Divine Beast Creator-Chapter 2112 - 2113: Mutation
The fish soup wasn’t just peculiar in appearance; even its taste was quite unique. At least Xiao Ji only had a few sips before refusing to drink any more, and it showed no interest in the fish within the soup either.
"The taste is quite strange, to say the least. It’s fine to have a little, but having too much might be overwhelming~"
Veronia commented after tasting the fish soup. Qi Chen sighed. Although he tried to pick a flavor he thought was okay, unfortunately, the taste of the fish soup was too strong.
The flavor of the Spiritual Medicine perfectly suppressed the taste of other seasonings. Perhaps because he tried to enhance the light taste, the Spiritual Medicine used was of the type that could enhance the umami flavor.
However, they seemed to forget that this was fish soup. The Spiritual Medicine not only enhanced the umami but also brought out the fishy smell.
Even Cotton didn’t appreciate the fish soup all that much.
Despite its strange taste, Feng Yuan and others found that while the fish soup was not exactly delicious, it was, in a certain sense, a local specialty. At least if you don’t have too much, it’s an intriguing experience.
"Hmm~ All done~ Although it’s a bit weird, it’s not too bad, at least it’s not undrinkable~"
Standing up and stretching, Feng Yuan chuckled and said. Veronia glanced at the pile of disposable bowls on the table and said,
"Indeed~ If there was a smaller portion, I might have tried more~"
"Where do you plan to go next? Go together or take a stroll around here?"
With one hand resting on Xiao Ji’s head, Feng Yuan looked at Qi Chen and the others and asked. Although there wasn’t anything particularly noteworthy here, there were still many random souvenirs available.
Moreover, unlike the specialties of Kui Shan Town, the specialties of Liantang Town were at least a good choice for most people.
Feng Yuan wasn’t sure if they would buy some souvenirs to take back, but he planned to bring some aquatic products at least.
He couldn’t help it—even though Feng Yuan didn’t care about money, the huge discount was still quite tempting.
Qi Chen thought for a moment and exchanged a glance with Dou Yanlan, then said,
"How about we split up for now? This place is quite interesting."
His gaze swept towards the stone bench by the canal, implying something. Feng Yuan gave a quirky smile as he looked between Qi Chen and Dou Yanlan and said,
"Alright then~ See you later~"
"I’ll go try some more snacks here. Besides the fish soup, it seems like there are also various flavored grilled fish. Feng Yuan, do you want to try it?"
Long Boduo looked at the snack stalls with interest and invited Feng Yuan. Petting the head of the interested Fluffy Fire Wolfhound, Feng Yuan replied,
"I think I’ll pass. Although it’s an intriguing experience, trying too much at once might be hard to digest~"
He knew that if he forced himself to continue eating, he’d definitely feel uncomfortable later, as the taste wasn’t delicious per se—just odd but not repulsive.
"If you want to try, go ahead with them. Xiao Ji, what about you? Want to go with Long Boduo to try the food?"
Gently pushing behind the head of the Fluffy Fire Wolfhound with his right hand, Feng Yuan turned to Xiao Ji, who vigorously flapped its wings in refusal. Seeing Xiao Ji’s reaction, Feng Yuan didn’t press further.
Big Cat and the others seemed to want to play in the water, so in the end, it was only Xiao Ji, Tamur, and the others left by Feng Yuan’s side.
What surprised Feng Yuan was that Veronia also tagged along with him.
"Why are you following me?"
Turning to look at Veronia, who was holding a parasol behind him, Feng Yuan asked with some confusion. She turned her head slightly and chuckled,
"Of course, to see what you’re planning to do~"
"What can I do, just relax by the water for a while."
Spreading his hands, Feng Yuan spoke with a helpless expression. Although it wasn’t because he was physically tired, after wandering around all morning, he just wanted to find a place to rest for a bit.
The canal of Liantang Town introduced a considerable flow of water from a small stream outside the town, which was divided into several water routes flowing in front of every resident’s house through changes in depth and width within the canal, eventually converging and flowing out of the town into another stream downstream.
Feng Yuan strolled to the gathering point. Since this was the end of the town’s canal and daily water fetching wouldn’t happen here, the place had been specially widened, making the gathering water very shallow. An azure stone platform was near the water surface, and steps could lead down into the canal.
