Chapter 170: Being Gossiped About

"I'm starving, I'm starving, I'm starving."

No sooner had Li Yuetong appeared in the teleportation array of Lieshan City than she stretched her neck and screamed at the top of her lungs, startling passing players into staring at her as if she were a psychiatric patient. Realizing the crier was a gorgeous beauty—and that she was surrounded by a whole group of them—several male players who fancied themselves charming immediately wanted to step forward and strike up a conversation. However, after taking barely a few steps, they were frozen in their tracks and frightened away by Jian Qingcheng's ice-cold, murderous gaze.

"Maintain your image, watch your image. Stop shouting, or you won't get any dinner after logging off!" Jian Qingcheng threatened, and Li Yuetong instantly quieted down.

"Such an absolute foodie," Ye Chen said, casting a disdainful glance at Li Yuetong and muttering softly under his breath.

"How dare you call me a foodie? I'll fight you to the death!" Seized once again by her impulsive frenzy, Li Yuetong lunged forward with claws and fangs bared toward Ye Chen. Yet, her combat effectiveness inside the game plummeted to absolute zero; Lingyue simply reached out one hand and effortlessly pinned her down, rendering her completely unable to move.

Jian Qingcheng and Ye Chen walked side by side out of the teleportation array. Reaching into her backpack, Jian Qingcheng pulled out a thick stack of soul cards, each sealing a Bronze Martial Soul inside, and said to Ye Chen, "I'll leave these soul cards for you to handle. After all, you're more familiar with Yehua Liujin." With that, she offered to trade the cards over to him.

Ye Chen waved his hand, refusing to take them, and replied, "Sister Qingcheng, you know as well as that my teleportation countdown is about to expire. Once I leave, you'll still need to frequently hunt and sell martial souls, and sooner or later you'll have to deal with Yehua Liujin anyway. Here's what I think: Sister Qingcheng, you should come with me. It will also give me a chance to introduce you all to each other."

Jian Qingcheng pondered for a moment, knowing that Ye Chen's reasoning made sense. She nodded immediately, "Very well, then I'll go with you. Zui Xiangsi, are you coming?"

"Not me, I don't want to see that little vixen Ling Tong," Zui Xiangsi said, curling her lips in refusal.

"Alright then, Ye Chen and I will head over. The rest of you can log off directly. You've all worked hard for a day, have a bowl of rice and go straight to sleep," Jian Qingcheng said without forcing the issue. Calling out to Ye Chen, the two of them headed toward the Yehua Liujin Auction House in the west of the city.

Lieshan City at night was extraordinarily bustling. As it was prime time, the player online rate was even higher than during the day, with noisy crowds everywhere. Players moved through the streets in groups of three or five; those with leisurely inclinations would visit a teahouse or drink a few cups of fine wine, savoring a moment of tranquility away from the frantic grinding and treasure hunting.

Jian Qingcheng seemed particularly emotional tonight. Her face wore a warm, gentle, and remarkably attractive smile throughout their casual chatter. Although there wasn't a single word of thanks, Ye Chen could already understand her innermost thoughts. This woman, who always kept herself tightly wound, seemed not to have relaxed like this in a very long time. Consequently, Ye Chen avoided mentioning anything related to the game along the way, simply accompanying her as she chatted randomly about everything under the sun. From time to time, Jian Qingcheng would chuckle softly at Ye Chen's off-the-wall remarks, creating an atmosphere of unprecedented ease and harmony.

As they walked until the Yehua Liujin Auction House came into view, their conversation naturally drifted back to the game, and Jian Qingcheng's expression once again resumed its firm and resolute demeanor. This struck Ye Chen as rather odd, reminding him of soft-bodied creatures that wrap themselves tightly within hard shells. Unexplainably, he found himself thinking that the real Jian Qingcheng perhaps lacked a sense of security, or perhaps she needed such a mask to project a sense of security to those around her.

"You'll be leaving Lieshan City tomorrow afternoon, won't you? I've heard the Foreign Races Continent is extremely dangerous, and players over there have always been secretive. None of us have a clear grasp of the situation there. Have you prepared yourself?" Jian Qingcheng asked with concern.

"Everything's pretty much set. But there's still one very important quest I haven't finished yet. Take a look at this, and you'll understand," Ye Chen said, sharing the attributes of the Sword Demon's Proof with Jian Qingcheng.

"A hidden class advancement quest?!" Jian Qingcheng couldn't help letting out a low gasp as she examined the stats of the Sword Demon's Proof. Her eyes sparkling as she looked at the screenshot of the proof, she licked her lips and said, "It's a good thing you didn't blindly trigger the quest. Hidden class advancement quests like this are bound to be outrageously abnormal, and the difficulty is definitely off the charts. Historically, very few hidden class quests could be completed solo; some even required the strength of an entire guild, which wouldn't be surprising at all."

Ye Chen nodded. He had already discussed this quest with 2058. It was indeed difficult to accomplish with the power of a single person alone. He would need plenty of assistants, and the girls from the studio were undoubtedly the most suitable candidates. In addition, the monk Dingyuan was an absolute must; without him as their premier tank, Ye Chen wouldn't dare guarantee whether Lingyue could hold the line.

Jian Qingcheng mused for a moment and said, "The commotion caused by some hidden class advancement quests is massive. How about this: we'll log on tomorrow morning and help you with this quest. That way, even if it alerts some people, the number of players online in the morning will be minimal, and the danger can be reduced significantly. Moreover, although our Qingyu has declined, we still have a few reliable friends. Previously, I didn't want to bother them, but this time it concerns a hidden class, which is intimately tied to the future development of Qingyu as a whole. It's time to reach out to them. Later, when I log off, I'll call them to get in touch and ensure your advancement goes off without a hitch."

