knitted by my wife, Lord Adventurer."

That momentary change in his expression was very obvious. Everyone in the room was a veteran Adventurer at the Class Grade level; even the impatient half-orc Gank noticed it.

The moment he finished speaking, Uriah, the temporary leader of the Sulfur Dragon Breath party, pressed him, "Your wife? Where is she?"

Old Sonny's eyes dimmed, a look of genuine sorrow appearing on his face as he replied in a low voice. "She—she passed away many years ago, my lord. She knitted this coat for me with her own hands back then... Over the years, it's been patched up many times."

He was telling the truth.

Xia Nan made this judgment after using his Perception to carefully observe the man's expression while he answered.

"Why ask all this? It's completely useless! If you want this ragged coat, just make the old guy take it off!" The half-orc Gank's outburst perfectly matched the usual stereotype of his race.

This human-beast half-breed seemed innately dense. He was entirely uncaring about the past experiences of the hunter Old Sonny—which might be related to their quest—and completely oblivious to why Xia Nan had suddenly spoken up.

Still harboring some resentment over Xia Nan threatening him with a glare last night, he recklessly and stupidly hijacked the conversation, barking at Old Sonny. "Don't waste my time with your nonsense! Who cares about your wife or your clothes! Just tell us one thing! Where did you run into that banshee?"

Since this was the reason they had come in the first place, the temporary leader Uriah didn't speak up, simply staring at the middle-aged hunter in tacit agreement.

Xia Nan stood to the side without a word, his left hand gently stroking the head of Winter Wolf Fanny, who had suddenly sat up, calming her down.

His pitch-black eyes, like a deep, secluded pool in the woods, shifted slightly to glance at the half-orc. They held an eerie calm, devoid of the slightest emotional ripple.

Faced with the powerful Adventurer's shout, Old Sonny subconsciously shrank back. The slightly stiff expression on his face caused by Xia Nan's sudden question smoothly transitioned into the fear an ordinary person was supposed to show when facing an Adventurer.

He stammered, "The fog was too thick that day. I didn't get a clear look at the exact location. Why don't... why don't you lords rest in the village for a few more days, and wait for me—"

Old Sonny was only halfway through his sentence.

The Half-Elf Rogue Treebrook, who hadn't made a sound since entering the room and had been standing quietly in the shadows, suddenly interrupted him. "Just a rough location will do. I have my ways for the rest."

Clearly, this Half-Elf who had taken up the Rogue class possessed some kind of tracking ability they hadn't revealed before.

Hearing this, Old Sonny's expression faltered. His throat bobbed as if he was swallowing his prepared excuses back into his stomach.

A thoughtful gleam flashed in his eyes before he spoke again. "The fog in the forest has grown thicker over the past two days. If you aren't careful, it's very easy to get lost inside. It would be better to—"

Bang! A wooden chair by the dining table was violently kicked away. Its already flimsy wooden structure fell apart almost instantly, turning into useless scattered scraps.

The half-orc Gank lunged forward two steps and leaned down, practically pressing his ugly, foul-smelling face right against the hunter's. In a lethally threatening tone, he growled out word by word, "I said—the! Lo-ca-tion!"

Sensing the man's intent to hide something, the Half-Elf Treebrook also stepped out from the shadows at just the right time. While exposing their presence, they moved two steps closer to the inner room where Sarah was hiding.

Old Sonny was a brave man. Facing the half-orc's threat, he looked terrified, but in truth, he had no intention of speaking. The light flickering in his eyes suggested he was still thinking up a lie.

But when the Rogue took those two steps toward the inner room, it was as if they had struck a rare weak point in the middle-aged man's heart.

The fear and panic he had deliberately put on his face gradually faded, replaced by agonizing hesitation and conflict.

After a moment of silence, he slowly spoke again. "Head east and go around the small hill. Follow the rocky ravine there all the way in. It's right at the end of the ravine."

"You should have just said that earlier! Wasting my time," Gank scoffed. He hadn't noticed the Half-Elf Rogue's silent threat behind him at all, simply assuming the hunter had been intimidated into revealing the exact location by his own imposing aura.

