Chapter 14: Caught at the Wall
To be safe, Dong Li slipped out through the back courtyard.
When he circled around to the street, he happened to see a patrol squad approaching.
They were all hawk spirits, each with [Level 10 NPC] above their heads. There were more than ten of them at a glance, and they normally didn’t appear around town very often.
Several hawk spirit forms swept through the sky ahead of their owners, flying straight toward their destination—the medicine shop.
Dong Li immediately tensed.
Had they discovered that an NPC had been eaten?
Worried about Shu Bai, he quietly blended into the crowd and doubled back.
But the dozen or so patrol guards only searched the area around the medicine shop.
Their hawk spirits circled overhead, apparently unable to find whatever they were looking for.
Inside the shop, Shu Bai stood quietly beside the front counter, head lowered as he continued making medicine packets as if nothing had happened.
Dong Li finally relaxed.
But now he had even more reason to leave.
At least he’d already said goodbye to Shu Bai.
After all, Shu Bai was his only friend here…
Dong Li gave the medicine shop one last look, then lowered his head and turned away, weaving through the crowded street.
Plenty of players had gathered to watch the commotion.
Some NPCs continued working as usual, seemingly unaffected.
Others looked worried and anxious, keeping a close eye on the patrol guards.
As Dong Li passed by, he overheard a player asking a Level 7 NPC what was going on.
The NPC was elderly. He raised a trembling hand to stroke his beard.
“The ancient demon king has awakened. Disaster is sure to follow…”
This was the second time Dong Li had heard an NPC mention an “ancient demon king,” the first being at the teahouse.
The player immediately grew excited.
“Where? Where is it? Is there another new dungeon?”
Dong Li hurried away and unconsciously pulled his coat tighter around himself.
Rongrong was hidden in his hood as usual, warily watching their surroundings.
What was this about an ancient demon king awakening…?
Dong Li vaguely remembered seeing something like that on the forum before too.
Could it possibly mean Yuanbao, whom he had brought here?
He grew nervous.
Then he thought about how obedient Yuanbao had been by his side and relaxed again.
What kind of disaster could Yuanbao possibly cause?
Even Heidan had only eaten two people…
Well, counting those players from before, that made six at most!
Dong Li relaxed a little and began thinking about where to go after leaving Dragonbone Town.
He knew absolutely nothing about the other places on the map.
But that was fine.
Once he reached somewhere new, maybe he could try making another friend.
That thought somehow brought Lufiel to mind again.
Dong Li stopped walking.
After hesitating, he turned to look behind him.
He couldn’t have mistaken the person who had stayed near the herb field all morning.
It had definitely been Lufiel.
What had Lufiel been doing there?
Following Dong Li all the way to the herb field…then watching him gather herbs?
Dong Li looked bewildered.
He was probably overthinking things.
If Lufiel had wanted to find him at any point after their breakup, he could have come to the Fuling Region whenever he wanted.
And Dong Li hadn’t forgotten that Lufiel was a player.
Players killed demonic beasts when they encountered them.
Dong Li had always known Lufiel was strong.
The “outsiders” didn’t have physical spirit forms, but they could still control spiritual power.
Even before Dong Li realized the world was a game, Lufiel had been able to effortlessly drive away the giant squirrels that sometimes wandered into the rear mountains and harassed the fox spirits.
Wait.
If Lufiel was a player, then the world must have already been a game back then too.
Dong Li just hadn’t realized it…
He frowned, trying to sort through it all, only to feel his thoughts getting tangled.
Dong Li rubbed his eyes.
Forget it.
He wasn’t going to think about it anymore.
Maybe Lufiel had discovered Heidan and that was why he had been following him.
If anyone found out Dong Li was carrying two demonic beasts around, he might get captured.
Then both he and Yuanbao would be sent back to the Fuling Region—one locked in a cave to get beaten up every day, the other locked in an alchemy hut to get yelled at.
Dong Li pressed his lips together and started walking again, heading for the exit of Dragonbone Town.
He had studied the map.
The exit was near the Trial Grounds. From there, following the widest road would lead to a small forest.
Beyond that forest lay a place called Maidong City.
But when Dong Li reached the exit, he found even more patrol guards.
The hawk spirits seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, and they were guarding the gate tightly.
The gate itself had been shut and sealed.
Worse, the mayor’s Level 20 leopard spirit was there too.
It paced back and forth, lifting a pair of cold golden eyes.
Dong Li counted the guards.
Then immediately turned around.
Maybe he should try the herb-field side instead.
He could find somewhere secluded and figure out what to do from there.
But the moment he turned, two hawk spirits flew over and circled him.
Sensing danger, Rongrong jumped out of his hood and positioned itself protectively beside him.
Just then, two more NPCs appeared.
They came from the Trial Grounds.
When they saw Dong Li, they paused in surprise, then hurried over.
“Supervisor, the medicinal plants are ready. Please come quickly.”
Dong Li stared blankly.
“Huh?”
Rongrong looked equally confused, tilting its head and glancing around.
Several patrol guards behind them had been about to come over and inspect Dong Li, but stopped when they saw this.
