ID No. 019 - Chapter 18.1

“Blessing?” Zhao Yuan’s face was full of disbelief. “People turn into monsters, and you call that a blessing?”

Ah Wu laughed maliciously and mockingly. “Why do these creatures, which don’t fit into any known category of living beings, exist? Don’t you all already know? So why bother asking me?”

Zhang Yan’s face hardened. “There are some that don’t eat human flesh or drink human blood. They just eat fertilizer, bask in the sun, plant themselves, mutate, and wait to die.”

Ah Wu corrected him with a serious tone, “That’s the process of receiving the blessing.”

Everyone was silent.

Zhao Yuan and Zhang Yan were about to start cursing again when Chen Yang interrupted, “Enough arguing. Let him finish.”

Ah Wu simply used his sleeve to wipe the grime off the stone pillar, remaining silent for a long time.

Chen Yang walked over and took a few tissues from his backpack, handing them to him. “Use these instead.”

Ah Wu accepted the tissues meant to build a bridge of goodwill but returned the gesture with a bitter comment. “Why didn’t you die at Miss Lin’s hands?”

Chen Yang was speechless.

“Don’t you guys distrust each other? Killing teammates like it’s nothing.” Ah Wu looked at him, his gaze pure yet oddly disarming, filled with a puzzlement that was hard to resent. “So why would anyone trust you?”

Chen Yang turned to glance at the young man by the cave entrance, just as a faint sigh escaped from Ah Wu.

“Out of everyone in your group, the one I most want to kill is you.” Ah Wu stared at Chen Yang, a strange smile creeping onto his face. “Because right now, you’re the only one…”

Before he could finish, a flying crutch knocked him unconscious.

The atmosphere shifted abruptly.

At the edge of the stone cave stood Chao Jian, one foot planted firmly on the ground with his arm resting on a crutch. His face was partially obscured by the shadow of nearby plants, his expression unreadable. The aura surrounding him was one of overwhelming ferocity, seeming to form into a black storm that expanded outward, centered on him.

Was this how terrifying mutation could be? Zhang Yan and Zhao Yuan instinctively backed away, saying nothing for fear of getting caught in the storm and being inexplicably killed.

Although they hadn’t caught what Ah Wu had said, they were still very curious.

Chen Yang also felt a trace of fear, even though Chao Jian had acted to protect him. The fear he felt toward Chao Jian was no less than what Zhang Yan and Zhao Yuan felt.

Last time, they still had two pills to manage the situation. This time, they had nothing. He didn’t feel confident enough to calm Chao Jian, and besides, the most pressing issue now was completing the task at hand.

Ah Wu’s hand bore a wound that was inflicted when Zhang Yan brought him over. The blood seeping from it was an unusual color. Lin Yue hadn’t lied—Ah Wu was indeed cursed. This only made Chen Yang more determined to act before Ah Wu turned into a plant, to uncover the full story.

Chen Yang woke Ah Wu up. “Stop trying to sow discord.”

Ah Wu looked dazed for a moment before letting out a soft laugh. “It’s the truth.”

“Let’s focus on the main issue.” Chen Yang remained calm, unfazed by Ah Wu’s provocations. “I know that everything the people on this island are suffering now stems from the sins committed by their ancestors—perhaps one or two generations ago.”

Ah Wu’s hand, which had been wiping the stone pillar, paused slightly.

Chen Yang didn’t miss the subtle reaction. “They’re outsiders. The vanished civilization were the true owners of this island. It was their land, but the outsiders plundered and took it over, didn’t they?”

Ah Wu’s half-lowered eyes trembled slightly.

Chen Yang pressed on. “Tell us everything you know. I promise you, once I leave this place, I will write it all down and reveal their crimes to the entire world.”

Ah Wu finally softened a little. “You want to kill me, yet you offer me a promise like this?”

Chen Yang replied honestly, “This is a separate matter. I’m doing it because I need your cooperation. We both have something we want.”

Ah Wu resumed wiping the stone pillar.

Out of nowhere, Zhang Yan snapped and grabbed Ah Wu by the hair, slamming his head against the ground.

Ah Wu’s head immediately split open, blood seeping out—murky red and viscous. Yet, his hand continued to wipe the pillar, as though the head being battered wasn’t his own.

