In recent days, a peculiar sight had become commonplace at Heart Washing Manor: clusters of players scrambling up and down wooden ladders, hammers and mallets in hand, pounding away on the rooftops with a relentless ding-ding-dang-dang.
Other groups, decked out in broad-brimmed hats, would huddle over blueprints now and then, arguing fiercely until their faces turned red and their voices rose in fervor.
Their shouts carried for quite a distance. Whenever the subject arose, the culprit behind it all—Linghu Xiao—put on a look of pure agony.
“I have no clue how to repair houses, so I handed the account to my cousin, who’s majoring in civil engineering. The second he laid eyes on those ancient Earth-style buildings and walls, he lit up like a kid in a candy store. He rounded up a bunch of his architecture classmates, and they’ve been yapping nonstop in the group chat. Somehow, they even dragged in a university professor. One glance, and the prof declared it classic ancient Earth Soviet garden architecture—elegant and refined, with the motto ‘a single step reveals a new vista, boundless realms within arm’s reach.’ After all their brainstorming, they weren’t just fixing my pavilion; they wanted to borrow the account to poke around the rockeries, ponds, winding corridors hugging pillars… My login’s been hijacked from every corner of the map, a million times over. Aaaah, give it back already!”
It was merely a brief sideshow.
The severely damaged rockery and pavilion, amid everyone’s sweat-drenched labors, soon stood restored as good as new. Ruan Xuezong could once more sit calmly in the pavilion, sipping his tea.
While this crew huffed and puffed through their work, the game forums showed no less heat over discussions of Push Heart Palm, Pure Shadow Sword, and Famous Sword Villa.
A divine weapon vanishing into thin air, tangled up with two manors—it involved old grudges and fresh suspicions, sparring bouts, declarations of innocence, and mended fences. How could it not spark endless chatter?
“The disappearance of Pure Shadow Sword has to tie into some massive conspiracy. Otherwise, I’ll eat my keyboard live on stream!”
“Maybe there’s a secret hidden in the sword’s hilt—you pop it open and out tumbles a legendary treasure map. Hey devs, you watching? If I’m right, hit that like button. Not begging for spoilers; just wanna know if I’ve got what it takes to be on the writing team.”
“Intel drop on Peacock Manor—it’s up north of Jiangnan City, smack in the bustling Golden Mound territory. A powerhouse martial clan, lorded over by Qu Tianwei, who has a son and daughter. The eldest, Qu Qingyang, is the heir apparent, but he’s never been in his old man’s good graces—probably ’cause his looks are nothing special. The daughter, Qu Wangshu, has middling martial skills but sky-high beauty that’s famous across the jianghu. They call her the Righteous Path Fairy, Autumn Waters Luo Goddess, you name it. Word is, Qu Tianwei dotes on his little girl something fierce—like, stars if she wants ’em, forget the moon. His sixtieth birthday bash is gonna be huge; invitations everywhere. Expect a swarm of martial artists bearing gifts. Prime spot for the next plot trigger!”
“And the kicker, bros—the Righteous Path Fairy has a betrothal to our manor lord. Childhood arrangement, straight from the parents!”
“Holy shit, the jianghu’s top beauty as our future lady of the manor? Heart Washing Manor prestige on lock! Spread the word!”
“Heart Washing Manor prestige! +1”
“Heart Washing Manor prestige! +2”
A player going by Bloody Baron chimed in: “This intel seals it—Ruan Xuezong’s gotta be the protagonist of Jianghu. Every main storyline thread ties back to him. Bet the whole arc revolves around the guy. Don’t believe me? I’ll break it down right now.”
“Element one: Heart Washing Manor burns down under mysterious circumstances, nearly wiping out the family and killing Ruan Xuezong’s foster parents. Vendetta hit or silencing witnesses? We know the old couple were fosters, so who’s his blood family? What’s his true origin? Mystery number one.”
“Element two: He’s always got that bronze mask on, claiming the fire wrecked his face. Tragic, handsome, pitiful—classic protagonist kit. From my years grinding games, that’s the devs jacking up his model for max drip.”
…White cloak, bronze mask—not your average joe!
“Element three: Great Hero Hua Bailian’s vanishing and Pure Shadow Sword’s theft mark Jianghu’s first big plot. Hero Hua dipped out at Heart Washing Manor, kicking off plot one there. Plot two? Everyone’s betting Peacock Manor. Makes sense, and with Ruan Xuezong as the Righteous Path Fairy’s fiancé, he’s RSVP’d to the birthday feast for sure. Chew on that plot logic. If he’s not the protag, I’ll do a handstand and shit live!”
“No way, spot on. Props to the big brain.”
