As Ye Tiancheng was contemplating how to strike at Ouyang Xinnuo, Ouyang Xinnuo suddenly let out a strange laugh, a sound so sinister it made one's scalp tingle.
"What are you laughing about? Just say what you have to say, don't be mysterious!"
As soon as Fatty finished speaking, a bolt of lightning struck. Fatty instinctively raised his hand to block, and the bracelet on his hand emitted a fierce, bright light, deflecting the black lightning back.
"Fatty, be careful. Don't bother with that guy!"
Ye Tiancheng began to worry. He wasn't sure what tricks Ouyang Xinnuo could pull now, so he had many reservations.
Fatty felt a burning sensation in his hand. He looked and saw that the bracelet had been scorched black by the lightning. Fatty felt a pang of heartache. If his bracelet were broken, he would feel even worse.
"Ouyang Xinnuo, you can speak properly. If you strike me with lightning and break my precious bracelet, I won't let you off. We'll have to settle this score properly."
Fatty was actually a little scared. He had seen the power of that lightning bolt and felt a tinge of lingering fear, his heart beating faster than usual.
Ye Tiancheng, however, grasped the key point more accurately. "Ouyang Xinnuo has really improved immensely during this time. He can even summon heavenly lightning!"
Lin Xue, standing beside them, also had a grave expression. She had been relaxed before, but her mindset completely collapsed afterward. "Fortunately, Fatty had the bracelet to protect him, or the consequences would have been unimaginable. It's truly terrifying."
Lin Xue used her spiritual energy to shield Fatty and then threw her oil-paper umbrella, striking the black shadow.
The black shadow was not incapacitated. Instead, it moved with perfect timing, and Ye Tiancheng also intervened.
With their combined efforts, the black shadow finally dissipated, but Ouyang Xinnuo's voice could still be faintly heard.
"This is just a warning. If you continue to fight me, I don't mind fighting you further."
The mass of black energy completely vanished, but for some reason, Ouyang Xinnuo's voice seemed to linger in their ears like a curse. Everyone's expression was grim.
Perhaps after this incident, everyone felt that with Ouyang Xinnuo involved in the matters of Hope City, it would definitely affect the progress of the entire affair, making it increasingly difficult.
"Why did that bastard leave? I haven't properly fought him yet."
Fatty was merely reacting belatedly. He finally remembered that he possessed extraordinary abilities and shouldn't have let Ouyang Xinnuo leave so easily. He should have fought him.
"Alright, Fatty, be a little more low-key. We don't know Ouyang Xinnuo's current situation. Let's try not to stir up any more trouble. We won't continue our investigation tonight. Let's rest first."
Ye Tiancheng had been corroded by black energy before and knew that if Ouyang Xinnuo truly exerted himself, they could be injured. Therefore, he had to control his emotions and preserve his strength.
Ye Tiancheng felt as if he had a lump of phlegm stuck in his throat. After returning to his room, he tried to expel the obstruction with steam and finally succeeded.
He spat out a glob of phlegm, which contained a dense black energy. It seemed this was Ouyang Xinnuo's scheme. On the surface, he was making a big show to distract them, but in reality, he was causing trouble, with the true target being Ye Tiancheng, secretly wanting to harm him.
Fortunately, Ye Tiancheng had been stained by black energy before, so his body had developed some resistance. When he discovered the black energy attempting to infiltrate his body, he resisted it with his true qi, otherwise, the consequences would have been dire.
"This detestable fellow, you underestimate me too much. I came to Hope City to find a way to break the curse, and you're causing trouble here. Just you wait, I will deal with you."
After speaking, Ye Tiancheng felt a complete lack of strength and lay down on the bed to rest. The facilities here were excellent, and even the large bed was a Simmons, making him feel exceptionally comfortable, like he was on vacation.
It's best to sleep first and not worry about anything else. Resting his body is the most important thing. Getting angry to death would be of no use, and the bad guys wouldn't care.
As the saying goes, what pains loved ones gladdens enemies. Protect yourself and don't let those who care about you worry too much.
Thus, Ye Tiancheng quickly fell into a deep sleep. Not long after, Ye Tiancheng heard some strange sounds.
When he woke up, he suddenly saw oily black things crawling in through the window. These things seemed inexhaustible. Some had been eliminated by Fatty and absorbed by the shovel, but now they had returned.
Ye Tiancheng formed a protective shield with his true qi. The black, oily substances could not approach him. Ye Tiancheng did not make any emergency plans at this moment, only taking defensive measures. The reason for this was that he wanted to leave this opportunity for Fatty.
"Fatty, hurry up! Your chance to absorb energy has arrived!"
Ye Tiancheng shouted. He knew that Fatty loved subduing demons and monsters the most. These black oils were not very powerful in attack, just a bit disgusting, and were very suitable for Fatty at this stage to level up.
Ye Tiancheng called out several times, and Fatty finally arrived. After all, Fatty slept very soundly, and it wasn't easy to wake him up.
