Chapter 74: Defensive Invitation

Upon hearing Wang Daoyi's words, Xingqiu didn't ask further and called for Axu, instructing him to prepare some fruits and pastries.

Originally, there were some snacks in the carriage, but since none of them had eaten breakfast, they were already finished.

Axu moved quickly, or rather, Feiyun Commerce had made all the preparations for this trip since the second young master invited friends to join. In just a few minutes, plates of pastries were brought over from the back.

Meanwhile, Xiangling and Keqing also appeared within everyone's sight, and the two groups quickly met.

Handing over their horses to Axu, the two girls boarded the carriage.

"Keqing, you must not have had breakfast to come for pastries!"

As the host, Xingqiu politely greeted Keqing. He had dealt with Keqing many times before; both of them were scions of the Feiyun Chamber of Commerce and had known each other for a long time. Xingqiu had suffered a great blow when Keqing took office as the Jade Chamber Tianquan, although the impact came from his family, not himself.

It was from Keqing's appointment as the Jade Chamber Qixing that Xingqiu's father and older brother became stricter with him, significantly reducing his time for chivalry and righteousness.

However, these things did not affect the friendship between Xingqiu and Keqing. Perhaps it was because neither of them liked Ningguang too much.

"Thank you." Without politely declining, Keqing accepted the pastries offered by Xingqiu. She indeed hadn't had breakfast today and was feeling hungry!

As everyone enjoyed the pastries, the conversation gradually opened up.

"I came here to ask for your help!" After swallowing a piece of pastry and taking a sip of tea, Keqing stated the purpose of this trip.

Although she said "your help," her gaze was firmly locked onto Wang Daoyi.

Sensing something amiss between the two, Xingqiu tactlessly shifted his position, moving behind Chongyun. Chongyun, however, didn't notice anything and simply nodded, saying, "If you need help, just ask. We'll definitely assist!"

The young exorcist didn't think too much about it; he simply believed that helping others was a good thing.

Xiangling didn't react either. Keqing had told her before they came that she wanted to ask for Wang Daoyi's help.

"With so many people gathered today, do you still need extra help?" Wang Daoyi understood Keqing's intention. She wanted him to take action. But with such a powerful force assembled—nearly a thousand Qixing troops and thousands of adventurers, at least ten Vision holders among them—why did she still need his help? There must be something wrong.

Seeing Wang Daoyi not directly refusing, a faint smile appeared at the corner of Keqing's mouth, but it quickly vanished.

In response to Wang Daoi'sy question, her gaze turned serious as she explained the problem: "It's precisely because there are too many people that there's a problem. Two years ago, we mobilized a thousand Qixing troops with only 1,300 adventurers, and we easily dealt with the situation."

"Last year, we still had a thousand Qixing troops, but the number of adventurers increased to two thousand. With such a powerful force, several groups of treasure hoarders managed to break through our defenses and ransack several warehouses in Qingce Village!"

"And this year, do you know how many adventurers there are? A staggering 3,800. Among these people, how many are spies from the treasure hoarders? It's impossible to distinguish them all, so I need you and us to guard the core warehouse area of Qingce Village, to prevent it from being raided by the treasure hunter teams!"

The members of the treasure hoarders were not like the game's monsters; most of them were idle ordinary people. It was indeed difficult to identify all of them among the adventurers' association in a short time.

After listening to Keqing's words, Wang Daoyi pondered for a moment, then nodded, agreeing to Keqing's invitation. Qingce Village was where "he" grew up; morally and emotionally, he couldn't allow it to be plundered.

The other three also agreed to Keqing's invitation. For them, whether dealing with monsters or treasure hunter teams, it was all the same.

Usually, if they encountered treasure hunter teams, the most they would do was capture them and hand them over to the Qixing troops. But now, to deal with treasure hoarders trying to breach the Qianyan troops' defenses and enter Qingce Village, they had to use a heavy hand.

After negotiating the specific plan, the group began to eat and chat about lighter topics, such as the latest novels and Yunjin's new play. The initially solemn atmosphere became more relaxed.

"By the way, Daoyi, you grew up in Qingce Village. Are there any fun things there?"

As the conversation went on, it returned to Wang Daoyi.

"What's fun in Qingce Village?" Wang Daoyi tried to recall from the memories of the original owner but found nothing particularly special. Every day was the same routine of running around with childhood friends, occasionally listening to ghost stories from Old Man Gui, and the same mundane life every day.

Shaking his head, Wang Daoyi said, "There's nothing fun in Qingce Village. It's all fields except for fields. From childhood to adulthood, every day is exactly the same. Perhaps it's these ordinary days that made 'me' think about going on adventures!"

Wang Daoyi didn't know why the previous owner decided to go out and mingle with treasure hoarders, but this unchanging life must have had some influence.

"Well, I've had the same routine since I was a child. Every day, I'm forced to study and deal with Chamber of Commerce affairs. Even when I want to read some martial arts novels, I have to do it sneakily!"

Perhaps noticing Wang Daoyi's low spirits, Xingqiu also began to complain about being forced to study by his father and older brother when he was a child, which lightened the mood somewhat.

After Xingqiu's complaint, the others began to talk about their childhood stories. Although they did different things, unexpectedly, they were all about persevering through the same routine every day.

Xiangling had been learning cooking with Chef Mao since she was a child, and even now, she hadn't forgotten her culinary dreams for a single day.

Chongyun had been learning various sorcery techniques since he was a child. With his Pure Yang body, he was the hope of the family, never having a day of leisure, either studying sorcery or practicing martial arts.

Keqing was even more terrifying. As the youngest Qixing, she had been filled with various courses since childhood, from etiquette and conversation to poetry and swordsmanship, from political information to market transactions. Keqing's education from childhood was unimaginable for ordinary people throughout their lives.

It was precisely this absolute elite education that made Keqing the youngest of the Qixing.

After listening to everyone's stories, Wang Daoyi fell silent. These guys had achieved accomplishments that ordinary people could hardly reach at such a young age, not only because of their family background but also because of their perseverance and hard work.

But what made Wang Daoyi even more uncomfortable was that those children in Qingce Village probably didn't even have a direction that required perseverance and hard work. The most they could do in their lives was probably to go to Liyue Harbor and then return to Qingce Village, living a life without any change.

Perhaps I should give these children a chance to change their lives.

Making a secret decision, Wang Daoyi planned to visit Granny Ruoxin after arriving in Qingce Village.

(End of this chapter)