The Fish Are Plump in Wang County
They had made a night march. When the enemy drove them into Shuangshen Mountain, they had been as wretched as cornered beasts. Now things had finally turned around: on the way back, they were all riding fine horses! With Shen Rong serving as a human navigation system, the remaining journey would take less than half as long. Since Zhao Shu and Zhao Guo had followed Xiao Yuanyao into the army, they had never had it so easy.
They had no idea whether their eldest young master was simply at odds with army life. He had earned plenty of merit in his two years of service, but somehow every reward had ended up in someone else’s hands. After two years, all he had to show for it was a squad leader’s post. Then, on this trip, three more of their brothers had died, leaving only Zhao Shu and Zhao Guo at Xiao Yuanyao’s side.
If their young master hadn’t looked after them, made sure they ate their fill, and kept them in shape, they might not have made it through this journey either. The imperial court was weak, the three kings stood against one another, and political turmoil had thrown the realm into chaos. Rebellions and banditry were rampant, and people everywhere had been driven from their homes. They had joined the army only because King An had forcibly conscripted men in his territory. Otherwise, they would still be living with their young master in Tao County, Wan Province.
All in all, the Zhao brothers thought army life was a bad deal. You never knew whether you’d see another day. Better to go home and farm. Xiao Yuanyao not taking Shen Rong along had been for Shen Rong’s own good.
Shen Rong, however, knew nothing of their thoughts. He had grown up under the red flag and in the sunshine. He knew the world was in turmoil, but he had never seen just how bad it could get. Right now, all that mattered was figuring out how to activate more maps while traveling with Xiao Yuanyao.
As the horses’ hooves reached the main road, the system’s familiar mechanical notification sounded in Shen Rong’s mind.
【Congratulations, Host, on successfully leaving Shuangshen Mountain! The newbie tutorial period is about to end. The romance system will continue to serve you.】
【As you spend time together in the future, this system will continue to provide navigation, sightseeing guides, food recommendations, and more. Prizes will be determined by the maps you activate and your progress in winning over Xiao Yuanyao! (P.S. To avoid disrupting the world’s order, each new map only grants one reward, and you cannot choose it yourself.)】
Shen Rong immediately pressed it for more information in his mind. 【Only one reward? So those horses were all Shuangshen Mountain had to offer? Nothing else?】
System: 【There are also a few of King Liang’s cavalrymen in hiding. I didn’t think you’d want those.】
Shen Rong: …
Well, fair enough.
System: 【In any case, the smoother your progress in winning over Xiao Yuanyao, the better the prizes you can redeem. Our goal is: fall in love with the founding emperor!】
Shen Rong: …
What a carrot dangling in front of a donkey.
If he wanted more useful prizes in the future, he’d have to get close to Xiao Yuanyao. But speaking of getting close, weren’t they already pressed together?
Most of Shen Rong’s body had been jolted against Xiao Yuanyao’s chest with every stride. The coarse cloth of Xiao Yuanyao’s clothes chafed his arm raw. Wasn’t that worth an achievement point? He’d already sacrificed so much, and was even sitting sideways on the horse like a heroine in a romance novel!
The system kindly explained: 【Shuangshen Mountain was the newbie tutorial period for using this system, so the rules were relatively flexible. Once the tutorial period ends, the system will estimate your progress based on Xiao Yuanyao’s heartbeat value, then determine the prizes you can redeem.】
Shen Rong: …
He was at a loss.
So all those superficial efforts were pointless.
He’d wondered why things had been going so smoothly at first. Turns out the system had been taking it easy on him, giving him a taste of the good life. From now on, he’d have to earn his prizes based on some heartbeat value or other.
No wonder the system hadn’t said a word despite all their time pressed together. Xiao Yuanyao must have been as calm as still water the whole way, without a ripple. Of course the system wouldn’t count their closeness as progress.
However he looked at it, Shen Rong felt cheated.
With Xiao Yuanyao’s unshakable composure, who knew how long it would take to make his heart flutter? Besides, Shen Rong was a man. He had nothing to offer, not a single appealing quality.
He was starting to feel like dying again.
He wasn’t even tempted by the unknown prizes anymore.
He shut his eyes, tilted his head, and started to topple off the horse. Maybe that would get him killed faster. But an invisible force pulled him upright again, so quickly Xiao Yuanyao didn’t even have time to react.
Shen Rong: 【Just get it over with and let me die. I can’t do this job. All I know how to do is forge metal.】
Unlike 521, the system wasn’t particularly humanlike. It replied mechanically, 【No. Once a host has been bound, they cannot force a logout unless they advance the mission.】
Shen Rong pressed it. 【So if I advance the mission, I can log out?】
The system froze for several seconds before replying, 【That is technically correct, but I wouldn’t recommend it. If Xiao Yuanyao falls in love with you and you choose to log out, it could trigger his corruption and cause the world to collapse. Then you’d have to clean up the mess. (Crying)】
Shen Rong asked how the system knew so much about that.
System: 【Because a host has done exactly that before. (Smiling)】
It seemed the system had been badly traumatized by a host who’d chosen to log out. It immediately began trying to calculate Xiao Yuanyao’s heartbeat value. Oddly enough, it huffed and puffed for ages without getting anywhere. In the end, it only managed to announce:
【Ding! Because the male guest’s identity is too unusual and his aura too powerful, his inner values cannot be accessed for now!】
【Ding-ding! The system will keep trying to calculate them. In the meantime, as long as you two get along, prizes will be awarded as usual. To make up for the inconvenience, the system will offer you a pick-one-of-two reward until it can read Xiao Yuanyao’s inner values, after which the single-choice mode will resume. Host, explore boldly and give it your all!】
Shen Rong: …
Wasn’t this just a blind attack??
