“Little kitten, little kitten…” ―Yin Shi
“We came here to kill chickens.” ―Ling Shi
“Don’t come here again! Aren’t you guys going overboard?” ―Land chickens and all the other creatures
The reason they were going to kill more chickens was so they could rise in rank and receive a salary. In the end, Fan Tong decided to skip out on the afternoon’s work and returned to the dorms where Yue Tui and Zhu Sha were waiting so they could go to the agreed meeting place together.
They had originally arranged to meet in front of the dormitory gate; however, they later changed the meeting place to “a secret corner in the southeast, outside the city walls.” This was because the moment Ling Shi heard that Yin Shi was going to take them to kill chickens again, he decided to join in on the fun since he was free and had nothing better to do. After he heard that they were meeting in front of the dormitory gate, he said one sentence:
“If you think it’s okay for everyone to see us meeting up and leaving the city together, then it’s fine by me.”
Right―
Fan Tong broke out in cold sweat at the thought. He strongly advocated to those who weren’t yet aware of the crisis that they switch to a more remote meeting place in order to avoid the public’s eyes. There was already gossip about their relationships with Luo Shi and Yin Shi. If they were to be seen together with Ling Shi, they might not be able to walk away unscathed.
Moreover, Ling Shi was popular among men. He was different from Luo Shi and Yin Shi in that his supporters were the most fanatical out of the three. While Fan Tong knew that a crowd of fanatical women was frightening, a crowd of fanatical men was even more terrifying. He didn’t want to go through that sort of experience. Mi Zhong’s obsession was at least in the acceptable range. If an even more serious pervert were to appear, he certainly wouldn’t be able to bear it.
After they arrived at the meeting place, Ling Shi arrived promptly. Yin Shi on the other hand, still hadn’t shown up even though it was past their meeting time. They only heard the sound of his voice through the Fuzhou communication charms when they turned on the group chat. It sounded like he was very busy.
“Ah! Wait for me a little longer! Wait for me… Aaaah! Don’t come looking for a duel with me at a time like this! Xiao Rou! Wait for me! Give me two seconds to deal with him! Don’t block my way again! I’m in a hurry! Don’t come looking for a duel with me again… Don’t line up!”
It seemed that Yin Shi had been stopped by various people after leaving Shen Wang Dian. Moreover, it seemed like these people’s main goal was to have a duel with him. All sorts of noises drifted out of the Fuzhou communication charms. They could hear Yin Shi using various methods to break free from these troublesome people.
“I told you to come over earlier, but you just wouldn’t listen…” Ling Shi sighed as he listened to the noise on Yin Shi’s side. If a lower-ranked person demanded a duel with a higher-ranked person, the higher-ranked person could not refuse. Refusing was tantamount to losing and the higher-ranked person would be directly demoted a rank, which was why Yin Shi was so distressed. It would be quite funny if Yin Shi was forced to use a restriction seal just to break away from the crowd.
“Oh… Yin Shi, you can take your time. It doesn’t matter.” Bi Rou’s voice sounded extremely tender over the communication charm, but the people who could see her expression clearly knew that “it did matter” after all.
“How could there be so many people looking for a duel with him?” Zhu Sha was bewildered. After all, Yin Shi held a pure black tassel, so everyone knew to keep their distance from him. Those people wouldn’t be as stupid as to knowingly head into their death, right?
Hearing his question, Ling Shi explained, “It’s because his appearance makes it seem like he’s not particularly difficult to deal with. Even though he has a pure black tassel, many people would feel an itch to fight just upon looking at him. They think that it’s because of his status as an attendant that he’s pretending to be stronger than he is by wearing a black tassel. Usually, finding him for a duel isn’t easy at all, which is why he is continuously intercepted whenever he walks on the streets in public.
Lord Ling Shi, you missed a reason. When men see another man who is more handsome than they are, they will want to beat that man up. Don’t overlook this just because you are as beautiful as a flower and no men would ever be against you.
“Eh? So he didn’t get a pure black tassel just because he’s an attendant?”
Zhu Sha, you are truly too rude. How could you say that out loud?
“Of course not. The Eastern City is unlikely to issue the wrong tassels. A pure black tassel also has a further significance that you all probably haven’t taken note of.” Ling Shi paused at that moment and took in everyone’s doubtful expressions. He then continued, “The fact that he’s still holding a pure black tassel means that he’s never lost a duel.”
Oh… That makes sense! So Lord Yin Shi really is strong? But last time, it didn’t really seem like it… And Bi Rou, what is going on with that blatantly worshipping expression of yours?
“Does Lord Yin Shi rarely go out? I’ve heard that he’s very in touch with the people and loves to have fun.”
If even Yue Tui has heard about it, then it should be something everyone knows.
“He often goes out, but he’s usually riding his uncontrollable moshou. Nobody wants to get close to him while he’s riding that moshou.”
That makes sense. Before they could get close to him, they’d be trampled to death by that moshou. Nobody would want that to happen.
But if people have seen him ride that moshou, wouldn’t they think that he’s quite strong and give up on dueling him? Besides, he should’ve had duels with many people by now. There should’ve been many spectators watching these duels on the streets as well. Shouldn’t rumors of his true strength spread by now?
Although the people who’ve lost might not want to speak of it and would rather watch others suffer like them, there are still spectators who could spread the news. Though it is possible that people just aren’t convinced by those news at all…
“Then who is stronger between Lord Yin Shi and Her Majesty the Queen?” Cute Girl A asked curiously. It was quite normal to compare Yin Shi to the queen, as they were the only two people in the city who held pure black tassels.
“They’ve never fought,” Ling Shi answered simply, as if he didn’t want to go into detail on the topic.
“Eh? So you aren’t interested in finding out who’s stronger?” Cute Girl A asked another question, having not read the atmosphere.
“He can’t possibly raise a hand against Ying, so dueling her is out of the question. If he ever dares, I would get rid of him personally.”
Huh? But Lord Ling Shi, aren’t you carrying a pale black tassel… You shouldn’t be able to defeat him, right?
“Then who’s more powerful between Lord Ling Shi and Lord Yin Shi?” Cute Girl A seemed rather fond of this kind of question, so much that Fan Tong wanted to break out in cold sweat on her behalf.
“He would be more powerful than me in a direct fight. However, there are many ways I can get rid of him.”
In other words, Lord Ling Shi, you’re more sinister…
“Ah! Just now, my hand slipped and I accidentally cut off someone’s hand… So unlucky! My luck doesn’t seem to be very good today. Someone must have cursed me, right?”
“I’m the one who cursed you. I’ll admit it. Are you satisfied?” Ling Shi replied unhappily.
“It was me! Yin Shi, you big idiot! You didn’t come to keep me company. Even though we’ve arranged to meet, I can’t believe you’re late!” Bi Rou suddenly said in an offended voice, sounding somewhat bitter.
So nowadays people are even fighting to be recognized for cursing someone?
“Ah! Are you angry?” Yin Shi’s voice sounded a bit panicky. A shrill cry of pain suddenly erupted from the communication charms. Perhaps his hand had slipped and injured someone again?
“No, I’m not angry,” Bi Rou conceded, pursing her lips. After a moment, she spoke as if on the verge of tears, “On our first date, we killed chickens. Now on our second date, we are going to kill chickens again. Even though the dates haven’t been especially romantic, I was really looking forward to seeing you again. You clearly said that you missed me, but that’s not the same as making time for me… I know you’ve known the citizens of Eastern City for a lot longer than you’ve known me, so it’s natural that you would make time for them. I’m not particularly special in any case…”
Wow, every word stabbed him where it hurts. Weren’t the two of you quite sweet with each other before? Why does it sound like you two have a lot of problems instead? Bi Rou, do you want to add the fact that there have been a bunch of third wheels around you every time you went on a date to that pile of problems? That being said, does this mean that Yin Shi has never taken you out on a date with just the two of you? That’s really slow…
“Ah!” Yin Shi cried out in alarm, but he didn’t try to placate Bi Rou. Just when Fan Tong thought they were going to break up, Yin Shi’s figure suddenly appeared in front of their eyes. “Xiao Rou, don’t be angry, I―”
“I want to go back to the Western City!”
Eh? What? What did I just hear?
“Aaaaaah! Don’t leave! I’ll be lonely! Old man! Quickly help me come up with something to say!” Flustered, Yin Shi turned to Ling Shi for help. Ling Shi looked at him skeptically.
“You came over here directly? What about the duels?”
“Eh? Xiao Rou is angry, why would I pay any more attention to them? I knocked them all to the ground in one move and came over here.”
Oh… You knocked them to the ground, or did you send them to the Rebirth Pond? Were there any Natural Residents among them?
Sure enough, women are people you should avoid provoking the most in the world. If a woman is angry, then terrible things will happen.
“…” Ling Shi was quiet, evidently feeling helpless in this situation, but it didn’t seem like he was observing a moment of silence for the victims of Yin Shi’s attack. Ling Shi didn’t empathize unnecessarily with other people’s misfortunes, especially when they were strangers.
