CHAPTER 46: CHAPTER 46 RUN-HIT-RUN

EDITOR: DRAGON BOAT TRANSLATION

Further down the path, they encountered several venomous snakes and brown bears, which were all dealt with by Ren Woxing and Ren Feifan.

Ren Feifan finally mustered the courage to burst a brown bear’s body open with a wooden stick—who said you couldn’t kill without a spearhead?

Interestingly, as the player, Ren Suo could not control Ren Feifan, only Ren Woxing.

Could it be because I chose Ren Woxing as my character before the game started? Ren Suo wondered. But according to the game’s setting, Ren Woxing can only live up to twenty-four years old. So, what happens when he dies—will I have no one to control?

Leaving aside Ren Suo’s doubts, the tigers, bears, and wild boars that the Ren Family Brothers killed made for a good feast—they had only used four of their twenty provisions by the time they reached Mount Taibai.

"Big Brother, your cooking is terrible..." Ren Feifan complained. "Such good meat... How could you ruin it like this..."

"The Inheritance of culinary skills is in my memory," Ren Woxing said. "Why don’t you learn it?"

The game displayed a message: "As you enter Mount Taibai, you suddenly see a girl hurriedly running toward you from ahead. She is followed by several strange, laughing soldiers who look like a mix of human and ghost."

"Ren Feifan screamed, ’Xiao Cui!’ and rushed forward, leading one Ghost Soldier away with the girl, leaving the other four for his dear big brother."

This little brother is always setting me up!

Ren Suo fumed silently, then he saw the screen shatter and the battle scene load. He controlled only Ren Woxing, who now faced four Ghost Soldiers alone! They were dressed in ragged armor and resembled zombies.

A notification appeared: "Ghost Soldiers: Attack 0.9, Defense 0, Scouting 0, Scouting 0, Move 0, Healing 0."

This is bad... Ren Suo thought. He didn’t know what to do and randomly attacked one of the Ghost Soldiers.

The wooden sword transformed into a brilliant arc, killed a Ghost Soldier, and then returned to Ren Woxing’s hand. It was the Ghost Soldiers’ turn, and they all took a step forward.

"Hmm?"

Only then did Ren Suo realize that there was a movement distance on this turn-based battlefield. Melee characters like the Ghost Soldiers had to get close to Ren Woxing to attack.

Ren Suo exclaimed with delight, "Hahaha, eat shit! PEW PEW PEW!"

He easily dispatched the Ghost Soldiers using the Sword Control Technique. Just then, Ren Feifan reappeared with the girl, declaring righteously, "Big Brother, this is Xiao Cui, whom I met at the market before... Her family lived in a village on the other side of Mount Taibai, but it has been slaughtered by these Demon Soldiers and Ghost Generals... I must avenge Xiao Cui!"

Ren Woxing rolled his eyes. "You were afraid to even fight a tiger before, and now you’re eager to fight Demon Soldiers and Ghost Generals?"

"Battle concluded. You looted the Ghost Soldiers and obtained: 1 intact Straight Sword, 1 portion of Gold and Silver, and 6 Spirit Crystals. Ren Woxing immediately equipped the Straight Sword, increasing his combat power by 0.3."

"You continue your journey. A day later, you see Demon Soldiers and Ghost Generals entrenched in a ruined village."

"Do you choose to lure out a single Ghost Soldier, or charge in directly?"

Without hesitation, Ren Suo chose to lure. The game then asked, "Please select who will act as the lure: Ren Woxing, Ren Feifan, or Xiao Cui."

Ren Woxing is a ranged combat unit and needs to maintain optimal distance, Ren Suo considered. He chose Ren Feifan to act as the lure—he wasn’t heartless enough to make Xiao Cui do it.

There were at least thirty Demon Soldiers and Ghost Generals in the village. Ren Feifan lured them out one or two at a time, and they quickly killed a dozen of the demons on the west side of the village.

However, when Ren Feifan entered the center of the village to lure more, he ended up drawing out all the remaining eighteen demons at once!

Ren Woxing roared, "Are you trying to get me killed?!"

Ren Feifan cried out, "Big Brother... I’m sorry, Big Brother! I saw them eating... just eating... and I couldn’t help but attack... I..."

The game prompted, "Choose a combat option: Abandon Ren Feifan and Xiao Cui to escape, or have Ren Feifan stand in front of Ren Woxing while retreating and defending."

Without a doubt, he chose the latter!

Entering the battle scene, Ren Woxing and Ren Feifan were at the edge of the battlefield, with eighteen Ghost Soldiers charging toward them. Ren Suo immediately employed a ’hit-and-run’ strategy: Ren Woxing retreated while using the Sword Control Technique to pick off the Ghost Soldiers. He killed eight Ghost Soldiers before the enemy even got close to them!

Standing in front of Ren Woxing, Ren Feifan was simultaneously attacked by three Ghost Soldiers from the front. With a loud shout, Ren Feifan swept his spear, felling three Ghost Soldiers in one strike! He roared again and thrust, killing another!

