Chapter 48

Watching Li Shier and the Gong family father and daughter's figures fade into the distance, Dugu Fu did not delay and came to the side of the grass. The innkeeper was digging a hole to bury the dead girl. The girl's hair had already been tied up by the innkeeper, and her face had been washed, revealing a young and delicate face.

It was only then that Dugu Fu saw clearly that this was just a girl of twelve or thirteen years old, about the same age as Gong Er, lying there like a broken doll...

Beast! Animal! Dugu Fu's heart trembled. No wonder the resistance of the NPCs never ceased! The capricious players had brought too many disasters to the innocent NPCs!

Did they not know that NPCs were not cold, lifeless data, but living, breathing beings with flesh, blood, souls, and emotions just like humans? No, they knew, but they pretended not to, or simply didn't bother to pretend! And he himself had once been an accomplice, choosing to turn a blind eye...

Feeling Dugu Fu's gaze, the innkeeper slowly stroked the girl's cold face: "When that deadbeat left me, I felt there was nothing left to cling to in this world. But seeing her... just being alive was already a great fortune, how could I ask for more?"

She sighed, took out the urn of the boss's ashes from her bosom, placed it beside the girl, and began to fill the grave. "You deadbeat, go on your way with this girl. The two of you can keep each other company, so you won't be lonely on the journey..." Large tears fell.

"Ah!" Sighing, Dugu Fu found a few usable weapons on the ground and came to help. He also took out a few repetitive manuals and a lighter, and threw them to the innkeeper: "In the wilderness, we can't find paper money, Sister Wei, just burn these for them." The innkeeper's surname was Murong, and her given name was Weiwei.

"In a chaotic world, money is useless. Only a strong body can prevent being bullied." The innkeeper's body trembled at these words, and she nodded silently.

Although there were many emotions to vent and many things to say, they were still being pursued. They hastily buried the two and paid a brief tribute before Dugu Fu and the innkeeper mounted their horses and started to flee.

However, before fleeing, Dugu Fu made a rather impolite request. "Experienced trackers can judge the number of riders from the depth of the hoof prints. Gong Senior and Brother Li tied the Immortal's body to the horse before driving the herd away, making it impossible for the Immortal to accurately track the hoof prints. So from now on, Sister Wei, we can only ride one horse each."

"But I don't know how to ride a horse..." the innkeeper frowned.

"I know, so..." Dugu Fu took out a roll of rope and smiled evilly.

==========

Suddenly, Dugu Fu's nose itched. He touched it and found it full of blood. He wiped it off and smiled bitterly. He had long noticed that the innkeeper had a good figure, but when she was tied to the horse, the curves, the soft and plump feel, the tender and juicy sensation...

Not just good, but top-notch.

Dugu Fu couldn't help but imagine some inappropriate scenes, and a wave of heat surged, no, surged down to a certain place. Slap! He slapped himself hard, forcing himself to wake up, tears streaming down his face. He had been performing well earlier, mainly because he was tired, but after eating a few bites of a thousand-year-old ginseng, his energy and spirit were fully restored, and his wandering thoughts naturally...

Why ride separately?

The hoof prints were just one reason. More importantly, he was worried about making a fool of himself in broad daylight. Sigh, this body's pitiful self-control!

Fortunately, the innkeeper was preoccupied with other things and didn't notice. While staring at her curvaceous figure, she suddenly said, "Xiao Fu, do you think... if I start practicing martial arts now, is it too late?"

Dugu Fu was taken aback but quickly understood that the innkeeper was moved by his words.

Before he could answer, the innkeeper shook her head: "Forget it, forget it, it's definitely too late. They say martial arts should be practiced from a young age, and as a woman, even if I learned, what could I do... I just want to do something, even if it's just washing clothes, cooking, making beds, and folding quilts, for people like you who dare to fight the Celestials."

"Sister Wei, aren't you going home?"

"Where is there a home to return to..." the innkeeper sighed, "Xiao Fu, do you think it's possible?"

"You're asking the wrong person." Dugu Fu shrugged, "I'm not part of the resistance, Brother Li is. You can ask him directly when we meet again. Sister Wei, starting martial arts at your age is late, but there are other methods you might still be able to practice..."

With the innkeeper tied up, they spoke as they traveled, and everything went smoothly, without the expected heavy pursuit.

Actually, this made sense. This was a remote and desolate area, far from the bustling cities. In the game a few hundred years ago, due to limited space and carrying capacity, players were crammed into a small area, making it impossible to find a quiet place to level up.

But now, the game world was vast. A single world could accommodate all the players in the world without feeling crowded... let alone over a hundred worlds operating simultaneously!

In this situation, players no longer searched for quiet places as they did a few hundred years ago. Instead, they preferred bustling areas. With higher levels, greater strength, and better skills, not showing off in front of others would be like wearing fine clothes at night or hiding a pearl in the dark. People gathered in big cities, so naturally, there were fewer people in small, rural areas.

The hundred or so people who died in the ambush were all the high-level fighters that could be gathered from the surrounding counties. They would return to the respawn point and wouldn't be able to organize a proper pursuit for a few hours. Even if someone was chasing them, the ones behind would follow the footprints into the mountains, while the ones in front would use the map to intercept them in advance...

This stretch of the road was in a lull.

Dugu Fu and the innkeeper walked leisurely on the road. After ten or twenty minutes, he stopped at a strange stretch of the mountain road, looking around as if he wanted to enter the mountains. But he didn't, stopping before the bend and peering ahead with a telescope.

Just as the innkeeper was confused, Dugu Fu suddenly smiled, but quickly composed himself, leading her around the bend and humming, "They're here?"

"Yep, they're here, Brother!" On the road, San Guang Bu Zudao rode up, smiling broadly.

"Did you claim your reward? What did you learn?"

"Claimed, claimed, just eight techniques!" Despite the regret in his words, he couldn't hide his joy.

"Be content. Eight techniques are already advanced skills! Eight techniques with accompanying桩功 (桩功:桩功, a type of foundation training), force generation, and footwork. They can be practiced to the ninth level of Mingjing and even reach the Anjing stage."

"Right, right, I owe this to Brother." San Guang Bu Zudao said sincerely. He had already been brainwashed by Dugu Fu, and after this, he was even more devoted. Father and mother are dear, but skills are the dearest. Someone who could give him advanced skills with a single move was someone to quickly rely on, or he would be a fool.

Dugu Fu looked at him: "What's the matter?"

"Brother, you really can predict the future!" San Guang Bu Zudao scratched the back of his head, "I just don't understand what's going on." He turned to look at the innkeeper, captivated by her curvaceous figure. He finally managed to look away and secretly gave Dugu Fu a thumbs up: "Good catch, good eye!"

"On the way here, I heard... heard that Li Shier ran away, and Gong Yutian took the opportunity to run away too, and they killed a lot of people! Did your mission fail, Brother?"

Dugu Fu glanced at him: "Are you sure you want to know?" He thought: I was waiting for you to ask this.

"Yep, if Brother can tell me, help me understand."

Dugu Fu smiled strangely: "Alright, I'll tell you."