novelraw Chapter 136: Crisis of Trust
Chapter 136: Crisis of Trust
The Flower Witch stared at the newspaper, pouting her small lips as she fell into deep thought.
Chen Qi must be hiding something very important from her.
With her vivid imagination, the Flower Witch began wildly speculating:
In the pitch-black night where one couldn't see their own hand, Chen Qi let out a sinister "hehehe" laugh while extending evil tentacles toward passing fishermen.
Bang!
Suddenly, knocking came from outside the door.
"Fen, open up."
The Flower Witch startled like a frightened cat before opening the door to reveal Chen Qi standing there in his chef's attire.
"You're alive..." The Flower Witch's lips curled slightly as an excited smile emerged.
He carried a large bag of snacks, four bottles of fruit wine, and a small cake.The inn room was small, containing only a wooden bed and a simple dressing table.
With no other seating available, Chen Qi sat directly on the bed:
"Fen, I'm back a bit late. By the way, you haven't had breakfast yet, right?"
As he spoke, he handed the sweet-toothed Flower Witch a strawberry flower cake.
"Thank you."
This was a cake seasoned with his Soul Seasoning, making it even more delicious than ordinary cakes.
The Flower Witch happily accepted the cake - she was an incurable sweet tooth!
She adjusted the flower covering her eye while alternating between eating cake and staring intently at Chen Qi.
Stare—
Stare——
Why does her gaze seem somewhat disdainful? And a bit odd? Chen Qi showed a puzzled expression.
Could it be? Had word already spread about him threatening the investigation team last night?
The Flower Witch kept glancing between the newspaper and Chen Qi.
"Fen, let me see that."
Please stop looking at me like that... Chen Qi took the newspaper and quickly scanned it:
"This..."
His bounty had shockingly reached twenty-five million, even surpassing the Flower Witch's!
Even third-tier Transcendents who committed major crimes rarely had bounties reaching twenty-five million.
The Black Glove of the Blackfin Crew only had a twenty million bounty.
This can't be right, the bounty is way too high... Chen Qi thought to himself.
As a law-abiding citizen of the Witch Sea, he'd inexplicably gotten saddled with a bounty exceeding ten million.
Clearly, his bounty had reached an utterly unreasonable level.
Chen Qi looked at the "title" on his bounty notice:
Black Hunter.
Chen Qi pondered:
"Black Hunter - quite a simple title."
Ember's Touch, appearance-wise, resembled the Hunter's Garb from last century with its predominantly black color scheme.
Thus, he'd earned this new title "Black Hunter."
"At least they didn't call me 'tentacle monster' or 'tentacle hunter'..."
Chen Qi secretly rejoiced.
Additionally, there were a bunch of ridiculous annotations: 'Tentacle monster that eats people', 'Seed-spreading monster', 'Sacrificial practitioner', 'Deep Sea Ancient God worshipper'.
Chen Qi narrowed his eyes - now he understood why the Flower Witch was looking at him with such disdain.
By Earth standards, these descriptions were equivalent to being labeled a streaking pervert on the evening news.
The Flower Witch finished her cake and asked tremulously:
"Qi, is any of this information true?"
Fen, please stop these baseless assumptions... Chen Qi calmly replied:
"Complete nonsense, utterly fabricated. I don't have tentacles, haven't sacrificed anyone, don't go around 'seeding' people like parasitic sea creatures, and I'm certainly no Deep Sea Ancient God worshipper."
Last night, the investigation team had voluntarily given him their belongings.
These were all false accusations - pure appearance-based discrimination!
Everything was because Ember's Touch resembled clothing with tentacles, and tentacles were a terrifying symbol in the Witch Sea.
"I see, is that so..."
The Flower Witch picked up a small bottle of fruit wine.
She didn't believe Chen Qi had tentacles, nor that he was a people-eating monster or sacrificial heretic.
After all, they were partners-in-crime who'd committed robbery together.
Moreover, even if he were with The Press, without knowing about Ember's Touch, they'd still portray Chen Qi as a tentacle monster to boost newspaper sales.
As fellow crewmates, they should maintain trust!
Yet despite this, ever since their voyage began, there was one thing that had constantly bothered her!
The Flower Witch stood up, making sure the curtains and door were securely closed to prevent eavesdropping.
Chen Qi rested his chin on his hand, wondering what the Flower Witch intended to do.
