Chapter 41: First Death (1)
"Hey, have you guys heard? Jade Sea Pavilion started fighting with Life At First Sight again yesterday. Rumour has it that Life At First Sight even sent Nine Ballads out this time around. Alas, the great god Quiet And Steadfast dealt with her in a second."
"What the f*ck! Quiet And Steadfast is really too OP!1 I chanced upon Nine Ballads in Frosty Wind Forest the last time I was there doing a quest, she was hunting monsters and, due to my carelessness, she killed obliterated me with an AOE attack. I brought my brothers along with me later on to exact revenge, but she still killed us all. That woman is really a damn pervert!"
"In that case, are you saying that Quiet And Steadfast is an even bigger pervert than her?"
"I heard differently compared to what you guys are talking about. From what I know, the reason why Quiet And Steadfast could finish off Nine Ballads like that was because an ugly monster trolled Nine Ballads beforehand… Well, that ugly monster is the very same player whom Jade Sea Pavilion recently admitted into their guild. She's also the one who everyone deems to be the ugliest player in the history of this game!"
"I know about that ugly monster! Don't think she's a nobody just because she's ugly! She's pretty awesome. Tell me, are you willing to incur the wrath of White Cloud Temple's Sect Leader, Song Yuqing's disciple? If so, then you better be careful when she comes looking for revenge with all of White Cloud Temple's NPCs backing her!"
"Jade Sea Pavilion really is getting more and more perverted! Do you think that Life At First Sight still stands a chance against them?"
"Well, that's hard to say. I've got a friend who's an executive in Life At First Sight, he said that Life At First Sight seems to be negotiating an alliance with Sovereign's Descent. Jade Sea Pavilion has held the title of being the number one guild for so long, it's not surprising for them to have long since incurred the displeasure of many guilds."
"Oh yeah, looks like we're gonna have another good show to watch!"
Shen Jingbin was leaning against the counter in a tavern as she waited for the shopkeeper to gather the medicines she needed.
Thus far, she'd been relying on her martial arts abilities from real life as a foundation for her combat abilities in the game. However, that battle with Nine Ballads last night had made her realise that her own underlying strength, that she'd been so proud of, didn't really count for much. It was all down to pure dumb luck that she managed to dodge Nine Ballad's attack yesterday. If she were to compare their martial prowess alone, Nine Ballads would probably be on par with her. Shen Jingbin had merely used the surrounding terrain to her advantage to catch her opponent off guard.
However, as the saying goes: there's always another mountain. There might come a day when she encounters someone whose true martial prowess and level outclassed hers. When that time comes, wouldn't she only be able to wait for her death? Hence, she had to prepare life-saving items for herself.
When talking about life-saving items in the game, if it wasn't large health potions, then it'd be the legendary Grandmaster Apothecary who could refine Shen Nong's secret medicine.
Based on the rumours that she'd heard, there was a Grandmaster Apothecary NPC in this tavern called "Number One Tavern", and that she'd be able to buy Shen Nong's secret medicine through the owner of the tavern.
She hadn't expected to hear so many rumours through the grapevine before she even obtained the medicine.
Sovereign's Descent was one of the other larger guilds. Although they had the most members in the game, they didn't have all that many elite players, yet their Guild Leader was a very ambitious person. He'd long since been discontent with the fact that even though Jade Sea Pavilion had less than half the number of members they did, they'd held the title of the number one guild in the game since the very start.
In >, a guild's strength was based on the average strength of its members. Although Jade Sea Pavilion didn't have that many guild members, every single one of them were elites. As a result, they were crowned as the "Number One Guild". Similarly, this was also the reason why they couldn't completely annihilate Life At First Sight despite being the number one guild in the game.
Life At First Sight was significantly weaker than Jade Sea Pavilion, but Jade Sea Pavilion was still no match for them in terms of manpower. There was a saying that an army of ants could kill an elephant. If Sovereign's Descent really did form an alliance with Life At First Sight, then Jade Sea Pavilion would most likely suffer a little.
After all, this army of ants was truly a little bigger than usual.
"Goddess, here's your medicine." As she was mulling over things, the shopkeeper walked out from the back of the tavern with two small porcelain bottles in hand, "The total comes out to 100 taels of silver."
"100 taels?!" Shen Jingbin couldn't control her voice for a moment and cried out.
The guests who were having their meals looked over in her direction, including those few players who'd mentioned her name just now. She was immensely thankful that she'd worn a black veil out in the streets today, otherwise the outcome would be unimaginable.
Since Nine Ballads made an effort to remember who she was, Quiet And Steadfast had pulled out a black veil, the same as the one he wore, and handed it to her. Whether it proved to be of use or not, the black veil would still be able to serve some purpose.
Noticing there wasn't anything gossip worthy, the players turned back after they cast a sweeping glance at her.
Since her figure was already so lacking, they reckoned that her face wouldn't be anything to write home about either.
"Goddess, this is a divine medicine. 100 taels isn't expensive at all. Don't you know how many years it's been since this Grandmaster Apothecary stepped foot outside? Back then, I spent a lot of money just to invite him back here. Honestly speaking, I wouldn't sell this medicine to any Tom, Dick, or Harry who comes looking for me, so a price of 100 taels isn't a loss for you." The shopkeeper's smile bloomed like a chrysanthemum as he said, "Goddess, you have an exceptionally lovely aura around you. I can tell that you're not a normal person from just a glance. You definitely wouldn't take a mere 100 taels of silver to heart."
What an unscrupulous businessman!
Shen Jingbin cursed him in her heart as she handed over 100 taels of silver, suppressing her tears. After she put away the secret medicine, Shen Jingbin left the tavern with the shopkeeper seeing her off.
All the effort she'd spent saving up had gone to naught in but a moment.
Shen Jingbin emotionally thought to herself: I want to learn how to refine medicine! These unscrupulous businessmen were really too vicious and greedy!
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