Read Novel Full Chapter 69 - Stone Drum Village
Chapter 69 - Stone Drum Village
By the afternoon, Dugu Xiaobao had reverted to Dugu Zhuo, and he, alongside Ye Zhou, arrived at Bei Ning City on their swords.
Since they had yet to establish their sect and another disciple, Yang Fan, was away on a journey, this instance was to be tackled by Dugu Zhuo, Ye Zhou, Ye Jian, Yi Meng Xiao Yao, Bai Yi Piao Piao, and Ti Tou Lai Jian, making a group of six.
After a long time apart, Bai Yi Piao Piao had reached a level where she could walk under the sun while holding an umbrella. When Dugu Zhuo and the others arrived at the Ting Yu Pavilion in Bei Ning City, Bai Yi Piao Piao was being hit on by another player.
As players’ looks in the game continued to improve, romantic entanglements within the game also increased. Fortunately, the game had a moderation system, or the relationships in this circle would have been a complete mess.
After reaching level 39, Bai Yi Piao Piao’s appearance had become even more delicate and pitiable, looking especially endearing as she stood with her umbrella.
The player trying to hit on her was a demon race player, who was good-looking but had dressed in a rather flashy manner, with hair slicked with an excessive amount of oil, making him look quite greasy. He held out a flower to Bai Yi Piao Piao and said, “Beauty, how about taking a duo quest with me?”
Bai Yi Piao Piao shook her head and said, “No, I’m waiting for someone. I’ve arranged to tackle the Demon Spirit Tiger Tooth instance with my teammates.”
“That instance is impossible to clear. We’re already forming a group to complain to the game company, calling them every day. It’s driving the customer service nuts,” said the demon player. “Some people even suspect that the Demon Spirit Tiger Tooth instance is just a way for the game to recycle experience and items. Is it something a normal person can get through?”
Bai Yi Piao Piao’s eyes flickered with a hint of slyness as she covered her mouth with her sleeve and smiled gently, “Your method is somewhat disruptive.”
The demon player said, “Beauty, you smell so good. Are you from the Su Nu Sect? Anyway, your team won’t clear the instance. How about coming with me for a duo quest instead?”
With a smile in her eyes but a cold expression, Bai Yi Piao Piao gently held the demon player’s wrist and said, “What if we do clear it?”
“Impossible. You women always have unrealistic fantasies. If you manage to clear it today, I’ll give you a thousand spirit stones,” said the demon player.
Bai Yi Piao Piao replied, “No need for money. How about making a deal instead? If we clear it today, all the experience you gain in the next month will belong to me. What do you think?”
“Experience, how would I give it to you? Fine, I don’t think you’ll clear it anyway,” said the demon player confidently.
As soon as he finished speaking, Bai Yi Piao Piao’s fingernails suddenly grew ten centimeters long, red as blood, and embedded into the demon player’s wrist, drawing a drop of blood.
At the same time, stitches appeared all over Bai Yi Piao Piao’s body, giving her an aura of death.
“What is this?!” The demon player recoiled in shock and stumbled back.
“You’ve agreed. If I clear the instance today, all the experience you gain in the coming month will belong to me, with this mark as proof,” Bai Yi Piao Piao pointed to the red lines on the demon player’s wrist.
The wrist now bore three red lines, not drawn but appearing from the blood under the skin.
“What is this?!” exclaimed the demon player. “You’re not from the Su Nu Sect, you’re from the Ghost Clan of Bei Mang Mountain!”
“So what if I am? Does it matter if ghosts have unfinished business?” Bai Yi Piao Piao tied up her hair, revealing stitching marks at her ear.
Seeing her increasingly terrifying appearance, the demon player, now at the edge of panic, dropped the flower and fled.
Just then, Dugu Zhuo, Ye Zhou, and Ye Jian arrived. Bai Yi Piao Piao immediately said to Dugu Zhuo, “Did you hear that? Whether I get his experience for a month depends on you.”
“What skill is this?” Ye Jian asked curiously.
“Ghost Contract. Never make deals with ghosts. Even if it’s not a battle agreement, there will be a price to pay if they succeed,” Bai Yi Piao Piao explained. A head emerged from behind her, detached from a body.