“The Western City?” At last someone raised this question. The person who had spoken was Zhu Sha, but he wasn’t the only person who was curious at the sudden mention of the city’s name.
“Ah.” Yin Shi finally discovered that Bi Rou had said something she shouldn’t have, but he didn’t seem to particularly care.
Fan Tong truly hoped Yin Shi didn’t care. If by any chance he did care… Then wouldn’t everyone present be killed in order to keep Bi Rou’s secret? Since ancient times, people who had chanced upon someone’s secret never met good endings.
“I’m originally from the Western City. I came to the Eastern City in order to find Yin Shi,” Bi Rou explained in a relaxed manner. It seemed she didn’t mind that her secret had been exposed, but was that really something she should’ve said in public?
“Why did you come here to find Lord Yin Shi?” Yue Tui immediately asked.
Upon hearing his question, Bi Rou blushed, seeming to have already forgotten her unhappiness from a few moments ago. She also seemed to have become enveloped in a pink cloud of infatuation. “Because…because, I fell in love with him at first sight. He was just so charming. I simply wanted to get closer to him. But if I stayed in the Western City, then we would always be enemies and I would only be able to watch him from afar. I was unsatisfied with that, so I came to the Eastern City with the small hope of catching his attention.”
Miss, weren’t you just making noise about how you wanted to go back to the Western City? How come you’ve already forgotten your anger and now love him to death again?
“Yin Shi is childish, so he’ll certainly pay attention to you,” Ling Shi commented. He hadn’t meant to dampen her enthusiasm with those words; he had merely been stating a fact.
“That is fine by me. I’m happy as long as I’m able to stay with him forever.”
And you’re unhappy when you’re not together, is that it? If you’re demanding him to stay with you every minute and second of your life, then I’m afraid that’s really impossible…
“Xiao Rou, I’m sorry. You specifically came to the Eastern City to play with me, but I haven’t made time to keep you company.” Yin Shi gripped Bi Rou’s hands and looked at her sincerely, searching for her forgiveness.
“I-I’m not angry. I’m happy as long as I get to see you.” Finding herself within such a close range of Yin Shi’s face, Bi Rou’s entire face turned red. Yin Shi’s words felled her in one strike. She was so overwhelmed that she nearly fainted.
In the end, Yin Shi and Bi Rou resolved their conflict in such an easy manner. By the side, Fan Tong noticed that Yue Tui’s expression had turned cold. Maybe he was just seeing things?
“Let’s ignore the topic of the Western City for a moment. Exactly what have you dressed yourself in?” Ling Shi’s face twitched as he asked Yin Shi this question. At that moment, everyone finally noticed Yin Shi’s outfit. He was wearing something that resembled military armor. The broken knife he had bought before was hanging from his waist in a sheath. All of a sudden, he truly resembled a soldier; however, wasn’t he the rector of Shufa Xuan?
“Ah, this, didn’t I say that I was going to wear it for you all to see? It’s the new toy that I bought.”
A shadow fell over Ling Shi’s face at Yin Shi’s answer. Yin Shi had indeed mentioned that he bought armor along with a weapon and that he would show them off sometime in the future… It seemed like he decided to carry out his words today.
“Does he plan on using that armor as an ornament…” Zhu Sha mumbled to himself, nearly speechless.
“Xiao Rou, does it look good?” Wearing his new outfit, Yin Shi naturally wanted to know the opinion of the person he cared about the most. Hearing his question, Bi Rou nodded fiercely in response.
“Yes! You look handsome in whatever you wear! You look especially manly in this outfit―”
Bi Rou, you truly can’t be saved anymore. You’ve reached the final stage of “Yin Shi-itis.” No medicine can cure you of this disease…
“Ah, in fact, I thought about buying a mask to wear, but I don’t know how it would look along with the rest of my outfit. I do think it would be an interesting combination. There was this demon mask with protruding teeth that someone was selling last time.”
Please don’t. Your biggest selling point is that face of yours, but now you say you want to cover it up? Please have a little self-awareness.
After hearing Yin Shi’s exuberant words, Bi Rou’s expression became rather forced. It seemed like she was trying very hard to find a way to tactfully persuade him to give up on buying a mask. If that handsome face that she loved so much was concealed by a ridiculous mask, then her happiness would decrease every time they saw each other… If she told Yin Shi that it would make her unhappy, he should at least be able to understand.
“Yin Shi, you look fine just like this. A mask… A mask… Please don’t, just thinking about it makes me unhappy…”
“Ah, you wouldn’t like it? Then forget it, I won’t wear one.” Yin Shi quickly gave up on the idea. Sure enough, Bi Rou’s words were effective; compared to Ling Shi, it was much easier for her to make Yin Shi listen.
“You’ve worn this armor before. I’d like to trouble you to improve your memory a bit,” Ling Shi said in a long-suffering tone, one hand supporting his forehead.
Yin Shi looked at him, puzzled. “Huh? When?”
“Chen Yue Jie, Judgment Day… And more, forget it, I don’t want to talk to you.”
Eh? He was wearing armor on Chen Yue Jie?
Fan Tong admitted that when he looked at the carriage, he had only payed attention to Yin Shi’s face and not to what he was wearing.
In the end, why does a rector of Shufa Xuan like wearing armor so much?
***
“We’ve delayed for quite a while. Let’s go…” Ling Shi already felt disinclined to say anything more to Yin Shi. Since the last person was here, they should be able to set off, right?
“Ah, Ling Shi, since you came along, we can go to Void Space 2. Let’s go.”
“We’re going to kill chickens! Where in Void Space 2 can you find any chickens?! Clear your head a little!” Unable to bear it anymore, Lin Shi finally shouted at Yin Shi. If it were possible, Ling Shi probably would’ve wanted to twist Yin Shi’s ear and teach him a lesson, but he didn’t do any such thing in the end.
“Chickens…? Huh? I only came here to have a date with Xiao Rou. But killing chicken is fine too, I’ll do whatever Xiao Rou wants to do.”
After Yin Shi spoke in a puzzled voice, everyone turned their focus onto Bi Rou.
So in the end, what did you invite us here for? Does this count as a dating scam?
“We killed seven hundred and twenty-three chickens last time, so we only need to kill four hundred and seventy-seven chickens this time.” Ling Shi’s memory was exceptional; he even recalled the exact number of chickens they had killed last time.
However, since Ling Shi specifically remembered this kind of thing, it seems like he’s hoping we won’t kill any more chickens than necessary. He probably feels that killing too many is the same as killing too few. In addition, according to his logic from last time, since everyone has already collected enough chicken skins and only needs the feathers now, he should get to walk away with all of the chicken skins from this trip, right?
“Yes, Ling Shi Gege was awesome last time. He felled a whole sweep of chickens with just one move and managed to kill more than seven hundred of them before seven o’clock. He was so cool and handsome,” Bi Rou praised.
Ling Shi smiled at her in response. Even though Fan Tong didn’t want to admit it, Ling Shi’s smile was truly magnificent. His smiling face could put other women’s beauty to shame. But Bi Rou had an edge on him with her sweet and pleasant demeanor. Comparing the two would be like comparing apples to oranges.
“Ling Shi Gege?” It seemed that today was the first time Yin Shi had heard that term. After repeating it again in an astonished voice, he immediately used a “this is unacceptable” gaze to look at Ling Shi. “Damn old man! Don’t seduce my Xiao Rou! What nerve you have to make her call you gege!”
“I think it sounds nice and she calls me that willingly. How does that have anything to do with you?” Ling Shi replied coolly, as if determined to make Yin Shi jealous.
“Xiao Rou, don’t let him deceive you! He’s nothing more than a damn old man!” Yin Shi couldn’t do anything about Ling Shi, so he turned around to persuade Bi Rou.
Bi Rou widened her eyes innocently and looked at him with an oblivious expression. “But I’m already used to calling him that.”
No man would ever want his own lover to be close to another man; even if that other man strongly resembles a woman.
“If you’re dissatisfied with this, you can ask her if she’s willing to call you by a more intimate name.” Ling Shi was still making cynical remarks. He then proceeded to make some suggestions. “Something like… Qin Ai De? Yin Shi Xiao QinQin? Hao Gege?”
No one commented on those suggestions. Fan Tong also thought Ling Shi was going a bit overboard. If Bi Rou truly started calling Yin Shi by those nicknames, then Fan Tong felt he should probably withdraw from this chicken-killing group to prevent damage to his mind and body.
Moreover, Lord Ling Shi, those nicknames came out of your mouth first. Isn’t that inappropriate? You’re making us shudder in discomfort…
“No! Yin Shi is Yin Shi, I’m used to calling him that.”
“Ah!” Yin Shi became depressed at Bi Rou’s refusal.
Lord Yin Shi, you weren’t seriously considering being called by those nicknames, right? Are your preferences really that unusual?
