Happy believed that Wandering Know-it-all would have already predicted Zhou Zhiruo's strength.
And just as he expected, Wandering Know-it-all quickly replied. [This quest is a scheme by Prince Ruyang. He wants to use Wind Chimes and Silver Wolf to lure out Zhou Zhiruo, then use Xuanming Elders, the three servants, and Divine Arrow Eight Heroes to defeat her. This is a quest for sacrificial pawns. They won't get any benefits.]
Happy fell into grim silence.
[But when I made a reading of the plot, the system sent me a notification and gave me a chance to save them!]
Predicting the plot had caused Wandering Know-it-all to enter the plot, and new paths developed out of the blue. It also gave Wind Chimes and Silver Wolf a chance of survival.
[What quest is it?]
Even though Happy already had an inkling of what sort of quest it was, he still asked.
[It's a rescue mission! The guards are Xuanming Elders and Divine Arrow Eight Heroes! For two days, I am allowed to contact anyone I like to rescue the captives... The time limit is two days... and the location is the prison in a royal mansion in Beijing!]
The ellipses Wandering Know-it-all used showed just how conflicted he was and how complicated his emotions were.
Naturally, Happy knew why Wandering Know-it-all felt that way. It was because Beijing was Class One Hall's central region and where its headquarters was. Taking a quest there was rather dangerous.
If they were careless, they would end up revealing their identity and their tracks, and Class One Hall's four monsters as well as the other members of Class One Hall might surround them.
Besides, it might bring an end to the cold war between Class One Hall and Mu Clan, and the world of martial artists would descend into a tense situation again.
However, Wandering Know-it-all knew that such a quest was something other people could not hope to complete. Happy was the only one who had fought against Xuanming Elders before and retreated with his life intact.
Hence, Wandering Know-it-all knew just how difficult the situation was for Happy, but he hoped that Happy could spare some time to head to Beijing to help him save Wind Chimes and Silver Wolf, who were locked up in the prison within the royal mansion.
But in the end, the choice was still in Happy's hands!
He pondered it for a while before writing a reply.
[Beijing isn't some wolf's den, so there's no reason for me to not be able to go there! Besides, your disciple and my brother are in there! Help me cover my tracks, and I'll take action immediately!]
[Got it!]
Chapter 481 - Forces of Power in Beijing
It only took one day and one night to travel from Henan's Mount Song to Beijing, and if the player used Hoof Shadow, they would only need half a day to do it.
Right then, there were already quite a lot of players who had Hoof Shadows. Even though it was a symbol of high class, it was no longer as attention grabbing as before. It might be because everyone had already gotten accustomed to it.
However, Beijing was not a normal city. Only those with government titles could continue riding their horses on the streets after they entered the city. The wanderers could not act recklessly in Beijing.
After all, this city was directly under the emperor's jurisdiction, and the government officials as well as soldiers were much stronger inside it. The soldiers who guarded the city gate were all in Life and Death Realm and equipped with armor. The person who served as garrison at the gate was also in Moksha Realm. It would not be easy to defeat them, but it would be easy to take too long and end up luring over countless elites from Beijing.
"Get down!"
Before the guard could finish speaking, Happy got down from the horse and landed on the ground. He put away his Hoof Shadow into his Horse Plate, and with a calm expression, he acted like a wandering martial artist who always went to Beijing, and was cleared. Then, he entered the city.
The streets of Beijing were much wider than those of normal cities, but they were orderly. Even though there was a huge crowd moving through the streets, since the constant stream of patrolling guards provided a great intimidating force, Happy did not see any players setting up stalls as they pleased. Hence, the shops on the sides were rich. There was a constant flow of people, and it gave off an air of prosperity.
Players with weapons or armor with three colors could be seen hurrying about through the streets. Refined weapons and armor having become a common sight was even more blatant there.
One emblem was often seen on players' c.h.e.s.ts. It was Class One Hall's three drops of blood.
