Playing with fantasy beasts in the martial arts world

Chapter 223 Where in life do we not meet each other

The final resting place, nestled beneath endless icy snowfields, is the only hotel that can be considered luxurious.

It is more than just a hotel; it also functions as a casino, dance hall, bar, cigar lounge, and other entertainment venues.

That desolate, snowy wilderness hides countless treasures, so every year many adventurers come here to make their final resupply at the end of their lives before venturing in regardless of their own safety.

The owner of the End of the World, however, would try his best to scrape every last penny off these adventurers before they entered the Land of Death with their ill-gotten gains.

"Check in! One room!" Cha Nan walked into the terminal and stood at the front desk, saying as he tossed a small gold nugget to the ground.

Gold is the hard currency of most parts of the world, and Chanan still has some reserves.

However, the receptionist dressed as a bunny girl whispered a reminder: "Excuse me, sir, your room fee is insufficient!"

“This piece of gold weighs at least fifty grams!” Cha Nan exclaimed in surprise.

In most parts of the world, fifty grams of gold would be considered a huge sum of money.

In a world where gold is expensive, it could even be exchanged for a small to medium-sized hotel.

"You're not from this world, are you? Ever since Dr. Gold created fake gold forty years ago, gold has lost its value as a precious metal here!" the bunny girl said.

Cha Nan was taken aback, shook his head, put away the gold on the table, and then put down a piece of Paru mineral.

Sure enough, upon seeing this, the bunny girl's face lit up with joy, and she immediately handed Cha Nan a room key: "A deluxe room has been prepared for you. We will provide you with three exquisite meals a day, as well as a change of clothes. You can also play a few rounds at the casino in our hotel. You can get three free meals a day for purchases under ten dollars."

"The Yuanqi Stone you paid for will allow you to enjoy VIP service here for ten days. I sincerely suggest that you stay a few more days before you depart."

"If you can provide more Yuanqi Stones, our VIP area will also be open to you, allowing you to experience the ultimate pleasures of life before embarking on your dangerous adventure."

Cha Nan nodded, having a rough idea of ​​the prices in this world.

It seems the purchasing power of the currency is still quite strong.

For a treasure like the Jade Maiden Mystic Ice, the Demon Palace offered a bounty of ten million, yet it attracted renowned adventurers from all over the world.

The original storyline's main characters, Qingren and Bozai, got into a fight because the doctor lost a copper coin.

Therefore, the 30 yuan daily free meal allowance for so-called VIP customers is not considered stingy.

Of course, the cost is ultimately borne by the consumer; the so-called freebies are all intended to induce consumption.

Cha Nan put away the room card and, unsurprisingly, saw a note on the back of it. The note had another room number and a time written on it.

Since the purpose of the final destination is to squeeze every last penny out of adventurers before they depart, then the temptation of beauty is certainly one of the means of doing so.

After smiling slightly at the rather cute bunny girl, Cha Nan didn't immediately go to her room, but instead wandered around the hotel.

From the outside, the terminal building is just a decent-looking old building, with an area roughly the size of a small shopping mall. However, the interior space is extremely spacious, as if some kind of space stretching technique has been used to make the originally narrow space have more usable area.

Similar technology was also used on the dilapidated boat by the lake where the three main characters lived, but in Cha Nan's opinion, it was not worthwhile to study or explore it in depth.

Many cutting-edge technologies lack universal applicability.

They often only work within a specific world; once removed from the environment that nurtured them, they become useless.

In the enormous hall of the terminal hospital, which had been stretched out, there were numerous gambling tables, while on the other side of the gambling hall was an even more lively dance floor.

Men and women freely release their hormones here, with far more skin exposed than covered by clothing. People twirling together are just a spark away from igniting a fire in public. Of course, some women or... rather handsome men take the opportunity to reach into their dance partners' pockets and steal valuables.

Many of the men and women who dance with the dancers are not necessarily employees of the terminal hospital; they may also be residents of this small town who make a living by selling their bodies and souls.

The open setting made Cha Nan, who had spent a long time in the ancient world, feel somewhat uncomfortable for a moment.

With a quick glance, Cha Nan's gaze suddenly froze as he saw two familiar faces.

Two figures, one in black and one in red, were completely covered up and stood out conspicuously in the chaotic crowd.

