Armor-Piercing Arrow

Before long, Lin Maoxian and Xiao Zhang arrived outside Pingyang County.

"Who goes there? Stop at once, or you'll be killed without mercy!" Before they even got close, Lin Maoxian heard a familiar voice from atop the wall.

"It's me. I'm the one who left the city not long ago to help Old Man Sun find his medicine basket." As he spoke, Lin Maoxian raised the medicine basket in his hand.

"Oh, it's you! But who's the person beside you? Judging by his clothes, he doesn't look like an ordinary commoner." The officer saw Xiao Zhang's attire and asked.

Lin Maoxian gave the explanation he had prepared. "He wants to enter the city and join the army too. We ran into Yellow Turban bandits on the road, and I happened to rescue him."

"If that's the case, then come on up." As he spoke, the officer lowered the suspended basket.

Lin Maoxian once again rode the swaying basket back into Pingyang City. Once they reached the top of the wall, he thanked the officer again before taking Xiao Zhang to the Sun Family Clinic.

Watching Lin Maoxian's retreating figure, the officer muttered under his breath, "I don't know what's gotten into everyone today. A whole bunch of people claiming they want to join the army showed up outside the city, and the lord even said not to question them too closely and just let them in. Doesn't he worry they might be Yellow Turban spies?" Shaking his head, he went back to work.

Before long, Lin Maoxian brought Xiao Zhang to the Sun Family Clinic. Walking inside, he said, "Old Man Sun, I've fulfilled my mission. I've brought your medicine basket back."

Hearing the voice outside, Old Man Sun hurried out. When he saw his benefactor had returned with the basket he'd dropped, he was overjoyed. "Benefactor, that Dilong Grass..."

Knowing what Old Man Sun wanted to ask, Lin Maoxian handed him the basket at once. "It's in there, Old Man Sun. Don't worry."

"Th-thank you, benefactor!" Old Man Sun took the basket and looked at the golden-yellow herb inside. Tears welled up in his eyes. Now his son could be saved.

Knowing how anxious Old Man Sun was, Lin Maoxian told him directly, "Old Man Sun, you should go treat your son first."

Old Man Sun handed the basket to his daughter-in-law, who had come out after hearing the voices. "Boil this herb with the other herbs in seven bowls of water until it's reduced to one bowl, then give it to Ping'er."

His daughter-in-law took the basket, answered him, and headed into the inner room.

Seeing that his daughter-in-law had gone to boil the medicine, Old Man Sun finally relaxed. Noticing another stranger had come in behind them, he asked, "Benefactor, who is this young man?"

Worried that revealing Xiao Zhang's identity might cause trouble, Lin Maoxian didn't want to say much. He answered casually, "He's a young man I rescued on the road. He's also here to join the army. He ran into Yellow Turban bandits, and I happened to save him." Then he said no more.

Seeing that Lin Maoxian didn't want to talk about the stranger, Old Man Sun changed the subject. "Benefactor, please wait here for a little while. I'll go inside and fetch something." He cupped his hands to Lin Maoxian and went into the inner room.

Lin Maoxian knew Old Man Sun was probably going to fetch the quest reward. Turning to Xiao Zhang, who had followed him in, he said, "Boy, there's no danger here now, so you don't need to wear your armor or carry your sword. Put them aside."

Xiao Zhang answered and went to take care of it. Lin Maoxian took out the two balls of white light from his Storage Space. After a moment's thought, he decided to open the Squad Leader's one last. Naturally, he'd save the good stuff for last. There probably wouldn't be anything good inside, but it ought to be better than what he'd gotten from the elite soldier.

He opened the first ball of light and saw a silver ingot inside.

Ten-Tael Official Silver: This item can be given to plot characters in ancient worlds to increase their favorability toward Adventurers. It can also be sold to the Space for 1,000 Source Points.

"Nothing special." That was Lin Maoxian's assessment of the item he'd gotten from the elite soldier. Still, getting 1,000 Source Points was pretty good; it was equivalent to two attribute points. As for giving it to a plot character? He wasn't that generous, and he didn't think ten taels would make someone do him a huge favor. For little things, though, Lin Maoxian wasn't worried.

The first ball of light hadn't yielded anything good, so Lin Maoxian could only pin his hopes on the second one. After all, he had practically no equipment on him right now, and he hoped it would contain something useful.

He opened the ball of light and found an exceptionally familiar item inside: the Yellow Turban that every Yellow Turban Soldier wore around his head.

Exquisite Yellow Turban Headpiece

[Quality]: Fine

[Level]: Level 1

[Category]: Accessory

[Description]: Every Yellow Turban Soldier was required to wear a Yellow Turban headpiece. However, this one was different from those worn by ordinary soldiers. It had been awarded to an official Squad Leader. It was said that the headpiece contained the magical power of the Great Sage Teacher, Zhang Jiao, which was what made it so special. Ever since Huang Liu received this headpiece, he had treasured it, cleaning it every day to show his respect for the Great Sage Teacher.

