Chapter 12 A Familiar Appearance
"Huh? That's it?"
Showing off his incredible adventure, he wiped the screen in disbelief.
Everyone else who has a lucky encounter wipes their screen like this.
"What about my extraordinary adventure? Lu Xiaofeng, you promised me an extraordinary adventure!"
"Give me back my perfume!"
Unwilling to lose 11,730 gold, I patiently waited for the settlement screen to end, intending to clear other levels as soon as possible while the balm's effect was still active.
Returning to the game, I showed off my newfound adventure and found myself in a different location. Lu Xiaofeng, Hua Manlou, and the others who had been standing beside me were nowhere to be seen.
Upon discovering the unexpected encounter, I immediately checked my character status and found that the "Perfume Balm" status below my avatar frame had already been triggered once, leaving me with nine more chances to trigger it. The perfume balm countdown also had only twenty-three hours and thirty-six minutes remaining.
"Come on, adventure! While the perfume is still on, let me show you the power of the champion of staying up all night!"
I skillfully opened the taskbar.
To his surprise, the side quest he had previously accepted was now categorized into the second level of the game, "Before and After the Final Battle".
"Huh? I've already started working on the second level's mission so far ahead of schedule?"
He proudly praised himself for his amazing adventure, but the smile vanished the next second.
It was only because four large red characters had appeared below the original task in her task list: "Come here to find Ye Gucheng in ten days."
"Mission failed."
"Huh?" Showing off her adventure, she was puzzled: "How did I fail the mission?"
"I just finished the ending, why are you suddenly pulling me back in time? Developer, do you think this is reasonable?"
I strongly suspect that the developers realized the mission rewards were too high and started secretly changing them. Showing off my adventure, I hurriedly opened my backpack and found that the four outfits I had obtained before were still there.
He finally breathed a sigh of relief.
There's nothing we can do now that the side quest has failed; we'll just have to follow the main storyline for now.
He swaggered along, displaying his extraordinary skills, and flew towards the mission location.
Just like when she first entered the game level, she crashed through the roof and landed on a pile of food.
Show off your amazing adventures with a simple click.
The next moment, the character suddenly floated into the air and tightly gripped his own neck.
"Ugh, it's poisonous! What is this? It tastes awful!"
This action is almost as good as boiling fish in water.
A pair of chopsticks precisely placed a piece of pork head meat into her mouth, and the next moment, the character's action of showing off the adventure turned into spinning around.
"It's fatty but not greasy, with a lingering aroma. It's delicious, delicious."
*********
"What do they think of Ximen Chuixue and Ye Gucheng?!" Lu Xiaofeng slammed his hand on the table, about to continue his tirade, when he heard a cracking sound from above.
He nimbly jumped aside to avoid being hit. The next second, Lu Xiaofeng realized that the person who had fallen from the roof was someone he knew.
The woman was still dressed in pink, but the style of her clothes had changed slightly. After landing, without even looking around, she picked up the bowl of soy milk on the table and gulped it down.
"Ugh, it's poisonous! What is this? It tastes awful!"
Recalling their first meeting, Lu Xiaofeng smiled knowingly. He reached out, picked up a piece of pig's head meat, and stuffed it into the woman's mouth.
Sure enough, the woman exclaimed the next moment, "It's rich but not greasy, with a lingering aroma. It's delicious, so delicious!"
"It's been a long time," Lu Xiaofeng said with a smile.
The woman then turned to look at Lu Xiaofeng: "It's you, Lu Xiaofeng."
"What case are you investigating this time? Take me with you."
Lu Xiaofeng chuckled and shook his head: "I don't have any cases to investigate this time."
Seeing this, Li Yanbei laughed heartily: "Lu Xiaofeng is quite the ladies' man, aren't you going to introduce him?"
“You’ve misunderstood,” Lu Xiaofeng quickly said. “This is the young lady who helped me investigate the Embroidered Thief case before. Her name is Xiu Chu Qi Yu.”
Then, he introduced the man who had just had a strange encounter to Xiu Chu: "This is my friend, Li Yanbei, who is known throughout the capital for his benevolence and righteousness."
"Li Yanbei?" Xiu Chuqi looked at the big man curiously for a few moments.
"This name sounds like a Tian Ce (a powerful martial arts technique)."
"What does 'like Tian Ce' mean?" Li Yanbei asked curiously.
"They say your name sounds like a general's."
"Hahaha," Li Yanbei laughed heartily upon hearing this, "I have always hated being called General Li, but now that you say it, I feel somewhat honored."
"Why?" Xiu Chuqi asked, somewhat puzzled.
"Maybe it's because you're very sincere."
"Stop talking about this," Lu Xiaofeng interrupted their conversation, thinking of the woman's mysterious abilities. "You've come at the right time. I happen to have something I need your help with."
"A mission?" Showing off his adventure, his eyes lit up.
"Can you help me find Ximen Chuixue?"
Showing off his extraordinary encounter, he raised his hand and tapped in the air. After a while, he looked at Lu Xiaofeng with a puzzled expression: "Where are the mission rewards?"
Lu Xiaofeng was taken aback. Remembering how he had even eaten the vegetarian food that Master Bitter Gourd had dropped before his extraordinary encounter, Lu Xiaofeng readily agreed: "There are so many delicious foods in the capital. Once we find Ximen Chuixue, I'll take you to eat braised pork knuckle, donkey meat sandwiches, and Beijing-style tripe..."
