Chapter 3

Xu Ziche ran so fast that only Ye Xiyin and He Xiting were left, staring at each other in confusion.

When Xu Ziche had spoken earlier, his voice was low, deliberately letting only He Xiting hear, so even Ye Xiyin didn’t know why they had left.

Just as Ye Xiyin opened the “Nearby” channel to check the reason, He Xiting moved.

“No need to pay attention to him.” He led his horse over to Ye Xiyin, then turned and mounted, extending his hand.

Ye Xiyin hesitated for a moment but still grasped his hand and was gently pulled onto the horse.

He Xiting seated him behind himself. Before Ye Xiyin was the broad expanse of He Xiting’s shoulders, with no support nearby. He clenched his hands nervously in front of him but cautiously leaned forward to grip the fabric at He Xiting’s waist.

He didn’t dare hold on too tightly, more just testing the waters. Finding no resistance, he relaxed slightly, then carefully tightened his grip a bit higher. Once confident he could maintain balance during the ride, he let out a long breath and whispered, “I’m good.”

Throughout this, aside from gripping the reins a little tighter, He Xiting remained silent.

Only then did he speak: “Hold on tighter.”

With that, he guided the mount away.

He Xiting’s steed was a rare reward earned from missions, named Snow Treader. Its speed far surpassed ordinary horses. Once it took off, it moved much faster than Ye Xiyin had imagined.

The wild wind whipped around them, and combined with the horse’s speed, Ye Xiyin didn’t last long before feeling like he was about to be thrown off.

For the sake of his life, and He Xiting’s instruction, Ye Xiyin stopped holding onto the clothes and instead wrapped his arms around He Xiting’s waist. The distance closed abruptly, his cheek nearly touching He Xiting’s back.

Yet this proved effective. The wild wind died down considerably, and the speed became bearable. Feeling a bit more comfortable, Ye Xiyin breathed easier, though his ears flushed with embarrassment.

After all, the intimacy of the gesture, combined with the trouble he’d already caused He Xiting, made him blush with shyness and awkwardness.

He just hoped that once the mission was complete, the system wouldn’t be stingy and would grant He Xiting a sufficiently generous reward.

He didn’t know how long they had ridden, but as Yancheng faded from view, Snow Treader slowed.

Ye Xiyin finally had the chance to take in the surroundings.

Since this was a game world, the outside world was naturally not peaceful. Beyond the main city, monsters gathered in groups of three to five, and occasionally players could be seen battling them.

The monsters outside Yancheng were generally around level thirty to forty, mostly wild boar packs, with the occasional bandit causing trouble.

Ye Xiyin, coming from a world without such advanced technology, was fascinated by this holographic game.

“Trial of the Sword” was set in a high-martial arts world where powerful martial artists could injure with the flick of a flower petal. Players joined sects to cultivate internal and external skills, unlocking the sect’s unique abilities.

For visual appeal, both player skills and monsters were imbued with a touch of fantasy.

These skills combined with special effects made the battles dazzling and spectacular.

Along the way, besides monsters, Ye Xiyin also spotted many collectible items, sparkling enticingly. His fingers twitched, tempted to pick a few to examine.

If they were medicinal herbs, that would be even better!

With that thought, Ye Xiyin withdrew his gaze and opened his character panel.

The glaring level one was painfully obvious.

More terrifying was his dangerously low health bar.

10 out of 100.

Only ten points away from death.

Unlike players who could revive after death, Ye Xiyin’s situation was dire — one blow from a wild boar could finish him off.

What made matters worse was the debuff beneath the health bar — Congenital Deficiency Syndrome.

With this debuff, cultivation was much harder; his body was fragile, and injuries took longer to heal.

In short, he was truly a porcelain doll.

If he wanted to cultivate in the future, this congenital weakness would have to be addressed. If treated properly, he might improve considerably.

But for now, he needed to restore some health.

Ye Xiyin had medicine on hand.

With the player panel activated, he could use his backpack.

He had stashed the medicines there yesterday to prevent them from being confiscated.

But to avoid drawing attention, he didn’t openly use them. Instead, he took the medicine from his backpack and concealed it in his sleeve. Once the horse had slowed, he opened the bottle and popped a jade-colored pill into his mouth.

He didn’t know what it was made of, but the pill melted instantly with a hint of sweetness.

The effect was excellent.

A warm flow flooded his body, and his health bar swiftly filled.

It was as if the congenital debuff had vanished.

In truth, it was simply that the medicine he held was of a very high grade.

Holding the vial glowing with purple light, Ye Xiyin’s expression flickered.

The original owner had become a skilled healer due to chronic illness, unable to cultivate well, so their life skills, like medicine, were highly developed.

By the time Ye Xiyin took over, these life skills were maxed out.

