Chapter 75
"Alright, alright, I won't laugh anymore. You're not in the Novice Village right now, so I can't help you much. Be careful and stay safe on your own, and don't get into any conflicts with others." During Bei Qiao's time away from home in this alien world, Qiao Lin would occasionally log in to make his presence known and tend to the crops in the yard. A mother worries about her child even when they're away from home, and although Bei Qiao never complained to her, she couldn't help but worry about her daughter's safety.
"Okay." Bei Qiao nodded obediently. Regardless of whether she listened or not, she agreed first so that her mother would not continue nagging: "Where's Dad? Why hasn't he come out to eat yet?"
"He's watching the donkey cart in the game. I'll go and replace him after dinner." Qiao Lin picked up the cup and took a sip of water. "I paid to register for a resident number, and I have a ready-made donkey cart. It would be a waste not to go far. It's just that time is too tight. We have to go back in the afternoon, so we won't be able to see much of the scenery."
"There's no need to be so anxious. Why don't you stay at the inn tonight and go back tomorrow? You don't have work tomorrow."
"We're just going out for a stroll, and we'll save money if we can. Okay, enough talking. I'm going to go and replace your dad. I might not be able to cook in time tonight, so if you're hungry, go eat some cookies first."
"Got it, have fun."
Putting down his chopsticks and saying hello to his father who had just logged off, Bei Qiao returned to his bedroom to rest for a while, then went online to change into his cousin Qiao's clothes, and rode Honghong straight to the inner city.
The capital was divided into the Outer City and the Inner City. The Inner City was where the nobles lived, while the central area housed the Imperial City, which was off-limits to outsiders without imperial decree. Those standing in the Outer City couldn't see the Imperial City, but they could see the mountain it rested on. It was said that the other side of the mountain was heavily guarded, making it easy to defend but difficult to attack.
The outer city, where Bei Qiao was currently located, was a blend of residential and commercial areas. A river ran through the city, facilitating transportation. As Bei Qiao rode past the river, he saw a boat on the river unable to cross the bridge due to its piled-up cargo. He also saw a child, having skipped school and played in the river, being grabbed and beaten by his parents, causing him to burst into tears.
Riding his horse across the river, Bei Qiao encountered a market on the other side of the river. The streets were so crowded that Bei Qiao couldn't move fast on his horse. He encountered three groups of thieves in one street, and these thieves were not from the same group.
"What a pity, none of them is on the wanted list." In order to make some extra money, Bei Qiao specially memorized the facial features of some wanted criminals, but in the end, these preparations were never used once.
The thieves who were thrown back into the crowd by Bei Qiao said: Was that guy looking down on me just now? Damn it! It’s so great that he can fight!
After changing routes three times, Bei Qiao finally found a street with fewer people. After riding for a while in the direction he remembered, Bei Qiao finally saw a city wall with a gate leading to the inner city.
The player who was locked up in the small dark room before was captured by a native living in the inner city. Bei Qiao went to the inner city this time to scout the area first and see if there was any possibility of completing the task.
Bei Qiao: To be honest, I'm also interested in the quest reward. 500,000 RMB plus a room in the capital city—just looking at that reward makes it seem like this quest is going to be difficult. But who says you have to do the quest once you're there?
The inner city of the capital was more strictly inspected than the outer city. When Bei Qiao arrived at the inner city gate on horseback, he saw soldiers guarding the gate checking each carriage, and anyone passing by on horseback was also stopped and inspected. However, there were exceptions. At least the four carriages that had just passed by were not stopped by the soldiers. When they saw the carriage approaching, the soldiers quickly bowed and made way for it.
After receiving a jealous glare from a young soldier, Bei Qiao rode smoothly into the inner city. Compared to the outer city, the houses here were more beautiful, with a pair of stone lions at the front door of each. There weren't many pedestrians on the road, but there were more carriages. Armored soldiers patrolled the area, looking quite impressive.
"The security here is much better than that in the outer city..." According to the mission details, Bei Qiao rode his horse all the way to the Duke's Mansion where the player was imprisoned. As expected, he saw someone being grabbed by the arm and thrown out of the yard by a servant, with his face hitting the ground first, looking extremely embarrassed.
It's obvious how tempting 500,000 is. These servants are probably getting fed up with it. The expressions on their faces are really sour and depressed, and their actions of throwing people are full of impatience.
"Do you really think you're a hero? Hey, what kind of hero climbs over someone else's wall and steals their wife?" He kicked the man's butt again. The servant leaned against the door frame with a long stick and continued to guard the door: "You really have all kinds of stuff, huh..."
"Ahem..." The player who was thrown out rolled on the ground twice before crawling away in a panic. It wasn't that he didn't want to escape with more dignity, but previous experience had proven that the more dignified the escape, the greater the chance of being caught and beaten.
