Chapter 17

Daytime in Jiangnan City, with seven or eight hours still remaining on the mission countdown.

Ruan Xuezong had gone to rest. After all, the operation wouldn’t begin until nighttime, so no matter how anxious the players felt, they could only kill time in the city. Some continued grinding their dailies, others headed to teahouses to gather information, and still more rushed to the blacksmith shop to buy weapons.

As its name implied, the blacksmith shop specialized in crafting high-quality gear. Anticipating a brutal fight that evening, the players swarmed the place.

The shop’s shelves overflowed with an array of gleaming weapons, but the knives, spears, swords, and halberds vanished in moments, snatched up by the ravenous crowd. Those who arrived too late wailed in despair, then eyed the farm tools piled in the corners—plows, hoes, sickles, pickaxes, even spatulas—and resolved not to leave empty-handed.

Just as the players prepared to depart, a system prompt suddenly appeared: 【Triggered chance encounter quest: “Help Blacksmith Wang Daniu Buy Two Blocks of Tofu”】. They froze in their tracks.

At the forge, a bare-chested NPC blacksmith, drenched in sweat, hammered away at a piece of iron. A puff of white steam suddenly billowed up, and the man finally raised his head. His dark face was flushed red.

“Uh… business is so hectic today. I can’t make it to West Bridge. Could you brave heroes head over to the tofu stall there and buy two blocks of tofu for me? Please tell Lady Bai that it’s Wang Daniu who sent you.”

The burly blacksmith spoke in a voice as soft as a mosquito’s buzz by the end.

Chance encounter quests like this were incredibly rare in the game, so of course the players accepted it. Forget buying tofu—they’d grind the beans and make it themselves if asked! Don’t question it; players were grinders through and through.

The group instantly headed toward the western arch bridge, only to stare in shock at the impossibility of the task.

A massive crowd choked the tofu stall at West Bridge, forming a long line of nothing but male customers. A sign on the stall read: “Limited quantity. Two blocks per person. Sold out daily.”

The players shoved their way forward a bit and quickly spotted the reason—a young woman in white stood at the stall, her dark hair piled high in a cloudy bun, her features exquisitely beautiful. She arranged the tofu blocks with delicate care, and the snowy expanse of her wrist peeking from her sleeve outshone the tofu itself in purity and tenderness.

When she lifted her face, only one phrase echoed in everyone’s minds: “I see her and pity stirs.”

Plenty of customers lingered even after buying their tofu, blocking the path completely.

The players were equally dazzled. “Jiangnan City is packed with beauties!” one exclaimed. “The devs really get it!”

“You pervs!” another called out. “I did some digging—this beauty NPC is named Bai Miaoshuang. She started selling tofu to pay off family debts, and folks around here call her the ‘Tofu West Beauty’ because of her looks. West Beauty was an ancient Earth legend, basically the hottest thing going. Tons of guys have crushes on her. I picked up a bunch of side quests just from passing love notes.”

“No wonder it sells out so fast. Quick, get in line before it’s gone!” Linghu Xiao shouted. The players hurried to the back of the queue, but after ages, it barely budged.

Up front, two or three young noblemen in fine silks crowded around the white-clad beauty, flapping their folding fans like strutting peacocks as they showered her with flattery.

“Lady Bai, will you finally join me for a lake cruise today?” one pressed.

“Lady Bai, I’m the son of the city’s wealthiest merchant. Our family owns a thousand acres of prime farmland. Marry me, and I’ll clear your family’s debts. No more rising at dawn and toiling till dusk.”

“I’m sorry, young masters,” the white-clad beauty replied, deflecting their advances once more. She appeared genuinely troubled. “Miaoshuang must care for my ailing father at home. I can’t accept such favors. Please buy your tofu and move along—the other customers are waiting.”

Her suitors persisted relentlessly, making her seem all the more fragile and pitiable.

“What do those paupers have that deserves a second glance from you? I’ll buy out every block of tofu on this stall today!”

Buy out the whole stall?

