Chapter 197 Epic Tier Quest (Part 2)
Purity Essence immediately joined Upwards Ho!. The officers of Upwards Ho! were surprised and confused by his appearance. "Eh? I thought those rumors on the forums were fake... So Purity Essence does have something going on with our leader!"
"So what?" was Gongzi You's response to the questions she received. The entire guild that was bustling with conspiracy theories immediately quieted down.
Bai Mo who had prior knowledge of Purity Essence's arrival immediately sent a message to Ye Ci, "So, it's done?"
"Yup." Ye Ci let out a sigh, "I'll leave him to you. Don't let anything slip."
"Of course. Who do you think I am?" Bai Mo chuckled, "So he'll be the battle commander?"
"Yup. I'm not that close with him, but I noticed that he has exceptional skills as a commander. Train him well."
"Leave it to me." Bai Mo always liked to show any new recruits the ropes, he would pay extra attention to players who were especially recruited by Gongzi You. After all, it was rare for Ye Ci to recruit a player. Those who caught her eye would definitely be someone special no matter how miserable their appearance was.
Purity Essence was slightly nervous when he saw the conversations going on in the guild chat. He realized that his action of joining Upwards Ho! so abruptly was inappropriate. Just as doubt began to surface in his thoughts, he received a private message from Gongzi You, "The guild encampment is in Red Lake City. You can bind your City-recalling Stone to that place. Of course, it's up to you. But you should head to the guild encampment. Remote Depths is waiting for you."
"Remote Depths?" Purity Essence was momentarily stunned. That man was the first Warrior to obtain the Swordback Hold in the entire Eastern Continent, and one of the best tanks in the continent. A person like that is waiting for me? His worry immediately dissipated. Someone who was very close with Gongzi You would of course be an outstanding individual. He, who was a nobody, felt overwhelmed.
"Alright." Purity Essence sent a message to Ye Ci and immediately made preparations to head to the guild encampment. Ye Ci on the other hand, no longer focused her attention on Purity Essence. After all, her energy was not unlimited. Investing her energy on the most worthy things would be the wisest choice.
When Ye Ci swam ashore, Green Hill's Moon was waiting not far away with a coy smile at the docks. She rolled her eyes, and walked towards the man. Patting her wet hand on his hair, Ye Ci spoke up, "Don't tell me... You've been waiting for me here?"
"Of course. Not many in the Eastern Continent would have the chance of waiting for Gongzi You. How could I let go of such an opportunity?" Green Hill's Mind paid no heed to the seawater that was dripping down from his hair. He was still smiling at Ye Ci.
"If you're here... It means that you've found a good resting spot."
"Exactly! It's a tavern called the One-Eyed Pirate. I've gotten a room." Green Hill's Moon chuckled, "You go first. Let me know when you're done cleaning up yourself. I'll be right away." Despite his mischievous nature, Green Hill's Moon was still a gentleman. He was also a very attentive person, he knew that Ye Ci would definitely need to tidy herself up after travelling such a vast distance, and had already gotten her a room.
The One-eyed Pirate Inn.
The room was the best room in the entire tavern. The soft warm bed gave off a nice smell, and there was even a fireplace with crackling wood as the warm flames burned. A huge cask filled with warm water was placed in the middle of the bathroom. There were even petals floating on the water. Ye Ci let out a smile as she removed her clothing. Green Hill's Moon was such a good flirt. If she did not know that the wool comes from the sheep's back, she might have even praised the man. With the knowledge that she would be indirectly paying for the expenses of renting this room, there was not a shred of appreciation in Ye Ci's hearts towards Green Hill's Moon.
After her bath, Ye Ci's equipment was already cleaned by the tavern's NPC. Ye Ci felt fresh and relaxed. Cleanliness and Fatigue were both mechanics that would affect a player in Fate, and any negative effect from these stats could be removed by having a bath. Players would flock to public bathhouses with their meagre income because of that. The over-realistic game might not be a good thing.
As Green Hill's Moon entered the room, Gongzi You having a meal. She was not modest at all, and had order the best food with the best wine. She was enjoying the meal. After mourning for his wallet for a short moment, Green Hill's Moon decided to put the tabs on Gongzi You, his wealthy benefactor.
