Tavern of the Spear: Desire for Pleasure

Bai Yu found a relatively clean spot and gently lay down. The continuous use of time magic had left him feeling exhausted. He closed his eyes and sighed softly, "It seems that to completely unravel the mystery here, we can only wait for my master to arrive. However, I'm certain this matter is related to that broken statue; we must find a way to repair it."

“Yes, that’s what I think too.” Cheng Yu nodded in agreement. “That statue looks very unusual; it must be the key to this place.”

Aolian remained silent, sitting there quietly with her brows furrowed, seemingly deep in thought. Her gaze shifted back and forth between Cheng Yu and Bai Yu, finally settling on Cheng Yu.

Since the beginning, Aolian had been pondering a question: Why was Cheng Yu unwilling to reveal information about that tribe? What exactly did that tribe reveal to Cheng Yu?

Aolian vaguely guessed that the tribe might be the werewolf tribe that had once fought a great war against her White Dragon clan. That war was an eternal pain in the hearts of the White Dragon clan. In that war, the White Dragon clan was almost wiped out, and countless clansmen died tragically under the werewolves' blades. Aolian's master had also disappeared, and even their lives were lost in that battle. Even if He had become a god now, what use was it?

Although countless years have passed, Aolian still cannot forget that brutal war, the tragic deaths of her clansmen, or the flow of blood.

He didn't know if the place before him was the tribe he remembered. After all, too much time had passed, and everything had changed. He couldn't be sure if this place was still the same as he remembered.

But if this really is that tribe, then why did Cheng Yu go there? What did he discover there? Why is he unwilling to tell everyone?

If we remember it wrong, it could affect everyone's reasoning and lead them down the wrong path.

Therefore, the key lies with Cheng Yu. He must tell the truth, tell everyone that he went to that werewolf tribe, and what he discovered there.

Aolian knew that it was all because of her that Cheng Yu went to that tribe. She originally didn't want Cheng Yu to come into contact with too much information about her, and didn't want him to get involved in this conflict.

But now, the situation is different. They are trapped in this mysterious place, and to find a way out, they must understand the situation here. And to understand the situation here, they must know what Cheng Yu discovered in that tribe.

Thinking of this, Ao Lian sighed deeply. He turned to Cheng Yu and said softly, "Cheng Yu, I know you don't want to say, but I have to ask you, did you go to the werewolf tribe outside the Void Realm? Tell me, and I promise I won't be angry. No matter what happened, I won't blame you."

His voice was soft, but his tone was firm. He knew he had to get an answer.

Cheng Yu trembled slightly upon hearing Ao Lian's words. He looked up at Ao Lian, his eyes filled with complex emotions. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but ultimately remained silent.

“I…” Cheng Yu lowered his head, his hands clenched tightly together, his knuckles turning white from the force.

“Cheng Yu, tell me,” Ao Lian said again, her tone even more determined. “We need to know the truth. Only then can we find a way out.”

“I…” Cheng Yu’s voice trembled slightly, “I did go to… a werewolf tribe…”

Upon hearing Cheng Yu's answer, Ao Lian's heart sank. She had indeed guessed correctly.

"What...what are you doing there?" Aolian asked softly, her voice trembling slightly.

“I…” Cheng Yu took a deep breath and said slowly, “I went there… because they were looking for me…”

"Looking for you?!" Aolian was taken aback. Her pupils narrowed instantly. It seemed that Chen Yu's words were definitely not good news for her. She understood what Chen Yu meant.

“Yes…you were looking for me…” Cheng Yu raised his head and looked at Ao Lian, his eyes filled with guilt and self-reproach. “I…and then I heard some things about you there…about you and…the White Dragon Clan…”

"You... they told you all this?" Aolian asked in surprise.

“I…” Cheng Yu hesitated for a moment, but decided to tell the truth after all, “I…I have a friend…he…he is a scholar…he knows a lot of things…including…including your affairs with the White Dragon Clan…”

Clearly, "Bu Xue Zhe" is just a nickname Cheng Yu gave to the other person, and definitely not their real name.

"A polymath?" Aolian was even more puzzled. "What kind of polymath? How would he know these things?"

"He...he..." Cheng Yu stammered for a long time, still unable to say the scholar's name, "He...he is a very mysterious black dragon, I don't know much about her...he knows a lot...a lot of ancient secrets..."

“An ancient secret…” Aolian murmured to herself, “Could it be… could it be…”

He suddenly searched his mind for all relevant information, but found absolutely no matching person information.

However, it is said that this scholar possesses endless knowledge and knows everything about the past, present, and future.

