Chapter 68 Spider
I've completed half of the main quest, and through a serendipitous encounter, I've also learned about the Dragon Slayer Saber from the Emei Sect.
The Dragon-Slaying Saber last appeared more than twenty years ago. Xie Xun, the Golden-Haired Lion King of the Ming Cult, stole the Dragon-Slaying Saber and disappeared along with Yin Susu, the daughter of Zhang Cuishan, the Eagle King of Wudang, and the White-Browed Eagle King of the Ming Cult.
More than a decade later, Zhang Cuishan, along with his wife Yin Susu and son Zhang Wuji, reappeared in the martial arts world, attracting a large following. To avoid revealing the whereabouts of the Dragon-Slaying Saber, the couple committed suicide on Wudang Mountain. Their only son, Zhang Wuji, also disappeared without a trace, reportedly having fallen to his death from a cliff.
After briefly recalling the information he had inquired about from Zhou Zhiruo, he couldn't help but exclaim, "Orphaned and carrying the hatred of the entire martial arts world, this setup is clearly that of a protagonist."
The author even goes so far as to speculate, based on years of experience in film, television, and novels, that Zhang Wuji had a miraculous encounter after falling off the cliff. Now, with the six major sects besieging Bright Peak, he's certain Zhang Wuji will descend from the heavens, turn the tide, and become the leader of the Ming Cult. Ultimately, he'll obtain the Dragon-Slaying Saber and lead the Ming Cult to a bloody massacre of the Central Plains martial arts world to avenge his family.
During this time, he will also encounter several stunningly beautiful female confidantes, leading to a complex web of love, hate, and revenge. Ultimately, he will be moved by these confidantes, let go of his hatred, and reconcile with the martial arts world of the Central Plains.
If Zhou Zhiruo hadn't been a disciple of Abbess Miejue, judging by her appearance, she could very well have become one of the protagonist's confidantes.
"No!" Xiu Chuqiyu's heart skipped a beat: "It's precisely because Zhou Zhiruo is a direct disciple of Abbess Miejue that she's more likely to become the protagonist's confidante! Otherwise, where would the reconciliation drama come from if they share the same stance?"
After a moment of wild thoughts, Xiuchu began to ponder how to find the Dragon Slayer Sword.
The simplest solution would be to wait for the protagonist to appear; then, following the protagonist's group would definitely give her a chance to get her hands on the Dragon-Slaying Saber. However, she has already established a relationship with the Emei Sect, and it's unacceptable for her to just stand by and watch Abbess Miejue and the others be killed by the protagonist.
Besides, who knows when Zhang Wuji will pull out the Dragon-Slaying Saber? We still need to think of other ways.
"Or maybe I should focus on building up my reputation as a swordsmith? It'll boost my prestige, and having close friends is always a good thing."
"On the other hand, legend has it that the Dragon-Slaying Saber holds the secret to dominating the martial arts world. Who knows, maybe one day Xie Xun will be so foolish as to seek out me, the most famous swordsmith, for help in deciphering its secrets?"
"It's a good opportunity to secretly observe whether Zhang Wuji will turn evil as I suspect. If we're lucky enough to encounter a protagonist who hasn't turned evil, wouldn't the Dragon-Slaying Saber be within our grasp?"
Having made his decision, he shared his serendipitous encounter and began wandering aimlessly around Kunlun.
There are many martial arts practitioners here, and major battles often take place. It's a perfect place for her to farm swordsmith reputation.
As for why she didn't farm near the six major sects?
"We've already said we'd observe secretly, so how can we openly take sides with the six major sects?"
"Of course, it's best to grind reputation on the edge of Kunlun. Treat all disciples, whether from the six major sects or the Ming Cult, the same. This will make it easier for her to smoothly change her stance later."
After seeing off the Ming Cult disciples who came to upgrade their weapons once again, he returned to his small courtyard, which he had rented for only three taels of silver.
"If only the prices in JX3 were this low."
For the 101st time, while inwardly lamenting the high prices, he showed off his extraordinary encounter and greeted Zhu'er, handing her the vegetables from his backpack.
Spider is an NPC that Xiu rescued from outside through a series of adventures.
She and her fiancé, Zeng Aniu, were being chased when she stumbled upon this scene. She hadn't intended to get involved, but the people chasing her and Zeng Aniu turned red right before her eyes.
Can she tolerate this?
He directly intervened and saved Zhu'er and Zeng Aniu.
