"Not sure how things are?"

Chapter 8: Lingering Troubles

The night was pitch black.

The bright moon was shrouded by dark clouds.

No one knew how much time had passed when suddenly a light appeared.

The clouds covering the moon shifted away.

Gentle moonlight spilled into the courtyard.

For some reason, Henry Sutton suddenly felt that the moonlight at this moment seemed a bit dazzling. He wanted to raise his hand to shield his eyes, but suddenly felt his arm was extremely heavy, as if it were filled with lead.

"What's going on?"

Henry Sutton's eyes were blank.

Wasn't he just now full of boundless strength, able to move mountains and fill seas?

How had he become a weak, sickly invalid again?

He looked around, feeling dizzy and extremely uncomfortable, but with the corner of his eye he could finally see clearly that, at this moment, he was still a body of flesh and blood.

Was everything before just a dream?

He grew even more confused.

……

In the courtyard.

Ethan Woods slowly got up, leaning on his broom, and walked over to the pile of shattered stones.

The giant strongman from before, after killing the giant python, had turned into a heap of broken stones and dust.

And within the rubble, there was a luminous pearl, pure white all over, shining with a gentle light like the moon.

Ethan Woods gazed at it quietly for a moment, then suddenly sighed, bent down with difficulty, picked up the pearl, and brought it before Henry Sutton.

"Boy."

"Ethan Woods..."

"Your insight just now wasn't bad, was it?" Ethan Woods sighed, his tone complicated.

"Insight?"

Henry Sutton was first taken aback, then suddenly realized that Ethan Woods was referring to his experience of transforming into a giant.

So that wasn't a dream?

That was real?

"Of course it was real."

Ethan Woods waved his hand, tossing the pearl over, and it landed in Henry Sutton's arms.

The pearl wasn't very heavy, but when it landed on Henry Sutton's chest, he couldn't help but grunt, almost unable to catch his breath... Why did it feel like Ethan Woods was holding a grudge and deliberately trying to hit him?

Ethan Woods gave him a deep look and said in a low voice, "Do you know what this is?"

Henry Sutton asked in confusion, "What is it?"

Ethan Woods said, "This is the stone pearl from the crown atop the Thunder God's head, the very treasure that allowed you to transform into a strongman earlier. What you see now is its true form."

Henry Sutton gasped, holding the pearl in both hands, feeling its weight, and couldn't help but ask, "What kind of treasure is this, exactly?"

Ethan Woods pondered for a moment and explained.

"In the Central Plains Daoist tradition, there are two orthodox schools. One of them is called the True Immortal Dao."

"This True Immortal Dao has a marvelous technique called 'Scattering Beans to Form Soldiers.'"

"This method is quite extraordinary, and the item in your hand is what they call an 'immortal bean.'"

"In fact, this is a pill refined by the secret arts of the True Immortal Dao. Among our kind, we respectfully call it..."

Ethan Woods paused, then said, "Five Elements Armor!"

"Five Elements Armor?" Henry Sutton's eyes lit up, and he couldn't help but repeat the name.

"Five Elements Armor." Ethan Woods closed his eyes slightly, his expression somewhat complicated, and said, "This temple was built eight hundred years ago by a patriarch of the True Immortal Dao, and later passed down to us, continuing to this day."

"Through the generations, the temple keepers have passed down by word of mouth that there is a treasure left by the patriarch of the True Immortal Dao in the temple. Unfortunately, in eight hundred years, no one has obtained it, and over time, it was considered a mere rumor... Who would have thought it was actually on the statue?"

He looked up at the statue and said, "We temple keepers have served the Thunder God since childhood and have always held the statue in utmost reverence. Through the generations, none of us ever thought to examine the statue. Who could have imagined that today, it would fall into the hands of an outsider like you?"

Henry Sutton gave an awkward laugh, feeling as if the pearl in his hands was a hot potato.

Could it be that Ethan Woods was going to kill him for the treasure?

And besides, this treasure originally belonged to the temple. Strictly speaking, wouldn't taking it be the same as killing for treasure?

A thousand thoughts raced through Henry Sutton's mind as he hesitated over whether to return the treasure.

At that moment, he heard Ethan Woods shake his head and say, "Your blood has stained the treasure, and it has recognized you as its owner. Unless you are killed, it cannot be taken away."

Henry Sutton gasped sharply and immediately held out both hands.

No matter how good the treasure, if it cost him his life, what use was it?

"Enough."

Ethan Woods waved his hand and said, "You are innocent in this. I won't go so far as to kill you."

He sighed and said, "Forget it, let's leave it at that. In a while, I'll send the antidote to your sister. Tomorrow morning, pack up and go home."

Henry Sutton gave a wry smile. "Do you really think I can get up right now?"

After all this, and being swept by the giant python into the statue, hitting his head and bleeding all over, if he were an ordinary person, a few days of rest would be enough. But with his long illness, it was a miracle he was still alive.

Let alone tomorrow morning—even this time next year, he might not recover.

Ethan Woods shook his head, took a deep breath, and walked toward the pit, seemingly fiddling with the giant python's body. After a while, he pulled something out, dark green in color and about the size of a chicken egg.

"What is that?" Henry Sutton asked in confusion.

"A snake gall, which is actually the original inner core. After the man in black swallowed it, he was in turn swallowed by the python, and the inner core returned to its original place, thus regaining its true form," Ethan Woods said.