Big Horse! First Come, First Served!
Anyone who had traveled outdoors knew that once night fell, with no moon in the sky, it was truly pitch-black. Especially in the mountains. For safety, the group hadn’t even lit torches. Without the glowing marker at his feet, Shen Rong would have walked straight into a ditch.
Zhao Shu said, “Squad Leader, I think this is the way we came from.”
Zhao Guo glanced at his brother. “That means we’re heading the right way. If we retrace our steps, we might really make it back down the mountain.”
Shen Rong grumbled, “What would I gain by lying to you? We’re all in this together. I’m too scared to go down alone, so I need a few bodyguards before I’ll risk it.”
Someone asked quietly, “Bodyguards? You mean escorts for merchant caravans?”
Shen Rong hesitated. “More or less.”
With people talking, the mood lightened a little. At least it felt as though they were among the living. Shen Rong had never imagined, not in a million years, that he’d end up on a wilderness survival show in the middle of the night, deep in the mountains.
Xiao Yuanyao said, “We were escorting you to begin with. Once we reach the foot of the mountain, the nearest county town is Wang County. I’ll see you settled there, to repay you for saving our lives.”
So his treatment had improved quite a bit, Shen Rong thought, expressionless.
At first, Xiao Yuanyao had wanted to send him straight off to find work. Now he was even willing to get him settled before they parted ways. Xiao Yuanyao really was going to a lot of trouble.
He didn’t want Shen Rong tagging along, and Shen Rong wasn’t particularly eager to follow him, either.
The system was right. His craft had been gradually dying out in the modern world. It had a nice-sounding but thoroughly impractical name: intangible cultural heritage. He’d dreamed of going back to ancient times, finding somewhere to build himself a house, and spending his days forging knives to sell to wandering swordsmen or butchers.
At least he could lacquer the blades and put an edge on them, bring them truly to life.
But now Shen Rong was bound to some kind of romance system, one that insisted he date people and wouldn’t let him live or die in peace. Even the navigation marker at his feet was pink.
Had he really been bound to the wrong system? For the ten-thousandth time, Shen Rong questioned his entire existence. Distracted, he stepped into empty air with a sharp crack. As he stumbled, someone caught him by the arm.
Firmly. Comfortingly.
“Careful.” It was Xiao Yuanyao. “The terrain’s complicated here. Even if you know the way, watch your step.”
Shen Rong mumbled an acknowledgment.
So Xiao Yuanyao had been following right behind him all along. With the night dew thick in the air, Shen Rong had thought it was Zhao Er behind him.
A few moments later, Xiao Yuanyao suddenly asked, “Are your parents both gone?”
Shen Rong answered offhandedly, “They’re alive.”
“When your parents are alive, you shouldn’t travel far from home. These are troubled times. Your family would be better off together.”
Shen Rong kept his head down as he walked. “I got lost. I can’t get home.” At least, not for now. He had no idea whether his parents would report him missing, then weep and wail at home over their lost son.
In these chaotic times, there were countless people displaced from their homes. Xiao Yuanyao wasn’t surprised. “Where are you from? I can ask around and see if anyone can find your family.”
Shen Rong stopped abruptly. Xiao Yuanyao stopped too, and the others nearly ran into them.
Quick-eyed Zhao Guo pushed the others back, then furtively craned his neck to peer ahead.
“Weren’t you the one who didn’t trust me? Why are you playing the good guy now?” Shen Rong drawled. “Hmm? Zhao. Da. Brother.”
Xiao Yuanyao had been found out, but his expression stayed calm. “That’s a separate matter.”
Shen Rong scratched his arm. “You don’t need to help me. If you really want to, let me follow you and serve under you. Just share your meals with me.”
At last, Xiao Yuanyao’s expression changed. His brows drew together, and he said nothing for a long while. He didn’t seem very keen on letting Shen Rong enlist.
The group continued on.
Zhao Guo whispered to his brother, “What’s going on? Has the little immortal latched onto our eldest young master?”
“Who knows?” Zhao Shu said. “The eldest young master’s only looking out for him. If Shen Rong hadn’t really saved us, he probably wouldn’t be taking such good care of him.”
Zhao Guo nodded emphatically. “You hear about people being forced into the army these days, but never about someone volunteering to get himself killed. With skin as soft as his, if the eldest young master really took him on, he’d have to worry himself sick about him on the battlefield.”
The brothers whispered in their hometown dialect, so no one else could understand what they were saying. Only Xiao Yuanyao glanced back at them in warning. Zhao Shu and Zhao Guo immediately fell silent.
After they had walked for over an hour, an open clearing appeared ahead in the woods. Xiao Yuanyao noticed Shen Rong scratching himself nonstop and signaled for the group to stop.
Then he listened intently, as if trying to catch some distant sound.
A few moments later, Xiao Yuanyao said, “Rest here. We’ll move on in a little while.”
Someone immediately said, “Squad Leader, we can keep going!”
The others chimed in. “That’s right, we can still walk. We’re not tired at all!”
