On the way to the fire chamber, Lu Bei was over the moon, and he couldn't keep the corners of his mouth from turning up.
When you are happy, your spirit is high, and you feel cheerful about everything and everyone you meet.
The sky seemed bluer, he saw himself as more handsome, and even the philosophical atmosphere of the training field seemed more attractive.
Being able to take on tasks was significant for Lu Bei as it directly influenced his future life strategy, whether to get stronger on his own or by clinging to a wealthy woman.
Of course, he could continue to practice alchemy, upgrade his experience, acquire skill points, wait until his Alchemist level rose, then be promoted to a high-level Alchemist, grand-master Alchemist, and make more advanced elixirs to gain more experience.
But doing tasks was the fastest way to gain experience.
As a novice, Lu Bei already had a main profession, a secondary profession, a combat method, abilities, and numerous other skills that consumed points like a bottomless pit, one could imagine if he relied solely on alchemy experience to fill the gaps, it would be like trying to put out a cartload of burning hay with a cup of water. It was a long and winding road that had no end in sight.
Tasks were the highway to success.
At this moment, Lu Bei was walking down the right path. How could he not be ecstatic?
As expected, it was a great choice to come to a bustling county that would be the future Novice Village for players!
No wonder the general asked me to keep an eye on him and not let him run around. This guy doesn't seem very clever.
Lu Bei's silly laughter while walking was caught by the bodyguards. They figured he must not be very bright. After arriving at the fire chamber, Lu Bei explained his situation to a big bearded Blacksmith.
The bearded Blacksmith was tall and strong, his beard was curly, his torso was bare, and he had multiple scars speckled over his muscles.
He was the blacksmith in charge of repairing damaged armor and weapons in the army. He had four apprentices and belonged to the logistics department. He was very polite to the bodyguards.
When he heard that Lu Bei was We Mao's cousin, he beat his chest and assured them that there would be no problems. In a short while, the soft and delicate cousin of the general would be staying quietly in his room.
This scene was familiar to him, Lin Bohai had said the same thing optimistically.
The difference was, Lin Bohai accepted bribes while We Mao had none of that in his army.
For the second time, Lu Bei got to relive his gaming moments, he ignored the NPC big bearded Blacksmith and found a book on Basic Blacksmithing Skill within the room.
Experience↓
Skills↑
New secondary profession get.
Blacksmith Lv4 (10/8000)
Maintaining the experience reserve at over two hundred thousand, Lu Bei rubbed his hands, picked up the white iron hammer at his foot, and started banging on the rough mold of the knife.
Hundred Refinement Knife, as the name suggested, needed to be hammered at least a hundred times.
That's how Lu Bei saw it. With the bonus from the blacksmith profession, he quickly got into the zone.
His proficient posture and real-time operation made the big bearded Blacksmith and bodyguards exchange glances. They seemed to have misunderstood something - the general's pretty boy cousin wasn't just good for nothing, at least he could make a living by blacksmithing.
Ding!
Lu Bei put down the hammer, cooled the knife, fixed the handle and hand guard, and lastly, sheathed the knife. He handed it over to the bodyguard.
"???"
The bodyguard looked at the steel knife in front of him, blinked and shook his head: "No need, you misunderstand, I was just saying. I wasn't planning on wanting a second knife."
"I know, just take it first."
"... "
At Lu Bei's insistence, the bodyguard took the knife, unsheathed it with a clang, saw the chilly, shining blade and couldn't help but nod.
"Good knife!"
It was excellent quality and could perfectly replace his knife from the previous year.
Suddenly, he was empty-handed.
"Since you don't want the second one, then I'll keep it."
"I didn't...."
Once he received the task completion notification, Lu Bei took the Hundred Refinement Knife back, turned around gracefully and left, leaving the bodyguard confused.
No wonder the general asked me to keep an eye on him and not let him run around. This guy could easily get beat up if left to his own devices.
As for Lu Bei, he put the first steel knife he forged into the Universe Bag, opened the information prompt, and started reviewing it with a grin.
