The bard fantasized again.

Chapter 102 You've Grown Mushrooms

When Tang Qi saw that Chenxi's iron boot had kicked through the toad's belly, which was essentially nailed to the wall, only one thought flashed through his mind—

This is a thigh with osteoporosis.

Literally.

She craved glory and sought challenges, but in the latter half of her journey through the Dusk Forest, there was hardly anything worth challenging.

Most of the time, the way to deal with an encounter is the same as that of the giant, upright toad in front of me.

One-hit kill, what's there to say?

Clearly, Chenxi was also holding back some tension, which made her actions quite ruthless. The entire process of dismembering the toad took less than ten seconds.

Looking at the dismantled torso, Tang Qi suppressed a wave of nausea and carefully examined the mushrooms covering the fragments.

It was still swaying back and forth in the windless cave.

Clearly, the death of the 'host' has not affected them for the time being.

The feeling of congestion in my nasal cavity and lungs is getting worse, so I can't delay any longer.

He quickly circled around, confirming that it was a sealed space and there seemed to be no passage connecting to the underground city. He then began to speculate:

"When the dungeon was 'moving' before, it accidentally moved to Dragon Tail Pass, creating this airtight cave, and the mushrooms also ended up here..."

Or did someone carve out this cave and use it as a 'culture dish' for 'mushrooms'?

Considering that the house above the cave is listed for sale at 30% above market price, it is clear that they are unwilling to rent or sell the land.

Furthermore, these 'mushrooms' themselves can also be considered as alchemical materials.

The latter seems more likely.

Perhaps this plump, upright toad is acting as a guardian of this cave?
"But if the petri dishes are related to the homeowner, it wouldn't be appropriate to burn them all down—"

This should be his private property and protected by law.

If I were to be sent to serve at the "Southern Great Wall" because of this, it would be a huge loss..."

Some of the most vicious criminals, or those who had committed serious crimes and were unable to repay their debts, would eventually be sent all the way to the prisons on the southern Great Wall to serve their sentences by building the Great Wall and defending against the orcs.

This is a common law between the Lords' Alliance and the Terran Empire.

"It seems the only option is to have Catherine give up this piece of land."

Removing the 'ghostly' gimmick and saving on advertising costs is indeed an excellent marketing strategy.

But it's not worth the risk.

Having figured out the key point, Tang Qi decided to waste no more time, took a deep breath, and prepared to leave this confined space as soon as possible.
“Let’s go, lest we damage personal property and then be held accountable by its owner.”

He pointed to the dismembered toad.

"Rua!"

Kuru doesn't care.

It would be best to go back as soon as possible; it's very addicted to reading and can't wait to get back and study the spellbook all night.

On the contrary, Chenxi remained motionless, as if she had taken root in the same spot after dismembering the toad.

"Dawn?"

Tang Qi assumed she was dissatisfied with the simplicity of the 'challenge', so he called out.
"Let's go. If you're still not satisfied, we can always go explore the underground city in the Deep Well District later..."

"No. I just can't control my body."

"what?"

Tang Qi took out a bottle of restoration glue and walked closer, feeling utterly helpless.

“I told you to be careful. If you use up the last bottle of recovery gel, you’ll be confined to a wheelchair to carry on your ‘glory’.”

"No, I'm fine. I just feel like something is controlling my body, making it impossible for me to move—"

As dawn turned her body, she seemed to be wrestling with something, making her appear stiff and trembling.

Tang Qi frowned, quickly shining the ring's glow on her, and hovered around her, carefully examining her body.

Because he was wearing heavy plate armor that covered him completely, Tang Qi could only make a rough judgment:

"No parts are missing. It can't be an internal problem, can it? Is it a rejection reaction?"
Damn it, I'm not a necromancer, how could I tell?

"careful!"

The cry of dawn resounded almost simultaneously with the sense of alertness in my heart.

The instant the pricking sensation traveled through his pores, Tang Qi subconsciously uttered a short incantation:

"【Silver Light Sharp Words】!"

A streak of light suddenly appeared before his eyes, clinging to the broken sword that was wielding a strong wind, as if to block its approaching trajectory.

Tang Qi took a step back, and the sharp blade tore through the wind, suddenly slicing across his cheek.

A stinging pain struck, followed by a warm sensation on the cheekbone, and amidst the cool minty scent in the nasal cavity, a hint of blood gradually emerged.

"Kuru! Freeze Ray!"

He understood that this sudden sword strike was not Chenxi's intention, and he could only try to restrict her movements.

A streak of light flashed past Kuru's eye, and a crystal of ice pierced through the halo, striking Chenxi's breastplate squarely.

The frost flowers spread outwards, making her movements even slower, allowing Tang Qi to retreat several meters away.

"what's the situation?"

Only then did he have the leisure to ask the question.

"Is someone interfering with your will?"