A satisfied expression appeared on the half-orc Gank's face. He straightened up and lifted his head high, pointing his nostrils at the ceiling as he postured and muttered under his breath.

Having successfully achieved their goal for this trip, they had obtained critical intel regarding the banshee's likely location.

The hunter Old Sonny was of no further use to the members of Sulfur Dragon Breath.

Even the Bard Uriah, who had held a relatively mild attitude earlier, ignored him now. Pulling a map from his backpack to check the bearings, he led his two teammates away, turning and walking out of the hunter's cabin to leave behind a floor full of mess.

His gaze swept over the shattered remains of the wooden chair on the floor and the gloomy middle-aged man.

Xia Nan tipped his chin at the bald ranger Tal standing nearby, signaling him to go out first and not to wait.

Then, he took two steps toward Old Sonny.

Hearing the footsteps, Old Sonny assumed there were more questions. He forced a smile onto his weathered face and slowly lifted his head.

What entered his vision were two silver coins pressed against the tabletop, sliding toward him.

His awkward smile stiffened in an instant.

Looking into those calm, pitch-black eyes, the man opened his mouth to speak.

Suddenly, the Ice Crystal Flower Bracelet named [Unarrived Spring], which Sarah had gifted him, appeared in the hunter's line of sight on Xia Nan's left wrist as he pushed the silver coins forward.

His gaze froze instantly.

Old Sonny subconsciously looked back toward the inner room. It was as if his gaze could pierce through the heavy curtain to see the young girl Sarah hiding inside.

He paused for a moment.

His eyes turned back to Xia Nan.

Gritting his teeth, he abruptly took two steps forward.

Leaning in close, he spoke in a voice only the two of them could hear. "Sir, please be careful on your way. Pay close attention."

They didn't waste any time staying in Ice Tree Village.

After obtaining the intel about the banshee's likely location from the hunter Old Sonny, the party of five immediately set out, hurrying toward the east side of the village.

They carried a map, and the location information Old Sonny had provided was clear. Therefore, even though the fog in the forest was slightly thicker, the veterans' rich adventuring experience ensured they wouldn't get lost during such a short trek. They advanced rapidly toward their destination.

"This damn fog is so annoying. If I'd known, I would've listened to that hunter and waited in the village until noon before heading out," complained the half-orc Gank, who was walking at the very front of the formation as the party's vanguard.

Under the influence of the magic particles in the air, the fog swirling through the Rime Forest wasn't just unusually cold; it also seemed to carry a faint sense of physical substance.

Lingering in the air like spiderwebs, it gently entangled the bodies of any creatures moving through it.

Although it wouldn't cause any severe negative effects on the Adventurers, it still made them feel extremely uncomfortable.

While it unsettled their minds, it also obstructed their vision.

Already agitated by the fog, the Bard Uriah finally couldn't stand the half-orc's endless complaining anymore. Raising his voice, he snapped, "You're not a child! Could you stop complaining? My ears are tired of hearing it!"

As if waiting for him to pick a fight, the half-orc Gank—who had been plagued by bad luck ever since they set out from Bloodcast Keep—vented his dissatisfaction with Uriah as their temporary leader, practically roaring, "This is all because of you! Why didn't we just wait in Bloodcast Keep for a few more days? Who knows, maybe the captain would've come right back! If the captain was still here, she would've already led us to bring that banshee's head back last night! Instead of wandering around climbing mountains in this disgusting fog like we're doing now!"

"You—" Clearly not expecting the usually inarticulate Gank to say such a thing, Uriah was temporarily at a loss for words. Even though he had the Bard class and possessed a silver tongue, he suddenly didn't know how to counterattack.

Seeing the temporary leader's face turning redder and redder, the tension within the team was visibly reaching a breaking point.

Knowing that infighting right before a battle was a massive taboo in the Adventurer profession, the Half-Elf Rogue Treebrook, who was roaming along the flank of the party, sighed silently.

