Chapter 1 Afternoon Lesson

Let's talk about how Master Atobe spent an afternoon with Murong Ying, taking a crash course in martial arts knowledge and learning most of the common sense within this script. Afterwards, he bid farewell with profuse thanks and returned to room Tian-Zi Number Three.

That Yunwai Xianzi (Fairy Beyond the Clouds) was unexpectedly easy to talk to. Things went so smoothly that it was almost suspicious. Even Atobe himself began to wonder… did I really have a talent for being a gigolo?

In fact, he was overthinking things…

This NPC was arranged by the system to provide players with basic information. As long as the player could see her role similar to that of Bai Xiaosheng (a walking encyclopedia) and took the initiative to consult her, she would generally not refuse.

And from the setting of this martial arts world, Murong Ying's behavior was also reasonable. First of all, she herself was very interested in the Broken Sword Teahouse sect. At the same time, she also admired Feng Bujue's daring, independent, and eccentric style. Secondly, the Murong family was not the type to establish their own sect and teach disciples, so they had always been somewhat hostile to the disciples of the prestigious sects like Wanxia Lou (Myriad Radiance Pavilion). But they had a good impression of chivalrous people who traveled the martial world alone, or small sects like Broken Sword Teahouse that were detached from the world and lived like hermits.

Furthermore, as Feng Bujue had said before, the questions Master Atobe went to ask were not "secrets" at all. To other martial artists, they were just common sense. Murong Ying happened to be free and did not dislike Broken Sword Teahouse, so she had no reason to refuse this easy favor.

Originally… so-called common sense was something that could be found out by grabbing someone on the street and asking them, such as which way was north, what the date was, the name of the national leader, and so on… But it was not appropriate to keep asking a stranger these questions.

But Atobe, with an attitude of seeking guidance, first made it clear that he knew almost nothing about the martial world, and then asked a professional from the Murong family about this common knowledge, which was perfectly acceptable.

In fact, in Cang Ling Inn, there were many NPCs who could provide players with information, such as the Drunken Monk Lu Shan, the leaders of the three major sects, even Ji Tong from Bafang Lou (Eight Directions Pavilion), and the Six Swords of Flower Shadow. As long as the player spoke to them, they would gain something.

However, Murong Ying's line should be the simplest and safest choice. The information obtained from her was relatively detailed and comprehensive, and after asking, there would be no complications. Talking to other NPCs might bring a series of chain reactions and trigger some plot twists that would increase the difficulty of clearing the game.

In addition, there was also a hidden side quest with extreme difficulty. That was to find the mysterious owner of Cang Ling Inn to inquire about information, thereby triggering a hidden mission. Of course… Master Atobe failed to trigger this plot, which had to be said to be a great fortune.

…………

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

But Atobe couldn't help pacing back and forth in the room alone, muttering, "Saying we'd meet up when the sun goes down… Who are you kidding, you bastards!"

Knock knock—

Someone gently knocked on the door.

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

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

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

Atobe walked to the door, pulled back 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, with some food and wine on it.

"Who asked you to bring it?" Atobe asked vigilantly. Anyway, he didn't remember making such a request. His first reaction was: Could it be arranged by that Lin Chang? He even takes care of our meals, did he see that we didn't have any money?

"It was a guest named Gongsun Li from room Di-Zi," the waiter replied. "Oh, he also asked me to pass a message to a Feng Liaozhu (Chief Feng), I don't know if you are…" These waiters in the shop were really honest people, completely ignorant of martial world affairs. They didn't know what these names represented, whether they were big shots in the martial world or unknown small fries. Anyway, they only cared about passing messages.

"Tell me, I will pass it on to Chief Feng," Atobe said. When he heard the name Gongsun Li, suspicion immediately arose in his heart. He thought: This guy must be the one who smashed the corpse last night, and now he's doing this again, it's obviously a fox offering New Year greetings to a chicken…

While the waiter put the food and wine on the table, he said, "He said… Thanks to Chief Feng's care, he hopes that Chief Feng can keep the 'secret' forever. If so, Wanxia Lou (Myriad Radiance Pavilion) will be very grateful. This food and wine are his apology for what happened before."

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

"Yes, just these few words. I passed on what he said exactly," the waiter replied.

"Um… Okay, you can go out now," Atobe said.

"Yes," the waiter responded, then exited the room and closed the door.

Atobe immediately stepped forward, reopened the door, and peered out to look around, making sure that no suspicious person was looking in this direction before closing the door, locking the latch, and walking to the table again.

The waiter had placed a total of three plates, a small dish, and a pot of wine on the table. There weren't many things, and they could be brought over in one tray, so the waiter was able to free up a hand to knock on the door just now.

The three plates contained a stir-fried fresh vegetable and two decent meat dishes. The small dish contained peanuts, plain and unremarkable. But the pot of wine seemed to be something special. The wine was contained in a white jade bottle that looked quite exquisite, and a hint of wine aroma permeated from the bottle.

Master Atobe's father was a businessman, so there were many banquets and drinking parties, and he would bring his wife and children to attend some occasions. Although Atobe was not very interested in wine, he had seen the world and could distinguish good from bad. He knew that this pot must be good wine. In the real world, it might be worth half a table of wine and food, which was really out of place with the few side dishes in front of him.

"Um…" Atobe opened the bottle, brought it close, and sniffed 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 expensive." He muttered to himself, and then put the bottle down again. "Hmph… Such an obvious trap, and even a dirty trick, how dare they bring it out to embarrass themselves?" He snorted coldly, "If there's no poison in this food and wine, I'll eat sh*t on the spot!"