Chapter 11

It was merely his habitual nature that kept him from taking action.

Qingyun Qiuyue, however, was not so reserved. She hissed, then reached out and ruffled Ye Xiyin’s hair.

He Qiting pushed her hand away with the hilt of his sword.

Qingyun Qiuyue was left speechless, but she didn’t hold it against him and instead turned her attention to the three people from the Yuelai Inn.

Their bickering had truly infuriated the trio, and the proprietress, in particular, was gnashing her teeth upon seeing Ye Xiyin again: "So it really was you, you little brat."

At this point, she realized that denying it would not get her off the hook.

Her only remaining strategy was to pin their motive on being a bandit inn that killed guests for their belongings.

"If it weren't for you meddlers, I would have butchered you." Since the facade had already crumbled, the proprietress no longer bothered to hide her murderous intent toward Ye Xiyin.

After running her business for so long, to have it ruined by a boy she had looked down upon—how could she swallow this bitterness?

"We just love to meddle. What’s it to you?" Qingyun Qiuyue retorted with a sharp, irritable tone.

"Exactly, exactly," Ye Xiyin added, nodding along.

It felt wonderful to have someone backing him up; he wanted this to happen again next time.

This fearless, emboldened attitude was truly maddening. Yet, the tables had turned, and the proprietress and her accomplices were helpless. They could only submit as the Hidden Guards stepped forward to shackle them and take them back to the county magistrate for processing.

Having truly vented his frustrations, Ye Xiyin felt delighted.

Most importantly, with the completion of the first part of the quest, his experience bar had actually moved… just a little bit.

There was no help for it; he should have received two hundred experience points, but his physically frail condition caused his experience gain to slow down significantly, leaving him with only a tenth of the reward.

It seemed that if he wanted to use this to improve his strength, he would first have to resolve the issue of his congenital deficiency.

Still, it was better than nothing.

He wondered if killing monsters would be effective. Once he reached around level ten, even he, this fragile little character, might be able to go to the novice village and grind some mobs.

-

After capturing the inn trio and handing them over to the Hidden Guard NPCs, the four of them did not turn back toward the city.

In Gu Qing’s plan, trapping the turtle in the jar was only one step. What he really intended to do was use these people to bait the bigger fish lurking behind them.

A signal flare whistled through the sky.

Qingyun Qiuyue looked up, her eyes brightening: "The target took the bait. Vice-Envoy Gu and the others have located the culprit's hideout. Let’s go."

With that, she summoned her horse and headed in the direction of the signal.

Ye Xiyin felt his body go light as he was lifted onto the back of *Ta Xue*, though this time, He Qiting placed him in front.

The whistling night wind was blocked by the person behind him. Concerned that he might catch a chill due to his poor health, He Qiting purchased a cloak with warmth-boosting stats and wrapped it around him.

That wasn't enough; perhaps fearing that Ye Xiyin was afraid of the dark, He Qiting pressed a glowing night pearl into his hand.

In the darkness of the night, the pearl glowed with a moist, lustrous light, and its gentle radiance brought an undeniable sense of peace.

Just like He Qiting himself.

Throughout the journey, Ye Xiyin let himself be pampered like a doll. Once everything was settled, the two of them rode toward the direction of the signal flare.

-

The path led them to a place called Yanming Beach. The area was filled with water and reeds, and as they ventured deeper, it became increasingly desolate, with the faint sounds of wild beasts echoing in the distance.

Ye Xiyin, who had been observing his surroundings by the light of the night pearl, shrank into He Qiting’s embrace.

Unlike the players, he was an NPC now; he only had one life. He had to stay alive if he could.

Who knew if the system would even respawn him if he died, or if it would still be "him" if it did.

He Qiting looked down to see the person before him tucking his face into the snowy white cloak. Occasionally, he would peek out, but if he couldn't confirm it was safe, he would pull the cloak tighter and burrow further into He Qiting’s arms.

This feeling of being relied upon was unexpectedly pleasant—even somewhat addictive.

*I really have been roped into this quest,* He Qiting thought, yet he felt no annoyance at all.

In the overly quiet surroundings, they finally reached their destination.

Ahead, several Hidden Guards were waiting. Upon seeing them, they beckoned, signaling for Qingyun Qiuyue and the others to follow.

They were the people Gu Qing had sent to guide them.

Nearby, Ye Xiyin spotted several players who hadn't fully hidden their names; they had clearly discovered the turning point in the quest and had followed quietly.

He wondered how many more were hiding in the shadows.

After following the Hidden Guards for a while longer, they finally arrived.

Who could have imagined that in this desolate wilderness, several bandit stockades had been constructed?

Clearly, the players were just as shocked.

Some couldn't hold back and began sharing information on the World Channel.

【World】
Lulutong: Holy crap, something is wrong with this place. I love wandering around, and it’s not like I haven't been to Yanming Beach before—how did I never notice a stockade here?

