Chapter 36

After finding the inn, Xia Xifeng immediately wanted to go check out the tavern.

A Western fantasy world’s tavern was a must-visit attraction.

Green Sand City had taverns too, but under Suer’s disapproving gaze, Xia Xifeng hadn’t felt comfortable going to the roughest, dirtiest Adventurer Tavern.

Also, Green Sand City’s management was strict. Even the lowest-class taverns there just sold slightly worse drinks and weren’t as incident-prone as they were in the game. Although he said he hadn’t felt comfortable going, Xia Xifeng had secretly peeked inside from the doorway several times.

In Blackstone Town, maybe he could find that classic Western Fantasy dirty, chaotic Adventurer Tavern?

Taking a photo there would be fine, but actually going in to drink and eat? Qin Lang felt nauseated just thinking about it.

A bunch of adventurers who hadn’t bathed in months drinking inside… just imagine how horrifying the smell inside would be.

Xia Xifeng threatened Qin Lang. “If you don’t go, I’ll go alone. I’ll run into danger and scare you to death!”

Qin Lang: “???” Are you sick?!

Qin Lang hurriedly checked Xia Xifeng’s chat logs. As expected, this was a terrible idea Leo had given Xia Xifeng.

The source of this terrible idea was the romance novel Leo was currently obsessed with.

Even though Qin Lang was usually too lazy to talk, that didn’t mean he couldn’t curse someone out.

He immediately flew into typing, blistering Leo with a scolding.

Xia Xifeng was already crazy enough, and you can still instigate him to be even crazier?!

Watching Qin Lang’s dark expression, Xia Xifeng clutched his stomach laughing. He knew Qin Lang would be furious when he traced the source of his words.

Recently, Qin Lang’s patience had been gradually growing. He hadn’t seen Qin Lang crack in a long while. It was a bit boring.

Qin Lang on the verge of exploding was the most entertaining.

“Ouch.” Xia Xifeng clutched his head.

Qin Lang had smacked him on the head. “We can go. We do the proper business first.”

Xia Xifeng immediately flopped facedown onto the wooden sofa in the guest room.

He didn’t want to work.

He came out to travel. How could he work?

Xia Xifeng said in a muffled voice, “Can’t you go alone?”

Qin Lang threatened, “I can go find a monster-grinding spot by myself and leave you in the safest place, comfortably leeching experience.”

Xia Xifeng tilted his head to expose his face. “You’re not afraid I’ll run into danger in the city?”

Qin Lang said, “Good riddance. At worst, we both go down together.”

Xia Xifeng: “…” Fine, he’d stop here. No more teasing Qin Lang. When Qin Lang was truly angry, it wasn’t funny anymore.

Xia Xifeng scrambled up from the sofa and sat cross-legged, listlessly organizing the meeting notes.

He was just an ordinary, not-yet-graduated university student. Suddenly discussing business with such an important personage as a Town Mayor… truly nerve-wracking.

He wrung his hands.

Qin Lang glanced at Xia Xifeng, who was practically vibrating with excitement.

If Xia Xifeng hadn’t transmigrated, he probably would’ve taken the civil service exam, maybe even gone to support the western regions. He just liked these kinds of tedious affairs.

When the Town Mayor of Blackstone Town learned that Xia Xifeng and Qin Lang had arrived, she immediately wanted to hold a banquet in their honor.

Xia Xifeng refused.

“Blackstone Town is preparing for its celebration, a very busy time. There’s no need for a grand banquet.” Xia Xifeng smiled. “Just casually treating us to some of Blackstone Town’s local specialties will do. Let’s just be friends.”

The Town Mayor of Blackstone Town was a human woman, her hair streaked with white, deep creases carved by worry at her brow and the corners of her eyes.

She smiled and accepted Xia Xifeng as her young friend, inviting Xia Xifeng and Qin Lang to dine at her home.

She had originally wanted to introduce her only daughter to Xia Xifeng and Qin Lang—not for matchmaking; her daughter already had a lover. She just hoped her daughter could meet more outstanding peers as friends.

When she learned that Qin Lang was already a “Great Professional,” the Town Mayor sighed inwardly and abandoned this notion.

Player level 50 corresponded to an NPC’s “Elite Professional”; player level 70 to an NPC’s “Great Professional”; player level 90 to an NPC’s “Half-step Legend,” though players habitually called this “Grandmaster.”

Once a player’s single class reached 100, that was a single-class Legend. And the remaining levels 101 through 200 were all the Path to Godhood.

Even though players only needed to mindlessly grind experience to reach level 200, the vast disparity in experience points made clear the chasm-like gulf between a Demigod and a Legend.

For ordinary people, “Elite Professional” was the peak, enough to be a Knight-Captain in large cities.