“Xiao Rou…”
“Hmm?”
“That damn old man kills chickens really fast, do you like that?”
“Of course I like it. It makes me happy.”
Yin Shi suffered a blow when he heard Bi Rou’s affirmation.
“I’m capable of doing it too! Damn it! Old man, I’ll be killing the chickens this time. You can just wait by the sidelines. You don’t need to do anything!”
“Do you want to display your masculinity? Do as you please. It doesn’t matter to me.”
Yin Shi is going to kill all the chickens this time?
Fan Tong was worried. Yin Shi gave him an unreliable feeling. If it were possible, he’d rather follow Ling Shi as it would make him more at ease.
“But old man! If you aren’t going to kill any chickens, what are you going to do?”
“… You’re the one who doesn’t want me killing chickens.”
Sure enough, Yin Shi was pretty special to be able to go back on his own words in such a short period of time.
“Ah! Forget it. Let’s go.”
“Resource Area 2 isn’t that far away. If we are going over there as a group, wouldn’t it be better to walk?”
“What roads do we take to Resource Area 2? In the end, where exactly are the chickens?”
Yin Shi was evidently unfamiliar with the roads.
“This is troublesome! Write a transfer spell for me, old man.”
“…”
Internally, everyone was probably thinking along the lines of “can’t you write one yourself?” But as it was a negotiation between Ling Shi and Yin Shi, they didn’t have the right to cut in.
At Yin Shi’s rude demand, Ling Shi used a transportation spell and brought everyone to Resource Area 2. Fan Tong thought that Ling Shi would deliberately leave Yin Shi behind during the transfer, but nothing of the sort happened. After seeing Ling Shi use a transportation spell of such a scale, Fan Tong suddenly realized that Ling Shi was quite skilled at Shufa. There was nothing strange about this after thinking for a bit. After all, people didn’t necessarily have to focus on one specific subject. In fact, Fuzhou and Shufa were somewhat similar to each other. That being said, could Yin Shi also use Fuzhou?
Upon thinking that Fuzhou and Shufa were rather similar, Fan Tong became disheartened. His Fuzhou ability was fine except for his tendency of reading the incantations wrong. On the other hand, he had been declared hopeless in Shufa. The huge disparity between the subjects made him want to cry. Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do about it.
“Ah! Is this Resource Area 2? It looks quite similar to Void Space Area 2.” Yin Shi commented after taking a glance at the area. Ling Shi, the only other person present who had been to Void Space Area 2 before, unhesitatingly refuted him.
“They aren’t the same at all! Even if you disregard the aesthetics of the place, they are still very different. Don’t tell me you’re colorblind too?”
I think it’s very possible that Yin Shi has all sorts of defects and problems. More like, it would make perfect sense for him to have them.
“Huh? Is that so? But they both have beautiful skies. Look, Xiao Rou, the weather is beautiful today.”
“It is with you here.”
“…”
The lovers basked in their aura of love and seemed to have completely forgotten the existence of the rest of the group. Fan Tong thought that as long as Yin Shi was here, everything would appear beautiful to Bi Rou.
In that case, when Yin Shi is around, do even the bystanders like us look good in Bi Rou’s eyes? Does this count as a good thing?
“Yin, where are the things that I requested you to bring? Take them out.”
At Ling Shi’s abrupt words, Fan Tong was filled with expectation.
Are they going to gift us something else this time? What kind of amazing thing would it be?
“Those things…” Yin Shi looked towards Ling Shi and bowed his head in thought, earnestly pondering on the latter’s words.
“Fuzhou paper! Don’t tell me you didn’t bring any?”
Eh? It’s just Fuzhou paper? Fan Tong was disappointed.
“Ah! Fuzhou paper! It’s all your fault. I went out on the streets in order to buy Fuzhou paper for you and got surrounded by people wanting a duel with me. They made me late and in turn made Xiao Rou unhappy.”
What a complicated cause-and-effect scenario!
“That’s not important. I thought you had some Fuzhou paper on hand, that’s why I told you to bring some with you. I didn’t expect that you would have to go out and buy some… Anyways, there’s no point in dwelling on things that have already happened. So did you buy any in the end? If you brought them with you, distribute them among the others. They should’ve learned a bit Fuzhou by now. If we come across an emergency, it’d be useful for them to have some Fuzhou paper to use.”
Lord Ling Shi, you’re truly considerate. But I can’t read Fuzhou out loud, what am I going to do…
“Yes, I bought some. I’ll hand them out.”
From somewhere on his person, Yin Shi pulled out a stack of different-colored Fuzhou paper. Everyone was amazed at the sight as his clothes didn’t have any visible pockets. Yin Shi then randomly divided the stack of Fuzhou paper into irregular piles and handed them to everyone. Afterwards, he handed the leftover stack in his hands to Ling Shi.
“…What are you giving me Fuzhou paper for? Don’t you know that I don’t need it to cast Fuzhou? Moreover, you just gave them the high-level Fuzhou paper they can’t use and the low-level Fuzhou paper to me. What were you thinking? Did you even use your brain when you bought the paper? Or did your brain just never develop?”
“Hey Ling Shi, look at the sky. That cloud is beautiful.”
“Don’t watch the sky anymore!”
Yes! Lord Yin Shi, those woman-deceiving lines of yours won’t fool Lord Ling Shi. Although you probably aren’t deliberately acting stupid, you still give others the impression that you’re insincere.
Ling Shi divided the low-level Fuzhou paper that he had been handed into equal stacks and distributed them among everyone. He didn’t feel inclined to retrieve the high-level Fuzhou paper as he regarded it as something they could use later. Hence, everyone stored the papers away for future use.
“Alright! Let’s go kill chickens.” Yin Shi appeared high-spirited, but after looking at the living creatures around them, he once again looked suspiciously at Ling Shi.
“Ling Shi, which ones are chickens?”
Didn’t you kill a chicken last time? Even though you only killed one, you still killed a chicken! Shouldn’t it be impossible for you to not know that the thing you killed was a land chicken?
“Can’t you just annihilate every living creature in sight?” Ling Shi answered indifferently.
If you’re going to completely annihilate everything in sight, I’d recommend you use one of your jade plates to set up a restriction order and drive the other people out of Resource Area 2. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be good if you accidentally killed someone…
“Eh? But I don’t like to kill for no reason…” Yin Shi said, seemingly unwilling to do so. Everyonedidn’t expect his personality to be so fond of peace.
Then don’t randomly ride a Moshou and trample people to death, you hateful person.Fan Tong cried out in his heart.
“You plan to kill chickens when they’re among a bunch of other beasts? Even if you really manage to do so, how will you get close enough to pluck their feathers after you’ve killed them? Won’t the animals beside them get to them first? Killing all of them would bemuch more simple.” Ling Shi was truly someone who would use the most efficient way to carry out a task. Moreover, it seemed like he could discard his conscience, morality, feelings, and the like to do so.
“Ah, alright, even though listening to an old man puts me in a bad mood…”
Right after they had finished speaking and were about to start doing something productive, Yue Tui couldn’t help but bring up the question that Fan Tong had also been thinking of before. “Are you… going to ask the other people in the vicinity to leave first?”
Yue Tui probably also thought that this kind of indiscriminate attack would be as dangerous as the one before. After he brought this up, Yin Shi blinked, and Ling Shi indifferently gave an answer.
“If a lord kills someone, he doesn’t need to take the blame for it, and no one will look into the incident.”
…
So… Because your special privileges make things convenient, you feel that killing people doesn’t even matter…? Isn’t this system overstepping the limits of being biased?
“Old man, you indiscriminately kill the Western City’s people, and now you won’t even let the Eastern City’s people escape?” It seemed that Yin Shi could no longer put up with this uncaring attitude towards people’s lives. Ling Shi’s following answer couldn’t force a smile out of anyone.
“It’s you who’s doing the killing, not me, you told me not to do anything.”
What truly wonderful logic. Since Yin Shi is doing the killing, you’re indifferent, is that what you mean? But if you were in his place, I’m afraid you would have even fewer qualms…?
“Damn old man! Bad old man! Hurry and use your waist pad to make the other people leave, I don’t want to kill anyone!”
“How many times have I told you that it’s not a waist pad…”
Anyway, with Ling Shi utilizing his jade plate, they all felt more at ease than they would have if Yin Shi had used his. Overall, Fan Tong felt that Yin Shi’s restriction orders couldn’t help but have some flaws. After the flaw makes an appearance, the victim wouldn’t be able to make heads or tails of the situation that would emerge – for example, Fan Tong, who had been the victim last time.
Just like he had before, Ling Shi took his blue-black jade plate, tossed it straight up, and the sigil of his restriction order formed in the sky. “Charm of Ling Shi, restriction order, boundary: Resource Area 2. Besides the people I’m looking at right now, everyone else must leave this area within ten minutes. This restriction will automatically lift after I leave.”
Fan Tong also noted that while the restriction order was in effect, the shadow of the restriction’s sigil would be visible in the sky. After they leave, it would disappear, and the other people would probably return.
