Chapter 43: Playing Games Is the Way

Quest: Raid in the Rainy Night (Completed)

Quest Reward: Permanent Acquisition of the Infinite Rocket Launcher (Obtained)

No matter how formidable a Martial Grandmaster might be, enduring a relentless, uninterrupted bombardment of rockets would make a clean escape utterly impossible, to say nothing of the harrowing peril of plummeting from the high heavens once their strength was completely spent.

Shouldering the rocket launcher, Fang Qi gazed into the distant sky: "I reckon if I were him, I wouldn't dream of looking for trouble ever again."

Lanyan swiftly produced a vial of fragrant elixir and fed it to Nalan Mingxue, and only then did a faint semblance of color return to the girl’s pale countenance.

By the time the downpour ceased, the morrow had already arrived, and pale golden sunlight poured generously through the fractures in the clouds, bathing the sodden earth below, signaling that the gloom of yesternight was now firmly a thing of the past.

"What a splendid day!" As the sunlight streamed through the window and into his bedchamber, Fang Qi stretched himself with a lazy yawn.

To be able to drink Sprite, to keep playing games, and to have secured a weapon of such devastating caliber as the infinite rocket launcher—every single thought was enough to spark an exuberant thrill.

Of course, not everyone enjoyed a condition as hearty as Fang Qi's; the likes of An Cheng and Fatty Ouyang, four in total, emerged from the Jade Pavilion sporting heavy, dark circles beneath their eyes, and no sooner had they crossed the threshold than a rustle of hushed gossip arose behind them.

"Do you suppose those young masters suffer from some sort of hidden affliction..."

"They called for over a dozen of our girls here at the Jade Pavilion, yet they didn't care for music, nor did they watch the dancing; they just had them pour wine and chat the entire blessed night."

"Muttering about how to allocate points on a fire-mage skill tree, debating the feasibility of a dual-element magus, and carrying on about gear combinations and attributes... Good heavens, what on earth was any of that about!"

"..."

Walking along the thoroughfare, the young men looked up at the broad daylight with an air of complete bewilderment: "It is dawn already?"

"Origins should be open by now. Come, let us go drink Sprite!" An Cheng's eyes gleamed with sudden fervor.

"Let's go, let's go! Time to figure out how to allocate those attribute points!" The group, who a moment prior looked entirely drained of life, instantly surged with renewed vitality.

...

At that very moment, Li Haoran had just stepped out of the Blue Flame Pavilion, his countenance bearing that exact same look of utter exhaustion.

"Whatever has happened to Junior Martial Uncle Li?"

"Who knows? The moment he returned yesterday, he locked himself away in the forging room, and every piece of equipment he fashioned turned out exceedingly bizarre..."

Sure enough, within the artifact display cases of the Blue Flame Pavilion, three highly peculiar spiritual treasures appeared to have been added today.

Beside the artifacts lay meticulous descriptions, such as...

A few cultivators strolled into the shop and cast their eyes upon the newly added spiritual treasure in the showcase:

Superior Rhinoceros Horn of Frost

Attack: 4-21

Durability: 20/20

Required Realm: Spiritual Spring Realm

+30% Enhanced Attack

+7 Cold Damage

Cold Resistance +10%

"???"

The cultivators exchanged looks, each seeing the absolute bewilderment mirrored on the other's face.

A female disciple of the Blue Flame Pavilion offered a strained, awkward smile by way of introduction: "This is a new spiritual treasure forged by Junior Martial Uncle Li Haoran... Er..."

'Mercy, I haven't the slightest clue how to spin the rest of this yarn!' The female disciple wept silently in her heart, finding it terribly trying to remain in the shop under such scrutiny.

...

With the increasing number of computers in the internet cafe, nearly everyone had come to realize that queuing was no longer necessary of late, rendering the morning inside the establishment reasonably tranquil.

"Boss! A bottle of Sprite over here!" An Cheng, Ouyang Cheng, and Bu Che strode into the shop with long strides, "We can drink it today, right?"

"You can," Fang Qi replied expressionlessly, handing a bottle of Sprite to each of the three, who hastily popped the caps and took a fierce, hearty gulp.

