Chapter 113 - 108: Rou Qiu’s Ambition

Chapter 113: Chapter 108: Rou Qiu’s AmbitionWith their supplies packed and weapons repaired, the two set out once again on their leveling journey. Having killed two bosses and a horde of little monsters yesterday, they were now less than 20% away from reaching Level 10. With some effort, they could wrap it up by noon. However, before departing, they wanted to check out Xiao Jie’s new home. This is my new house? It looks pretty good. Xiao Jie thought excitedly. In front of him was a quite unique two-story wooden house with a small yard outside, where he could even plant something if he mastered the farming skill. There was a fence around the yard, giving it a bit of a farmhouse feel. Xiao Jie walked through the yard, pushed the door, and entered, while I Want to Be Immortal was blocked by an invisible force outside. "Feng, I can’t get in," he said. [System prompt: Your teammate is trying to enter your house. You can invite them in or add their name to the guest list so they can come and go freely.] Xiao Jie clicked invite, and I Want to Be Immortal was able to walk in. The two looked around, and the house was very simple, best described as "bare walls." It had nothing on either floor, and the only piece of furniture in several rooms was a wooden bed. Xiao Jie tapped on the wooden bed and discovered he could sleep and log off here. Players who log off in a bed gain an "Energetic" BUFF the next day, which increases energy recovery speed by 25%. Therefore, Xiao Jie usually logs off in a room at the inn, which requires a fee, but now he could sleep in his own house. "This house is nice, but it’s a pity we won’t use it for long. We’ll probably leave Newbie Village in a day or two. It would have been great if it could be moved to the city. The Old Village Chief is stingy, knowing we are about to leave and still giving us this. Giving a city house would have been better," he said. Thinking about it, he guessed the old man probably couldn’t afford a city house. Suddenly, a thought struck Xiao Jie. Did the old man want him to come back often, trying to tie him down with a house? "Feng wants to buy a house in the city, why not just sell this one and buy one there?" he said. Xiao Jie thought to himself, could it really be that easy? Could houses in this game be freely bought and sold? No, the biggest advantage of this house deed is probably its scarcity. It’s very possible that ordinary players cannot buy houses, only available through narrative event rewards. He wondered what other special uses it could have besides logging off, farming, or setting up professional equipment. Xiao Jie felt the house definitely had other purposes; he just hadn’t figured them out yet. For now, he would keep it. If nothing else, it could still be sold for money. After inspecting their property, the two left the house and headed straight for the outskirts of the village. As they passed the Hunter’s cabin, Xiao Jie was struck by a thought and led I Want to Be Immortal over to it. He was curious, if the villagers died, did that mean all the dogs in the kennel were gone too? Outside the kennel, Yang Baichuan was gloomily staring at the empty doghouse. "Ah, they’re all dead, even Black Tornado isn’t here anymore. Fortunately, a few female dogs are still here. I’ll need to find a good Breeding Dog for them, but it’s a pity Black Tornado is gone," he said with a sigh. "Master, my condolences," Xiao Jie consoled. "Ha, you two rascals, coming to tease me too," Yang Baichuan scolded with a smile. "Master, I’d like to learn a few more of your Ultimate Skills, if possible," he said. "That’s still not possible. Although I really want to teach you, skills should not be imparted lightly. However, how about this: your master’s wife was so frightened yesterday she fell ill, needing a flower snake gallbladder to recuperate. The village pharmacy is out of stock for now. You go fetch one for me, and then I can certainly teach you my most guarded Ultimate Skills," he proposed. Huh? Another task... Xiao Jie vaguely felt like this flower snake gallbladder was similar to the previous hundred-year-old ginseng, probably another task item designed by the system. "Is this item for sale?" he asked. "I heard it’s available at the big pharmacy in the city, but it’s pricey. I’ve heard it costs 10 taels of silver for one. White Flower Snakes can also be seen occasionally in the deep woods, but they are extremely poisonous. You must be careful if you go hunting. Wang Daniu got bitten once and it ruined one of his arms," Yang Baichuan warned. There, just like the hundred-year-old ginseng. Even the price is exactly alike. Xiao Jie wasn’t too interested in such tasks. After reaching Level 10, he could directly go to the city to learn Martial Arts, no need for these troubles. "Disciple understands. I’ll be taking my leave then," he said and prepared to leave. Yang Baichuan nodded and resumed his sighing towards the dog kennel. Not long after they left, Rou Qiu suddenly started barking, "Woof woof," while looking in Yang Baichuan’s direction, a reluctance on its face. Xiao Jie quickly activated the Beast