The Gentleman at the End-Chapter 713 - 711: Lake Bottom

When William and others were placed directly on the top layer of the village by the Lung Dragon, the scene here was rather disquieting.

Many villagers sat against the walls or squatted on the ground,

Their breathing pattern seemed to have turned into coughing, each inhalation followed by coughs to expel the germ-laden mist and simultaneously strengthen their lungs through such coughing.

All villagers shared a common feature, their ribcages were completely pried open or holes were directly made in their chests, exposing the lungs,

allowing the lungs more room to move and nourishing them with the purple mist that permeated the Hidden Village, especially the mist rising from the lakes.

Under prolonged coughing, the villagers’ lungs had undergone various transformations, or rather, had combined with the illnesses they had before entering the village.

Some had muscle-like patterns growing on the surface of their lungs,

some had merged with heart functions, respiring and simultaneously serving as kinetic pumps for circulating blood,

while some villagers had directly connected their brains near their tracheas.

Apart from their routine coughing, they typically had pipes or stems in their mouths, stuffed with Purple gromwell picked from the cliff gaps.

Seeing such a scene, William and his companions slowly started coughing too, except for Lorrian who still kept his eyes closed and remained silent, not coughing at all.

Among the group, the snail woman coughed the worst, she had not even completed her Open Source. When she breathed the dense mist of the Hidden Village, she began coughing violently, with blood continually flowing from between her snail shells.

She even curled up on the ground, coughing madly and convulsing all over.

"Boss, should we help her?"

"No need. It was her own choice to come along. Even if we help her get through this, she would be exposed later on."

Everyone just quietly watched,

and at the brink of death, the snail woman suddenly coughed as loud as firecrackers, expelling her lungs from between her snail shells and suspending them in front of her chest via the branching trachea.

After coughing out her lungs, it seemed as if she had been ’ventilated’; she was no longer in agony, and her coughing eased.

At that moment,

an old man sitting aside, his mouth clenching a homemade stem, suddenly spoke,

"External lungs, a remarkable talent~ Worthy of foreigners brought here by the Lung Dragon, cough cough~ you should quickly head to the Village Chief’s house for the ’Qualification Test’.

Perhaps you can start the Gu Dragon Transformation early, and might even qualify to live in the mid-to-lower layers, closer to the Lung Water Lake.

Oh right, it’s your first visit to the village; you might not be familiar~ let this old man take you there."

When the old man stood up, his back skin, which stuck to the mountain rocks he rested upon, showed how long he had maintained that sitting position, years perhaps.

With a rip!

His back skin tore open completely, and the old man, like a walking zombie, led everyone along the bamboo pathways built in mid-air across the village,

Some areas had bamboo ladders to descend,

while others required jumping down or climbing,

and some areas even had giant hanging waterwheels for rapid descent.

The Village Chief’s house was located in the middle of the Hidden Village, with several people already gathered there, waiting in line.

The guiding old man explained, "The Village Chief is very busy~ as daily, people want to gain ’Gu Dragon Qualifications.’ Not only does it require review, but qualified individuals must also be categorized based on the state of their lungs.

Although you four do not have ’external lungs,’ the intensity, frequency, and efficiency of your coughing bacteria expulsion are impressive, cough cough! You’ve been coughing incessantly along the way, the Village Chief will surely like you."

[Coughing incessantly]

William and others had hardly coughed along the way; everyone glanced at Lorrian, who was bound by straps and had his eyes sealed. He was the only one capable of silently replacing his real body with an illusion.

After waiting for half an hour, it was finally their turn,

As they stepped through the entrance of the Village Chief’s house, there was a sensation similar to passing through a barrier, but this barrier was purely gaseous, or rather, it was the air exhaled from the Village Chief’s lungs.

A powerful aura struck everyone, shocking the snail woman so much she knelt on the ground immediately.

William was slightly startled, "Path Completer... I never thought I’d find in my travels through much of the Central Domain, especially not hidden in such a mountainous village,

and with such a posture, barely resembling a Westerner at all.