[Attributes]: Perception +2, Willpower +2

Clear Mind (Passive)—Increases resistance to all abnormal statuses by 10%.

Although this wasn't the piece of equipment he'd wanted most, Lin Maoxian was still delighted. It added four attribute points, and it would be very useful if he ran into skills that inflicted control effects. He quickly equipped it, then used the Space's abilities to conceal it so the people in the plot world couldn't see it. Otherwise, anyone who saw him wearing a Yellow Turban would surely mistake him for a Yellow Turban Soldier.

After equipping the headpiece, Lin Maoxian checked his attributes. His Perception and Willpower had both risen to 17, and he'd also gained the passive effect "Increases resistance to all abnormal statuses by 10%."

Not long after Lin Maoxian finished, Old Man Sun came out holding a box.

"Benefactor, I can see you're a martial artist. A brave man once gave this to my ancestor in gratitude after receiving treatment here. They say it's a manual on archery. My family has practiced medicine for generations, so it's of no use to us. I'd like to give it to you as thanks." As he spoke, Old Man Sun set the box in front of Lin Maoxian.

Hearing that it was a manual on archery, Lin Maoxian guessed it was a skill. He took the box and opened it. Inside was an old book. As soon as he picked it up, he received a prompt from the Space: "Adventurer side quest reward received."

Lin Maoxian checked its attributes:

"C-Rank Skill: Armor-Piercing Arrow"

"Level 1 Effect: Armor Piercing—After using this ability, the Adventurer's arrows (arrows only; bullets and similar ammunition are not affected) ignore all of the target's armor and skills, calculating damage directly against the target's base defense and increasing damage by 10%. Using this ability consumes 5 energy. Skill cooldown: 30 seconds."

It was a good skill, but Lin Maoxian didn't think he'd get many chances to use it. He usually fought people at close range, and rarely attacked targets from a distance. Besides, he didn't have a bow right now, so he had no way to use the skill. More importantly, he didn't have any spare skill slots.

Thinking of his lack of spare skill slots, Lin Maoxian asked the Space, "Space, can we Adventurers use Source Points to strengthen ourselves or buy things while we're in a plot world?"

"The Adventurer's current authority is Ninth Rank. You may use up to 500 Source Points on any enhancement available in the Space."

Hearing that he could get enhancements, even if he could only use 500 Source Points, Lin Maoxian was still pleased. Clearly, once his authority rose, he'd be able to spend more Source Points on enhancements. "Space, then I want to unlock an empty skill slot."

"Adventurer's authority confirmed. 500 Source Points deducted. The Adventurer now has 1 empty skill slot."

Seeing that he had an empty skill slot now, Lin Maoxian decided he'd learn Armor-Piercing Arrow when he was alone later.

For now, he put the skill back in the box and said to Old Man Sun, who was standing nearby, "Old Man Sun, I shouldn't have asked for anything in return, but as you said, I'm a martial artist, and I'm quite interested in things like this. I'll accept it, even if it's a bit presumptuous of me."

Old Man Sun waved his hand. "Not at all. I'm just relieved you're willing to accept it. If you hadn't, I wouldn't have known how to thank you. Benefactor, it's getting late. Why not have a little something to eat here and spend the night?"

Lin Maoxian picked up the box and tucked it against his chest. A little embarrassed, he said to Old Man Sun, "I shouldn't trouble you again, but as you know, I've come to Pingyang County to enlist, and I don't have any relatives or acquaintances here. It's too late to join the army now, so I'll have to trouble you again."

"It's no trouble at all. I couldn't be happier. Benefactor, you and this young man can sit down while I bring out some food." After speaking to Lin Maoxian and Xiao Zhang, Old Man Sun turned and went into the inner room.

A short while later, Old Man Sun came out carrying the food. After setting all the dishes on the table, he said to Lin Maoxian, "Benefactor, you and this young man please enjoy your meal. I'd like to go see how my son is doing. Please forgive me for neglecting you."

"Go ahead, go ahead. Don't worry about us, Old Man Sun. We'll make ourselves at home. You go take care of things." Lin Maoxian watched Old Man Sun return to the inner room.

Turning around, he saw Xiao Zhang staring intently at the food on the table. Perhaps because he was afraid of Lin Maoxian, he didn't dare come over to eat and just kept swallowing. "Boy, all things considered, you've been pretty cooperative, and I did say I'd give you a better life. So let's start with this meal. Don't just stand there—come and eat. I can't promise every meal will be this good, but I can make sure you get enough to eat every time."