Treasure Hunting

Chapter 29 Be My Personal Disciple

Zachary entered the system as soon as he returned to his burned treehouse. He then had his body checked by the system. The results confirmed what Elva said; five of his meridians were badly damaged. He had spent so much effort trying to heal the past injuries, but this time he had to heal five more meridians.

"What is the best way to recover?" Zachary asked.

"You're seriously injured. No therapeutic pill, no matter how powerful it is, can heal you completely. I suggest that you find Anne. She has great medical skills. Perhaps she has a way to help you," Mimi suggested.

Zachary immediately went to the Living-dead Tomb. Luckily, Anne was there and just finished her cultivation.

But, she didn't look pleased to see Zachary.

"Master Anne, can I be your disciple now?" Zachary thought that Anne would most likely refuse to cure him because he was not her disciple yet. He thought that the logical first step would be to become her disciple first.

"Have I ever expressed that I want you as my personal disciple?" Anne's statement made Zachary want to bang his head on the wall.

"You are just awesome!" Zachary said as he raised both of his thumbs upward. 'Anne appears to be even more shameless that I am. How can she act like she doesn't know anything about her promise? She is pretending like she never promised that she would take me as her disciple.'

"If you don't have anything important to say, you can leave now," Anne said driving Zachary away.

"Master Anne, there is actually one thing." Zachary decided that he had no choice but to tell the truth.

"It's getting colder. I want to wear fur. Best if it is made from the fur of the Murderous Antelope," Anne said without looking at Zachary as if she was talking to herself.

"Is this considered a quest? If I can complete this quest, can you do me a favor?" Zachary said boldly. He saw a chance and he decided that he had nothing left to lose.

"You have six hours." Anne took one last glimpse at Zachary and then she disappeared.

Feeling hopeful once more, he left the Living-dead Tomb and went straight to look for Murderous Antelopes.

It didn't take long before Zachary found the first Murderous Antelope. It looked like a normal antelope with two small horns on its head. It looked harmless. Zachary was confident that he could catch it. Without thinking about the best approach, he dashed for it.

It was an action that he would soon regret. The Murderous Antelope was not as harmless as he thought it would be. When he approached the Murderous Antelope, it jumped almost two meters off the ground, its forelegs soaring into the air. When Zachary reached the spot where the Murderous Antelope was originally standing, he fell right under the two powerful hooves of the Murderous Antelope!

Before Zachary realized what was happening, the hooves smashed into his face.

Thud!

Rocks and dust flew all around Zachary.

"Ahem! Ahem!" Soon, a figure ran out of the dusty area in a hostile manner.

"Oh my! It's not your fault to be cuddly, but it's definitely your fault to be so violent!" Zachary turned around, roaring at the beast.

The Murderous Antelope exited the dust cloud with bloodshot eyes. It looked as if it was now in a state of frenzy.

"I have no choice but to fight you," Zachary said. He was aware that there was no way to avoid the fight, so he took a deep breath as he prepared himself with a fight with the deadly antelope.

The fore-hooves of the Murderous Antelope scratched hard against the ground. It was getting itself ready to attack.

Zachary and the Murderous Antelope ran towards each other and crashed into each other's body. The fight was bloody. Each attack made by either one of them left a mark on the other. After half an hour of fighting, each part of Zachary's body was injured. A deep wound stretched from his shoulder all the way down to his wrist like a red snake that bled with each passing second.

The Murderous Antelope paused and prepared for another deadly attack. It then howled as it ran towards Zachary once more.

Zachary had no intention of dodging. At the very last second that the horns of the Murderous Antelope were about to sink into his chest, he grabbed them and then he jerked his arms. Luckily, his strength greatly improved recently, and it was enough to throw the Murderous Antelope onto the ground.

The Murderous Antelope twisted its body on the ground, trying to get up. Since it was a life-and-death battle, Zachary immediately leaped onto the Murderous Antelope's body; his teeth then bit the Murderous Antelope's neck. A stream of hot blood instantly gushed into his mouth. He felt his body heating up and his blood boiling. With his heart racing as if it was about to jump out of his chest, Zachary almost lost his consciousness.

Even though he was weakened, Zachary's teeth were still stuck into the neck of the Murderous Antelope. The blood that escaped the Murderous Antelope's body now covered both of them. Eventually, the Murderous Antelope stopped struggling and died due to excessive loss of blood.

Zachary felt the Murderous Antelope dying from under him. He then relaxed his body and immediately lost consciousness.

When Zachary regained consciousness, he was surprised to find himself back at the Living-dead Tomb, lying on an icy cold bed.

'Is this the Ice Jade Bed described in the fiction?' he thought to himself. Zachary struggled to get up and found himself lying on a bed made of ice. He instantly understood who saved him.

A beautiful lady suddenly walked in without warning. It was Anne.

Anne stared at Zachary and asked, "Are you fully awake now? Why didn't you tell me earlier that you were badly injured? Why did you still go out on that quest?" There was a tone of regret and concern in Anne's voice.

"I thought you would not accept me as a disciple if I did not go," Zachary answered sadly.

"I might indeed reject you before. But now..." There was something different in Anne's countenance as she spoke. Nôvel/Dr(a)ma.Org - Content owner.

"Have you changed your mind? Do you plan to accept me as your personal disciple?" Zachary asked. He was now sure that Anne was a kindhearted person. Otherwise, she wouldn't have saved him. The indifference on her face was a facade—he still had a chance to get close to her.

"No," Anne answered in an emotionless tone.

"To tell you the truth," Zachary started, "I suffered a lot. Three years ago..." Zachary was like a professional actor. His eyes suddenly became crestfallen and sad as he told Anne the story of the miserable experience of the owner of the body, but in a more dramatic manner that inspired great sympathy.

"Oh, I am really sorry to hear that. So you even have to take revenge for your parents." Anne's eyes were tearful—she was affected by the heartrending story.

"But now I will never have the chance to do that. Unless, you help me by curing me and accepting me as your personal disciple," Zachary said. He looked totally depressed and hopeless.

"That is not impossible. Well, I can accept you as my personal disciple and heal your broken meridians. But...you have to promise me one thing," Anne replied.