"I'm here, Brother Ye! Thank you for reminding me. So many of them, this is great!"
Others would have been terrified by these black oils, but Fatty was exceptionally excited. He began to fight with his bracelet and shovel.
The black oils were quickly eliminated by Fatty. Ye Tiancheng watched from the side, thoroughly enjoying the spectacle. Finally, seeing that Fatty had dealt with all the strange shapes, Ye Tiancheng suddenly clapped his hands.
"Amazing! I knew you had become stronger. Fatty, didn't you notice? You fought faster this time, which means your strength is gradually increasing. The shovel has indeed become much more powerful after absorbing energy."
No wonder Fatty got so excited during the demon-subduing segments. The main reason was that there was room for development. After subduing demons and monsters, the shovel's abilities would increase. Not to mention Fatty, the owner of the shovel, even Ye Tiancheng, an observer, felt a sense of accomplishment.
"Brother Ye, thank you for the compliment. It's all thanks to you for always helping me. If you hadn't chosen this divine artifact for me, I, Fatty, would be nothing. So, this is your credit."
The two of them were now exchanging compliments, which was meaningless. After solving the problem, Ye Tiancheng quickly urged Fatty to leave.
"Alright, I need to continue resting. This Zhen Ji protective shield will remain here, and no one will harm me. You should go back and rest early too."
After speaking, Ye Tiancheng watched Fatty ramble on for a bit before leaving, preparing to get some more sleep. A good night's sleep was the most important thing.
"So tired. Why do I feel like this sleep is less relaxing than before I slept? I'm getting more tired from sleeping."
Ye Tiancheng closed his eyes and tried to sleep again. However, he hadn't slept long before he felt someone blowing on his face.
The sensation was very strange. Soon, he heard a woman's voice whispering in his ear.
"Don't get your hopes up. Energy is conserved. It's impossible for you to break the curse. You can only transfer the curse to someone else, and that person must be willing for you to succeed. Otherwise, it's impossible."
These words were despairing. Ye Tiancheng suddenly realized that he had been thinking too much. Hope City was not a place full of hope, and things were not so easily resolved. The difficulties ahead would only become more severe.
However, Ye Tiancheng told himself not to be too depressed, so he retorted to the woman's voice.
"Don't play tricks on me here. There's nothing Ye Tiancheng can't solve. Get away from me. Don't butt into things that don't concern you."
Ye Tiancheng retorted domineeringly to the voice that was playing tricks in his ear. At first, it was just to vent his anger. He didn't expect his neck to be suddenly grabbed. This made his mind go blank. It was terrifying. This sudden action almost suffocated him.
He felt like he was drowning, with less and less air in his lungs, and even his brain was suffering from oxygen deprivation. The instinct for survival caused Ye Tiancheng's body to erupt with a large amount of true qi.
He suddenly woke up, coughing violently. Ye Tiancheng felt as if he had narrowly escaped death. He knew it wasn't a dream, but a pair of woman's hands had indeed fiercely choked his neck, almost suffocating him in his sleep.
It seemed that Hope City was indeed strange. If he had died, there wouldn't even be any external injuries. The death certificate would only have two words: sudden death.
This situation had happened before. People often died in their sleep, and normal medicine couldn't determine the cause. However, Ye Tiancheng knew that it was likely due to encountering something strange and unexplainable.
"Fatty!"
Ye Tiancheng wanted to call Fatty and Lin Xue over, but he remembered that even though Lin Xue was his disciple, she was still a woman. It was the middle of the night, and it wasn't even dawn yet. Calling a woman over at this time was somewhat inconvenient.
He called out several times but heard nothing. It was likely that this second sleep had made Fatty sleep even more soundly.
As a grown man, he shouldn't be so timid. Since Fatty didn't hear him, he might as well sleep alone. However, Ye Tiancheng really didn't want to sleep alone, so he decided to grab his quilt and go to Fatty's room to sleep with him.
But as soon as he reached the courtyard, he saw Lin Xue floating in mid-air, her hair disheveled and flying wildly. Ye Tiancheng immediately sent a surge of true qi at her, and Lin Xue finally landed.
Ye Tiancheng rushed over and saw that his disciple's eyes were extremely cold. When she looked at him, there seemed to be some indescribable emotion in them.
"What's wrong, Xue'er? Did you also hear a woman talking, like me?"
"Master, I'm fine. Mistress should be better now. Hurry and go see her. We can leave Hope City now."
They had only just arrived. Ye Tiancheng knew that the secrets of Hope City were definitely not that simple and would likely take some time to explore. He never thought it would be resolved so easily. He wasn't that naive.
"Master, go back to your room and rest early. I need to rest too."
After speaking, Lin Xue turned and left. It was hard to pinpoint what was strange, but everything felt off, it was simply too terrifying. Lin Xue seemed to have changed into a different person, her walking posture even seeming somewhat mechanical.