LWGP - Chapter 69
Chapter 69: Qiao Xuejing
It was very fast, a red shadow appearing somewhat ghostly in the dim forest light. In the blink of an eye, it was before Wang Jiu, its sharp teeth lunging swiftly for her neck.
Clang!
It bit down! Damn, it was a little hard. Was this human's neck so tough?
But it hurt.
Its sexy little teeth had snapped, but it couldn't feel the pain in them because its entire body was in agony—it had been torn open by a blade, starting from its mouth.
The System suddenly piped up: "The little fox is so cute, how could you bear to kill it?"
Wang Jiu: "?"
So melodramatic.
System: "You're the first woman to be this ruthless."
Wang Jiu: "A system evaluation? No title for me?"
Cute or not, she had only been thinking about the experience points, plus the loot drop of one fox tail and three copper coins.
How moving. The first time she'd gotten three copper coins.
Wang Jiu was nearly moved to tears by her own touching display.
In truth, ever since she survived the sacrificial cave on Miao Mountain, she felt a severe lack of emotion. No matter how terrifying or how adorable and touching a scene was, her reaction was always muted—unless she was moved by her own actions.
This wasn't normal, so she had deliberately concealed her true condition from that old man, Qian Cheng, afraid he would see through her. Though later, on her first day of medical school, when she saw a corpse dissected for the first time, she had contributed a textbook-level performance of 'Lin Daiyu-like pallor, Xi Shi-like frailty, but with the iron will of a Lady Jiang Jie'.
System: "You're overthinking it. The System doesn't discriminate against women. The first person to kill a Little Red Fox has already appeared; he just happened to be a man. But it wasn't a remarkable title, just +1 Spirit Energy, nothing compared to yours."
In other words, that person had received a title.
This was, in fact, a hint.
Wang Jiu grew thoughtful—it seemed titles could be farmed. Even if they weren't good ones, they would add up over time. Spirit Energy was likely a crucial factor in this game.
Swish! Wang Jiu flicked her blade, shaking off the blood. The System had already notified her that she had killed a level 6 wild monster, a Little Red Fox.
Her gaze swept across the area, and the rustling in the forest undergrowth subsided.
Fox-type monsters were certainly more intelligent than others. They keenly perceived that Wang Jiu was a tough opponent, and fearing her strength, they began to retreat. But there was another reason—they sensed there was more than one difficult person here.
But Wang Jiu's gaze shifted upward.
Their eyes met. A man, perched in a tree waiting for a chance to ambush her, looked at Wang Jiu. After a moment, he voluntarily retreated.
There was no vortex here. Wasting time trying to assassinate an opponent who had already spotted him, and whom he might not be able to defeat, was a poor strategy.
So he left.
Wang Jiu glanced at his retreating figure, her eyes cold. If she hadn't just revealed a sliver of her strength by killing the Little Red Fox, he would have already attacked.
He had deliberately lured the Little Red Fox to probe her strength.
Heh.
A moment later, she noted the direction in which the Little Red Fox had fled and pursued it.
Was she going to kill more foxes?
No, she figured that a place where monsters gathered should have a vortex.
Sure enough, Wang Jiu's pursuit led her to the base of a large tree. It was a massive banyan, at least ten meters tall, with a canopy that spread out like a roof over a courtyard. Its leaves were dense, and its old, gnarled roots were deeply embedded in the ground, which was split with terrifying cracks. There were several hollows beneath the banyan, and inside the largest one was a swirling, pitch-black vortex.
Found it.
However, it was surrounded by no fewer than twenty Little Red Foxes. Wang Jiu could see the currents of air emanating from the vortex being absorbed into their bodies.
Wang Jiu asked the System, "Is this leveling up or evolving?"
"Usually leveling up. If the bloodline is good and aptitude is high, they can evolve," the System replied.
"Can humans?"
System: "Sure. In your dreams."
I'm not one to take mockery lying down.
"You'd better pray I don't dream, because in my dreams, you're definitely a one-point-four-meter-tall little eunuch."
System: "..."
Having taken a jab at the System, Wang Jiu charged into the pack of Little Red Foxes, blade in hand. They were ordinary grey-grade monsters, and though they were level six—one level higher than her—her attributes were now so high that killing them was effortless.
Occasionally, her eyes would flick toward a nearby tree, but she showed no reaction, focusing only on clearing the monsters.
