Section 101 Sun Yang - Bo Le - Bo Le

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The soldier’s words startled Li Zhan. Red Hare had really returned—and had even brought back a herd of wild horses?

After staring blankly for a moment, Li Zhan hurriedly set his long staff aside and followed the soldier toward the western gate.

A large crowd of players had already gathered near the gate, surrounding the herd of wild horses in astonishment. When they saw Li Zhan approach, they all came forward to greet him.

“Town Mayor Li, what’s going on with these wild horses? Why have they all gathered here?”

“Town Mayor Li, would you like us to help? We can drive the wild horses into the settlement for you.”

After replying to them briefly, Li Zhan stepped forward to take a closer look. The wild horses had surrounded Red Hare, which stood in the center as they whinnied and snorted at one another. A rough count put their number at more than thirty—not a small herd by any means.

After his initial surprise, Li Zhan thought carefully. Hadn’t that NPC said that Red Hare would return to the stable on its own after roaming outside to relieve its spirits? Red Hare’s return alone was already a miracle. Perhaps he should try waiting to see whether it would enter the stable by itself. If it truly did so, that would prove the NPC was no ordinary man, and Li Zhan would have to view him in a completely different light.

Besides, the wild horses had followed Red Hare back. As long as Red Hare entered the stable, they ought to follow it inside, saving everyone the trouble of driving them in.

With that in mind, Li Zhan ordered the people behind him to clear a path and leave the stone gate completely unobstructed. They would see whether Red Hare would enter on its own.

As everyone gradually moved aside, a passage four or five meters wide appeared before the herd. Red Hare let out a whinny, stamped its hooves, and led the way toward the stone gate. The wild horses followed close behind, heading straight into the settlement.

Once inside, Red Hare proceeded unhurriedly until it reached the old stable, where it stopped. It entered one of the stalls in the new stable together with the mysterious NPC. The remaining wild horses needed no urging; they entered the vacant stalls beside it of their own accord.

Seeing this, Li Zhan sighed in admiration.

“It seems this NPC truly is extraordinary. I was simply too anxious to recover my horse, and acted rather rashly.”

With that, Li Zhan strode over to the NPC.

“Honored guest, your abilities are truly extraordinary, beyond the understanding of ordinary people like us. Please forgive my rudeness just now.”

“Town Mayor Li, you are too kind. In truth, my actions were also inappropriate. Had you not been benevolent, any other town mayor would have watched helplessly as the precious steed he had gone to such lengths to obtain was led away. He would surely have killed me on the spot to vent his fury. Yet you punished me with nothing more than physical pain. Even in your anger, you have shown the forgiving nature of a magnanimous man. I am deeply impressed.”

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Old Wu added: In ancient China, especially during eras of unending warfare, a fine warhorse was worth far more than the life of an ordinary person. Besides, the entire game had only just begun. For players, a horse of such quality was something they hardly dared even dream of possessing. The NPC’s words were not exaggerated in the slightest; they were simply the truth.

Li Zhan was now certain that the NPC was no ordinary person. It was even possible that the earlier incident had been a deliberate test arranged by the system. If a player had killed him on the spot, they would have lost the opportunity to communicate with him further. That conversation might have led to a hidden quest—or perhaps even to recruiting him.

But who exactly was this NPC? He was clearly exceedingly knowledgeable about horses, yet the system had made the opportunity to communicate with him so difficult to obtain: the player had to be tempted by the precious horse, release it, and then show restraint.

Could he be a legendary hero?

At this thought, Li Zhan suppressed his eagerness and addressed the NPC.

“Since you have caused Red Hare to return to the stable on its own, according to the agreement between us, you are now an honored guest of our Yanhuang Settlement. May I ask your name?”

“My surname is Sun, and my given name is Yang.”

Li Zhan nearly fainted on the spot.

Sun Yang was a man from the Spring and Autumn period, renowned for his exceptional knowledge of horses. He possessed unique expertise in every aspect of horse care, including their treatment, and was the first person ever known as Bo Le.

Bo Le was said to be an immortal in Heaven who managed the celestial horses. In the mortal world, people also used the name Bo Le to refer to anyone skilled at judging the quality of horses.

So that was how vicious the system could be. If Li Zhan had killed this NPC because of a momentary lapse in judgment, Bo Le would have vanished from the game forever, and players would never again have found any trace of him.

At that moment, Li Zhan felt like a merciful living bodhisattva. He had “saved” the life of a hero. They said that good deeds brought good fortune, though Li Zhan had no idea what reward his kindness would bring him next.

When he recovered, Li Zhan walked beside Sun Yang toward the settlement hall. As they went, he suppressed his excitement. He wanted Sun Yang to remain in Yanhuang Settlement. After thinking for a moment, he said:

“Um… Mr. Sun, would you be willing to settle here in Yanhuang Settlement for a long-term stay? If you left, I fear even Red Hare would be terribly saddened.”