Green Sand City’s city defense captain, Leila, was only an Elite Knight.

But a “Great Professional” would be treated as an honored guest by nobles and lords everywhere, invited to become an official retainer of their house.

Xia Xifeng’s aura was comparable to Qin Lang’s. The Town Mayor guessed both were already Great Professionals.

Such young Great Professionals had a high probability of becoming Half-step Legends, the truly great professionals. The Town Mayor retracted the unintentional, non-malicious condescension she’d felt due to their age.

Once she properly recognized Xia Xifeng and Qin Lang for who they were, she inwardly reproached herself with regret.

Although Xia Xifeng and Qin Lang were merely Pioneer Knights, their knight’s domain had already been elevated to a “city.” That meant they were now the lords of a city, equal in status to herself. How could she treat them as juniors just because of their age?

The Town Mayor immediately adjusted her attitude, becoming a little less warm and a little more respectful and cautious towards Xia Xifeng and Qin Lang.

Xia Xifeng and Qin Lang didn’t notice the change at all.

They themselves had no self-awareness that they were noble lords now. If the Town Mayor had introduced her daughter and prospective son-in-law to them, and their personalities clicked, making friends wouldn’t have been a problem.

People everywhere always love discussing serious business over the dinner table.

Although the Town Mayor and Xia Xifeng were haggling, both genuinely wanted to make this deal, and the price Xia Xifeng proposed was very reasonable.

Actually, before Xia Xifeng arrived, the Hope City’s delegation had already reached a preliminary agreement with the Town Mayor of Blackstone Town. They just needed Xia Xifeng to sign.

The two casually went back and forth a bit and soon reached a contract that satisfied both.

Xia Xifeng was overjoyed. Now he could travel without a single burden on his mind.

Qin Lang was in a terrible mood.

He had thought they could use official business to delay things for several days. Did this mean he’d be forced to go to that foul-smelling little tavern to drink and eat tomorrow?

He had to find some spell scroll that could block out odors and filth.

After signing the contract, Xia Xifeng began eagerly asking the Town Mayor about the town’s famous landmarks.

“Can I visit the mine pit? The mine is about to close. I’m so curious what it looks like inside.” Xia Xifeng’s eyes sparkled like a puppy begging for treats. The Town Mayor’s heart couldn’t help but soften, even as she kept reminding herself this was a lord of equal standing.

The Town Mayor said, “I’ll find some free time and give you a guided tour.”

Xia Xifeng said, “The Town Mayor is so busy. No need to trouble yourself. Just casually assign us a guide. Qin Lang and I can protect ourselves.”

The Town Mayor thought: having her daughter and prospective son-in-law act as guides shouldn’t be seen as belittling them.

She nodded. “Fine. I’ll have my daughter be your guide.”

The Town Mayor introduced the situation with her daughter and future son-in-law.

Both were warriors. Her daughter was just a beginner; her future son-in-law was already an Elite Professional. They had met while studying at an academy in the Human Empire.

Xia Xifeng thought of the two from the “Bloody Wedding Dungeon.”

Although the Town Mayor’s daughter and son-in-law were the bosses of the Bloody Wedding Dungeon, they would each go berserk when the other died first, showing that their feelings when alive were deeply sincere.

People whom the Outer Gods specifically targeted for elimination shouldn’t be bad people.

Qin Lang had assumed Xia Xifeng was single-mindedly obsessed with tourist check-ins. Only when he mentioned the mine pit did he realize Xia Xifeng was searching for clues to the “Bloody Wedding Dungeon” incident.

Qin Lang had completely forgotten about it.

The Bloody Wedding Dungeon also had those sludge-like Shadow Fiends. Since the mastermind behind the Sun Valley Instance was the Blood Moon, the mastermind behind the Bloody Wedding Instance had to be the Blood Moon too.

The Blood Moon had already been exposed before the various deities. Logically, before the apocalypse truly arrived, He would no longer cause trouble. The “Bloody Wedding” might not necessarily happen anymore.

Qin Lang: [You suspect the ‘Bloody Wedding’ will still happen?]

Xia Xifeng: [Whether it happens or not, the Outer Gods must have been preparing for the pre-apocalypse tragedies for a very long time. Even if the conspiracy isn’t activated in the end, the conspiracy definitely exists.]

Qin Lang: [There could be danger.]

Xia Xifeng: [No fear. We’re just visiting. If we run into trouble, we’ll call the big shots for help. The mine pit has been bustling with activity before its closure. I’ve never heard of any incidents happening.]

Qin Lang: [There’s still a chance of danger.]

Xia Xifeng hesitated.

Qin Lang: [Saving the world can’t be completely without danger. Let’s go.]

Xia Xifeng looked at Qin Lang. Qin Lang’s eyes burned with full battle-lust.