Apparently they assumed he belonged to the Trial Grounds.
The two hawk spirits, however, did not immediately fly away.
“Supervisor?” one of the NPCs urged again. “The spirit medicines have to be used tomorrow. If we don’t start now, we won’t make it in time.”
Dong Li looked at the text above their heads.
[Level 1 NPC · Cat Spirit]
[Level 1 NPC · Cat Spirit]
Then he reached into his pocket and touched a plaque.
The Dog Spirit Heidan had eaten earlier…
According to Shu Bai, that NPC had been some kind of Trial Grounds supervisor.
Dong Li had casually taken the plaque from him before leaving the medicine shop.
Could it be…
Dong Li quietly looked around.
There were patrol guards everywhere.
And that leopard looked extremely unfriendly.
The town was also packed with players.
If Dong Li called Heidan out to help, he had no idea whether they could escape directly.
Even now, he didn’t actually know how strong Heidan really was.
Yuanbao was Level 150—he had seen that on the metal plate before.
But ever since leaving the Fuling Region, Yuanbao had done nothing but eat and sleep in Dong Li’s arms.
After the information on the metal plate changed, Dong Li could no longer see Yuanbao’s condition, so he had no idea how much it had recovered.
While Dong Li hesitated, the leopard suddenly looked in his direction too.
Dong Li hurriedly nodded.
“Okay, okay… Let’s go!”
—
When Lufiel logged in and searched around the Trial Grounds, he happened to see Dong Li leaving with two NPCs and entering the building.
He followed immediately.
But he was stopped outside.
The Trial Grounds had not officially opened yet.
Only designated NPCs were allowed inside.
Lufiel stared at the closed doors and sent his sword aura circling around the entire structure.
Unfortunately, the Trial Grounds weren’t an open-air facility.
They had been designed specifically for player combat and didn’t follow the structure of an ordinary building.
In a sense, the interior was an independent space.
The sword aura hovered around it for a long time without finding a single window.
Not even a crack.
Lufiel exhaled heavily and looked around.
He had only been offline for a single lunch break, yet Dragonbone Town had suddenly descended into chaos, as if a new storyline had abruptly advanced several stages.
He opened his friends list.
Liufeng wasn’t online.
Nearby, a patrol guard noticed someone lingering around the Trial Grounds and came over to question him.
Lufiel ignored the NPC.
He turned, walked to a bench along the street behind the building, and sat down.
His gaze lowered.
The metal mask caught the light from behind, making him look like a cold, rigid statue.
Liufeng had suggested that Dong Li’s freedom of interaction might have been increased when he moved from the Fuling Region to Dragonbone Town.
Yesterday afternoon, Dong Li hadn’t gone out at all.
Today, he had entered the Trial Grounds.
Had he become an NPC assigned there?
Lufiel glanced toward the building.
After a moment, he looked away and habitually opened his in-game album, scrolling through the pictures one by one.
—
Meanwhile, Dong Li followed the two NPCs down a long corridor.
From the outside, the Trial Grounds didn’t look particularly large.
Inside, however, they were incredibly spacious.
Everything was dark, and it was difficult to see much.
The place was also strangely quiet.
There was no one else around.
Dong Li looked around curiously as the two NPCs led him to a small room.
A sign hung on the door.
Alchemy Room
The two cat-spirit NPCs opened the door.
A thick, bitter medicinal smell rushed out.
Dong Li and Rongrong followed them inside.
The NPCs turned on the lights, then left immediately, thoughtfully closing the door behind them.
Dong Li looked around.
There were piles upon piles of medicinal plants.
And one enormous furnace.
The herbs had already been roughly processed and weren’t very fresh anymore.
Dong Li leaned closer and sniffed.
Then he wrinkled his nose in disgust and turned away.
He didn’t want to put any of these into his own little medicine furnace.
Otherwise, with this much lying around, surely no one would notice if he secretly took some.
Dong Li wandered around the room.
Rongrong followed, sniffing and inspecting everything too.
There were also a few personal belongings scattered around.
They probably belonged to the Dog Spirit supervisor.
Outside, everything remained silent.
Dong Li decided to sneak away.
He opened the door—and immediately found himself staring at the two cat-spirit NPCs.
One of them looked at him in confusion.
“Supervisor, do you need something?”
Why were they still standing out here…?
Dong Li could only say, “No… You can go. I’ll be fine by myself.”
The NPC looked even more puzzled.
“We need to store the spirit medicine in the warehouse as soon as you finish making it.”
Dong Li and the NPC stared at each other.
“…Can I make it later?”
The NPC’s expression became anxious, almost frightened.
“Supervisor, we’re running out of time.”
Dong Li had no choice.
He touched his coat.
These two NPCs were only Level 1.
He could knock them unconscious.
Or let Heidan eat them.
Either would work.
But for some reason…
Dong Li couldn’t quite bring himself to do it.
Level 1 NPCs…
They were like Shu Bai.
Most of the time, they were a little slow and vacant.
They only knew what they were supposed to know.
These two didn’t even remember what their supervisor looked like. Dong Li had merely brought the plaque with him, and they had mistaken him for the Dog Spirit.