Ye Zhou, seeing Bai Yi Piao Piao and Ti Tou Lai Jian, who were a bit intimidating, took a step back, hiding half his face behind Dugu Zhuo.
Dugu Zhuo said, “You should put away the stitches and attach the head to the body.”
Following Dugu Zhuo’s order, Bai Yi Piao Piao and Ti Tou Lai Jian obediently returned to their normal appearances and stood holding the umbrella.
“This game is really interesting!” Ye Jian whispered to Ye Zhou. “I didn’t expect the ghost race’s gameplay to be so varied.”
Yi Meng Xiao Yao arrived as well, looking increasingly beautiful. He had grown slender and delicate, his complexion pale but with a fragile elegance. Who would have thought that such a delicate figure was actually Yi Meng Xiao Yao, the highest-ranking in the game’s evil value?
Yi Meng Xiao Yao saw Dugu Zhuo and immediately said, “You’ve finally reached level 39. What’s your strategy for this instance? Also, why has your skin become so much whiter?”
Dugu Zhuo replied, “I have a strategy for the instance, but my skin hasn’t changed.”
“No, it really has!” Yi Meng Xiao Yao, with his enchantment talent, was especially sensitive to appearance. “It’s a different kind of white from Bai Yi Piao Piao’s pale look. Yours is a glossy… pearl white. You look especially vibrant. Oh, you’re not just whiter but also fuller.”
Ye Zhou interrupted, “That’s called being well-nourished. Dugu Zhuo is definitely very handsome, and no one at the same level can compare to him, not even the attribute-focused Qing Yue. He was a bit thin and looked a bit lonely. Now, with a bit more fullness and whiteness, he looks ten years younger with a youthful, heroic air. His looks have doubled!”
Everyone was speechless.
Yi Meng Xiao Yao asked Dugu Zhuo, “Aren’t you embarrassed by such compliments?”
Ye Jian, with his fan against his forehead, wondered if Ye Zhou was overdoing the admiration.
Dugu Zhuo remained serious, “Let’s focus on the instance.”
Talking about the instance that had been tormenting Yi Meng Xiao Yao for ten days, he said with a bitter face, “I really can’t find the problem with this instance. Do you have any ideas, Zhuo Shen?”
Bai Yi Piao Piao walked to the Ting Yu Pavilion’s task board and reached out to tear off the Demon Spirit Tiger Tooth instance task. Dugu Zhuo suddenly said, “If you tear off this task today, don’t attempt this instance. Find another task.”
Yi Meng Xiao Yao, being an old gamer, immediately realized, “You mean, the reason we’ve been wiped out every time we enter the instance is because our method of accepting the task is wrong?”
Dugu Zhuo nodded, preventing Bai Yi Piao Piao from tearing the task sheet. He examined the paper and saw it mentioned that Stone Drum Village often lost children, likely due to the White Tiger on Tiger Roar Mountain. The village chief had come to Ting Yu Pavilion for help, and the task was recorded by the disciples of Ting Yu Pavilion after the chief’s oral description, waiting for brave and wise heroes to help the villagers.
“Oral description…” Dugu Zhuo’s gaze fell on these words. “Why does this task sheet emphasize ‘oral description’?”
The team gathered around and saw the note about “oral description” at the bottom of the task sheet in small letters, added later by the Ting Yu Pavilion disciple who issued the task.
“Such small letters might be mistaken for a barcode by those with poor vision. I didn’t notice it before,” Yi Meng Xiao Yao said. “Is there a problem with this statement?”
Ye Zhou, scrutinizing the text, suddenly had a flash of insight: “Stone Drum, isn’t it also pronounced as ‘Corpse Bone’?”
“Exactly,” Dugu Zhuo pointed to the “Stone Drum” on the task sheet. “If this village is really called ‘Corpse Bone Village,’ then what are the children they’ve lost?”
Ye Jian felt a chill, rubbing his hands together, “If their village has no children, or if they’re all that thing, what did the White Tiger steal?”
Ye Zhou said, “What if the White Tiger didn’t actually harm the village’s children but has been attacking a problematic village? So, the real boss of the Demon Spirit Tiger Tooth instance isn’t the White Tiger?”
Dugu Zhuo said, “Perhaps the true goal of this instance is to rescue the White Tiger from some dark organization.”