I’ve come to the right place~ I wonder if Lorrian’s illusions can still hold up against such an adept in lung infections. If he is exposed, I will just spread fear then."

Before William,

The village chief, with a slender torso and a curved spine, leaned forward on a long bench, "directly watching" the people coming in from the front.

He had no eyes, or rather, his eyes had been replaced by tracheae,

the "main trachea" in his neck split at the head, connecting to his facial features,

his eye sockets and ears were all breathing, perceiving everything around him by inhaling the air.

His white beard touched the ground,

his torso, arms, and legs all bore a degree of resemblance to a dragon’s body; though lacking dragon scales, they exhibited curves and claw-like shapes,

The most distinct feature was the special wings on his back, a kind of shriveled, miniaturized lung dragon wings, the holes scattered across their surface had sealed, but they still spanned more than five meters when extended.

Clearly, the village chief was a surviving Gu Dragon Lung.

A purple aura continuously exhaled from his face, and he did not speak right away,

after waiting for five minutes, he finally moved; the sealed holes in his right-side dragon wing slightly opened and with a gentle inhale, the snail woman was forcefully pulled towards him.

"The lungs are externalized, and still not Open Source, what a fine specimen!

The rest of you are also quite impressive, very devout, kneeling on the ground without a trace of stray thoughts since the moment you entered, and even maintaining a consistent coughing frequency,"

the village chief said.

Including the dentist, Nash, everyone glanced at Lorrian standing at the back, the Illusion Technique still effectively flawless.

"The quality of you all is very high, meeting the highest standards of my village.

This lady, who has not yet reached Open Source, needs to stay in the village for special training, while you four Open Source Patients have two options.

The first is to undergo Gu Dragon Transformation, but finding a ’Gu’ that matches you could be difficult. Simply pairing you with ordinary villagers for Gu refining wouldn’t make sense, as you would be the ones to survive.

Therefore, the waiting period could be long. Of course, our village will offer you long-term free lodging.

Second, follow me to the Lung Water Lake; if your bodies can withstand it, you could go deeper and meet ’My Lord.’ Should you receive His grace, you could acquire a ’True Lung.’

Then, the path would be easily traversable, and you might reach higher levels without needing a path."

These words caused everyone, including Lorrian, to furrow their brows.

The village chief before them was already a Silver Circle Patient, who could be a leading member in any of the major Source Epidemic Areas, yet he referred to someone else as ’My Lord.’

If this were a village in the Old World, they would even wonder if a new Plague Master had emerged in the depths of the lake.

Moreover, the village chief’s last remark was intriguing, about reaching higher levels without needing a path.

"We would like to try the second option."

"Very well... follow me."

The village chief gently exhaled, and a cloud of purple mist carried them to the deepest part of the village, the Lung Water Lake.

The purple water, dark and bubbling up, was sticky and even hot,

many humanoid skeletons were scattered along the shore, in extreme agony,

the village chief, from nowhere, produced four stone cups, scooped up the purple water from the lake, and handed them over, "Drink it~ If you can withstand the pressure from the lake water, it proves you’re qualified to go deeper."

Nash took the cup without hesitation and drank it in one gulp,

using his exceptional regeneration power to withstand it, he finally let out a huge belch, having completely digested the lake water, his stomach churning—tonight, he might end up with diarrhea.

But then, looking at the other three, they had casually poured the lake water on the shore and hadn’t drunk any.

Due to Lorrian’s Illusion Technique, whatever they did appeared as the most satisfactory ’result’ in the village chief’s mind.

"Nash, quite conscientious, huh~"

"As an actor~ you’ve got to hold on no matter what, just drinking something akin to chili water, no big deal! Thanks for the compliment, boss."

The village chief, unaware of the people’s conversation, just continuously nodded in satisfaction.

He then began to vigorously flap his wings, stirring up the surface of the lake,

until a hidden passage at the bottom of the lake was revealed,

"Go down, My Lord will certainly like you! As a Gu Dragon, I’m not qualified to delve further, hoping one of you can completely satisfy My Lord."

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