"Can I pack it up?" Showing off her amazing encounter, her eyes lit up.
"no problem!"
"Then why don't you hurry up and catch up!"
She showed off her amazing encounter and ran straight out, but as she ran, she suddenly grabbed her own neck again.
"Ugh, it's poisonous! What is this? It tastes awful!"
Lu Xiaofeng, who was about to say goodbye to Li Yanbei, was startled. Just as he was about to go forward to check, he saw Xiu Chuqi turn around again.
"It's fatty but not greasy, with a lingering aroma. It's delicious, delicious."
"???"
"Isn't that what she said while she was eating?"
Even though he had gotten used to the other person's strange behavior, Lu Xiaofeng still didn't understand why Xiuchu's strange encounter suddenly brought up these two sentences.
All I could do was follow behind them with mixed feelings, running aimlessly through different streets. Every now and then, I'd watch them act out how they tasted terrible and delicious food.
After traveling through most of Beijing, Xiuchu Qiyu finally stopped in front of a pastry shop.
Lu Xiaofeng looked up and saw the three big characters "He Fang Zhai" written on the signboard. It turned out to be a time-honored brand.
Before Lu Xiaofeng could say anything, Xiuchu pointed inside.
"We've arrived. Ximen Chuixue is inside."
Although questioning a friend is very impolite, Lu Xiaofeng genuinely doubted whether showing off his extraordinary encounter was a mistake. He found it difficult to connect Ximen Chuixue with a pastry shop.
But the next moment, he realized that he was the one in the wrong.
Because the manager of Hefangzhai came out with a smile and spoke to them politely.
"Is this Master Lu? Our master instructed us that if we see you, please come in for a chat."
Following the shopkeeper past the shop and through a long corridor, Lu Xiaofeng and Xiu Chuqi entered an elegant courtyard.
In the courtyard, a man in white was practicing his sword. Not far away was a stone table, and a gentle-looking woman was sitting next to the table, watching the man practice with a smile.
"You, Ximen Chuixue, I've been looking for you until my head aches, and you're here having a good time. You have to compensate me with a few jars of your family's fine wine, or this isn't over."
Lu Xiaofeng walked toward the stone table while laughing.
Suddenly, a flash of sword light appeared, and the man who had been practicing his sword turned around and pointed his sword at Lu Xiaofeng.
The sharp tip of the sword stopped in front of Lu Xiaofeng's nose, and Lu Xiaofeng actually caught the sudden sword with two fingers.
"Looks like you've had a lot of wine, but your hands aren't shaking yet," Ximen Chuixue said with a smile, sheathing his sword.
"This is incredible!" Lu Xiaofeng jumped back: "Ximen Chuixue can actually joke now."
"I am a human being, and humans can make jokes."
"That must be thanks to Miss Sun. You weren't like this before."
You're wrong.
Lu Xiaofeng asked, puzzled, "Where did I go wrong?"
Ximen Chuixue retorted seriously, "It's not Miss Sun, it's Madam Ximen."
Lu Xiaofeng actually saw a hint of smugness in his eyes.
Lu Xiaofeng's eyes were also filled with smiles.
"Hey kid, you're getting married and you're not even inviting me to your wedding?" He was always happy for his friends' happiness.
Sun Xiuqing, who was standing to the side, walked over with a smile: "You missed the wedding banquet, but you can still enjoy the red eggs."
"What?" Lu Xiaofeng swore he had been shocked too many times today: "You're pregnant? Ximen Chuixue is going to have a child?"
A surge of joy welled up in Lu Xiaofeng's heart, but the next moment, he remembered the appointment with the Forbidden City on the fifteenth of September, and his mood suddenly became heavy again.
He looked up at Ximen Chuixue: "Is this the reason you changed your sword duel agreement with Ye Gucheng?"
Ximen Chuixue nodded.
Lu Xiaofeng was momentarily speechless. He wanted to say, "Then can't we just not compete?" But he understood Ximen Chuixue's nature. These peerless swordsmen always valued the way of the sword more than their own lives.
I just couldn't bring myself to say anything to stop them.
Lu Xiaofeng looked pleadingly at Sun Xiuqing beside her.
But the reason Sun Xiuqing was Mrs. Ximen was because she understood Ximen Chuixue. She didn't try to persuade him, but simply smiled and shifted her gaze to Xiuchu's extraordinary encounter.
"Lu Xiaofeng, aren't you going to introduce this young lady to us?"
"This is the person who worked with us to solve the Embroidery Thief case before; his name is Xiu Chuqiyu."
Lu Xiaofeng then remembered that, in terms of swordsmanship, Xiu Chuqiyu was actually considered a master of his time.
He was so afraid of Ximen Chuixue and Ye Gucheng meeting before, so why wasn't he worried about Ximen Chuixue seeing Xiu's extraordinary encounter?
Yes.
Because there was no killing intent in her sword.
To her, a sword was simply a sword, nothing more than a decoration; it could be used to kill or as a mere ornament. Therefore, Lu Xiaofeng was never worried about Ximen Chuixue seeing her.
As expected, although they were both peerless swordsmen, neither of them had any interest in the other.
Ximen Chuixue simply nodded slightly, without even glancing at Xiu Chuqi.
With a hint of impatience, he asked, "We've found the person. When are we going to buy food?"
A note from the author:
----------------------
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