However, the restriction this time… Lord Ling Shi, I’m asking you a thousand times not to leave me out. Please, please pay attention to my existence; don’t make me into a pathetic victim in ten minutes’ time…
***
“Alright, now I’ll start killing chickens!” Once again filled with fighting spirit, Yin Shi pointed atanarea in front of him. At long last, he finally began unhesitatingly moved towards a group of beasts. Fan Tong originally expected to see him have some sort of accident and return to them embarrassed; fortunately, he was disappointed.
Yin Shi approached the group of beasts. Soon after that they immediately heard the sound of an explosion that was accompanied by a dazzling flash of light. In less than five seconds, the beasts all became corpses. As it turned out, his pure black tassel wasn’t fake… No, actually that is not necessarily true. A red tassel would probably be enough to deal with the monsters in Resource Area 2.
In short, Fan Tong’s heart didn’t want to admit that Yin Shi was strong. He felt that this strength to intelligence ratio was difficult to accept. Contrary to what he had expected, Yin Shi could still chatter annoyingly and it seemed that his long knife was just for show, since he hadn’t even unsheathed it.
“That group of beasts didn’t even include half a chicken.” Zhu Sha pointed out a fact that no one else knew how to say.
“Yin! How could you use magic?” Ling Shi’s face twisted once again. Using magic in front of the Eastern City’s inhabitants was indeed scandalous, but if he hadn’t said anything, none of them would have known it was magic.
“Eh? Yin Shi, how come you know magic?” Bi Rou had originally come from the Western City, so she could also tell that he used magic, which wasn’t the same as the Eastern City’s Shufa.
Yes, Lord Yin Shi, where did you steal this knowledge from? You also shouldn’t know how to use the Western City’s curses, right?
“Ah, Yin Shi, you can’t use magic to fry them, you’ll also fry their feathers, then we won’t be able to pluck them―”
Bi Rou recalled this point and hurriedly yelled at Yin Shi, who was already quite a distance away.
“Use the Communication Charm!That idiot only knows how to charge straight ahead anddoesn’t know how to take care of anyone…”
Ling Shi continued to shake his head as he sighed. He saw it very clearly. After killing the first pack of beasts, Yin Shi used his own speed magic and floated off to kill the second crowd, murdering more along the way. He hadn’t stopped to listen to anything the others were yelling at him. His feet were never in one place, even as he killed.
That made the current situation such that they couldn’t even catch up with picking up the corpses. It wasn’t a good time to start chatting, but everyone was hesitant to straight up go and stop Yin Shi in what he was doing. Anyhow, the group started following the trail of death Yin Shi left behind and began plucking the feathers.
Fan Tong thought about how he had a weapon himself, but he still couldn’t pull it out to pluck or skin the chickens. He couldn’t help but feel depressed again. Who told him to get a weapon that was a mop?
As for Yin Shi’s trail of death… Honestly, It was haphazard and chaotic. Fan Tong couldn’t tell if the man had any sense of direction. The layout of the corpses’ placement made others feel that Yin Shi just liked to change directions whenever he felt like it. Also, the crew had already been speedily following along, but all they could see ahead was still more corpses and no sign of Yin Shi.
Thankfully, only a small portion of the feathers were damaged. Most feathers on the chickens’ heads were still good enough for collecting. Otherwise, they would have been killed for nothing.
The living beings from Resource Area 2 wouldn’t go extinct now, will they? Fan Tong suddenly had such a worry.
“Where did he run off to? If we don’t stop him, he wouldn’t know to stop… ah!”
Ling Shi was talking to himself mid-sentence when he saw something was off out in the distance. A burst of sandstorm seemed to be heading straight in their direction at maximum speed. From far away, it didn’t look too threatening, however, judging from Ling Shi’s expression, it couldn’t have been anything simple.
“Yin! Come back!” It’s the blue windstorm!”
The blue crazy leopard? What is that? An animal? Can I eat it?
“Huh? What are you-! Ahhh! Where are you all? Ah! Take care of Xiao Rou for me. Xiao Rou can’t die! She’s a Natural Resident…”
Hearing Yin Shi, Ling Shi dashed toward Bi Rou and the other two girls to protect them. Because everyone was scrambling to collect feathers, everyone’s positions were quite scattered. He couldn’t protect everyone, so he had to make a decision.
Eh? Wait! So this is something that would cause death upon encounter? Wait a minute! Lord Ling Shi, are you just going to abandon us like this? Even though New Residents don’t fear death, you shouldn’t act that way. At least tell me whether or not you’ll pay for the new body—!
When the gust of blue sand blasted at them, Fan Tong felt a strong force crashing onto his body, and he got swept inside…
“Xiao Rou! Ling Shi! Where are you?”
“I used Fuzhou and took them away. As for the other three…”
“Ah! What about the other three? Are they okay?”
“I’m with Zhu Sha…”
Hearing Yin Shi’s question, Yue Tui lowered his voice to answer through the Communication Charm. At the same time, he looked at the displeased Zhu Sha who was stuck on the tree with him, along with the dangerous beasts underneath that had yet to notice them.
“I don’t know where we are right now, but we endedup on top of a tree. There’s some wild beasts below us. I think it’s better to not alarm them…”
“You two are alright? The blue windstorm not only takes people off to a random location, it’s still pretty destructive by nature.”
Ling Shi was a bit doubtful. Yue Tui responded softly.
“Both Zhu Sha and I are fine. Maybe we were lucky.”
“Is that so? That’s good…”
“What about Fan Tong? We haven’t heard from him. He didn’t die, did he?”
Bi Rou’s worriedly voiced from the Communication Charm.
“If everyone is fine and he was the only one that died, that would be really unlucky.”
Ling Shi’s tone of voice still did not have an ounce of sympathy in it.
“Ah, you guys don’t move. We’ll go find you.”
“Okay, thank you.”
Yue Tui answered calmly and then stopped talking. He turned to face Zhu Sha who was really close to him.
“Zhu Sha, are you not feeling alright?”
“Of course. They just left us there when danger came! If you weren’t there, I might have just died, right?”
Zhu Sha replied unhappily and continued.
“Why is it that girls need to be well-protected, as though they’re a precious treasure or something; aren’t women and men the same? It’s just the appearance that’s different!”
He shut off the Communication Charm before saying that. Perhaps, he didn’t want to turn himselfagainst everyone.
“Ah…”
Yue Tui suddenly didn’t know how to respond to the question and so, hesitated. Because of his hesitation, Zhu Sha leaned closer and continued to ask.
“Could it be that you feel the same?”
Because he considered this a private conversation, Yue Tui also turned off group communication. “I think…men should be the ones to protect women, right? Men should assume more responsibility than women. I think it’s better not to argue with women too much…”
If Fan Tong were here, he certainly would have inwardly praised Yue Tui’s insight. One truly couldn’t afford to offend women. However, the person with Yue Tui at the moment was Zhu Sha. When Zhu Sha heard Yue Tui’s words, he became even unhappier.
“We are clearly the same person, but why is it easier to gain benefits when using the female appearance?” Zhu Sha asked himself.
“Eh? Female appearance, what…?” A confused expression was on Yue Tui’s face, but Zhu Sha only stared at him strangely.
“Didn’t you already see it when you first moved into the dorm?”
Yue Tui didn’t make the connection even after Zhu Sha’s prompt. Zhu Sha frowned and used image recognition directly to jog the other’s memory. Yue Tui heard a small “ping” and saw mist envelop Zhu Sha. When the sound faded and the mist disappeared, a young woman sat where a young man had been before.
“―”
Frightened, Yue Tui wanted to retreat. However, they were in a tree, so there was nowhere he could run to. Zhu Sha, who had changed into a young woman, was not slightest bit uncomfortable as she leaned towards him. Her charming and beautiful face still resembled the young man’s appearance, but the soft body that was pressed against Yue Tui had an impressive chest, proving that this wasn’t a hallucination. The person pressed close against him really was a girl, and a beautiful girl at that.
“I’m saying, didn’t you see my female appearance the first day you moved into the dorm?” When Zhu Sha’s physical appearance turned into a girl’s, his voice had also changed into a girl’s softer tones. His personality also seemed to have changed slightly. “Hey, I want to see what you look like as a girl. Your female appearance is definitely beautiful, right? Will you change so that I can see?”
Not every person could switch between a male and female appearance at will, but Zhu Sha evidently didn’t know that. At that moment, Yue Tui finally remembered the “girl” he had seen in the shower. He was still shocked at Zhu Sha’s sudden transformation and being pressed so closely against a girl for the first time in his life. When he heard this kind of strange question, Yue Tui’s last thread of rationality snapped, and he wailed miserably.
“Waaaaaaaaah―”
In the same moment, far away at some unknown location, Fan Tong thought he suddenly heard Yue Tui wailing miserably, but he didn’t pay it any attention and treated it as merely his imagination.