Chigualuren: Maybe it just refreshed recently?

Gougousui: Impossible. "Trial of the Sword" prides itself on letting NPCs develop freely. It only pulls quests from existing NPCs; there are very few NPCs that refresh this late in the game.

Beixiang: It must be a formation. We followed the NPCs all the way here, and even then, some players fell behind. I bet someone got lost because they couldn't keep up. It’s lucky Gu Qing let one of the men in black go to lead the way, or we really might not have found this place.

Through the accounts of other players, Ye Xiyin finally understood what had happened while they were arresting the inn trio.

As it turned out, the group of men in black who had stolen the clues realized they had been tricked and tried to flee. But the Hidden Guards were well-prepared; the bandits were no match for them and were quickly apprehended.

However, during the capture, Gu Qing had intentionally let one of the men in black—the one who appeared the most flustered and panicked—escape. The man, having lost his composure, didn't realize this was a ruse by the Hidden Guards and immediately fled toward the stockade, inadvertently leading Gu Qing and his team straight to it.

By the time Ye Xiyin and the others arrived, the people in the stockade had already realized something was wrong. The place was ablaze with light, and many people holding torches and weapons were surrounding the perimeter, glaring at them with fierce expressions.

What was surprising was the identity of this group.

Above their bright red health bars hung the title: "Wokou Soldier."

Wokou pirates had been rampant along the coastal regions for a long time. The imperial court had sent troops to deal with them many times, but they had never been able to root them out completely. Who would have thought that such a group would be hiding in this tiny Yanming Beach, having claimed many lives?

Likely seeing that Gu Qing’s party was small, these Wokou pirates showed no fear, their expressions turning increasingly vicious.

To this, Gu Qing simply turned and said toward the direction of Ye Xiyin and the others: "Friends of the Jianghu, since you’ve come, there’s no need to hide. Come on out."

He was clearly addressing the players in the shadows.

-

Hearing this, it was evident that Gu Qing had planned to use the players to deal with these Wokou pirates all along.

Some players came out when called, while others, unsure of Gu Qing’s intentions, cautiously remained in hiding.

Gu Qing, who understood the nature of these players quite well, wore a smile that lacked much warmth as he said directly: "While this operation was accidental, the Wokou must be eradicated for the safety of the passing populace. I have long heard of your reputations as chivalrous heroes. If this bandit suppression is successful, upon our return, I will certainly secure rewards for you all."

As his voice faded, almost every player who had reached Yanming Beach received the "Suppress the Bandits" quest.

Most importantly, there was the reward at the end of the quest.

Upon completion, players could accumulate prestige points to exchange for rewards from NPCs. As for the rewards, they ranged from outfits to rare materials—it was incredibly generous.

This type of quest was usually a special benefit provided by the officials when they saw that players were suffering from a content drought. The difficulty was moderate and the rewards were high, making it accessible to players of all levels.

With rewards on the table, everything was suddenly easy to discuss.

In an instant, the players who had been hiding in the shadows emerged one after another.

To Ye Xiyin’s surprise, a few players walked toward them. They greeted He Qiting and the others first, then looked at him with curiosity.

However, they only glanced back and forth between him and He Qiting, not appearing overly excited.

The focus of their discussion remained on the quest.

"It probably isn't a single-entry instance. I checked, and the party limit is five. But the first to clear it probably gets more rewards. What do you say? You, Xu Ziche, Qiuyue, Zibuyu, and me—shall the five of us give it a try?" The person speaking was named Juexin, and he began to chatter away, making arrangements.

The five of them were a fixed party who often took on quests together, so Xu Ziche and the others had no objections.

He Qiting’s focus remained on Ye Xiyin.

Bringing a player from the Feiyun Escort Agency over, He Qiting said: "We are going to participate in this bandit suppression quest shortly and won't be able to take you along. You stay with Bai Ye; he will protect you."

They would certainly be entering an instance dungeon soon, and Ye Xiyin, as an NPC, couldn't participate, so he nodded obediently.

He Qiting’s expression softened: "Don't worry, I’ll be back soon."

"Alright, you be careful too," Ye Xiyin said, pulling out a few medicine vials and offering them to him. "These are for you."

Inside were medicines for restoring health and mana and clearing negative status effects—far superior to anything circulating among the players.

He Qiting did not refuse.

For the past few days, the little NPC had been talking about refining medicine for them, clearly feeling uneasy about the trouble he had caused them.

Accepting the gift would put his mind at ease, which was a good thing.

Ye Xiyin was also much happier, his eyes curving into crescents. If he weren't worried that He Qiting would grow suspicious if he took out too many, he would have given him even more.

Bai Ye had been watching their interaction, feeling like an outsider looking in.

When He Qiting and the others finally left to accept the instance quest, he hesitated for a moment, trying to think of a topic to keep the little NPC from getting bored.

But when he turned around, he found that the space beside him was already empty.

"Wait, where did he go?!"