"Ah..." As the draught went down, An Cheng felt nothing short of a chilled, pristine current rushing from his throat down into his belly; a wave of crisp coolness washed over his entire being, and his prior exhaustion was instantly swept away into nothingness, causing him to groan aloud in sheer comfort.

"Magnificent!" Ouyang Cheng felt as though he were a spiritual artifact drained of energy that had suddenly been replenished to the brim; his once clamorous and weary mind felt as though it had been washed clean by a mountain spring, and his heart leapt with joy, "To think Sprite possessed such an efficacy?!"

"I feel as though I have tasted the crisp purity of a thousand-year-old spring buried beneath the great snow mountains!"

Beside them, Bu Che cradled his bottle of Sprite, savoring it in tiny, enraptured sips; noticing their stares, he glanced from the liquid remaining in their bottles to his own, and promptly shielded his drink defensively: "What are you two leering at?"

The duo froze, looking down at their own Sprite: "Finished... already?"

Ouyang Cheng wore a smile he deemed exceedingly amiable and extended a single finger: "For the sake of our brotherhood, let me have just a tiny sip! Just one tiny sip!"

"Your Sprite is for your own consumption; do not offer it to others," Fang Qi’s flat, nonchalant voice drifted over at that precise moment, "Violators will be permanently barred from service."

"Hehehe!" Bu Che grinned widely, continuing to sip his Sprite with a face full of bliss as he spoke, "You see, it's not that your brother here is being stingy!"

An Cheng and Ouyang Cheng were utterly crestfallen: "We must wait until tomorrow again!"

"Let's play the game then..."

"Go, go, go! Time to slay the Countess!" Having finished their specially crafted Sprite, the group seemed to possess vastly restored spirits.

The atmosphere within the shop could be described as entirely serene, yet within the Nalan Clan, things were far from peaceful following the events of yesterday.

Inside a certain grand and majestic hall.

Seated squarely in the center of the hall was a gaunt elder clad in a ceremonial python robe!

The old man rested quietly upon a throne draped in the hide of some unknown demonic beast; his ancient, weary eyes cracked open ever so slightly, his lips parting and closing.

The elder seemed to be murmuring to himself, or perhaps speaking to someone hidden from sight: "Do they think that because I am old, they may audaciously meddle in the internal affairs of my Nalan family?"

"May the Clan Head appease his wrath!" Out of the darkness, a figure abruptly manifested, "Last night's matter is already under full and rigorous investigation."

"How fare things on Jie's end?"

The dark shadow replied, "Nalan Ji insisted he was manipulated by that particular faction and has already committed suicide to escape punishment. The Eldest Young Master claims he merely misjudged the man's character, and has sent some healing salves to the Young Miss."

"Misjudged his character?" The elder offered neither agreement nor denial, "Then what of the young man who stepped in to save Xue'er—who is he?"

"Your subordinate has already inquired; he is the proprietor of a small shop in the Eastern Alley."

"A shop proprietor?"

"Precisely... a shop proprietor..." Though the shadow truly found it difficult to comprehend how the owner of a small shop could have beaten Nalan Ji into such a state of grievous injury.

Were roadside shops so formidable these days?

The elder slowly raised a hand: "Go and unearth the background of this proprietor."

A mere shop owner actually harbored the audacity to interfere in the succession struggles of a royal clan of a foreign surname?

Indeed, a foreign-surnamed King! This colossal entity was akin to a behemoth coiled across the southeast; when this titan opened its eyes, even the preeminent cultivation clans and high nobility had to defer by three fractions!

"Understood!"

To be sure, the one they spoke of was indeed the proprietor of a small shop.

And at this very moment, this shop proprietor was leisurely playing his game, utterly oblivious to the dark undercurrents surging beneath the surface.

Or rather, he simply had no desire to know; if those people were to learn that the sole reason Fang Qi's little shop had shattered that grand conspiracy was merely because the incident would have ruined his customers' gaming mood, one could scarce imagine what expressions they would wear.

Humming an unfamiliar little tune, Fang Qi hacked his way straight into Andariel's lair, feeling himself gain several more levels in the process: "As expected, playing games is the ultimate truth!"

.