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Chapter 1
Xie Mengyun stared expressionlessly at the gaming pod in the study, a neat row of black lines practically hanging from her forehead.
As a programmer, she had joined her classmate’s team right after graduation. After wrapping up their current project, their boss, Xu Yang, announced that he would be handing out benefits and proceeded to gift each team member a “Riding through the Jianghu” gaming pod released by Company X.
The gaming pod itself wasn’t bad, expensive, fully equipped, and well-suited for people their age. But Xie Mengyun distinctly remembered that just two months ago, Company X had run a promotion: buying thirty gaming pods would get you a 20% discount. Xu Yang had eagerly placed an order before realizing he had absolutely no use for that many gaming pods.
So in the end, he just handed them out to his subordinates?
…Whatever. She’d heard the game was pretty good, worth giving it a try.
Xie Mengyun filled the pod with nutrient solution, lay down comfortably inside, and booted up the game.
【 Loading……
Identity verification……
Identity verified. 】
“Scan complete. Player Xie Mengyun, this is your first login to ‘Riding Through the Jianghu’. Please create your display name:”
“Liúshuǐ rào shāzhōu (Flowing Water Around Sandbar).”
“Display name: Liúshuǐ rào Shāzhōu.
Confirm? Yes/No.”
“Yes.”
‘Riding Through the Jianghu’ was a wuxia-themed full-dive VR game. Unlike other MMOs, it didn’t require race selection, and its appearance customization was far more restrictive. Players could only adjust their original looks by up to 5%. After a quick setup, Xie Mengyun materialized in the novice village with a flash of white light.
The game had been live for a while now, so the once-overcrowded newbie zone no longer teemed with players. Still, the spawn point’s glow flickered nonstop as men and women in plain linen robes popped into existence. Xie Mengyun glanced around casually and sent friend requests to a few friends in real life.
【Friend Request】 Liushui Raoshazhou to Yangfan Jicanghai/Se Se Hong/Wuyue Shanqing/Bixuan Lengdeng: “It’s Xie Mengyun ^_^~”
【Private Message】 Yangfan Jicanghai to you: “You finally logged in! I thought this gaming pod would end up like your treadmill – just another clothes rack…”
【Private Message】 You to Yangfan Jicanghai: “Taking vacation starting this week to focus on gaming [Smile].”
【Private Message】 Yangfan Jicanghai to you: “…”
【Private Message】 Se Se Hong to you: “OMG you’re here!! Level up to 10 quick so I can take you dungeon-crawling [Heart]~”
【Private Message】You to Se Se Hong: “Got it [Kiss]~”
【Private Message】 Wuyue Shanqing to you: “This game actually quite fun. The Boss didn’t waste money this time [Laugh].”
【Private Message】 You to Wuyue Shanqing: “Yeah, online reviews seem positive.”
【Private Message】 Bixuan Lengdeng to you: “Darling~ [Flying Kiss]~”
【Private Message】 You to Bixuan Lengdeng: “…Qianqian, if you keep this up I’m calling the cops…”
After exchanging greetings with everyone, Xie Mengyun finally had a moment to quietly observe the Novice Village.
The village’s buildings was thoughtfully spaced, its rustic charm reminiscent of jade nestled within emerald mountains. Lush greenery stretched into the distance under a crystal-clear sky, while the distant murmur of a forest stream chimed like jade pendants clinking together. A faint floral fragrance lingered in the air.
In terms of immersion and visuals, ‘Riding Through the Jianghu’ lived up to its overwhelming hype.
Xie Mengyun casually plucked a budding leaf and rubbed it between her fingers, the texture was indistinguishable from reality, even down to the thin layer of moisture coating its surface. When she pressed firmly with her nail, she could even squeeze out sap from the leaf’s surface.
The Village Chief stood beneath the great tree at the village entrance, his salt-and-pepper beard fluttering wildly in the wind. His eyes crinkled into crescent moons as he waited amiably for freshly spawned heroes to approach for their first quest.