However, He already had a guess in His heart and just needed to verify it.

"Cheng Yu, the scholar you mentioned... is he... is his name..." Ao Lian asked tentatively, but before he could say the name, Cheng Yu interrupted him.

“Aolian, don’t ask.” Cheng Yu shook his head. “I can’t tell you his name… I promised him… I wouldn’t tell anyone about him…”

“But…” Aolian wanted to say something, but Chengyu interrupted him again.

“Aolian, I know you want to know the truth, and I really want to tell you everything,” Cheng Yu said. “But… I really can’t say it… I can’t break my promise…”

“Promises…” Ao Lian sighed. He knew that Cheng Yu was a person who valued promises very much. Once he made a promise to someone, he would definitely keep it.

“Alright…” Aolian said helplessly, “Since you can’t tell me, then I won’t ask. But… can you tell me… what did you find in that werewolf tribe?”

“I…” Cheng Yu hesitated for a moment, but decided to tell Ao Lian part of the truth, “I found some…some very strange things there…some things that are very similar to this place…”

“Things that look a lot like this?” Aolian frowned. “You mean… those stinking items?”

“Yes…” Cheng Yu nodded, “I also found some similar items there… and… I also found some… some murals… some… some murals about the White Dragon Clan…”

"What?!" Aolian jumped to her feet, her face filled with shock. "The murals about the White Dragon Clan? Where are they? Take me there quickly!"

“But…” Cheng Yu hesitated, “those murals…have already…already been damaged…”

"It's been sabotaged?" Aolian's heart sank again. "How could it have been sabotaged? Who did it?"

“I…I don’t know…” Cheng Yu shook his head. “When I found those murals…they had already been damaged…I…I only saw some…some fragmented images…”

“The incomplete picture…” Aolian murmured to herself, “Then… can you tell me… what did you see?”

“I…” Cheng Yu took a deep breath and began to describe to Ao Lian the incomplete murals he had seen in that werewolf tribe.

He told Aolian that he saw images of white dragons in those murals. Some of these white dragons were soaring in the sky, some were fighting enemies, and some... and some were...

"What are you doing?" Aolian asked hurriedly when she saw Cheng Yu suddenly stop.

“And some…are…” Cheng Yu’s face turned somewhat grim, “…are being…being…”

"By what?" Ao Lian's heart jumped into her throat.

"Being...being raped by a werewolf..." Cheng Yu's voice trailed off, "Being...forced...by a werewolf..."

"What?!" Aolian's face turned deathly pale instantly, and her body trembled uncontrollably.

“This…this is impossible…” Aolian murmured to herself, “This is impossible…the White Dragon Clan…how could this be…how could this be…”

He could neither believe nor accept this fact.

“Aolian…” Cheng Yu looked at Aolian, his heart filled with guilt and self-reproach. “I’m sorry… I… I shouldn’t have told you all this…”

“No…it’s not your fault…” Aolian shook her head. “It’s not your fault…I…I just…I just need…I just need some time…to accept this fact…”

He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and tried to calm himself down.

After a long while, He slowly opened His eyes, looked at Cheng Yu, and asked softly, "Do you think I was normal just now?"

Bai Yu lay quietly to the side, listening intently to every word of Cheng Yu and Ao Lian's conversation. From Cheng Yu's description, he could sense the impact that werewolf tribe had on Cheng Yu—an indescribable sense of oppression and heaviness, perhaps even some... fear.

“I’m not afraid.” Cheng Yu’s voice interrupted Bai Yu’s thoughts. He looked at Ao Lian with a firm gaze. “Your reaction just now was normal. Any living being with flesh and blood would feel anger and pain when they hear that their race has suffered such humiliation.”

“I was just curious at first,” Cheng Yu continued, his voice tinged with bitterness. “The son of the chief of that werewolf tribe came to me and said that their tribe had been looking for me. I thought that there was no big deal in going with him, since he could get it back, so I went with him.”

"Later, I discovered some strange things there. There were foul-smelling items everywhere in the tribe, and three strange statues in the chief's basement... All of this made me feel that there must be some unknown connection between this tribe and the White Dragon. So, I stayed and wanted to learn more."

"Later, I encountered a white dragon with a broken tail." Cheng Yu's voice lowered. "He always wore a black cloak and a black hat, which covered his face. He was the one who helped me when I entered this place for the second time. We met by a small river. He talked to me for a while and then disappeared."