Damn, I thought this close-combat Spearman wasn’t much use, but it turns out he can perform wide-area melee attacks and strike twice in one turn? Ren Suo’s eyes lit up. Previously, when fighting tigers and brown bears, they were instant kills, so there was no opportunity for the Spearman to shine; he had no idea about the Spearman’s traits.

Most importantly, since I can’t control the Spearman, I have no say in how Ren Feifan attacks...

With Flying Swords for ranged attacks and a Spearman for close combat, they now had a perfect battle formation, more than enough to wear down this horde of demons!

The rest of the fight was almost child’s play. The only somewhat formidable enemy was a Ghost General with an Attack of 2 and Defense of 1, but it was nothing a spear and a sword couldn’t handle.

Why does this battle between cultivators and demons feel like something out of a cultivation novel? Everyone just shows their attributes: Oh, you’re in the Foundation Establishment Stage, and I’m in the Golden Core Stage, so you die.

"The battle has ended. You searched the Ghost Soldiers and obtained: 2 intact Straight Swords, 3 intact spears, 4 portions of Gold and Silver, and 40 Spirit Crystals."

Seeing that this expedition had finally concluded, Ren Suo breathed a sigh of relief—the adventure within, coupled with the slow luring tactics, had unexpectedly consumed an entire afternoon of his time.

A game notification appeared: "Ren Feifan approaches with Xiao Cui. He hopes to bring this poor girl back to their home, as she cannot survive in this chaotic world otherwise. Do you permit this?"

Ren Woxing said, "I can allow it, but... I can’t stop our second brother from scolding you."

Ren Feifan declared, his face red, "To save someone, I am duty-bound!"

However, when Ren Woxing and Ren Feifan returned to the Ren Family residence, the screen revealed Ren Changsheng... and three women.

Ren Changsheng said, "Family Head, this is Miss Zhuo and her maids. I heard their cries for help on the mountain and found their carriage broken on the mountain road. They nearly died. Luckily, I had learned Healing Magic... They seek shelter here and wish to reside for at least a year, for which they are willing to pay 3,000 portions of Gold and Silver. Please decide, Family Head."

3,000 portions of Gold and Silver, that’s a lot. Of course, I won’t refuse. Besides, this might be an important part of the game’s storyline, Ren Suo thought.

The beautiful young lady said, "Hello, Patriarch of the Ren Family. My surname is Zhuo, and my given name is Yu. I will be in your care and that of the other esteemed cultivators from now on."

Ren Woxing replied, "No problem. I’ll get my second and third brothers to help build a house for you right away. We also need to arrange a place for Xiao Cui."

The scene shifted to nighttime. Ren Woxing and Ren Changsheng were discussing.

Ren Woxing asked, "We are cultivators; it’s inconvenient to have outsiders here. Second Brother, why did you allow them to stay?"

Ren Changsheng explained, "Family Head, this is for a long-term plan. Besides slaying demons, collecting Spirit Crystals, and performing the Taibai Plains’ Earth Spirit Divine Communion to continue our lineage, we also need to travel the world. We must slay evil demons and find more Spirits. The Taibai Plains Spirit, for instance, hibernates after just one communion."

"Our current numbers are truly insufficient. We should expand our family and recruit more subordinates. They can act as our eyes and ears, gathering intelligence from all regions. This way, we won’t waste time and can stay informed about the whereabouts of demons and Spirits."

Ren Woxing asked, puzzled, "Expand our family? How can we do that? We can’t have children."

Ren Changsheng replied, "While it’s true we can’t have children, our home is a place of stability in these chaotic times. We can recruit talented individuals from the outside. We offer them safety, and they become our affiliates. This is also a way to expand the Ren Family. Big Brother, didn’t you realize this when you decided to rescue Xiao Cui?"

Ren Woxing hesitated. "...Yes!"

Ren Changsheng sighed. "It’s a pity. If we could control a government and support it with the power of cultivators, not only could we accelerate the unification of the world, but we could also... AH!"

Suddenly, Ren Changsheng collapsed to the ground as if driven mad. Ren Woxing quickly helped him up. "Second Brother, Second Brother, what’s wrong with you?!"

Ren Changsheng, catching his breath, shook his head. "It’s nothing... Just Emperor Guangwu’s shackles tightening. We are sworn to defend the Han dynasty and must not meddle in government... Even though we can no longer uphold the first part of that oath, the second remains our forbidden territory."

"Let’s not talk about this... I learned some news from Zhuo Ji and her companions. Many roving demons are currently gathered beneath Hulao Pass. Those that enter Mount Taibai are just a small contingent of these Demons of Hulao Pass."

"Family Head, as long as we clear out the Demons of Hulao Pass, we’ll have enough Spirit Crystals to perform the Taibai Plains’ Earth Spirit Divine Communion and continue our lineage!"