There's a Dungeon in My House

Lin Bai was too weak to muster the courage to enter his home, which had been taken over by Ghost. He stuffed the flatbread into his mouth in two or three bites, glanced at his shop, and turned to walk into the night.

If he couldn't gamble with his own life, he would gamble with someone else's.

Lin Bai decided to find a player to test Ghost's mettle. Their lives weren't worth anything anyway.

Jiamao City had no curfew, but given its backward living conditions, the city wasn't particularly lively at night.

Dusk fell.

Most households still followed the traditional way of life: work at sunrise, work at sunset...

Still.

Even the quietest city had its bustling spots.

The night markets and pleasure quarters where poets and scholars lingered, reluctant to leave, were only now beginning to get busy.

If he wanted to find players, he couldn't go wrong heading somewhere crowded.

"Sweet peaches! Juicy peaches picked fresh from the tree! Two copper coins each! So sweet your teeth will fall out! No charge if they aren't sweet!"

"Steamed buns! Steamed buns!"

"Jujube cake—sold by the slice!"

"Candied hawthorn skewers!"

"Sir~~, come have some fun!"

All along the way, hawkers' cries rang out without pause.

Lin Bai had no interest in admiring the bustling ancient night market. His gaze roamed through the crowd, searching for his target.

"You penniless wretch! Why come to a brothel when you've got no money? Is this any place for the likes of you?"

Suddenly.

A sharp rebuke reached Lin Bai's ears.

He looked toward the voice.

Several brothel lackeys shoved a young man out of the Crimson Delight Courtyard. He staggered out onto the street, and everyone around him cast him contemptuous looks.

What he sought had fallen into his lap without the slightest effort. A name gleamed brightly above the young man's head: [Long Xi].

Lin Bai looked at the player, then up at the lifelike pleasure house, filled with emotion. Now this was how you made a game. When they said one hundred percent realistic, they meant one hundred percent realistic. They actually let players come here for some fun...

"You might be throwing me out now, but give it a few days—even if you come to fetch me in a grand sedan carried by eight men, I might not get into your beds..." The young man wasn't annoyed at being shoved out. He spoke with a cheerful grin.

"That lacked a little swagger!" Lin Bai remarked casually from behind the player.

"What swagger?" [Long Xi] responded instinctively.

"Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west! Don't scorn a young man for being poor! In a few days, even licking my toes will be an honor for you." Looking at the brothel, Lin Bai solemnly delivered the Crimson Delight Courtyard edition of "don't scorn a young man for being poor."

Ptooey!

Hearing that, the alluring young women giggled and spat at the two of them in unison.

"Brilliant! That's a great line. It's mine now." Ignoring the young women's contempt, [Long Xi] turned to Lin Bai and clapped his hands with a laugh. "Who knew there'd be such a delightful character among the NPCs? Interesting."

"N-what?" Lin Bai played dumb.

"Nothing!" [Long Xi] shook his head with a smile.

He can't even play along. Boring!

Lin Bai sighed inwardly, then smiled. "Little brother, why waste a perfectly good evening visiting the Crimson Delight Courtyard? I've got something more exciting. Interested?"

"What is it?" [Long Xi] asked.

"Let's talk as we walk," Lin Bai said.

"Sure." [Long Xi] agreed readily. Players feared nothing, and he wasn't worried in the slightest about getting the short end of the stick.

"Young man, unless I'm mistaken, you must be a Chosen One!" After they had taken a couple of steps, Lin Bai leaned close to [Long Xi], lowered his voice, and asked with an air of mystery.

"What's a Chosen One?" Taken aback, [Long Xi] asked him in return.

"Stop pretending. I saw through you long ago." Lin Bai's gaze seemed to pierce through everything. "A few days ago, I met an old immortal. He told me that a group of Chosen Ones would soon enter this world, command the winds and clouds, and throw everything under heaven into turmoil. If I encountered one and treated them well, boundless benefits would follow."

"Holy shit! A story NPC?" Long Xi's eyes suddenly lit up. Looking at Lin Bai in delighted surprise, he thumped his chest. "That's right. I'm a Chosen One."

