The morning in Apricot Blossom Village was just right, with sunlight filtering through the willow branches, casting dappled shadows on the cobblestone path.
Zhang Fan wandered aimlessly by the stone bridge in the village, trying to extract some quest clues from the seemingly mundane NPC conversations.
Unfortunately, after searching the entire morning and scouring the village, he couldn't find a single quest.
Just then, he noticed the female player standing on the bridge.
Her ID was quite elegant: [Blossom Visage].
She was dressed in simple cloth attire, similar to Zhang Fan's "tattered outfit," yet her graceful and ethereal demeanor was undeniable.
Unlike other players who were hurriedly searching for quests, she quietly leaned against the railing, gazing at the flowing water beneath the bridge, seemingly out of place in this noisy and perilous game world.
But the sword in her hand was clearly extraordinary.
Zhang Fan immediately recalled Drifting Cloud's warning, "Don't get too close to strangers," and instinctively kept his distance from her.
However, for the sake of information, for that damned experience and copper coins, he decided to take the risk.
After all, "Fortune favors the bold, and wooing requires thick skin."
He carefully straightened his wrinkled "tattered cloth shirt," took a deep breath, and approached, trying to disguise himself as a newbie player while remaining highly vigilant:
"Hello, I'm Mortal Dust, new here and not quite familiar with the game yet. May I ask you a question?"
His voice wasn't loud, but it was enough for the beauty leaning against the railing to hear.
Blossom Visage was startled by the sudden voice and slowly turned her head.
When her gaze fell on Zhang Fan, her eyes were as clear as autumn water, untainted by a speck of dust.
Her appearance wasn't stunning, yet it carried a gentle elegance unique to women from Jiangnan, making one feel comfortable at heart.
Blossom Visage's voice was soft, like a spring breeze brushing past willow tips, with a hint of polite aloofness.
"Hello, I'm Blossom Visage. What would you like to ask?"
"There's hope!" Zhang Fan was delighted, realizing his [Charisma: 3] wasn't entirely useless, at least it didn't scare her away.
But he remained cautious.
He quickly followed up, "I've been wandering around the village for half a day, and apart from woodcutting, I can't find any other tasks. I was wondering if you know of any other quests available in the village?"
Blossom Visage tilted her head slightly, her long eyelashes fluttering as if she were seriously contemplating.
After a moment, she softly said:
"There's a medicine shop at the east end of the village run by Doctor Lin. He always has a quest related to herbs."
She paused, adding, "Several players have tried it, but strangely, they all failed, none completed it. I heard from others... that quest seems to require a high level of a hidden attribute called 'Comprehension.'"
"Comprehension?!"
"What a coincidence! It's like someone offering a pillow when you're sleepy, or someone coming to poke your ass when you can't take a shit!"
His Comprehension had been rewarded with 1 point by the system for triggering the [Heaven Rewards Diligence] talent.
Maybe he could complete this quest.
Zhang Fan quickly inquired further.
"Comprehension? Characters have such hidden attributes? That's amazing, what kind of attribute is it?"
Blossom Visage softly explained.
"In this game, besides the basic attributes we can see, there are many hidden attributes, like Root Bone, Comprehension, and the most mysterious Luck. These attributes don't show on the panel and can't be increased through leveling up."
"Then how do you improve them?"
"I don't know," Blossom Visage patiently explained.
"Hidden attributes are too mysterious, and no one has any clues.
Perhaps... it requires very special encounters to increase them.
That's why no one has completed Doctor Lin's quest, so everyone speculates the reward must be very generous."
"An encounter? Does adding a five-star count as an encounter?" Zhang Fan thought happily, already guessing that increasing Comprehension might be crucial.
After getting detailed directions to Doctor Lin's location from Blossom Visage, he sincerely thanked her repeatedly, "Thank you so much! This information is very important to me!"
Blossom Visage merely nodded slightly in response, then turned back to quietly watch the flowing water beneath the bridge, as if the conversation was just a trivial interlude.
Zhang Fan felt that although this female player didn't say much, she was genuinely nice.
He kept this kindness in mind and, following the address given by Blossom Visage, eagerly ran towards the east end of the village.
Soon, a quaint medicine shop appeared before him.
The herb hut wasn't large, with various unfamiliar herbs drying on bamboo poles at the entrance, and the air was filled with a strong and complex medicinal scent, somewhat pungent.
"So leveling up requires buying life-restoring pills from here."
Zhang Fan glanced around, understanding the situation, and also noticed a stern-faced middle-aged man, his back to the entrance, meticulously sorting herbs in a basket.
Without an ID above his head, he was clearly the NPC Doctor Lin.
Zhang Fan composed himself, approached, and respectfully bowed in the manner of a historical drama, just about to start a conversation.
Unexpectedly, Doctor Lin, as if he had eyes on the back of his head, waved his hand impatiently without looking up.
"Another Outsider? You have a keen nose! Are you here to take on my herb care quest? Don't even think about it, get lost!" Get faster updates on g.com.
His voice was harsh and disdainful, "You bunch of clumsy fools, can't do anything right, but you're number one at ruining my precious herbs!"
"My goodness! Is this NPC's temper really that explosive?"
Zhang Fan, instead of getting angry at the scolding, was actually delighted.
This meant the quest was real!
And the higher the difficulty, the better the reward!
He didn't give up, automatically filtering out the harsh words: "Uncle, don't say that, why do you think I can't do it?"
Doctor Lin finally turned around, glaring at him fiercely, his gaze as if he wanted to devour him.
"Why? My herbs, each one is worth several taels of silver! Seven or eight Outsiders have come and gone, killing three of my plants! Can you poor wretches afford to pay? Go away, don't get in the way!"
Several taels of silver!
Zhang Fan clicked his tongue, one tael of silver was a hundred copper coins, that's ten thousand! This old man lost tens of thousands with just a few words, no wonder his temper was so bad.
Seeing that being tough didn't work, Zhang Fan decided to try a softer approach.
He immediately put on an innocent look, almost pleading:
"Uncle, I... I really can do it! I have very steady hands, and I'm very patient! How about this, give me the simplest task to try, I promise to complete it beautifully! I don't want a single copper coin as a reward, I just want to learn something!"
If he had a knife, he'd immediately wave it, imitating a woman acting coy.
Doctor Lin looked at Zhang Fan's "I'm not leaving until you give me a quest" rogue demeanor, his brows knitted into deep vertical furrows, seemingly in a fierce internal struggle.
After a while, he finally sighed deeply, like a deflated balloon.
"Ah, fine, fine! Seeing your sincerity, I do have a very basic herb pounding task.
But I must tell you, this task also has high requirements, if your hand and eye coordination is off, or the force is wrong, the herbs will be ruined.
If you can't do it, there's no reward, and you'll have to get lost!"
"Thank you, Uncle! I'll take it!"
Afraid he might change his mind, Zhang Fan agreed without hesitation.
As soon as he spoke, the pleasant system notification sounded at the right time:
[Do you wish to accept the Temporary Quest: Herb Pounding?]
[Quest Requirement: Successfully pound thirty portions of qualified 'Hemostatic Powder' without wasting any herbs.]
[Quest Reward: Unknown.]
[Failure Penalty: None.]
Zhang Fan unhesitatingly chose "Yes" in his mind.