I just don't know what kind of suffering Zhu'er had endured before.
Her face was disfigured, and her fiancé Zeng Aniu's leg was broken; the two of them looked truly miserable.
Xiuchuqiyu happened to be grinding reputation at the foot of Kunlun Mountain, so he used two high-grade Wanling Pills to heal them. Seeing this, Zhu'er insisted on staying to repay his kindness. Xiuchuqiyu didn't mind having a few more NPCs with him, so he hired them to help out.
But unexpectedly, I found a pleasant surprise.
Spider is also a highly skilled chef! Thanks to her, we're almost halfway to completing the culinary achievements from our adventure.
"Why vegetables again?" Zhu'er frowned, hands on her hips, looking at Xiu Chuqiyu: "Didn't I tell you to buy some meat? You can earn over ten gold coins just by repairing a weapon? How come you can't even afford some meat?"
Where did all your money go?
Showing off her unexpected encounter, she smiled ingratiatingly: "It's not that I don't want to buy, it's just that you promised yesterday to make me a new dish with vegetables today. I've been eating the same dishes for several days in a row, I want to try something new!"
Spider glared at Xiu Chuqi with annoyance: "Since I promised to make it for you, I certainly won't go back on my word. But you can't just make me eat vegetarian food, can you? I'm not a rabbit in disguise!"
She only realized after showing off her amazing encounter that the NPCs were different from her; they were actually eating!
He quickly took out the lean meat that the butcher had prepared from his backpack and handed it to Zhu'er.
"Sorry, I forgot. Here's a piece of lean meat. See if you can use it? If not, I have some blood and bits of meat here."
Showing off her extraordinary encounter, she took out the ingredients that the butcher had prepared one by one: "Oh right, there are bones too? Your husband's leg just recovered recently, would you like some bone broth?"
Spider, used to seeing Xiu's extraordinary encounter and the pile of things he took out from behind him, sighed deeply.
"Since you bought all the ingredients, why did you hide them?"
"These things will spoil if left out for too long, and the ingredients themselves have their own flavor. Don't put any more of this junk in your sword-making furnace."
She looked at Xiu Chuqi with genuine sincerity: "If your master knew that you put all this random stuff in the swordsmith's most important forging furnace, wouldn't he really beat you?"
He smiled awkwardly as he recounted his serendipitous encounter.
Previously, Zhu'er was annoyed by her ability to pull things out of her back at any time, so she casually told Zhu'er about her adventure and claimed that she had hidden the items in the sword-forging furnace. Who knew that this seemingly intimidating girl was so honest and actually believed her!
To avoid offending the head chef, Xiu had no choice but to tearfully accept the blame for his careless behavior, and was repeatedly nagged by Zhu'er.
"Alright, Zhu'er, stop talking now." Zeng Aniu came out of the kitchen and said with a smile, "I've already lit the stove and chopped the side dishes. Come in and start cooking."
He smiled sheepishly at Xiu'er for showing off her amazing adventure, then followed her back to the kitchen.
Watching the loving couple, who seemed to be in perfect harmony, Xiu Chuqi couldn't help but exclaim, "What a sweet couple they are!"
After a few peaceful days, on this day, as usual, after enjoying the new dishes, Show-off made a remark and chatted with Spider and the others during the intervals between shouts.
Zhu'er and Zeng Aniu were used to showing off their amazing encounters and repeatedly exclaiming after tasting new dishes, and had long since learned to ignore this strange scene.
"The Ming Cult disciples who came to repair their swords today told me that the Eagle Sect, which had long since separated from the Ming Cult, has also come to aid the Ming Cult. It seems that although there are some unsavory things among the Ming Cult's higher-ups, they are still quite harmonious when it comes to life and death."
Upon hearing this, Zhu'er paused in her chopsticks: "Really?"
Showing off his extraordinary encounter, he didn't notice her unusual behavior, nodded, and continued, "Yes. I heard that the White-browed Eagle King and his son, Yin Yewang, have arrived. They should arrive at Bright Peak in the next couple of days."
"The six major sects have been besieging Bright Peak for almost half a month. Although both sides have suffered losses, the Ming Cult has clearly suffered greater losses. After all, the six major sects not only have more people, but also more experts than the Ming Cult."
"Even if the Ming Cult has the advantage of terrain, it probably won't last long. I reckon that if White-browed Eagle King and Yin Ye King come, they'll just be easy prey."