Zhang Yan seemed ready to continue his frenzy, but Zhao Yuan rushed forward and pulled him aside.

“Do you still want to make it back?” Chen Yang said coldly, directing a warning gaze at Zhang Yan. When Chen Yang turned away, his eyes inadvertently locked with Chao Jian’s dark red ones. For a split second, his breath caught in his throat.

Once he fully figured out the situation, he needed to find a way to have a talk with Chao Jian. Though he wasn’t sure if it would end in a beating.

Just as these thoughts crossed Chen Yang’s mind, Ah Wu spoke in a soft voice. His words sounded chilly as it resounded in the silent stone cave.

“Many years ago, this island wasn’t called Xiaoyin Island. It had no name. The people living here weren’t the ancestors of the current inhabitants. It was the Yi people.”

Ah Wu wiped the blood off the stone pillar as he spoke. “The Yi people worshiped a plant deity. Their tribe passed down a sacred blessing through generations, devoutly prayed for by all the Yi people with their heart and soul.

“The only ones who received this blessing were the priests, but not every priest was eligible.

“Only those priests who made significant contributions to the tribe and had great prestige could receive the blessing.”

No one interrupted him. They all quietly listened as Ah Wu continued. He paused to hum a few notes of a melody, then slowly resumed. “When a priest was nearing death, the tribe would open the altar and complete the bestowal of the blessing. This allowed the priest to transform into one of the plant deity’s people after their death, allowing them to multiply endlessly and live forever on this earth.

“The process of bestowing the blessing could vary in length. If the priest committed a grave mistake before the blessing was bestowed, it would be revoked, leaving them to face a normal death with no chance of rebirth.”

As Ah Wu finished his last word, the cave fell into an oppressive silence, so quiet that even the sound of a pin dropping could be heard.

A realization struck Chen Yang. He now understood the meaning of the three images on the tablet. The plant background in the drawings symbolized the plant deity.

Their mission was to strip the blessing from the island’s inhabitants, restoring everything to its original state. Now that all four stone pillars were gathered, all that remained was to arrange them in place.

The realization dawned on not just Chen Yang but everyone else, lightening the mood in the room.

Zhang Yan changed into a more comfortable position, holding up his phone, while Zhao Yuan simply sat down, his legs jittering non-stop.

Chen Yang took two steps closer to Chao Jian, who stood shrouded in a deathly stillness, and directed his question to Ah Wu. “How could the blessing, originally something only a great priest could obtain, become something everyone could have…”

Ah Wu let out a scoff. He turned his back to them and leaned against the stone pillar, half his face smeared with blood.

“That year, a ship of refugees arrived on the island. Most of them were the elderly, women, and children. The Yi people, moved by compassion, took them in—unaware that they were all thieves.

“They deliberately sent what seemed like harmless elderly and children ashore first, to learn everything about the island.

“That night, while the Yi people were helping the priest with the bestowal of the blessing, those supposedly frail and weak outsiders brought in more able-bodied reinforcements to join them. They were well-prepared, setting fires and slaughtering everyone. The altar ran red with blood…”

Ah Wu shuddered as he recounted the memory, grief and hatred swirling in his eyes. He lowered his head and wiped his face, smearing the blood further, giving him an almost ghostly appearance.

“The ceremony was interrupted, and something went wrong with the blessing. Many of the outsiders were blessed, believing they were infected with some strange disease. A few attempted to burn the afflicted, but they were eaten instead.

“Years later, their descendants are experiencing the same fate. They turn on each other, devouring flesh and blood, not even leaving any bones behind. It’s the plant deity’s punishment. After all, isn’t this exactly how they viewed it?”

Chen Yang and the others remained silent.

“A blessing that grants eternal life, dismissed as a disease or a curse. Calling the process a mutation. How utterly absurd.” Ah Wu shook his head and murmured softly, “What’s the difference between plants and humans, really? They’re both living creatures, just existing in this world in different forms.”

Everyone was at a loss for words.

They had a lot to say, but there seemed to be some truth to it.

Both sides understood the situation differently. What one side perceived as good might have been seen as bad by the other, and vice versa, potentially giving the situation a whole new layer of meaning.