# Chapter 128: Side Story
He had played many kinds of games before, and the better the equipment quality, the cooler the names tended to be. This was the first time he'd seen a name so... plain and unique.
【World: Universal Celebration! Player Qi An has received a betrothal gift from the world.
World: Universal Celebration! Player Qi An has received a betrothal gift from the world.
...】
In almost an instant, the world chat channel was flooded with these messages. Whenever top-quality equipment or elixirs appeared, the chat channel would announce it. But this announcement was太过特殊—far too special. Qi An had just stepped into the newbie village with Mu Feng when he heard nearby players murmuring.
"Why is this notification repeating so many times? Normally, no matter what it is, they only announce it three times. Is there something special about today's announcement......"
It was as if they were afraid people wouldn't notice, needing to repeat it multiple times so everyone would be sure. And... they had actually used the phrase "Universal Celebration."
He had played this game for so long, encountered countless world announcements, but had never seen anything like today's. Everyone knew that system announcements from the world were strictly business—there was never any emotional language included. Usually, even a simple "congratulations" was absent. But today...
Just as he was thinking this, the young man's expression suddenly changed as he stared toward the distance in disbelief.
There, across those withered fields, roots were sprouting, shoots were growing, and an endless sea of flowers was blooming before his eyes in mere moments.
Countless blossoms swayed gracefully—a truly magnificent sight. But... this flower had never bloomed since the game launched!
As everyone knew, according to the game's lore, this flower field had been cursed by its owner, a woman wounded by love, forever stripped of its ability to flourish. But today, it had inexplicably bloomed.
"We've arrived at such a perfect time. We entered this newbie village just as the flower sea was about to bloom. Watching countless flowers burst into bloom before your eyes all at once—it's truly breathtaking." Mu Feng sighed softly.
He turned his head and found the young man beside him was also gazing at the flower sea. Mu Feng saw the boy suddenly... smile lightly.
The boy was still just as thin, still just as frail as before, yet Mu Feng suddenly felt an inexplicable sensation. Although the young man often wore a shallow smile, it was only at this moment that his smile seemed to be... genuinely heartfelt.
Beautiful... breathtakingly so.
Everything Mu Feng was about to say caught in his throat. It wasn't until Qi An's dark eyes turned toward him that he snapped back to reality. "...According to the guide, we should first go to Old Lady Zhang at the village entrance to pick up a random quest. This will be your first quest in the game—only by completing it can you truly begin your adventure."
As he spoke, Mu Feng walked ahead to lead the way. It seemed he already knew how to find Old Lady Zhang.
"This is a quest that really tests your luck. It could be very easy, or it could be extremely difficult." Mu Feng continued, "We need to go ask Old Lady Zhang if there's anything she needs help with. Whatever she asks us to do becomes our quest. Once we complete it, to show her gratitude, she'll refer us to the village chief, and from there we can officially start the other quests."
Old Lady Zhang's location wasn't far. After only a short walk, Mu Feng stopped. He glanced at Qi An, then stepped forward first, calling out loudly to the old woman who appeared to be cooking.
The scent of food hung thick in the air. The realism was so high, and after walking for so long, Mu Feng was actually getting hungry. The aroma made him swallow involuntarily.
"Help?" A quavering voice responded. The old woman cooking turned her head out through the window. She seemed to consider for a moment, then spoke, "Hunter Li at the lake is about to go hunting in the mountains. Could you follow him into the mountains and try to catch some game? If you manage to catch any, go to the market and trade with Butcher Wang for some pork."
Mu Feng frowned slightly, then nodded, gesturing for Qi An to ask the next question.
"Old Lady Zhang, is there anything else you need help with?" Qi An spoke softly.
"Well... I don't think there's much else needed." Very different from how she'd faced Mu Feng, Old Lady Zhang seemed to think for a moment before giving a kind smile, "Could you chat with me for a while?"
"...Ah, alright." Qi An nodded.
"Good, please sit down. You must be from out of town, right? You must have traveled a long way to reach our village. Sit down and rest first—we can talk later." Old Lady Zhang pointed toward the stone table outside the door. Still smiling warmly, she walked over, picked up a cup, poured some boiling water into it, and placed it before Qi An. "Have some water first. I'll be done with the cooking soon."
With that, Old Lady Zhang walked back inside. But as she passed Mu Feng, her voice suddenly turned much colder. "Young man, hurry along. If you're late, Old Man Li might already have gone to the back mountain."
He looked at Qi An sitting on the bench, then at Old Lady Zhang continuing to cook. Mu Feng glanced down at his own clothes, confirming they were the same style as the young man's.
If Old Lady Zhang could tell Qi An was an outsider, why didn't she consider that he—who had walked in with the boy—was also from out of town?
Although he thought this, Mu Feng still left Old Lady Zhang's home. In this game, he was still just an ordinary person who hadn't yet begun cultivation. To avoid arousing the Main Brain's suspicion, he couldn't use any other methods right now. So, these quests were actually quite difficult for him.
By the time Mu Feng had finally finished hunting and traded with Butcher Wang for the pork, when he returned—
He saw Old Lady Zhang and the others had already started eating. "The others" of course included Qi An.
"You're back." Old Lady Zhang's originally gentle expression immediately cooled. "Is this the pork you traded for?"
"Yes." Swallowing again, Mu Feng handed over the goods.
"I'll go fry another dish. You two eat slowly." Old Lady Zhang took the meat. First, she spoke warmly to Qi An. Only then did she turn coldly to Mu Feng. "Thank you very much for helping me with this. Come eat when you're done."
Without waiting for Mu Feng's response, Old Lady Zhang went into the kitchen.
"Did she ask you anything?" The food was right there, but since Old Lady Zhang didn't seem to have any intention of getting him bowl and chopsticks first, Mu Feng could only stand僵硬地 in place, talking to Qi An.
"Just some very ordinary questions." Qi An replied softly.
Old Lady Zhang was fast at cooking. She soon brought out a plate of meat dishes. The ingredient seemed to be the pork Mu Feng had brought back. His eyes growing brighter and brighter, just as Mu Feng decided he was going to好好享受 his hard-earned meal, he saw Old Lady Zhang place the steaming dish in front of Qi An. "Eat up. You're so thin and frail—you really need to build up your strength."
Perhaps his gaze had been too obvious. After Old Lady Zhang finished speaking warmly to the young man, she finally turned her attention his way.
She seemed to frown slightly. Old Lady Zhang went back into the kitchen. When she appeared before Mu Feng again, she was holding a bowl of rice and a small dish of vegetables.
"Thank you very much for helping me with these things."
Although Old Lady Zhang said "thank you," Mu Feng could hear nothing but contempt and profound impatience.
He watched longingly at the food placed before him. Mu Feng scooped a mouthful of rice with his chopsticks and put it in his mouth. The moment the rice entered his mouth, Mu Feng's eyes blinked.
It was... cold.
He looked over at that table laden with steaming hot dishes, at Old Lady Zhang continuously picking up braised pork and placing it in Qi An's bowl, urging him to eat more. Then he looked at his own cold rice and the solitary small dish of vegetables beside him.
An aggrieved expression appeared in Mu Feng's eyes.
He hated quests that relied on luck!
It was much later, when Mu Feng looked back on this incident, that he realized he had been far too naive. He would encounter countless things like this in this world.