CH 17

C17 – I Had an Appointment

Liu Yuan and the guards stared at each other for a few seconds, both in confusion.

He had no idea why these guards were looking at him sympathetically.

“Ahem.”

In the end, Liu Yuan broke the silence, “Is your master Xie Qian in today? Don’t tell me he’s out again!”

‘Hell no! He really is here to seek revenge!’ the guards thought.

They immediately kept their guard up. Not only did this man call their master by his name in such a disrespectful manner, but he also used the word “again.” Apparently he had been here before.

Moreover, there was a hidden fierce look in his eyes, revealing a murderous aura. Even though he appeared to be an ordinary scholar on first sight, the guards believed that he must be a dangerous man.

“My master is, um…” the older and more experienced guard cleared his throat and answered amiably, “He’s at home today.”

What did he say?

This time Liu Yuan was stunned. This was different from the game story he remembered.

When the guard saw Liu Yuan frown as if he was very dissatisfied with his answer, he understood what was going on.

As expected, this must be some kind of catfishing, right?

If he had said that the old master was not home just now, the man would definitely attack him and break into the residence. Luckily, he had already seen through this trick, ha!

The guard felt quite good about himself for being so quick-witted.

On second thoughts, Liu Yuan found it understandable that the story was different — after all, he was in the game world now.

Since Xie Qian was home, he could pay him a visit.

“May I go in now?”

Liu Yuan walked up the stairs in front of the gate as he asked.

“Hey, hey!” The guards quickly stopped him. “No, you can’t!”

Liu Yuan asked with a friendly smile, “But why not?”

One of the guards scratched his cheek and stammered, “Well, um, not today. Now our master has visitors already…”

Liu Yuan questioned, “Aren’t we all the same then? So why are you keeping me out?”

The guard was again at a loss for words. He thought hard for a while and then said, “You see, our master is receiving some guests. What if they are in the middle of something? Say, what if they are discussing some important matters? It’s improper to let you in now.”

…

Liu Yuan saw the righteous and excited look on the guard’s face and found it kind of funny.

The guard seemed afraid that Liu Yuan would kill his way in.

He had never interacted with this courtyard guard before in the game, but it turned out that this character was actually quite cute and lively.

“Ahem… Well, what if I have made an appointment with your master first?”

Liu Yuan was good at fooling others.

He would never hesitate to fool these characters. The favorability points would not be affected anyway, so it was not a big deal. After all, he was an advanced player.

“You have an appointment? Well…”

The guard was stunned.

Liu Yuan continued,” Since I’ve made an appointment, I can’t see why I’m not allowed to meet your master today. “

The guards were confused.

They felt that something was amiss, but they couldn’t tell what it was. Most importantly…

Their master didn’t ask them to chase this man away.

“Alright. This way, please.”

The guards opened the gate unwillingly.

Liu Yuan was led into the residence, inside which there was a small lake, a stone bridge, fake mountains, tall trees and pavilions, all co-existing in harmony. It was indeed a very elegant garden.

He was amazed by how rich this Xie Qian actually was.

In the game, he had never entered this place; or rather, no players had.

Therefore, in the Novice Village, while other areas had long been explored by players…

This place had always remained a mystery.

Just to be clear, he was no thief or robber.

He was a player!

And he was here to collect resources for the future of this game story.

Following the guard, Liu Yuan passed by a lotus pond and arrived in front of a pavilion.

All the while he couldn’t help looking around and feeling envy on the inside.

He had always dreamt of living in a fancy house like this.

In fact, this garden was way more glamorous than his dream house.

All he wanted was just a small courtyard the size of this lotus pond, where he could grow some plants. It must be a nice retreat for him in summer.

“I suppose you are quite fond of this courtyard?”

A pleasant male voice sounded.

Liu Yuan was familiar with this voice.

Liu Yuan looked over and he could see the lotus pond on the other side through the pavilion.

There were long silk paintings hanging down from the rooftop of the pavilion, fluttering in the breeze.

Three people were sitting around the table in the center.

The one in the main seat was a thin, handsome man in his thirties, his black hair hanging loose.

He was wearing a white robe and a green cloak. Holding a brush in his hand, he seemed to be painting. The man was Xie Qian.

Elegant and scholarly, Xie Qian could indeed be seen as a gentleman.

On the table were some writing brushes, ink sticks, paper as well as a zither.

This Xie Qian had always been a mysterious man who drove so many players mad, and now he was right in front of Liu Yuan. It must be his lucky day!

Liu Yuan thought to himself as he looked up, and just as he had expected, there was a golden progress bar.

It meant that he could draw cards here.

Liu Yuan was excited. This was the moment he had been waiting for.

This room was full of Experience Scrolls for him to collect.

And he could take them all for free!

As for the two people opposite him, they must be Xie Qian’s guests.

An old man and a young girl.

The old man sat hunched, wearing a white robe. From the side, his arched back looked a bit terrifying.

His face was full of wrinkles, and his white hair was neatly tied up with a wooden hairpin. His neck, cheeks and even fingers were covered with rough, dark green veins.

He turned around and glanced at Liu Yuan. His long and narrow eyes were dark golden, just like those of a beast’s.

The young girl next to him sat quietly, with her fingers crossed on her knees. Her face was fair and pretty, and her eyes watery and deep. She was also wearing a white robe.

Liu Yuan took a deep breath. These two were no ordinary people.

He did not remember seeing them before, and there was no progress bar on top of the girl’s head.

More importantly, no players knew about this part of the story before.

That Xie Qian met these two people.

This might be some hidden plot about Xie Qian, or even a completely new plot that did not exist in the previous version of the game.

“Damn it, another butterfly effect… Forget it, I’m here to get the Experience Scrolls, so I’ll just take them and leave.”

Liu Yuan looked at the progress bar above Xie Qian’s head and felt pleased.

He composed himself and looked at the refreshing scene of lotus in the pond. He could imagine how beautiful this place would be in mid-summer. He nodded, “Yes, I quite like it.”

The silence was broken.

The old man also turned his gaze away.

The guard standing at the side said respectfully, “Master, he said he had an appointment with you earlier, so I brought him in.”

Xie Qian put down the brush in his hand and nodded with a smile, “Yes, he had… Shaoying, you may go back.”

So the guard’s name was Shaoying.