The corner of his mouth twitched.

Sure enough, while Qin Lang kept talking about danger, he really wanted to go in his heart.

Without monsters to fight, Qin Lang must be very bored.

Ah, what’s so fun about fighting monsters?

But even if fighting monsters wasn’t fun, when Qin Lang grinded them, he himself got to happily collect the materials. That was fun.

Xia Xifeng was also somewhat looking forward to whether new monsters might spawn in the mine pit.

The two agreed with the Town Mayor to go to the mine pit the morning of the day after next.

They spent the intervening day casually browsing the streets and resting well for a night.

Qin Lang used the excuse of needing to wake up early the day after next to push off the visit to the little tavern for a few more days.

Xia Xifeng said, “The more you don’t want to go, the more I want to go. We’ll go eventually.”

Qin Lang knew that. But he could delay one day at a time. He was currently asking Perila for a potion that could block out odors.

On the morning of the third day, the Town Mayor’s daughter and prospective son-in-law were already waiting at the inn where the two were staying.

The Town Mayor’s daughter was called Susan, and the prospective son-in-law, Lynn. Very ordinary Western fantasy names, but they gave Xia Xifeng a strong sense of familiarity.

The most annoying thing about Western fantasy worlds was always struggling to remember names. Western-sounding names similar to those from his own culture were best—he remembered them immediately after hearing them.

As for their surnames, Xia Xifeng couldn’t be bothered to remember.

In order to not have to remember their surnames, he immediately and enthusiastically made two new friends.

We’re all friends now, so we don’t need to address each other by surnames!

Due to the Town Mayor’s constant reminders, Susan and Lynn had initially been a bit stiff.

Though they were peers, Xia Xifeng and Qin Lang were not only Great Professionals but also noble lords. While the two of them were the heirs of Blackstone Town’s lord, heirs and people who were already lords held different statuses. Xia Xifeng and Qin Lang had also become lords as Pioneer Knights, which made them even more respectable.

The moment Xia Xifeng revealed his seemingly completely guileless, brilliant smile, he dispelled the two’s stiffness.

Xia Xifeng casually chatted about a few (in-game) interesting travel stories. The two young people, neither deeply cunning, instantly broke into laughter with him.

As for Qin Lang, he kept his stoic face, pretending to be forbidding and indifferent, too lazy for pointless socializing.

After Xia Xifeng grew closer to the young couple, he probed with a grin, “I’ve heard that descending into the mines is dangerous. Miners pray to the deities for protection before going down. Although we’re not mining, should we go pay our respects too?”

Susan nodded. “Sure. Let’s go to the Silver Moon Church!”

The Silver Moon again. Xia Xifeng and Qin Lang exchanged an “as expected” look.

Xia Xifeng said curiously, “I heard Blackstone Town has many churches. The Silver Moon Church isn’t the primary one for worship. Do you only need to worship the Silver Moon before descending the mine and not the other deities?”

Susan froze for a second and hurriedly tried to backtrack. “We go to all of them! Let’s go to the Silver Moon first—it’s closest!”

Lynn wore an expression of speechless suffering. Don’t try to cover it up. The more you try, the weirder it gets.

Lynn sighed and stopped Susan from making more excuses. “Mr. Xia and Mr. Qin are honored guests from Green Sand City. They are friends with the Favored of the Sun and Silver Moon. You’ve already let it slip. No need for excuses. Just tell the truth… Ouch.”

Susan had stomped hard on Lynn’s foot.

She also realized she’d made a blunder, but she could make blunders; Lynn wasn’t allowed to say she’d made a blunder!

Blushing, Susan said, “I’m sorry. I wasn’t intentionally hiding it. It’s just that this is a secret in Blackstone Town… Ah, I don’t even know why it has to be secret. Our town has always secretly had the God of the Silver Moon as our primary faith. The God of the Silver Moon is a great deity. Many people believe in the Silver Moon. Such secrecy is truly strange.”

Although hiding their primary faith was a precept from the founding of Blackstone Town, that was already ancient history. Even the very ore vein Blackstone Town once depended on for survival had run dry. Let alone Susan, the other townsfolk of Blackstone Town didn’t take that precept seriously anymore, merely continuing it as tradition.

That’s how Susan accidentally let it slip.

Xia Xifeng immediately said it was fine. They respected Blackstone Town’s traditions and would visit every church along the way to pay respects.

On the way, Xia Xifeng said to Qin Lang: [The Silver Moon is an orthodox deity with many followers. Blackstone Town hiding its faith must be guarding some secret. This secret might be something even the Town Mayor has forgotten.]

Qin Lang: [We’ll know when we go see.] It looked like this trip down the mine pit really would have new monsters to fight.