Chapter 44 Some Matters in the Jianghu

It is said that Young Master Atobe spent an afternoon with Murong Ying, taking a crash course in martial world knowledge, and learned most of the common sense in this script. Afterward, he thanked her profusely and returned to his room, Tian Zi Bing Number.

That Cloud Wanderer Immortal was indeed unexpectedly easy to talk to; things went so smoothly that it was a little suspicious. Even Atobe himself began to wonder... Could it be that I really have a talent for being a gigolo?

In fact, he was overthinking it...

This NPC, as arranged by the system, was there to popularize basic information to players. As long as a player could see that she was similar to Baixiaosheng (a know-it-all), and took the initiative to consult her, she generally would not refuse.

And from the perspective of this martial arts world's setting, Murong Ying's behavior was also reasonable. First of all, she herself was very interested in the Broken Sword Teahouse sect, and at the same time, she admired Feng Bujue's daring, unconventional, and maverick style. Secondly, the Murong family was not the kind that established sects and accepted disciples, so they had always been somewhat hostile to the disciples of large sects like Wanxia Lou. But they had a good impression of chivalrous people who traveled the martial world alone, or small sects like the Broken Sword Teahouse, which were uncontested and leisurely.

Furthermore, as Feng Bujue had said earlier, the questions Young Master Atobe asked were not "secrets" at all; they were just common sense to other people in the martial world. Murong Ying happened to be free and did not dislike the Broken Sword Teahouse, so there was no reason for her to refuse this small favor.

Originally... so-called common sense was something that could be asked by grabbing someone at random on the street, such as which direction was north, what the date was, the name of the head of state, and so on... But it was not appropriate to keep asking a stranger these questions.

And Atobe, with an attitude of seeking advice, first stated that he knew almost nothing about the affairs of the martial world, and then went to inquire about this common sense from a professional from the Murong family, which was not inappropriate.

In fact, in the Cang Ling Inn, there were many NPCs who could provide players with information, such as the drunken monk Lu Shan, the heads of the three factions, even Ji Tong of Bafang Lou, and the Six Swords of Flower Shadow. As long as players talked to them, they would gain something.

However, the Murong Ying route should be considered the easiest and safest choice. The information obtained from her was relatively detailed and comprehensive, and after inquiring, there would be no further complications. Dialogue with other NPCs might bring a series of chain reactions, perhaps triggering some plot twists that would increase the difficulty of clearing the game.

In addition, there was a hidden side quest with extreme difficulty: to find the mysterious shopkeeper of the Cang Ling Inn to inquire about information, thereby triggering a hidden quest. Of course... Young Master Atobe failed to trigger this plot, which had to be said to be a stroke of luck.

...

When he returned to the room, the sun had already set, and none of his teammates had returned. Atobe naturally heard the system prompt and saw the various changes in the main and side quests in the menu taskbar, so he was mentally prepared for this result.

However, Atobe couldn't help pacing back and forth in the room alone, muttering, "What do you mean, meet when the sun goes down... who are you trying to fool, you bastard!"

Knock, knock—

Someone gently knocked on the door.

Atobe's expression changed slightly. He knew that the four members of the Hell Frontline team were not the type to knock on doors. As team members, they didn't need to knock on the door to enter the room. So, the person outside the door must be an outsider.

"Who is it?" Atobe asked tentatively, his voice neither too loud nor too low, his tone neither humble nor arrogant.

"Oh, I'm here to deliver food to the guests," the person outside the door replied.

Atobe walked to the door, pulled open the latch, and slowly opened the door. Standing outside the door was indeed a waiter from the inn, holding a wooden tray in his hand. The tray contained some food and wine.

"Who asked you to deliver it?" Atobe asked vigilantly. Anyway, he didn't remember making such a request. His first reaction was: Perhaps Lin Chang arranged it? He even manages our meals; could it be that he saw we were short of money?

"It was a guest named Gongsun Li from the Di Zi room," the waiter replied. "Oh, he also asked me to pass a message to a Head Feng, I don't know if you are..." These waiters in the inn were really honest people, completely ignorant of the affairs of the martial world. Gongsun Li, Head Feng—they didn't know what these names represented. Whether they were big shots in the martial world or unknown small fries, the waiters only cared about delivering messages.

"Tell me, I'll pass it on to Head Feng," Atobe said. When he heard the name Gongsun Li, he immediately became suspicious, thinking: This should be the guy who smashed the corpse last night, and now he's playing this trick; it's obviously a fox offering New Year greetings to a chicken...

The waiter placed the food and wine on the table, while saying, "He said... Thank you for Head Feng's care. He hopes Head Feng can keep the 'secret' a secret. If so, their Wanxia Lou will be extremely grateful. This food and wine is his apology for the previous matter."

"That's all he said?" Atobe asked.

"Yes, just these few sentences. I conveyed it to you exactly as he said," the waiter replied.

"Hmm... okay, you can go out now," Atobe said.

"Yes," the waiter responded, and exited the guest room, closing the door behind him.

Atobe immediately went forward, reopened the door, and poked his head out to look around, confirming that no suspicious person was watching this way before closing the door, latching it, and walking back to the table.

The waiter had placed a total of three plates, a small dish, and a pot of wine on the table. There wasn't much stuff; it could be delivered on one tray, so the waiter was able to knock on the door just now.

In the three plates were a stir-fried vegetable dish, and two meat dishes that were passable; the small dish contained peanuts, plain and unremarkable; and the pot of wine seemed to be something special. The wine was contained in a rather exquisite white jade wine bottle, with a faint aroma of wine permeating from the bottle.

Young Master Atobe's father was a businessman, and there were many banquets and dinner parties, some of which he would bring his wife and children to. Although Atobe wasn't too interested in wine, he wasn't ignorant either, and could tell good from bad. He knew that this pot must be good wine, and in the real world, it might be worth half a table of wine and dine, which was really incompatible with the few side dishes in front of him.

"Hmm..." Atobe opened the bottle, brought it close, and smelled it. "This game's taste simulation is really lifelike. This kind of luxury item in reality, if put in the game store, would probably be 'luxury data,' and the price would definitely be high." He said to himself, while putting the bottle down again, "Hmph... such an obvious trap, and it's still a despicable trick. How dare they bring it out and embarrass themselves?" He snorted coldly, "If there's no poison in this food and wine, I'll eat sh*t on the spot!"