Chapter 9: A Misunderstanding

Yue Buqun turned his head to look, finally seeing clearly that the farmer’s fearful gaze was directed at Wang Jingyuan. Seeing the situation, Ning Zhongze helped Linghu Chong to his feet and pulled him aside, signaling him to keep quiet.

Yue Buqun’s expression was complicated as he looked at Wang Jingyuan, who was happily munching on wild fruit. He sighed and placed the ruler back on the table. Bowing slightly to the farmers, he said, “All the faults lie with me for my poor teaching. I will take full responsibility for your losses.”

Linghu Chong stared wide-eyed from the side. Master, you weren’t like this just now, were you?

Seeing Yue Buqun’s humble stance, the farmers hurriedly waved their hands. “Master Yue, it’s a misunderstanding, a big misunderstanding...”

“Oh, now I remember you. Aren’t you Niu Da, the NPC from the foot of the mountain? I thought I’d heard your name somewhere before. My intuition was right—this has triggered a hidden storyline.”

Hearing Wang Jingyuan’s casual “admission,” Yue Buqun’s face darkened further. It seemed this was true. He should have realized earlier that a banished immortal wouldn’t be any ordinary deity.

But since the decision had been made, there was no turning back.

Yue Buqun bowed again. “I will bear all your losses myself!”

Niu Da became even more terrified and quickly explained, “Actually... Hero Wang didn’t do anything wrong. About seven or eight days ago, when Hero Wang came down the mountain, he rushed into my house and started chopping firewood without a word. In no time, he chopped all our firewood, and we couldn’t stop him.

“Then he filled the water jars, fed the chickens, and although he did kill one, Hero Wang did pay afterwards.”

Everyone present was stunned. These were good deeds, weren’t they? So what was the meaning of coming here to accuse him?

Then Niu Da rambled on, “At first, it wasn’t a problem. But after Hero Wang left, he saw my elderly mother preparing to visit the neighbors, and he helped her walk there.

“He supported her from the east end of the village to the west end, then back again—seven or eight times in total. My mother suffered a serious illness years ago and lost her ability to speak; she couldn’t express her suffering...

“In the following days, Hero Wang came down the mountain every evening to do the same. Hero Wang did so much that we should have been grateful.

“But... my mother is really old. Being helped out to walk like that every day leaves her so exhausted she can’t get out of bed when she returns home.

“I was truly worried she wouldn’t make it, so I had no choice but to come up the mountain to see Master Yue.”

Everyone gawked at Wang Jingyuan, who seemed utterly indifferent. What sort of person was this to do such... such absurd things?

Yue Lingshan, not wanting to see Wang Jingyuan punished, was about to plead when Yue Buqun paused thoughtfully, then said, “Jingyuan, look at the situation...”

Wang Jingyuan casually tossed aside the wild fruit he had just finished and said, “I worked for so many days without triggering any quest rewards. I planned to quit if nothing showed up after ten days. Since it’s been mentioned, I’ll stop now.”

Seeing Wang Jingyuan nod, Yue Buqun breathed a sigh of relief. He then spoke kindly to the farmer Niu Da, making him feel even more embarrassed.

With his purpose on the mountain fulfilled, Niu Da didn’t linger, leaving behind a dozen or so eggs and a dried cured chicken before descending.

Wang Jingyuan looked disdainfully at the cured chicken and pondered, “Well, there’s a quest reward after all.” Though the reward was meager, it made sense since it was a novice village task like feeding chickens and chopping wood.

Since the game was so hardcore, handing out a magical weapon as an entry-level reward would be unreasonable. To earn better rewards, one had to complete harder tasks. Killing chickens wouldn’t cut it; to get rich, one had to kill people.

Seeing the matter settled, Yue Buqun called his disciples to the dining hall. Normally, the master wouldn’t start eating until all disciples were seated, and the disciples wouldn’t put their hands on the table first. But Wang Jingyuan was here.

As usual, he grabbed a plate and quickly piled it with four or five steamed buns, then began eating without any respect for Yue Buqun.

Ever since arriving at Mount Hua, Wang Jingyuan behaved this way, and Yue Buqun never scolded him. Seeing Yue Buqun’s tacit acceptance, the other disciples dared not say a word. However, the usual pre-meal lecture from Yue Buqun never happened again—after all, it was awkward to lecture with someone stuffing their face beside him.

Linghu Chong, who had just come down the mountain, watched in amazement, wondering about Wang Jingyuan’s background, since even his own master seemed wary. If it were him, even if he started eating early or had poor manners, the master would have scolded him.

But Wang Jingyuan’s behavior didn’t seem like the spoiled son of a wealthy family—quite the opposite, it was very strange.

After all the disciples finished and left, Yue Buqun returned to his quarters with Ning Zhongze. After a moment’s thought, he said, “About what we discussed last night—I want Jingyuan and Lingshan to handle it together.”

Ning Zhongze was taken aback. “Weren’t we going to send Deluo and Lingshan? Lingshan lacks experience, and Deluo is steady and reliable.”

At first, Yue Buqun indeed planned to send Lauduo with Yue Lingshan. He had recently discovered, through a fortunate encounter, that the entire Qingcheng Sect was secretly practicing the Fu Wei Escort Agency’s ‘Exorcising Sword Technique.’ Since Wang Jingyuan had mentioned this sword technique to him before, he took it seriously.

Also, he knew Lauduo was a spy sent by the Songshan Sect and wanted to create an opportunity for him to pass messages to Songshan, ideally dragging Songshan into the feud between Qingcheng Sect and the Fu Wei Escort Agency. But now, with the help of an immortal, he no longer needed to keep Lauduo around.

Though he wouldn’t kill him now, he planned to keep him under house arrest on Mount Hua to prevent any leaks.

However, since his wife was straightforward and couldn’t hide any schemes, Yue Buqun wouldn’t reveal all his thoughts to her. “I have other matters for Deluo to handle, so Jingyuan will go instead. Besides, Jingyuan has been on the mountain for some time now. Youths tend to be restless, and staying on the mountain too long can be stifling. Sending him out to gain experience is good.”

Ning Zhongze was puzzled. Wang Jingyuan had only been on the mountain for half a month. Other than eating, sleeping, and “doing good deeds down the mountain,” he spent all his time practicing swordsmanship and seemed to enjoy it. He never showed signs of restlessness.

But since Yue Buqun said so, there must be a reason. It wasn’t a big deal anyway, so Ning Zhongze agreed. Still, she remarked, “Senior Brother, Qingcheng Sect is a respectable orthodox school. Would they really trouble the Fu Wei Escort Agency without cause?”

Yue Buqun nodded. “As far as I know, Qingcheng Sect and the Fu Wei Escort Agency have ancestral grievances. This time, I fear their intentions are ill. I hope Mount Hua still has enough face to persuade Qingcheng Sect to show mercy.”

Ning Zhongze was somewhat worried. “What if Qingcheng Sect refuses to recognize Mount Hua’s authority?”

Waving his hand grandly, Yue Buqun said, “Then Lingshan and Jingyuan will decide how to handle it themselves.”