Yue Ping told the two of them the story of the past. Yue Qing and Pei Yunshan were indeed just like Bai Qin and Xiao Lingfeng’s counterparts. It was no wonder that Yue Ping was so anxious. However, Xiao Lingfeng’s methods were much more ruthless than Pei Yunshan’s. Pei Yunshan only wanted to kill Bai Wucai, but Xiao Lingfeng slaughtered the entire sect of his enemy. Yue Ping knew little about what happened back then. He only knew that the last time Xiao Lingfeng appeared in public was in the battle with Yuan Qing on the Riyuefeng Peak sixteen years ago. According to him, there were two witnesses to that duel, one was Yuanci from Dajueyin Temple, and the other was Wuhen from Changsheng Manor.
Song Que and Wei Shu already had three clear alternatives for their next stop. Wei Shu couldn’t help but complain, “Why did they invite a monk and a nun to witness this duel? That’s really strange.”
Song Que glanced at her lightly, signaling her not to be so blunt. However, Yue Ping agreed, “Back then, Dajueyin Temple and Changsheng Manor were both the most upright sects. Yuanci and Wuhen were also considered the outstanding figures of our generation. It really is strange that they were the ones to witness this duel.”
Wei Shu smugly winked at Song Que, only to find that Song Que had a thoughtful expression on his face.
Yue Ping said, “The journey ahead will be difficult for both of you, and you’re traveling on behalf of my sworn sister. Here are some things for you to take, just in case you need them along the way.”
After Yue Ping said this, Song Que and Wei Shu’s backpacks were filled with many more useful items. Wei Shu looked at them, she was happy, but felt a little disappointed. Playing this game was not just for the full immersion experience, but also for the martial world. In the martial arts world, how could gold, silver and jewels compare to martial arts secrets and techniques? She knew that Song Que had received a martial arts reward. She was hoping she would get a new skill as well, but it turned out to be for nothing.
Wei Shu sighed, but quickly cheered up. However, Yue Qing grabbed her hand. Wei Shu smiled and asked, “What’s wrong, Senior Sister?”
Yue Qing said, “Yunshan has taught Young Hero Que Zhi a set of skills. If you don’t mind, I could also teach you a set of swordsmanship.”
Wei Shu looked at her beautiful senior sister and felt his heart stir. After nodding, she said gratefully: “Thank you, senior sister!”
Song Que couldn’t help but smile. Yue Ping suddenly turned to him and said: “I see that your techniques have form but lack essence. Come here, let me offer you some guidance.”
Song Que suddenly realized that this was the true reward of the quest. To transform the manual given by Bai Qin into real martial arts skills. After he clicked OK, he heard Yue Ping say, “It’s a pity that you only have the techniques. If you could pair them with the corresponding internal energy, their power would increase significantly. Back then, after Xiao Lingfeng learned this skill, he was virtually unbeatable. Your talent is exceptional and may not be inferior to him.”
This farewell was all about giving out rewards and providing quest clues. After finally getting on the horse and leaving, Wei Shu said, “I feel like you’re cursed. Doing quests with you never goes by the book. Although I don’t know how this quest was supposed to be completed, it definitely wasn’t like this. Performing surgery on Pei Yunshan and fighting with our manor owner? If you had told me earlier, I would have thought you were crazy. But the reality is, you actually pulled it off. You made me feel like they’re not just NPCs, as if they really have their own emotions.”
Song Que suddenly flipped over and lay down on the horse’s back.
Wei Shu was startled and asked, “What are you doing?”
Song Que waved at the little girls nearby, winked, and said, “Just showing off.”
Wei Shu rolled her eyes.
Song Que finally told the truth: “When fighting on horseback, any position could come up. It’s good to practice balance in advance. It’s rare to have the chance to experiment in a game like this. Here, no matter how I practice, I won’t hurt my body. If I don’t try it, wouldn’t that be wasting an opportunity?”
He told the truth this time, but Wei Shu didn’t believe a word of it.
Song Que shrugged helplessly and almost fell off the horse. After a moment of panic, he finally managed to stabilize himself and brought up the previous topic: “So what do you think now? How do you view them?”
Wei Shu also wanted to know. When she played games before, NPCs were just NPCs, but now the boundary between them seemed to blur. She was silent for a long time, and finally said, “All I know is, if we simply treat them as plot-driving NPCs, this story wouldn’t end like this. Pei Yunshan would die, and the senior sister would either commit suicide for love or break up with the owner of the manor, and the owner would be heartbroken. If things go badly, we might have to replace the owner of our Yuelun Mansion.”
Song Que smiled and said, “So we just need to follow our hearts. When you want to do something, just do it.”
They finally decided to investigate Xiao Lingfeng’s enemies first, but they encountered some troubles along the way.
The video of Song Que fighting Yue Ping that day was recorded and posted on the forum. Although the word “fight” was somewhat forced at the beginning —Song Que was mostly dodging—Later, as Yue Ping’s speed slowed, the two of them exchanged blows back and forth. To the onlookers who didn’t know the full story, it appeared to be a breathtaking duel.
This breathtaking display not only attracted people who wanted to befriend Song Que, but also drew in PK enthusiasts eager to challenge him. It was hard to tell if it was Song Que’s personal charm that had taken an unexpected turn in the online game, but the latter group far outnumbered the former.
After all those who openly challenged Song Que were defeated one by one, these players changed their strategy. They seemed to treat Song Que as a boss. They would appear suddenly in various ways, trying to catch Song Que off guard, and considered it an honor to successfully kill him even once.
Song Que became extremely annoyed by the harassment, and his actions became more decisive. At first, he tried to spare people some face, but later he treated these players as dummies to improve his martial arts proficiency, and he slashed the neck of each one with great skill.