The Novice village quests weren’t designed to be difficult, their main purpose was to help players familiarize themselves with the game mechanics. After a brief conversation with the Village Chief, golden light flashed around Xie Mengyun repeatedly as she quickly leveled up to 3 and unlocked her character info panel:
Name: Liushui Raoshazhou (Flowing Water Around Sandbar)
Gender: Female
Sect: None
Title: None
Martial Arts: None
Weapon: None
The Village Chief stroked his beard with a smile and continued:
“In the martial world, martial arts are ranked from 1st to 9th Grade, with Peerless Grade at the pinnacle. Peerless-grade techniques cannot be learned repeatedly. Given your extraordinary talent, young friend, you are destined to shine brightly in the martial world someday. Alas, my knowledge is limited, but I can offer you some basic guidance.”
【 Player “Flowing Water Around Sandbar” has comprehended Basic Internal Energy. Internal Force +100. 】
Xie Mengyun wasn’t sure if it was just her imagination, but she felt a gentle warmth flow through her body, as if filled with soothing lukewarm water, and her mental clarity seemed to sharpen slightly.
“Since you’re just beginning your martial arts journey, reaching the state of not being bound by things may still be beyond you. Thus, I have a weapon here to gift you, young friend.”
【 Please choose: 1. Rusted Woodchopper / 2. Notched Dagger / 3. Bent Iron Sword / 4. Random. 】
Xie Mengyun: ……None of these seem reliable.
Xie Mengyun: “May I ask what ‘Random’ means?”
“The ‘Random’ option could grant you any weapon.” The Novice Village Chief’s eyes seemed to gleam momentarily as he lowered his voice. “If none of the previous three options appeal to you, young friend…”
Xie Mengyun: “I’ll choose option 3—the Bent Iron Sword.”
The Novice Village Chief fell silent.
Accepting the sword with a sigh, Xie Mengyun clasped her hands behind her back and muttered, “My luck’s terrible. Better not gamble.”
Novice Village Chief: “…Flowing Water Around Sandbar, to test your readiness for the trials of the martial world, I have a task for you.”
Now equipped with Basic Internal Energy and a weapon, the storyline naturally progressed to combat. The Village Chief assigned Xie Mengyun her first monster-slaying quest since entering the game:
【 Novice Quest: Rat Extermination 】
Due to rampant rodent infestations, the village requests Heroine ‘Flowing Water Around Sandbar’ to hunt 10 field mice within the Novice village.
Field mice were Level 2 monsters, fragile and weak in attack, but highly evasive and prone to fleeing. Xie Mengyun spotted two clustered together and swiftly struck one down with her bent iron sword, only for the other to instantly vanish without a trace.
As Level 2 mobs, the mice granted minimal EXP and no loot. She stored the carcass in her inventory, and her quest log updated: 1/10 completed.
“Where exactly do these field mice respawn?” Xie Mengyun muttered, scanning the village while questioning NPCs for clues.
Most NPCs responded with polite (yet utterly blank-eyed) smiles, until she asked Chu Xiaoxiu, a young girl embroidering handkerchiefs outside the tailor’s shop, who finally offered a real clue.
Chu Xiaoxiu sighed: “Lately, for some reason, field mice have been multiplying all over the village. My father dried wheat behind our house, and I don’t know if those pests have stolen it yet?” She looked up hopefully. “Flowing Water Around Sandbar, could you check for me? Our home is the third house west of the village square—you’ll recognize it by the corn hanging on the door.”
“No problem,” Xie Mengyun agreed immediately.
“You’re truly a kind person.” Chu Xiaoxiu showed a sweet smile, her gaze seemingly softer than when they first met. “My mother is out, and I can’t leave the shop… While you’re there, could you deliver these mended clothes to Auntie Sun at the snack stall?”