Steady and methodical.
But just as she was about to finish them off, she heard a sound.
A lot of people were coming.
About ten of them.
Wang Jiu, however, didn't know that these ten people were part of a team that had split up to search for vortexes. The plan was to notify the others as soon as one was found, so they couldn't stray too far from each other.
Hearing the shrieks of the Little Red Foxes, the ten people realized someone was fighting monsters and deliberately slowed their pace, beginning to creep closer.
Pan Zhen's trusted subordinate, Wu Dong, gave the others a look. They all understood and lay in wait quietly. From eight meters away, Wu Dong took aim at Wang Jiu with his bow.
Voom!!
The arrow shot forth.
But Wang Jiu seemed to sense the danger at the critical moment and narrowly dodged it.
"This woman is tough. Her Agility is probably around 30; I can't get a lock on her." Wu Dong judged based on Wang Jiu's reaction and evasion speed. He was experienced and immediately gave the order, "Surround and kill her first, then notify the others!"
They had to kill her to claim the vortex.
They hadn't expected to be so lucky, stumbling upon a vortex right after entering. But they had to act fast.
"Quick!"
The ten of them stopped hiding. Wu Dong was the only ranged attacker; the rest had to engage in close combat.
There were still a few Little Red Foxes around Wang Jiu. When she saw the men attack, she broke away from her fight with the foxes, but it cost her a moment.
She was surrounded.
However...
The moment she moved, her blade was swift. One slash slit a throat; a second cut a man in half at the waist. She killed two people in the first exchange, and with a third slash, she easily slipped out of their encirclement.
Wu Dong was horrified. So strong? Is this woman a soldier or a martial artist?
Did she have the Heavy Strike skill? No, there was no skill-glow. It seemed to be some kind of combat technique, making her far more formidable than others with similar attributes.
She was a tough one.
In the early game, when ten people fought one, superior numbers didn't necessarily translate to a combined, additive strength.
The space to surround a single person was limited. Any extra fighters could only crowd in behind, and it wasn't as if they had ranged or skill-based attacks.
There was a reason why, in TV dramas, two martial arts masters could hold a stone arch bridge against several hundred soldiers.
Superior numbers didn't equate to a larger attack surface or greater combat effectiveness.
Wang Jiu used the remaining Little Red Foxes to harass them, narrowing and controlling their attack range. This temporarily stymied the ten men, forcing them to spread out. But once they did, they became easy targets for her to pick off one by one.
Fortunately, Wu Dong's ranged suppressing fire kept Wang Jiu pinned down. Just as the situation reached a stalemate—suddenly!
A man suddenly appeared behind Wu Dong—it was the same person who had confronted Wang Jiu earlier.
Wu Dong, who was by no means weak, sensed someone approaching. Ever since getting his bow, he had decisively focused on raising his Agility, so his perception wasn't low. But by the time he noticed, the man was already upon him.
How high was this person's Agility?!
A blade pierced his body. Wu Dong collapsed in terror. Like many archers, his Stamina was his weak point, insufficient to block the attack. His heart was pierced, and he fell.
The man pulled out his blade and charged the others.
"I'll help you. We can do the instance together after this. Otherwise, their reinforcements will arrive."
He said to Wang Jiu.
Wang Jiu didn't reply. He glanced at her, judging her to be one of those cold, aloof women who were used to being put on a pedestal in the real world. After all, she was genuinely outstanding and powerful, so it was no surprise she was quiet and standoffish. He took her silence as agreement.
The two of them were fast, and they quickly killed all ten men. The slain players didn't dare to revive, fearing they would just be killed again.
Their attack speed was too fast; their Agility was high.
The survivors' hearts pounded. They had no will to fight and just wanted to run. What they hated most was that this man and woman had actually teamed up!
The two fought with ease. The man said to Wang Jiu, "My name is Xiao Ming. What's yours? Add me as a friend. We can team up for instances in the future."
Wang Jiu: "Han Meimei."
The man paused, then smiled. "You have a sense of humor."
He saw Wang Jiu move forward to attack a man who was trying to flee.
He glanced over and flicked his wrist, appearing to attack the fleeing man... but the blade's edge swung viciously toward the back of Wang Jiu's head!
Swish! The long blade sliced through empty air.
