Chapter Ninety-Seven: Huang Batian’s Sister

The Beginner-level Five Tiger Gate-Cutting Saber adds four points to combat attributes, making it equivalent to an advanced basic saber technique. The Five Tiger Gate-Cutting Saber can be cultivated to the Grandmaster level, meaning it can increase combat attributes by up to eight points. What Chen Hao valued most was its deterrent effect on the enemy; he had fought many foes in the game, and in close-quarters combat, the enemy’s fighting ability dropped by ten percent, greatly aiding him in challenging opponents above his level.

After practicing the Five Tiger Gate-Cutting Saber once, Chen Hao began his archery training, which he did for an hour every day. By target shooting, he gained four points in shooting attributes, and by practicing with the bow, he gained two more. Now, his shooting attribute had reached nineteen points.

Training with hidden weapons could also increase shooting attributes, but hidden weapons required more skill than archery, and since he had no suitable teacher at the moment, he had no way to practice them. After finishing archery, Chen Hao left the small courtyard and headed toward Li Pisun’s residence, where he studied the Analects for an hour under Li Pisun’s guidance. After his lesson, he didn’t leave the Li residence but instead found the gatekeeper, Qian Bo, and asked, “Qian Bo, may I ask you something?”

Since Chen Hao had become Li Pisun’s student, his status and position had changed, and the servants at the Li residence treated him with great respect, Qian Bo included. Hearing Chen Hao’s question, Qian Bo smiled broadly and replied, “What would you like to know?”

Chen Hao smiled slightly and said, “I only recently learned that Huang Batian is so arrogant because his sister is the county magistrate’s concubine, but I’ve never seen her. What’s the story behind this?”

Qian Bo chuckled, “If you ask anyone else, they probably don’t know, but I’ve worked at the Li residence for over ten years and know this matter well. Three years ago, Huang Batian was just a poor fellow. His sister was sixteen and exceptionally pretty; all sorts of local rakes courted her, and she wasn’t one to shy away either, always mingling with them.”

“Huang Batian didn’t want to marry his sister into a poor family, but with her reputation damaged, respectable wealthy families didn’t want her either, so he had to let her become a mistress in a rich household. Later, Constable Zhang helped make the connection, and his sister became the county magistrate’s concubine, now living in a mansion near the city wall.”

Chen Hao laughed, “So that’s the story. Since Huang Batian’s sister was already known for her flirtatious ways, I suppose she’s not exactly faithful as the magistrate’s concubine?”

Qian Bo’s expression turned scornful, “Even if she’s not faithful, so what? Even if she’s inclined to flirt, who among her former admirers would dare approach her now? Offending the magistrate means disaster for the whole family.”

Hearing Qian Bo’s words, Chen Hao understood. Huang Batian’s sister, Huang Xian’er, was no paragon of chastity; a woman accustomed to freedom now forced to live as a neglected concubine would be quick to respond to temptation. She had been Liu Ziyuan’s concubine for three years. Her old suitors wouldn’t dare approach her, but some NPCs eager for illicit affairs surely wouldn’t know the risks...

Leaving the Li residence, Chen Hao received a carrier pigeon message from Honest Trader, saying that the spent bullet casings had been collected and urging him to reload them quickly. When Chen Hao arrived at the alley and saw the casings Honest Trader had gathered, he was startled; he had expected only a few thousand, but Honest Trader had collected over thirty thousand.

When players level up, they consume bullets, so collecting spent casings isn’t difficult, it’s just that most don’t bother because casings aren’t useful. After Honest Trader started buying casings, countless players sold them daily, and he easily gathered over thirty thousand.

Each casing cost one copper coin; Chen Hao paid him more than three hundred silver dollars, took the casings, and then said to Honest Trader, “I want to find a player to help with a small task. Once completed, I’ll pay ten silver dollars. Old Tong, do you know anyone?”

Honest Trader already had a cooperative team, so finding a player was no problem. He asked in surprise, “Don’t you have any friends? What do you need done?”

Chen Hao laughed, “You’re right—I work alone and don’t have friends who can help. I need you to find someone with high diplomacy attributes. I’ll pay them to contact an NPC for me and get something done.”

Still puzzled, Honest Trader nodded, “I’ll arrange it. Any requirements for the player?”

“No requirements on level, just high diplomacy attributes,” Chen Hao replied.

Chen Hao needed a player to persuade an NPC to approach Huang Xian’er. Originally, White Demon was the best candidate, but the risk after the job was too great, so he couldn’t let White Demon handle it.

After Honest Trader agreed, Chen Hao gave him a ten dollar deposit and told him to have the chosen player contact him. Returning to his rented courtyard, he happened to run into White Demon as he came back. Chen Hao smiled, “Demon, are you still working as a brothel manager at Spring Fragrance House?”

White Demon replied awkwardly, “I was thinking of changing jobs, but leveling up consumes so many bullets, and earning money elsewhere is tough, so I still take shifts there sometimes.”

“Do you have any clients who are charming and flirtatious, but not particularly wealthy?”

“There is one. Zhao Mingwu from East City was supposedly from a rich family, but he fell on hard times. He’s notorious for his lust, selling family possessions without ever doing honest work, and he often hangs out at Spring Fragrance House.”

“Is that so! Demon, tell me more about Zhao Mingwu…”

After listening to White Demon’s detailed account of Zhao Mingwu, Chen Hao decided he’d found his target. Zhao Mingwu was a typical lustful rogue, but blessed with good looks—paying him to approach Huang Xian’er would be a dream come true for him. Once he and Huang Xian’er became involved, Honest Trader’s contact could inform them that the magistrate knew everything and planned to execute the man and drown the woman. Surely they wouldn’t just sit and wait for their fate.

Seeing his satiety still above ninety, Chen Hao had White Demon go to the foreign trading firm to buy ten barrels of black powder, then began reloading bullets in bulk. After a while, his satiety dropped to seventy and his character’s mental state deteriorated, so he returned to his room and logged out of the game.

Chen Hao and Ban Qianqian seemed truly connected; shortly after logging out, he received a call from her. He went to the Institute of Economics and Trade to pick up Ban Qianqian and brought her home. The girl was full of excitement, saying, “Brother, from today on, we’re officially living together! I’ll cook and do your laundry, and I forbid you from ever abandoning me.”

Chen Hao asked in surprise, “You can cook?”

Ban Qianqian nodded, “Of course! My mom always said that a woman who can’t cook will never find a husband, so she taught me how to cook when I was in middle school. I’m quite good at it!”

With the virtual light-brain equipped with a nutrition pod, Chen Hao was ready to become a super homebody, staying in every day except for meals and sleep to play games. Ban Qianqian’s ability to cook came as a delightful surprise; with her cooking, even mealtime could be skipped, and compared to eating out at restaurants, he much preferred the feeling of dining at home.