Chapter 92: Zhou Yu
When returning to the game, the first thing on his mind wasn’t happiness but Xu Lang. As soon as he logged in, he saw five people gathered together, chatting animatedly. Upon seeing Happy appear, Xu Lang rushed over with eagerness on his face:
“Senior Happy!”
“Have you heard the news online?”
“What?”
Happy pretended to be clueless.
“I mean, about the escort mission—once the cargo is lost, we can pursue and steal goods delivered by other factions. We just discussed it; since this journey is long and the rewards aren’t substantial, it’s better to abandon it and try to seize goods from other players later… I heard that once the Emperor’s birthday passes, these delivered goods will belong to us players! Many players are already doing this.”
Xu Lang’s eyes shone with excitement and enthusiasm.
“What do you all think?”
Happy glanced at the other four. After exchanging looks, they all nodded. He Shi Yi spoke up:
“I think it’s an inevitable trend. Sooner or later, someone will target us. The road ahead will get harder. Instead of being passive, let’s be bold—abandon the cargo next time and find a place to train. Then, when the Emperor’s birthday approaches, we can appear and hunt down those who have the goods!”
Happy nodded inwardly. At least He Shi Yi didn’t intend to blindly get involved in this mess. Just for that, even if he didn’t get any goods later, his gains would still be more than most players who got involved!
Thinking this, Happy nodded and agreed right away.
“Even the eldest senior agrees? That’s great!” Lan Yan said with undisguised joy. “So, will these goods go to the next batch?”
“Mm, hand them over to both players and bandit clans.” After saying that, Gui Jian Chou glanced at the four escorts near the carriage, a hint of reluctance in his eyes.
“Don’t worry. If we run, they’ll run too,” Xu Lang reassured him. He had checked—all the escorts followed the players’ orders. If the players fought hard, they would too. If everyone here ran away, they would lose the reason to continue acting.
Only then did everyone fully relax.
…
Outside Yangzhou City, Yunzhong Fort.
On a field covered in smoke and dust, a young man wearing a Taoist robe and a long black sword at his waist, with a completely bald head, strolled among dozens of corpses. He casually tucked his hands into his belt, occasionally chewing on a blade of grass, lifting his eyelids from time to time, and kicking at the corpses to check for any overlooked loot. All these peculiar traits—neither truly Buddhist nor Taoist, nor refined nor vulgar—combined in one person without seeming out of place, instead creating a strange sense of harmony and wonder.
“Such poverty.” After circling around, the young man spat out the chewed-up substance disdainfully, licking his tasteless lips and muttering, “…No wonder they keep going out to rob and plunder.” As soon as he finished speaking, soft, unhurried footsteps came from behind.
Frowning slightly, the young man turned around. “Well? Any gains?”
It was a woman dressed in a fiery red robe, with a beautiful face, a clear voice, and eyes that seemed to contain endless vitality, invigorating to look at. Yet the young man acted as if he didn’t see her, glanced at her briefly, and sighed instead. “Don’t even mention it. This stronghold was also hit—someone attacked it before we arrived. Only a few soldiers remained. And you? How many loads did you manage to steal?”
“None.”
The woman moved with a graceful, feline gait. Hearing this, she spread her hands. “I followed your advice. I gave away all the loot I stole.”
“Smart,” the young man said, finally giving her a longer look and offering a faint smile. “Everyone says your sister is so smart. All these years, I never thought so. Today, you’ve finally done something smart.”
“Alright, fine—I know I’m smart. Ugh… Is that how an older brother acts? Always teasing his sister.” The woman glared at him indignantly, turned away, and then said sulkingly, “I have news about that player who enters and exits called ‘Happy’ that you asked me to keep an eye on.”
“Oh?” The young man raised his head at her words. “They’ve already reached Yangzhou?”
The woman grew even angrier, glaring fiercely at Zhou Yu. “Brother! It seems like every opponent is more important than your own sister. How can that be? I’ve been running around outside all this time gathering information for you, and you don’t have a single word of comfort or concern?”
“Comfort? Are you hurt?” The young man named Zhou Yu wore an exaggeratedly puzzled expression. “Sis, there’s no need for concern, right? How many people in the entire Jianghu can keep you? I just trust my sister… It would be great if I could really keep you, so you won’t end up unmarried.” The last sentence was muttered in a soft voice.
“What did you say?”
The woman with almond-shaped eyes narrowed further; she had an excellent hearing.
“I said I trust that no one in this world can keep you. By the way, did you say that kid has already entered Yangzhou’s territory? Haven’t you tried to test his strength yet?”
Zhou Yu changed the subject.
An old trick!
The woman in the robe snorted lightly but answered promptly without neglecting her duty: “He’s here, but he’s nothing special. At that offline martial arts tournament, only a few masters at the Creation Realm participated, and their strength was weak… I really don’t see what’s so noteworthy about some outsider player.”
“Don’t provoke me. If you really thought he was nothing, you would have already tested him and taken him down. Why wait until now?” Zhou Yu smiled as he looked at his sister. “If you really had taken action, as your brother, I would definitely have shown you concern.”
“Hmph.”
The woman in the robe snorted disdainfully. “Just him?”
Zhou Yu fell silent and said nothing more. Seeing that her brother wasn’t speaking, she grew bored and quickly changed the subject. “They’ll be here soon. Brother, this sect mission is to seize the Murong family’s escort. Will you take action later?” She looked at Zhou Yu with hopeful eyes.
He magically produced a blade of grass, put it in his mouth, and chewed it nonchalantly before responding, “Didn’t you already know?”
“How could I possibly know what’s in your head?”
The woman turned away in annoyance, though her ears perked up.
Zhou Yu shook his head helplessly and sighed. “Mid-Creation Realm, a top-tier martial art with nine levels, master-level movement skills, and master-level defense. Attacking some newcomer from outside now—even if I win, it wouldn’t be honorable.”
“Then why did you come here?” she asked, clearly disappointed.
Originally, the offline martial arts tournament had annoyed her greatly. Having the top prize taken by some outsider kid filled her with contempt. She had hoped her brother would defeat him to post a REP and crush that kid’s pride. But it seemed her brother had no such intention.
The motion of chewing the foxtail grass stopped, and a faint, unreadable smile appeared on Zhou Yu’s slightly stubbled face: “It’s quiet enough here.”