"Clatter".
Two pairs of chopsticks fell onto the table at the same time.
Showing off his extraordinary encounter, he looked curiously at Zhu'er and Zeng Aniu.
"What's wrong with you two? Why did you both drop your chopsticks while eating?"
"Showing off their love?"
"Huh?" Zhu'er was clearly distracted: "Yes."
He gave a perfunctory reply and then lowered his head to shovel rice into his mouth.
Showing off his extraordinary encounter, he squinted and looked at the two people who were clearly acting strangely.
"You have connections with the Ming Cult?"
"Wrong?" Before the two could answer, Xiu Chuqiyu spoke up on his own: "When the Ming Cult was besieged for so long before, I didn't see you two being anxious."
"Did things start acting strangely after I mentioned the Sky Eagle Cult?"
"Do you have connections with the Sky Eagle Cult?"
As he spoke, he took a closer look at Zhu'er and Zeng Aniu, and then realized that their character models were unusually good-looking, clearly not at the level of ordinary NPCs!
Furthermore, upon closer inspection of their character statuses, Zeng Aniu's health is significantly higher than Zhu'er's, and even higher than that of the Abbess Miejue they encountered earlier.
This guy is a pro!
Showing off my extraordinary encounters, I couldn't help but let my thoughts wander.
The Eagle Cult is considered part of the Ming Cult camp, and many movies, TV series, and novels nowadays add side couples or something similar.
Could it be that the writers of JX3 have also learned this trick, and that Zhu'er and the others are actually the second female and male leads?
The second female lead betrays the Sky Eagle Sect, and the second male lead is a peerless martial arts master. Because of their differing stances, they are forbidden from loving each other, so they choose to elope. They live their lives in anonymity.
Considering that they were being chased when they first met, this really fits her guess.
Otherwise, how could Zeng Aniu, a peerless master, be unable to deal with a few henchmen? Isn't it because the one chasing him was either his or Zhu'er's fellow disciple, and he couldn't bring himself to do it?
The more Xiuchu thought about her strange encounter, the more convinced she became of her guess, and the way she looked at Zhu'er and Zeng Aniu changed.
Feeling uncomfortable under the scrutinizing gaze of someone who had just shared their extraordinary adventure, and hearing her mention the Eagle Sect, Zhu'er instinctively retorted loudly.
"Who would want to be involved with a scumbag who abandons his wife and children? He deserves to be struck by lightning!"
"Zhu'er, you can't curse him like that!" Zeng Aniu quickly stopped him.
"Um?"
That sentence contains a lot of information.
Showing off their extraordinary encounter further confirms that the two are important characters in the story.
Before she could ask any more questions, she saw Zhu'er put down the bowl and start tidying up the table.
"You're talking so much over a meal? Fine, don't eat then, I'll clean up!"
"Huh?" Xiu Chu was stunned. She was all prepared to watch a dramatic and exciting scene, but who knew Zhu'er would suddenly act so unpredictably. Not only did she not explain, but what was she doing tidying up the table?
Fortunately, she had already finished eating, so her new dish wasn't lost.
At night, Xiu Chuqi deliberately didn't choose to leave the game running, but instead kept staring at the names of Zhu'er and Zeng Aniu in the focus list.
Sure enough, as the night grew quiet, the distance between them gradually increased, and they soon disappeared from the focus list.
Showing off his extraordinary encounter, he looked at Zeng Aniu, who was still standing in the same spot, and felt a little puzzled.
"Could I have guessed wrong? Why did Zhu'er leave Zeng Aniu behind and go alone?"
After taking one last look at Zeng Aniu, whose position hadn't changed at all, he showed off his extraordinary encounter, got up, and chased after the direction Zhu'er had left in.
Following behind Zhu'er from a distance, she seemed very familiar with the terrain. Xiu Qi watched as she weaved left and right, quickly avoiding the patrolling members of the six major sects and the Ming Cult, and arrived at a somewhat dilapidated tavern with a clear destination.
Perhaps because it was late at night, there were not many customers in the tavern, except for a waiter who was dozing off in front of the counter.
Zhu'er stood outside the door, bit her lip, and hesitated for a moment before entering the tavern.
To avoid being discovered by Zhu'er, Xiu didn't follow her inside, but instead used her great lightness skill to fly to the roof and land.
The distance was neither too far nor too close, not so far that Spider would discover it, but enough for Show's Adventure to see everything happening in the tavern completely through the method of blocking vision.
