Chapter Thirty-Two: Chrysanthemums Are Yellow

Despite his eagerness to reach level 10, Chen Hao still alternated with the Pale Demon to practice archery for an hour. Practicing archery in the game consumed stamina, so after a while of training, they had to rest; sharing a single bow suited them just fine.

Their satiety dropped rapidly during practice, and after an hour, both had just over sixty points left. Having made a small fortune at the Earth Temple, Chen Hao had no trouble maintaining his and the Pale Demon’s satiety for the next few days. He took out two silver dollars and handed them to the Pale Demon, saying, “Demon, those players I killed know Senior Wang Wu is with me, so I can’t let them find out where I live. Go out and buy some food. Make sure to get braised lion’s head.”

After the Pale Demon left, Wang Wu came into the courtyard and asked Chen Hao to practice basic sword techniques. Chen Hao’s mastery of the basics had improved greatly; he was far more fluid than when he first learned them. Still, after watching him, Wang Wu shook his head and said, “Your movements are much smoother, but you’re not using the right force.”

Wang Wu instructed Chen Hao several times, increasing his proficiency in basic swordsmanship by over thirty points. Soon after, the Pale Demon returned with food. The three of them sat at the same table, indulged in a lavish breakfast to restore their satiety to full, and prepared to head to the South Gate to continue leveling.

Chen Hao didn’t leave with the Pale Demon, knowing that with Three-Life Stone’s cunning, he would have spies in the city. If Three-Life Stone discovered where he lived and brought the authorities to Wang Wu, his chain quest would be ruined.

The Pale Demon went to the southern part of the city first, while Chen Hao slipped out the back door into a small alley, then used his familiarity with the terrain to circle around a few times before arriving at the residence of the great scholar Li Pisun. His culture attribute now exceeded twenty-five points, allowing him to read the “Three Character Classic,” but he had been too busy leveling to study; even if he met Li Pisun, he couldn’t formally become his disciple.

Chen Hao’s visit to Li Pisun was simply to pay his respects. As a traditional scholar, Li Pisun had many rules; daily greetings left a good impression. After Chen Hao paid his respects, Li Pisun smiled approvingly, “You understand etiquette well. I have not wasted my efforts in nurturing you. How are you progressing with the ‘Three Character Classic’?”

Chen Hao replied respectfully, “I recite it daily, but I have yet to master it.”

Li Pisun nodded, “Learning requires a steady approach. Don’t skim the surface. Apply yourself when you return.”

Leaving Li Pisun’s residence, Chen Hao didn’t take his usual route but headed toward the main road of the county town. A player standing by the main road was startled to see Chen Hao, then his face lit up with joy and he hurried off to the county office to report to Three-Life Stone.

Hearing the report, Three-Life Stone frowned, “Are you sure you saw Chen Baxian? If it’s really him, why would he appear in the East City’s wealthy district?”

His subordinate confirmed, and Three-Life Stone pondered, “Could it be Wang Wu has an accomplice in Penglai County? If so, Chen Baxian’s luck is extraordinary, managing to trigger a chain quest.”

“Wang Yu, I want you watching the entrance to the wealthy district around the clock,” Three-Life Stone ordered.

Chen Hao arrived in the southern city to begin leveling. The bully leveling zone was deserted, with even fewer people than yesterday. Many players, as in traditional games, were desperately leveling up; higher-level players constantly hunted monsters in the south, some even logging in for twenty-four hours straight. Their bodies could endure, but their characters lacked sleep, and the longer they leveled, the more off it felt. It wasn’t until they received a system prompt about sleep deprivation that they realized and rushed to find a place to rest and log off.

After four hours grinding in the bully zone, Chen Hao reached level nine, and the Pale Demon ascended to level eight. The highest-ranked player was level nine, and it was only Chen Hao; eight of the top ten were level eight, with the Pale Demon ranking eighth.

If they kept going, the pair would surely be the first to reach level ten. To ensure he’d earn three points of reputation, Chen Hao decided to keep grinding. He sent the Pale Demon back to town to buy food, while he continued further south.

Every monster type could spawn special variants, though the higher the level, the rarer the chance. Chen Hao and the Pale Demon had rotten luck, having hunted in the southern city for ages without encountering any special monsters. Now, with the Pale Demon gone, Chen Hao wandered about hoping his luck would change.

Special monsters not only dropped loot at higher rates, but sometimes yielded unique quest items—like the bronze bracelet Chen Hao obtained, which triggered the Wang Wu-related quest. He still had about a dozen silver dollars in his pouch; he wasn’t interested in monster coin drops, but wanted to collect more quest items.

Special monsters spawned randomly and often required luck to encounter. Chen Hao circled the area several times with no luck. Just as he was about to give up, he spotted a group of players ahead—a party of four, two men and two women, deep in discussion.

Instinctively wary, Chen Hao quickly hid beneath an earthen embankment by the roadside; the four were busy talking and hadn’t noticed him.

From his hiding spot, Chen Hao overheard a woman say, “Brother Xiaofeng, what are the stats on that gold ring we got after killing the special monster?”

A man replied with a smile, “It’s a quest item. The description says it’s the wedding ring of Second Lieutenant Podolski of the German Army, somehow lost here, and instructs us to investigate why. When I got the ring, it triggered a ‘Find the Lieutenant’ quest; if we find Podolski, the reward is a Mauser pistol.”

The girl who’d spoken earlier exclaimed excitedly, “That’s great! Hardly anyone in the China district has a gun yet. That guy called Butcher Knife got a fast revolver and he’s been unbelievably arrogant. Brother Xiaofeng, once you have the Mauser, let’s go blow his backside off.”

“Sister Zixuan, what do you mean by ‘blow his backside off’?” another girl asked curiously.

“Well, ‘blow his backside off’ means, you shoot Butcher Knife in the head, and when his head explodes, it looks like a chrysanthemum—so we call it ‘blowing his backside off’… Haha! Anyway, Yudie, you just need to know that once we have the Mauser, we can take Butcher Knife down.”

“But isn’t a chrysanthemum yellow? When you shoot Butcher Knife in the head, blood sprays everywhere—it’s red, not at all like a chrysanthemum,” Yudie muttered.

Chen Hao nearly burst out laughing at Zixuan’s explanation. But when he heard the male player mention Second Lieutenant Podolski, he began to hesitate about killing them for the quest item, knowing from his memories of the future that this was a chain quest, and the rewards went far beyond just a Mauser.

When he learned the four players had a grudge against Butcher Knife, he let go of the idea—after all, the enemy of his enemy was his friend. With the players’ current strength, completing the gold ring’s quest was impossible; all they wanted was the Mauser. If they cooperated, Chen Hao could help them gain the Mauser, and then take the opportunity to pursue the follow-up quests himself.

(The woeful thirteenth place! Here’s another chapter—brothers, help me blow the twelfth’s backside and get me onto the homepage new book chart!)