"Hehe, look at how cowardly he is, must he be scared?" As the players expected, the servants pointed at his back and laughed, but did not beat him up when he was down.
Player: Never mind, it's better than getting beaten up three blocks away. The guy who yelled at the gate last time, "Don't bully the poor young man," got beaten so badly that he can't even get out of bed. That's miserable.
"Which one is this?"
"From what I've seen, this is the third one today!" The inner city had fewer people than the outer city, but the crowds of spectators were no less. While ordinary residents gathered in a circle to watch, those in the inner city sat in carriages, their curtains drawn. Some even leisurely drank tea in the carriages, accompanied by maids helping them shell nuts.
The Inner City was only this big, and basically everyone in the city knew what happened in the Duke's Mansion. Those who didn't like to watch the fun usually just chatted at home, but when they encountered those who did... it turned into what it is now.
Even the bustle of the Duke's Mansion can be seen with such fanfare. The people in this inner city are truly more powerful than the last... Bei Qiao thought so as she rode slowly past the gate of the Duke's Mansion. Because the servants were watching her too closely, she did not stop her horse nearby, but continued at a steady pace until she reached the next intersection.
Honghong turned to look at Beiqiao in confusion: Why stop here?
"Do you want to eat it?" Bei Qiao took out the remaining bean cake from his sleeve to tease it, which made it so angry that it snorted and shook its head.
"I'm not teasing you anymore." Bei Qiao held the bean cake in front of him and sniffed it: "This cake is quite fragrant, why don't you like it...huh?" Looking at the unfamiliar horse face that suddenly came in front of him, Bei Qiao couldn't help but be stunned for a moment: "Whose horse are you? You look quite good-looking."
The little white horse, appearing out of nowhere, ignored Bei Qiao and opened its mouth to take a bite of the bean cake in her hand. Bei Qiao quickly put the bean cake away and tugged at the reins to move away. It wasn't that she was reluctant to part with the bean cake, but the horse's forehead ornament looked very expensive. Bei Qiao was worried that if she gave it an upset stomach, she would get into trouble that she couldn't afford to pay for.
The little white horse was a little angry when he found out that Bei Qiao refused to give him any bean cakes. However, he was good-tempered and didn't bite or kick anyone. He just turned around and walked away angrily, his four hooves clattering on the ground.
It didn't pester Beiqiao, didn't bring him any sacred objects in exchange for bean cakes, and didn't attract any important figures for Beiqiao to meet. The encounter between this little white horse and Beiqiao began suddenly and ended decisively.
"Fortunately, I didn't get into any trouble..." Bei Qiao was already very used to not having any adventures. For her, no trouble was the best outcome.
The midday sun was blazing. Bei Qiao asked Hong Hong to run under a large tree for some shade while he sat on horseback, pondering his next move. This small dark room mission seemed simple, but it was actually quite difficult. Just looking at the player who had just been thrown out, it was clear that it was incredibly difficult to avoid detection.
Bei Qiao was confident in his Qinggong skills, but the guards patrolling the courtyard were no pushovers, and the guards on the street might also attack. If he wanted to operate during the day, he would either need to figure out the patrol patterns of the internal and external personnel, or bring a teammate with him to make a feint to the east and attack in the west.
"The man who escaped just now didn't seem to be very good at lightness skills, and I didn't hear the servant say that he had any companions, but he actually went in. Why..." Bei Qiao always felt that he might have missed some information inadvertently. With so many people who failed in the mission before, it couldn't be that they were all martial arts geniuses, right?
"Young man, do you want a map of the Duke's Mansion? I'll sell it to you at a low price." An old man in a linen shorts appeared from nowhere, took out a map from his arms mysteriously, and shook it at Bei Qiao.
Map? Bei Qiao raised an eyebrow and looked at the other person's overly delicate fingers: He looks like an old man from a wealthy family, but I don't know why he is dressed like a servant.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Hey, hey! Although there are many strangers in the inner city, there is only one type of stranger surrounding the Duke's Mansion." The old man put away the map, a playful expression on his face, and said in a low voice: "They are the outsiders who are here to rescue people."
Bei Qiao still shook his head: "I really don't know what you are doing."
"Well, you don't know. Do you want the map? You can buy one for just twenty taels of silver! And the internal patrol schedule for fifty taels!" The old man enthusiastically shook the map at Bei Qiao: "It's genuine, and we don't cheat you!"
Bei Qiao waved his hand: "I really don't need this, old man." It seems that there is only one such person in the Duke's Mansion who can get the patrol timetable and dare to sell it openly, and he is also an old man who lives a life of luxury.
"Are you afraid this map is fake?"
"No, I just don't have any money. I left in a hurry today and only brought a dozen or so taels of silver with me..."
"It's okay, I can give you a discount! If the money is not enough, you can also use something as collateral!" The old man said firmly: I must make money from you today!
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