They dominated the north.
There was naturally nothing that could be said about Class One Hall's strength and wealth.
They claimed that they had more than sixty thousand Life and Death Realm players, and their strength was above that of countless sects. They were a giant that numerous people could look up to.
There were two other extraordinary sects in Beijing.
Even though they could not compare to Class One Hall, their strength and effect solely in Beijing was not necessarily weaker than that of Class One Hall.
One of them was Sky Penetrating Tower whose Tower Master was Langye!
He was an elite from the Embroidered Uniform Guards, and he had carried out multiple secret missions from the imperial court. It recognized his worth, especially his contribution in saving a high-ranking imperial envoy, and broke its own rules to promote him to a vice commander of an entire troop of Embroidered Uniform Guards.
It was said that plenty of high-ranking criminals from the prison of Embroidered Uniform Guards had been secretly sent to Sky Penetrating Tower!
The other sects had to mobilize a lot of forces and spend great effort to capture criminals to fill up their sect prison, but Langye could easily use his authority to fill up his own sect prison.
Also, if anyone went up against Sky Penetrating Tower, they would be going up against the Embroidered Uniform Guards as well. No matter which city Langye went to, he would be protected, and he even promoted a group of his subordinates from the original Embroidered Uniform Guards to higher-ups in his tower.
Once they were attacked in the city, then even if it was within the "sect headquarters", which was a place where brute force was allowed, the Embroidered Uniform Guards, Six Doors, Eastern Depot, and Western Depot would all attack without hesitation. Hence, there were even rumors saying that Sky Penetrating Tower was the one sect that players could not provoke.
All of this combined meant that Sky Penetrating Tower might become the fifth top-class sect after Mu Clan.
The other sect was Wind Assault Tower, which was created by Phantasmal Shadow, who was the second on Phoenix Rank and a disciple of Ancient Tomb Sect.
It was entirely due to her own abilities that she was able to become outstanding in Beijing even though she had only built her sect later on.
On the first day she set up her sect, Phantasmal Shadow issued a challenge toward Dream Clouds. With her perfected whip technique, she managed to suppress Dream Clouds' Divine Flames Art. Both players were equal, and in the end, the match ended in a tie.
Clear Music of Towering Palace did not accept her challenge.
It was said that Phantasmal Shadow obtained Yang Xiao's guidance because of that battle, and she received a whip technique manual Ming Cult kept as a treasure. Phantasmal Shadow then improved again.
Naturally, Wind Assault Tower's strength was not contributed to Phantasmal Shadow alone.
Aside from her, she also had a group of extraordinary players gathered around her. Among them were three people who had a place on the Dragon Rank and Phoenix Rank. It was said that they were in the same company in reality, but what puzzled everyone was how they could possibly have so many chances to log in for extended periods of time even though they were all working and how they were such good players. It forced everyone to wonder just what sort of company they worked in.
Of course, aside from the three forces of powe
r, there were plenty of capable and amazing people in Beijing, such as Wandering Know-it-all, and they were not people that the sects could provoke at will.
Once Happy entered Beijing, he moved through the streets in a very familiar manner until he reached the lavishly decorated Heaven Fragrant Tower.
It was one of the most lavish restaurants in Beijing. Happy remembered that the people who could enter it in his previous life were all rich people who spent their money like water. They were real millionaires, and they did not spend just thousands of taels of silver. A player would have to spend 300 RMB each time they came to the restaurant, which was the lowest amount of money a player spent in the game a month.
If they hired a few of the popular performers to drink with them, they would need to pay them three thousand taels of silver for each quarter of an hour. The other entertainment options—such as sword dancing, sleeve dances, zither playing, caligraphy, and painting—were even more expensive.
All of that allowed people to enjoy entertainment in terms of their sight and hearing and feel as if they had returned to Imperial China. Each performance was worth thousands of taels of gold, however, so this restaurant was one of the places Happy had slandered the most for making people spend lots of money.