“Element four: From hanging with him these days, Ruan Xuezong and Heart Washing Manor scream righteous sect, but their vibe’s equal parts good and shady. Ruan Xuezong’s got that aloof pride deep down—family legacy, we get it. Yet he treats us players with polite grace, like equals.”
“Right!!! Other NPCs call us snot-nosed brats, punks, little shits. Only Zongzong answers every question, calls us young heroes all friendly-like. It’s like he knows we’re players, not NPCs!”
“LOL, devs outsmarted themselves with that tiny detail slip-up!”
“?”
The 007 System, lurking on the forums, slowly typed out a question mark.
“Yeah yeah, Great Hero Hua Bailian had us all fooled at first—he’s too damn handsome. Who’da thunk a little nickname hid the truth? Big brains assemble.”
“Declaring Bloody Baron the forum’s top Sherlock today. All in favor? Aye or nay!?”
The forums overflowed with hype.
Players latched onto the theory, patting themselves on the back for their genius. Their hearts raced with ambition: who’d have thought they were already orbiting the real protagonist, Ruan Xuezong? Stick close, climb the ladder, and soon they’d be top-tier in Jianghu’s closed beta.
Dreams ignited, and their work ethic surged.
Meanwhile, Five-Colored Mottled Black kicked off his daily serial on the forums.
[That strike flashed like lightning across a timeless plateau, carrying the chill of eternal snows. Hit a normal guy in the face? Instant ice sculpture, frosted solid.]
[Famous Sword Villa lives up to the hype—that move alone crushes most. Too bad…]
Folks knew his style by now: long wind-up, punchy payoff after the twist.
[Too bad he crossed paths with the game’s true lead, Ruan Xuezong. Sure, you’re a famed sect disciple, Blue-Clothed Swordsman, but he’s the golden boy, the devs’ precious hidden gem! You’re just a stepping stone on his path. Fight called before the bell.]
[During the bout, Ruan Xuezong dropped a line the newbie me couldn’t catch without martial skills. Bold guess: something like ‘You’re strong… pity you met me.’]
[Anyway, he charged in, locked down Lan Cangfeng in one move.]
[Split-second verdict. Ruan Xuezong clamped the Baihui acupoint on the swordsman’s crown with crushing dominance. Quick primer: Baihui’s dead center on the scalp, where lines from both ears intersect. Light hit? Dizziness, puking. Hard one? Brain bleed, dead on site.]
[Savage play.]
[Three days post-brawl, the shock’s faded like smoke. Only the pavilion rubble and players hauling bricks, mortaring walls, trekking for Taihu rockeries tell the tale…]
[No more spoilers—watch the replay.]
What followed was a cinematic showdown worthy of a CG blockbuster. On the open ground, the blue-clad swordsman and white-robed young master blurred into afterimages. Players cranked it to 0.25x speed just to track the young experts’ flurry.
They watched sword intent rage like a storm as Ruan Xuezong dodged with peerless lightness, then surged forward mid-air, closing the gap. His palm sliced through the air amid drifting willow fluff, sealing the win in poetic beauty.
But it didn’t end there. The BGM swelled ominous and fierce, jolting first-time viewers—wait, fight’s over, why the ramp-up?
Next instant: Ruan Xuezong wheeled, palm lashing aside. Pavilion shattered, stones flew in a heart-stopping boom—music crescendoed with the collapse, then faded. Left standing: the cold bronze-masked figure in white, arms crossed against the world. The stubborn blue-clad swordsman faded to backdrop.
A few minutes of footage woke every sleepy forum lurker.
[Unreal—this a game clip? Thought I time-traveled to an ancient Earth wuxia flick. Trading closed beta account? Five grand, my final offer.]
[Aaaah, this guy’s all fragile normally, but clutch mode? Savage king. Obsessed.]
[“I kill with one palm!” Peak drip dialogue.]
Ruan Xuezong, with his system access, peeked at the forums now and then. Most net slang flew over his head, but a little deduction filled the gaps.
Sensing the players’ hunger for martial skills—and with top players nearing level 10—he pondered. Time to unlock Heart Washing Manor’s storehouse.
Stronger players meant more heavy lifting. If they weren’t so noob-level, stuck on dishes and dusting, he’d have shipped them to escort agencies for real tempering ages ago.
The brick-haulers that day got a system ping that lit them up.
【Heart Washing Manor Contribution Storehouse Unlocked. Exchange points for rare items.】
Warehouses were old hat: personal storage, sect vaults, guild banks. Players dove in, pumped.
“I’ve banked 1000 contribution. Let’s roll—see what we can snag.”
They swarmed the storehouse. No more “Access Denied” on the doors.
First item inside? Players sucked in breaths.
Gold. Screen-flooding, shimmering gold rarity, dazzling every eye.