[You have completed a forging, according to the grade and quality of the product, you have gained 500 experience points. For your first real forging, you get an additional 2000 experience points]
[[Forge a Hundred Refinement Knife]has been completed, gain 500 experience]
The 500 experience points were insignificant. The cost-effectiveness of forging a Hundred Refinement Knife was less than Lu Bei making five Elixir Furnaces at the same time to gain experience. But it was undoubtedly a great start and had much more meaning than the over two hundred thousand experience points he grinded in the elixir workshop.
"It's worth celebrating, having a drink isn't too much."
Lu Bei left the fire room the same way he had entered, glanced at the personal guard beside him, "Brother, where's the wine cellar? No, where does the old military doctor live? Please lead me there to get a jar, and when it's time to settle the bill, write it under...my cousin We Mao's name."
So you never intended to pay, did you!
The personal guard sneered, shaking his head, "Drinking is prohibited in the camp, these are the rules set by General We. Anyone who disobeys will be caned thirty times and docked half a month's pay."
"Rules mustn't be broken. I, as We's little cousin, can't inconvenience him."
Lu Bei nodded earnestly and then changed his tone, "In that case, lead me out, I'll treat you to a drink, that won't break the rules."
The personal guard didn't say a word, flatly shaking his head in refusal.
Afterward, he avoided routes with walls, directly leading Lu Bei across the drill ground, promptly discarding his idea of climbing the wall to escape.
Lu Bei was shocked, never expecting that a simple NPC soldier could think so quickly, not being naïve at all.
Lu Bei was in a really good mood and settled for his bad luck in a small private room, telling the personal guard to convey a message to We Mao that he missed the elixir workshop and demanded to be allowed to return to study.
The personal guard couldn't stand Lu Bei's incessant chattering, let someone else deliver the message, and stood his post. He was rooted at the entrance like a nail, not moving an inch.
Before nightfall, We Mao arrived and took Lu Bei away from the camp.
"Brother We, have you agreed to let me return to the elixir workshop tomorrow?" Lu Bei asked on the carriage.
"No."
"Then why did you suddenly take me away from the camp?"
"Official duties have ended, there will be rest tomorrow."
"Go for a drink?"
"Abstaining."
"Listen to some music?"
"Your elder sister doesn't allow it."
"..."
Lu Bei rolled his eyes, he couldn't comprehend how someone as lively as Zhu Yan had fallen for We Mao.
Net gain outweighs the loss, a perfect match?
How interesting, she could have picked any other man, wouldn't that be better than the stagnant We Mao?
After much thought, Lu Bei determined that Zhu Yan had chosen We Mao because of his honesty.
...
Outside the gate to the We Mansion, the carriage departed, and a servant opened the door to greet We Mao.
At that moment, a lavishly decorated carriage slowly came to a stop, a young man pushed the curtain aside, and greeted laughing, "General We, Mr. We, it's been a long time."
"You are... so it's Young Master Kui."
We Mao raised his hand in response: "Long time no see, almost didn't recognize you, Young Master Kui, please do not take offense."
The young man was named Zhu Kui, tall and big, looking absolutely magnificent. By his name, it could be inferred that he was another prince of the Zhu Family, who was far from the center of power.
"No offense taken, Mr. We, you are too busy with official duties. But if you still remember me, I'd be honored."
Zhu Kui jumped down from the carriage, returned the courtesy and nodded at Lu Bei, saying politely: "This brother, greetings."
"Just a formality, just a formality." Lu Bei laughed in response.
"Oh, right, Mr. We, is my sister at home?"
"She went home for the past few days, she's not here."
"Then I've really picked a bad time to arrive..."
Zhu Kui sighed at his bad luck, spoke candidly, "Some time ago, my family's trading company established a cooperation with Great Victory Pass's elixir and weapon workshops. I heard that my sister is in charge of the elixir workshop, so I thought of establishing a rapport and hoping she could look out for me in the future."
"She'll be back in half a month, you can come again then."
"It's easy to say, but I've brought some gifts, how can I take them back?"
Zhu Kui seemed troubled: "Yesterday I sent invitations, I'm hosting a banquet specifically for you. Mr. We you haven't received it?"
"No."
"..."
Both men fell silent, one was Zhu Kui, who was trying hard to build relationships and found We Mao's indifference hard to handle. The other was Lu Bei, feeling the warmth and cold of human relations, reminiscing about when he was a small employee, and no rich relative came knocking on his door.