Some Black, White, Asian, and even green-skinned men and women approached them, only to be startled by a single glance from the woman in black and dared not approach any further.

"What are you doing here?" Cha Nan walked over and greeted the two of them.

What appeared here was both gentleness and ruthlessness.

However, at this moment, Wuqing was standing, not sitting in her wheelchair.

It took some getting used to, as if she had lost her original form.

Cha Nan spotted them, and they spotted Cha Nan too. Their cold and distant eyes remained undisguised, but Wen Rou seemed somewhat pleased. She waved to Cha Nan and said, "We're here for Sister Wu Qing's legs..."

She seemed to realize halfway through her sentence that she shouldn't have been so frank, and then she stopped talking.

But Cha Nan already understood that they had also come for the Jade Maiden Han Bing.

Based on the impression of the original plot, Jade Maiden Ice should be a kind of ice-type rare treasure that has developed intelligence. Not only can it make up for Cha Nan's shortcomings and strengthen his "self", allowing his "self" to truly control his currently overpowering will, but it also has extremely large and magical life energy that can help Wuqing repair his legs and truly stand up.

Yes, Cha Nan had already noticed from the details that although Wu Qing was standing, her posture was not natural. She had obviously only used some tools to temporarily assume a standing position, but her legs had not truly recovered.

"Didn't you say you were going to find Pang Ban?" Cha Nan asked Wu Qing.

Wuqing seemed to hesitate for a moment before answering, "The Dao Heart Demon Seed Technique does indeed help me, but... I cannot withstand the oppressive force brought by the demon seed. Even if my legs recover, I will only become a furnace for the demon master and eventually give up everything. If I want to stand on equal footing with him, I will need to rely on some external forces."

Cha Nan was surprised to hear this. Didn't Wu Qing understand the dangers of the Dao Heart Demon Seed Technique?
Then why choose this path?
Also, what exactly is wrong with her legs?
Is there no other way to solve this?

"Your leg... forgive me, I didn't mean to offend you. If the problem isn't too complicated, I think... I can help you!" Although he was tricked outside Kyushu Prefecture, Cha Nan didn't suffer any losses. Moreover, Zhuge Zhengwo was quite decent and didn't really cheat him. He even arranged a backup plan for him. Although Cha Nan didn't actually need it, the fact that he noticed these details meant that, in a sense, he was still worth befriending.

After all, everyone has their own perspective, and things can't always go according to your wishes.

If helping out could make Zhuge Zhengwo and the Four Great Constables owe each other a favor, that wouldn't be bad.

Of course, it's just something I do on a whim; if it's too much trouble... then forget it!

Making this decision was definitely not because Wuqing looked like a celestial being and he coveted her body.

"No need! We have our own plans!" Wuqing coldly shook her head in refusal, but her eyes darted away, avoiding Cha Nan's gaze. She had a strong sense of morality, so she had always felt guilty for abandoning Cha Nan.

Holding onto Wenrou, who still wanted to say something more, the two quickly disappeared into the bustling crowd and flashing lights, vanishing without a trace.

Clearly, they do not intend to join Cha Nan for the time being.

Cha Nan looked in the direction the two had left, smiled slightly, shook hands, but did not shamelessly chase after them.

The bustling final destination of life seems to never quiet down.

Cha Nan sat at the bar counter and drank three glasses of wine, but he still didn't see the three main characters from the original storyline: Qing Ren, Bo Zai, and the Invisible Doctor.

Maybe he arrived too early, or maybe they wouldn't have come at all.

But it doesn't matter. Cha Nan won't be soft-hearted just because that piece of ice is someone's dream lover.

The next day, Cha Nan did not check out, but left the Life Terminal alone. After arriving at a secluded place, she summoned the Winter Calling Beast, rode it, and flew deep into the snow mountain to find the Jade Maiden Frost.

He believed that with the authority of the Winter-Calling Beast over ice and snow, no matter how vast this snow mountain was, finding the Jade Maiden Frost would not be difficult for him.

However, after searching for five or six hours on the Winter Calling Beast, they found nothing.

“Winter Summoner! Can’t you sense where Jade Maiden Frost is?” Cha Nan asked the Winter Summoner beneath him.

