Chapter 22: A Small Episode
In "Jiang Hu", the hidden weapon technique is the most difficult to practice, much more difficult than archery.
The art of archery relies on the arrow and wooden bow to exert force, but hidden weapons rely entirely on the user's internal strength, eyesight, and technique, lacking one is unacceptable. Moreover, the investment in it is many times higher than that of archery.
A set of 'Willow Leaf Flying Knives', totaling thirty-six knives, was priced at ten taels of silver in the weapon shop. Compared to a tael of silver for twenty arrows, it's several times more expensive! Even if I were to spend nearly three thousand taels of silver and put all my effort into it, I would only be able to advance to the eighth level, which means throwing away almost ten thousand flying knives. This kind of expenditure and investment is still a lot of pressure for a newcomer like me.
But...
Since it's come to this point, Kaixin doesn't plan on giving up, no matter what, he must get the money and upgrade "Flying Dagger" to level 9.
Currently, some higher-level and lucrative tasks have certain risks, which are too difficult for newcomers. As a result, most players' sources of income come from wild beasts in the wilderness or sect missions.
The number of money tasks in the school gate mission is small, and Kaixin doesn't plan to follow a group of new people to grab the scarce beast resources. Helpless, he can only put his eyes on the more dangerous suburbs outside the city...
Fierce beast!
There shouldn't be many people who dare to try being a mountain bandit.
The happy goal is the mountain bandit.
Because, although the value on the beast's body is even more expensive, it needs to occupy the space of Qiankun bag and transport back and forth, which is very inconvenient. The mountain bandits are much better, almost all of them drop silver or silver tickets after death, and some even drop out the secret book of martial arts, which is convenient to collect.
After leaving the city, I happily arrived at Suzhou River, more than ten miles away from the city...
A small boat was moored by the riverbank, an old man with a straw hat on his head, facing away from the shore, fishing leisurely.
"Old Master."
"Here comes the ferryman! Are you going to cross the river?" The boatman hastily put away his fishing gear and pushed off from the shore.
"Alright, thank you for your trouble."
Delighted, he bowed his head in thanks and boarded the ship.
"You're too kind."
The old man's skills were quite good, the boat was very stable, and when they reached the middle of the river, the old man seemed to have come up with enthusiasm, opening his throat to sing a tune...
Smiling with corners of mouth upturned, sitting quietly, swaying gently with the small boat, listening.
The boatman's song, without a beautiful melody, without majestic waves, but the simple singing and chanting on this peaceful river surface, yet has another kind of heart-shaking emotion.
The boat has been rocking for dozens of years...
Occasionally shouting a tune, Ship Gongzi's probably the only pastime and entertainment for these simple shipmasters.
However.
Who can tell whether it is a kind of sorrow or a happiness that ordinary people cannot find and get?
So many worldly rules and other people's opinions, Shipong won't bother with them, nor does he need to...
As the small boat rocked, and the open space on the river consoled me, I felt my mood suddenly become relaxed, gradually stretching out my body, leaning back against the side of the boat with a carefree attitude, gazing calmly at the quiet river surface, the heroic scarf fluttering behind in the wind, an indescribable sense of enjoyment.
Before long, the ship docked.
Having paid the fare, I was happy and ready to disembark.
Just then, a little girl suddenly ran along the small path of the riverbank dock, covered in mud and dust, stumbling and staggering, seeing the boatman, she rushed into his arms and burst into tears.
"Xiao Huan? Why aren't you staying at home, how did you end up here......"
The old boatman with a face full of wrinkles suddenly became anxious, as if he sensed that something bad had happened, and hastily asked.
Delighted to find herself in the midst of a small drama, and even 'lucky' enough to trigger it, she furrowed her brow but didn't rush to leave.
The girl Xiaohuan lifted her despairing face, crying while stuttering out some bad news from her mouth:
"Waa... Grandpa! Mom... Mom, he was taken away by the bad people, and Dad was beaten up, still spitting blood... Waa... Grandpa, those bad people also said that if we report to the authorities, next time they will burn down our village... What about Xiaohuan? Xiaohuan wants her mom..."
The boatman is very bitter and stamps his foot repeatedly.
"It's definitely those murderous thieves from Heifeng Village again, coming to our village to cause trouble."
"Embroiderer, what should the embroiderer do!"
A lifetime of steady and honest sailing had left the old sailor momentarily bewildered and at a loss, so he wept as he held his granddaughter.
"Are you willing to help the old boatman rescue his son and bring back Xiaohuan's mother?" As expected, the system promptly sent a reminder, feeling both worried and delighted.
The latter frowned.
If it were just a matter of killing a few small thieves, he could do it, and saving the son of the ship's owner would be easy too, a package of gold medicine would cure the disease. But to go up to Heifengzhai Camp to rescue Xiaohuan's mother...
To be honest.
So far, no player has been born who can rush into Heifeng Village to rescue people!
A village, with at least a hundred and eighty good men, even if 'Blue Shirt Gentleman Sword' is famous in Suzhou City, it's impossible to deal with a group of mountain bandits who are not inferior to thugs and hooligans empty-handed, let alone there are also high-level mountain bandits who come and go freely.
Reason told Kai Xin, this task... cannot be accepted.
However.
It's all the fault of "The River" for making everything so realistic, I couldn't help but feel sad seeing Xiao Huan cry her heart out, and watching Lao Chuan Gong walk away with tears in his eyes.
Hei Feng Village!
In that case, let's just go for it.
After all, I've also learned a unique Shaolin Long Fist, Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams Sword, and Willow Leaf Flying Dagger, and with a somewhat self-mocking tone, I comforted myself in my heart.
"Lao Chuan Gong, Xiao Huan, you two get up first!" Walking to the front of the two people who were embracing and crying, he said happily: "Hei Feng Village is an evil place, as a member of the Murong family, I, Kai Xin, cannot just sit back and do nothing. This is what we'll do: you two take me back to the village first, rescue Xiao Huan's father, then think of a way to rescue Xiao Huan's mother."
"Really... really?"
The old sailor wiped away his tears, and the illustrious name of the Murong family gave him a glimmer of hope.
Xiao Huan also poked his head out of his bosom, looking at the blue-shirted young man with a sincere and determined expression, revealing a joyful expression, and nodded vigorously with his small brain.
The only thing that can't be happy is happiness itself...
On the road, we also need to consider how to deal with the hundred or so mountain bandits from Heifengzhai.
"…the mountain bandits who have killed thousands with their swords!"
"Heavens have eyes!"
Kaixin followed Lao Chuan Gong to a small village by the river, not far away. There were only twenty or so households here, and one of them had a crowd of people at its gate, with all sorts of curses and complaints audible from afar.
"The village head is coming, make way quickly."
A group of people at the entrance hurriedly retreated and gave way to the old boatman with a sorrowful expression and Xiaohuan.
Kai Xin followed behind and entered the inner room. A man with a pale complexion, devoid of any color, lay on the bed, his eyes listlessly staring at the ceiling. He appeared to be Xiao Huan's father, who had lost his embroidery daughter.
