Chapter 15: The Resentment of Ordinary Players

Prince’s Residence, Waterside Pavilion Courtyard.

The members of the Four Seas Escort Agency had been settled here. After their arduous journey, having finally completed their assignment, they could at last lay down the heavy burden in their hearts.

“Everyone, return to your rooms and rest. Remember not to touch anything inside,” Xu Da instructed.

With a chorus of assent, the group dispersed.

Night had deepened, yet one room in the courtyard still glowed with candlelight, and faint rustling sounds emanated from within.

“Brother Li, you’re truly clever. Tell me, just how much do you think this wild mountain ginseng is worth?” someone whispered.

Before the words faded, a crisp “thud” sounded.

“What are you thinking? Of course we’ll eat it ourselves. Tomorrow morning we’re leaving, and all the pharmacies in Shouchun belong to the Ning family. If we tried to sell it there, it’d be too easy to expose ourselves.”

“Brother Li, you’re wise. Heh, do you think eating this will greatly increase our power?”

Low, self-satisfied laughter followed.

Elsewhere, after leaving Ning Xiu’s room, the old steward wandered around the courtyard as if recalling something, then headed straight for the storage room where the goods brought by Ning Xiu and his companions were kept.

He casually opened one of the crates, drew out a wooden box, and lifted the lid.

A rich medicinal scent instantly filled the air. He squinted, then scraped the ginseng with his yellowed fingernail, brought it to his nose, sniffed deeply, and finally licked the residue from his fingertip, his face suffused with utter satisfaction.

...

Knock, knock, knock—

In the darkness, a sudden knocking sounded.

Ning Xiu looked up toward the door, gripped the Blood Blade at his side, and rose to open it.

Standing outside was a servant, holding a tray—presumably the same steward who had mentioned delivering supper earlier.

What struck Ning Xiu as odd was that the servant said nothing, simply stood there with the tray, staring at him intently. Coupled with the silent night behind him, the scene was unsettling.

“Please thank your master for me,” Ning Xiu said with a smile, accepting the tray. The servant remained silent, turned, and left on his own.

“Lingnan Prince’s family…”

Returning to his room, Ning Xiu lowered his head in contemplation. Judging by the scale of the residence, the Prince’s clan must be a prominent noble family in the region, yet he’d never heard of their reputation in his previous life.

All he knew was that the clan regularly sent goods to this family, and every delivery was handled by his grandfather, Ning Mingfeng. He had accompanied a delivery once in his previous life, but had not stayed overnight—merely handed over the goods and departed. At the time, he was just an ordinary person and hadn’t noticed anything unusual.

If not for the “Martial God” system in this life, which made his senses far sharper than most, he might never have picked up on all these anomalies.

First, the servants’ complexions were extremely unnatural, tinged with a dark aura, their expressions deeply gloomy. Then there was the steward himself; Ning Xiu was certain he hadn’t imagined it.

All in all, the entire residence radiated an indefinable strangeness that made him feel profoundly uneasy.

The next day, when Ning Xiu visited the courtyard where the Four Seas Escort Agency was staying, he heard troubling news.

Two young escorts from the agency had disappeared.

Entering their quarters, Ning Xiu caught a faint medicinal scent in the air. He glanced around and found a broken root on the floor.

“Could it be that Ali and the others left on their own?” Xu Da asked.

Given the circumstances, it was plausible that the two, being unattached, might have decided to leave the agency. He, too, noticed the subtle medicinal aroma.

Exchanging glances with Liu Tao, both nodded, clearly thinking along the same lines.

After a brief discussion, the agency members decided not to pursue the matter further, bade Ning Xiu farewell, and departed in haste.

Having received the bank note from Datong Money House, Ning Xiu chose to leave as well.

He had no desire to linger in the Prince’s residence even a moment longer. Besides, there were things he needed to clarify.

Unlike the escort agency, he didn’t believe the two missing men had left voluntarily. If they had, there would be no reason to abandon their belongings. Xu Da and the others had made assumptions and overlooked this obvious detail.

After leaving the residence, Ning Xiu went directly to an herbal shop.

The medicinal scent in the room and the broken root on the floor suggested a connection between the missing escorts and the herb.

His first task was to determine what exactly the half root in his hand was.

He was received by an elderly, highly experienced physician.

The doctor examined the fragment, frowned, sniffed it, and his brow furrowed even deeper.

“This is most peculiar. From its properties, it’s undeniably a ginseng root. Yet ginseng is a pure yang tonic, and this root harbors a trace of yin energy. It’s extremely strange.”

The doctor repeated “most peculiar” three times, shaking his head in disbelief.

“Ginseng…” Ning Xiu murmured, taking back the root and leaving.

If his memory served, the goods his clan had escorted this time were also ginseng. Ning Xiu’s first impulse was to return to the Prince’s residence to investigate, but recalling the eerie events of the previous night, he quickly abandoned the idea.

It seemed the only way to unravel the mystery was to consult Ning Mingfeng.

He was in no hurry to return, however. Whether it was the letter Ning Mingfeng had written before he left, or the current situation at the Prince’s residence, the whole affair seemed shrouded in mist, impossible to see clearly.

Remembering the frightening scenes from his previous life, Ning Xiu clenched his fists, his gaze becoming resolute. He needed to act quickly.

In just a few days, the Great Cold would arrive.

Since his rebirth, more than three months had passed. Whereas in the game a treasure chest could be opened every thirty-six hours, now it had become thirty-six days.

Thus, apart from his initial draw of the “Blood Blade Manual,” Ning Xiu had accumulated three more chances.

As a game designer, he understood the odds perfectly and held little hope. The results did not disappoint.

The first chest yielded a set of nightwear—ordinary, without any special properties. The second produced a dagger, both times mere items. The third was slightly better: finally, a martial arts manual appeared, albeit as a fragment! It was the signature move of Lu Xiaofeng from “The Legend of Lu Xiaofeng”—the “Lingxi Finger.”

The system rated “Lingxi Finger” three stars, a first-tier lower-grade martial art.

To synthesize a complete three-star technique, fifty fragments were needed. With martial arts as vast as the stars, who knew when the next fragment would appear.

At that moment, Ning Xiu understood just how powerless a common player could be in a pay-to-win game.

This time, however, he was the one falling into the pit.