Xiao Ming stared in horror as Wang Jiu vanished. He saw her reappear at his side, her Tang blade slicing across the other man's neck. But then the blade erupted with ferocious speed, carrying the spurting line of blood with it in a beautiful arc as it reversed and plunged into Xiao Ming's own body.
His equipment couldn't stop her—it was like paper.
Such explosive power—not even his 34 points in Stamina could stop it!
Just how high were her Strength and Agility?
This woman had done it on purpose! She deliberately concealed her strength, luring him into attacking so she could counter-kill him!
As Xiao Ming fell, Wang Jiu learned his real name was actually He Ming. She snatched his blade and flung it aside.
Pfft! It impaled and killed the last man.
But she didn't leave, nor did she enter the vortex. After collecting all the equipment dropped by the slain players...
She was going to camp their corpses!
Fuck!
The players lying on the ground were speechless. One of them, banking on his 20 Agility, decided to risk it. The moment he revived...
Bang!
He was down again.
Another level lost.
Who the fuck could stand this!
They only had so many levels. Reviving and getting killed one more time would knock them back to level 0. In the early game, that was tantamount to completely stifling their potential for growth.
Left with no choice, they all had to return to the resurrection point. At least that way, they could escape Wang Jiu's grasp.
He Ming did the same. He shot Wang Jiu a hateful glare and chose to return to the resurrection point.
But there was no getting back the items he had dropped.
That included a Strengthening Stone and the bow that had just dropped from Wu Dong.
He didn't have any good equipment, so he'd been reluctant to use the Strengthening Stone on ordinary bronze-grade gear. He had been saving it, but now...
And the bow. Even though it was only grey-grade, its attributes were decent. Most importantly, it was a ranged weapon, which was incredibly useful for leveling in the early game!
He Ming seethed with hatred.
Wang Jiu paid them no mind. After they had all respawned, she collected the spoils: four pieces of bronze gear, one Strengthening Stone, and some grey-grade equipment and miscellaneous supplies.
"How come there are no seeds?"
Wang Jiu felt a headache coming on. She had a Manor Homestead and a Garden Field she couldn't use because she had no seeds. She'd rather tackle an instance first.
The bronze gear was redundant with her own, so she couldn't use it. She didn't have time to list it for sale, not that her previous items had sold anyway.
She wasn't in a hurry.
Wang Jiu moved quickly, casually dealing with the equipment. As she entered the instance vortex, she glanced at the spot where Wu Dong had died.
He got up and ran?
She had heard what the ten men said before they attacked.
Notify others?
Then their group must be nearby.
Great. Was it really this hard for one person to monopolize an instance?
She had underestimated the number of players and the scale of their groups.
This small squad alone had ten people. How many more were behind them? Had she just kicked a hornet's nest?
In that case, she had to clear this instance as fast as possible—if her plan was even feasible.
Meanwhile, the ten slain men and He Ming reappeared at the resurrection point in 443 Novice Village. Seeing each other, they realized they were from the same village.
Sons of bitches!
The two groups glared at each other with mutual dissatisfaction. He Ming just sneered and left.
"Looks like he has backup, too. Probably went to find his people."
"Losing levels and items... how could we not be pissed? Same for us. Our strength has dropped by at least thirty percent."
"Let's head back. Boss Pan should be able to get there soon. Once he takes care of that woman, maybe we can still get into the instance together. We can make up for our losses then."
"We need to buy replacement gear first. Otherwise, our attributes will be too low, and we'll never keep up."
Pan Zhen would be disgusted.
Everyone knew this to be true.
Bronze equipment was too expensive; they couldn't bring themselves to buy it, so they had to settle for grey-grade.
It was a painful expense. The nest egg they had painstakingly built up during the pioneer phase was wiped clean.
Damn it!
They didn't know, however, that He Ming was moving quickly. After leaving the resurrection point, he scanned the area. His eyes lit up. Great, his brother was still here!
"Brother!"
Filled with resentment and urgency, He Ming ran up and called out to his older brother, He Ruguang.
He Ruguang was discussing preparations with several others. He was delighted to see his younger brother and, before He Ming could speak, pulled him over to introduce him. "Perfect timing. Everyone, this is my younger brother. His attributes aren't low—all three are over 30—and he's skilled at stealth. With him on board, our team is complete."
More than half of the seven people present agreed; after all, those attributes were quite high. Still, it looked like this He Ming had run into some kind of trouble.
It looked like he had just... come from the resurrection point.
