Chapter 108: Reflection and Review, the Earth-Piercing Pearl!

Thinking this through, Wang Chen sent Su away and told him to hurry to the edge of the cliff, so he would not be fetched over by Gang.

Su did not understand what was going on, but he still did as he was told and walked off.

Then, with a flash of light between Wang Chen’s fingers, a vial of potion appeared in his palm. It was the beast-taming potion that came with the Ring of Life.

Wang Chen snapped off the stopper, bit open his finger, and squeezed his blood into the potion. After shaking it twice, he fed it to the young eagle.

Then mist began to gather in his palm. "Nature Totem!"

A pillar of water, carrying a gentle aura, stood beside the fledgling eagle, seeping into its body in thin, steady threads and slowly mending its wounds.

After that, Wang Chen took the young eagle and the water pillar into the Ring of Life.

"As for whether this will succeed or not, we can only leave it to fate," Wang Chen thought to himself as he strode toward the cliff edge.

...

The group descended the mountain quickly, pulling themselves down on ropes.

Wang Chen drew out the Forest Breeze staff and, with a light sweep, chanted, "Power of Swiftness!"

A luminous glow bloomed from the head of the staff, and a ripple that warped the air flashed over everyone. At once, they all felt lighter, far more nimble than before.

So they immediately pressed on while the effect was still upon them.

Along the way, Gang asked Wang Chen to explain in detail how he had discovered the flaws in Dago. Wang Chen had already given him a brief account before.

But Gang still asked him to go through everything again, down to the smallest detail, so he could see whether he could extract any useful information from it.

They were traveling anyway, with nothing else to do, so Wang Chen had no objection and began recounting it to Gang, while also explaining things to Su.

And so Wang Chen began to narrate the course of his thoughts.

...

It was after he noticed that the guide, Dago, had suddenly vanished that he first began to feel suspicious, faintly sensing that something was off.

But first he had to deal with the threat from the poison locusts. Only after the crisis had been resolved did he have time to think about it.

At the time, he had thought perhaps Dago had climbed upward to avoid the poison locusts. The protruding rocks that jutted out here and there from the cliffs made it impossible for those below to see at a glance whether someone was climbing above.

Perhaps if he climbed a little higher, he would be able to catch sight of Dago.

It was also then that he checked the safety rope in secret and discovered the oddity in it. From that moment on, Wang Chen had faintly suspected that Dago had tampered with it.

Later, Wang Chen and Su reached the summit and searched the area, but found no sign of Dago.

So Wang Chen came to suspect that Dago had dug a hole and hidden himself inside.

But even up until some time before Dago suddenly sprang out to assassinate Su, Wang Chen could not be certain that Dago meant to kill him.

The reason he could not be sure was that among the four people who might have been killed by the poison locusts, there could have been one of Dago’s enemies. In that case, Dago’s actions may have simply been a convenient way to eliminate a foe.

Wang Chen thought this because after they had searched the summit, he had kept watch on the cliff edge, waiting for Dago to climb back up.

If Dago had climbed back up, that would mean his objective had not yet been achieved. Excluding Wang Chen, an outsider who had arrived there by complete accident, the only possible target could have been Su.

In the end, until just before Wang Chen made his move against the Dragon-Eating Vajra Eagle, Dago never appeared. Wang Chen therefore assumed Dago had already accomplished what he had come to do, climbed down the cliff, and fled.

So he let his guard down and set about helping Su complete his trial.

As for why Wang Chen had not told Su about his suspicions earlier, it was because he was furious.

This class-changing quest had infuriated him beyond measure. It was practically nothing more than babysitting, and four people from the Wind-Chasing Tribe had even lost their lives because of this little brat, Su.

Wang Chen found the whole situation absurd. His feelings leaned toward the dead members of the Wind-Chasing Tribe, both because the quest had forced him to become Su’s nanny and because of his own past experiences and circumstances.

So he could not be bothered to say even one more word to Su. He only wanted to get the quest done and be finished with it.

That is, until Wang Chen split open the clouds.

The enraged Dragon-Eating Vajra Eagle swooped down at them. While checking its level, Wang Chen noticed fresh traces of arrow feathers on the inner side of its wings—clear evidence that someone had fought it not long ago.

What a coincidence in all the world would it be for someone to have fought the Dragon-Eating Vajra Eagle before them? That person could only have been Dago.

Combined with what followed, Wang Chen inferred that Dago’s reason for striking first and provoking the Dragon-Eating Vajra Eagle was that he hoped to lure it into flying down from the peak and attacking Wang Chen and the others as they climbed the cliff, thereby killing with borrowed strength.

But Dago had not expected that the Dragon-Eating Vajra Eagle had a child. So it had not been so easily enraged by him; instead, it had taken the child and hidden behind the clouds.

After discovering this, Wang Chen made a decisive choice to eliminate Dago first, this ticking time bomb of unknown background.

But he did not know where Dago was hiding; he could only vaguely guess that he must have some means of concealment.

So he used the Veil of a Single Leaf to scan every possible target within range of his spells, and in the end he actually found that Dago was hiding within the earth.

Of course Wang Chen could have simply used the Hand of Stone to dig him out on the spot, but then he changed his mind: why not first trick out Dago’s true goal? At that time, Wang Chen still could not be completely certain that Dago wanted to kill Su.

So Wang Chen hid together with Su inside a crack, pretending that he had some way to conceal the two of them and wear down the Dragon-Eating Vajra Eagle.

He lured Dago into believing that he could not kill by borrowed hands and would have to do it personally.

At the same time, Wang Chen shared Dago’s field of vision through the Veil of a Single Leaf, observing his actions. If Dago truly intended to kill Su, then he would be caught with absolute certainty.

Wang Chen then explained his suspicions to Su and provoked Dago into coming out.

As expected, through the second sight in his mind, Wang Chen saw Dago grip a short blade and prepare to ambush Su.

Wang Chen then used the pretense of lighting a lamp to conceal the glow of the Hand of Stone as he cast it. After everything had been laid in place, he restrained Dago the moment he came out.

Come to think of it, even Wang Chen had not expected that Dago, being a member of the Wind-Chasing Tribe, could be seized so completely by the Hand of Stone.

...

After hearing Wang Chen’s account, Gang first answered his question.

"The reason Dago could move through the earth was because he had a Earth-Penetrating Pearl in his mouth. When traveling through the soil, his body would become far more fragile than usual. That is the price of moving in secret."

Gang handed Wang Chen the remaining Earth-Penetrating Pearl that had been found on Dago.

"This kind of pearl was developed by the Deep Earth Dwarves who live in the Lost Ore Forest."

"The Wind-Chasing Tribe once worked with the Deep Earth Dwarves for the sake of Cold Star Ore. But later, for one reason or another, relations between the two clans broke down, and they cut off their cooperation with the Wind-Chasing Tribe."

"They even attacked human adventurers who came to mine there, so that the Wind-Chasing Tribe would not be able to obtain Cold Star Ore through human channels."

Gang said indignantly, "It looks like those traitors have colluded with the Deep Earth Dwarves!"

Wang Chen felt his head spin as he listened. Why were the Deep Earth Dwarves being dragged into this now? Did the Wind-Chasing Tribe have too many troubles?

Still, at least Wang Chen had gained a few Earth-Penetrating Pearls out of it. These things would be excellent for escape or infiltration.

And after trying them himself, it would not be impossible for Wang Chen to develop other uses for them as well.