Chapter Twenty-Nine: What a Gigantic Frog

Late at night, there was still one person awake.

“No way, how could there be nothing!” Winnie emerged from the pile of miscellaneous goods in the warehouse, her face covered in dust and disappointment.

Let’s go back two hours. Winnie was tossing and turning in bed, unable to sleep.

“No, this won’t do.”

She suddenly sat up.

“When the mages arrive tomorrow, any treasures in the castle will certainly become theirs.”

Such a vast castle might still hide some precious items, so she had to find them before the others arrived.

Winnie embarked on a treasure hunt throughout the castle, but after two hours, she found nothing.

“This doesn't make sense, how could such a grand castle not have left behind a single treasure?”

Winnie pondered, “Could they have been buried?”

She recalled the royal tradition of burying boxes, and thought perhaps this castle also hid its treasures somewhere. But with such a spacious manor, where could they possibly be buried?

“The original owner would have known…”

A new idea struck Winnie—if she couldn’t find them herself, why not ask the owner?

She found the castle owner’s gravestone behind the castle and couldn’t help but chuckle quietly.

Linley was walking toward the castle with the leopard, when suddenly a chilling laugh echoed. He turned to look and saw a bright white light flashing behind the castle.

“What’s that?” Linley’s eyes sparkled. “Let’s go, Snow, let’s check it out.”

He eagerly led the leopard toward the source.

But when the two arrived, they saw no treasures, only a patch of graves. Several withered trees grew beside the graves, their branches rustling as the wind blew, casting shifting shadows upon the stone, making the leopard shiver.

“Let’s go back!” The leopard was a bit frightened.

Unlike forest elves, primal spirits do not age or fall ill, but once they die, their bodies and souls return to the earth—because of this, graveyards are mysterious and terrifying places to them.

Linley noticed something moving in the graveyard.

“Snow, look here.” He pointed behind a tombstone, where a hand was sticking out of the soil.

The leopard looked and screamed in terror.

“A ghost!”

It sprinted away in panic, but soon realized Linley hadn’t followed, and nervously returned.

“Can’t leave the little guy behind; the big one is still watching me,” the leopard thought, then noticed Linley crouched beside the grave, curiously observing what was emerging from the earth.

First a hand, then a head, followed by another hand… then the body. The thing in the grave struggled fiercely to break free…

“A skeleton?”

Linley picked up a branch and tapped the white skull. “Why is there a skeleton here?”

“This isn’t a skeleton—it’s an undead,” the earring said gravely. “You’d best keep your distance. This undead hasn’t fully awakened yet, but it possesses formidable power.”

Linley dropped the branch and joined the shivering leopard. He glanced at his companion, thought for a moment, then grabbed his own head and screamed, “Oh, heavens, there’s a ghost here!”

Your reaction is so slow—the leopard stared at him. “You’re afraid of ghosts too?”

“No…” Linley stopped screaming immediately. “Given the circumstances, I wanted to keep you company.”

Thud!

Something seemed to fall in the woods.

Linley paid it no mind and asked the earring, “Do all the dead become resurrected skeletons?”

“No, it’s likely someone revived it,” the earring explained. “Resurrecting the undead isn’t easy. Not only must the undead have a strong attachment to the world, but a spellcaster must also assist—such forbidden magic, who could be using it?”

Linley and the leopard simultaneously thought of Winnie.

“It must have been her!” (x2)

Hiding in the woods, Winnie wiped cold sweat from her brow.

“In the dead of night, why did he come outdoors?” She watched Linley and the leopard; reviving a skeleton was forbidden and she didn’t want to be caught red-handed by those two.

The skeleton crawled out of the earth, fire flickering in its eye sockets.

“Who are you?” Linley asked.

“You ask who I am… How should I know who I am!” The skeleton was confused, but soon remembered, “Right, I am the lord here—I was killed by a hidden weapon!”

Linley was astonished. “You’re Wang Chongyang?”

“Wang Chongyang… Who’s Wang Chongyang?” The skeleton grew more lucid, the flames in its eyes blazing. “I must find that woman! Where is she? Where is she!”

It ignored Linley and the leopard, waving its hand impatiently. The withered tree beside the grave stood upright and walked to the skeleton.

Linley’s eyes widened. What kind of magic was this?

“I must go to Snow City.”

The skeleton gave an order, and the treefolk picked him up and rushed toward Snow City.

“That woman is in Snow City!”

The treefolk moved swiftly, and in a blink, they were gone. Linley stared in a daze, watching their retreating silhouette. “How can a tree run so fast—and why does the skeleton want to find a woman?”

“It must be the owner of that women’s shoe…” The earring mused. “Undead resurrection relies on obsession; perhaps he knows who killed him and is going to seek revenge.”

“That won’t do!” Linley declared righteously. “We must stop him.”

The earring voiced its agreement. “Hurry and catch up—his power is rapidly increasing. If he reaches Snow City, chaos will ensue.”

Linley dashed after the skeleton, the leopard close behind, though puzzled. The skeleton’s vengeance had nothing to do with Linley; why was he so enthusiastic?

“No, he’s too fast.”

Linley was indeed zealous. As the skeleton raced farther, he gathered his energy at his feet. “I’ll use my lightness skill to catch him.”

Cloud-Stepping!

Linley pressed his feet to the ground, his body suddenly soaring into the air. The leopard gazed up in awe—how handsome! But Linley’s elegance lasted less than three seconds before he arced through the air and fell.

“Oh no, Snow, come save me!”

The leopard entered the woods, dragged Linley down from the branches, and the earring laughed. “You can’t supply your energy steadily to your feathers. I suggest you chase him on foot.”

“No way.” Linley refused to give up, walked onto the road, and sprang up again. “Cloud-Stepping!”

“…Oh dear!”

He rose and fell, flying toward Snow City.

At the foot of the mountain, a paladin was relieving himself in the grass. Hearing the commotion, he looked up and saw a dark figure bounding through the forest on the hillside, each leap bringing it closer.

“Damn, what a huge frog!”

The paladin was dumbfounded.

He hurriedly shook himself, pulled up his pants, and rushed into the tent. “Captain, captain—something's happening! A frog just leapt out of the castle and it’s headed for Snow City!”

“What frog? What’s there to fear about a frog?”

Wang Elephant stumbled out of the tent, half-dressed. He looked up and gasped. “Why is that frog as big as a person!”

Though the distance was too great to see clearly, there was no doubt—it was a frog. Only frogs leap like that.

“Brothers, get up!” Wang Elephant blew his horn. “We’ve waited all day—the enemy is on the move!”