Wiping cake cream from her lips, the Flower Witch said seriously:
"Qi, there's actually something I've been wondering about."
"Go ahead."
"I think your physique is... unusual!"
"?"
Chen Qi shrugged.
Everyone who thrived in these seas had unusual physiques.
Chen Qi gave the Flower Witch a once-over.
Take her for example - by all metrics, her physique was unusual.
The Flower Witch straightened her posture, took a sip of fruit wine, and mustered her courage:
"Qi, so... could you take your clothes off?"
"????"
Chen Qi's expression filled with question marks before realization dawned.
Did the Flower Witch actually suspect he had tentacles growing on his body?
After speaking, the Flower Witch's face turned red as shy pink flowers kept sprouting around her. She hastily explained:
"Just the top is fine! I'm just curious if your physique has any special characteristics!"
When they first started traveling together, she'd noticed Chen Qi always dressed very conservatively!
She recalled that Sea God Pirates worshippers bore the Sea God's brand on their chests!
Moreover, sea creatures did behave somewhat strangely around him!
He might truly be hiding some unspeakable secret!
The Flower Witch wanted answers!
"..."
Chen Qi shook his head - as expected, he couldn't keep hiding it.
"Fine then,"
Let me examine you and see if your development is normal... The Flower Witch's face burned red as she rubbed her hands together.
Chen Qi removed his shirt, revealing his well-toned upper body.
The Flower Witch, as an Alchemist, walked behind Chen Qi.
Sure enough, on his muscular back was a distinct spider-like blue pattern!!
But this wasn't the Sea God Cult's brand - it was something far more serious.
"This is... Sea Beast Disease..."
The Flower Witch murmured softly.
Chen Qi sighed:
"I have Sea Beast Disease. That's why I remain calmer than most when facing sea creatures."
According to scholars, those with Sea Beast Disease are less likely to be attacked by sea creatures!
Compared to his BOSS-tier Deep Sea Affinity talent, Sea Beast Disease provided a more believable explanation for why sea creatures didn't attack him.
"So that's it... I knew you couldn't possibly be a Deep Sea Ancient God worshipper..."
The Flower Witch felt everything made sense now:
"Can I examine you properly, Qi? Not that I want to touch you! Just an examination... nothing else!"
Wait! What am I saying?
The Flower Witch's face reddened as she stumbled over her words.
As an Alchemist rather than a doctor, her knowledge of strange diseases was largely theoretical.
"Go ahead..."
Chen Qi also wanted to understand the condition of the mysterious sea creature within his spine.
The simplest cure for Sea Beast Disease was spinal replacement surgery.
However, this procedure required an extremely robust physique.
His current physique had reached 28 points.
Compared to his initially frail condition, this represented tremendous improvement - enough for major surgeries.
Yet for something as extreme as spinal extraction, it might still be insufficient.
The Flower Witch knelt down, gently prodding with her index finger before listening carefully with her ear pressed against his back.
She took out a syringe.
The needle pierced the skin of his back.
Chen Qi endured without making a sound.
She whispered:
"Heartbeat normal, blood normal..."
Then Chen Qi felt a cooling sensation on his back.
The Flower Witch applied some pain-relieving ointment.
Chen Qi turned his head and asked with a smile:
"So? Fen, what's the diagnosis?"
"Term..."
The Flower Witch swallowed her words.
A fellow sufferer!
Chen Qi, like her, suffered from a severe illness - the rare Sea Beast Disease no less!
She frowned:
"Sorry, Sea Beast Disease penetrating the spine is beyond my capabilities. I'm only a third-tier Alchemist."
Spinal Sea Beast Disease could practically be called incurable!
The Flower Witch kept examining!
Yet unlike textbook descriptions, the sea creature within him appeared unusually stable.
His blood and heartbeat showed no abnormalities whatsoever!
Still in the early latent stage?
"I see..."
Chen Qi smiled wryly.
Even with his Deep Sea Affinity significantly reducing the danger from the internal sea creature...
Regardless, this was an illness requiring treatment.
Unfortunately, Sea Beast Disease was essentially incurable - only major bone replacement surgery could cure it.
Such an operation required specialized, reliable Transcendent doctors.
Chen Qi mentally reviewed his contacts - currently, Little Crow was the only one who came to mind.
Meanwhile, having finished her examination, the Flower Witch heaved a long sigh.