Zhu'er walked to the counter and gently tapped the table in front of the waiter. The waiter, who had been dozing off, was immediately awakened.
"Sir, is there anything you need?"
Zhu'er did not respond, but instead took out a jade pendant and placed it on the counter.
Showing off the serendipitous encounter and zooming in, we discovered it was a jade pendant carved with a spider pattern.
Upon seeing the jade pendant, the waiter's smile vanished instantly. His gaze towards Zhu'er sharpened considerably.
"Who are you? How did you get this jade pendant?"
Zhu'er sighed softly, "Uncle Li, don't you even remember me?"
Upon hearing this familiar address, the waiter's serious expression turned into one of confusion.
"Are you Yin Li?"
As he spoke, he carefully examined Zhu'er and indeed saw the face of an old friend on her face.
"I'm not called Yin Li anymore, I'm called Zhu'er."
“Zhu’er…”
The waiter looked at Zhu'er with an inscrutable expression, and the joy that had arisen on his face from seeing an old friend also disappeared.
"He is, after all, your father."
Zhu'er said fiercely, "He doesn't deserve to be my father! He drove my mother to her death, and I will never forgive him for the rest of my life."
The waiter sighed again.
"But you came here for him."
"I……"
Spider was speechless for a moment.
Seeing that Zhu'er did not refute, the waiter continued to speak.
"Since you've already abandoned your surname, why not completely forget the past? Judging from your appearance, you haven't mastered your mother's Thousand Spider Venomous Hands. You probably can't be of any help. Do you think it's worth showing up here now for someone you've hated your whole life?"
Spider was silent for a moment before answering.
"Although I hate him, I don't want to see him die at someone else's hands. Even if he has to die, I can only kill him with my own hands to avenge my mother."
"As for martial arts, Uncle Li, don't worry."
“I met a kind person who healed the wounds on my face, allowing me to get rid of the side effects of the Thousand Spider Poison Hand. I am now able to protect myself.”
Upon hearing this, the waiter couldn't help but give a wry smile and shake his head.
“You’re just like your mother. Once you’ve made up your mind, no amount of persuasion will change it. Since that’s the case, there’s no need for me to be the bad guy.”
As he spoke, he took out a slip of paper and handed it to Zhu'er.
"This record shows the places where King Yinye has appeared in the past few days. You can find him by searching over there."
Zhu'er didn't expect to get the information she wanted so easily.
Looking at the densely written notes in front of her, she spoke softly.
"Uncle Li, even if I hadn't come, you wouldn't have just stood by and done nothing, right?"
The waiter looked at the moon outside the door with a bewildered expression.
"I have no idea."
"I should hate him, but I keep thinking about the good old days we had."
He then closed his eyes.
"Your presence here today can be considered as helping me make a decision."
"Since I didn't save your mother years ago, I shouldn't save him today either. Let me just remain a coward."
"Take your things and leave. From now on, I'll just be an ordinary tavern owner and waiter, and I'll never pay attention to the affairs of you martial arts people again."
As Zhu'er left the tavern, his mind was filled with all sorts of grudges and affections.
Although both of them were somewhat vague in their statements, just a few words about their extraordinary encounter had already conjured up a series of dramatic and heart-wrenching stories.
"Yin Li, Uncle Li, and Zhu'er's mother. This is clearly a melodramatic love triangle and sibling rivalry plot!"
She was itching to know the whole story, but she also knew that these past events were hurtful to Zhu'er. Showing off her extraordinary encounter, she struggled to suppress her curiosity and didn't reveal herself to ask Zhu'er.
Instead, he chose to continue tracking her.
She wasn't just curious; she was simply worried about her chef being in danger.
Spider, who had been following closely behind, suddenly discovered that in this new gameplay, she had not only gained gold bricks and extraordinary encounters, but had also turned herself into a stalker.
"It seems like I've been stalking people a bit too much."
Showing off his extraordinary encounter prompted him to reflect on his actions briefly, and then he decisively banished the thought from his mind.
"How can doing a mission be called stalking? Zhu'er is a prime suspect for the second female lead. It's all just to complete the mission."
He easily convinced himself, showed off his extraordinary encounter, and shifted his attention back to Zhu'er, only to discover that she had already found her father.
Showing off a strange encounter, from a long distance, they saw an NPC with the words 'Yin Ye Wang' above his head roaring at Zhu'er.