This greatly facilitated his survival.

Moreover, max-level alchemy might be the key to curing his body’s debuff.

Thinking this way, life skills suddenly seemed promising.

When the three reunited, the other two noticed the renewed brightness on Ye Xiyin’s face.

“Your complexion looks much better. Seems you don’t need my healing after all.” Xu Ziche said this but still placed his fingers on Ye Xiyin’s wrist, using the “Four Diagnostic Methods” skill.

This was a unique feature of “Trial of the Sword.”

Players could use skills directly, but if carefully studied and executed semi- or fully manually, or closely following skill descriptions, the healing, attack, or proficiency would improve significantly.

This interesting mechanic quickly drew the attention of top players.

Almost all high-level players used this mode, Xu Ziche included.

After a moment, he withdrew his hand, frowning. “Your constitution seems weak, but your vitality is much better than before. Did you use some healing medicine?”

He Xiting shook his head and looked at Ye Xiyin.

“It’s my own medicine.” Ye Xiyin took out a jade marrow pill, divided it between Xu Ziche and He Xiting, smiling gently, “I get sick often, so I make some medicine. This is what I usually use.”

The two inspected the medicine and their eyes brightened.

Xu Ziche couldn’t hide his admiration, saying bluntly, “Such impressive attributes.”

It wasn’t that Xu Ziche lacked experience; the pill’s quality was genuinely outstanding.

Though only purple grade, it was ten percent better than most healing medicines on the market.

Don’t underestimate that ten percent — in crucial dungeons and boss fights, it could change a losing battle.

Moreover, the pill Ye Xiyin gave had a shorter cooldown, implying an even higher quality.

Their guild supported many top life skill players, but even their purple-grade healing medicines didn’t match this level.

“It’s no wonder it’s NPC-made — the quality is just better than player-made,” Xu Ziche said, unconcerned by the game’s automatic filtering of NPC-related comments.

Yet the NPC beside him was no ordinary one.

Ye Xiyin quietly absorbed the useful information.

It seemed his medicines were indeed of very high quality.

He actually had even rarer healing medicines, but using them on a level one character would be wasteful.

He wondered if medicines he crafted could be used as mission rewards and traded with players.

Meanwhile, after returning the jade marrow pill to Ye Xiyin, the two began discussing mission details.

Since they accepted the mission, naturally, they had to escort him to the destination.

Besides, the mission clearly held some potential for exploration.

Escort missions were common in many games, mostly short-term with modest rewards.

This long-term escort mission was something the two had never seen before.

And the visible rewards were even more enticing.

“We’re fine, but this little NPC’s body can’t take much jolting. He needs proper rest,” Xu Ziche examined Ye Xiyin’s frail frame, stroking his chin thoughtfully. “Food, clothing, shelter must be arranged. He needs a place to stay and meals prepared. Also, riding horses isn’t sustainable for his body — at least we should get a carriage. And…”

Ye Xiyin obediently let them assess him, following their arrangements.

Xu Ziche was a bit like a doting, protective mother.

Amused by this image, Ye Xiyin smirked but quickly lowered his head, avoiding He Xiting’s gaze, pretending he thought nothing of it.

Unaware of Ye Xiyin’s secret thoughts, Xu Ziche suddenly clapped his hands. “Oh, one more thing — he looks conspicuous; better to disguise him somehow.”

How to disguise him?

Players had small gadgets for that, but he wasn’t sure if they could be used on NPCs.

“How about dressing as a man?” Ye Xiyin suddenly spoke up, and when their eyes turned to him, he said hopefully, “Actually, I’m a man.”

It had been too rushed before to change clothes, but Ye Xiyin longed to wear men’s clothing again.

For some unknown reason, ever since childhood, Ye Junyan had made the original owner dress as a girl, presenting him as his daughter.

Yet Ye Junyan’s teachings never blurred the original owner’s gender. He was clearly male, except for the forced cross-dressing.

Why this was, Ye Junyan never said.

But now that the chance arose, Ye Xiyin wanted to revert. After all, he was not accustomed to wearing women’s clothes.

Hearing this, Xu Ziche covered his mouth and laughed quietly, likely sparing Ye Xiyin’s pride. His restrained laughter was a clear sign he didn’t believe him.

Ye Xiyin glanced at his big ally. Though silent, a faint smile flickered in his eyes—he didn’t believe it either.

It wasn’t that they were cruel, but such disbelief was strangely discouraging and infuriating.

Ye Xiyin opened his mouth to explain further when an unexpected warning sounded.

Even the system interface before him flashed an exaggerated red.

[System Warning: Revealing your true gender may cause life-threatening danger. Do you wish to continue disclosing the truth?]

Ye Xiyin: …

Was it really that serious?