God’s Descent: Chapter 13

Nightingale and The Rose

The next day, as the first light of dawn broke.

You Rongyi woke up early, and while Huang Jinghui was still in a daze, You Rongyi unceremoniously pulled him out of bed.

Descending the stairs, the wooden house was empty. The lavish feast from last night had disappeared, replaced by a woven basket containing freshly baked bread and two steaming cups of milk.

Underneath the basket lay a note with Dylan’s handwriting: “We’ve gone out to prepare for the ritual. The breakfast on the table is for you. It’s a bit simple, please don’t mind.”

On any ordinary day, Huang Jinghui, with his empty stomach, wouldn’t think twice. He’d have already picked up the bread, praised the Pisces NPC’s friendliness, and gobbled it all up.

But at this moment, Huang Jinghui stared at the well-prepared breakfast and thought about what You Rongyi had told him last night – these islanders don’t consume regular food. These items were specifically prepared for them. A shiver ran down his spine, and he involuntarily retreated.

At this moment, You Rongyi walked up and calmly picked up a piece of bread to eat.

Huang Jinghui: “!!!”

“Hey!” Huang Jinghui anxiously tried to stop You Rongyi. “Don’t eat that!”

“Why not?” You Rongyi looked at Huang Jinghui and took another bite. “Aren’t you hungry? Your stamina bar was already in the red last night.”

In “Gods’ Descent,” players had a stamina bar. If it dropped below 60, it turned red, and they needed to consume food to replenish it, otherwise, they would experience negative debuffs like dizziness.

“I am hungry!” Huang Jinghui whispered. “But I can’t eat it either! Didn’t you say last night that there’s an issue with the people here?”

“Indeed, the NPCs have problems,” You Rongyi handed the bread to Huang Jinghui. “But I’ve checked the food prepared for us, and it’s regular food. Go ahead and eat.”

Only then did Huang Jinghui take the bread with a sense of relief. But just as he was about to take a bite, You Rongyi calmly added, “At least for now, there’s no issue. Can’t say what they might prepare for us later.”

Huang Jinghui: “…”

He suddenly realized that this seemingly delicate and fragile newbie teammate of his, who looked as beautiful as a flower, had a slightly twisted sense of humor that didn’t match his appearance.

After finishing the meal, Huang Jinghui asked You Rongyi, “Shall we continue with the main quest and head to the island to explore those ruins?”

You Rongyi: “Sure.”

As Huang Jinghui and the group were about to set out, the moment they pushed open the door of the wooden house, they were blown back by the horrifying snowstorm outside.

The heavy snowfall from last night on Nightingale Kingdom hadn’t ceased until today. The accumulation had reached halfway up the door.

The outside was bitterly cold, and both You Rongyi and Huang Jinghui were only wearing light clothing. They couldn’t withstand this level of cold at all. The moment the door opened, they felt as if they were losing blood. If they went out like this, they would freeze to death within an hour.

“No, we need to find some thick clothes to wear!” Huang Jinghui shivered as the wind and snow blew against him. “We can’t bear this level of cold!”

You Rongyi’s gaze instantly moved to behind the door.

He had noticed it yesterday – there were several thick winter clothes hanging there.

Following You Rongyi’s gaze, Huang Jinghui reached out to grab a piece of clothing to put on, but You Rongyi stopped him.

With Huang Jinghui’s puzzled look, You Rongyi slowly turned the winter clothes around.

As soon as Huang Jinghui saw the front of the clothing, his scalp exploded, and he stepped back several steps in horror. “Damn! What is this thing!”

These winter clothes were completely covered on the outside with black feathers that looked exactly like the robes worn by Dylan and his family yesterday.

But what shocked Huang Jinghui wasn’t the robe itself; it was the neck of the robe – it was like there was a hat hanging there, and on that hat-like structure was a bird’s head about the same size as a human head.

The beak of the bird’s head had a piece of paper attached to it. The handwriting on the paper was exactly the same as that on the note under the bread basket: “Considering the cold weather on Nightingale Kingdom, you might not be accustomed to it. So, we’ve specially prepared two warming robes for you.”

“Oh, almost forgot to mention, please don’t be afraid of the bird heads on the robes. They are fake headpieces handmade by us. It’s just a traditional handmade clothing of the Nightingale Kingdom’s people, and no animals were harmed in making them.”

“Hope you enjoy wearing these two robes while exploring Nightingale Kingdom.”

“Love you, Dylan.”

Huang Jinghui was already so frightened that his hair stood on end. He dropped the clothes and kept stepping back while muttering in shock.