"How dare you, you unfilial daughter, appear before me?"
"Get out of here!"
Showing off his extraordinary encounter, he frowned and turned to look at Zhu'er.
She attacked the men surrounding King Yin Ye while simultaneously retaliating against her father.
"From the moment you drove my mother to her death, you were no longer my father, and you have no right to order me around!"
Distracted by conversation during the battle, Yin Yewang carelessly cut a bloody gash on his arm.
"Since you, this unfilial daughter, refuse to acknowledge me, what are you doing here?"
"Get out, I don't want to see you."
Seeing that they had gained the upper hand, the NPCs who were besieging Yin Yewang also laughed and said, "Why be so heartless?"
"Since your daughter has come all this way to save you, let her die here with you today. It would be a fitting end to the bond you share as father and daughter."
As they spoke, they intensified their offensive.
Yin Yewang, who was already at a disadvantage, was suddenly outmatched and began to retreat steadily.
Seeing this, Zhu'er knocked back the enemy in front of her with a palm strike, and with a wave of her hand, a group of spiders flew out from her sleeve.
However, due to the darkness of the night and the spider's small size, the others failed to notice it for a moment.
By the time everyone realized something was wrong, they had already been bitten by the spider and the venom had begun to take effect.
Although Yin Yewang, as Zhu'er's father, deeply hated the Thousand Spider Poison Hand, he was also very familiar with this martial art. Seeing that the enemy was poisoned, he immediately forced up a breath of true energy to counterattack.
In no time, the situation on the field reversed. The Eagle Sky Sect members, who had initially been at a disadvantage, repelled their attackers. Upon seeing this, the attackers scattered in all directions.
The enemy had all left, and King Yin Ye saw his daughter, whom he had never liked, standing there alone, and couldn't help but scold her.
"What are you still standing there for? Can't you see I'm injured? Hurry up and come over here to bandage my wound."
Just when Xiuchu thought Zhu'er would scold him back, he saw that she actually walked over obediently.
Yin Yewang seemed somewhat surprised, and his tone softened considerably.
"Why are you still practicing your mother's evil martial arts? Get rid of it right away, or you'll end up looking like your mother, neither human nor ghost, and then how will you ever get married?"
Zhu'er, who had originally planned to use a gentler method to subdue Yin Yewang, was enraged upon hearing this.
"You have no right to mention my mother!"
"you……"
Before Yin Yewang could argue with Zhu'er, he suddenly felt dizzy.
"You, you actually poisoned me?"
Before he collapsed, he saw that Zhu'er's face was terrifyingly cold.
"Otherwise what? Do you really think I came here to save you, the murderer who drove my mother to her death?"
Seeing everyone around her fall down, Zhu'er couldn't help but collapse to the ground.
She sat quietly for a moment before speaking again.
"Come out now."
Showing off her unexpected encounter, she stepped out from the corner: "I thought you hadn't noticed me."
Spider raised her hand and vigorously wiped the water droplets from her face, unable to suppress a laugh.
"Such obvious pink sword energy appeared next to me. I'm not blind, how could I not notice it?"
Looking at the slowly approaching Xiu Chu Qi Yu, Zhu'er felt a warmth well up in her originally cold heart.
"Thank you for your help. If you hadn't secretly intervened, my Thousand Spider Venomous Hands alone wouldn't have been able to repel them."
Showing off her extraordinary encounter is still more about getting used to Spider's usual fierce demeanor.
He awkwardly raised his hand: "I was just passing by and didn't want anything to happen to my chef."
Rarely seeing Xiu's extraordinary encounter like this, Zhu'er couldn't help but smile: "Yes, yes, then, Miss Employer, would you like to come back with me and try the new dishes?"
Showing off her amazing encounter, her eyes lit up: "Is that okay?"
She hesitated, looking at Yin Yewang lying on the ground: "What should we do with this person?"
Zhu'er stood up and looked down at Yin Yewang, her expression unreadable.
Just when Xiu Chu thought she wouldn't speak, Zhu'er suddenly bent down and slapped Yin Yewang's dantian.
Yin Yewang, who had been lying unconscious on the ground, coughed up a mouthful of blood.
What's going on here?
Showing off his unexpected encounter, he was shocked, thinking that Zhu'er had really killed him. He quickly checked Yin Yewang's character status.
He secretly breathed a sigh of relief when he discovered that the opponent's health bar still had a little more than half left.
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