“Little kitten, little kitten…” ―Yin Shi
“We came here to kill chickens.” ―Ling Shi
“Don’t come here again! Aren’t you guys going overboard?” ―Land chickens and all the other creatures
The reason they were going to kill more chickens was so they could rise in rank and receive a salary. In the end, Fan Tong decided to skip out on the afternoon’s work and returned to the dorms where Yue Tui and Zhu Sha were waiting so they could go to the agreed meeting place together.
They had originally arranged to meet in front of the dormitory gate; however, they later changed the meeting place to “a secret corner in the southeast, outside the city walls.” This was because the moment Ling Shi heard that Yin Shi was going to take them to kill chickens again, he decided to join in on the fun since he was free and had nothing better to do. After he heard that they were meeting in front of the dormitory gate, he said one sentence:
“If you think it’s okay for everyone to see us meeting up and leaving the city together, then it’s fine by me.”
Right―
Fan Tong broke out in cold sweat at the thought. He strongly advocated to those who weren’t yet aware of the crisis that they switch to a more remote meeting place in order to avoid the public’s eyes. There was already gossip about their relationships with Luo Shi and Yin Shi. If they were to be seen together with Ling Shi, they might not be able to walk away unscathed.
Moreover, Ling Shi was popular among men. He was different from Luo Shi and Yin Shi in that his supporters were the most fanatical out of the three. While Fan Tong knew that a crowd of fanatical women was frightening, a crowd of fanatical men was even more terrifying. He didn’t want to go through that sort of experience. Mi Zhong’s obsession was at least in the acceptable range. If an even more serious pervert were to appear, he certainly wouldn’t be able to bear it.
After they arrived at the meeting place, Ling Shi arrived promptly. Yin Shi on the other hand, still hadn’t shown up even though it was past their meeting time. They only heard the sound of his voice through the Fuzhou communication charms when they turned on the group chat. It sounded like he was very busy.
“Ah! Wait for me a little longer! Wait for me… Aaaah! Don’t come looking for a duel with me at a time like this! Xiao Rou! Wait for me! Give me two seconds to deal with him! Don’t block my way again! I’m in a hurry! Don’t come looking for a duel with me again… Don’t line up!”
It seemed that Yin Shi had been stopped by various people after leaving Shen Wang Dian. Moreover, it seemed like these people’s main goal was to have a duel with him. All sorts of noises drifted out of the Fuzhou communication charms. They could hear Yin Shi using various methods to break free from these troublesome people.
“I told you to come over earlier, but you just wouldn’t listen…” Ling Shi sighed as he listened to the noise on Yin Shi’s side. If a lower-ranked person demanded a duel with a higher-ranked person, the higher-ranked person could not refuse. Refusing was tantamount to losing and the higher-ranked person would be directly demoted a rank, which was why Yin Shi was so distressed. It would be quite funny if Yin Shi was forced to use a restriction seal just to break away from the crowd.
“Oh… Yin Shi, you can take your time. It doesn’t matter.” Bi Rou’s voice sounded extremely tender over the communication charm, but the people who could see her expression clearly knew that “it did matter” after all.
“How could there be so many people looking for a duel with him?” Zhu Sha was bewildered. After all, Yin Shi held a pure black tassel, so everyone knew to keep their distance from him. Those people wouldn’t be as stupid as to knowingly head into their death, right?
Hearing his question, Ling Shi explained, “It’s because his appearance makes it seem like he’s not particularly difficult to deal with. Even though he has a pure black tassel, many people would feel an itch to fight just upon looking at him. They think that it’s because of his status as an attendant that he’s pretending to be stronger than he is by wearing a black tassel. Usually, finding him for a duel isn’t easy at all, which is why he is continuously intercepted whenever he walks on the streets in public.
Lord Ling Shi, you missed a reason. When men see another man who is more handsome than they are, they will want to beat that man up. Don’t overlook this just because you are as beautiful as a flower and no men would ever be against you.
“Eh? So he didn’t get a pure black tassel just because he’s an attendant?”
Zhu Sha, you are truly too rude. How could you say that out loud?
“Of course not. The Eastern City is unlikely to issue the wrong tassels. A pure black tassel also has a further significance that you all probably haven’t taken note of.” Ling Shi paused at that moment and took in everyone’s doubtful expressions. He then continued, “The fact that he’s still holding a pure black tassel means that he’s never lost a duel.”
Oh… That makes sense! So Lord Yin Shi really is strong? But last time, it didn’t really seem like it… And Bi Rou, what is going on with that blatantly worshipping expression of yours?
“Does Lord Yin Shi rarely go out? I’ve heard that he’s very in touch with the people and loves to have fun.”
If even Yue Tui has heard about it, then it should be something everyone knows.
“He often goes out, but he’s usually riding his uncontrollable moshou. Nobody wants to get close to him while he’s riding that moshou.”
That makes sense. Before they could get close to him, they’d be trampled to death by that moshou. Nobody would want that to happen.
But if people have seen him ride that moshou, wouldn’t they think that he’s quite strong and give up on dueling him? Besides, he should’ve had duels with many people by now. There should’ve been many spectators watching these duels on the streets as well. Shouldn’t rumors of his true strength spread by now?
Although the people who’ve lost might not want to speak of it and would rather watch others suffer like them, there are still spectators who could spread the news. Though it is possible that people just aren’t convinced by those news at all…
“Then who is stronger between Lord Yin Shi and Her Majesty the Queen?” Cute Girl A asked curiously. It was quite normal to compare Yin Shi to the queen, as they were the only two people in the city who held pure black tassels.
“They’ve never fought,” Ling Shi answered simply, as if he didn’t want to go into detail on the topic.
“Eh? So you aren’t interested in finding out who’s stronger?” Cute Girl A asked another question, having not read the atmosphere.
“He can’t possibly raise a hand against Ying, so dueling her is out of the question. If he ever dares, I would get rid of him personally.”
Huh? But Lord Ling Shi, aren’t you carrying a pale black tassel… You shouldn’t be able to defeat him, right?
“Then who’s more powerful between Lord Ling Shi and Lord Yin Shi?” Cute Girl A seemed rather fond of this kind of question, so much that Fan Tong wanted to break out in cold sweat on her behalf.
“He would be more powerful than me in a direct fight. However, there are many ways I can get rid of him.”
In other words, Lord Ling Shi, you’re more sinister…
“Ah! Just now, my hand slipped and I accidentally cut off someone’s hand… So unlucky! My luck doesn’t seem to be very good today. Someone must have cursed me, right?”
“I’m the one who cursed you. I’ll admit it. Are you satisfied?” Ling Shi replied unhappily.
“It was me! Yin Shi, you big idiot! You didn’t come to keep me company. Even though we’ve arranged to meet, I can’t believe you’re late!” Bi Rou suddenly said in an offended voice, sounding somewhat bitter.
So nowadays people are even fighting to be recognized for cursing someone?
“Ah! Are you angry?” Yin Shi’s voice sounded a bit panicky. A shrill cry of pain suddenly erupted from the communication charms. Perhaps his hand had slipped and injured someone again?
“No, I’m not angry,” Bi Rou conceded, pursing her lips. After a moment, she spoke as if on the verge of tears, “On our first date, we killed chickens. Now on our second date, we are going to kill chickens again. Even though the dates haven’t been especially romantic, I was really looking forward to seeing you again. You clearly said that you missed me, but that’s not the same as making time for me… I know you’ve known the citizens of Eastern City for a lot longer than you’ve known me, so it’s natural that you would make time for them. I’m not particularly special in any case…”
Wow, every word stabbed him where it hurts. Weren’t the two of you quite sweet with each other before? Why does it sound like you two have a lot of problems instead? Bi Rou, do you want to add the fact that there have been a bunch of third wheels around you every time you went on a date to that pile of problems? That being said, does this mean that Yin Shi has never taken you out on a date with just the two of you? That’s really slow…
“Ah!” Yin Shi cried out in alarm, but he didn’t try to placate Bi Rou. Just when Fan Tong thought they were going to break up, Yin Shi’s figure suddenly appeared in front of their eyes. “Xiao Rou, don’t be angry, I―”
“I want to go back to the Western City!”
Eh? What? What did I just hear?
“Aaaaaah! Don’t leave! I’ll be lonely! Old man! Quickly help me come up with something to say!” Flustered, Yin Shi turned to Ling Shi for help. Ling Shi looked at him skeptically.
“You came over here directly? What about the duels?”
“Eh? Xiao Rou is angry, why would I pay any more attention to them? I knocked them all to the ground in one move and came over here.”
Oh… You knocked them to the ground, or did you send them to the Rebirth Pond? Were there any Natural Residents among them?
Sure enough, women are people you should avoid provoking the most in the world. If a woman is angry, then terrible things will happen.
“…” Ling Shi was quiet, evidently feeling helpless in this situation, but it didn’t seem like he was observing a moment of silence for the victims of Yin Shi’s attack. Ling Shi didn’t empathize unnecessarily with other people’s misfortunes, especially when they were strangers.