"Let's be straight with each other. What we're about to do is very important, so don't lie to me." Lin Bai glanced at Long Xi and spoke with utter seriousness. "The old immortal told me that Chosen Ones play their way through the mortal world, act like lunatics, behave strangely, and occasionally spout incomprehensible nonsense. But their great skills give them great courage, and they're extremely eager to help others. Once they agree to do something, they'll see it through even at the cost of their lives..."

"That's right. The old immortal was talking about me." Long Xi stopped and suddenly pulled off his shirt. Ignoring the startled cries around him, he then began taking off his pants...

"That's enough, that's enough!" Lin Bai's face darkened with exasperation, and he hurried to stop him. "I know you are. No need to degrade yourself like this."

"Strange enough for you?" Long Xi chuckled, put his shirt back on, and said smugly, "Would a normal person dare do what I just did?"

Damn pants-droppers!

Lin Bai's face darkened with exasperation. This was so awkward.

It hadn't seemed like much when he was playing games himself, but stripping at the drop of a hat really was an assault on the eyes!

Entirely unconcerned by the looks people were giving him, Long Xi leaned close to Lin Bai and asked eagerly, "Come on, what is it? Tell me. I'll help you get it done even if it kills me."

"With those words, I can rest easy." To be fair, in this unfamiliar world, Lin Bai didn't really care what the people around him thought either. Worrying about saving face in a world full of players was just spinning a cocoon to trap himself.

Looking at [Long Xi], Lin Bai sighed and said bitterly, "It's a long story. I'm a cook, trained in the culinary skills passed down through my family. Who could have known disaster would strike my hometown and leave me the only survivor in my family? I took everything I owned and wandered to Jiamao City, then spent my entire fortune buying a shop. I thought I could put down roots here and grow branches and leaves, but who could have known that damned brokerage would cheat me..."

"A genuine story NPC! I've hit the jackpot! The jackpot!" Long Xi swallowed as he listened to Lin Bai's story, his eyes growing brighter and brighter.

Lin Bai clenched his fists and said through gritted teeth, "That hateful brokerage sold me a shop, but... but the shop turned out to be haunted! There's no way I can run a business there."

His expression suddenly turned dejected again, and his voice dropped eight degrees. "The brokerage is the local snake. Poor me, newly arrived and unfamiliar with everyone and everything—I couldn't even find anywhere to seek justice. With no other choice, I came out to wander the streets, hoping to find a solution."

Then Lin Bai abruptly changed tack. Looking at Long Xi, he said with a slight tremor in his voice, "Fortunately, heaven never closes every path. I actually found a Chosen One. The immortals have blessed me..."

"Hahaha! I finally got a quest!" After hearing Lin Bai's story, Long Xi suddenly threw back his head and laughed, letting out a wild shout that once again drew everyone's attention.

Lin Bai shuddered at the fellow's sudden outburst. Being around this guy really did put his fucking nerves to the test!

He struggled to force a smile. "Young hero, are you truly willing to help me?"

"It's my duty." Long Xi cupped his fist in salute.

"I've heard those ghosts are very powerful..." Lin Bai said.

"No matter how powerful they are, meeting me will be the end of them." Confidence radiated from Long Xi's face. "Stop dragging your feet and take me to your shop. The sooner we deal with this, the sooner you can open for business."

You're a little rookie who just entered the game, with no skills and no weapons. If you can fight Ghost bare-handed, I'll write my surname backward!

Should I dedicate the song "Courage" to you?

Lin Bai mocked him inwardly, but his face brimmed with excitement. "The old immortal was right. Chosen Ones really are warmhearted people."

"Oh, right." Long Xi stopped walking. "If I help you fight Ghost, what reward will you give me afterward?"

Players weren't stupid.

A quest was a quest, but the reward still needed to be clarified.

"You want a reward?" Looking stunned, Lin Bai stopped and regarded Long Xi suspiciously. "Are you really a Chosen One? If you aren't, I advise you not to impersonate one. We were all born to mothers and raised by fathers. Losing your life over a paltry bit of money wouldn't be worth it..."

"Hahaha, I was joking! Why'd you take it seriously?" Seeing the quest he'd already secured about to fly away, Long Xi decisively reeled it back in. He raised his head. "Chosen Ones have chivalrous hearts and take helping others as their guiding principle. How could we let a Vengeful Ghost harm the mortal world over some measly reward? Don't worry. I'm definitely taking care of your problem."