Sun Yang nodded.

“Thank you for your kindness, Town Mayor Li. I had already formed the same intention. I have traveled throughout the land and endured countless hardships on the road. Now that I have finally encountered a fine horse like Red Hare, how could I bear to leave at once?”

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Li Zhan was overjoyed. It seemed his good deed had already brought its reward.

Although Sun Yang did not possess the ability to govern a nation or pacify the realm like the great civil and military heroes, he was still a hero in his own right, with a special talent unmatched in identifying and taming horses. In the future, Li Zhan could send him throughout the land to seek out and purchase fine horses that had been overlooked, gathering every exceptional steed in the world under his command. What an exhilarating prospect that would be.

Moreover, most famous generals regarded their warhorses and weapons as their second lives. If Li Zhan possessed a group of superb steeds, they could help his generals unleash their full potential—and might even attract renowned warriors who came seeking him by reputation. It was truly a way to achieve several goals at once.

In his delight, Li Zhan arranged for Sun Yang to stay temporarily at the settlement’s inn. Once the builders had constructed a wooden house with its own courtyard, Sun Yang would move there and live alone. The settlement would provide him with three meals a day, along with a daily wage of thirty-five copper coins.

By then, the villagers had already begun preparing dinner. Most of the residents of Yanhuang Settlement now lived in wooden houses with small courtyards, fishermen’s wooden homes, or enclosed courtyard residences. All these dwellings had independent kitchens. They no longer had to build a bonfire in an open area and boil a huge pot of porridge as they had in the past.

Instead, each household used the sorghum provided free of charge by the settlement as its staple food, then spent a few copper coins buying meat and vegetables from the players’ market before carefully preparing their meals. Before long, the rich aromas of food and meat drifted through the center of the settlement, causing the players to inhale deeply and marvel at the villagers’ high standard of living.

Although the ordinary wooden houses were no longer occupied by Yanhuang Settlement’s villagers, they had not been dismantled. Many players lacked sufficient funds, so they rented those houses and moved villagers into them. Each wooden house could accommodate five villagers, and each resident needed to pay only two copper coins a day. In return, they could sleep peacefully indoors without worrying about being attacked by wild beasts while camping outside the settlement at night.

On the square before the settlement hall, the players gathered one after another as agreed, waiting for Li Zhan to distribute their rewards. After settling Sun Yang, Li Zhan quickly called Ruoyan and hurried to the square to begin the award ceremony.

Before handing out the rewards, Li Zhan first expressed his sincere gratitude for the players’ strong support of Yanhuang Settlement’s development and their enthusiastic response to the settlement’s call. He then spoke of the future, hoping that everyone would continue to uphold the same spirit in the days ahead. With everyone’s combined efforts, the settlement would grow ever more prosperous—and as the settlement prospered, all of them would naturally benefit.

The players responded enthusiastically.

“Rest assured, Town Mayor Li! Since we have put down roots in Yanhuang Settlement, we have already made up our minds to bind our honor and disgrace to the settlement. When the settlement prospers, we prosper. When the settlement declines, we bear the shame!”

The roster for the bandit-suppression operation was reorganized according to merit. Since Li Zhan had launched the operation in the name of the settlement, the list was automatically recorded on the town mayor’s record board, with each player’s contribution displayed beside their name. Once the speech was over, Ruoyan handed the completed list to Li Zhan.

Li Zhan consulted the record board and distributed rewards according to merit.

The player with the highest contribution was a man named Steel Overlord. Together with the twelve members of his team, he had killed seven Red-Haired Mountain Bandits. Steel Overlord himself had slain two of them: one ordinary Red-Haired Mountain Bandit and one bandit crossbowman. Naturally, he received the highest reward—five gold coins and a piece of inferior leather armor. Each member of his team received two gold coins and a set of male villager’s clothing.

The second-place team was the Medicine Ends All Illness squad, and Li Zhan also rewarded them generously.

The entire ceremony lasted for more than an hour. Nearly three hundred players each received rewards, large or small, according to their achievements. Those who received generous prizes were delighted beyond measure. Whenever Li Zhan called out someone’s name and announced the reward they had earned, the other players watched with envy, secretly resolving that the next time the settlement issued a call, they would work harder, earn more merit, and let everyone else envy them for once.

At last, the rewards had all been distributed. Li Zhan let out a long breath and dismissed the players.

By then, the villagers had finished dinner, and most of them were standing around the edge of the square, watching the spectacle. When Li Zhan spotted Zhou Min and the other villagers among the onlookers, something stirred in his heart. After a moment’s thought, a smile spread across his face.

Then he called loudly to the villagers:

“All residents of Yanhuang Settlement, assemble in the square immediately.”

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