Chapter 14

Xie Mengyun discarded the broken sword in her hand, drew a spare peach wood sword from her inventory, and leaned down to thrust it into the water with force.

Had there been any other players in the valley at that moment, they would surely have been astonished by the scene before them. Lotus leaves and their stems are fragile, barely able to bear weight, even a drop of dew would cause them to sway. Merely maintaining balance on them was a feat in itself, let alone executing a skill. This display of prowess alone would have been enough to make every major guild vie fiercely for her recruitment.

—Of course, the Sanren Alliance is an exception.

A smile touched Xie Mengyun’s lips as she watched the clear liquid in the pond part around her blade. The sword tip plunged into the water unimpeded, swift and precise, piercing straight through the scales of the crimson carp—

A “-150” floated above the red carp’s body.

“……” Xie Mengyun distinctly remembered that when the same move had struck the white ape, it had only dealt 40 points of damage. The significant gap between the two numbers hinted at an ominous possibility. She cautiously checked the fish’s information:

 

【System】Peach Blossom Valley Crimson Carp: Level 31.

 

—So plump, so tender, so delectable-looking… how dare you be a monster higher level than me ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!

The carp, disturbed for no reason, flexed its body and effortlessly leaped a meter and a half out of the water. Then, mid-air, it executed a sharp ninety-degree twist and slapped Xie Mengyun hard with its tail with a resounding thwack.

Player Xie watched as her health, which had just recovered to 50%, instantly plummeted to a sliver.

For the sake of a mouthful of fish meat and a determination to avoid being captured by scientists for genetic research on how a carnivore suddenly turned herbivore, Xie Mengyun resolutely embarked on a journey to battle a monster ten levels above her. After all, while the game designers might have wild imaginations, some basic common sense still applied. No matter how ferocious the crimson carp might be, it was still a fish. It couldn’t breathe out of water and would start to lose health automatically after a certain amount of time.

Xie Mengyun moved from the lotus leaf to the shore. After some trial and error, she finally pinpointed the optimal harassment spot: it couldn’t be too far, or the crimson carp’s aggro would reset and it would happily flip back into the pond; nor could it be too close, unless she wanted to get slapped to death by a fish tail. And yeah, that would definitely be a memorable way to go.

Relying on her agility and light-footed skills, she kited the crimson carp for a full ten minutes, it was way slower on land and nowhere near as smart as those white apes. Finally, after what felt like forever, the carp flopped its last flop on the grass, transforming into a gratifying burst of experience points that finally pushed her to the long-awaited Level 21.

 

【Guild】Wu Yue Shan Qing: “@Liushui Rao Shazhou, did you level up?”

【Guild】Liushui Rao Shazhou: Yep^_^~

【Guild】 Yangfan Ji Canghai: Xiao Qing, stop staring at Liushui’s notifications, your alchemy furnace might explode again.

【Guild】 Wu Yue Shan Qing: “…Thanks for the reminder.”

【Guild】 Sese Hong: “Can’t help but feel like Qing’s ‘……’ implies something 【side-eye】”

【Guild】 Yang Fan Ji Cang Hai: “Uh, I didn’t say anything just now!!! [sweat]”

【Guild】 Yangfan Ji Canghai: “By the way, @Liushui Rao Shazhou, you still haven’t told us how you leveled up just now 【cute】?”

 

Watching her guild leader resort to acting cute to change the subject, Xie Mengyun sighed and decided to help smooth things over.

 

【Guild】 Liushui Rao Shazhou:” There are some red carps in the valley. I leveled up after farming them.”

【Guild】 Yang Fan Ji Cang Hai: “Like”

【Guild】Sese Hong: “Like +1”

【Guild】 Bixuan Lengdeng: “Like +2”

【Guild】 Wu Yue Shan Qing: “Like +3.”

【Guild】 Liushui Rao Shazhou: “Thanks [smile].”

【Guild】 Liushui Rao Shazhou: “By the way, I have a question too.”

 

Faced with the newbie’s question, Yang Fan Ji Cang Hai was quick to offer a favor in return.

 

【Guild】 Yang Fan Ji Cang Hai: Ask away, we’ll tell you anything we know!

【Guild】 Liushui Rao Shazhou: After you reminded him earlier, did Xiao Qing’s alchemy furnace really explode?

【Guild】 Yang Fan Ji Cang Hai: “…”

【Guild】 Yang Fan Ji Cang Hai: “I went to so much trouble to give you an out, and now you’re cruelly kick me back down TAT.”

