The Vain Sun Ji

"Are all Otherworlders as wealthy as you?"

The others were speechless, troubled and at a loss, when Sun Ji's eyes suddenly lit up as he looked at Jian Shang and asked.

"..."

Jian Shang's lips moved several times, but for a moment, he did not know what to say.

If he said no, every player received one gold coin upon entering Forging the Sacred Court. It looked like little, but compared to the native NPCs, it was already a modest fortune—probably enough for one person's food and drink for half a year.

If he said yes, one gold coin really did not seem like much. It might not even be enough for a player to arm themselves with a warhorse, weapons, armor, and the like, not to mention cultivation manuals. After all, not every player had the opportunity or courage to kill enemies, so naturally they could only spend money to buy such things.

"Talk business. Stop rambling about useless nonsense!"

Jiang Yao glared at Sun Ji and rebuked him.

Jian Shang chuckled. He suddenly realized that although Jiang Yao looked steady and stern, he loved glaring at people. Yet Sun Ji and Gao Gong fell for it every time, respecting him greatly and obeying his words.

"No! Brother Jiang, look down the mountain..."

Sun Ji tugged at the corner of his mouth and hurriedly pointed toward the foot of the mountain in explanation.

At that moment, the already chaotic clearing had become even bloodier and more disorderly. Nearly half the people were locked in a melee with the barbarians, and even from several li away, they could faintly hear battle cries and screams.

"Crack, crack, crack..."

"There's nothing there!"

Gao Gong clasped his fists and squeezed them, making his bones crackle as he looked at Sun Ji in confusion.

"Of course you can't see anything! But don't forget, commoners have neither the courage nor the weapons to fight the barbarians. Now so many warriors have suddenly appeared below the mountain. What do you think they are?"

Sun Ji shot Gao Gong a contemptuous glance and curled his lip in mockery.

"What did you say?!"

"Crack, crack, crack..."

Gao Gong glared at Sun Ji with bell-like eyes, raised his fists, and clenched them, making his bones crack sharply.

"Boar-headed brute!" Sun Ji spat as he looked up at the sky.

"You mean..."

Used to the two men's antics, Jiang Yao directly ignored their farce and looked at Sun Ji thoughtfully as he asked.

"If we decide to head for Yongjia City, then taking advantage of the chaos to leave now would be our best choice. If we decide to travel far away and enlist in the army at a large city or giant city, then there's no rush to leave. I believe the barbarians won't occupy this place for long. And if Otherworlders are all as wealthy as he is, we can make a killing. At the very least, it will let us buy some weapons, equipment, and cultivation manuals. When we enlist, we'll be valued more highly, and our starting point will be higher!"

Before Jiang Yao, Sun Ji did not dare act recklessly. His expression turned serious as he explained earnestly.

Because Qin Shi Huang had "gathered the metals of the people to forge the Twelve Golden Men, halting the weapons of all under Heaven," very few commoners possessed weapons. Even with money, they could not openly buy them. Only registered soldiers and players who had "descended into the world bearing a mission" could legally possess them. Everyone else could only obtain them through illegal or special channels, and even then, they did not dare use them openly.

"Travel far away! Around Yongjia City are the mid-sized Pingguan City, the large Zhongping City, the large Coiling Dragon City, the giant Central State City, and more. Although I don't know their exact locations, I know their general directions. In any case, with Di horses for transportation, it won't take much time!"

Jiang Yao frowned in thought for a moment, then spoke with certainty.

"Big Brother is wise!" Sun Ji praised, giving him a thumbs-up. After a pause, he jerked his head toward Gao Gong, pinched his smooth chin between his thumb and forefinger, and said smugly:

"How is it? Don't I look like a strategist? With my intelligence and talent, once I enlist, I'll definitely become some general's aide. Even becoming a military strategist, being granted a marquisate and appointed a minister would be no difficult matter! When the time comes, I'll make you a military general!"

"Dog-headed strategist! Once you enlist, you'll definitely become a deserter!"

Gao Gong waved his fist disdainfully and cursed.