Linghu Xiao couldn’t stand it. He stepped forward at once and chased off the obnoxious pursuers one by one. “Miss, are you all right?”

“Thank you, brave heroes, for your help,” the white-clad beauty said. She seemed deeply grateful as she curtsied gracefully to Linghu Xiao and the others. Every smile and frown brimmed with an enchanting allure.

The players felt as if Cupid’s arrow had struck them all. Their faces flushed with excitement. Ohhh, the beauty thanked us!

Only Salty Fish King remained stone-faced amid the group. He was already calculating if he could pick up another tofu recipe while in line.

His utter lack of reaction drew stares, and Sichuan Pepper Little Bunny glared at him in frustration. “Look at the beauty already! She’s about to close up shop. You’ll never see her again—seize the moment! Playing hard to get isn’t a thing anymore!”

“Is she that pretty? I don’t think so.” Salty Fish King shook his head.

Sichuan Pepper Little Bunny stared at him in horror. “When did you go blind? Miss Miaoshuang just smiled at me, and my heart went doki-doki.”

A thrill second only to her feelings for her husband Zongzong!

“Once you’ve felt ten thousand arrows pierce your heart, a couple more barely register.” Salty Fish King scoffed. His voice wasn’t loud, but the white-clad beauty seemed to smile and glance his way all the same.

With the quest complete, Lady Bai closed up shop. The players carried their bag of glistening tofu blocks, planning to feast on it that very night.

Salty Fish King suggested preparing fish head tofu soup. It came from a new purple recipe of his—not only delicious, but it granted powerful buffs: 10% HP boost, 10% agility increase, 10% external attack boost, and 10% internal energy increase. Perfect for a raid battle!

The players scoured the area for a kitchen.

At that moment, a cold snort drew their eyes. A woman in blue stood there.

Her tofu stall sat mostly unsold, with over half the blocks still languishing on the cutting board.

Noticing the players all staring, the blue-clad woman flushed and said awkwardly, “You don’t seem like bad sorts, so I’ll give you some friendly advice: don’t eat her tofu. Someone died from it.”

“???” The players blinked in confusion.

They glanced at the gentle, lovely face of Bai Miaoshuang and her completely sold-out stall, then at the plain-looking blue-clad woman and her pile of unsold wares. A suspicion dawned: “Is this ancient-style corporate sabotage? Smear campaign from a rival?”

Lady Lan Yan couldn’t follow their chatter, but she could guess the gist. She snapped, “That’s not what I meant! My family has sold brine tofu at West Bridge for generations. We’ve always had a stellar reputation and loads of repeat customers. But she—Bai Miaoshuang—showed up just a few months ago and stole all my business. That’s fine, but some customers died mysteriously after eating her tofu. I’m just warning you out of kindness. She has secrets…”

“Lady Lan Yan, why are you slandering me like this?”

Lady Lan Yan’s voice had carried, and Bai Miaoshuang overheard. She approached, her beautiful eyes brimming with tears, looking utterly pitiful. “To care for my father, Miaoshuang has no choice but to show my face in public. I never meant to steal your business. Are you saying this out of hatred because that young lord who died of a chill was the one you loved?”

Lady Lan Yan flushed with anger. “No!”

“So it was a chill. Those could be fatal in ancient times,” the players murmured, relieved. “Amen to that. Hope there’s no wind chill in heaven.”

They had worked under Elder Physician Shen Qionghua long enough to know ancient folk didn’t live long. A minor illness often proved deadly without quick treatment.

“He was chatting with me just that morning, saying he’d line up at your stall to try the tofu. He was full of life—how could he catch a fatal chill by nightfall? Believe me or not, but no one does because she cries prettier!” Lady Lan Yan huffed. She packed up her stall and stormed off.

Her almond-shaped eyes remained red-rimmed even as she left.

The players exchanged uneasy glances.

How could they comfort this poor woman whose business had been snatched and whose love had died? Bai Miaoshuang’s story—of selling tofu to pay her father’s debts—was equally heartbreaking.