 

Xie Mengyun closed her communicator with a smile and stored the red carp in her inventory before it could respawn. Instead of cooking it immediately, she continued using the same strategy to farm more of the creatures. She had a rough idea why she hadn’t noticed the fish in the valley during the past two days, the pond was much deeper than the Peach Blossom Stream, and the red carp usually hid at the bottom, only surfacing on rainy days. She didn’t know when the rain would stop, so she had to make the most of this time.

Two hours later, the drizzle gradually faded, and sunlight broke through the clouds, pouring onto the ground. A warm breeze swept away the last traces of moisture lingering in the air.

Like the white apes, the red carp had a level advantage over her, but in the process of battling them, her martial arts proficiency rapidly soared—

 

   Character Panel:

Name: Liushui Rao Shazhou (Flowing Water Around Sandbar)

Level: 27

Gender: Female

Sect: None

   Martial Arts:

Phoenix’s Graceful Descent (Lv. 6, 8%)

Master Ape Sword Style (Lv. 6, 2%)

Forest-Treading Leaf Step (Lv. 6, 3%)

Autumn Water Scripture (Lv. 5, 12%)

Basic Sword Art (Lv. 12, 98%)

Basic Internal Art (Lv. 14, 21%)

Basic Throwing Art (Lv. 2, 44%)

 

The game, “Riding Through the Jianghu,” allows players to learn multiple martial arts of the same type, but they must be careful about conflicts between different arts. Basic martial arts have no inherent attributes and can be freely stacked. When using advanced martial arts, the proficiency of lower-tier skills of the same category will also gradually increase.

Xie Mengyun sat cross-legged in front of the thatched cottage, kindling a fire. The bright flames licked gently at the red carp’s body. Before long, the air was filled with the delicious aroma of roasted meat.

 

【System】: Congratulations, Player Liushui Rao Shazhou, for inventing a new recipe. You have received 100 EXP. Please name the new dish.

 

Xie Mengyun: “……” This notification felt vaguely familiar.

 

【System】: Please enter a name for the new recipe.

 

No, not this again!

 

【System】: Please enter a name for the new recipe.

 

“Grilled Fish No. 1.”

 

【System】: Name set to “Grilled Fish No. 1.” Please confirm: Yes/No

 

“Yes TAT”

Holding the freshly minted “Grilled Fish No. 1,” Xie Mengyun hesitated internally. After a moment’s thought, she walked over to the white ape and asked, “Would you like to try some?”

The white ape cast a dismissive glance at Xie Mengyun and took two steps backward.

Tears welled up in Xie Mengyun’s eyes. She was certain this was the first time since they had met that the ape had actively avoided her.

With the white ape’s high intelligence making it difficult to trick into being a lab rat, Xie Mengyun shifted her focus. She scraped off a bit of the fish meat and tossed it into the pond, curious to see if the simple -minded red carps would take a bite…

 

【System】Player Liushui Rao Shazhou has attacked a Peach Blossom Valley Red Carp.

 

When had she entered combat mode?!

 

【System】Peach Blossom Valley Red Carp has mistakenly consumed a toxic substance and mutated into a Berserk Peach Blossom Valley Red Carp.

 

The red carp, which had submerged after the rain stopped, burst out of the water like a cannonball with a bang. Its crimson scales glittered brilliantly under the sunlight, radiating the furious energy of one who had just eaten something terrible. It twisted mid-air, spun around, and swung its broad, fan-like tail with devastating force, instantly reducing Xie Mengyun, who had been at full health, to a sliver of HP!

 

【Guild】 Yangfan Ji Canghai: “@Liushui Rao Shazhou, did you manage to eat some fish in the valley?”

【Guild】 Liushui Rao Shazhou: “Guild leader, you’re too much!”

【Guild】 Yang Fan Ji Cang Hai: “…?”

【Guild】 Liushui Rao Shazhou: “Fishies are so adorable—how could you even suggest eating them T^T!”

【Guild】 SeSe Hong: “Did you get possessed by something weird ==”

【Guild】 Yangfan Ji Canghai: “Uh, I’m guessing Liushui probably failed at cooking the fish, right?”

【Guild】 Liushui Rao Shazhou: “…Heh.”

【Guild】 Yangfan Ji Canghai: “Huh, why did she go offline?”

【Guild】 Wu Yue Shan Qing: “I messaged her. She said she’s coming to find you for a real-life PK.”

【Guild】 Yangfan Ji Canghai: “I don’t think that’s a good idea =^=.”

【Guild】 Wu Yue Shan Qing: “I agree, so I advised her not to come.”