The first time Wei Shutou saw it, she was shocked and said, “Why are you so ruthless? You don’t look like the type.”
Song Que was usually lazy and relaxed, with a constant smile at the corner of his mouth, and never speaking harshly to others. He was a person with a very good temper. However, his PK tactics were completely like those of a split personality.
Song Que said, “If this weren’t an online game but real life, you would be able to see me calmly practicing Tai Chi. As for now, everyone’s pain sensitivity is set pretty low, so this kind of fighting won’t leave any lasting psychological scars. At most, it’ll just seem a bit scary to the onlookers. As for me, I sincerely hope that after seeing how terrifying it is, the spectators will stop harassing me.”
Regarding PK, “Jianghu Strategy” has an intelligent judgment system. Someone like Song Que, who was constantly ambushed but turned the tables to kill, would not passively gain the title of “Killer” and get blacklisted by all NPCs from the righteous factions.
However, Song Que was really tired of this self-defense mechanism, which required him to be attacked first in order to activate. Just like now, the person who ambushed from behind used a staff, very likely a disciple from Dajueyin Temple. The sound of the staff cutting through the air was so loud it was terrifying, making it almost impossible for it to be a true sneak attack. Song Que could easily avoid it by simply tilting his body. But because of the game’s unfortunate mechanics, he had to control the angle at which he tilted, making sure he didn’t fully avoid the attack, but just enough so that the residual force would graze him, allowing him to be safely hurt.
Seeing the blood bar flicker ever so slightly, Song Que exerted force with his feet, lifting himself out of the stirrups and spinning into the air. The sneak attack missed, and before the monk could turn around, he was kicked in the back by Song Que, followed by the use of skill delivering three consecutive stomps, then grabbed the monk with his left-hand sword and drove the right-hand sword straight into his back. From that point on, the monk was unable to execute a single skill, entirely at Song Que’s mercy. While the left-hand sword restrained the monk, the right-hand sword relentlessly attacked. Whenever the monk managed to attempt an escape, Song Que used the left-hand to reel him back in, continuing to suppress him with the right-hand sword. It was akin to a seamless combo of control and attack skills in a keyboard-based online game, leaving the monk utterly powerless to fight back.
This scene was utterly ruthless, so much so that it could be described as heartbreaking to hear and tear-inducing to witness. The players from Wuqie Manor shed tears of pride and shared glory.
Wuqie Manor has a very glorious history in the background narration, hailed as the number one manor under heaven, so at the beginning of the game, many players flocked to Wuqie Manor. At the beginning, things were fine, all the players could only perform stationary attacks using skills. The smarter ones added some movement, so the differences between the various factions weren’t too significant.
Later, players discovered that linking skills with manual attacks in between was more effective, creating smoother combat and occasionally delivering impressive combos that were nearly impossible to counter. From this point on, Wuqie Manor fell into decline. Without relying on skills and solely depending on their reflexes, most players struggled to coordinate attacks with dual swords. If they resorted to using only their dominant hand, the specially-designed dual swords became relatively weak, leaving them constantly on the defensive.
Players who had already joined Wuqie Manor couldn’t change their choice, but new players joining became fewer and fewer, and the few who occasionally joined were laughed at for having mental problems. The only one who was more pitiable than Wuqie Manor players were right-handed individuals who chose the left-hand sword. But thankfully, they were a minority.
This fighting style was something Song Que had developed over the past few days, and it suited him perfectly. Onlookers couldn’t help but think that if Wuqie Manor fought like this, it was no wonder that it became the number one manor in the world. Skills alone couldn’t maintain a continuous control-and-attack sequence, but Song Que combined manual control with skill attacks, making his approach incredibly flexible.
Some disciples of Wuqie Manor observed from the sidelines and picked up a few tricks. Although they couldn’t achieve Song Que’s level of seamless execution, they managed to develop a somewhat effective routine, gradually mitigating the disadvantages of their class.
Song Que didn’t even bother to check the monk’s name after the fight. He sheathed the sword in his left hand, pulled the reins with one hand and swung himself back onto the saddle. With a slight squeeze of his legs sent the horse galloping forward at full speed. He no longer wore the clothes he bought casually from the ready-made clothing store. Yue Qing had gifted him a set of dark robes with intricate gold trims. Not to mention the good attributes, the chest was covered tightly, which Song Que found instantly appealing. The flowing robes billowed in the wind, flapping audibly as he rode. Dressed in fine attire and astride a spirited horse, he embodied carefree elegance.
All the players who thought that Song Que would be easier to deal with on horseback eventually gave up this idea. The horse was just like his other two legs. When he was in a good mood, he would fight with you, but when he was in a bad mood, he could have the horse trample you.
After getting rid of the constant harassment, Song Que finally took a breath. The two arrived at the location where the former Shi family manor once stood. The manor was still there, but it looked incredibly dilapidated. When Song Que and Wei Shu entered, they were hit by the pungent smell of decay.
The Shi family manor once filled with sixty-nine corpses in a single night, with blood flowing like a river. This tragic event was the reason the manor was preserved. After such a massacre, the manor was sealed off.
As soon as Wei Shu stepped in, she immediately felt an eerie chill, which made hair stand on end. Instinctively, she stepped behind Song Que.
“At times like this, I really hate how the game company sets the details so perfectly.”
Song Que glanced at the data on the side of the map and said to her in a soft tone, “Do you feel cold?”
Wei Shu’s hair stood on end, she grabbed the back of his clothes and asked, “What did you discover?”
Song Que smiled and said, “Oh, the temperature setting inside here is low, so that’s why you’re feeling cold. If you don’t put on more clothes, you might continue to lose blood.”
Wei Shu kicked him. She was probably the first person who could attack Song Que so easily.