“The Western City?” At last someone raised this question. The person who had spoken was Zhu Sha, but he wasn’t the only person who was curious at the sudden mention of the city’s name.
“Ah.” Yin Shi finally discovered that Bi Rou had said something she shouldn’t have, but he didn’t seem to particularly care.
Fan Tong truly hoped Yin Shi didn’t care. If by any chance he did care… Then wouldn’t everyone present be killed in order to keep Bi Rou’s secret? Since ancient times, people who had chanced upon someone’s secret never met good endings.
“I’m originally from the Western City. I came to the Eastern City in order to find Yin Shi,” Bi Rou explained in a relaxed manner. It seemed she didn’t mind that her secret had been exposed, but was that really something she should’ve said in public?
“Why did you come here to find Lord Yin Shi?” Yue Tui immediately asked.
Upon hearing his question, Bi Rou blushed, seeming to have already forgotten her unhappiness from a few moments ago. She also seemed to have become enveloped in a pink cloud of infatuation. “Because…because, I fell in love with him at first sight. He was just so charming. I simply wanted to get closer to him. But if I stayed in the Western City, then we would always be enemies and I would only be able to watch him from afar. I was unsatisfied with that, so I came to the Eastern City with the small hope of catching his attention.”
Miss, weren’t you just making noise about how you wanted to go back to the Western City? How come you’ve already forgotten your anger and now love him to death again?
“Yin Shi is childish, so he’ll certainly pay attention to you,” Ling Shi commented. He hadn’t meant to dampen her enthusiasm with those words; he had merely been stating a fact.
“That is fine by me. I’m happy as long as I’m able to stay with him forever.”
And you’re unhappy when you’re not together, is that it? If you’re demanding him to stay with you every minute and second of your life, then I’m afraid that’s really impossible…
“Xiao Rou, I’m sorry. You specifically came to the Eastern City to play with me, but I haven’t made time to keep you company.” Yin Shi gripped Bi Rou’s hands and looked at her sincerely, searching for her forgiveness.
“I-I’m not angry. I’m happy as long as I get to see you.” Finding herself within such a close range of Yin Shi’s face, Bi Rou’s entire face turned red. Yin Shi’s words felled her in one strike. She was so overwhelmed that she nearly fainted.
In the end, Yin Shi and Bi Rou resolved their conflict in such an easy manner. By the side, Fan Tong noticed that Yue Tui’s expression had turned cold. Maybe he was just seeing things?
“Let’s ignore the topic of the Western City for a moment. Exactly what have you dressed yourself in?” Ling Shi’s face twitched as he asked Yin Shi this question. At that moment, everyone finally noticed Yin Shi’s outfit. He was wearing something that resembled military armor. The broken knife he had bought before was hanging from his waist in a sheath. All of a sudden, he truly resembled a soldier; however, wasn’t he the rector of Shufa Xuan?
“Ah, this, didn’t I say that I was going to wear it for you all to see? It’s the new toy that I bought.”
A shadow fell over Ling Shi’s face at Yin Shi’s answer. Yin Shi had indeed mentioned that he bought armor along with a weapon and that he would show them off sometime in the future… It seemed like he decided to carry out his words today.
“Does he plan on using that armor as an ornament…” Zhu Sha mumbled to himself, nearly speechless.
“Xiao Rou, does it look good?” Wearing his new outfit, Yin Shi naturally wanted to know the opinion of the person he cared about the most. Hearing his question, Bi Rou nodded fiercely in response.
“Yes! You look handsome in whatever you wear! You look especially manly in this outfit―”
Bi Rou, you truly can’t be saved anymore. You’ve reached the final stage of “Yin Shi-itis.” No medicine can cure you of this disease…
“Ah, in fact, I thought about buying a mask to wear, but I don’t know how it would look along with the rest of my outfit. I do think it would be an interesting combination. There was this demon mask with protruding teeth that someone was selling last time.”
Please don’t. Your biggest selling point is that face of yours, but now you say you want to cover it up? Please have a little self-awareness.
After hearing Yin Shi’s exuberant words, Bi Rou’s expression became rather forced. It seemed like she was trying very hard to find a way to tactfully persuade him to give up on buying a mask. If that handsome face that she loved so much was concealed by a ridiculous mask, then her happiness would decrease every time they saw each other… If she told Yin Shi that it would make her unhappy, he should at least be able to understand.
“Yin Shi, you look fine just like this. A mask… A mask… Please don’t, just thinking about it makes me unhappy…”
“Ah, you wouldn’t like it? Then forget it, I won’t wear one.” Yin Shi quickly gave up on the idea. Sure enough, Bi Rou’s words were effective; compared to Ling Shi, it was much easier for her to make Yin Shi listen.
“You’ve worn this armor before. I’d like to trouble you to improve your memory a bit,” Ling Shi said in a long-suffering tone, one hand supporting his forehead.
Yin Shi looked at him, puzzled. “Huh? When?”
“Chen Yue Jie, Judgment Day… And more, forget it, I don’t want to talk to you.”
Eh? He was wearing armor on Chen Yue Jie?
Fan Tong admitted that when he looked at the carriage, he had only payed attention to Yin Shi’s face and not to what he was wearing.
In the end, why does a rector of Shufa Xuan like wearing armor so much?
***
“We’ve delayed for quite a while. Let’s go…” Ling Shi already felt disinclined to say anything more to Yin Shi. Since the last person was here, they should be able to set off, right?
“Ah, Ling Shi, since you came along, we can go to Void Space 2. Let’s go.”
“We’re going to kill chickens! Where in Void Space 2 can you find any chickens?! Clear your head a little!” Unable to bear it anymore, Lin Shi finally shouted at Yin Shi. If it were possible, Ling Shi probably would’ve wanted to twist Yin Shi’s ear and teach him a lesson, but he didn’t do any such thing in the end.
“Chickens…? Huh? I only came here to have a date with Xiao Rou. But killing chicken is fine too, I’ll do whatever Xiao Rou wants to do.”
After Yin Shi spoke in a puzzled voice, everyone turned their focus onto Bi Rou.
So in the end, what did you invite us here for? Does this count as a dating scam?
“We killed seven hundred and twenty-three chickens last time, so we only need to kill four hundred and seventy-seven chickens this time.” Ling Shi’s memory was exceptional; he even recalled the exact number of chickens they had killed last time.
However, since Ling Shi specifically remembered this kind of thing, it seems like he’s hoping we won’t kill any more chickens than necessary. He probably feels that killing too many is the same as killing too few. In addition, according to his logic from last time, since everyone has already collected enough chicken skins and only needs the feathers now, he should get to walk away with all of the chicken skins from this trip, right?
“Yes, Ling Shi Gege was awesome last time. He felled a whole sweep of chickens with just one move and managed to kill more than seven hundred of them before seven o’clock. He was so cool and handsome,” Bi Rou praised.
Ling Shi smiled at her in response. Even though Fan Tong didn’t want to admit it, Ling Shi’s smile was truly magnificent. His smiling face could put other women’s beauty to shame. But Bi Rou had an edge on him with her sweet and pleasant demeanor. Comparing the two would be like comparing apples to oranges.
“Ling Shi Gege?” It seemed that today was the first time Yin Shi had heard that term. After repeating it again in an astonished voice, he immediately used a “this is unacceptable” gaze to look at Ling Shi. “Damn old man! Don’t seduce my Xiao Rou! What nerve you have to make her call you gege!”
“I think it sounds nice and she calls me that willingly. How does that have anything to do with you?” Ling Shi replied coolly, as if determined to make Yin Shi jealous.
“Xiao Rou, don’t let him deceive you! He’s nothing more than a damn old man!” Yin Shi couldn’t do anything about Ling Shi, so he turned around to persuade Bi Rou.
Bi Rou widened her eyes innocently and looked at him with an oblivious expression. “But I’m already used to calling him that.”
No man would ever want his own lover to be close to another man; even if that other man strongly resembles a woman.
“If you’re dissatisfied with this, you can ask her if she’s willing to call you by a more intimate name.” Ling Shi was still making cynical remarks. He then proceeded to make some suggestions. “Something like… Qin Ai De? Yin Shi Xiao QinQin? Hao Gege?”
No one commented on those suggestions. Fan Tong also thought Ling Shi was going a bit overboard. If Bi Rou truly started calling Yin Shi by those nicknames, then Fan Tong felt he should probably withdraw from this chicken-killing group to prevent damage to his mind and body.
Moreover, Lord Ling Shi, those nicknames came out of your mouth first. Isn’t that inappropriate? You’re making us shudder in discomfort…
“No! Yin Shi is Yin Shi, I’m used to calling him that.”
“Ah!” Yin Shi became depressed at Bi Rou’s refusal.
Lord Yin Shi, you weren’t seriously considering being called by those nicknames, right? Are your preferences really that unusual?
