Chapter 49: A Stumbling Block
[Wind and Water Dispersal] Guild Hall.
Within a garden building exuding an air of antiquity, a man dressed in a traditional Chinese-style short jacket sat in a pavilion, fiddling with a tea set. He appeared to be in his thirties; the slanted lapel of his jacket was fastened meticulously up to his neck, and his hairstyle—a somewhat old-fashioned side part—gave him a staid look. Yet, the depth of his pensive eyes, tinged with a trace of a smile, lent him a natural and harmonious presence. At a glance, he seemed like Tony Leung stepping straight out of "Days of Being Wild" and into reality.
As birds sang and flowers bloomed in the courtyard, a young man in a gray long robe strode briskly along the veranda and entered the pavilion, bowing respectfully to the man savoring tea.
“Master, it’s been confirmed. It’s in that trial map, exactly as you calculated.”
“Mm.” The man took a sip of tea and said nothing more.
Uncertain, the young man ventured, “Master, should we send someone to look into it?”
“Send someone? How?” The man turned his head slightly to look at his disciple, his tone even and unreadable. “That’s a beginner’s map. The system randomly matches players to enter. Once the task begins, the system’s rules take over. We have no authority to interfere.”
The young man, somewhat dissatisfied, muttered under his breath, “But I heard that someone from the Spirit Tamer Alliance hacked directly into the NPC system…”
The man cast a sidelong glance at his disciple. “Others may break the system’s rules, but we do not.”
Sensing his words had displeased his master, the young man replied in assent and dropped the subject, though he couldn’t help but grumble, “That prophecy was clearly a secret message you passed to Jun Wuming. If the Spirit Tamer Alliance gets involved, it’s because they intercepted our information. Shameless.”
The man took another sip of tea, unconcerned. “They won’t interfere.”
“Won’t they?” The young man wondered inwardly—after all, the other side had already hacked into the NPC system, so why wouldn’t they get involved? But if Master said they wouldn’t, then they wouldn’t.
The man continued, “The Spirit Tamer Alliance is not foolish. They won’t enter a game they’re bound to lose.”
The young man, only half understanding, asked, “Master, what should we do now?”
The man lowered his gaze to his teacup, watching the clear tea ripple faintly. “Go to Game Hall No. 36792. After they leave this trial map, they’ll be transported there.”
He looked up and smiled lightly. “If Jun Wuming fails within the map, then he’ll have no choice but to hand over the item in the hall.”
…
…
No. 7 High School campus, at the center of the sports field.
Wen Nan stood on the grass, watching as Yu Shujun, like a street vendor auntie, laid out the contents of his school uniform one by one:
Two worn-out athletic socks, two bent wire hangers, a chalk-dusted eraser, a pair of underwear so threadbare it was nearly transparent, a clump of bloodstained dirt and weeds, two crushed water bottles, and an empty soda can…
As Yu Shujun arranged his items, Wen Nan squatted nearby, casually picking up the eraser. “Even the old man who collects junk by the flowerbeds in front of the teaching building isn’t as thorough as you.”
Yu Shujun shot him a glance, said nothing, and continued unpacking.
A flicker of golden light flashed across the eraser in Wen Nan’s hand, and the system’s prompt rang in his mind.
9527: [Hidden item detected in this map: Eraser.]
Wen Nan inquired mentally what the item was for, but received only: [This item has been locked by another player or character. Details unavailable.]
If it wasn’t his, he didn’t even have permission to view its description.
Wen Nan tossed the eraser in his palm, playing with it idly. “I thought you’d wait until the last possible moment to come find me.”
Yu Shujun hesitated at this, glancing at the man beside him.
Seeing only nonchalance in his companion’s expression—as if it were a casual remark, not a probing question—Yu Shujun relaxed a little.
In truth, Yu Shujun had indeed planned to wait until the very last moment to approach him.
He had already combed this entire map; aside from one empty soda can taken by a man named Ye Jiu, all the hidden items had fallen into Yu Shujun’s hands. Yet he had delayed, unwilling to seek Wen Nan out, hoping to fulfill their agreement only at the last moment, right at settlement time.
According to his original plan, he intended to make his move after settlement, once he had left the map and entered the game hall. It would be easier to act there, without so many constraints.
But plans had changed.
Members of [Wind and Water Dispersal] Guild were already on their way to the game hall linked to this map.
Thinking of that refined and gentle man in [Wind and Water Dispersal], Yu Shujun felt a headache coming on. If they were to face off directly, he knew he would be no match.
He had to resolve this before leaving the map.
Given that man’s style, Yu Shujun was confident he wouldn’t violate the system’s rules or tamper within the trial map. Here, the only possible obstacles would come from the Spirit Tamer Alliance. But those petty troublemakers were beneath his notice—unless their guild leader intervened personally, which Yu Shujun doubted would happen.
Thus, Yu Shujun was certain: victory was within his grasp.
No one in this map could possibly stand in his way… or could they?
A thought crossed his mind, and Yu Shujun glanced at the man squatting beside him.
Could this man turn out to be the last stumbling block?
The notion flashed by but was quickly suppressed. No, this one might be clever, but he was ultimately just an inexperienced newcomer, powerless and without influence—no different from the small fry of the Spirit Tamer Alliance, incapable of stirring any real trouble.
“What are you thinking about? So lost in thought?”
Wen Nan raised a hand and waved it in front of Yu Shujun’s face.
Yu Shujun gathered himself and pointed with his chin at the array of items before them. “These are all the items. You need to put them all in your equipment reserve slot.”
Wen Nan glanced at the pile of “junk” and couldn’t help but sigh again. “How did you even manage to fit all this in?”
Yu Shujun fell silent for a moment, ultimately ignoring the question. Instead, he brought up his character interface mentally and performed a few operations.
The next moment, Wen Nan’s system received a message:
9527: [Character Yu Shujun requests to enable your equipment reserve slot sharing function. Accept?]