Chapter 891: A Lifeless Town

Kui Town.
A small town in the north with extremely scarce resources. Its population is very thin, and few players were born here. Yet, precisely because of its harsh environment, almost no one sets up branch factions here.
Many alliance factions in the north are reluctant to pass through this desolate place…
Kui Town is simply a lifeless town.
Even the players born here think so. Most of them leave to explore the world within a month, with only a few staying in town for various reasons, their skills being merely average.
There are very few lively places in the town.
Only an open-air pavilion near the armory and pawnshop, along with the tavern, are the most popular spots, where a dozen people can be seen every day. The rest of the places appear eerily quiet at night.
Tonight, the town is unusually lively.
At least seventy people gathered in the tavern, their cheerful laughter, arguments, and drinking games echoing far and wide—even those in the wilderness outside could hear them.
“Haha! Yin Shang! We used to work together in a shop. Though we weren’t part of the same sect, nor are we in any faction now, we’re still fellow townsfolk and colleagues. You ran off back then and now come back looking so successful… I’m still working in that shop, taking a break after work… Uh, haha! For that, let’s drink—three big glasses!!”
In the tavern, a man covered in scars was already drunk. He stood up and toasted a man at the center table.
“Cheers!”
A burly man with a fake smile stood up. Their glasses clinked together, and without a word, they drank three glasses in a row.
“Yin Shang” was a player from Kui Town…
He had had some success in his adventures, possessed considerable strength, and joined the most powerful faction in the north, Yipin Tang, becoming an outer sect disciple.
Originally, Yin Shang planned never to return here!
But due to this imperial decree mission, Yipin Tang was having trouble in the grasslands, so everyone was sent back. He and a group of others were assigned by the faction leader to stay here for a few days—supposedly to prevent the members of the four major factions from secretly leaving the north.
After drinking three glasses, Yin Shang wiped his mouth and gasped, “You scrawny guy! I told you back then to come with me, but you wouldn’t listen. What’s the use of clinging to your little stuff… Uh! To achieve great things… one must think ahead.”

“What the hell for? Things are a mess outside. Games are just for fun. I don’t want to be bossed around in real life, and now I have to be bossed around in games too? In games, I can do whatever I want, scold whoever I want… By the way, you guys set up a branch in Kui Town—don’t tell me you plan to stay here forever?” Ma Zi was reeking of alcohol but spoke very clearly.
At that moment, over thirty local players at the table pricked up their ears and looked over.
Kui Town had always been a dead town, lacking vitality. But three days ago, the largest force in the north, “Yipin Tang,” suddenly established a branch there.
Although it was just a small branch, the number of people stationed there was huge for a poor place like Kui Town, with only a hundred or so residents.
As many as three hundred people…
This caused the urban population of Kui Town to surge by 400% in an instant!
These local players, who had hoped for more people in the town, suddenly grew uneasy.
Yipin Tang was powerful!
If they decided to stay here long-term, they would surely live under their thumb, and life would likely get even worse.
So, Yin Shang invited acquaintances for a drink, and everyone who received the invitation came.
They just wanted to find out what Yipin Tang was planning and if Kui Town had any hidden resources…
Yin Shang naturally knew what they were thinking!
“Don’t worry,” he said irritably, giving them a sidelong glance before sitting down. “Would Yipin Tang even care about your worthless stuff?”
“Then why did you all come here this time…”
Ma Zi was somewhat sober now, still looking uneasy, like the landowner of Kui Town.
“I don’t know why you’re so worried. There are no crystals or metals within dozens of miles, no mountain resources, not even any key characters… It drives my brothers and me crazy—we can only drink and idle around here… I can’t stand this kind of life for a single day!” Someone next to Yin Shang couldn’t hold back: “Don’t worry. They’ll only stay for a couple of days. As soon as the Imperial Edict mission is over, they’ll leave! By then, no one will even want to stay here for half a second! Damn it…”
“…”
Ma Zi exchanged a slightly relieved look with the local players.
But soon, someone asked curiously:
“Why do we have to wait for the Imperial Edict mission?”
“Yeah,” said a few local players from Kui Town, looking as if they wondered if there was any connection between the two.
“Don’t ask. It’s a secret!”
Yin Shang grew impatient.
The people of Kui Town were largely isolated from the outside world, living a self-sufficient hermit life. It was normal for them not to understand the reasons.
But…

Not everyone in Kui Town was ignorant of news.
“Just by looking at you, it’s clear you care nothing about the affairs of the martial world.”
“This place controls the route from the grasslands to the coastal docks. Hundreds of people from Yipin Hall are standing in the wilderness—definitely on guard.”
“On guard? For whom?”
“For whom else? Of course, it’s for the Mu Family, whom Yipin Hall fears… What’s the point of talking to you about this? Come on! Drink! Yin Shang might not be able to return in the future—there’s no chance to take him down today!”
“That’s true…”
The group raised their cups one after another.
Just then!
Yin Shang and a group of Yipin Hall members tensed up, as if hearing something, but the loud noise of drinking and gambling in the hall made them ignore it.
Half a minute later, a man with decent equipment rushed in, pale and unsteady on his feet, his eyes filled with anger:
“Still drinking! The brothers outside the town are almost all dead!!!”
The faces of the Yipin Hall members changed instantly as they stood up and left their seats.
But Yin Shang’s heart skipped a beat.
Damn!
He immediately recognized him as the junior leader in charge of patrolling the wilderness that night, the deputy head of the faction.
The man was pale and unsteady on his feet—all signs indicated he had just revived from the nearby Martial Temple.
The local players in Kui Town had no way of dealing with a master wielding a top-tier weapon at the fourth level.
The only explanation…
The Mu Family had arrived!
“That can’t be right. I heard from people in the grasslands that the four major gangs planned to attack tonight. How is this possible…?”
Yin Shang rushed forward, urgently asking questions.
“Stop talking nonsense!” the deputy head snapped angrily. “The brothers outside are probably all dead. Go help them right away! The head of the faction ordered it! Even if they’re all dead, you must find out who from the four major gangs came and how many there are!”
As soon as he finished speaking, a mocking voice came from the dark streets of the town:
“No need to investigate. Let me tell you instead.”
A few men with the character “Mu” embroidered on their chests and dressed in nightwear stepped into sight.