6 hours?
Fang Yue and Niu Niu both got twelve hours, which was twice as much as them!
Aggrieved, Shi Wuliao wanted to reason with Lin Ling but was afraid that he might make the man mad and lose the only benefit he already had.
‘Am I being exploited because I’m not part of the village patrol? Damn it!’
Shi Wuliao suppressed his anger. If he could live for six more hours, six more hours it was. The party might run into a Wicked during the patrol, and he might get an extra reward for reporting it.
Right before the party of six wanted to leave for the mission, Fang Yue suddenly thought of something.
“Oh, right, Captain Lin, can you give me a saber?”
“Saber? Did Chen Mu teach you his saber techniques?” Lin Ling asked in surprise.
“Yeah, a little.”
“A little? You mean you haven’t mastered it? Never mind. I’m a generous man.”
Lin Ling went inside for a while and came out with a saber. He then tossed it on the ground for Fang Yue. “Here. Your saber.”
Fang Yue picked up the saber beside his feet. The saber was a little rusty. Its style seemed to resemble a Yan Ling saber[1].
The blade was straight with a slight curve at the tip. The back of the blade also had an edge, but the whole saber was rusty. It seemed like no one had used it for a long time.
Fang Yue spurned the saber.
“Captain Lin, can I get another one?”
“Another one?” Lin Ling looked at him with a strange expression. “You’d better not regret what you just said. Don’t say I didn’t tell you, but this sword is actually a well-known blade. It was used by Chen Mu back in the day, but he swapped it out after he achieved a new martial arts state. Many people sought after it but didn’t get the chance to even look at it.”
Fang Yue was surprised and delighted to find out about the backstory of the saber. He quickly kept the saber away.
“I’m just joking. I’m taking this saber! No one can stop me! Not even God!”
Lin Ling was speechless.
Right before Fang Yue walked away with the saber…
“Hold on!”
Lin Ling held him back. He grinned as he rubbed his chin. “I heard that you refugees call yourselves players and that everyone’s life is hanging on a thread. You only have 24 hours left to live, right? If I don’t give you a mission and stop you right here, does it mean that you will die for sure?”
Death might be certain for the others but not Fang Yue.
He still had eight days left in his Lifespan. Compared to other players, he could take it slowly although the consumption of Lifespan during his cultivation was huge.
Lin Ling did not know what Fang Yue was thinking about. He grinned in delight and said, “Don’t show me that look. I’m just trying to remind you that I helped you today, so you are in my debt. Is that clear?”
Fang Yue rolled his eyes in his heart. ‘Are you a child? Why must I be in your debt? Why do I even bother knowing why he asked me that?’
However, on the outside, Fang Yue looked revered and respectful. “I am in your debt, Captain Lin.”
“Mm-hmm. Good. Go now.”
“Yes, sir.”
Fang Yue left, and the other five players followed him.
After the group left the village guard office, Shi Wuliao and the others stared at the sword in Fan Yue’s hand.
“Brother Night, are you selling the sword?”
“Brother Night, I know at first glance that this is something valuable! Can I touch it?”
“Brother Night! A saber is a fearsome weapon. It doesn’t fit your character. I think my sword suits your image better. Why don’t we swap?”
Fang Yue was speechless. He thought, ‘Are you guys idiots?’
“No, I’m not selling it. Get off me!”
He gave the others the cold shoulder and then looked at the rusty sword in his hand in delight.
[Name: Rusty Sword]
[Level: Low-tier Common-level]
[Limits: None]
[Sharpness: 1 (Rusty)]
[Endurance: 2/3 (Needs Repair)]
[Description: A rusty sword]
[Remark: No way! Are you planning to cut someone with this saber? The welcome party is already waiting for you at the village entrance, and the feast is ready. Please, this way, Mr. Dead-meat-for-sure!”
‘Wait…This doesn’t seem right. It’s a little different from my expectation…’ Fang Yue was a little confused as he stared at the [Rusty] and [Needs Repair] statuses.
[Rusty: The saber is rusty. Sharpness decreased.]