Sichuan Pepper Little Bunny clutched her chest and shook her head vigorously. “What do I do? I suddenly feel like a total scumbag! Only food can heal me now!”

“Salty Fish King, get cooking! Dinner’s on you tonight!” she urged. After all, the fish head tofu soup recipe belonged to him; only the recipe’s owner could view the full steps.

Salty Fish King grunted in acknowledgment. He grabbed the tofu and a fish from the market, then headed to the kitchen.

That evening, at the Jiangnan Dock assembly point.

Every player wore a satisfied, well-fed glow. Ruan Xuezong’s keen nose caught the fish soup scent on their clothes. Beneath his mask, he smiled faintly. “You all had fish soup today?”

That was his nature—icy as winter wind to enemies, gentle as spring breeze to the young heroes (his workers).

But the players dodged the question, bubbling with excitement instead. “Did you hear that, fam? Zongzong asked what we ate tonight! He cares about me! Round it off, and we’ve got a kid on the way!”

Ruan Xuezong: “???”

He blinked in bewilderment for a moment, but thankfully Salty Fish King acted normal. The player stepped forward. “Yeah, figuring we’d have a nasty fight tonight, we prepped some buffs ahead of time.”

Ruan Xuezong nodded approvingly. “Excellent. Let’s move out.”

In this game’s lore, hunger steadily drained HP, even for martial masters who could skip meals longer. Death from starvation didn’t respawn properly, so eating up beforehand was essential.

Not that these interstellar players needed hunger as an excuse—they loved chow time. Every meal turned into a whirlwind of devouring, as if they hadn’t eaten in eighty lifetimes. The sight always left a deep impression on Ruan Xuezong.

Ruan Xuezong produced the red mask. Salty Fish King froze, his breath quickening as he stared intently—only to slump in disappointment. Ruan Xuezong turned away, his ink-black hair cascading like a waterfall and dazzling the players’ eyes.

In that instant, Ruan Xuezong had swapped his bronze mask for the red one.

Salty Fish King: “…” His tension deflated.

Ruan Xuezong unfolded the flower note and read aloud: “The Linglong Treasure Ship drifts upon the misty waves. Only those fated ones holding a flower note can find the oarsman and board the ferry… We need to locate a Wu Peng Boat with red lanterns at the dock. Its boatman will guide us to the treasure ship.”

Then the players discovered a painful wrinkle: the ferryman was easy to find, but each boat had limited capacity.

To board, one needed a mask and flower note as proof.

Each masked fated one could bring at most ten others.

‘We can bring people? This Linglong Treasure Ship must not be anything good. I smell a familiar stench.’ Beneath his mask, Ruan Xuezong’s expression hardened. System 007, who could read his thoughts, inwardly groaned at the villain’s damnable instincts. The foe had grown suspicious from dock intel about the sunken cargo.

Sichuan Pepper Little Bunny whispered with the others: “Can Zongzong go first, and we follow with lightness skill?” They hadn’t mastered Pushing Heart Palm, but their Water Drifting lightness skill was nearly maxed.

Ruan Xuezong shook his head. “The Linglong Treasure Ship appears on the rivers every night, fueling Jiangnan City’s ancient legend precisely because no one can find it. An illusion array shrouds its location. Force your way in, and you’ll circle the waters endlessly until exhaustion drops you in the river—still no sign of the ship.”

“Only the ferryman can deliver you.”

The players groaned inwardly. They squabbled internally over the ten slots beside Ruan Xuezong. The rejects refused to give up—they’d become fated ones themselves!

“Zongzong, wait for us! We’ll be right back!”

Ruan Xuezong waited briefly before Linghu Xiao arrived, sporting a cyan mask and grinning. “Tonight, I’m a fated one too!”

A limp rich merchant dangled under his arm. Ruan Xuezong watched impassively as Linghu Xiao dragged the man into the bushes with practiced ease. The other players kept at it, snatching victims one by one until every face bore a mask. They snapped selfies smugly, business as usual.

It looked like they’d done this a hundred times.

Seeing this, Ruan Xuezong couldn’t help but sink into thought. Were these people bandits?