Jiang Qing's Question

"Into the woods! Those bringing up the rear, fell trees to block the enemy!"

They covered several li in less than the time it took to drink a cup of tea. The nearest barbarian riders were now over a hundred meters away. The pale-faced young man gave a soft shout and deliberately slowed his horse.

"Crackle, crackle..."

Everyone charged through without slowing. Though this was a sloping mountainside thick with trees, their pace barely suffered, and no one met the tragic fate of crashing into a tree. It displayed the superb horsemanship of the northern inhabitants.

Still, their excessive speed sent branches and leaves snapping and flying everywhere with loud crackling. Jian Shang was the worst of them all, luckily learning in time from Jiang Qing and flattening himself against his horse's back.

"Crack! Crack! Snap..."

Jiang Yao, the pale-faced young man, and the burly man unconsciously took up the rear. Blades chopped and clubs smashed, scattering branches and leaves everywhere.

Although the thickest branches and trees were no more than wrist-thick, they still left a mess behind them, making it difficult for the barbarian riders to advance.

"*@#&..."

A loud burst of unintelligible chatter sounded out. The barbarian riders densely gathered outside the forest all stopped, abandoning their pursuit into the woods.

"Stop!"

Once they noticed the barbarian riders were no longer pursuing them, everyone slowed considerably. After going roughly another two li into the forest and reaching a clearing of several dozen square meters, Jiang Yao waved his hand and called out.

Everyone reined in their horses and stopped, then heard Jiang Yao order:

"Rest for a while. Wang Zhan, take a look around and mind the surroundings. Pay special attention to whether the barbarian riders are sneaking up on us!"

"Mm!"

The lean, sturdy young man who had so neatly seized a horse earlier, his eyes bright and keen, answered. He sprang down from his horse and darted into the woods with monkey-like agility, vanishing from sight in no time.

"Don't worry! The Northern Di excel at riding; they're a people born on horseback and seldom even dismount in ordinary times."

"Since they didn't enter the forest to pursue us earlier, they definitely won't sneak in now. We're not some great personages, after all!"

The pale-faced young man dismounted, speaking with utmost confidence.

"Mm! But this matter is of great importance. A cautious boat sails for ten thousand years, so I only sent Wang Zhan to scout ahead!"

Jiang Yao nodded. After a pause, he looked at the others with a grave expression. "Make the most of the time and rest. We cannot stay here long!"

"Brother Jiang, the northern lands are now overrun by barbarians. Even several cities have been destroyed, while the ruined towns and villages are too numerous to count."

"Don't dwell on it too much. If anyone deserves blame, blame this damned age—blame the damned Great Qin Empire, which knows nothing but fighting for power and profit while disregarding the people's livelihood!"

Seeing Jiang Yao's heavy heart, the pale-faced young man pondered briefly before offering his comfort in a low voice.

"Mm!"

Jiang Yao nodded and viciously hurled the steel saber in his hand. It sank several feet into the earth, making it clear that he had not truly let it go.

"You... get down here! Are you afraid to dismount, or are you reluctant to?"

With a sigh, the pale-faced young man shook his head. He suddenly walked over to Jian Shang, who was still seated on the horse with his arms around Jiang Qing's slender waist.

His face turned green as he fixed Jian Shang with a sharp glare, gritting his teeth as he spoke. He looked as though he wanted nothing more than to devour Jian Shang alive.

"Shi Mou!"

Jiang Qing's face reddened. She shot the pale-faced young man a fierce glare and scolded him coquettishly.

"Heh... sorry!"

This was their second meeting, and Jian Shang already knew that this young man liked the girl before him. Any man would find it unbearable to see the woman he loved held by another man for so long.

Jian Shang did not get angry. After apologizing, he clumsily and flusteredly dismounted, then paused and turned to the others to change the subject.

"My name is Jian Shang. Greetings, brothers and sisters. Thanks to your care, I was able to escape safely. Thank you!"

"An Otherworlder!"

The pale-faced young man curled his lip in mockery. But seeing Jian Shang's good attitude, his expression improved considerably.