Due to deliberately making the water shallower, the water on this laundry platform only covers the instep.
Here, many parents with children were playing by the water. Though dense railings stood near the direction the water flowed from the canal to prevent people from approaching, those parents and Spirit Beasts helping to watch remained cautious.
Even though the water here on the azure stone platform was shallow, it was different behind the railings, as the water was deep there. Any carelessness could cause problems.
Thus the railings were well secured to prevent accidents from happening.
Sitting on the stone bench near the stream, Feng Yuan stared at the flowing creek, lost in thought. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚
He was nearly dozing off with Xiao Ji in his arms when Tamur suddenly circled around him and said,
"Kui Shan Town might not be entirely unrelated to you."
Feng Yuan looked at Tamur, bewildered. He didn’t quite understand why Tamur would say such a thing. As for matters concerning Kui Shan Town, wasn’t it agreed to wait until after the National Day celebration?
"Strange, if it was truly your doing, why don’t you have any recollection of it?"
Veronia looked at Feng Yuan with curiosity. She too was puzzled as to why Tamur said it, yet at this moment, a black stone statue appeared out of nowhere and slowly fell into Feng Yuan’s hand, dressed in a style similar to those in Kui Shan Town.
"What is this thing?"
Feng Yuan’s brows furrowed as he looked at the statue that had suddenly appeared in his hand. He really didn’t know why Kui Shan Town would be associated with him, as he didn’t recall doing anything related to it.
At the same time, on a hillside near Kui Shan Town, a few people dressed as hikers looked excitedly at the stone-carved ring they excavated because it had thirteen Runes engraved on it. But that wasn’t the most important part.
The key thing was that the Runes on the stone-carved ring were still pulsating with energy.
"Finally dug something useful! Damn, there’s hardly a decent relic in this place."
"This thing should fetch a good price, right? A usable special ancient relic..."
"Damn! Run!"
A black pillar of light shot to the sky, engulfing the stone-carved ring and the group dressed as hikers within it.
Oddly enough, despite the hillside not being far from Kui Shan Town, many children were playing in the town, seemingly oblivious to the black pillar of light.
Even the devices specifically designed to detect anomalous energy hadn’t detected its presence.
"This thing clearly isn’t here with good intentions."
Holding the stone sculpture in his hand, Feng Yuan examined it repeatedly. Though it looked deceptively like an ordinary stone sculpture, he knew it was far from simple.
For it to appear suddenly right before him, undetected even by the Divine Beasts, wasn’t achieved by mundane means.
"The power of time, and at a very high rank."
Agunas looked towards Feng Yuan, as this force had exceeded the limits of both it and Lorraine Tower. With the sudden advent of the stone sculpture, it couldn’t help but suspect that this incident was indeed caused by Feng Yuan.
Looking speechlessly at Agunas, Feng Yuan retorted with some irritation,
"I really have nothing to do with this. You know I wouldn’t mess with time for no reason; it’s a surefire way to trouble myself."
『If I hadn’t taken that first step, would the future be different?』
『If I hadn’t left at the start, would there be a different future?』
『If I could choose again... what would I choose...』
『Great Lord, can you tell me the answer, unlock the confusion in my heart...』
『I apologize deeply for stealing your power... I had no choice.』
『Perhaps, only your power can break me free... from a predestined fate!』
"It seems like this might be quite a troublesome matter."
Feng Yuan, scratching his head, looked at the sculpture in his hand with a pained expression. Though he didn’t know what transpired, those voices that rang in his ears obviously had something to do with this.
Great Lord?
It can’t be referring to myself, can it? My powers haven’t diminished either.
Even though, due to various reasons, Feng Yuan had parted with a fair amount of his true power, he still knew where most of that power had gone—to destroy the time streams that kept branching out due to his existence.
If it were solely up to the Time River’s power of Chaos, it would probably have already been overrun by those branching time streams.
But if it’s not his power, why did this thing appear before him?
"This... really has nothing to do with you?"
Having heard those voices as well, Agunas and the others looked at Feng Yuan in disbelief. He didn’t seem to be joking, but then, was there truly no connection between that thing and Feng Yuan?