"A precious customer has arrived!"
The person standing by the door was a charming beauty in her thirties. When her gaze landed on Happy, her sweet voice rang out in the air. "Jade Servant, bring the customer to Heaven Fragrant Tower. Lead him to the best room for honored guests."
A pleasant smelling aroma wafted into Happy's nose. A beautiful and charming girl drew the bead curtain and gracefully arrived in front of him, where she bowed respectfully. "I, Jade Servant, greet you, young master. Please come here."
She had a mellow voice. It was clear and pleasant to the ears, but it also sounded sickeningly sweet, making others unable to help but have the urge to tease her by tilting her chin to look at her.
Happy said nothing.
No matter what, he had seen many situations in his previous life. Besides, he had just parted ways with Zhou Zhiruo, and he had already built some degree of resistance toward the beauties in the game. He nodded and had Jade Servant lead the way while he followed behind her calmly with an indifferent expression.
In truth, Happy was not quite happy with Wandering Know-it-all for choosing this sort of place. There were a lot of people going about the area, and Beijing was a land of gossip.
But when he thought about it, it was the first time they met, and Heaven Fragrant Tower was also a rather interesting place. Perhaps Wandering Know-it-all thought this was the first time he came to Beijing, which was why he prepared some programmes to entertain him.
'Oh well, let's see how the ric.h.e.s.t person in the game has decided to entertain me.'
Happy followed behind the graceful Jade Servant while passing a multitude of women before he entered a single courtyard that was so lavishly and regally decorated that it looked like a palace.
Heaven Fragrant Tower!
Wandering Know-it-all had already received news of his guest's arrival, so he went to the door to wait for Happy.
Wandering Know-it-all was dressed in plain white, and there was a smile on his face while he stood at the door calmly. There were two matchless beauties standing by his sides. One of them had fair skin as well as a charming presence. The other was petite, exquisite, smart, and adorable. She was even more charming than Jade Servant, who led the way.
When Happy saw them, he smiled. "Haha, as expected of the ric.h.e.s.t player, Wandering Know-it-all. You actually managed to buy Little Moon Immortal and Delicate Servant. You sure know how to spend your money!"
Chapter 482 - The Fight Stirred Up By Women
Women were forever a topic among men.
It was just like how shopping was forever a topic between women!
But Wandering Know-it-all still did not expect that the sophomore would be able act naturally when faced with this sort of lineup, even though he had been able to understand why he was able to perform so outstandingly in the game.
Happy showed an experienced man's familiarity and indifference to the situation, and it made Wandering Know-it-all feel that the world had gone insane. He knew that with how focused Happy was on his goals, there was no way he would have spent a lot of time on places with bad reputation.
"I can't help but wonder whether you are a normal sophomore now."
"I'm already a junior, I'm old now."
Happy did not stop moving. His gaze swept past the faces of the two charming and alluring people before he looked at Wandering Know-it-all.
Wandering Know-it-all smiled wanly and went up to greet him. "I was paying attention to your journey all this while, and you have definitely never come to Beijing. There are also very few people who know about Little Moon Immortal and Delicate Servant. I wonder how you got to know about them, Brother Happy."
"Of course it's from other boys. Big Brother Wandering Know-it-all, aren't you trying to dig into my personal life by asking such questions? Remember to drink one cup of wine later as punishment. Miss Little Moon Immortal, do you think that I'm being reasonable right now?" Once Happy answered in a joking manner, he turned his gaze to Little Moon Immortal.
She pursed her lips and chuckled softly, "Young Master Happy, you're right. He should drink one cup of wine as punishment."
When Wandering Know-it-all heard it, he was instantly dumbfounded.
He frequented the restaurant, but it was the first time he saw a person who was able to make Little Moon Immortal speak with his very first sentence, and Happy had spoken in an incredibly casual tone.