Just as he was about to step forward and ingratiate himself with Jiang Qing, she rolled her eyes, pressed a hand against the horse's head, and floated down like a dancing butterfly.

The pale-faced young man gave an awkward smile and quickly went over to fuss over her...

"Brother, you're too courteous. It was thanks to your support along the way that we were able to escape safely!"

Jiang Yao swiftly collected his troubled thoughts and nodded warmly yet politely. After a pause, he cupped his hands and continued, "I am Jiang Yao, courtesy name Yutian."

"This is my younger sister Jiang Qing; Sun Ji, courtesy name Shi Mou, the one with the most tricks up his sleeve. Don't let his pale face fool you—his brain works the best."

"This is Gao Gong, courtesy name Teng Yi, born with divine strength; and his elder sister Gao Hong. Yang Ning, courtesy name Hao Yu. The fat one is Shi Jin, courtesy name Zhi Cai. The skinny fellow who just left is Shi Ji, courtesy name Wang Zhan!"

"We are all childhood sweethearts, companions who grew up together."

Every time Jiang Yao introduced someone, Jian Shang smiled and nodded in greeting.

Sun Ji was the beardless pale-faced young man. Jian Shang rather admired him. Throughout the journey, Sun Ji had been the calmest and wisest among them, and every time he spoke, his advice had been the best possible choice.

Only when facing Jiang Qing did he lose that calm wisdom.

Gao Gong was the burly man wielding the wolf-tooth club. He was the most battle-hungry of them all. Though he appeared to obey Jiang Yao closely, the person he truly feared and respected most was his elder sister, Gao Hong.

Gao Hong looked dignified, gentle, quiet, and composed. From the way she glanced at Jiang Yao from time to time, it was clear where her heart lay.

Yang Ning was of average build, with sharp eyes and arms longer than his knees. He was taciturn, clearly someone skilled in hand-to-hand combat.

Shi Jin, meanwhile, was a sturdy fat man with a plump face, large ears, and a fortunate-looking countenance. He seemed fairly lively, with a faint air of shrewd worldliness.

"Brother Jian Shang, where exactly do you Otherworlders come from? Could it be that the Eight Loose Immortals truly summoned you down from the heavens, as the legends say?"

"Are you the same as us?"

Jiang Qing smoothed her bangs. Looking slightly unnatural, she gazed curiously at Jian Shang as she asked.

"That..."

Jian Shang froze. His thoughts surged like rolling waves, and after hesitating, he replied, "I don't know whether the Eight Loose Immortals truly summoned us. I can only say that we did indeed come from another human society, another kind of nation."

"Though we are called Otherworlders, we are actually the same as you. We have flesh and blood, joy and anger, sorrow and happiness, birth, aging, sickness, and death."

"Only, our souls do not perish, and we have a few more mysterious factors. But you have your own advantages as well! At the very least, we are all descendants of Yan and Huang, haha..."

From the behavior of the NPCs he had seen before, it could all be attributed to the NPCs in Forging the Sacred Court possessing extremely high intelligence.

But when NPCs questioned the existence of players, questioned their own existence, and questioned this world, that could no longer be defined merely as intelligence!

Was this truly a virtual online game world, or a real world from another realm?

Jian Shang was puzzled once more. Yet the experiences of the past few days had shown him the reality of player factions: selfishness and opportunism, though that did not temporarily include individual players.

On the contrary, ever since encountering Jiang Yao, Sun Ji, and the others, he had grown somewhat envious of their willingness to live and die together, their deep loyalty and righteousness.

Perhaps it was because NPC society was feudal, making their hearts comparatively simple and pure. After all, human nature was inherently good; whatever kind of social environment existed would shape the human nature of that society.

Just consider the years before and after the founding of Huaxia, the years of struggle. If Huaxia had not possessed such hearts, how could they have spoken of resisting the enemy and founding a nation?!

How could they have toiled diligently and without complaint for the collective production teams?!

********

A new week, a new charge!

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In an age of war, go mad!!!