“Xiao Rou…”
“Hmm?”
“That damn old man kills chickens really fast, do you like that?”
“Of course I like it. It makes me happy.”
Yin Shi suffered a blow when he heard Bi Rou’s affirmation.
“I’m capable of doing it too! Damn it! Old man, I’ll be killing the chickens this time. You can just wait by the sidelines. You don’t need to do anything!”
“Do you want to display your masculinity? Do as you please. It doesn’t matter to me.”
Yin Shi is going to kill all the chickens this time?
Fan Tong was worried. Yin Shi gave him an unreliable feeling. If it were possible, he’d rather follow Ling Shi as it would make him more at ease.
“But old man! If you aren’t going to kill any chickens, what are you going to do?”
“… You’re the one who doesn’t want me killing chickens.”
Sure enough, Yin Shi was pretty special to be able to go back on his own words in such a short period of time.
“Ah! Forget it. Let’s go.”
“Resource Area 2 isn’t that far away. If we are going over there as a group, wouldn’t it be better to walk?”
“What roads do we take to Resource Area 2? In the end, where exactly are the chickens?”
Yin Shi was evidently unfamiliar with the roads.
“This is troublesome! Write a transfer spell for me, old man.”
“…”
Internally, everyone was probably thinking along the lines of “can’t you write one yourself?” But as it was a negotiation between Ling Shi and Yin Shi, they didn’t have the right to cut in.
At Yin Shi’s rude demand, Ling Shi used a transportation spell and brought everyone to Resource Area 2. Fan Tong thought that Ling Shi would deliberately leave Yin Shi behind during the transfer, but nothing of the sort happened. After seeing Ling Shi use a transportation spell of such a scale, Fan Tong suddenly realized that Ling Shi was quite skilled at Shufa. There was nothing strange about this after thinking for a bit. After all, people didn’t necessarily have to focus on one specific subject. In fact, Fuzhou and Shufa were somewhat similar to each other. That being said, could Yin Shi also use Fuzhou?
Upon thinking that Fuzhou and Shufa were rather similar, Fan Tong became disheartened. His Fuzhou ability was fine except for his tendency of reading the incantations wrong. On the other hand, he had been declared hopeless in Shufa. The huge disparity between the subjects made him want to cry. Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do about it.
“Ah! Is this Resource Area 2? It looks quite similar to Void Space Area 2.” Yin Shi commented after taking a glance at the area. Ling Shi, the only other person present who had been to Void Space Area 2 before, unhesitatingly refuted him.
“They aren’t the same at all! Even if you disregard the aesthetics of the place, they are still very different. Don’t tell me you’re colorblind too?”
I think it’s very possible that Yin Shi has all sorts of defects and problems. More like, it would make perfect sense for him to have them.
“Huh? Is that so? But they both have beautiful skies. Look, Xiao Rou, the weather is beautiful today.”
“It is with you here.”
“…”
The lovers basked in their aura of love and seemed to have completely forgotten the existence of the rest of the group. Fan Tong thought that as long as Yin Shi was here, everything would appear beautiful to Bi Rou.
In that case, when Yin Shi is around, do even the bystanders like us look good in Bi Rou’s eyes? Does this count as a good thing?
“Yin, where are the things that I requested you to bring? Take them out.”
At Ling Shi’s abrupt words, Fan Tong was filled with expectation.
Are they going to gift us something else this time? What kind of amazing thing would it be?
“Those things…” Yin Shi looked towards Ling Shi and bowed his head in thought, earnestly pondering on the latter’s words.
“Fuzhou paper! Don’t tell me you didn’t bring any?”
Eh? It’s just Fuzhou paper? Fan Tong was disappointed.
“Ah! Fuzhou paper! It’s all your fault. I went out on the streets in order to buy Fuzhou paper for you and got surrounded by people wanting a duel with me. They made me late and in turn made Xiao Rou unhappy.”
What a complicated cause-and-effect scenario!
“That’s not important. I thought you had some Fuzhou paper on hand, that’s why I told you to bring some with you. I didn’t expect that you would have to go out and buy some… Anyways, there’s no point in dwelling on things that have already happened. So did you buy any in the end? If you brought them with you, distribute them among the others. They should’ve learned a bit Fuzhou by now. If we come across an emergency, it’d be useful for them to have some Fuzhou paper to use.”
Lord Ling Shi, you’re truly considerate. But I can’t read Fuzhou out loud, what am I going to do…
“Yes, I bought some. I’ll hand them out.”
From somewhere on his person, Yin Shi pulled out a stack of different-colored Fuzhou paper. Everyone was amazed at the sight as his clothes didn’t have any visible pockets. Yin Shi then randomly divided the stack of Fuzhou paper into irregular piles and handed them to everyone. Afterwards, he handed the leftover stack in his hands to Ling Shi.
“…What are you giving me Fuzhou paper for? Don’t you know that I don’t need it to cast Fuzhou? Moreover, you just gave them the high-level Fuzhou paper they can’t use and the low-level Fuzhou paper to me. What were you thinking? Did you even use your brain when you bought the paper? Or did your brain just never develop?”
“Hey Ling Shi, look at the sky. That cloud is beautiful.”
“Don’t watch the sky anymore!”
Yes! Lord Yin Shi, those woman-deceiving lines of yours won’t fool Lord Ling Shi. Although you probably aren’t deliberately acting stupid, you still give others the impression that you’re insincere.
Ling Shi divided the low-level Fuzhou paper that he had been handed into equal stacks and distributed them among everyone. He didn’t feel inclined to retrieve the high-level Fuzhou paper as he regarded it as something they could use later. Hence, everyone stored the papers away for future use.
“Alright! Let’s go kill chickens.” Yin Shi appeared high-spirited, but after looking at the living creatures around them, he once again looked suspiciously at Ling Shi.
“Ling Shi, which ones are chickens?”
Didn’t you kill a chicken last time? Even though you only killed one, you still killed a chicken! Shouldn’t it be impossible for you to not know that the thing you killed was a land chicken?
“Can’t you just annihilate every living creature in sight?” Ling Shi answered indifferently.
If you’re going to completely annihilate everything in sight, I’d recommend you use one of your jade plates to set up a restriction order and drive the other people out of Resource Area 2. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be good if you accidentally killed someone…
“Eh? But I don’t like to kill for no reason…” Yin Shi said, seemingly unwilling to do so. Everyonedidn’t expect his personality to be so fond of peace.
Then don’t randomly ride a Moshou and trample people to death, you hateful person.Fan Tong cried out in his heart.
“You plan to kill chickens when they’re among a bunch of other beasts? Even if you really manage to do so, how will you get close enough to pluck their feathers after you’ve killed them? Won’t the animals beside them get to them first? Killing all of them would bemuch more simple.” Ling Shi was truly someone who would use the most efficient way to carry out a task. Moreover, it seemed like he could discard his conscience, morality, feelings, and the like to do so.
“Ah, alright, even though listening to an old man puts me in a bad mood…”
Right after they had finished speaking and were about to start doing something productive, Yue Tui couldn’t help but bring up the question that Fan Tong had also been thinking of before. “Are you… going to ask the other people in the vicinity to leave first?”
Yue Tui probably also thought that this kind of indiscriminate attack would be as dangerous as the one before. After he brought this up, Yin Shi blinked, and Ling Shi indifferently gave an answer.
“If a lord kills someone, he doesn’t need to take the blame for it, and no one will look into the incident.”
…
So… Because your special privileges make things convenient, you feel that killing people doesn’t even matter…? Isn’t this system overstepping the limits of being biased?
“Old man, you indiscriminately kill the Western City’s people, and now you won’t even let the Eastern City’s people escape?” It seemed that Yin Shi could no longer put up with this uncaring attitude towards people’s lives. Ling Shi’s following answer couldn’t force a smile out of anyone.
“It’s you who’s doing the killing, not me, you told me not to do anything.”
What truly wonderful logic. Since Yin Shi is doing the killing, you’re indifferent, is that what you mean? But if you were in his place, I’m afraid you would have even fewer qualms…?
“Damn old man! Bad old man! Hurry and use your waist pad to make the other people leave, I don’t want to kill anyone!”
“How many times have I told you that it’s not a waist pad…”
Anyway, with Ling Shi utilizing his jade plate, they all felt more at ease than they would have if Yin Shi had used his. Overall, Fan Tong felt that Yin Shi’s restriction orders couldn’t help but have some flaws. After the flaw makes an appearance, the victim wouldn’t be able to make heads or tails of the situation that would emerge – for example, Fan Tong, who had been the victim last time.
Just like he had before, Ling Shi took his blue-black jade plate, tossed it straight up, and the sigil of his restriction order formed in the sky. “Charm of Ling Shi, restriction order, boundary: Resource Area 2. Besides the people I’m looking at right now, everyone else must leave this area within ten minutes. This restriction will automatically lift after I leave.”
Fan Tong also noted that while the restriction order was in effect, the shadow of the restriction’s sigil would be visible in the sky. After they leave, it would disappear, and the other people would probably return.
