"So that's what happened." The fighter finished his report.
The caravan leader nodded.
"I haven't heard anything about this sudden visit, moreover, the whole cordoning of the Ironwoods. It's either highly classified information, one that even I can't get, or a ruse by someone up there." He pointed to the ceiling.
"Are you sure it's a ruse, Mr Abdul?" I asked.
"I haven't heard of any news about an immortal tomb near the Ironwoods. If there is one, we would've been the first ones to find it, since we are very familiar with that place."
"Then, what should we do, Sir?" The fighter asked.
The caravan leader stroked his beard, he appeared to be in deep thought. Not long after, he seemed to come to a decision.
"Let's just act normally, and don't go looking for trouble. Lin, the amulet is still with you, right?"
"Yes, Sir." The fighter took out an amulet from under his clothes. It flashed slightly, white in colour.
"Good. I'll try to contact that official for a dinner tonight, let's hope we could gather more information from them."
The conversation turned to a lull, and the air was tense. I don't like it one bit. It gave me a feeling that I could no longer enjoy this world freely, that something serious was brewing. Well, if you don't like it then change it, they said.
I clapped my hands once to gather their attention.
"Well, now with that out of the way, how about we go to that Flowing Waves, Lin?"
"Ahaha, with that official's arrival I forgot we still have the Flowing Waves to visit!" He scratched the back of his head.
"How about it, Mr Abdul? Since it's too early for dinner, we could get some snacks." I tempted.
The caravan leader clapped his stomach twice and rubbed it.
"Now that you think about it, I haven't eaten yet. Alright then, I will join your afternoon snack hunting."
We exited the inn and made our way to the small restaurant at the furthest corner of the area. It's small but full of people. Quaint, yet boisterous. When we arrived, there were no more seats available. But as soon as the waiter saw the caravan leader, he ran upstairs and went down with an invitation to use one of the highest-grade VIP room.
Money really does make the world go round. It even gave us an invitation straight to the VIP room. The room itself was lavishly decorated, and it was the only one with a window that allowed us to see the entirety of Jia City. Traders, fishermen, government workers, and the neighbourhood kids playing in the spiral roads outside, could be clearly seen in the reflection in the gentle cerulean waters down below. The snacks (and beverages) we ordered, tickled our senses of smell. I am positive the thing they were cooking was fries. Fried potato, baked with herbs.
While my senses were on overdrive from the vistas and the food being prepared, the gears in my head began to spin. Before we eat, let's think of this as an exercise or something, I will collate all the information I have right now. First, an official came faster than scheduled and brought us some news about an immortal tomb. Second, the tomb's location is near the Ironwoods. Third, I put down a dungeon in the forest, near the Ironwoods. Fourth, My D.I.K. didn't go off at the time. Finally, apart from the fighter's, I ain't got any PPs.
From these pieces of information we got, it was safe to say, the immortal tomb they were looking for was not my dungeon. Unless they have the capability to trick my D.I.K. and my system, I believe it will still be a while until my dungeon(s) was discovered.
'Hey, Gugol, can you give me the data of who, when, and which dungeon they entered, for each dungeon I have?'
[Host, I'm not Gugol. Please don't compare me to that small-time web crawler, it hurts my dignity as a system. Now with that out of the way, here's the data you wanted.]
] Dungeon #1
] ???? – 17th day 3rd month of Spring 1365
] ???? – 17th day 3rd month of Spring 1365
] ???? – 17th day 3rd month of Spring 1365
] Cang An – 17th day 3rd month of Spring 1365
]Dungeon #2
] Wu Lin – 17th day 3rd month of Spring 1365
'Bro, what the hell is that three question marks?! They were together with the sect leader's daughter.'
[Apparently, they got three rogue systems with them. Since they weren't connected to the "global" chat, I can't ask permission.]
'Can't you just look it up, regardless? Aren't you a knowledge system?!'
[Look here sir, this ain't a coffee shop where you just order stuff and then *bing* your order came. I'm doing this to survive, and three unknown, possibly hostile, systems, might just cut your and mine's life short.]
'Damn, what's up with this godforsaken world?! First, we got some superpowered pricks, though some of them are good folks, then you tell me there are people out there with a system, like you and me?'
[That's what I said, indeed.]
'Hell no, I need me some weapons. This Y.E.E.T. thing ain't gonna cut it. At least give me a giant robot, an orbital bombardment, and a particle cannon. There's no way I'm going out there without any protection.'
[I understand your point, but rules are rules, you need-]
'Permission level to unlock stuff like that, yeah I know. Okay, let's see this whole ordeal from a different perspective. What permission level do I need in order to unlock weapons?'
[Two. You need permission level 2 in order to get a license for weapon usage. The type of weapons you could use increases with permission level. For example, handling equipment capable of orbital bombardment needs permission level 5. The giant robot needs permission level 4. While the particle cannon needs permission level 3.]
'Alright then, I'll farm some points here and there.'
[Good luck, host! You need a total of 1.000 PP in order to advance to permission level 2.]
The snacks came just as I finished my conversation with the system. True to the smell I caught, it was a basket full of herb-baked fries, and it was glorious. The fries were accompanied by a creamy sauce, which they said was created from milk curd. Its sour taste reminded me of cheese back home.
