Chapter Twenty-Five: An Affair with the Magistrate

Chen Hao was completely absorbed in practicing his blade techniques. Just as he was about to muster his strength and elevate his basic swordsmanship to an advanced level, a pigeon fluttered into the small courtyard. Catching the bird and removing the note tied to its leg, he saw a crooked line of writing: "Brother Chen, where did you run off to? I’m waiting for you at the South Gate to level up!" The note was signed "The Bewitching White Devil," and only then did Chen Hao recall that leveling up was now his top priority.

Currently, the highest-level player in the game was level six; the leading group of grinders were all above level five. Chen Hao, having entered the game a bit late, relied on his high combat attributes to fight above his level and was able to level up swiftly, but he had only reached level three. If not for triggering a dual-sided quest that netted him over two levels of experience, bringing him to level five, he would have been an average player at level three.

When Chen Hao said he was heading out, Wang Wu handed him the Wild Goose Feather Blade, saying, "My legs aren’t what they used to be. Take this blade and use it for now! But I’ve had this weapon for many years; I can’t be without it. When you’re done, you must return it to me."

Even though it was only a temporary loan, Chen Hao was delighted. The Wild Goose Feather Blade added three more combat points than the Horse-Cleaving Saber and also had a severing skill that could break an opponent’s weapon—using this treasured blade would greatly speed up his leveling.

After meeting up with the Bewitching White Devil at the South Gate, the two headed into the wild plains beyond. Chen Hao had lost considerable time bringing food to Wang Wu, and now at the South Gate, he saw that players occasionally teamed up to grind monsters, almost always in full five-person groups. Even when fighting bullies, they were cautious, dreading those with high combat stats.

The two of them avoided the crowds and moved toward the area where bullies were most densely gathered. Once they confirmed that no other players were around, they began to hunt monsters together. The Bewitching White Devil continued to use his sharp tongue to taunt the bullies, luring them in for Chen Hao to tank at the front while he shot arrows from the rear.

At level five, Chen Hao had a body combat stat of twenty-five, with three additional points from his basic blade technique and six more from the Wild Goose Feather Blade, bringing his combat attribute to thirty-four. The Bloodbath skill increased his melee capability by twenty percent, pushing his combat stat over forty. Against bullies with combat attributes between fifteen and twenty-five, those below twenty were almost always killed in a single strike, while those above twenty could hardly withstand a second.

Their experience points soared rapidly. After two hours of grinding, Chen Hao reached level seven, and the Bewitching White Devil was not far from level six. Checking the game’s level leaderboard, they saw that the highest-level player was only level seven. If they kept up this pace, entering the top three and reaching level ten would be no problem.

While Chen Hao was grinding furiously in the south of the city, Sansheng Stone revived in the house he had purchased in Penglai County. Although he had been defeated by Chen Hao, Sansheng Stone and Slaughtering Pig Blade had very different reactions. The latter’s first thought after defeat was revenge, to vent his anger, but Sansheng Stone pondered how to complete his quest instead.

Sansheng Stone left his residence and went to the county office to find the constable, Liu Shengkui. "Sir, I’ve made inquiries all over these past days and found that Broadsword Wang Wu is hiding in the Earth God Temple to the west of the city. Unfortunately, someone is protecting him. Not only did I fail to apprehend him, but I also lost a number of my men."

Liu Shengkui’s eyes lit up. "Are you certain Wang Wu is at the Earth God Temple in the west?"

Sansheng Stone, looking dejected, replied, "Yes. There’s a cellar in the temple where Wang Wu is hiding, but I can’t say if he’s still there."

Liu Shengkui immediately stood up. "Take me there at once."

Sansheng Stone led the way, and Liu Shengkui brought fifty elite patrol soldiers armed with Hanyang-made rifles to storm the Earth God Temple in the west of the city. When they arrived, the temple was deserted. After inspecting the mechanism beneath the Earth God’s statue and the cellar, Liu Shengkui believed Sansheng Stone’s account.

He considered for a moment, then said, "Sansheng Stone, you’ve certainly done your best to find Wang Wu, but he’s escaped. This cellar and the secret mechanism are enough to prove you completed your mission, but I’ll still have to smooth things over with the magistrate..."

Sansheng Stone had come to the temple with Liu Shengkui, hoping he would be credited for finding Wang Wu after seeing the cellar. Seeing the constable’s expression, Sansheng Stone understood and quickly pulled ten large silver dollars from his pouch, offering them up. "If you could say a good word for me and help me become a constable, I’d be deeply grateful and would reward you handsomely once it’s done."

Having failed the dual-sided quest at the Earth God Temple, Sansheng Stone knew becoming a patrol inspector was impossible. Now, the most important thing was to become an official constable and gain official status. As his quest completion was mediocre, he generously tried to bribe Liu Shengkui with ten large silver dollars to speed things up.

Liu Shengkui swiftly pocketed the silver, grinning broadly. "It’s a small matter. Starting tomorrow, you can report for duty at the county office."

"Thank you for your support, sir," Sansheng Stone replied happily. "Sir, Wang Wu may have escaped, but the reason I couldn’t capture him was that someone was protecting him."

"Who would dare collude with bandits? I will show no mercy," Liu Shengkui growled fiercely.

Sansheng Stone said, "Zhang Yuanyuan from Spring Fragrance House appeared at the temple and killed many of my men, as did a player called Chen Baxian. If not for their interference, Wang Wu would already be dead by my hand."

At the mention of Zhang Yuanyuan, Liu Shengkui’s expression changed instantly. He set his face sternly. "Nonsense! Zhang Yuanyuan is the magistrate’s confidante. How could she possibly consort with bandits? If you continue to spout such lies, you’ll never work as a clerk in the county office."

Quick-witted, Sansheng Stone immediately guessed that Zhang Yuanyuan must have an intimate relationship with the magistrate, so he dropped his plan to have Liu Shengkui arrest her. After his failure at the temple, Sansheng Stone had intended to first take Liu Shengkui to the temple to prove he’d found Wang Wu, then report Zhang Yuanyuan and the player Chen Baxian. If the two were arrested, not only could he get some revenge, but he could also earn merit and perhaps use money to secure a patrol inspector position. However, he hadn’t anticipated that the system had set up a relationship between Zhang Yuanyuan and the magistrate, ruining his plans.

Helpless, Sansheng Stone had no choice but to compromise. "Of course, sir, Miss Zhang Yuanyuan is close to the magistrate and could never be involved with bandits. I must have mistaken her for someone else. But I’m certain about the player Chen Baxian—at the temple, I fought him with all my might, but was no match for him."

Liu Shengkui shook his head again. "Sansheng Stone, there are clear regulations in Great Qing law about players informing on one another. Without solid evidence, I cannot send men to arrest this Chen Baxian. But since you claim he colluded with Wang Wu, I’ll send constables to investigate. If your accusations are true, that player will not escape prison."

The system strictly limited player accusations against one another, for if any player could simply inform an NPC and have someone arrested, grudges could be settled by running to the authorities and making false accusations.

Hearing Liu Shengkui’s explanation, Sansheng Stone was deeply disappointed. After his loss at the temple, he had been unwilling to accept defeat and wanted to turn the tables, but Liu Shengkui had poured cold water on his hopes—twice.