When quests practically fall into your lap, you don’t refuse. Xie Mengyun decisively accepted and jogged the hundred meters to the snack shop to find Auntie Sun.
—Actually, at this distance, they could probably just shout across to each other…
【System】: “Give and Take (1)” quest completed.
Reward from Auntie Sun: Pork & Cabbage Buns x3, 10 Copper Coins, 100 EXP.
【System】: Novice Village Reputation +10.
Quest rewards automatically appeared in her inventory. Xie Mengyun currently had 49 inventory slots, with stackable items maxing out at 99 per stack.
As she examined the rewards, a thought struck her: Players can never return to the Novice Village after leaving—so what’s the actual use of this reputation gain?
Auntie Sun retrieved the mended clothes and gushed, “Such exquisite stitching! Please give Xiaoxiu my thanks. Oh, and would you mind delivering this meal box to her?”
Wearing the same professionally pleasant smile she used during client requirement meetings, Xie Mengyun accepted. After running the errand, she received twelve Common Embroidery Needles as payment.
With a pathetic +1 Attack, these needles couldn’t even finish off a field mouse—they were essentially Novice Village memorabilia, doomed to occupy inventory space indefinitely.
There were many trivial tasks in the Novice Village. After doing several similar small quests, Xie Mengyun leveled up to five and also received a wooden hairpin that added 10 to evasion and a handkerchief that added 5 to attack.
The current number of field mice killed was seven.
【Private Message】 Yangfan Jicanghai to you: “How are you not level 10 yet?”
【Private Message】 Yangfan Jicanghai to you: “Field mice are all over the fields near Novice Village. Stop wasting time on those little village quests – rewards are trash anyway.”
【Private Message】 Yangfan Jicanghai to you: “Are you there?”
【Private Message】 You to Yangfan Jicanghai: “The Novice Village environment design is quite nice. Doing some thorough sightseeing.”
【Private Message】Yangfan Jicanghai to you: “[Praise]”
【Private Message】 Yangfan Jicanghai to you: “You can sightsee later. Other zones have better designs anyway. Novice Village only takes 1-2 hours to leave – no point making it too polished.”
【Private Message】You to Yangfan Jicanghai: “…Heh.”
Xie Mengyun closed the private chat. She stood in the backyard of Chu Xiaoxiu’s house. The Novice Village had no day-night cycle – the sun perpetually hung high in the sky, yet this area felt unnaturally cold and dim, perhaps due to the walls and trees blocking the light.
Countless willow-like aerial roots hung from the tree branches, half already withered and dead. Shallow depressions in the ground held murky puddles that rippled with every step.
Xie Mengyun spotted the wheat Chu Xiaoxiu’s family had laid out to dry. In this sun-deprived area, the wheat was sparse, making it easy to notice the four field mice stealthily stealing grains from the corner.
A level 5 character had no trouble dealing with level 2 mobs. Xie Mengyun killed each mouse with a single sword thrust, efficiently completing her first monster-slaying quest in the game.
“This place is practically deserted…” Xie Mengyun walked around the house twice and couldn’t help but sigh.
The Village Chief offered plenty of simple quests to help new players level up until they could leave. Back when the game first launched, some adventurous souls might have explored every corner of the village—but now?
Xie Mengyun scanned the area. Within a hundred-meter radius, there wasn’t a single player in sight, not even an NPC. ==
No surprise, really. The Novice Village was designed at the foot of a mountain, with three sides blocked by cliffs. Chu Xiaoxiu’s house sat near the village outskirts, closer to the mountain than most. Only two other households were more remote.
Just as Xie Mengyun turned to head back and report her completed quest, her ears caught the sound of shattering pottery nearby. Curiosity got the better of her, and she drifted toward the noise.
—Well, she was only Level 5 anyway ╮(╯▽╰)╭
The author has something to say: Things like digging a pit(starting a new novel) need to be done in one go~
AloeVera[Translator]
Aloe there!