We devoured the fries until there was nothing left. Right there and then, the Clock Tower's bell rang. Our leisurely time was coming to an end. The caravan leader went first, he needed time to invite the official for dinner, leaving me and the fighter behind in the VIP room.
"Should we back to the inn?" The fighter asked.
"You can go first, Lin. I still have some business around here."
He nodded and left first. Yes, the reason I am staying behind is to farm PPs. There was some stuff this shop could change or add. They will get more customers, and I could get my PPs. I asked the waiter to let me meet with the owner for business purposes and started my speech. It's mainly about sauces, deep frying stuff, and franchising. By the end of the discussion, I gained a sizeable amount of PPs, with a grand total of 250 PPs exactly. The reason for the high yield of PPs was the owner himself. As soon as I started spouting stuff, he called all free staff to hear my preaching.
I left the shop with a VIP card and a happy grin on my face. I am happy with my progress towards weapon ownership, the owner was happy, and the customers will be happy with the sizeable amount of choices available the next time they visited.
The discussion took quite a while, it was almost time for dinner when I arrived at the inn. When I opened the door to enter the inn, I bumped into the fighter.
"Brother Lin, I was just about to go out to fetch you."
"Has the official arrived yet?"
"You're the only one not present yet.
Shit, I took too much of my sweet time back at the Flowing Waves.
"I'm not late, am I?
"No, it was about to start, that's why Mr Abdul asked me to search for you."
"Good, let's go then."
The fighter nodded and led me to a room inside the inn, which the caravan owner had rented. The food will be delivered by the restaurant we snacked at since he liked it. As for how it would be delivered, instead of pre-made food, the restaurant brought the ingredients, the waiters, and the chef to the inn's kitchen. There, they will prepare a full-course meal for their client, the caravan leader.
As I was seated, the caravan leader announced my name and introduced me to everyone at the table.
"This man here is Sir Cho. He's a cultivator I have the pleasure of knowing. His words are full of wisdom, yet his stature humble."
"So he is the one you have been talking about, Mr Abdul. It is nice to meet you, Sir Cho. If I have known you were here, I wouldn't have behaved pompously. Please do excuse me for that. Everyone, please greet Sir Cho, nicely." The official greeted me and ushered his family into greeting me.
"Nice to meet you, Sir Cho." Both teenagers greeted me at the same time.
"It is an honour to be graced by your presence, Sir." The official's wife bowed gracefully.
Not used to being treated like such, I replied softly, still acting as a cultivator "Please don't put me on a pedestal. I am but a simple hermit from the mountains."
They were silenced. I looked at their faces, and can't help but noticed their shock. At least they were conscious of my gaze, that's why the official immediately replied back.
"Do pardon our discourtesy, Sir. This is the first time we see someone so strong that I can't fathom his strength, yet so humble." He smiled.
His words sounded clear and genuine, but I've seen enough in my past life that I knew the difference between a corpo smile and a genuine smile. His was not genuine. You could argue it was my bias speaking, but it was better safe than sorry. The way he smiled at me was as if he was smiling at a tool.
"Don't worry, don't worry. Rather than worrying about status, standing, and things like that, how about we eat? What do you think, Mr Abdul?"
"My thoughts exactly, Sir Cho. Please, let the feast, commence!"
The waiters loaned by the restaurant served the dishes, starting with the appetizer, spring rolls chock full of vegetables and large shrimp cuts, freshly made. During this time, the caravan leader started buttering up the official with small talks.
By the time the main course arrived, the official had put his guard down. The free-flowing alcohol helped greatly in that regard. It is an expensive alcohol, and the official whom I believed don't have much chance to taste such stuff, downed it with great relish. The alcohol itself came from the caravan leader's own personal collection, which he brewed in his travels.
Everything in this dinner was perfect down to the very last detail. Although it was planned under time constraints, the caravan leader's prowess in management and his experience, in general, helped greatly. What wasn't so great was instead the information gathered from the official himself.
There was trouble brewing in the capital. After the Old Emperor died, the throne was passed down to the Second Prince, the only heir left after the First Prince went missing years ago.
This Second Prince, the Young Emperor who ascended the throne, was now in grave danger after being poisoned. While all this happened, the Empress Dowager stayed silent in her palace, unmoving. The Imperial Preceptor was seen gathering forces down south, and just as this was happening, the General brought out an edict from the Young Emperor to look for a certain immortal tomb in various parts of the country. The problem was not the edict itself, but the officials who were sent to the frontier. The ones who were sent away were all proponents of the Young Emperor's faction.
"This country is doomed, for the first time in hundreds of years, chaos will spread to all parts of the realm." The official sighed, his age finally showed on his face.
Did I misjudge him? No, that can't be. There were lots and lots of his type back home, and they were given enough second chances. Still, what I thought doesn't really matter right now. Next to me, the fighter was stupefied after hearing the news.
"Lin, are you okay?" I whispered.
"Y-yeah, I'm fine. It's about what I was going to tell you back when the official came."
"I see, then I suppose you remember what I said back then, right?"
He nodded.
"I will tell you all about it later. Mr Abdul asked me to guide you somewhere first, he thought you might find it intriguing."