Chapter 25

"Madam, leave this to us!"

"Madam, be careful not to hurt your hand!"

As the two maids screamed, Lady Chen's five fingers touched the broken cup shards.

She applied slight pressure and gripped the shards.

The shards were terrifyingly sharp; her fingers passed through them easily, separating from her palm, the fingertips falling to the ground.

Lady Chen froze, staring blankly at her fingerless palm oozing blood, then let out a shrill scream.

"Madam, your hand!"

"Aaaaaa!"

Amid the screams, the cup shards shot through the necks of the three.

Their clear eyes instantly darkened like a single drop of ink, turning pitch black, falling silent at once.

Lady Chen calmly picked up the fallen fingers, placed them in her mouth, chewed a few times, then spat them out.

She frowned, as if saying they were disgusting.

After a pause, she revealed a strange smile, glancing toward the room Fang Yue had previously occupied.

Crrr!

The door shattered abruptly into pieces, falling to the ground.

Seeing the room empty, Lady Chen frowned, her gaze shifting forward.

Where her eyes fell, deep sword cuts appeared on the ground; the wooden door was sliced into multiple segments, and the lanterns hanging from the ceiling dropped down.

The entire corridor looked as if it had been hacked apart by wild blades, utterly chaotic.

"What was that sound? Wha…"

Two servants rushed over from afar; one, halfway there, suddenly had his upper body fall to the ground, his body severed, blood staining the corridor.

"Gh-ghhastly!"

The other was instantly stunned, crawling backward in panic.

One of Lady Chen's maids silently dashed forward, arriving before the man in an instant, one hand covering his head, lifting gently—his body split like clay glued together, his head severed alone, the corpse falling soundlessly.

More people heard the commotion and rushed over from afar.

……

Beneath the giant banyan tree at the center of Gu Yue Cun.

Five people gathered, watching the setting sun, growing anxious.

When they saw a figure strolling slowly from afar, they all brightened at once and rushed over.

"Ye Ge, why are you so late! It's almost You hour! Niu Niu said the Patrol Team won't accept this task after nightfall."

Fang Yue wanted to hurry too, but his body wouldn't allow it.

Of course, Fang Yue would never say that aloud.

"Don't rush; hot tofu can't be eaten in a hurry."

Shi Wuliao had no patience for Fang Yue's moralizing; he transferred the money and handed over the 50 cash the five had painstakingly earned.

"Ye Ge, this is the silver we earned today from NPCs—just 50 cash, don't be offended by how little it is."

Fang Yue had never seen in-game currency before.

He took the 50 cash, examined it, and found it was just ordinary ancient copper coins, nothing special.

He gave it a slight heft—it felt oddly heavy.

No, it's just that my body is too weak…

He put the money away; the transfer completed instantly.

"Dear user, your virtual account 5203 has received 5000 yuan!"

5000 yuan—earned so easily!

Fang Yue's face lit up.

"Let's go get a task."

"Alright!"

The others responded cheerfully; with Fang Yue, the professional player, as their anchor, their emotions stabilized considerably.

They arrived at the Guard Station of the Guard Team and were surprised to find someone they recognized inside.

"Lin Captain? What are you doing here?"

Lin Ling was even more surprised than Fang Yue.

"I was going to ask you—you're here at the Guard Team for what?"

Shi Wuliao, Niu Niu, and the others had been delighted, thinking Fang Yue's connection to the Captain might bring them extra perks.

But seeing Lin Ling's attitude, they realized the two weren't on good terms and immediately fell silent.

Fang Yue then said, "Uh… I'm here to take the night patrol task."

"What?"

Lin Ling raised his voice.

"Lord Han went all the way to the neighboring village to get medicine for you, and yet you're reckless enough to take the night patrol task?"

What?

Lord Han went to get medicine for me?

Fang Yue froze, a pang of emotion stirring inside him.

Lord Han truly cared for him—he hadn't given up even after he'd become a waste.

But Fang Yue thought harder, and something felt off—Lord Han's kindness toward this stranger was too unusual.

Let Fang Yue ponder why Lord Han treats him so well—he couldn't come up with any reason.

Could it be that he's truly being treated as an heir to the legacy?

Is this a pie falling from the sky?

"Let me be clear—I don't mind if you go to die. You want to do night patrol? I support it, I don't oppose it—but I already warned you: going means seeking death."

Lin Ling shouted a couple of phrases, did the bare minimum of surface work, then grinned and processed Fang Yue's paperwork.

"System Prompt: Congratulations, player, you have accepted the daily quest 'Guyue Village Night Patrol'."

"Quest Name: Guyue Village Night Patrol."

"Level: Village-level Mid-grade."

"Time: You to Mao."

"Number of Participants: 6."

"Quest Reward: Unknown."

The system said so, but that didn't mean the reward was truly unknown.

Fang Yue asked, "Captain Lin, what benefits do we get after completing night patrol?"

"Benefits? Of course, Yang Shou."

Saying this, Lin Ling tossed Fang Yue and Niu Niu a bronze token.

"This is called the Bronze Life Order. It holds six shichen of Yang Shou. It's equivalent to the Guard Team covering your Yang Shou consumption during night patrol. When the patrol is complete, we'll add another six shichen of Yang Shou into the Bronze Life Order as your reward. If you discover a strange entity and assist in killing it, you'll receive extra Yang Shou."

Fang Yue and Niu Niu exchanged a glance, both showing delight.

Six shichen was a bit little, but they hadn't encountered any strange entity yet—work hard and they'd surely earn more.

Shi Wuliao and the other three beside them instantly turned their eyes red, staring blankly at Lin Ling, waiting for him to hand out tokens—but Lin Ling completely ignored them.

Instead, he tossed Fang Yue an unlit Soul Torch and a yellow talisman.

The talisman looked ordinary: with some unknown pigment, it simply had three dots drawn in the center and nothing else.

"Detection Talisman—only one per month. Use it sparingly. Soul Torch—burn a Human Soul to light it. You won't need it inside the village, but if you encounter a strange entity, burning a Human Soul to ignite the Soul Torch will increase your chance of survival."

After explaining the functions of these two items, Lin Ling ignored them.

Now Shi Wuliao grew anxious.

"Uh, Captain Lin, what about our equipment?"

"You?" Lin Ling lifted his eyelids slightly, sneering.

"Non-Guard Team members may only join quests under the leadership of Guard Team members. During the quest, you may not use Patrol Team equipment. You'll collect your reward from me after completion."

Though Lin Ling's attitude was poor, Shi Wuliao's eyes lit up at the mention of a reward.

"Is the reward Yang Shou?"

"There will be a three-shichen Yang Shou reward—if you can come back alive."

Lin Ling sneered, clearly not expecting them to survive.

(End of Chapter)