They had no choice but to reveal themselves from the fog. Clapping their hands at the two of them, they intervened. "That's enough. Don't forget that we're still in the middle of a quest. If you have anything you want to discuss, you can argue all you want after the quest is over. But if you're going to keep this up right now—I quit."

Treebrook's words essentially gave Uriah an out, and the boiling temperature in his heart dropped somewhat.

Gank, having vented his frustrations, had managed to relieve his built-up anxiety and stress, and he consciously shut his mouth.

Xia Nan, who was bringing up the rear with Winter Wolf Fanny, watched this absurd scene unfold in the middle of their quest. His expression was flat, and he said nothing.

In his heart, however, he downgraded the reliability of this Sulfur Dragon Breath party by another notch.

To be unable to suppress their emotions right before a critical juncture in the quest, allowing their negative energy to explode and infect the entire team's atmosphere...

The three people in front of him were clearly not reliable teammates.

Beside him, the shrewd, highly experienced ranger Tal hadn't said anything out loud either. Yet, his feet couldn't help but shift two steps closer to Xia Nan. Clearly, he had come to the exact same conclusion.

Because of the unexpected infighting, the group paused in place for a moment.

They had just resumed their march and hadn't gone more than a few steps.

Suddenly, Winter Wolf Fanny by Xia Nan's feet twitched her nose. As if she had vaguely caught a scent, she abruptly lowered her body and let out a low growl.

His Perception was stronger than Fanny's, granting him a greater ability to detect environmental details and distant commotions.

But at the end of the day, one was a human and the other was a Winter Wolf.

Because of her racial traits, Fanny's sense of smell was vastly superior to Xia Nan's.

Having full trust in his beast companion, Xia Nan immediately halted his steps and called out a warning to his teammates ahead, "We have a situation. Stay alert!"

Uriah and Treebrook reacted fairly quickly, readying themselves for battle the moment Xia Nan's voice dropped.

In contrast, the half-orc Gank was half a beat slow, hesitating for a moment before finally adopting a combat stance alongside his teammates.

As for the reason—it wasn't hard to guess.

It was simply because he felt he'd lost face. After all, he was the one at the very front clearing the path, yet Xia Nan, who was at the back of the line, had sensed the danger before he did.

Having entered combat readiness, the party slowed their advance even further, carefully inching their steps forward through the thick fog.

A short while later, the Adventurers discovered the suspicious danger Winter Wolf Fanny had sensed ahead of time.

It was the corpses of nearly ten green-skinned Goblins.

The vast majority of them shared almost identical causes of death. There were no obvious wounds on the surface; only dried blood leaking from their ears, nostrils, eyes, and the corners of their mouths.

Their expressions were filled with terror, their facial features scrunched together. Their normally pus-green skin had turned into an utterly lifeless, ashen gray—the exact same color as the scar on the hunter Old Sonny's brow.

"It's a banshee!" Uriah warned, a clear sense of tension visible in his expression.

With just a brief inspection of the battlefield, one could clearly tell that these goblins had been killed by a banshee.

Xia Nan silently expanded his Perception, concentrating his attention.

His gaze quietly swept across the other areas of the current battlefield, capturing the details that the others had temporarily missed due to the glaring goblin corpses.

There were fir trees snapped and felled near their bases as if slashed by some sharp object; rocks in the woods bearing obvious impact marks and cracks; and...

...five drag marks from corpses. Though completely buried under the snow layer and invisible to the naked eye, they still left extremely faint outlines in his Perception.

Thoughts flashed through his mind.

Nearby, the Half-Elf Rogue Treebrook walked over to a fir tree in the middle of the battlefield. Biting open their fingertip, they smeared the welling blood over their palm.

Then, they gently pressed their palm against the surface of the tree trunk.

They closed their eyes.

Hum— The magic particles in the air fluctuated for a split second.

Overhead, the branches of the fir tree moved without any wind, emitting an unnatural rustling sound.

"Here!" Treebrook's eyes snapped open, and their blood-stained hand pointed in the exact direction where the corpse drag marks faded away in Xia Nan's Perception.