Chapter 22: A busybody's reward
He Zhixing leads Ye Yan to his home, talking a lot on their way about his life and how his wife is beautiful and kind. And Ye Yan's only thought is how he got himself in this situation where he has to break an NPC's heart. He will never do such a thing again in-game or real-life.
When they were getting near his house, his neighbors looked at him with surprised expressions, probably because he got home so early when he should be traveling to another city. It looks like everyone knows about his wife's affair, and Ye Yan was the only nosy person that couldn't stand the situation and had done something.
When they arrived, the NPC made a strange expression. Ye Yan followed his look and saw a male pair of shoes.
"Maybe my wife has visitors." He shook his head as to throw away his thoughts and lead him inside.
Some loud sounds came from the interior of the house. They follow the voices to a place that should be a bedroom and, finally, the NPC looked like to be doubting something. The house is small and only has a little courtyard and 3 to 4 rooms, so they find it right away.
Ye Yan was afraid of what kind of situation they would find when the door open. Many things were passing in his mind, making the tip of his ears become red.
All of a sudden, He Zhixing opened the door abruptly and he heard two people scream from inside.
"Zhixin! What happened? Why you came back?" His wife asked a little exalted while trying to hide something.
"..."
"You almost scared me to death now!"
"Who is this person?" He asked with a serious expression.
"I think I can't hide it from you any longer." She sighed. "This is He Gongmin. She is teaching me how to embroider, and I want to make a dress for your birthday." She said timidly. "And who is this? This is our room. Other men shouldn't be here."
Ye Yan never thought that the situation would play as such. He had misunderstood everything. He should have remembered his job change quest and not jump to conclusions without knowing the facts.
"Sorry! Excuse me. I will wait outside." He got away from there like his butt was on fire.
After a while, He Zhixing and his wife come and he had to explain the meaning of the green color. And while doing so, he didn't know how much ashamed he felt about everything. Now he understood how bad it can be if a person jumps to a conclusion without knowing all the facts.
"What?" She almost yelled the word while covering her mouth. "I would never think... such a thing..." She looked so full of regret that even Ye Yan pitied her. "He said that using this color would bring fortune and happiness."
"Who told you that?" He Zhixing asked his wife.
"It was Hao Xianya."
'Pa'. He smacked the table with force. "How dare he? Trick you like that is unforgivable!" He looked at Ye Yan and asked. "Hao Xianya is our neighbor. He is very strong and I had to admit that I am not his opponent in a fight, so can you help me with this? If you beat him for me, I will give you two scrolls that I have in my possession."
System: 'He Zhixin has a quest for you. Will you accept it? This is the opportunity for you to wash away your shame.'
"I will help you. Just show me where I can find him." Ye Yan felt like even the system is laughing at him now. He will never speak about this situation to others.
"Good. Please follow me."
He Zhixing took him to the front of the house near his and called the other NPC out. He comes out with a sarcastic smile on his face.
"Did you change your hat? That one suited you so well." Hao Xianya said with his hyena's voice and dog face. The beastman looked as if asking for a punch. So, as Ye Yan wanted to end this quest as soon as possible and get away from this place, he just beat him up until the wolfman started to meow.
The wolfman wasn't strong, he is only a level 3 NPC, so it was easy for him to defeat him. The problem was that Ye Yan used him to vent his frustrations and the result was that the NPC became unrecognizable. Ye Yan sighed in satisfaction, the last time that he had done plastic surgery for free on someone was a long time ago, and he felt so good and relaxed now. It was much better than meditation.
"It's done! Now I need to go."
"Oh, right, right. Here are the scrolls that I told you before." Even the NPC was surprised by Ye Yan's barbarian ways. When he asked for him to beat him, he thought about a few punches and not a total make-over.
System: 'You completed the quest [The Green Hat]. You gained 50 exp. and 2 scrolls.
.
[Basic Scroll of Teleportation] (Scroll - consumable)
Description: It can immediately transport you to the last city you have been to.
Effect: Teleport you to the Teleportation Hall of the last city that you have been to.
Cast Time: 5 seconds.
.
[Scroll of Cleansing] (Scroll - Consumable)
Description: It rid the mind of all impurities.
Effect: Reduce poison and curse effects by 20%.
Cast Time: 10 seconds.
Cooldown: 2 hours.
.
"Thank you and now, goodbye!" Ye Yan runs away as fast as he could until he emptied his stamina bar. He doesn't want to even remember this shame, and from now on, he will remember to look for the facts before deciding anything.
After the fiasco, he went to the Adventurer's Guild to look for some quests to do while he waits for his friends to complete their quests. The quest board was filled with all kinds of quests that vary from clean someplace until defeat a [Beheemoth]. The only quest that Ye Yan could do now and that wasn't a waste of time for him because of the bad rewards, was to kill 100 [Boa].
He applied for the quest and gave up on the [Collect 100 Soft Silk], a level 1 quest that he didn't even begin before.
.
Quest: [Kill 100 Boas]
Description: The snake's population next to the city is increasing exponentially and the farmers are suffering from its attackers.
Objective: Kill 100 [Boa]. They are located in the area southwest of the city.
Requirement: Level 5
Type: Repeatable
Difficult: B
.
Ye Yan purchased 10 [Minor Healing Potion] for 10 coppers each, 10 [Water Bottle] for 1 copper each, and 5 [Bread] for 3 coppers each, so he wouldn't have to worry about healing potions and food soon.
After the purchase, he went to the area where the snakes are located to kill them while waiting for some news from his friends. When they finish the job change quest, the player receives a [Communication Stone] that enables them to speak with others in long distances. A player can do a specific quest to get this item at level 5 too, so it isn't necessary for them to job change to get it.
He chose to do this kind of quests until he has enough money to buy at least 5 [Basic Teleportation Scroll] so he will not waste too much time walk here and there while doing quests and it will make it possible for him to go far from the city.
When he arrived at the location, he didn't need to look for them because he was attacked at the moment that he entered the area. The [Boa] is a 2-meter long green snake with a broad, triangular head and elliptical, slit-like eyes, resembling a cat, which are characteristics of a poisonous snake.
.
[Boa] (Normal)
Description: Get too near and you will get the tightest hug that you have ever had.
Level 5
HP: 572
.
He started the battle and saw that a snake is very different from all the other enemies that he had a fight with until now. They are very fast to attack and can wrap themselves around people, and if they bite, a player will get poisoned.
Ye Yan dodges the snake attacks but had a very difficult time trying to attack because they were very fast to evade him too, and even faster when they tried to hit him back. He could only battle one at a time or he would just be poisoned to death, even before killing one. Now he understood that at level 5 the players can get a class, but the monsters got an upgrade as well. If he didn't have such a high defense, it wouldn't be possible for him to do this quest alone.