I Forged the Myth of the Ancient Overlords-Chapter 35 - 0. Side Quest_1

Chapter 35: 035. Side Quest_1

Chapter 35: 035. Side Quest_1

“A side quest?”

Lu Ban played his instrument while pondering this unexpected development.

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Since it was a side quest, it meant that Lu Ban could complete it at any time, but the description of the task was “in the Silent Lands,” which clearly was not the world Lu Ban currently resided in. In other words, the Silent Lands should be a mysterious space affected by the system or some other great existence, much like the Jiangcheng Grand Theater that night.

In other words, Lu Ban needed to search for these traces within the quest.

So, what would finding these Melody Shards yield?

The task description lacked details.

Lu Ban simply put it aside.

The focus right now was not on this.

As the melody concluded, tears fell from the corner of Song Yunyan’s eyes. She did not wipe them away with a handkerchief, but instead stood in front of the large floor-to-ceiling window, gazing into the distance.

If there were any doubts about Lu Ban being a sensationalist, a charlatan seeking to deceive the crowd, those were dispelled upon hearing the music.

For she had heard this tune for the first and also the last time amidst that fire.

The people who had experienced it back then had long since passed away, and the fact that Lu Ban could obtain this tune was the best proof.

Lu Ban looked over her shoulder and saw the end of the horizon, where the remains of the Jiangcheng Grand Theater could faintly be seen.

No wonder she had purchased the land and not developed it, and chose to place her office in such a location.

For twenty years, she likely gazed out like this innumerable times, yet never found what she sought.

Lu Ban had an understanding.

“Mr. Lu, I have a feeling that, in a certain sense, you are much like Dan Ping. May I ask you for something?”

Song Yunyan did not turn around, just continued to look at the sparkling waters of the Lingjiang River.

“Please speak.”

“…Can you help Dan Ping to be free? He has been bound there for so many years; it should be time for him to leave.”

She was silent for a moment before she determinedly spoke.

“No problem.” Lu Ban immediately answered.

“To be precise, Du Danping’s spirit has already been freed.”

“?”

Song Yunyan couldn’t help but turn around.

“Madam Song, actually my video was not fully shown. There was a segment at the end that I edited out, and the full version is here.”

Lu Ban took out his cell phone and immediately played for Song Yunyan the footage where he sang “Good Fortune Comes” and used a crowbar to smash the skull of her former beloved’s remains.

“…That’s good.”

Song Yunyan’s expression was complex.

“However, Du Danping’s case has not been fully resolved. To prevent such a thing from happening again, the Jiangcheng Grand Theater needs to be demolished. Its architectural style led to the tragedy.”

Lu Ban expressed his earlier thoughts.

“Then, it would be best to establish some positive energy promotion and education bases on the site or use it for charitable projects. I believe Mr. Du’s spirit in heaven would be very comforted to see these,” he said with confidence, having personally sent Du Danping’s spirit on.

“…That’s a good suggestion.”

Song Yunyan was startled, then hesitantly nodded in agreement.

Once more, she gazed at the abandoned Jiangcheng Grand Theater as if engraving it into the deepest recesses of her memory.

“Mr. Lu, is there anything I can help you with?”

Song Yunyan asked again.

“For someone like you, from ‘there,’ money should be an extraneous concern, hardly of any use. But aside from money, I have nothing else.”

“…”

Lu Ban hesitated.

“For a while, I searched for antiques worldwide, hoping to find something that would connect me and Dan Ping, but those were all common items, which I suppose you wouldn’t be interested in.”

Song Yunyan pondered with a touch of distress.

“…”

Lu Ban once again hesitated to speak.

“Or…”

She seemed to recall something else, but before she could finish, Lu Ban raised a hand to gently interrupt her.

“…Actually, I need Madam Song’s help with something right now.”

“Please speak.”

Song Yunyan looked puzzled.

“As you know, I’m just a minor video creator at the moment. My biggest wish right now is to quickly reach a hundred thousand followers. If you could help me accomplish this wish, I would be completely content.”

Lu Ban said earnestly.

“I don’t have any grand ambitions. I make these videos just to fulfill my own dream of making films. A hundred thousand followers is just a small step towards that dream. Of course, if in the future you could invest in a movie I shoot, that would be even better.”

“?”

Song Yunyan was even more confused.

Having experienced that bizarre scene akin to a fire and having seen the spirit of Du Danping, possibly even encountering some mysterious entities, was this young man’s greatest desire really to increase his follower count to a hundred thousand?

What was this feeling like? Like being stuck on a math problem in the library for hours without success only to have it casually solved by a passing cleaner, who when asked says she just wants to be a quiet sweeper?

And making movies… was he serious?

He possesses such extraordinary powers, yet all he wants is to make films?

Or could it be that the movies he intends to shoot will involve the powers of that other world?

“Of course, I can.”

Song Yunyan agreed and couldn’t help but look forward to it.

Even though she was over forty years old, she was frequently exposed to and even quite familiar with what young people were into, to the extent that she had even created an account on a video-sharing website and occasionally uploaded videos of her visiting luxurious houses.

We live in an era of traffic. With the right traffic, making someone popular isn’t a problem at all, and traffic requires money.

Purchasing a hundred thousand fake followers is a rather low-level tactic. Song Yunyan planned to have her secretary promote Lu Ban’s videos in other ways to get him a real hundred thousand followers.

“Is there anything else I can help you with?”

Song Yunyan, for some reason, didn’t feel the usual confidence she had in front of young people when facing Lu Ban. Instead, she felt a certain reverence.

Perhaps it was because she had truly witnessed those extraordinary events, which made her see Lu Ban in a different light.

Or perhaps it was that she saw a hint of Du Danping’s past self in Lu Ban and wanted to make up for past regrets.

“Hmm… Madam Song, you mentioned before that you’ve collected many antiques, right?”

Lu Ban thought for a moment, then decided to issue a reminder.

“Although it’s possible that those antiques don’t really need to be worried about, I still advise you not to delve too deeply into them. There are some things where the more you know, the more dangerous it is for you.”

Items like those in the Silent Department Store, Lu Ban suspected, might be remnants left by people like himself. Most of these objects were polluted, and if a common person came into contact with them, they might quickly be affected and lose their sanity.

Lu Ban, who had once glimpsed the truth of this world, knew this all too well.

Although his sanity was at zero, Lu Ban didn’t consider himself a madman.

“I… understand.”

Song Yunyan nodded, only somewhat comprehending.

“One last thing.”

Lu Ban arrived at the office door, ready to leave.

Song Yunyan looked over.

“Could I trouble you to have the driver take me back? It’s a bit inconvenient to take the subway from here.”

Lu Ban said seriously.

“…Fine.”

Song Yunyan couldn’t figure this man out.

*

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