Shen Rong leaned against a tree, hands on his hips, panting a little. He had nothing to say to this ancient-world hiking club.
Xiao Yuanyao turned around, but before he could speak, Zhao Guo called out to the men, “You don’t listen to the Squad Leader now? He has his reasons for what he does. If he says rest, then rest. Once we’re back at camp, you’ll get plenty of drills.”
A chorus of groans and sighs broke out.
Not one of them had enlisted willingly. They all looked like ordinary folk who’d been dragged in, handed a uniform and a knife, and declared soldiers. Soldiers like these were usually just the first layer of flesh thrown up as a shield on the battlefield.
Shen Rong glanced at one of their knives, then squeezed his eyes shut, unable to bear the sight.
What a mess.
It was full of nicks, and the edge was rolled over. You’d have to saw back and forth just to cut someone.
He touched his toolbox, his hands itching to sharpen the blades. If he followed Xiao Yuanyao and helped him build a force armed with divine weapons, could Xiao Yuanyao end the chaos early? And could Shen Rong find a chance to live the quiet, secluded life he’d always dreamed of?
Suddenly, something was held out in front of him. Shen Rong looked down. It was a waterskin.
“Drink. I filled it with spring water while I was scouting ahead.” Xiao Yuanyao held it out a little farther. “Your lips are chapped.”
Shen Rong instinctively ran his tongue over them. They really were.
The big shot was surprisingly considerate. No wonder the people around him were so loyal.
Shen Rong didn’t hesitate. He took the waterskin and drank straight from it. Then the system’s alert went off in his head, loud enough to shake the heavens.
【Ding! Ding-ding! (Important announcement, cannot be muted!) Congratulations, Host! You have achieved the indirect-kiss milestone with Xiao Yuanyao! This milestone will be added to your previous princess carry achievement. Your prize will be issued shortly, so please be ready to receive it!】
This ridiculous thing actually gave out prizes? Shen Rong took several more hearty gulps. He was flat broke. The more prizes, the better!
【Repeating an action has no effect. Please keep exploring other ways to make contact~ The system will provide you with a rich selection of practical prizes within activated maps! Our goal is to fall in love with the founding emperor!】
Shen Rong choked. “Cough, cough, cough!”
Xiao Yuanyao took half a flatbread from inside his robe. “Want this to help it go down?”
Shen Rong waved him off. “No, cough, cough, cough!”
Xiao Yuanyao didn’t insist. He simply put it away again.
Once the coughing fit passed, Shen Rong began turning over the system’s wording in his mind. He’d activated the Shuangshen Mountain map, so the system would refresh prizes within the mountain range. If he activated other maps later and made a little more contact with Xiao Yuanyao, might there be other useful prizes, too?
There was a vast expanse of land, rich in resources. If Xiao Yuanyao was going to conquer the realm, they’d surely travel through more than this one little map. What if they came across a mine or a coalfield somewhere?
Shen Rong was suddenly unable to stay calm.
Were the prizes from this romance system really that good?
“Stay with them and don’t wander off. I’ll be gone for a little while,” Xiao Yuanyao suddenly said.
Shen Rong snapped back to attention. He looked at Xiao Yuanyao as if he were some kind of walking activation key. “Where are you going? You’re not leaving me here alone, are you?”
Xiao Yuanyao seemed a little exasperated. “We’re counting on you to lead the way. Of course I’m not leaving you here.”
Shen Rong remained unconvinced. “Good. Zhao. Da. Brother.”
Xiao Yuanyao only said, “Wait here. I’ll be back soon.”
Shen Rong watched him plunge into the woods, nimble as a wild leopard.
“It’s like he doesn’t even get tired. Where does he get all that energy?” Shen Rong tamped down his excitement over the fantasy he’d just entertained and looked down at his own arms and legs, which were in a truly appalling state.
Never mind. He’d better think about what to do right now. His clothes were short, his hair was short, and Xiao Yuanyao was the only one with enough nerve to accept it. Everyone else gave him odd looks.
The mosquitoes in the mountains were vicious, and these were the ancient-world variety. Shen Rong had gone from an itch to skin so hot from scratching that he’d drawn blood in a few spots.
“This is killing me.”
What kind of prize would the system give him, anyway? What was there on Shuangshen Mountain? Pheasants, ducks, rabbits?
Zhao Guo called to him from nearby. “Young Brother Shen, come a little closer. Watch out for wild animals!”
“Coming!” Shen Rong was about to go over when the system’s prize announcement suddenly rang out in his head.
【Shuangshen Mountain exclusive prize: Five enemy horses. Follow the marker to claim your prize within ten minutes.】
Shen Rong: “??”
Shen Rong: “!!”
Holy crap! Horses!
The ultimate military commodity! First come, first served!
Shen Rong immediately spun around and sprinted off, forgetting Xiao Yuanyao’s warning not to wander off.
Author’s Note:
Rong: Big horse! Mine! [Tricolor cat head] [waving]