Chapter 139: Village Flower (2/10, Autumn Subscription)

An Shenyi's eyes lit up the moment he saw Fang Yue, and as Fang Yue reached out to take his pulse, his expression changed instantly—he quickly pulled away.

This guy charges for taking pulses!

"No, no need—I'm perfectly healthy!"

"That's such a shame!"

An Shenyi showed no restraint at all, his face brimming with disappointment.

"By the way, I heard you led the team that escorted me back to the village—Yeye, be sure to protect me well."

"Yeah, yeah, I will, I will."

"Also, I want to slip a few people into the escort team—no problem, right?"

"Minor issue, just don't send too many."

Lin Ling had already warned Fang Yue about this.

In fact, besides An Shenyi, some people from Gu Yue Cun also intended to sneak into the escort team heading to Mo Cun.

Fang Yue didn't care—he only needed to protect An Shenyi; the others were just forcing their way in, and if anything happened to them, it wasn't his responsibility—he couldn't be blamed.

"By the way, how's that female vagrant from yesterday doing?"

Fang Yue meant the odd, sarcastic fellow—An Shenyi immediately understood.

"Her? After taking my medicine, she broke out in a ton of acne—looked terrifying. Now she's just sitting in a daze in her room, refusing to come out."

"An Shenyi, what kind of medicine did you give her…?"

"Just some experimental pills—I made it very clear: one pill for one day of lifespan. She took three. Now her head looks like a wasp nest and she's blaming me? These test subjects are getting worse and worse—Niu Niu is so well-behaved!"

…No, Niu Niu just can't speak properly—if he could, he'd spit you to death.

But An Shenyi's perk isn't bad—take a pill, gain a day of lifespan—better than the Guard Team's night patrol benefits.

Fang Yue was just starting to feel tempted when An Shenyi added: "Oh, by the way, I have two vagrant corpses in my room who died from taking the pills—Yeye, send someone to drag them to the crematorium and burn them quickly. I'm afraid the toxins will disperse into the air over time and harm ordinary people if they breathe them in."

…What was I just thinking about?

Trade medicine for a day of lifespan?

You get lifespan—but lose your life!

An Shenyi? More like An Poison Master!

Fang Yue let out a forced laugh and agreed, then hurriedly left.

"Hey? Why rush off so fast? I haven't even told you who I'm bringing yet—I haven't given you the list!"

"We'll talk tomorrow!"

Fang Yue fled like a hunted animal, only relaxing once he left Han Fu. He grabbed a random Guard Team member on the street and ordered him to dispose of the corpses in Han Fu. Fang Yue couldn't help but feel relieved for Niu Niu.

If that guy had been a bit luckier, he'd be just like those two corpses—and as for that weird, sarcastic "miracle method," he deserved to get his face ruined by pills.

The idea of gaining something for nothing is wrong!

Extending life through pills? That's heresy—the Guard Station is the true light!

After checking his direction, Fang Yue went to Ma Tiejiang's forge.

"Deputy Captain Yeye? What brings you here?"

"No need, no need—just sit down, no need to be so formal."

Fang Yue pushed Ma Tiejiang back into his seat, ignoring the curious little heads peeking out from the room behind the forge, and asked:

"Ma Tiejiang, tomorrow I'm heading to Mo Cun. I heard you're sending your daughter along with the escort team?"

"Yes. The black ore from Mo Cun is a rare mineral. Though Gu Yue Cun has plenty of resources, our local ores are all ordinary and limited in variety. To forge something good, I need to buy materials from outside. I can't trust outsiders with procurement—so it's better for my daughter to go herself."

As he spoke, Ma Tiejiang's gaze flicked toward the curious players peeking from the back room—clearly, "outsiders" meant them.

"I see… but I heard you have a senior apprentice who learned your true craft and is greatly favored by you—why not send him instead of risking your daughter? The escort route isn't guaranteed safe."

At Fang Yue's words, Ma Tiejiang first stared at him in shock, then his face darkened with anger and irritation. He lowered his voice: "Deputy Captain Yeye doesn't know? My senior apprentice died that night—the night the Di He shattered—killed by a weirdness."

Uh…

Fang Yue's expression froze.

Awkward—he'd only checked the basic files when he arrived. So Ma Tiejiang's senior apprentice died on the Di He protection night?

Dammit, why did I bring up the worst possible topic? Now how do I ask him about Black Ember?

"I'm sorry—I didn't mean to. My condolences."

"Ah, Deputy Captain Yeye is a busy man—ignorance of such small matters is normal. Don't worry, I don't hold it against you."

After a pause, Ma Tiejiang added: "Also, I know how dangerous the road to Mo Cun is. I hope you'll look after my daughter along the way."

"No problem!"

Fang Yue immediately agreed—what happened on the road? He'd deal with that later.

But the moment Ma Tiejiang heard Fang Yue agree, his face lit up with joy and he clapped his hands.

"Deputy Captain Yeye, if you hadn't come today, I was going to visit you myself after closing the shop—so this saves me a trip. Ling'er, come out and meet Deputy Captain Yeye."

This last line was shouted toward the back room.

Ma Ling'er?

Fang Yue recalled the Guard Station's file on her.

Ma Ling'er, apprentice to her father Ma Tiejiang, and also cute and attractive.

It was said that one major reason Ma Tiejiang had so many apprentices was because they were all drawn to Ma Ling'er.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

As Fang Yue was thinking, he suddenly felt the floor tremble slightly.

Soon after, a girl with a Jingang Babi physique stepped out from the back room.

Her arms and legs were thicker than her father Ma Tiejiang's—absurdly so.

The only thing is, that face really is pretty cute, but it doesn't match her figure at all!

No way, no way—those players in the back came here for this Jingang Babi?

Fang Yue's suspicious gaze slipped past Ma Ling'er toward the few fellows craning their necks behind her, and saw them going wah-ah, oh-ah, dry-heaving.

"Fack yiu! I'm done! I'm done, yo! Whoever told me Ma Ling'er looks like a heavenly fairy, I just suffered and endured to come here as an apprentice! One look now and she's a damn ghost!"

"Don't, just being able to get into the village and have a job to scrape up some lifespan is already pretty good. Look at those crops of player corpses outside the village—they're all people who couldn't get in, ran out of lifespan, and died outside.

A few of them I even knew. They said they refused to believe this crappy game would really let so many players run out of lifespan and die outside the village without doing anything about it.

And the result, you saw it too—Tengli Group, tough as nails! Making money standing up! Anyway, if you don't want to work then get lost yourself. I'm dead set on staying. Hammering iron to earn lifespan, isn't that sweet? Or do you want to have some cross-time romance with an NPC or something?"

"Romance or whatever, I really hadn't thought about it, but this, this is way too much of an eyesore! Those villagers still say Ma Ling'er is the village beauty. They must all be blind—I'm gonna puke!"

"I'm gonna puke too. Let's stop looking, bro. Hammer iron, just hammer iron to death. Any random woman in the village is better than this village beauty Ma Ling'er."

(End of Chapter)