But the system had gone silent. It seemed Xiao Yuanyao had struck a serious blow to its confidence, and it had gone into hiding. What if it finally managed to calculate his heartbeat value, only to find that it was negative, and took all Shen Rong’s prizes back?
Shen Rong found it rather funny. Then he remembered that this was his own predicament, and the laughter died on his lips.
He had lived eighteen years in the modern world, ten of them spent grinding blades. It was what the whole village did, and a craft passed down through his family.
Xiao Yuanyao’s heart wasn’t the only one made of stone. Shen Rong’s was as hard as his whetstone. They were both made of tough stuff. Xiao Yuanyao wasn’t likely to fall for him; Shen Rong would be lucky if he wasn’t kicked off the founding emperor’s team entirely.
Shen Rong thought it over and could see no way out. So he let his hand fall and relaxed completely, giving up.
Fail the mission? To hell with it.
Pick one of two prizes? To hell with it.
Win over Xiao Yuanyao? To hell with that too!
The one thing that was real was the system’s promise that he couldn’t die. Look on the bright side: no matter how recklessly he lived in this world, as long as Xiao Yuanyao didn’t love him and he failed the mission, he’d be invulnerable!
He’d go back to grinding blades and forging metal. You made your own life.
The young man in front of him had been full of grief and indignation one moment, utterly lifeless the next, and now looked fired up again. His expressions were vivid, and he even had the nerve to glare. Xiao Yuanyao had never met anyone so full of life.
He seemed completely out of place in this rotten, decaying world.
Xiao Yuanyao observed him in silence. When Shen Rong squirmed, Xiao Yuanyao gave his backside a light smack.
“Hold on a little longer. Wang County is twenty li ahead.” Once they had reached the main road, Xiao Yuanyao no longer needed Shen Rong to guide them. He continued, “Those clothes of yours are far too revealing. Once we’re in town, I’ll buy you a couple of decent outfits.”
Shen Rong, barely alive, didn’t care even when Xiao Yuanyao smacked his backside. “That’s plenty. I’m not picky. Anything wearable will do.” Xiao Yuanyao’s own clothes were in tatters, yet he was still thinking of buying Shen Rong new ones. They were in the early days of building something from scratch. Shen Rong wasn’t so delicate that he needed to be fussed over.
Xiao Yuanyao’s tone was serious. “My grandfather used to say that you should never shortchange your men, even if you have to shortchange yourself. You’re working for me now, so I’ll treat you well. You’ll have everything Zhao Er and Zhao San have.”
Xiao Yuanyao was clearly skilled at winning people over. Shen Rong felt like he’d just been hit with a sweet-talking missile.
He asked casually, “So Zhao Er and Zhao San have nice clothes too?”
“Under their leather armor, they wear clothes their mother sewed for them. They’re nothing special, but they’re warm and hard-wearing.”
Shen Rong immediately seized on the inconsistency and gave a snort. “Aren’t you Zhao Da? You all have the same mother. How come they have clothes you don’t?”
Xiao Yuanyao seemed to laugh, though Shen Rong was tucked in front of him and couldn’t see.
“Of course I have clothes. Mine are even thicker. My mother always favored me. She was afraid I wouldn’t be comfortable away from home.”
Shen Rong was about to ask why Xiao Yuanyao’s clothes had more patches than the others, but Xiao Yuanyao gave the horse a soft click of his tongue and said, “We’ve reached Wang County.”
Shen Rong’s head snapped up. In the shifting shadows of night, an earthen city wall loomed before them. Its pockmarked surface was hardly beautiful, and several flags flew above it. Nearsighted, he squinted but couldn’t make out what they were.
Xiao Yuanyao spoke beside his ear. “King An’s flag. We’re safe now.”
“Oh,” Shen Rong said. At the same time, the system, silent for ages, chimed in again.
【Ding! Congratulations, Host, on unlocking a new map! Wang County, Wan Province, one of the cities under King An’s rule. It’s famous for silk and mandarin fish. Feel free to visit and try them with Xiao Yuanyao!】
Xiao Yuanyao looked down at Shen Rong, curled up against his chest. The difference in their builds and skin tones was striking.
“Are you hungry?” he asked. “Want some mandarin fish?”
“Yes, please, Squad Leader!” The Zhao brothers had somehow ridden up alongside them. “We’ve been craving some for the past seven or eight days. Thanks for looking out for us, Squad Leader!”
Shen Rong spent most of his time at home and was fair-skinned. After a night of riding in the wind, the tip of his nose and the corners of his eyes were bright red. Now that the Zhao brothers had answered for him, he pressed his lips together, looking like a fallen young master reduced to living under someone else’s roof.
Xiao Yuanyao turned his head. “You two won’t be getting any extra food.”
The Zhao brothers: “?”
Xiao Yuanyao lightly nudged the horse with his heels. “Shen Rong will be traveling with us from now on. He’s young and slight, so you two should look after him. There are sesame flatbreads at the city gate. Two will fill you up for a meal.”
Zhao Shu and Zhao Guo: “??”
Huh???? Author’s Note:
Hard to say Dayao isn’t biased. [Shuts up] At this stage, Dayao’s dressed in rags himself, but wants Rongrong dressed to the nines~ 【Mini Theater】 System: Warning! Unable to *%￥# calculate ** values! 2,000 years later Dayao: Is that really your maximum value? Pathetic. [Shrugs] System: ?? Shen Rong: ???