"Ignorant brute! A mere child is not worth plotting with!" Sun Ji sighed with great feeling, lifting his head to the sky in lonely desolation.

"Does it feel a little like life is lonely as snow?"

Jian Shang looked at Sun Ji with amusement and teased him. Although Sun Ji had schemed against him earlier, it had been understandable, and Jian Shang had not taken it to heart.

Instead, Sun Ji's conduct all along had made Jian Shang rather admire him, especially his composure, wisdom, powers of observation, and speed of reaction.

"A kindred spirit! At last, someone recognizes me today. Life truly is lonely as snow!"

Sun Ji perked up and sighed dramatically.

Jian Shang was speechless. Give him three shades of color, and he would open a dye shop—vain, narcissistic, and thick-skinned!

As for the others, Yang Ning was clearly a quiet person of few words. He showed little reaction, like an invisible man, and seemed accustomed to everyone's behavior. Though Gao Hong was Gao Gong's older sister, she merely smiled gently and never spoke unless necessary. Jiang Qing simply watched everyone with wide eyes, making her an excellent listener. As for the fat Shi Jin, he only perked up whenever matters of wealth were mentioned. Otherwise, he kept looking around, as though he wanted to dig money out of the ground...

"Unfortunately, your calculations are going to come to nothing! I do have some wealth, but that's only because I unexpectedly came into a windfall. Most Otherworlders may have a little money, but not much. Otherwise, everyone would be armed to the teeth, and it wouldn't be worth us risking our lives."

Speechless though he was, Jian Shang still reminded them honestly. After all, it concerned his own life as well. For now, they were all in the same boat.

"Indeed, what a pity..." Sun Ji said meaningfully as he looked at Jian Shang. He deliberately left his words unfinished, seeming not to have given up the idea of robbing Jian Shang.

"Enough! Since we've decided to travel far away, everyone should take the time to rest. Take turns standing watch!"

Jiang Yao gave Sun Ji a warning glare, then looked at everyone and said. After a pause, he turned to Yang Ning. "Little Yang, come with me to hunt some game and pick some wild fruit. Everyone else, rest or prepare the food!"

Everyone nodded and quickly went about their tasks. No one touched the sheepskin map spread out on the ground.

Jian Shang smiled and put away the map, then began inspecting his own attributes and condition. Everything had happened so suddenly earlier that he had not had time to sort through his belongings. This was the perfect chance, especially since he needed to practice Northern Di Horsemanship and Cloud Dragon Nine Transformations as soon as possible in order to protect himself during the coming journey.

Name: Jian Shang

Merit: 108;

Fruition Rank: Commoner, unranked;

Prestige: 100, beginning to make a name for himself;

Command: 10, Martial Might: 18, Intelligence: 0, Politics: 8.

Total Internal Energy: 7 (proficiency of cultivated internal art * grade = ?)

Cultivation Arts:

Basic Spear Arts, realm: Entering the Hall, 187/999;

Cloud Dragon Nine Transformations, realm: First Glimpse of the Way, first layer of the cultivation art, 1/9 (one full circulation equals 1 proficiency point; each circulation requires the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, approximately ten minutes);

Weapon: Pear Blossom Wrought-Iron Spear, mid-grade weapon, forged from wrought iron; the spear shaft is hollow and bears pear blossom patterns.

Mount: Northern Plains Biao...

Wealth: 5 Diamond Coins, 187 gold coins.

His merit had increased by another point. Nothing else had changed.

When he checked the Game Dragon Ring, he found a pile of books inside: five copies of Basic Saber Technique (two incomplete copies and three complete copies), two copies of Northern Di Saber Arts (one incomplete and one complete), three copies of Northern Di Horsemanship, and one copy of Wind-Sweeping Staff Technique.

Although these cultivation manuals can all be sold for money, since I've decided to travel far away with these loyal and righteous NPCs, and basic cultivation arts are not worth much anyway, while I don't lack such small change, I might as well give them the manuals. I just wonder whether they can use them...

I humbly beg for recommendations and bookmarks!!!