C63 Dark Bible

"What the heck... happened...?"

Wang Yan's face was a picture of bewilderment, and it took him a good two minutes to snap out of it.

"All that effort for a rice bucket? You should've said something sooner—I would've delivered it myself!"

Wang Yan was at a loss for words.

To him, the rice bucket was like a hot potato.

Tossing it seemed wasteful.

Keeping it was just a headache.

If someone actually wanted it, he'd happily pay them to take it off his hands.

After all, it was something he'd raised from the time it was a mere hatchling, and he'd grown attached.

Those three people had gone to great lengths to steal the rice bucket, clearly cherishing it.

Knowing this, Wang Yan felt relieved to let them have it.

"Have a good life. I'm going to miss you!"

He mockingly wiped away a tear that wasn't there, feeling surprisingly upbeat.

Ding, ding, ding!

The sharp sound of a text message alert cut through the air. Wang Yan fished his phone out of his pocket and read the message.

"If you value your life, bring 100 million in cash to the Fragrant Dog Meat Restaurant in three days."

"100 million for a dog ransom?"

Upon reading the message, Wang Yan immediately blocked the number.

He had finally managed to ditch that dumb dog, and now they expected him to pay to get it back?

Not a chance!

"Ah, poor Rice Bucket, you will be missed!"

He said sarcastically, feeling a wave of relief wash over him.

This trip had been worthwhile. Not only had he acquired several items he needed, but he'd also made a tidy sum from selling Osmanthus Flower Brew and five-nut mooncakes.

"Once I have the Horned Dragon's corpse tomorrow, I'll only need to find the horned dinosaur and the Coiling Dragon."

Wang Yan was filled with anticipation, eager to see how Green would look after its transformation.

Spirit beasts like the dragon species and phoenix species could only take human form once they reached the king grade.

Green was so clingy; he couldn't help but wonder what it would be like as a human.

He chuckled to himself.

However, he couldn't ignore the looming issue of the lightning tribulation. Typically, a spirit beast's advancement required the bloodline of just one dragon species, but Green needed a whopping five.

The more powerful the spirit beast, the more fearsome its lightning tribulation becomes when it ascends to the rank of king.

With Green's formidable strength, one could only imagine the intensity of its tribulation.

Upon returning to the school, Wang Yan reached out to the individual eager to sell the corpse of the Horned Dragon.

He secured the remains with two jars of osmanthus wine, three five-nut mooncakes, and a million soul copper coins.

Typically, a deep bond exists between a spirit beast and its beast tamer, leading to a dignified burial after the beast's demise in battle.

The seller's decision to part with the corpse suggested significant troubles.

It was conceivable that the Horned Dragon was a trophy from battle, its slayer's own spirit beast having perished, leaving him gravely wounded in the process.

But these details were of no concern to Wang Yan.

The world's affairs never truly resonated with empathy; when one person's cries of anguish filled the air, others often perceived it as mere noise.

Time swiftly flew by, and before long, half a month had passed.

As dawn approached, a frantic knocking jolted Wang Yan awake.

Opening the door, he was greeted by a stranger.

Without a chance for Wang Yan to inquire, the man fell to his knees, clutching at Wang Yan's legs, weeping uncontrollably.

"Please... I'm begging you... take it away... please..."

"What's the situation? Who are you talking about? What's happened?"

Wang Yan helped the man to his feet and after a thorough questioning, the story became clear.

The distraught man before him was one of the trio who had previously snatched Rice Bucket. They had not dared to abduct Wang Yan for fear of drawing the principal or Wang Yi's attention, so they targeted Rice Bucket instead.

Their aim was wealth, and by taking Rice Bucket, they hoped to provoke Wang Yan's desperation.

Their plan had worked, but the fallout was far worse than anticipated.

As the adage goes, there are no mistaken nicknames, only incorrect given names.

Rice Bucket lived up to his name, devouring their half-month's supply of food in a single day.

And if that weren't enough, the fool's incessant wailing and howling for more food never ceased for hours on end.

The creature gnawed on tables, chairs, and didn't even spare the walls.

They tied up the troublesome beast, and it squirmed like a maggot.

Farting, defecating, howling in the middle of the night.

They were only after money, too scared to kill the creature or even to strike it.

After several days of this torment, the three of them were on the verge of a breakdown.

They had assumed Wang Yan would be desperate to get the beast back, but to their surprise, they found themselves blocked on his phone.

With no other choice, they turned to their connections for help and eventually ended up here.

Wang Yan: "..."

It was like seeing a ghost!

They had barely managed to offload the beast, and now it was back!

Wang Yan's face remained stoic, but inside he was fuming.

He must have done something terrible in a past life to deserve this encounter with the beast.

Wang Yan was downcast, while the three kidnappers felt their entire worldview shatter.

They vowed they had never seen a spirit beast as infuriating as this one.

"You finally managed to snatch that fool away, and now you just bring him back?"

Wang Yan's sneer carried a clear threat.

He wanted to get rid of the beast, sure, but he couldn't stand the thought of it going hungry.

If these guys couldn't take care of it, taking it back was no issue.

But as Wang Yan had pointed out, was it really as simple as taking it when they pleased and returning it on a whim?

Without proper compensation, Wang Yan was content to let the beast stay out a bit longer.

"Big brother, we're down to robbing people. How can we afford to pay you compensation?"

The man's face was etched with distress.

Already dirt-poor, he had hoped the kidnapping would net them enough to flee and start anew far from M Province.

But the arrival of the beast had only added to the woes of his already struggling family.

Now, they didn't even have money for tomorrow's meal.

"Uh, seems like that's the situation."

Wang Yan scratched his head, feeling an unexpected twinge of sympathy for the man.

"Maybe we should just drop it?"

Wang Yan mused internally. As he was about to show mercy, the other party suddenly stood up with vigor.

"I've got something valuable that I can offer as reparation."

He retrieved a book from his storage bag and handed it to Wang Yan.

"What? The Dark Bible?"

The sight of the four gilded characters on the cover made Wang Yan exclaim in shock.

Unbelievable! First, a Dark Slave Auction and now this Dark Bible.

What in the world was happening?

Was he not a decent man?

An innocent young lad?

He had lived his life with integrity, so why did these things keep cropping up?

Tucking the Dark Bible away, Wang Yan cleared his throat and directed, "Bring Rice Bucket over here, and let's hope he stays out of my sight from now on."

"Definitely, definitely won't happen again!"

The man was profoundly thankful upon hearing Wang Yan's command, nearly ready to prostrate in gratitude.

Seeing his reaction, Wang Yan inexplicably felt a twinge of compassion.

What kind of misfortune must Rice Bucket have caused to elicit such a response?

"Awoo!"

Spotting Wang Yan from a distance, Rice Bucket scampered over excitedly.

His large head affectionately nuzzled against Wang Yan, clearly famished.

"Ah, the troubles we make!"

With a resigned sigh, Wang Yan produced a pork knuckle and popped it into Rice Bucket's eager mouth.