"Brother, I was ambushed and killed!" He Ming didn't mention that he had attacked first, putting on an aggrieved act. At his words, He Ruguang's expression changed drastically. "Who?"
Before He Ming could speak, a voice grumbled, "Are we going to do this instance or not? My master's time is precious. If you two brothers are busy seeking revenge, we'll just go find another instance."
Who was that? He Ming knew several of his brother's friends and recognized half of the seven people here. Who was being so disrespectful? He was about to get angry, but when he saw who was speaking, he was shocked into silence.
It was a pig.
"What are you looking at? Never seen a pig this smart before? Master, maybe we should find another instance."
Only then did He Ming notice the woman standing beside the pig.
He had been in such a rush that he hadn't noticed the woman, who had her back to him. He had been too focused on his brother. But when he finally got a good look, he was stunned by her beauty and presence.
But before the woman could speak, He Ruguang quickly said, "We'll head to the instance right now. We won't waste anyone's time. As for my brother's situation, I can handle it myself."
This was a promise to the group, but He Ming sensed his brother's primary focus was still the woman.
"Xuejing, I won't waste your time. Shall we set off now? Is there anything else you need to prepare?"
He Ruguang was a steady, decisive man with the air of a leader. But He Ming had always known his brother was a deep thinker who rarely showed his hand. If he did reveal his attitude toward someone, they were either an enemy or someone he wanted to impress.
Qiao Xuejing?
He Ming knew his brother had a crush on a 'goddess' back in college. Unfortunately, his brother had returned to their hometown of Luoyang, while she was a native of the capital and worked there. It had been a one-sided crush ever since.
He never expected her to show up in Luoyang.
In the past, He Ming had been dismissive of it. He always thought his brother was an exceptional man who could have anyone he wanted in Luoyang. Why be so careful around a former college classmate?
But seeing her in person, he understood.
"No." Qiao Xuejing's temperament wasn't cold or arrogant. Her words were gentle, but she was a woman of few words, at least not to He Ruguang. Instead, she turned to Fatty Wang Shu and said, "Do an instance with me. We can look for your Master later, alright?"
She seemed quite fond of Wang Shu.
Wang Shu, who had been craning his neck looking for Wang Jiu for a long time, asked, "But my attributes are low."
His Master was nowhere to be found, which made him miserable. But it was a rare chance to be brought along by this pig-owning goddess.
His words actually voiced what the others were thinking.
This damn fatty's attributes really didn't seem to be anything special.
However, because of Qiao Xuejing, neither He Ruguang nor anyone else raised an objection.
There was no other reason for it. A woman like her was inspiring enough just to look at, even if she did nothing.
After all, this was the kind of woman one usually only saw at high-society galas on television.
"It's fine. Dao Dao and I can make up for your damage output," Qiao Xuejing said softly. He Ming glanced at her, thinking to himself that she was definitely a goddess, but she had a big mouth.
"Then let's go!"
At He Ruguang's command, the group left the resurrection point area.
But the two brothers exchanged a look, and He Ming understood that his brother had a plan.
He wasn't going to let this go.
Meanwhile, Pan Zhen had met up with Wu Dong. They were in the middle of fighting monsters—they hadn't found a Wilderness Unknown Dungeon, but had stumbled upon a Wilderness Invasion-type instance.
Wu Dong joined the fight, explaining the situation as he did. He mentioned that the woman was a complete stranger he'd never seen before.
During the pioneer phase, it wasn't just the capital that held meetings; most other cities had regional gatherings, or at the very least, players had made inquiries about one another. He had never heard of anyone named Wang Jiu—the System had notified him that his killer's name was Wang Jiu.
Pan Zhen's expression grew colder. "It seems Luoyang has its share of formidable people. Or she could be an outsider. Focus on the monsters for now—more people are coming!"
The commotion from the Wilderness Invasion instance was huge, attracting not only Pan Zhen's group but also other scattered players.
And more people would keep coming. They didn't know if they could land the final blow, but they had to rack up a high participation score!
With so many people, this Wilderness Invasion instance wasn't particularly difficult, and they were clearing it quickly. Pan Zhen had it all planned out. The woman was alone, and the vortex was well-hidden. Even if someone else found it, there wouldn't be many of them. By the time his group finished here and went over, she probably wouldn't even be done with the trash mobs.
It would be the perfect time to kill her and steal the boss.
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