Chapter 00195: The People on Stage, the People off Stage (Part 2)
# The People on Stage, the People off Stage (Part 2)
Chapter 195
Novel: AFK Game: Portal to Another World
Chapter 195: The People on Stage, the People off Stage (Part 2)
The sky gradually brightened, and sunlight once again illuminated the great earth.
The number of travelers on the official road also began to grow.
The young man delivering vegetables and meat was bewildered as he looked at the cracked stone slabs in the inn's main hall, wondering to himself, what on earth happened yesterday?
"Don't ask what you shouldn't. This is the business of Jianghu people..."
The innkeeper pulled the delivery boy aside and whispered, likely giving him a vivid account of the events that transpired in the latter half of the night.
The 'female ghost' had been driven off and did not return, but no one in the inn dared to go back to sleep.
They all gathered in the main hall to make do, and only began to depart one by one after daybreak.
"May the green mountains never change and the clear waters ever flow, farewell!"
This group of Jianghu swordsmen was not foolish.
Yang Yiyi was one of the very few who could exchange a couple of moves with that female ghost.
Before leaving, they all came to bid her farewell.
Who knows, perhaps she would truly become a great hero in the future.
In any case, it was best to get familiar with her first.
Yang Yiyi greatly enjoyed this feeling, tirelessly cupping her hands in salute to every Jianghu swordsman who came to say goodbye.
Perhaps she felt this gesture was very much like a great hero.
Zheng Yinping reassembled her long spear and stuffed it into her backpack, casually remarking:
"That person in the middle of the night, what was their objective?"
First, it was certain that the other party did not intend to kill anyone.
Only after the female ghost had fled did everyone realize that all those who were knocked down had either had their acupoints sealed or were simply knocked unconscious.
After getting up and drinking some cold water, they were perfectly fine.
This made the person's motive very perplexing.
The innkeeper swore to the heavens that nothing like this had ever happened before.
Our inn has a good reputation, well-regarded by all.
You mustn't go spreading rumors...
To be able to fight against twenty or thirty Jianghu swordsmen and ensure no one was killed, not even dealing a heavy blow, was a testament to the opponent's strength.
For such a master to come here just to scare people...
Were they a bit too idle?
Besides, while this group of Jianghu swordsmen wasn't very skilled in martial arts, they had a decent eye for things.
After all, having been in the Jianghu for so long, they had seen enough to be familiar with many things.
But not a single one of them could recognize the opponent's martial arts style.
They couldn't even offer a close guess.
It felt as though she had deliberately concealed her true style, which would naturally make her fight with her hands tied.
Even so, she was still able to escape with ease.
This person's martial arts were unfathomably deep.
In the latter half of the night, the group discussed it for a long time but couldn't come to any conclusion.
When day broke, they had no choice but to set off on their journeys one after another.
After all, this group was heading out to investigate the Thunder Mountain Treasury, not wandering aimlessly.
If they delayed too long and missed this opportunity, there would be no next time.
"Let's go too. Whatever her objective was, it has nothing to do with us."
Li Yingluo re-hung her sword.
In any case, she didn't really want to go to any Thunder Mountain Treasury.
She reached out and tugged at Yang Yiyi, who was still bidding people farewell.
"Did you return the side room key to the innkeeper?"
"I completely forgot it's still with me."
Yang Yiyi was acting like a great hero, bidding farewell to the passing swordsmen, and nearly forgot her proper business.
The three of them turned and went back into the inn.
Yang Yiyi placed the key on the counter and said:
"Innkeeper, here's the key. Thank you for yesterday."
"Oh, my dear female hero, don't thank me. It's a good thing no blood was shed yesterday, otherwise how could I keep this inn open."
"Also, I have some candy here. Is the little girl in the inn your daughter, innkeeper? This candy is for her."
At these words, the innkeeper was stunned.
"A little girl? There's no little girl here."
"Huh? The one playing hopscotch at your entrance yesterday."
"Female hero, you must be joking. Our inn has a total of five rough men working here. Our families are all in the city."
This time, it was Yang Yiyi and her two companions' turn to be stunned.
"Then the little girl we met yesterday was..."
The three immediately recalled that ghost story.
If they remembered correctly, the opera troupe's lead actress, Ningning, who took her own life because of a heartless man, had an illegitimate daughter.
And after her mother became a fierce ghost, the daughter didn't survive either...
"Could it be that there really is...?"
"It's hard to say."
The three of them instantly felt a chill.
They exchanged a few perfunctory words with the innkeeper, then shot out of the inn and bolted down the official road, feeling as if their scalps were about to explode.
And on a branch of the great tree to the side of the inn, the little girl who had told the ghost story to Yang Yiyi and her companions yesterday sat, dangling her little feet.