Happy obviously knew why he was shocked. The two best girls in Heaven Fragrant Tower, Little Moon Immortal and Delicate Servant, were matchless talented beauties in terms of their value and personality. One of them had peerless zither skills, and the other's dance skills were equal to those of Diao Chan. They would usually ignore ordinary wanderers and would only come out to serve those who were famous.
However, serving them did not mean that they would sit around with them and drink while smiling, much less do some low-brow actions and engage low-class conversations.
Only those who were truly capable could gain the two women's attention, and only those who truly respected them could make them speak.
The two women would even ignore most of Wandering Know-it-all's words, even though he had come here many times. He had planned to explain things to Happy, but he did not expect that Happy would surprisingly "put on a display of force" right when he came. Whatever words that had been at the tip of his tongue turned into bitterness and resignation. He wondered whether he had truly become old.
"Alright, even Little Moon Immortal is helping you. I have nothing to say now, so I'll just drink one cup as punishment. Come, let's go into the house to talk."
"Young Master, this way, please!"
Little Moon Immortal and Delicate Servant stood on both sides of the door. They curtsied gracefully while looking at Happy with shining eyes. They seemed to be incredibly incredibly interested in him.
Wandering Know-it-all, who was the first to enter the room, was dumbfounded. He felt like he had been dealt a heavy blow.
In truth, Happy felt that it was rather strange as well, and there was faint puzzlement shining in his eyes.
Even though he felt a little smug when the two beauties paid attention to him, in his previous life, they had never looked him in the eye and regarded him with great importance. So why was he receiving such grand treatment now? Could it be that his actions had caused some abnormality to appear in World of Martial Art's system?
His various worries caused Happy to ignore his surroundings. Once Wandering Know-it-all led him to his seat, he suddenly heard Little Moon Immortal speak.
"Honored guest, your presence today in Heaven Fragrant Tower has allowed us to shine even more gloriously than before. I, Little Moon Immortal, have a song that I would like to present to both of
you…"
As she spoke, she kept her eyes on Happy's side profile, and her gaze was as gentle as water. It could cause people's imagination to run wild.
Wandering Know-it-all said nothing. Once he was done smiling wanly, he gave Happy a teasing look. "Looks like my understanding toward Heaven Fragrant Tower in the past was too superficial. Today, you have a goddess who has taken a fancy on you. Looks like you will be lucky enough to enjoy the grace of a beauty today, Brother Happy."
When he said the latter half of his sentences, Wandering Know-it-all tentatively cast a cautious look at Little Moon Immortal and Delicate Servant.
If it were any other time, the two women would definitely be angry if they heard such words, but today, when they heard Wandering Know-it-all's teasing words, Little Moon Immortal did not give any sort of reaction. She just brought out a graceful seven-stringed zither at her pace and gracefully placed it on the zither stand that was thirty-two feet away.
The notes from the zither rose.
"Hehe… I will have to embarrass myself now."
Delicate Servant smiled delicately, and her curvaceous and elegant body suddenly rose into the air. She did an astonishingly gentle and graceful move while airborne, then flung out a gorgeous light yellow ribbon.
Her posture was graceful, and her movements were gentle and exciting. While her dance was accompanied by the lingering and pleasant zither notes, the hall became full of life for a moment.
Once the song was over, Little Moon Immortal and Delicate Servant came back to their sides while covered in a thin sheen of sweat.
"Young Master, who do you think is prettier and more alluring? Us, or Sect Leader Zhou Zhiruo of Emei Sect, who is rumored among the wanderers to be the greatest beauty in the county?"
While Little Moon Immortal poured wine for Happy and asked the question, she stared at the wine cup in front of her with a calm gaze.
Wandering Know-it-all's movements as he picked up the wine cup paused for a moment, and he finally understood a little as to why Little Moon Immortal was so cordial toward Happy, unlike Delicate Servant, who did not speak to him at all. It would seem like the progression of certain quests would also increase the players' status in the NPCs' hearts.
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