Section 009: Mission?

So soft!

So springy!

So painful!!

As Ruoyan leaned over towards Li Zhan, he instinctively reached out and wrapped his arms around her delicate body. In that instant, his sensory nerves sent three messages in rapid succession to his brain.

The fishing boat lurched violently, and Li Zhan and Ruoyan lost their balance, nearly tumbling into the river. The others on the boat saw this and shouted, “Chief!” They rushed forward in unison, grabbing hold of the two swaying figures and pinning them securely to the bow.

Ruoyan, breathless and shaken, was struggling to calm herself. Suddenly, she sensed something amiss. Glancing down, she saw two large hands stretched from behind her, gripping her bosom tightly, so forcefully that his fingers had sunken visibly into her clothes.

At that same moment, Li Zhan also realized what had happened. He finally understood why, aside from the pain, he’d felt such softness and elasticity. Embarrassed, he quickly withdrew his hands and braced them against the gunwales behind him.

But this only made their position all the more awkward under the watchful gazes of the others.

Ahem— the scene at that moment was thus:

Li Zhan, arms extended behind him, leaned back at a forty-five-degree angle, his knees raised, his hips pressed deep into the deck. Ruoyan was seated squarely in his lap, her backside pressed flush against him— the closeness of their bodies and their posture left little to the imagination. Though mortified, Ruoyan found it nearly impossible to stand up quickly because her weight was so far back. In fact, she struggled three times to get up, and only managed to extricate herself after Li Zhan flattened his knees.

In that moment, Li Zhan found himself cursing the game’s ninety-five percent realism. As Ruoyan rose and sat down thrice in quick succession, his hips were met each time by the impact of her youthful, supple curves. Although he was not inexperienced, his last time being intimate with a girlfriend was three years ago, back in college. Three years of single life had left him surrendering his desires to his own hands on countless lonely nights. Now, confronted with such close, repeated physical contact, his blood surged, racing downward in a heated rush. Silently, a telltale “tent” began to rise.

Sensing he was about to lose control, Li Zhan quickly bent his knees the moment Ruoyan stood, glancing around furtively. The others stared for a moment, but had the tact not to say anything. Only the priest, sitting by the cabin, shot him a mischievous look and muttered to himself:

“Sigh, I’m getting old— can’t see a thing, nope, can’t see anything at all.”

Li Zhan shot the priest a fierce glare, thinking, If you dare say another word, I’ll send you straight back to your God.

Ruoyan’s cheeks were still flushed. Ever since she’d seen Li Zhan’s hands on her most private features, the color hadn’t left her face. She knew he’d only held her out of instinct, a reflexive act without intent. If she made a fuss about it, she’d only seem unreasonable. She rose, face burning, and had no further desire to admire the river scenery— like a startled fawn, she hurried into the cabin and refused to come out again.

Soon, the fisherman maneuvered their boat alongside the dock where the passenger ships berthed. Li Zhan glanced at the bustling crowds on the wharf and shook his head, instructing the fisherman to turn the boat around and head for the military dock instead.

The military dock was quiet; apart from two arrow ships and a transport ship, there were no other vessels in sight. As the fishing boat approached, a soldier emerged from the cabin of a nearby arrow ship. From his bearing, he seemed to be a minor officer. He shouted, “Fishing boats are supposed to dock at the civilian wharf! What are you doing here?”

Li Zhan called back, “We’re here on orders from County Magistrate Fei Tong of Danyang to register in the county. Borrowing the official dock for a bit shouldn’t be a problem, should it?”

Hearing this, the soldier’s attitude changed immediately, and he grinned apologetically. “Ah, so that’s it. My apologies, Chief, please don’t take offense.” Then he shouted up the dock, “Little Zhang! Come and catch the line!”

The young spearman called Little Zhang had been sitting at the back of the dock, seemingly lost in thought. Hearing the squad leader call his name, he quickly responded and trotted over, setting aside his spear. He took the rope from the fisherman, looped it expertly around the bollard, and pulled a gangplank over, bridging the gap between the boat and the dock.

Clearly, Little Zhang was well-practiced in this sort of work.

Following Li Zhan, everyone crossed the gangplank onto the dock. Ruoyan was the last to come out of the cabin. She glanced at Li Zhan, then quickly averted her gaze. Li Zhan said nothing— anything he said now would only make things worse. He was confident that with Ruoyan’s mischievous nature, she’d soon recover.

With everyone ashore, Li Zhan gazed at distant Danyang City, thinking to himself that he’d not only come to register but also wanted to visit the market, take Wang Hui to see the blacksmith and carpenter shops, and learn more about the city’s quests— whether they’d suit his current level and so on.

He turned to inquire about the city from Little Zhang, who turned out to be quite the talker. Zhang explained the general layout of Danyang, pointing out the locations of the market, blacksmith, carpenter, and the tavern where quests could be found. When he learned that Li Zhan wanted his craftsmen to pick up new skills, Little Zhang leaned in and whispered, “If you only want your craftsmen to learn civilian techniques, the blacksmith or carpenter shops will do. But if you want them to acquire military skills, I suggest taking them to the official combined workshop. They often make military equipment there— if you’re lucky, you might stumble upon something special.”

Li Zhan was pleased and felt he ought to show his gratitude. He reached into his pouch, hesitating briefly, but eventually pulled out a unit of gold (resources in the game are measured in indivisible units of 1, though gold can be exchanged for copper at the moneychanger) and offered it to Little Zhang.

Li Zhan had come to town well-prepared, bringing all fifty units of the tribe’s gold— not just to shop, but for emergencies. Little Zhang was stunned, repeatedly declining and insisting that the gold was too valuable for him. If Li Zhan really wished to thank him, he asked for a favor instead.

Li Zhan wondered— could Little Zhang be a quest NPC, and had he triggered a mission by offering such a generous reward? In any case, he decided to hear him out.

With Li Zhan’s agreement, Little Zhang’s earlier gloom vanished, and he said happily, “Here’s the thing: my cousin is a squad leader in the mounted archers. During a patrol with the county magistrate, his horse was spooked and bolted, knocking the magistrate off and leaving him covered in dust. The magistrate was furious and, on returning to the yamen, stripped my cousin of his rank and made him a commoner, with further punishment looming. Just then, a patrol reported a large pack of grey wolves threatening the villages northwest of the city. Hearing this, my cousin volunteered to hunt them down. The magistrate, eager to make things difficult for him, agreed— but sent no troops. He promised that if my cousin succeeded, he’d be spared prison; if not, he’d face double the charges.”