Language Skill, wondering what Rou Qiu was up to. "Master, could I ask you for a favor?" "What is it?" he replied. "Please just send me back to my old master; I can’t stand it anymore seeing him like this." Xiao Jie was a little surprised, not expecting Rou Qiu to have such a conscience, "Are you afraid he’ll be heartbroken?" "Ah, heartbroken? Not really, the main thing is the old master is getting a dog, and I’ve had my eye on those little female dogs in the doghouse for a long time. I want to be a breeding dog. This is a great opportunity of a lifetime for a dog winner like me, likely the only chance I’ll get." Xiao Jie was dumbfounded, damn it, here I thought you had a conscience. So much for loyalty, you’re just lust-driven. "Shut up. Damn, I don’t even have a partner yet, what’s your hurry? Hurry up and go level up with me." Rou Qiu spun anxiously as Xiao Jie started to leave, "Please, master, I beg you, I only get this one chance in my life. I’ve followed you for so long, no merit but there’s been hard work. Yesterday I even brought you a ring, just give me this one chance, woo woo woo, woof woof, don’t go, I don’t want to go, my little female dogs!" Finally, it just lay on the ground refusing to move, whimpering continuously. Xiao Jie, not knowing what to say about Rou Qiu’s whimpering and noisy protest, wondered why he had chosen such a dog in the first place. I Want to Be Immortal looked bewildered, "Feng, what’s up with Rou Qiu, why all the whimpering?" But he couldn’t understand what Rou Qiu was really saying. Xiao Jie didn’t bother to translate, thinking it’s better this way; this dog seems impossible to keep now. If it became wild and caused trouble, like barking and attracting monsters, that would be bad. Although Rou Qiu had obeyed orders until now, it’s just too damn erratic. It might just cause that kind of problem out of nowhere. Besides, the higher the level, the less useful a hunting dog becomes, and its survival capacity weakens. If it were brought out, it might just die at any moment, and, having spent some days with him, he’d grown somewhat attached. Xiao Jie sighed, "Alright, if you really want to stay, I’ll send you back. But once you’re back, you’d better behave." "You can count on me, master, I’ll be the best dog ever, woof woof woo," Rou Qiu was overjoyed, even its bark sounded cheerful. Xiao Jie took Rou Qiu and headed back. "Master Yang, I think Rou Qiu should stay with you." He then used the Gift Skill on Yang Baichuan. Yang Baichuan surprised, "What’s this?" "Seeing you so heartbroken really troubled me, and since Rou Qiu was the only dog left from that group, why not keep it for company? Besides, Rou Qiu has been through life and death with me for so long, it’s time for it to retire." "Ha, lad, I knew I wasn’t wrong about you. You know, people who love dogs and those who just use them are different. Some people just treat them as tools, raising one after another, never caring about their lives," he glanced at I Want to Be Immortal. "But your care for dogs comes from the heart, willing to think of their welfare. Good, I’ll keep it then—Rou Qiu, come here." Rou Qiu happily scampered into the doghouse to find those female dogs. Yang Baichuan gratefully said, "I won’t just take your dog for nothing. I can’t teach you the ultimate skill, but I can give you this recipe, here." System Notification: Hunter Yang Baichuan has gifted you an item[Secret Dog Food (Recipe)]. [Secret Dog Food (Recipe)] Learning requirement: Cooking (Master). Required ingredients: Deer meat × 1, Wild Boar Meat × 1, mutton × 1, Wild Chrysanthemum × 1, Ningshen Grass × 1. Food effect: Recovers 50 points of satiety, +10 happiness value when consumed by wild animals, life recovery effect doubled. Item Introduction: A rough recipe written on a simple piece of leather—’Deer and, wild boar and, mutton and, giant wild flower...’. Xiao Jie glanced at it, speechless, Yang Baichuan’s education level certainly needs improvement. Such a basic recipe requiring such a high level of cooking, I’ll have to learn it sometime later. The two finally left the village and headed towards the forest to level up in their usual spot. Walking in the forest, they were surprised to find, the zombies and walking corpses were gone. Instead, there were more wild animals, not only deer, goats, and rabbits but also traces of wild boars and wolves. Switching to bow and arrow, they began shooting and it didn’t take long before their bags were stuffed with materials dropped by the wild animals. Not bad, the wild boars and wolves were stronger than soulless zombies, but they weren’t much stronger than regular zombies. However, Xiao Jie felt that this change was likely related to yesterday’s plot event. "Let’s go check out the ancient tomb," Xiao Jie had a feeling the changes there would be even greater. As the Ghost General and the Corpse Chasing Mage were eliminated, this area’s monster ecosystem was likely to change, just like the Tian Family Mansion and the wheat field. Sure enough, as they got closer to the ancient tomb, they saw a person with a shovel, looking around. Tomb Robber Lookout: Level 5, Life Value 150.