"Haha, they really got scared. Children just can't take a good scare."
She wasn't hiding, just sitting simply on the tree branch.
But even though a mere glance upwards would reveal her, no one noticed there was a person there.
Or, to be precise, two people.
"Palace Master, this subordinate does not quite understand."
A woman in a white robe stood behind the little girl, holding onto the tree trunk.
"Why did you have me play at being a ghost?"
"Isn't it fun?"
"F-fun?"
"Xian'er, you're just too rigid. If you're this rigid, you'll never find a good husband in the future."
"..."
"How did it feel?"
"It was... hard to describe in a few words."
Her vocabulary was lacking.
At a time like this, a single curse word would have been enough to describe it.
"I'm not asking how you feel emotionally. I'm asking for your thoughts on fighting with that group yesterday."
"A bunch of nobodies, not even as good as the outer sect disciples of our Heavenly Absolute Palace."
"Was there no one you thought well of?"
"If I have to say, that group of three was alright."
Xian'er pointed towards the fleeing figures of Yang Yiyi's group, who were running for their lives in fright.
"The style they use is one I've never seen before, but it doesn't seem like some self-taught country bumpkin routine. It feels like they have a profound master guiding them from behind the scenes."
"Not bad, your eye for things is improving."
"Thank you for your praise, Palace Master."
"I haven't seen the style they use either. Perhaps there really is a secluded master behind them. But besides that, what else did you notice?"
"If this group goes to the Thunder Mountain Treasury, perhaps not even one in ten will survive."
"That's not for certain. Before our Heavenly Absolute Palace's Founder entered the Thunder Mountain Treasury, he was also an unknown figure. Who can say for sure when it comes to luck."
"Although the Founder was unknown back then, his comprehension was heaven-defying. But their aptitude..."
Xian'er shook her head and said:
"This subordinate believes that even with a divine technique placed before them, these people would be fundamentally unable to learn it. It would have been better to let this subordinate stop them all here."
When Xian'er received her orders, she thought she was supposed to intercept this group to prevent any riffraff from causing trouble at the Thunder Mountain Treasury.
But then she was told not to harm anyone, and not to reveal the style of the Heavenly Absolute Palace.
Could it be that she really just wanted to play?
"You are brimming with talent, but you truly lack experience. Though, it's not your fault you couldn't see it."
"Please enlighten me, Palace Master."
"These people indeed have mediocre aptitude, but that Yang Yiyi is different."
"This subordinate also noticed she might have innate divine strength, but other than that..."
"That girl doesn't just have innate divine strength; there are traces of her having undergone a marrow cleansing. According to the divination sign I cast, she should have long been a lone, wandering ghost, yet now she's alive and well. It seems the person who performed her marrow cleansing even went against the heavens to change her fate."
"Is there really someone with such great divine power?"
"The world is vast and contains all sorts of things. Don't use common sense to measure everything."
"This subordinate has been taught."
"Mm, how do you feel?"
"Er... Palace Master, didn't you just ask that?"
"This time I'm asking about your feelings. Are you feeling agitated or anything of the sort?"
"To be honest, I do feel a little, especially when you told that story to outsiders."
"That's good. Your cultivation of the Mayfly Divine Art has reached its most difficult stage. You must induce a change in your state of mind to break through the Ruthless Dao. Otherwise, you'll be stuck in place for the rest of your life."
"Palace Master, how did you break through back then?"
"Emmm... How about this, go find a man and fall in love."
"."
"Back then, I broke through in a fit of grief and rage after all eighteen members of my family were massacred. Where do you have any family left? Even if you did, we can't just kill one now, can we?"
"Isn't there..."
"Anyway, I can't think of any other way. I say you should find a man and have a child with him. Don't they say a woman's personality changes greatly after becoming a mother? It might work if you try."
"Palace Master, I don't think this is something one can just 'try'..."
"Suit yourself."
The little girl stood up from the tree branch, stretched her shoulders and said:
"Has there been any news from the others?"
"The item that escort Wang Zhen is transporting is indeed what the Palace Master predicted. The people from the Sixteen Fortresses are on his trail, but due to certain considerations, it seems they are hesitant to make a move."
"If they're hesitant to act, then we will. The Sky-Upholding Stone is of great importance. It would be one thing if the people of the Central Plains obtained it, but it absolutely must not fall into the hands of the barbarians from beyond the pass."
"This subordinate obeys. I have already ordered others to investigate."
"Mm, keep up the good work. I have other matters to attend to. Don't disappoint me."
Xian'er raised her head.
The Palace Master had already vanished completely, leaving behind only a faint sentence.
"I have high hopes for you, Ning Xian'er."
(End of this chapter)