Chapter 123: Playing Around

The next day, early morning.

Lingyun was practicing Tai Chi in the courtyard when he suddenly heard a burst of footsteps approaching.

"You're here so early, Asuna!" Lingyun turned his head and happened to see Asuna walking in his direction.

"Early? Is it still early now?" She raised her eyebrows slightly and looked at the time displayed on the virtual panel in front of her: 9:00.

"It's nothing, Ye Xi and the others probably haven't woken up yet at this hour," Lingyun said while practicing his punches, "After all, they went to sleep so late last night."

"What kind of fist technique are you practicing? It looks so slow, it doesn't seem to have any power!" Asuna asked with some confusion.

"Tai Chi!"

"Huaxia Kung Fu, Tai Chi? No, this is a bit different from the Tai Chi I've seen!" Asuna shook her head.

"It is indeed a bit different; my Tai Chi is something I created myself!" Lingyun performed the final move and let out a long breath; a white arrow of Qi shot out from his mouth, flying nearly a meter away before dissipating.

Asuna, who was beside him, widened her eyes at this sight, but she suddenly remembered that this was a game world and that such a situation was not hard to understand, so she swallowed the words that were on the tip of her tongue.

"Have you asked for leave from Heathcliff?" In the living room, Lingyun raised the cup in his hand, took a sip of tea, and asked.

Asuna nodded slightly. Since she had already said yesterday that she would come, she would definitely come.

"The Commander agreed to let me rest for a period of time. He said that for this period, the guild matters have basically been handled by me alone, so it's a good thing to take a break. He will lead the team to clear levels himself during this time. However, I must return before the 50th-floor boss is cleared."

"Oh? It seems your Commander is quite good to you, the Vice Commander!" Lingyun was somewhat noncommittal.

After all, Heathcliff's true identity was Kayaba Akihiko, the developer of this world. Now that such a major change had occurred in the game he developed, he was probably also completely baffled. Under these circumstances, it was no surprise that he would take the initiative to lead the team in clearing levels, seeking to find the truth behind the changes in this world.

However, now was not the time to think about such irrelevant matters. Now that Asuna had arrived, taking her out to play and letting her experience the reality of this world was the most important thing!

After leaving a message for Luo Yexi and the others who were still sleeping, Lingyun took Asuna and left his garden, arriving at the small lake outside.

"Isn't this place by the lake? Why did you bring me here?" Asuna looked at Lingyun with some confusion.

Watching Lingyun wandering around the lake with her, Asuna asked with some confusion. Under the sunlight, Lingyun seemed to be draped in a layer of golden armor, which left Asuna somewhat mesmerized.

"Of course, to go fishing! It's rare to have such good weather; going fishing by the lake is a great way to pass the time!" Lingyun laughed. "Besides, at this time of day, Mr. Nishida should be fishing there as well."

"Mr. Nishida?" Asuna was a bit confused and didn't understand why Lingyun had suddenly brought up such a person.

"That's right, Mr. Nishida, an interesting old man I met by chance who lives in an NPC Small Village not far from here. In this world, he is a fisherman, and in real life, he is the security Department Head at a company called Tokyo Highway Line. Because I often run into him here, we can be considered old acquaintances."

"Tokyo Highway Line, isn't that the company responsible for the network security of this game?"

Lingyun nodded slightly: "That's right, but now he is just an ordinary fisherman."

"An ordinary fisherman?" Asuna was suddenly a bit curious about this person.

"We're here!" Lingyun stopped walking, and a wooden pier appeared before them.

On the pier, a middle-aged man with a balding head and a kind face was already fishing.

"Mr. Nishida, you look like you're in good spirits today!" Lingyun greeted the man with a smile.

"Ah, it's little brother Lingyun! Long time no see." Mr. Nishida turned his head, saw Lingyun, and smiled.

"Oh, is this your girlfriend?" Mr. Nishida's gaze fell on Asuna.

Hearing Mr. Nishida's words, Asuna glanced at Lingyun beside her, and a blush rose on her face.

"Mr. Nishida has misunderstood." A hint of a smile appeared on Lingyun's face, "This is Asuna, she is my friend."

"Aha, so it's a friend! It seems this old man has mistaken it again." Mr. Nishida laughed, "But little brother Lingyun, your way with women really makes this old man envious; you are always surrounded by such beautiful and outstanding girls!"

"Nice to meet you, please take care of me!" Asuna bowed to Mr. Nishida somewhat reservedly.

"Hello there." Mr. Nishida smiled slightly at Asuna.

Suddenly, his fishing rod gave a violent jerk. Mr. Nishida's expression turned serious; he grabbed the rod, gave it a rhythmic flick, and then pulled it upward. A large fish leaped out of the water.

"You caught it, what a big fish!" Looking at the large fish in Mr. Nishida's hands, Asuna exclaimed in wonder.

"Being able to catch such a big fish here is all thanks to little brother Lingyun. You know, in the past, this lake had an owner, and it was a vicious big guy. The people who were fishing here with me back then almost became that guy's snack. Fortunately, little brother Lingyun happened to be passing by and killed that fish king, otherwise, you wouldn't be seeing me now!" Mr. Nishida laughed.

"There's such a thing?" Asuna looked at Lingyun beside her with some curiosity.

Lingyun smiled and scratched the back of his head: "It's nothing, just a casual act."

Putting the fish into his inventory, Mr. Nishida smiled and said to Lingyun: "Today, thanks to you, little brother, I caught such a big fish. Come to my place for lunch at noon; Anfu has been complaining about not seeing high-quality ingredients lately, so it's perfect for him to process this big fish. Don't you dare refuse!"

Facing Mr. Nishida's enthusiastic invitation, Lingyun and Asuna looked at each other and did not refuse.

After Mr. Nishida caught a few more large fish from the lake, the three of them walked a distance forward and arrived at a Small Village.

After entering the Small Village, some of the older players living there gathered around one after another. The Anfu that Mr. Nishida mentioned was a Pangzi who looked very kind. Upon hearing Mr. Nishida say that he was keeping Lingyun for lunch, a look of joy appeared on his face, and he swore that he would bring out his best culinary skills to entertain them.

Looking at the smiles on the faces of the surrounding players that didn't look fake at all, Asuna's eyes were somewhat complex: "I never thought that in this world, there are still people living like this..."

"That's why I said, why do you have to push yourself so hard?" Lingyun said softly, "This world will be cleared sooner or later, and we will return to the real world sooner or later. By then, this world will definitely stop operating. Since that's the case, why not seize the time we have now and enjoy life in this world properly?"

Looking at Lingyun, who looked even better than her under the sunlight, Asuna suddenly felt as if something in her heart had been touched, and it began to beat rapidly. At the same time, something seemed to collapse in her heart in an instant, and an inexplicable power began to flow through her body, even causing the Long sword at her waist to flash with a faint white light.

"Come, let's go walk around other places!" Asuna suddenly grabbed Lingyun's hand and gave him a brilliant smile.

Looking at Asuna's smile, Lingyun was momentarily dazed, and then he was pulled by Asuna and ran forward.

However, neither of them noticed that behind a large tree behind them, a small head quietly poked out, and large, dark, shiny eyes stared at them without moving.

Suddenly, a noise came from the surroundings, and the small head shrank back behind the tree instantly. A player walked over curiously, only to find that there was nothing there.

"Did I see things just now?" The player looked at the empty grass behind the tree and scratched his head in confusion.