Chapter 138

Seeing Yuan Jie pull back, Bai Xiaoya seemed to exhale in relief and calmly changed the subject: "... By the way, Yuan Jie, did you eat breakfast? I made extra boiled eggs—want some?"

"Yay!!"

Fang Yue saw there was nothing more for him to do, so he returned to his room to play the game.

As for Jiangyun Temple, they'd go only when Bai Xiaoya named a time; if she didn't mention it, Fang Yue didn't need to think about it.

Entering the game, Fang Yue headed straight for Han Fu.

"Aba aba!"

As soon as he logged in, Fang Yue saw Niu Niu running around wildly in Han Fu's courtyard.

"What are you doing?"

"Training!"

Niu Niu had finally learned his lesson and sent Fang Yue a message directly.

After Lin Ling informed Fang Yue last night about escorting An Shenyi, during his night patrol searching for anomalies, he'd also gone to check on Niu Niu.

After failing to get any help, the guy had obediently returned to practicing spear techniques; as for his progress, no one knew.

Seizing the moment, Fang Yue casually asked.

"Ye Ge, don't even mention it! Learning spear techniques is painfully slow. The Instructor doesn't even provide a manual or anything—if he did, I'd just tap it and learn instantly. Now I have to grind under the Instructor, and if my movements aren't perfect, progress crawls, and it's torture!"

Learning skills from NPCs and learning from manuals are two different methods.

Learning from NPCs means hands-on instruction, with every detail attended to—but it's also a slow process requiring you to follow the NPC, train, and fill the progress bar completely before mastering it.

Learning from a manual is much simpler: just read it and you're done.

So far, Fang Yue has always followed the manual route and has never trained under an NPC, so naturally he doesn't understand Niu Niu's suffering.

But according to Fang Yue's knowledge, most players never get access to manuals; if they want to learn martial arts, they must grind under NPCs.

As for Niu Niu, unless he becomes a squad leader, he can't exchange a Bronze Life Order for a manual from the Guard Station's Library Room.

But given Niu Niu's current Life Order reserve… he'd probably need to trade his life just to barely afford it.

"Ye Ge, remember that Flowing Thorn Manual you mentioned selling me? I really can't take it anymore—learning spear techniques this way is exhausting, I can't endure this suffering!"

Fang Yue had no objection: "Five silver."

Niu Niu:?!!

"Why did the price go up? Yesterday it was only three silver!"

"You said it was yesterday—prices skyrocket! This is already a friend's discount; at the Guard Station, this would cost seven or eight days of Life Order. Want to trade Life Order instead?"

Niu Niu immediately shook his head like a rattle drum.

Come on—he only had two or three days of Life Order left, barely clinging to life day by day; where would he get seven or eight days to trade for a manual?

"Then pay cash."

"Ye Ge, I don't have cash! How about I give you real money?"

Real money?

Fang Yue sneered.

I'm worth millions—I don't care about your petty cash.

"No real money accepted. Only game currency. No money? Then just stare longingly."

As Fang Yue turned to walk inside, Niu Niu quickly grabbed his arm.

"No no no! Ye Ge, don't leave yet—let's talk this through. Five silver, five…!"

Niu Niu gritted his teeth: "I—I'll borrow it from someone."

"Oh? That's fine. Better ask them if they have Black Ember—I'm buying!"

"Huh? What's that?"

"Don't ask. Just ask. Also, I'll warn you: the Flowing Thorn Manual is actually an advanced version of the Basic Thorn Spear Technique. It requires at least 10 points in both base stats and a certain level in Basic Thorn Spear Technique."

"What? That's complicated…"

Niu Niu was depressed—it meant even if he got the manual, he still couldn't learn the Flowing Thorn Spear Technique.

"You're unhappy about having a complete spear technique manual? Fine, don't take it. Wait until you can trade your Life Order for one at the Guard Station later."

"No no no! I'll get it, I'll get it!"

Niu Niu was already sprinting out—he'd met plenty of villagers and Guard Team members during his days in Gu Yue Cun, besides players; he'd surely borrow five silver somehow, even if he had to leave a promissory note.

Seeing Niu Niu leave, Fang Yue continued walking deeper into Han Fu.

Whether or not Niu Niu could raise the money, Fang Yue planned to assign him to the escort team—he was a solid combat asset.

And Wu Wu had to come too.

This guy, even under my supervision in the village, eats so slowly—if I leave the village, he'll just lie around all day like a dead fish, not eating at all. By the time I return, he'll be dead from depleted Life Order.

Thinking of these things, Fang Yue arrived at the artificial hill where Lord Han was in seclusion.

To be honest, it was a bit embarrassing—Lord Han was in seclusion, yet Fang Yue kept disturbing him frequently.

But this concerned his own advancement; he'd just have to be shameless.

"Lord Han? Lord Han, are you there? I have something to ask you."

Fang Yue called out twice; the surroundings instantly blurred, temperature plummeted, and when clarity returned, he was inside Lord Han's ice cave.

Lord Han's face was pale as he slowly opened his eyes.

"Xiao Ye, what is it?"

"Um, Lord Han, my Internal Energy Heart Method has reached the third level, fully maxed out. I need an Acquired Second-Rate Heart Method to advance—do you have any Acquired Second-Rate Heart Method manuals?"

Fang Yue asked cautiously; after all, he was shamelessly begging for a Heart Method—he had to posture properly.

"Acquired Second-Rate Heart Method manuals?"

Lord Han shook his head.

Suffering Training and Manuals (1/10, Autumn Subscription)

"I don't have such a thing. Moreover, my skills aren't suitable for you, nor for most people. So I can't teach you anything. Only when your strength reaches a sufficient level can I truly pass something on to you. Until then, you must rely on yourself."

Alright...

Although he had expected it, Fang Yue still felt a pang of disappointment.

He mentioned to Lord Han that he would be leaving the village tomorrow to escort Divine Doctor An away. Lord Han merely reminded Fang Yue to be careful, and said nothing more.

Most importantly, Lord Han also warned Fang Yue not to disturb him frequently during his seclusion and recovery.

This warning made Fang Yue even more guilty; he nodded repeatedly and took his leave.

After leaving the ice storage and returning to the artificial hill in Han Fu, Fang Yue suddenly received a system notification.

"System Notification: Gu Yue Cun 【Han Bai】's favor toward you decreased by 1."

Fang Yue:!!!

Fang Yue shuddered, almost wanting to slap himself.

Damn it! Lord Han's favor toward me dropped—that's a huge deal!

No way. From now on, I mustn't bother Lord Han unless it's truly important—this could backfire!

Fang Yue was well aware that one of his greatest advantages in the game was Lord Han's favor toward him.

If one day Lord Han lost interest in him, his special privileges would come to an end.

He apologized a few times to the empty artificial hill, but received no response. Fang Yue sighed, scratched his head in frustration, and left.

Then, right as he turned, he ran into Divine Doctor An.

"Yeye! Why are you back at Han Fu again? Are you looking for me? Are you feeling unwell? Let me examine you?"

(End of Chapter)