However, the restriction this time… Lord Ling Shi, I’m asking you a thousand times not to leave me out. Please, please pay attention to my existence; don’t make me into a pathetic victim in ten minutes’ time…
***
“Alright, now I’ll start killing chickens!” Once again filled with fighting spirit, Yin Shi pointed atanarea in front of him. At long last, he finally began unhesitatingly moved towards a group of beasts. Fan Tong originally expected to see him have some sort of accident and return to them embarrassed; fortunately, he was disappointed.
Yin Shi approached the group of beasts. Soon after that they immediately heard the sound of an explosion that was accompanied by a dazzling flash of light. In less than five seconds, the beasts all became corpses. As it turned out, his pure black tassel wasn’t fake… No, actually that is not necessarily true. A red tassel would probably be enough to deal with the monsters in Resource Area 2.
In short, Fan Tong’s heart didn’t want to admit that Yin Shi was strong. He felt that this strength to intelligence ratio was difficult to accept. Contrary to what he had expected, Yin Shi could still chatter annoyingly and it seemed that his long knife was just for show, since he hadn’t even unsheathed it.
“That group of beasts didn’t even include half a chicken.” Zhu Sha pointed out a fact that no one else knew how to say.
“Yin! How could you use magic?” Ling Shi’s face twisted once again. Using magic in front of the Eastern City’s inhabitants was indeed scandalous, but if he hadn’t said anything, none of them would have known it was magic.
“Eh? Yin Shi, how come you know magic?” Bi Rou had originally come from the Western City, so she could also tell that he used magic, which wasn’t the same as the Eastern City’s Shufa.
Yes, Lord Yin Shi, where did you steal this knowledge from? You also shouldn’t know how to use the Western City’s curses, right?
“Ah, Yin Shi, you can’t use magic to fry them, you’ll also fry their feathers, then we won’t be able to pluck them―”
Bi Rou recalled this point and hurriedly yelled at Yin Shi, who was already quite a distance away.
“Use the Communication Charm!That idiot only knows how to charge straight ahead anddoesn’t know how to take care of anyone…”
Ling Shi continued to shake his head as he sighed. He saw it very clearly. After killing the first pack of beasts, Yin Shi used his own speed magic and floated off to kill the second crowd, murdering more along the way. He hadn’t stopped to listen to anything the others were yelling at him. His feet were never in one place, even as he killed.
That made the current situation such that they couldn’t even catch up with picking up the corpses. It wasn’t a good time to start chatting, but everyone was hesitant to straight up go and stop Yin Shi in what he was doing. Anyhow, the group started following the trail of death Yin Shi left behind and began plucking the feathers.
Fan Tong thought about how he had a weapon himself, but he still couldn’t pull it out to pluck or skin the chickens. He couldn’t help but feel depressed again. Who told him to get a weapon that was a mop?
As for Yin Shi’s trail of death… Honestly, It was haphazard and chaotic. Fan Tong couldn’t tell if the man had any sense of direction. The layout of the corpses’ placement made others feel that Yin Shi just liked to change directions whenever he felt like it. Also, the crew had already been speedily following along, but all they could see ahead was still more corpses and no sign of Yin Shi.
Thankfully, only a small portion of the feathers were damaged. Most feathers on the chickens’ heads were still good enough for collecting. Otherwise, they would have been killed for nothing.
The living beings from Resource Area 2 wouldn’t go extinct now, will they? Fan Tong suddenly had such a worry.
“Where did he run off to? If we don’t stop him, he wouldn’t know to stop… ah!”
Ling Shi was talking to himself mid-sentence when he saw something was off out in the distance. A burst of sandstorm seemed to be heading straight in their direction at maximum speed. From far away, it didn’t look too threatening, however, judging from Ling Shi’s expression, it couldn’t have been anything simple.
“Yin! Come back!” It’s the blue windstorm!”
The blue crazy leopard? What is that? An animal? Can I eat it?
“Huh? What are you-! Ahhh! Where are you all? Ah! Take care of Xiao Rou for me. Xiao Rou can’t die! She’s a Natural Resident…”
Hearing Yin Shi, Ling Shi dashed toward Bi Rou and the other two girls to protect them. Because everyone was scrambling to collect feathers, everyone’s positions were quite scattered. He couldn’t protect everyone, so he had to make a decision.
Eh? Wait! So this is something that would cause death upon encounter? Wait a minute! Lord Ling Shi, are you just going to abandon us like this? Even though New Residents don’t fear death, you shouldn’t act that way. At least tell me whether or not you’ll pay for the new body—!
When the gust of blue sand blasted at them, Fan Tong felt a strong force crashing onto his body, and he got swept inside…
“Xiao Rou! Ling Shi! Where are you?”
“I used Fuzhou and took them away. As for the other three…”
“Ah! What about the other three? Are they okay?”
“I’m with Zhu Sha…”
Hearing Yin Shi’s question, Yue Tui lowered his voice to answer through the Communication Charm. At the same time, he looked at the displeased Zhu Sha who was stuck on the tree with him, along with the dangerous beasts underneath that had yet to notice them.
“I don’t know where we are right now, but we endedup on top of a tree. There’s some wild beasts below us. I think it’s better to not alarm them…”
“You two are alright? The blue windstorm not only takes people off to a random location, it’s still pretty destructive by nature.”
Ling Shi was a bit doubtful. Yue Tui responded softly.
“Both Zhu Sha and I are fine. Maybe we were lucky.”
“Is that so? That’s good…”
“What about Fan Tong? We haven’t heard from him. He didn’t die, did he?”
Bi Rou’s worriedly voiced from the Communication Charm.
“If everyone is fine and he was the only one that died, that would be really unlucky.”
Ling Shi’s tone of voice still did not have an ounce of sympathy in it.
“Ah, you guys don’t move. We’ll go find you.”
“Okay, thank you.”
Yue Tui answered calmly and then stopped talking. He turned to face Zhu Sha who was really close to him.
“Zhu Sha, are you not feeling alright?”
“Of course. They just left us there when danger came! If you weren’t there, I might have just died, right?”
Zhu Sha replied unhappily and continued.
“Why is it that girls need to be well-protected, as though they’re a precious treasure or something; aren’t women and men the same? It’s just the appearance that’s different!”
He shut off the Communication Charm before saying that. Perhaps, he didn’t want to turn himselfagainst everyone.
“Ah…”
Yue Tui suddenly didn’t know how to respond to the question and so, hesitated. Because of his hesitation, Zhu Sha leaned closer and continued to ask.
“Could it be that you feel the same?”
Because he considered this a private conversation, Yue Tui also turned off group communication. “I think…men should be the ones to protect women, right? Men should assume more responsibility than women. I think it’s better not to argue with women too much…”
If Fan Tong were here, he certainly would have inwardly praised Yue Tui’s insight. One truly couldn’t afford to offend women. However, the person with Yue Tui at the moment was Zhu Sha. When Zhu Sha heard Yue Tui’s words, he became even unhappier.
“We are clearly the same person, but why is it easier to gain benefits when using the female appearance?” Zhu Sha asked himself.
“Eh? Female appearance, what…?” A confused expression was on Yue Tui’s face, but Zhu Sha only stared at him strangely.
“Didn’t you already see it when you first moved into the dorm?”
Yue Tui didn’t make the connection even after Zhu Sha’s prompt. Zhu Sha frowned and used image recognition directly to jog the other’s memory. Yue Tui heard a small “ping” and saw mist envelop Zhu Sha. When the sound faded and the mist disappeared, a young woman sat where a young man had been before.
“―”
Frightened, Yue Tui wanted to retreat. However, they were in a tree, so there was nowhere he could run to. Zhu Sha, who had changed into a young woman, was not slightest bit uncomfortable as she leaned towards him. Her charming and beautiful face still resembled the young man’s appearance, but the soft body that was pressed against Yue Tui had an impressive chest, proving that this wasn’t a hallucination. The person pressed close against him really was a girl, and a beautiful girl at that.
“I’m saying, didn’t you see my female appearance the first day you moved into the dorm?” When Zhu Sha’s physical appearance turned into a girl’s, his voice had also changed into a girl’s softer tones. His personality also seemed to have changed slightly. “Hey, I want to see what you look like as a girl. Your female appearance is definitely beautiful, right? Will you change so that I can see?”
Not every person could switch between a male and female appearance at will, but Zhu Sha evidently didn’t know that. At that moment, Yue Tui finally remembered the “girl” he had seen in the shower. He was still shocked at Zhu Sha’s sudden transformation and being pressed so closely against a girl for the first time in his life. When he heard this kind of strange question, Yue Tui’s last thread of rationality snapped, and he wailed miserably.
“Waaaaaaaaah―”
In the same moment, far away at some unknown location, Fan Tong thought he suddenly heard Yue Tui wailing miserably, but he didn’t pay it any attention and treated it as merely his imagination.