Indeed, the wool comes from the sheep's back.
"So, how did your investigation go?"
"Heh! I didn't know you're interested in gossip as well." Green Hill's Moon let out a cunning smile. It was apparent that he was satisfied with the news he received from the investigation he had been tasked with.
"Such is the way of the world. There's nothing to gossip about." Ye Ci wiped the sauce from the corner of her mouth with her napkin. She set her cutlery down, and leaned back onto the chair. Narrowing her eyes, she looked straight at Green Hill's Moon, "Besides, I'm sure you know that the things that I've wanted you to investigate are never gossipy in nature."
"I know, I know. I'm simply lamenting about it." Green Hill's Moon let out a sigh....
Ye Ci snorted, indicating that Green Hill's Moon should get to the point, and not waste her precious time.
"Night And Day is already on guard against Wandering Cloud. Despite keeping up appearances, he has slowly begun to dismantle Wandering Cloud's influence within the Tang Dynasty. He was very secretive about it, and even I didn't take notice of it for long time t." Green Hill's Moon shrugged. He was impressed by Night And Day. After having a big green hat placed on his head by his best friend, he was able to keep his calm.
"Of course, despite not being visible to outsiders, I'm sure Wandering Cloud has already noticed something. He had ceased almost all contacts with Into The Sunsets, not to mention continuing their affair." Green Hill's Moon narrowed his eyes, "With my analysis of Wandering Cloud, he will definitely fight back. And will need outside help to do it."
Ye Ci stared silently at Green Hill's Moon.
"Do you happen the be the help he's looking for?" Green Hill's Moon made his guess. He believed that there was less than 5 people in this world that knew about this. Who else knew about this other than the 3 individuals directly involved in the incident and he himself? It would be Gongzi You who commissioned him to carry on the investigation. But... Why would Gongzi You know about this? At this point, however, no matter how Gongzi You found out about the affair, Wandering Cloud's only chance was to seek help from her. Gongzi You was the only one with the capabilities to go up against Night And Day and was not afraid to do so.
Ye Ci stared silently at Green Hill's Moon. She placed 100,000 gold coins on the table and spoke up, "You've worked hard. Is there anything else that Night And Day's been up to?"
"I'll assume that your silence is a confirmation to my question?" Green Hill's Moon smiled, "For this piece of information you gave me, I'm willing to (something like "waive the payment for his job")"
Ye Ci raised her eyebrow, stood up, and headed for the door. She then turned around and spoke up, "What's Thousand Sunsets up to these days?"
"He's been trying to buy any boss-clearing video lately. He seems quite desperate. Unbridled Willow seems quite relaxed about it. They're almost ready to challenge the fourth boss." knowing what Ye Ci wanted, Green Hill's Moon gave Ye Ci the answer she seek.
Green Hill's Moon was indeed dependable. Despite his calculative and stingy nature, he was very sincere, and would cherish kindness shown to him. In Ye Ci's last life, Green Hill's Moon did not even regard Ye Ci, who was his biggest customer as high as Thousand Sunsets who was his benefactor. In this life however, she has become his patron and benefactor.
Ye Ci felt that fate was such a despicable thing. If Green Hill's Moon was somehow able to find out that Thousand Sunsets was actually the person who rescued him from poverty in his last life, what would he feel? Ye Ci let out a smile that lit up her pretty face. She casted a last glance at Green Hill's Moon and began walking downstairs. "Oh, by the way, I've put the rent of this room under your tabs." said Ye Ci.
"Gongzi You!" Green Hill's Moon stood up abruptly. This girl.... How despicable... She would really go to great lengths to ensure that she was not at the end of the short straw. He could hear her footsteps as she ran down the stairs. It was as if she was delighted. Green Hill's Moon was depressed.
With everything finally settled, Ye Ci could finally resume her journey to complete the Epic Tier quest. Without any pause, she headed to the Swamp of Sorrows from the Hidden Treasure Gulf.
As a neutral territory, players were unable to teleport to Dark Clay City without reaching a certain prestige points threshold. Ye Ci had to gallop all the way to Dark Clay City from the edge of Swamp of Sorrows. The landscape has totally changed since her last visit. Every inch of the land has been scorched black by Altera's Dragon Breath. Even with the auto recovery function of the system, it would take more than a month for the map to return to its former glory.
