Chapter 81: Preparing for a Fair Deal

“Yaaawn~” Chen Xiyi yawned while staring at the book in his hand. He felt like he had forgotten something.

“What was I supposed to do earlier?”

He thought back. He’d been lucky to meet a Feng Shui Master like Cheng Zhen and followed him back to the manor to read. But he had a nagging feeling there was something important he’d meant to do before that.

He’d just forgotten about it.

Chen Xiyi stretched lazily and glanced at his Game Map. His body instantly froze.

‘Shoot! Weren’t I supposed to be hunting for items with Historical Connotation? How did I end up reading books here?’

Looking at the blue dots on the map, he finally remembered.

After leaving the fox burial mound, his plan was to first find items with Historical Connotation, while also searching for systematic books related to Qi Refiners. He hadn’t found the items yet, but he had found books about Qi Refiners first.

By the time he snapped out of his intense focus, three days had already passed.

Cheng Zhen and his apprentice Cheng Lusheng had gone to Town Overseer Wang’s house in town to consult on Feng Shui two days ago and hadn’t returned since.

They did send a message back midway, along with plenty of rice, oil, flour, and other supplies.

The letter explained that the Feng Shui issues at the Wang household were significant, requiring a complete re-design and reconstruction. Cheng Zhen would need to stay on as an advisor overseeing the building work.

Reading between the lines, Chen Xiyi gathered that the Wang family was likely providing room and board for the master and apprentice during this time, and most meals probably included plentiful meat and wine.

“Being a Feng Shui Master requires knowing civil engineering too? That versatile?”

“Or has the competition gotten terrifyingly intense already?”

Chen Xiyi had sweated internally back then. It wasn’t like there was a large, cheap workforce to exploit in these chaotic times.

But that was Cheng Zhen’s problem, not his. Chen Xiyi was only interested in his books for now.

‘Never mind the spirits. I’m not in a hurry to awaken them. A chance like this to deeply study the Qi Refiner system doesn’t come often.’

Those items with Historical Connotation were still out there; they wouldn’t disappear. This opportunity, however, was pure luck. Besides, he only had five Silver Dollars on him. Leaving now would make coming back later rather awkward.

Make the best of where you are.

The potential spirits were tempting, but the journey…

‘Wait, why is a blue dot coming towards me?’

Chen Xiyi stared at his map. A blue dot, accompanied by five white dots, was definitely heading his way.

That blue dot originated from the exact location of the town where he’d met Cheng Zhen.

He’d chosen that town deliberately before, not because he foresaw meeting Cheng Zhen, but because he knew an item with Historical Connotation was located there.

Going to the tavern wasn’t an attempt to show off; he needed to gather information about this world and ‘acquire’ that item.

Meeting Cheng Zhen, chatting with him, and then getting absorbed in reading had pushed all that completely out of his mind.

If he hadn’t just remembered, he probably wouldn’t have thought about it again until he finished the books.

[Robert Litt, Nobleman]

[George Raphael, Bodyguard]

[Ralph Owen, Bodyguard]

[Eugene Rodney, Bodyguard]

[Lv San, Coachman]

Chen Xiyi focused on the five figures on the map: a local guide/coachman, a foreign nobleman, and his three bodyguards.

Analyzing their path on the map, it was clear they were headed straight for Cheng Zhen’s manor.

Did they not know Cheng Zhen was currently at Town Overseer Wang’s place?

Or did they know and were deliberately coming while he was away?

Chen Xiyi couldn’t know their intentions; the Game Map had limitations. It showed locations, not thoughts.

One thing was certain: they definitely weren’t looking for him. He was a stranger who’d just arrived in town and knew nobody.

‘More importantly… they’re carrying an item with Historical Connotation! Maybe they’re here to collect treasures?’

An item with Historical Connotation meant either a very prestigious antique or perhaps a Ritual Implement used by some ancient Qi Refiner who’d undergone countless Soul Possessions and Revivals.

In the previous world, such things might have been useless curios. But here, a verifiable magical system existed.

Chen Xiyi suspected a Ritual Implement was more likely; a mere prestigious antique probably wouldn’t have sufficient intact Spirituality to register as a blue dot on his map.

‘So… murder and robbery? Or a peaceful transaction?’

Chen Xiyi narrowed his eyes, weighing the options. The first was a zero-investment approach but left potential loose ends. The saying “murder will out” held truth, making robbery risky.

The second option avoided that risk entirely, but he faced one problem: he had no money…

‘Wait… I do have money, though.’ Chen Xiyi suddenly remembered the vast quantities of gold and silver stashed deep within his Homestead. Those were solid, hard currencies.

But a new problem arose: while he might not intend to harm them, they might harbour ill intentions towards him.

It was the middle of nowhere. What if they got greedy and decided to kill him and take everything?

Wouldn’t he just be baiting them into a trap?

Given his skills, he could easily gun them all down.

Wouldn’t that still circle back to him committing murder and robbery?

“Ugh, are my thoughts getting shameless? Always scheming for free stuff!” Chen Xiyi reflected that since his days of trickery and cons in the Great Li Kingdom, his morals had loosened considerably. Add the dominating influence of his deep connection to that land (through the “Ancestral Land Bonds”), and every situation screamed “get it for free!”

‘This isn’t good. I’m a cultured, scholarly guy. I shouldn’t wallow in thoughts of violence, trickery, and robbery. None of those are deeds befitting a good person.’

‘Even as a Player, I belong to the peaceful, sandbox farming Players. Not the villainous Paradox Interactive sim Players or the destructive, genocidal ‘Fourth Cataclysm’ Players.’

Thus convincing himself, Chen Xiyi decisively put his TNT blocks away.

‘Whew… almost slipped from Lawful Good to Chaotic Evil.’

Finishing this self-admonishment, Chen Xiyi grabbed his Alloy Firearm and left the manor. Tracking the approaching group’s projected path on the map, he plunged into a dense patch of roadside grass, ready to observe.

He’d see what the group would do: either sneak into the manor seeing it empty, or leave since no one was home.

For the first scenario, Chen Xiyi – with sharpshooting recognition bestowed by his Homestead System – could confidently pick them off one by one.

As for the latter… he’d figure something out later. As a peace-loving Player, he preferred a fair transaction with them.

Yes. A fair transaction.