Investigate the Mysterious Ancient Tomb

"Following Wind, it dropped something!"

I Want to Become Immortal exclaimed excitedly. He hadn't really expected the ghost servant to drop anything; in other games, quest mobs like this rarely yielded good loot, usually just a quest item at best.

There was hardly any hope for it.

However, in this game, the difficulty of grinding monsters in the wild was immense, and the village only had a handful of mobs to fight, so even if it dropped trash, it was still a gain, right? He hadn't expected it to actually drop something.

He was overjoyed.

Although it was just a quest item, having a quest meant there were rewards, and having a quest meant there was an opportunity.

In gaming, one doesn't fear difficulties; one fears not even being given the chance to overcome them.

"Take it, it's what you earned," Xiao Jie said.

Just then, the hunter's wife's voice drifted from the bed.

"Dear, what happened to me? I feel so weak, as if I've been asleep for years. Oh my, I'm so hungry. Could you get me something to eat?"

"Yes, yes, of course. What would you like? I'll make it for you right now."

"I just want your stewed meat soup."

Yang Baichuan excitedly went off to stew meat for his wife.

Xiao Jie watched this familiar scene, feeling a wave of astonishment. The NPCs in this game had always felt like real people to him.

Seeing them repeat yesterday's dialogue, he suddenly felt an inexplicable sense of dissonance.

Well, at the end of the day, it was still just a game.

System Prompt: Quest <strong>[Expel Evil Spirits]</strong> completed. Your reputation in Ginkgo Village has increased by 80 points. You are now at 280/300, Friendly.

Once Yang Baichuan had finished stewing the chicken soup for his wife, Xiao Jie was finally able to get a word in.

"Master Yang, the evil spirit has been eliminated, and your wife will be fine from now on. By the way, my friend here found this item while we were dealing with the spirit."

As Xiao Jie finished speaking, I Want to Become Immortal hurriedly took the Talisman and handed it to Yang Baichuan.

"Uncle Yang, please take a look. I found this when I killed the evil spirit just now."

"What? Such a thing? Let me see!"

Yang Baichuan looked at the talisman paper, a grave expression suddenly appearing on his face.

"I have seen this symbol before!" He began to reminisce slowly.

"That was three years ago. While I was hunting in the forest, I accidentally discovered a sneaky fellow digging up a grave on East Mountain. As a hunter of Ginkgo Village, it is my duty to maintain the village's safety. Seeing his suspicious behavior, I followed him all the way to an ancient tomb deep in the valley. The mysterious person hid inside the tomb and vanished, and there was a symbol just like this on the stone door of that tomb.

However, it was already dark, and I wasn't sure what dangers might be inside, so I didn't investigate further.

I had intended to gather some men to investigate a few days later.

But the very next day, my wife fell ill. For the past three years, I've been busy tending to her, and I completely forgot about the matter. Oh my, seeing this item has finally jogged my memory."

Xiao Jie listened, thinking to himself, Good heavens, this has triggered an important plotline.

Three years ago—wasn't that exactly when the game launched? That meant no one had triggered this quest until now.

Adhering to the principle that the harder a quest is to trigger, the higher the reward, the follow-up to this mission would definitely be lucrative.

He immediately interjected, "Clearly, there is some secret hidden within that ancient tomb. Perhaps this ghost servant was sent by that mysterious person."

I Want to Become Immortal quickly added, "Yes, yes, that must be it!"

Yang Baichuan's expression turned ugly as he listened. "Damn it, if that is truly the case, I will not let that fellow off!"

He then looked troubled as he turned to I Want to Become Immortal. "This brave warrior, my wife has only just recovered, and I cannot leave her side for the moment. Would you be willing to help investigate this matter?"

I Want to Become Immortal accepted the quest immediately: "Leave it to me."

At the same time, Xiao Jie heard the system's voice.

System Prompt: Your teammate has triggered the quest <strong>[Investigate the Mysterious Ancient Tomb]</strong> and is sharing it with you. Do you accept? Yes/No.

Xiao Jie accepted decisively, but Ye Luo unexpectedly refused.

"Sorry, I have no interest in investigation quests, so I won't be participating."

Xiao Jie thought, You've got to be kidding me, big sister. You're dodging such an obvious opportunity?

"The rewards for this kind of quest must be generous; it's a rare chance. If we team up, we can look out for each other."

Ye Luo shook her head. "Sorry, I have my own gaming habits. I don't really like teaming up with others." She stepped aside, showing no intention of joining.

Xiao Jie couldn't do much about it. This girl had high perception and a high level; she would certainly be helpful for this kind of investigation, but she was a lone wolf player.

It didn't matter, though. The quest had no time limit. At worst, he could just go Grinding Levels with I Want to Become Immortal first and tackle it once they leveled up.

Only after the quest had been accepted did Yang Baichuan seem to remember something.

"Thanks to the three—er, the two of you—for eliminating the evil spirit. I thank you both."

Xiao Jie asked, "What about the hunter training?"

"That is naturally no problem. From now on, you are my disciples. You may come to me for guidance at any time."

"Then Master, when will you teach us how to become hunters?"

"There is no time like the present; let it be today. Follow me." With that, he led the two of them out of the house.

This game really is just a game after all, Xiao Jie thought. Even though it feels incredibly realistic, at the end of the day, it still follows a set of rules.

Yesterday, when he hadn't completed the quest, Yang Baichuan refused to teach him anything, claiming he had to take care of his wife.

Today, the moment the quest was finished, he stopped caring about his wife entirely.

Yet, just a moment ago when he issued the investigation quest, he had used the excuse of tending to his wife to avoid leaving the house—his behavior was nothing if not inconsistent.

However, this actually made him feel a bit more at ease. He was far too experienced with games that operated according to game logic.

If it had truly operated according to real-world logic, he might have felt a bit out of his element.

In the time it took to speak, the two had followed Yang Baichuan to the archery range in the backyard, while Ye Luo remained nearby, watching from a distance.

Yang Baichuan (Hunter): "To become an excellent hunter, the most important thing is marksmanship. Today, I will teach you the techniques for using a bow and arrow."

"The primary technique of archery is a steady hand. Only with a steady hand can you hit what you aim at; if your hand is unsteady, you will miss. Therefore, once you draw the bow, you must release the arrow before your strength gives out."

"Second is aiming. Archery may look simple, but learning to aim is no easy task. An arrow does not fly in a perfectly straight line; it follows an arc, so you must anticipate its flight path in advance."

"Third is strength. The stronger the bow, the more force required to draw it. A stronger bow naturally means a more powerful shot. If you wish to slay fierce beasts, you must possess great strength."

"Come, try firing a few arrows."

[System Notification: Learned Bow Weapon Mastery (Novice). Obtained temporary weapons: [Training Bow], [Training Arrows x10].]