After Altera's visit to the Swamp of Sorrows and the huge battle between the Eastern and the Northern continent had transpired in the map, it was then followed by the scandal between Gongzi You and Purity Essence, the once unfrequented Swamp of Sorrows became a bustling place. This time however, nobody paid attention to Ye Ci as she traversed through the map on Ol' Four's back, or rather, they avoided her out of fear.
Ye Ci arrived at Dark Clay City without any trouble, and was quick to arrive in the city hall to state her business to the officer on duty, who then went away to inform the major.
Lord Sha'gar of the Red Lake City was one of the top 10 most mysterious NPC in Fate. Very few of the players have actually seen the lord of Red Lake City despite playing the game for nearly 10 years. A person like him who hid in his castle all day long however, was one of the mightiest warriors in Fate, and was friends with the lord of Oasis City and the lord of the Dark Clay City, Lord Moore.
How could someone who stayed in solitude in his castle maintain his friendships with the other lords?
Of course, such matters were none of Ye Ci's concern. As a player, she was a lifeform that was beneath the high-tier NPC. The only thing she needed to concern herself with was to complete the quest handed to her by the NPCs.
After waiting for a short moment in the city hall, Ye Ci heard a flurry of footsteps. She turned around, and saw an NPC in a scholar's tunic with well-kept hair walking towards her with hastened pace. The badge on his chest was an indicator of his identity: The mayor of Dark Clay City.
The mayor walked up to Ye Ci and greeted her politely, "Ah, I see you're a friend from far, far away. My apologies for not welcoming you. Come, have a seat in my office."
"There's no need, sir." Ye Ci greeted him politely as well, "I'm here to deliver a letter from Lord Sha'gar to Lord Moore. When can I see Lord Moore?"
"Oh? A letter? Our lord is feeling unwell at the moment. You can hand me the letter, and I'll pass it on to my lord." the mayor of Dark Clay City extended an arm towards Ye Ci.
It was a trap designed by the system. If Ye Ci handed the letter over to the mayor, she could complete the quest. The grade of the quest would however drop from an Epic Tier quest to an Elite Tier quest. If such a thing happened, Ye Ci would receive significantly lesser rewards for completing the quest. As someone who possessed knowledge from her past life, Ye Ci would of course not fall for such trap.
She offered the mayor a smile and shook her head, "I'm afraid I can't do that, sir mayor. Lord Sha'gar has specifically instructed me to hand the letter to Lord Moore in person. I can't hand it to anybody else. I hope you understand that, sir mayor."
The mayor was momentarily stunned, and his expression was full of awkwardness. He was quick to regain his composure, "Of course, of course. Our lord however, is not feeling well. I'm afraid he can't see you right now." With that, he quickly changed the topic, "Of course, it's not impossible for you to meet the city lord."
Ye Ci knew that she the quest is slowly progressing into the difficulty of an Epic-tier quest. She would soon receive the second stage of the quest from the mayor. Hence, she answered with enthusiasm, "Sir mayor, are you facing any difficulties at the moment? If there's something troubling you, you can leave it to me. I'll do my best to solve the problem."
The mayor of Dark Clay City was overjoyed to hear Ye Ci's words, "Are you serious? Can I really leave this matter to you?"
"Of course."
"Lord Moore is ill. A famous healer has given us a prescription. We've gathered most of the herbs needed to brew the medicine, but there's one last herb that we're unable to locate. Since you're here... If you can find that herb, I'm sure you'll be able to meet with Lord Moore soon."
A system notification rang right after the mayor of Dark Clay City finished his sentence, "Do you want to accept the quest "Medicine for the City Lord"?" Ye Ci accepted the quest. She noticed that the quest objective had changed, but the color of the quest remained. It meant that the quest was not downgraded.
The mayor began stating out the details of the quest after receiving confirmation from Ye Ci. It sounded like a simple quest, requiring Ye Ci to search for a herb known as the Spirit Soothing Grass in the Abandoned Altar deep within the Swamp of Sorrows.