Dong Li turned back toward the room.
It was only medicine, right?
He knew how to make medicine!
Just to be sure, he asked the NPCs,
“Once I finish making the spirit medicine, I can leave?”
They didn’t understand why he was asking, but answered anyway.
“Yes.”
Dong Li nodded and shut the door again.
He walked over to the giant furnace.
A sheet of paper had been pasted to the wall beside it, listing various medicine names and several numbers.
Dong Li couldn’t understand any of it.
He didn’t care either.
He always made medicine the same way.
He picked up the bundles of herbs lying on the floor and tossed all of them into the giant pot.
There were a lot of herbs.
But the pot was huge too.
After adding water, stirring everything around, and poking the bundles down, the pot was filled perfectly.
Once the herbs were in place, Rongrong expertly breathed out a mouthful of flame.
Golden fire instantly engulfed the bottom of the furnace.
Dong Li, standing right beside it, couldn’t feel any heat.
But the contents inside quickly began to boil.
He retreated to a corner to rest, pulled out the metal plate, and opened the game forum.
Sure enough, everyone was talking about what was happening in Dragonbone Town.
Dong Li skimmed through the posts.
Most players were eagerly anticipating a new storyline and a new boss.
Since the dungeon in the Fuling Region still hadn’t been repaired, many people had started assuming that was part of the new storyline too.
[Floor 14: Two bosses disappeared under mysterious circumstances. Don’t tell me this “ancient demon king” ate them both?]
Dong Li thought to himself that Yuanbao and Heidan were both with him.
Now that they had food, they were extremely well-behaved.
[Floor 20: Why aren’t they releasing a quest? All I see are NPCs running around everywhere. Do none of them know how to ask players for help?]
Ask for help?
How?
By asking the players to capture them?
Dong Li tightened his arms around Rongrong and the two little beasts and continued scrolling.
[Floor 31: Maybe they’re waiting for the arena? A bunch of top players are going to Dragonbone Town over the next couple of days anyway. They might release the quest afterward.]
The arena?
Dong Li thought uncertainly.
Did that mean the Trial Grounds he was in right now?
The spirit medicine was probably meant for the players coming here.
The notice had mentioned some kind of reward.
Dong Li lifted his head.
The furnace was bubbling noisily.
He had thrown in so many medicinal plants that he had no idea how long they would take to finish.
Partway through, Dong Li opened the door again.
Sure enough, the two NPCs were still standing outside.
One of them immediately asked, “Supervisor, are you—”
Dong Li shut the door.
He couldn’t leave.
And he really didn’t want to hurt the two cat-spirit NPCs.
So he had no choice but to keep waiting.
And waiting.
Until night fell.
At last, the noise from the furnace stopped.
The golden flames died out.
Dong Li climbed onto a stool and looked inside.
Half the furnace was filled with pills.
When he opened the door again, he happily announced,
“They’re done!”
The two NPCs hurried inside and poured every pill into a large bamboo basket.
But the moment they saw what the pills looked like, both of them froze.
One NPC picked one up.
It was pitch-black.
And it seemed to carry a strange smell…
Dong Li immediately felt guilty.
“What’s wrong?” he asked quietly.
He had made the medicine, hadn’t he…?
They were only Level 1 NPCs.
The one holding the pill instinctively answered,
“N-Nothing…”
They packed the pills away, lifted the bamboo basket together, and left.
The moment Dong Li saw their backs disappear, he bolted.
Unfortunately, the Trial Grounds were too dark.
He couldn’t find the light switches anywhere, and quickly got lost in the corridors.
After wandering around for quite a while, he finally found a door.
Dong Li pushed it open with all his strength—only to realize this wasn’t where he had entered.
But the Trial Grounds were right at the edge of town.
The outer wall wasn’t far away.
And right now, there was absolutely no one around.
No patrol guards were stationed here either.
Dong Li’s eyes lit up.
He hurried over to the wall and began climbing, stepping on the stones piled beneath it for leverage.
Rongrong was much more agile.
It easily leaped to the top, then leaned down and grabbed Dong Li’s sleeve between its teeth to help pull him up.
Heidan originally wanted to come out and see what was happening.
Yuanbao stopped it with a look.
Fine…
Heidan retreated back into the coat and licked its lips.
If it wanted delicious food, it had to behave.
Only then would Dong Li let it stay.
It would come out when Dong Li told it to.
By the time Dong Li finally hauled himself onto the top of the wall—
Whoosh!
A blade of wind suddenly appeared.
Rongrong’s violet eyes narrowed.
It raised one paw and knocked the attack aside.
Immediately afterward, two hawk spirits flew over at high speed.
The entire town had been sealed.
If anyone attempted to leave without permission, Dragonbone Town’s runestone would detect it immediately.
Dong Li looked up.
A patrol squad was rushing toward him from not far away.
The town behind them was brightly lit.
Under the moonlight, he also saw an impossibly familiar figure.
Dong Li sat on top of the wall.
Across the distance, his gaze met Lufiel’s.
He froze.
Then immediately jumped down the other side.
Author’s Note:
Dong Li: (???)! Run, run!