Looking at Jian Qingcheng's serious expression, a wave of warmth washed over Ye Chen. During the most difficult times upon entering Zone Four, Qingyu had never mobilized those old connections, simply because Jian Qingcheng was someone extremely reluctant to owe favors to others; even among friends, she preferred not to ask for help. Yet now, for the sake of his class advancement quest, Jian Qingcheng had clearly thrown all hesitation aside.

However, Ye Chen did not refuse, because he understood the contents and potential commotion of this quest much better than Jian Qingcheng did. Once the Sword Demon quest was initiated, completing it peacefully was practically impossible. While the Qingyu team and the addition of the monk Dingyuan and others might be able to handle the inherent difficulties of the quest itself, those hostile forces that might try to stick their oars in were certainly not something this small group could handle alone. Without sufficient manpower and preparation, there was a nine-out-of-ten chance the endeavor would fail halfway through, and every participant might even have their level wiped out. Therefore, making thorough preparations was an absolute necessity.

"You've made quite a few friends during this period, Ye Chen. To be on the safe side, it's best to call upon everyone you can. The truly reliable ones can do the quest with you tomorrow, and as for the ones who aren't entirely dependable, you don't even need to tell them the details of the quest—just ask them to help deal with any unexpected situations that might arise. I notice those guys from Longteng seem to have been trying to recruit you all along; I think you can reach out to them. With Longteng, the number one guild in Lieshan City, stepping forward, many factions will give them face, which can cut down on a lot of trouble," Jian Qingcheng continued, analyzing the situation.

"Yeah, I'll give a heads-up to the Longteng side. I believe Longteng Langzi will grant me this favor. Regardless of anything else, we were in the same boat today in the Martial Soul Secret Realm, and furthermore, I helped them pull through a crisis," Ye Chen said, casually mentioning the incident where he wiped out Feng Wuxue's mixed mercenary bandit group earlier that day.

Upon hearing this, Jian Qingcheng's eyes lit up. She stared at Ye Chen for several moments and laughed, "Those guys from Linghu certainly got put through the wringer by you. It's about time we collected some interest on behalf of Qingyu. That makes it even easier to enlist Longteng's help. The most likely enemies to strike tomorrow are none other than Linghu and Liehu. These two factions are currently at water-and-fire odds with Longteng. Even if we just lean on the principle that the enemy of my enemy is my friend, I'm sure Longteng Langzi will be willing to lend a hand."

After discussing a few more details, the two of them essentially finalized their plans. As they spoke, they arrived directly in front of the main entrance of Yehua Liujin.

At this moment, the night auction of Yehua Liujin had not yet begun. A staff member was just stepping forward to block the pair when another fellow clad in white soft armor suddenly rushed over, yanked the man aside, and glared fiercely at him. Then, he hurriedly turned around to face Ye Chen with a respectful smile, "Brother Ye, is that you?"

Ye Chen was slightly startled. Looking closer, he realized this was precisely the gatekeeper from last time—the one who had almost gotten fired because of him. He nodded immediately, "It's you. You've got quite a sharp eye; you guessed it was me even though I'm wearing a cloak. How did you recognize me?"

"Hehe, in my line of work, you've got to have a keen eye. Those boots of yours are definitely extraordinary items; I haven't seen a second pair like them in all of Lieshan City," the white-armored staff member said, pointing at Ye Chen's boots with a smile.

Ye Chen raised an eyebrow slightly. He really had been a bit careless; it seemed he would need to wear a complete set of disguises in the future, otherwise, running into someone with such strong observation skills made it too easy to blow his cover. This guy had served as a useful reminder, so he smiled and said, "Since you recognized me, do you still need to check my token?"

"I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare! Last time, thanks to your leniency, I managed to keep my job. Please, go right in, please go ahead." The attitude of the white-armored staff member left the other employee, who had previously tried to block Ye Chen, completely dumbfounded. The surrounding players who were admiring the crystal tokens looked over at Ye Chen with curiosity, secretly speculating about his identity. However, they clearly lacked the sharp eye of the white-armored staff member, and even if they had noticed the boots, they wouldn't have been able to guess who he was. Consequently, they quickly shifted their gazes to Ye Chen's female companion—Jian Qingcheng. At that single glance, an uproar instantly broke out: who in Lieshan City didn't know or recognize the top ten female swordsman on the level rankings?

In an instant, gossip began circulating rapidly among the player community: "The top female swordsman is latching onto a wealthy sugar daddy," "The top female swordsman has been kept as a mistress," and so on. This caused Jian Qingcheng—who had initially been rather interested in observing Ye Chen's changing status—to turn dark in the face. Considering she was the esteemed head sister of Qingyu Studio, when had she ever been slandered like this? Driven to the extreme of irritation, she viciously pinched a handful of soft flesh at Ye Chen's waist. This scene, caught by the sharp-eyed white-armored staff member, only seemed to cement the rumor that the top female swordsman was being kept, and the fires of gossip burned fiercely in his eyes as he plotted to spread the rumor far and wide after getting off work.

Pain settings were enabled in the city, and the small patch of flesh at Ye Chen's waist burned with agony under Jian Qingcheng's pinch. Yet, he dared not show any expression on his face, lest a few miserable shrieks cause him to lose face completely.

Amidst this bizarre state of affairs, Ye Chen and Jian Qingcheng walked shoulder to shoulder through the doors of Yehua Liujin, trailing behind the white-armored staff member.