The Winter-Calling Beast replied, "I understand!"

"It does not exist in a fixed piece of ice, but is a special energy that flows throughout the entire snow mountain glacier."

“I can feel it, but I can’t fix it.”

"You can't fix it unless it wants to be fixed in place!"

Upon hearing this, Cha Nan frowned slightly: "Can it communicate? Or has it already developed its own independent consciousness?"

The Winter-Calling Beast sensed it for a moment, then shook its head and said, "It probably hasn't developed a true consciousness yet, but it unexpectedly has emotional tendencies."

“You can think of it as a kind of visualized legend.”

"Because many people believe in its existence and have ventured into snow-capped mountains and glaciers to search for it, even at the cost of their lives, it has gradually come to have a sense of awareness and has become a special kind of ice and snow spirit."

As a deity that controls ice and snow, the Winter Summoner already has a general idea of ​​the true situation of the Jade Maiden's Ice.

"How do you know so much?" Cha Nan asked the Winter-Calling Beast.

"Because I'm the same!"

“In the very beginning, I was merely a mythical beast that roamed the land of ice and snow. It was because many creatures and many people saw me on the snow-capped mountains that they recognized me as a deity of the snow-capped mountains. Over time, I gained the authority to control the ice and snow.”

"It's the same. In a sense, I'm the same as it! It's just that it's still in a state of ignorance and hasn't developed consciousness yet, while I developed consciousness and became an individual before being defined," said the Winter Summoner.

Is there any inherent principle behind this?

"It exists simply because people believe in it... that's so un-martial arts!" Cha Nan genuinely thought so, so he spoke his mind.

While internal energy cultivation and martial arts are not 'scientific' either, they are not baseless; they have a self-consistent logic and overall theoretical basis, which need not be elaborated here. In short, martial arts... are based on reason, not just nonsense.

However, what the Winter-Calling Beast said was too mystical.

"The human body is a microcosm, and heaven and earth are a macrocosm. Humans can breathe and exhale, nurturing their spirit. Why can't mountains, rivers, and all things do the same?" Huan Dong Beast, who was learning internal energy from Cha Nan, asked rhetorically.

"Fine! You're right!"

"So now, how do I grasp that essence nurtured within the glaciers and snow-capped mountains?" Cha Nan asked.

The Winter-Summoning Beast shook its head: "I don't know!"

"So after all that long-winded explanation, your final conclusion is that you don't know?"

"But I have a guess, perhaps... you need to match its choices, and then it will come closer on its own?"

"At least for a considerable period of time, that was true, and for some reason, I even split off a part of myself," said the Winter Summoner.

After listening to this, Cha Nan was deeply moved.

"Let's go! Let's go back!" Cha Nan planned to go find Wu Qing to conduct an experiment.

Knock knock knock...!
There was a knock on the door of room 309 at the terminal hospital, and a gentle voice came from behind the door with a fierce tone: "No food, no drinks, no insurance, and no end-of-life care!"

"It's me! I have something to discuss with you!" Cha Nan's voice came from inside.

Wenrou remained silent for a moment, then clicked open the door.

Behind the door, she and Wuqing remained fully armed, showing no signs of relaxation.

After welcoming Cha Nan in, Wenrou stood at the doorway, while Wuqing sat down on the sofa in the living room to greet her.

Looking at Wuqing's slightly damp hair, it was clear that she had taken a shower before, but hadn't dried it. I don't know if she didn't know how to use a hairdryer, or if there wasn't one in the room to begin with.

"My purpose in coming here is to cooperate with you!"

"Don't rush to refuse, let me finish speaking!"

“I have a little trick up my sleeve. I’ve already gone deep into the snow-capped mountains to investigate and found out what the Jade Maiden Ice is. But with my own abilities, it’s basically impossible for me to take it away. So I want to ask you to cooperate with me and put on a show!” Cha Nan said.

He stared at Cha Nan ruthlessly, as if trying to read his mind.

Since becoming a grandmaster, Cha Nan's mind has become perfectly integrated, and with the blessing of the Ice and Snow Divine Will, even if Wuqing wanted to read his mind, he would never be able to if he didn't want to.

But at this moment, he opened up part of his mind, allowing Wuqing to clearly feel his sincerity.

(End of this chapter)