[Needs Repair: It lacks maintenance. Maximum Endurance decreased.]
‘It’s a…lousy saber!’
Fang Yue was certain that this saber was garbage. Lin Ling had simply tricked him into believing that the saber was special.
It seemed like not all weapons from a martial artist were good. It was possible that this saber was discarded because it was ruined in a battle or some other similar reason.
He grazed the saber’s blade. Judging from the texture of the ice-cold steel, Fang Yue could tell that the saber used to be valuable, but it could not escape its rusty fate.
If he could get a blacksmith to repair it, he might be able to put the saber to good use. However, repairing a weapon was costly.
Fang Yue glanced at the 50 maces in his pocket and felt discouraged.
In this world where Wickeds roamed, weapons and gears were precious, thus repair and maintenance would surely be expensive.
The others noticed Fang Yue keeping quiet. They knew it was hopeless for them to get the weapon, so they changed tactics.
“Brother Night, this saber looks sharp! It’s only fit for a hero like you! How awesome!”
“Brother Night, please protect us for the night!”
Niu Niu was the only one with slight integrity. “Brother Night, how high is your Control now? I’ve trained under a coach and was able to boost my Control from 3 to 3.7. I will be a formidable force in the party tonight. I won’t drag you down!”
Fang Yue thought, ‘Me? I only have 1 Control and am severely injured apart from suffering from qi deviation. I should actually be protected instead of the protector tonight!’
He did not reply verbally. Instead, he followed the charted route and led the group forward.
He could only walk so fast because of his injuries, but the others assumed that he was trying to build an image and act like a pro.
A few steps later, Fang Yue’s body suddenly quivered. His slow steps suddenly got faster and stronger.
He was only a few steps ahead of the others, but after the little shudder, he was able to walk faster and he soon widened the distance between him and the group with ease.
The others did not notice the unusual change in Fang Yue, except for Niu Niu.
Niu Niu was slightly surprised. He had a feeling that something had changed within Fang Yue for a moment there, something that he could not put into words.
He might not have known what caused it, but he looked up into the sky and noticed that it was already dark.
In the end, he cleared his mind and followed Fang Yue quietly.
As the sun went down and night arrived, something did change Fang Yue’s body.
The moment of change happened because the sun had completely set over the horizon. When the last bit of light disappeared, Fang Yue got a notification from the system.
[Night has arrived. The talent [Night Breathing] is in effect.]
His body shook for a moment and a refreshing coolness gushed up into his head and then spread to his limbs. He felt amazing.
[Congratulations on recovering from Severely Injured status!]
‘It’s back! I can feel it! My power is back! I knew it! I knew I could take back what I lost. I knew my stats would come back. Not even the sun can stop it!’
He opened his character window.
[Name: NightDawn]
[State: Third-rate Postcelestial]
[Status: Messed up meridians (Slightly), Normal]
[HP: 200/200]
[Internal Energy: 25/25]
[Control: 32 (+20)]
[Block: 32 (+20)]
[Talent: Night Breathing (high-tier Human-level)]
[Martial Arts: Insight Vision (low-tier Human-level), Starfire Saber Technique 0 Grade (Third-rate Postcelestial), Starfire Cultivation Method 0 Grade (Third-rate Postcelestial)]
[Lifespan: 8 days 16 hours]
‘I am back!’
Fang Yue could not help but grin delightedly. However, his smile froze moments after he realized something.
[1] Yan Ling saber – Yan Ling Dao is one of the more recognisable Chinese sabres of the Ming Dynasty. The blade of Yan Ling Dao is mostly straight with a slight curve near the tip. Yan Ling Dao has a knife point or trailing point blade, which resembles a Ling Mao (翎毛), the feather at the tip of a bird’s wing (i.e. a pointer feather/primary remex). Yan Ling Dao is commonly known as “yanmaodao” in the West (Not that they are wrong, but this does deviate from the definition agreed upon by Chinese collectors. On top of that, Yan Ling Dao is a historical term while Yan Mao Dao isn’t)