"No, it's just my body—I feel my body moving on its own!"

The black mist gushing from his neck blew his helmet off, which was enough to prove Chenxi's impatience.

But the bright light also allowed Tang Qi to see the scattered white mushrooms growing on the underside of her neck—

"You've grown mushrooms on your body." "Why?"

"I don't know, maybe it's because...you're a corpse?"

Tang Qi looked at the scattered remains of the toad not far away, the mushrooms on its long tongue, which were exactly the same as those on Chenxi's neck.

At best, the fungus on the skin at dawn is more like a bud.

"I was a little confused earlier, why was this toad acting like it was dead? It didn't make a sound when it attacked, and it didn't make a sound when it was hit—"

It now seems that it was indeed completely dead before you even dismembered it.

"Am I fighting its corpse?" Chenxi forcefully moved her body to avoid hurting Tang Qi further.

"To be precise, it was the mushrooms found in his corpse."

Tang Qi judged,
"These fungi clearly use corpses as nutrients to grow. They manipulate various parts of the corpses through parasitic spores, making them reach a state similar to 'living corpses'—probably 'spore servants'."

"And you happen to be a corpse with your own consciousness. A conflict arose between the soul inside your body and the parasitic mushroom, which created a power struggle..."

"What should I do?"

"Under normal circumstances, I might be able to peel off your armor and help you pull out the fungus bit by bit..."

But clearly, they won't let me near.

As Tang Qi spoke, he took a few steps forward, and Chen Xi was about to swing her sword at him.

However, the restraint of her soul made this swing weak and powerless, even like a coy and coquettish act, failing to arouse Tang Qi's [alertness].

So he hurriedly retreated:
"To be honest, I don't really know what kind of life forms these mushrooms are... but perhaps you could try communicating with them?"

"Communication? Me and the mushroom?"

The smoke around Chenxi's neck paused for a moment, and he fell into a dazed and prolonged contemplation.

Often, Tang Qi relies on his knowledge base to apply his understanding to and analyze the situations he faces.

This certainly saves him a lot of trouble in understanding things. For example, he doesn't have to worry about why Kuru, as a 'dog-headed man,' looks like a hairless lizard instead of a dog.

But he also understands that there is always a certain difference between the reality he lives in and the world he has stereotyped about.

For example, the mushroom in front of us, according to past knowledge, should belong to the category of "mushroom people".

However, the "Fungi People" should also be upright creatures shaped like mushrooms, rather than simply mushrooms.

So much so that he could only try to 'guess' its identity and the solution:
"It's obvious that these mushrooms are intelligent living beings—that's why they try to control your body, and that's why we hear those babbling songs."

As long as you possess intelligence, you have the potential to communicate and persuade them to leave your body.

Chenxi asked in a daze:
"But I don't speak mushroom language..."

"Pfft pfft?"

"..."

Apart from the mournful cries in their ears, they could not hear any other sound.

"Use your shared senses, your soul, to try and experience their existence?"

Tang Qi's description was quite abstract, but he believed that Chenxi was capable of achieving it—

She adhered to the creed of "unyielding spirit," which allowed her soul to endure for thousands of years without decay, and her understanding of the mind was extraordinary.

Emotions are universal—

Just as they don't understand the language of mushrooms, they can still hear the sorrow hidden in this 'song'.

And so, the black mist flowing around Chenxi's neck gradually calmed down.

The ring on Tang Qi's hand also flickered on and off.

For the first time, the 'singing' in my ears responded; the rhythm quickened, as if startled by something—

"No, they are rejecting my intervention!" Dawn sensed.

"Go on, I'll try to soothe them!"

Tang Qi quickly placed his fingers on the lute and plucked the strings in rhythm with the 'crying' in his ears.

This time, he didn't add any singing; he simply explored the general tone of the mushroom's 'shout'.

Amidst the vibrations of the sound waves, he gradually sensed the resonance between the two sounds.

So he tried to incorporate the music into his ramblings—

At first, because the babbling was sometimes 'out of tune', Tang Qi's music also became noisy, producing the sound of taut strings.

It's like a sudden, abrupt appearance of the phrase "son of the beach" in a beautiful poem.

But as the music resonated with him, Tang Qi gradually got the rhythm right, and with each performance, he even began to feel like he was leading the 'singing'.

Eventually, the noise and vibrations in my ears gradually disappeared.

It gradually formed a regular yet melancholic tune.

Like mint leaves that have been washed by a babbling brook.

Sorrow, coldness.

And yet, lonely.

The glow of the Ring of Glory also softened for this reason.

The soft glow even began to spread throughout the entire cave.

Until every swaying mushroom is like a star being lit up.

Until the entire dark room was illuminated as brightly as day.

"It seems like it worked..."

Chenxi hesitated and said,
They seemed to be—

"Ask you?"