You Rongyi looked at the note for a moment and then reached out to take it off from the beak of the bird’s head. He lowered his gaze, used two fingers to lift the drooping bird head on the robe, and moved it left and right, carefully examining it.

Seeing You Rongyi daring to observe the bird’s head, Huang Jinghui, terrified, took two steps back. “You Rongyi, what are you looking at?”

“Didn’t Dylan say these clothes were handmade by them?” You Rongyi didn’t lift his head, his tone calm. “I’m checking if there are any signs of hand-stitching on the clothes.”

Huang Jinghui managed to calm down a bit. “So, they are handmade?”

“No,” You Rongyi’s eyelids drooped as he calmly revealed an analysis that sent shivers down Huang Jinghui’s spine. “From the neck, shoulders, and central back – the common stitching connections – I couldn’t find a single needle hole.”

“The entire piece of clothing…”

You Rongyi raised his eyes. “It’s as if it’s a robe made from the skin of a giant bird, of the same size as this outer robe.”

“But it’s strange.”

Ignoring Huang Jinghui, who had been scared into silently retreating a few steps, You Rongyi pressed his fingers against his chin. He looked at the robe, seemingly lost in thought. “There are no such large birds in the normal natural world. However, we’re in a game, and it’s a fairy tale game, where anything is possible. We can’t rule out the possibility of large birds like this on Nightingale Kingdom.”

“But based on the characteristics of this bird’s head,” You Rongyi lightly touched and adjusted the feathers with his fingers. “Even though it’s a bit distorted due to decay, you can still tell that it should be a nightingale.”

“A nightingale?” Huang Jinghui slowly moved closer, pointing at the clothing with disbelief. “You’re saying this thing is made from the skin of a nightingale?”

“Yeah,” You Rongyi said calmly. “Ordinary nightingales definitely don’t look like this. But this is obviously an abnormal nightingale.”

“But it’s still unclear why Nightingale Kingdom would have such a huge nightingale, the size of an adult, skinned and used to make traditional ethnic clothing,” You Rongyi commented.

Hearing this, Huang Jinghui shivered.

“But what’s most pressing is,” You Rongyi lifted his eyelids, “whether we should wear these nightingale skin robes when we go out.”

“The weather outside is so cold. Without clothes, the risk of freezing to death would be higher. Plus, our dear Dylan has only prepared this garment for us.”

“Freezing is one thing.” Huang Jinghui tactfully declined. “I’m quite resistant to the cold. We can go outside for a while, then come back to warm up by the fire, and then head out again.”

It’s one thing to endure the cold, but if there’s something wrong with this clothing, wearing it could lead to endless troubles!

“Indeed, there seem to be certain risks with this leather clothing at the moment,” You Rongyi shifted the focus of the conversation. “But personally, I still think we should wear it.”

Huang Jinghui was taken aback. “Why?”

“Besides the weather, there’s another reason I believe we should wear this clothing,” You Rongyi’s eyes turned to Huang Jinghui, calmly asking, “Do you remember something Dylan said to us last night?”

Huang Jinghui countered, puzzled, “What did he say?”

“People on the island are quite hostile towards outsiders and tend to drive them away,” You Rongyi reached out and took off the clothing. “But this clothing is a traditional attire of Nightingale Kingdom.”

“If we wear this traditional attire that covers our heads, the islanders won’t be able to distinguish whether we are outsiders or islanders,” Huang Jinghui suddenly realized. “They won’t attack us on sight, which would make our exploration much easier!”

“Assuming we’re not discovered,” You Rongyi handed the clothing to Huang Jinghui. “Personally, I think it’s our best option for now.”

Huang Jinghui clenched his teeth. “Then let’s put them on!”

Ten minutes later, with their hoods in the bird’s heads, the two of them walked out together.

Oddly enough, while the clothing appeared heavy, wearing it felt as if there was no weight at all. It was as if the clothing was born to be part of their bodies, incredibly lightweight.

Huang Jinghui pushed open the door, letting the snow and wind rush in. He looked at the scenery outside, exhaling a cloud of white breath.

Outside, there was an endless expanse of white snow, sporadically dotted with small wooden houses like Dylan’s. Amid the pure white snow, there were figures moving slowly, resembling small black dots.

Squinting his eyes, You Rongyi observed – those figures were islanders dressed in the same nightingale attire as them.

[Triggered Quest: Visit one of Nightingale Kingdom’s relics on the island (Nightingale Opera House) to find the withered Nightingale Rose.] [Quest Completion Reward: 1000 Star Coins]

(Star Coins are the in-game currency of Gods’ Descent. Players can use them to trade with NPCs or other players, or buy items from the central hall shop in the game. The range of transactions includes both tangible and intangible items.)

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