【Guild】 Yangfan Ji Canghai: “Good buddy!”

【Guild】 Wu Yue Shan Qing: “Anyway, since I’m nearby, I can handle it on her behalf 【smile】”

【Guild】 Yangfan Ji Canghai: “TAT”

 

Xie Mengyun logged off and indignantly ordered a portion of grilled fish, chewing through both meat and bones with fierce determination before swallowing it all down. Only then did she log back in, sorrowfully resorting to munching on a peach.

Huh? This peach was unexpectedly delicious!

 

【System】: Player Liushui Rao Shazhou has consumed a Mutant Peach of Peach Blossom Valley for the first time, gaining the “Meridian Cleansing” effect. Internal energy increased.

 

The sweet peach flesh melted in her mouth, cool and refreshing. Xie Mengyun felt as comfortable as diving into water on a scorching day. On her character info panel, the Autumn Water Scripture’s level surged by three consecutive levels, reaching Level 8, 37%.

She now had reason to suspect that the white ape was guarding an Immortal peach tree.

While the mutant peach offered remarkable effects, the shrewd game system would not grant excessive benefits to a single player. The condition for obtaining the “Meridian Cleansing” effect was limited to the first consumption. In the following days, despite Xie Mengyun repeatedly breaking through the white ape’s guard to obtain more peaches, she could no longer boost her internal energy. These precious peaches now served only their most basic function as food—reducing hunger.

…

Two days remaining until her martial arts were to be abolished.

Xie Mengyun reached Level 30. Ever since discovering that her culinary creations could provoke the red carps into combat, she no longer needed to wait for rainy days to farm monsters. Through days of battle and cultivation, her experience points and martial arts proficiency had steadily grown, and the duration for which she could engage the white ape in combat had also lengthened considerably.

Holding her wooden sword, Xie Mengyun darted forward and halted in front of the white ape, smiling as she said, “Please.”

No sooner had the words left her mouth than she initiated ‘Swift Crow Startles into Flight’. The crude wooden sword instantly became as agile as a serpent, striking like a bolt of yellow lightning straight toward the white ape’s neck.

The white ape was a high-intelligence NPC, but it still fell short compared to humans. Even when Xie Mengyun used the same move against it, the creature reacted predictably, its long arms sweeping out in an attempt to seize both the opponent and her weapon.

At the very moment before contact, Xie Mengyun’s wooden sword abruptly altered its trajectory, causing the white ape to grasp at empty air. Simultaneously, she shifted from a thrust to a slash, the blade flowing like emerald waters rushing eastward, swiftly sweeping toward the ape’s legs.

After days of rigorous training, Xie Mengyun’s prowess was now a far cry from when she had first learned the Master Ape’s Sword Style. Her transitions between techniques were seamless and fluid, an endless stream of motion as if the system itself had been designed this way from the very beginning.

The wooden sword tip swept past the white ape’s knee and retracted instantly, yet the wound it left was as sharp as if made by a metal blade. Relying on the qinggong skill Forest-Treading Leaf Step, Xie Mengyun deftly evaded the white ape’s attacks. Her speed now matched, even surpassed the Ape’s, allowing her to move with even greater agility.

With its knees injured, the white ape’s movements became increasingly affected the longer the fight dragged on. Unfortunately, Xie Mengyun’s mission was also bound by a strict time limit, leaving no room for leisurely tactics.

Peach petals, stirred by the fierce gusts of wind, drifted down like flurries of snowflakes.

Xie Mengyun led the white ape in a vertical sprint along the cliff face for two steps before suddenly twisting her waist and turning to deliver a thrust. The peach wood sword hummed lowly, like a cascading waterfall pouring inverted from the sky, striking down upon the white ape’s head.

The same technique, when wielded with greater internal energy, inflicted significantly more damage. Moreover, the baihui point was a vital acupoint in the human body, even if the white ape’s physiology differed from humans in other aspects, it was unlikely to be immune to a weapon strike to the head.

The white ape took Xie Mengyun’s “Hanging Springwater” head-on, without any reduction in force, and as it was a critical hit, it instantly lost a fifth of its health. Combined with the accumulated injuries from earlier, its remaining health now stood at less than 60%.

Xie Mengyun’s health bar was full, while her internal energy had dropped to half.

There was one minute and forty-two seconds remaining on the ten-minute countdown.

Author’s Note: The character Xuanqi Jushi was originally inspired by Situ Xuankong. I initially intended to name him “Xuankong Jushi,” but later realized I had misremembered the name ==.