Chapter 29: Sudden Incident

The arrival of the Pure Sheep Set had Su Ning overjoyed. A constitution-focused set was actually more suitable for a warrior. Paired with a greatsword, it would exude a domineering aura in wide, sweeping attacks.

But this wasn’t some holographic online game—this was real life. Warrior or mage, no one ever complained about long life and thick health.

So in the days ahead, Su Ning just needed to find the relationships between items, and crafting other sets would naturally follow.

However, after such excitement at night, she always “overslept” a little in the morning.

“Su Ge! Su Ge! Get up quickly, let’s go!”

Qiao Duoduo pulled back the curtains. The morning sunlight wasn’t too harsh yet. After a while, Su Ning woke up.

“Why are you here?”

“To wake you up.”

“So thoughtful of you?”

“Huoyang said that Ma Shangfei and he discussed it. Yesterday’s spider-stepping strategy was really convenient, and they suggested splitting into groups.”

“Splitting into groups?”

Su Ning paused while washing her face and asked again, “Was that Ma Shangfei’s idea?”

“Yes!”

Qiao Duoduo leaned against the door, raising an eyebrow with a smile.

“Excited, right? Today, our monster-clearing speed might improve a lot.”

Su Ning glanced at her and replied, “Not necessarily—it might just as easily plummet.”

Qiao Duoduo laughed and turned to help Su Ning straighten the bed. The two girls happily went out.

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Spider Monster Area

Huoyang first suggested splitting into groups.

“It’s like this. Shangfei and I discussed it. Our spider-stepping strategy is very safe, so should we consider splitting into groups?”

“How do we split?”

Su Ning raised an eyebrow, scanning everyone with interest.

“Su Ge, you’re the healer with no attack power, so you’ll be with Shangting. Add Duoduo, and you three complement each other. Shangfei and I will be together.”

Ma Shangfei nodded in agreement. Ma Shangting kept her head down, lost in thought. Qiao Duoduo tugged Su Ning’s sleeve discreetly.

Qiao Duoduo had already known about Huoyang’s suggestion in the morning. Splitting into groups was just to seek Su Ning’s opinion. If Su Ning weren’t the healer, or if she weren’t longtime friends with Qiao Duoduo and Huoyang, the result might have been announced directly.

She naturally didn’t want Su Ning to agree. Ma Shangting was troublesome. Though in a group with three others, she wouldn’t be in mortal danger, but if Su Ning got hurt because of her, Qiao Duoduo would feel uneasy.

“Alright.”

Su Ning ignored Qiao Duoduo’s subtle gesture and smiled brightly. Her eyes curved happily.

Although still part of the same team sharing experience, splitting into two groups significantly increased leveling speed.

The whole morning, Su Ning dawdled, only approaching a spider when Qiao Duoduo reduced it to its last bit of health. She appeared overly fussy and delicate.

Qiao Duoduo didn’t mind. Outwardly she diligently fought monsters, but privately she messaged Su Ning:

“Su Ge, reimburse the arrows?”

“How much?”

“Wooden arrows: 10 copper coins per set of 100. Stone arrows: 30. Iron arrows: 50.”

“What did you use?”

“Stone arrows.”

“How long does one set last?”

“Half a day.”

“I’ll reimburse you for two days’ iron arrows.”

Two days of iron arrows cost only 2 silver coins. Su Ning earned 10 silver coins almost daily from selling simple headbands—a small, wealthy player indeed.

“Su Ge is generous!”

Motivated, Qiao Duoduo increased her attack speed. Su Ning still lounged in the back, holding her little staff, radiating a “do whatever I want” vibe.

By noon, Huoyang reached level 8. In the afternoon, the Ma siblings also reached level 8.

Then, the unexpected happened.

Ma Shangting was stepping on a Big-Belly Round Spider. Qiao Duoduo moved in for the final strike, while Su Ning observed from outside the spider’s web range.

As Qiao Duoduo approached one meter from the spider, Ma Shangting accidentally hooked the spider with her foot. The spider immediately turned and stomped hard.

In pain, it spat a large mouthful of sticky fluid onto Qiao Duoduo. She stumbled backward and fell.

Su Ning quickly cast a Night Curse, knocking Ma Shangting off the spider’s back. The spider regained freedom and immediately attacked Ma Shangting.

“Ah!”

The little girl screamed.

Her cries drew the attention of Ma Shangfei and Huoyang from afar.

When they arrived, Ma Shangting was bitten badly, with only half her health remaining. Qiao Duoduo was still stuck on the ground. Su Ning was trying to remove the sticky fluid from her.

“Brother, help me! It hurts so much!”

Seeing her brother, Ma Shangting relaxed slightly, letting out low sobs of pleading and wailing.

Huoyang saw that Qiao Duoduo was mostly fine and Su Ning was nearby, so he calmed down and, with Ma Shangfei’s help, killed the Big-Belly Round Spider.

But before he could help Qiao Duoduo up, Ma Shangting’s angry crying came from behind.

“Brother! Su Ning hit me! She tricked everyone! She can use attack skills! Brother!”

Now huddled in her brother’s arms, Ma Shangting sobbed while glaring at Su Ning with eyes full of indignation.

Su Ning calmly scanned the scattered spider saliva around.

“Why didn’t you say why I hit you!”

Huoyang and Ma Shangfei followed her gaze and noticed something was off.

The spider saliva was mainly on the side where Ma Shangting fell, scattered chaotically. Clearly, she got stuck on the ground as soon as she fell.

Qiao Duoduo’s area was clean, with only the small sticky patch where she had been stuck.

Based on spider-stepping experience, Ma Shangting must have stepped on the spider with its back to Qiao Duoduo. When Duoduo approached, the spider suddenly turned and attacked her.

Su Ning probably attacked Ma Shangting after Duoduo fell, causing Ma Shangting to stumble. The spider, driven by hatred, attacked her directly.

Once Huoyang understood this, his expression turned cold.

“Shangfei, we won’t pursue this matter. From now on, we’ll take separate paths.”

“No, Shangting, she probably didn’t mean it,” Ma Shangfei’s expression changed. If they separated in the future, taking his sister alone would be unsafe and it would be hard to find another team that accepts her.

“Brother Huoyang, she attacked me! She did!”

Ma Shangting pointed desperately at Su Ning, trying to reverse Huoyang’s decision. Since Qiao Duoduo wasn’t really hurt, maybe it could work.

“Why would I attack you?”

“Su Ning, Shangting is still little. She didn’t mean it. Duoduo wasn’t hurt either, and you already hit her. You can’t let her at such a young age repay with death.”

Ma Shangfei held his sister, glaring at Su Ning with reproach.

“Whether she lives or dies is none of my business.”

Looking at the innocent little girl and her furious brother, Su Ning found it a bit amusing—she almost wanted to peer inside their heads to see how full of nonsense they were.

Huoyang stepped forward, placing Su Ning behind him, facing Ma Shangfei.

“You’ve saved my life, and I’ve saved your sister. You saved Duoduo, and Duoduo saved your sister. One good turn for another. Today’s incident balances our debts. We won’t pursue responsibility or retaliate. From now on, no further contact. If there’s another offense, we won’t show mercy.”