Chapter 219: The Hut In The Forest (1)

The Shinra Sect really was a bug-like existence. To ensure that the Shinra Sect with its inferior numbers possessed the ability to stand toe to toe with the Six Great Sects, the developers thought of every means to give them an edge. In fact, they’d even specially created a sect channel to facilitate an ‘ease of communication’.

Even though Nine Ballads had told them not to interfere, the allure of a weak Lead Disciple just ripe for the picking was still present. There were definitely some people who’d be lured into taking action.

There was no small number of people who tailed her in secret to the ferry terminal at Beiming Sea. In any case, they hadn’t spoken in the sect channel, so Nine Ballads didn’t know who they were either. The best case scenario was them swooping in and reaping the benefits when the two of them fought later on.

This was what was meant by pursuing a meagre gain whilst neglecting the surrounding dangers.

Shen Jingbin saw Quiet And Steadfast standing by the ferry terminal while she was still in the air.

There were many islands of various sizes in the Beiming Sea other than the island where the Lich Palace was situated. These islands either held precious beasts, mystical herbs, or unknown shops. Players could even encounter mysterious NPCs and receive hidden quests. With all these things on offer, the ferry terminal was still rather lively.

Since the entire game was hosted on a single server, players were aplenty and the maps were massive too, resulting in many people having heard of the Great God’s name countless times but never actually seeing him before.

While waiting for Shen Jingbin, countless fervent gazes were sent Quiet And Steadfast’s way as they ‘glanced’ at him. In the beginning, there weren’t that many people crowding around him, but some starry-eyed female player who was infatuated with him cried out his name, leading to the current situation.

Shen Jingbin easily spotted Quiet And Steadfast, who was surrounded by a mass of players, from her position up high. Interestingly, these players carefully maintained a distance from him, resulting in a no man’s land around him. Shen Jingbin, on the other hand, boldly landed by his side without a hint of embarrassment.

“I’m here,” She announced after jumping off Mascot’s back.

Mascot looked as if it wanted to curry favour with Quiet And Steadfast and it rubbed its head against his hand.

“Mm,” He said as he casually rubbed Mascot’s head. “Let’s go.”

The two of them left to look for the Sea Elder, in preparation to board the ferry that would take them to the small island surrounding the Lich Palace so that they could scout out the situation. The Sea Elder was the NPC guarding the ferries at the terminal. Each ferry could seat twenty-five players, and they’d only set off when they were full. These ferries would travel alongside the islands and stop at every one of them, giving players the chance to alight.

A ferry would typically be full in one or two minutes, but for some reason, no one boarded the ferry Shen Jingbin and Quiet And Steadfast were on for a long time. Including the helmsman, there were only three people on the ferry.

“What’s wrong?” Shen Jingbin asked.

“Maybe we look too imposing?” Offered Quiet And Steadfast.

Shen Jingbin rolled her eyes at him and stood up. She leaned the upper half of her body out past the ferry’s railing and shouted, “There are lots of empty seats over here. Does anyone want to hitch a ride?”

Silence suddenly descended upon the ferry terminal. A long while passed before a young girl weakly asked, “Can I ride with you?”

Shen Jingbin worked her facial muscles and did her best to force out a kind-hearted smile. “Sure.”

However, the response she received was the exaggerated sound of the girl taking in a deep breath and covering her face in defeat before she dejectedly made her way towards the ferry.

It’s alright. With the young girl taking the lead, many more people ought to follow suit in a bit.

Sure enough, a wave of people began fighting to board the ferry less than ten seconds after the girl got on. In the blink of an eye, the ferry’s spacious deck was packed full of people like sardines in a can.

Now with a sufficient number of people on board, the ferry set off.

The ferry rocked back and forth as it began its outward passage.

From the map, Shen Jingbin and Quiet And Steadfast’s destination looked to be the fourth island. Coincidentally, not a single person got off at the first three islands. Beneath the awning, all of the passengers were glued to the two of them, giving rise to an incomparably stifling atmosphere...

Ah, no. More accurately speaking, they were all glued to Quiet And Steadfast.

It took them a great deal of effort before they managed to get off the boat.

This island was called Sunshine Cleansing Island. It was a small island shrouded by forest yet had few spiritual herbs to offer. Instead, many spiritual beasts with extraordinary ornamental value could be found. The ones who were the most active here were spiritual beast merchants who made a living off peddling spiritual beasts.

Shen Jingbin and Quiet And Steadfast gradually walked into the depths of the forest. The spiritual beast merchants were mostly mid-range players. Hence, it was rare for them to delve deep into the forest. To avoid exposing themselves, the duo chose to start searching in the deepest region of the forest.

A person’s hearing would become exceptionally keen when they were surrounded by silence. The two of them already had sharper senses than your average person, so it didn’t take long for them long to notice something peculiar behind them.

The duo stopped and glanced at each other.

Did you sense that?

Yeah, someone’s following us.

Spiritual beast merchants?

No, they’re not that brave. It’s most likely members of the Shinra Sect.

What’re we going to do?

We’ll pretend that we don’t know they’re following us. Let’s head further in first and see what happens. I won’t make a move unless they take action first.

Shen Jingbin winked at Quiet And Steadfast when she received his message. She then raised her voice and said, “I’m so tired, let’s take a rest up ahead.”

Quiet And Steadfast knew she was misleading the enemy. Based on what they could hear, it sounded like there were two different groups of people stalking them that stopped whenever they did.

“Alright, we’ll take a look up ahead and rest when we find a suitable spot.”

Shen Jingbin nodded, and they slowly ventured deeper into the forest.

Nine Ballads and Reckless East Emperor saw them move once again, but the two of them remained rooted where they were. The ones hiding to the left behind them, however, immediately jumped out and chased after the duo.

“What a bunch of idiots,” Nine Ballads disdainfully snorted.

“Is it really alright for us to let them trail our targets?” Asked Reckless East Emperor.

“What’s wrong with it? I’ve already warned them not to come. This is my prey, yet they insist on throwing their lives away, so you can’t blame me for this... We’ll have a look at what that ugly monster and Quiet And Steadfast came here for a little later.”

“Alright.”