Chapter 81: The Duo Courting Disaster

"The server crashed?" That was Chen Fan's first reaction. His screen had barely gone dark before the game booted him back to the original matchmaking interface.

"Looks like someone rage-quit. Congratulations, Chen Fan, you’ve successfully escaped the pit of suffering," Li Peijun couldn't help but laugh.

Chen Fan replied with self-mockery, "Hmph, four percent. If I actually got in one more time, that’d be sixteen out of ten thousand. I swear, I should buy a lottery ticket today. Too bad about my Seer role—I was planning to check you the first night."

"What a coincidence. I drew the Wolf, and I planned to knife you the first night, too," Li Peijun laughed even harder.

"Some friend you are—always picking Wolf and offing me first." Through his VR headset, Chen Fan gave Li Peijun the most extravagant middle finger imaginable.

Matchmaking successful. Loading your game...

"Hey, why did we spawn outside the city this time?" Li Peijun complained.

"Yeah, and in these ancient costumes, too," Chen Fan responded.

The two exchanged glances, then looked down to inspect their attire: drab, long robes, indistinguishable between top and bottom, cinched tight at the waist with a plain sash.

"Han Dynasty? Looks like Han clothing," Li Peijun speculated, curious.

Chen Fan examined himself as well and agreed it seemed likely. He then looked up at the city gate.

"What the—what’s with those crazy characters? More complicated than a Taoist exorcism charm," Li Peijun remarked, noticing the characters over the gate. There were only two, but the strokes easily numbered forty or fifty in all.

"I have no idea. I just want to know where we’re supposed to play Werewolf here," Chen Fan said as he scanned the area. Apart from the city wall in front of them, there were no signs of habitation—no way they'd play the game out in a salt marsh, like dried fish.

This time, the NPCs were more plentiful; not only were there guards at the gate, but merchants streamed in and out, even forming a queue.

Chen Fan dragged Li Peijun into line, grumbling, "Every time I team up with you, we can’t find the game area. What the hell?"

Li Peijun, never having seen such a scene, kept darting glances at the passersby—and mischievously stuck out his foot to trip someone.

An unlucky NPC citizen fell, scrambled up, and cursed, "What do you know? You’ll live out your days, but the tree on your grave is already thick enough to need both arms to encircle!"

Li Peijun was amused and asked Chen Fan, "What did he say? I couldn’t understand a word."

Chen Fan more or less translated it and laughed, "He’s cursing you, saying something like, ‘Heh, do you even know? You should have ascended ages ago—the tree on your grave’s so big you couldn’t wrap your arms around it.’"

"Damn, these ancients are savage with their insults. That’s it, I’m going to give him a piece of my mind." Li Peijun rolled up his sleeves, ready to grab the peddler, but the guy had already vanished.

"Let it go, let’s just get into the city and find where the game is. Why argue with a computer? For all you know, there's another NPC with the same face just waiting to pop up," Chen Fan advised.

The line moved quickly—must have been peaceful times—and soon it was Chen Fan’s turn. The guards, noticing their unusual attire, lowered their halberds like a barricade.

"Are you gentlemen from Qin or Jin?" one guard asked.

Chen Fan froze, thinking, "How am I supposed to know where I’m from? I don’t even know where I am or who I am. How should I answer?"

He nudged Li Peijun and whispered, "Hey, the guard’s asking if we’re from Qin or Jin. Should we say yes or no?"

Li Peijun, clueless as ever, didn’t even know where Qin or Jin were.

"I got this, leave it to me," Li Peijun declared confidently, stepping in front of Chen Fan.

Seeing his air of assurance, Chen Fan thought he had a plan—only for Li Peijun to open with, "You’re just trying to make things difficult for me, Peijun!"

The guard, taking this as a provocation, immediately leveled his halberd blades at the two of them.

"Li Peijun, what are you doing? Officer, it’s a misunderstanding—a big misunderstanding," Chen Fan hastily tried to smooth things over.

Li Peijun, unbothered, said, "Eh, they’re just NPCs, what’s there to be afraid of?"

*Smack! Smack! Smack!*

"Look down on us NPCs, do you? We have our dignity, too," the guards retorted.

Rubbing his face, Li Peijun looked at Chen Fan. "The NPCs in this scenario actually slap people."

Chen Fan tried to scare him, "They might just drag us out and behead us. People in the Spring and Autumn or Warring States loved their tortures—quartering, waist chop, nose piercing, you name it."

Li Peijun was instantly cowed, and handed control of the situation back to Chen Fan.

Chen Fan stepped forward and said, "Officer, we’re not from Qin or Jin. We just happened to pick up these local clothes while passing through Qin. That’s all there is to it. Please, be lenient with us."

He bowed deeply as he spoke, and, with a flourish, produced a few copper coins, respectfully presenting them on his open palm. "Please, sir, don’t hold a grudge against us commoners, and let us into the city."

The guard glanced at the coins and grinned, "So you want to bribe a Qi official with Qin currency? You must be out of your mind."

Chen Fan was momentarily speechless—this guy was so blunt, nothing like the artful, gentle sarcasm of the earlier NPC. Clearly, this was a far cruder sort.

If this really was Qi, then this city was likely Linzi, the capital. The Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods spanned centuries—who knew what year it was now?

What if the tiger-wolf armies of Ying Zheng were camped right outside the gates, and they ended up caught in the crossfire in the middle of a game? That would be a total wipeout—just imagining it was chilling.

"Money, is it? I have plenty," Chen Fan thought. After all, today he was a magician—whatever he could picture, he could conjure, though it was all just illusion and wouldn’t last long.

With another flourish, Chen Fan produced a stack of knife-shaped coins—surprisingly heavy, like a pile of bricks.

"Must be something to be dripping with wealth like this," Chen Fan couldn’t help but marvel.

The guard happily accepted the coins, hanging them at his waist. "Well, now, you certainly are generous, sir. You must be a merchant, though with that bearing and attire, perhaps a retainer of some renowned master."

This gave Chen Fan an idea, and he went along with it, asking, "Is there any major event happening in the city lately?"

The guard, now much friendlier after being bribed, replied, "Indeed there is. The King of Qi is recruiting scholars at the Jixia Academy, and just now they’re holding lectures and debates."

Chen Fan exchanged a glance with Li Peijun. This Jixia Academy must be the game’s main event area.

Suddenly, Chen Fan felt a swelling at his chest, something oddly substantial. Reaching inside, he pulled out an invitation.

"Famed throughout the land, we sincerely invite Chen Fan of the School of War to gather in Qi. The venue is Jixia Academy. Wine and delicacies await you, and we look forward to your arrival."

"The School of War... Maybe that’s related to my role?"

The invitation contained only a few brief lines, written vertically. At last, in an inconspicuous corner, Chen Fan found the clue he’d been seeking.

"Let’s go. We’re in."