“What he told me made me even more determined to find the answers about the White Dragon Clan. I wanted to help Aolian and help the White Dragon Clan regain their freedom and no longer be slaves. I thought that doing this was a way of helping Aolian, so that at least I would do something for you, and it wouldn’t always be you who is making sacrifices for me.”

“But the more I learned about this tribe, the more complicated things became. The three strange statues, the false history the chief told me, and the black dragon that behaved strangely… all of this made me realize that I seemed to have fallen into a trap, an elaborate trap.”

“But I can’t stop.” Cheng Yu’s eyes hardened. “I have to keep going because I want to help Ao Lian. I know there must be some secret hidden here, and that secret is very likely to be closely related to the fate of the White Dragon Clan.”

“Cheng Yu…” Ao Lian looked at Cheng Yu, her eyes filled with emotion and complex feelings. She hadn’t expected that Cheng Yu would sacrifice so much for her, even putting himself in danger.

"Why... are you so good to me?" Aolian asked softly once again the question Cheng Yu had once said to her, her voice choked with emotion.

“Because…” Cheng Yu looked at Ao Lian with gentle eyes, “because you are my friend, and also… someone important to me. Haven’t you helped me in the same way?”

“Friends…” Aolian murmured to himself. The word was both familiar and strange to him. He once had many friends, but after that great battle, all of them left him. Some died on the battlefield, and some disappeared without a trace. He, too, became a lonely wanderer, forever trapped in this godforsaken place.

“Yeah, friend, isn’t that what you always like to call me? You don’t accept the word ‘partner,’ haha.” Cheng Yu smiled. “We’re friends, aren’t we? So, I’ll do my best to help you, just like you helped me before.”

"Thank you, Cheng Yu," Ao Lian said, her voice filled with gratitude.

"You're welcome." Cheng Yu shook his head. "We're friends, it's only right that we help each other."

"Hmm." Ao Lian nodded, then looked at Bai Yu, "Bai Yu, what do you think we should do next?"

“It seems that our only clue is still that broken statue,” Bai Yu said. “We must find a way to repair it, at least a little bit before my master arrives, so that he can save some energy. Perhaps he can help us later. Perhaps only in this way can we solve the mystery here.”

“But the statue is already so broken, how can it be repaired?” Cheng Yu asked.

“I don’t know either.” Bai Yu shook his head. “But we can try. Perhaps I can continue using time magic. I’ve recovered a little bit now, but we need to find another way.”

"You replied so quickly?!" Cheng Yu and Ao Lian looked at Bai Yu in surprise.

“Yes.” Bai Yu nodded. “Although my time magic is not powerful enough to completely reverse the time of an entire statue, perhaps I can try to glue the fragments together.”

"Will this... will this work?" Cheng Yu asked with some doubt.

“I don’t know either,” Bai Yu said, “but this is the only way we can do right now. We have to try, even if there’s only a sliver of hope, we can’t give up.”

“Okay.” Cheng Yu and Ao Lian exchanged a glance, then nodded. “When shall we begin?”

“However, I think I should wait until I recover some of my magic power,” Bai Yu said. “Continuous use of time magic will not only affect my magic power, but also other aspects. My magic power may be restored, but that doesn’t mean other aspects, such as my mental state, are restored. So give me one more minute to rest.”

"Okay." Cheng Yu and Ao Lian nodded, then found a place to sit down and quietly waited for Bai Yu to recover his magic power.

Time passed slowly, and Bai Yu finally regained some of his magic. He stood up, walked to the pile of broken statue fragments, took a deep breath, and began to chant a spell.

His hands traced mysterious trajectories in the air, and a faint magical fluctuation emanated from his body, gradually enveloping the fragments.

The fragments began to tremble slightly, and a faint halo appeared on their surface. Then, the fragments began to slowly move together, as if drawn by an invisible force.

"It works!" Cheng Yu said excitedly.

Aolian also looked at the fragments nervously, her heart filled with anticipation.

However, just as the fragments were about to be pieced together, suddenly, a powerful force surged from all around, violently shattering the fragments.

"What happened?!" Cheng Yu exclaimed.

Bai Yu's expression changed, and he immediately stopped casting the spell.

“It seems something is preventing us from restoring this statue,” Bai Yu said, his expression grave.

"What could it be?" Aolian asked.

"I don't know." Bai Yu shook his head. "But this force is very powerful, and we must deal with it carefully."

"So what do we do now?" Cheng Yu asked.

"Let's step back a bit," Bai Yu said. "Let's see how things go."

So the three of them took a few steps back and looked at the fragments warily.

Suddenly, the fragments began to move again. This time, they were faster, and their target was...