Weak Chicken Hero

Chapter 31: Weak Chicken Hero

The farther down the Qiantang River one went, the wider it became. When Ye Weiming emerged from Zhang Cuishan's cabin, he happened to see Yin Bukui and another Wudang disciple standing at the bow, enjoying the river breeze. With a faint smile, he stepped forward and greeted them.

Yin Bukui asked, "Brother Ye, how did your talk with Fifth Martial Uncle go?"

Ye Weiming shook his head slightly. "Fifth Hero Zhang knows very little about the full sequence of events as well. I didn't learn much more from him. As for this brother here, I still don't know how to address you."

Only two Wudang disciples remained now, so Ye Weiming felt it was necessary to get acquainted with the other companion.

When the Wudang disciple carrying the same weapon as Zhang Cuishan was asked for his name, his expression turned somewhat strange. Yin Bukui, however, laughed heartily and answered for him. "Speaking of him, he's quite famous in Eternal Chivalry. Brother Ye, have you heard of Xuan Xiaobi?"

The moment he heard the name Xuan Xiaobi, Ye Weiming's eyes widened. Looking at the rather handsome young man before him, he blurted out, "You're the Weak..." He stopped himself in time, since the man's title was indeed rather hurtful to say aloud.

Xuan Xiaobi, on the other hand, waved it off unconcernedly at Ye Weiming's reaction. "Weak Chicken Hero, right? Yep, that's me. Please take care of me from now on."

With a million players online at once in Eternal Chivalry, players had long grown accustomed to seeing someone make the announcements now and then for achieving a first kill or something similar. But this fellow's achievement was so uniquely extraordinary that Ye Weiming remembered it clearly.

He was the first player in the game to be pecked to death by a chicken, earning him the title "Weak Chicken Hero"!

Seeing that the other man did not mind, Ye Weiming finally voiced the question that had long puzzled him. "There are more people than chickens in the beginner village. How on earth did you manage that?"

"That was during the first two hours after the game launched." Xuan Xiaobi shook his head. "After entering the game, I first received a task to practice calligraphy. I practiced for two whole hours, though the reward was pretty good—it gave me 3 points of comprehension outright. By the time I went to do the chicken-killing task, there were already relatively few people there."

And that was enough for you to get pecked to death by a chicken?

Ye Weiming still found it hard to accept. A chicken was still just a chicken—could it really be fiercer than a person?

Xuan Xiaobi continued, "Halfway through the task, I spotted some bastard harassing a female player. I can't stand that sort of thing, so I said a few words to him. The guy immediately came at me, and I took him down. But after the PK, my HP was nearly empty. Since I'd only just started playing, I didn't know to keep an eye on my health bar. Carelessly, I casually killed a hen, and three roosters instantly attacked me together. After that, I somehow ended up with the Weak Chicken Hero title—and a girlfriend."

Damn, he saved a beauty and got himself a girlfriend?

That was quite the move!

After introducing Xuan Xiaobi, Yin Bukui changed the subject. "What does Brother Ye think about the Shaolin ambush earlier?"

"Brother Yin is testing me?"

Yin Bukui hurriedly denied it, then explained, "After all, we're on the same boat now, and our mission objectives are the same. Exchanging our thoughts on this mission should help us complete it better, shouldn't it?"

Ye Weiming smiled calmly and said directly, "From the perspective of the story, this incident makes perfect sense. Since you were able to find leads connected to the Skyhawk Sect, Shaolin disciples could also have uncovered information regarding the Dragon Slaying Saber. After all, putting aside the elusive Skyhawk Sect, Yu Daiyan was the last person to come into contact with the Dragon Slaying Saber. The Shaolin Sect has reason to suspect that Wudang obtained definite information about it."

Yin Bukui nodded seriously. "That's true. Even when Yu Daiyan was tortured, he didn't reveal any information. Others might not believe that the Wudang Sect truly didn't know where the Dragon Slaying Saber was. I got stuck in a rut earlier and actually failed to think of that."

Shrugging, Ye Weiming continued, "In truth, story logic is just an excuse that sounds plausible. I think the real situation is that the system didn't want players to complete this mission so easily, so it deliberately raised the difficulty. First, it made the Shaolin and Wudang disciples fight each other, then the man in black stepped in for the final selection. Those who survived would enter the next stage."

At that moment, Xuan Xiaobi suddenly spoke up. "What I don't understand is what side that man in black is on. He broke the deadlock, yet attacked disciples from both sects at the same time. No matter how you look at it, that seems contradictory."

"Maybe he simply wanted to rescue Zhang Cuishan. If the Shaolin disciples were injured, they could delay the Shaolin NPCs, while if the Wudang disciples died, Zhang Cuishan would lose the burden holding back his retreat. Just like before, he could grab the two of you in one hand each and run away. If all seven of you had survived, he probably wouldn't have been able to carry you."

He waved his hand as he spoke. "I'm just guessing, so don't take it seriously. We know nothing about that man in black. Who knows what the real situation is?"

"To be honest, Brother Ye, the seven of us from the Wudang Sect share the same mission. As long as one of us survives to the end and completes it, all seven can receive the final mission reward. The only difference is that those with greater contribution to the mission will receive more benefits."

After openly giving a general introduction to their mission, Yin Bukui began chatting idly with Ye Weiming. From him, Ye Weiming finally learned that Yin Bukui's master was Yin Liting, the Sixth Hero among the Wudang Seven Heroes. He apparently loved to talk and was always telling him about all sorts of strange people and unusual events in the martial world.

For instance, the Skyhawk Sect's leader was named Yin Tianzheng, and he had originally been one of the Ming Cult's Four Guardian Kings. Then they spoke of Xie Xun, the Golden Mane Lion King among the Four Guardian Kings. Yin Bukui said that Xie Xun was a notorious villain in the martial world. No one knew what grudge he held against his master, Primal Thunder Hand Cheng Kun, but he went around murdering and setting fires, leaving behind bloody words proclaiming, "The killer is Primal Thunder Hand Cheng Kun," and so on...

The three chatted for over an hour. Only after Ye Weiming left in complete satisfaction did Xuan Xiaobi finally ask Yin Bukui, unable to hold back any longer, "Why were you so out of character today? Why did you tell him so much?"

"Everything I told him was old news. It's not really a secret in the martial world." Yin Bukui explained, "Besides, the story ultimately has to serve the game. It can't possibly let players who know the plot find the Nine Yang Divine Manual in the gaps of the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra, or simply break open the stone wall at Siguo Cliff and easily obtain the lost sword techniques of the Five Peaks Sword Sects."

"In fact, ever since we came down from the mountain, the general course of the plot has not changed, but the details have become completely unrecognizable. There were no players like us in the original story, and after the Dragon Gate Escort Agency Massacre Case, Zhang Cuishan directly boarded Yin Susu's ship and arrived at Wangpan Mountain."

"Now that Ye Weiming shares our mission objective, revealing some necessary information to him will also allow us to gain more benefits from it, won't it?"

Xuan Xiaobi still said somewhat gloomily, "But if we do that, the benefits he gets will definitely be greater than ours."

"So what?"

Yin Bukui shook his head lightly. "Even if doing this gives him an extra 10 points of benefit while the two of us can only get 5 points each, we still come out ahead."

"Think bigger. Eternal Chivalry is a game with a million players online at once. Every bit of strength we gain gives us a greater advantage. As for someone else gaining more than us, what does that have to do with us?"

Thanks to reader Huoha Huo for the 100 Qidian Coins reward!