52 The Abandoned Village

Spring and Autumn Young Hero gathered his most elite group, instructing them to be ready to depart the next day.

That night, Zhan Xiaobai and Spring and Autumn Young Hero convened in the administrative courtyard to discuss where to go for leveling up and completing the bandit-clearing quest. Zhan Xiaobai’s requirements were straightforward: reach level 20 as quickly as possible and find and kill ten bandits.

Spring and Autumn Young Hero, the foremost leveling expert of Xiaobai Village, naturally knew the most about these matters. Using a small twig, he drew a rough map on the ground, with Xiaobai Village at the center, rivers as coordinates, and marked over a dozen player villages and medium-to-small leveling spots within a thirty-li radius.

“All around our little village, within three to four li, are small respawn points, ideal for players around level ten to level up. Six li southwest of the village lies an important leveling area—Gray Wolf Valley, where wolves respawn quickly, ranging from level ten to twenty. It’s a great spot, but the drawback is that players from several nearby villages like to level there, so it often gets chaotic when crowded.”

Zhan Xiaobai nodded, recognizing its suitability for leveling but not for the bandit-clearing quest. He asked, “Where’s the closest bandit group to our village?”

Spring and Autumn Young Hero continued drawing, past Gray Wolf Valley. “Heading west for about four or five li, there’s a player village called ‘Gray Sunshine Village.’ Beyond that lies a small hill, which, as I’ve heard, hosts a mountain stronghold. This isn’t a group of roaming horse bandits, but a Mountain King and his gang. Many players passing by have been killed. Even Gray Sunshine Village has suffered; their village chief was forced to abandon the place.” He sighed, “Unfortunately, no one from Xiaobai Village has ventured to that stronghold, so I don’t know its true strength.”

Aside from this stronghold, Spring and Autumn Young Hero had heard of two others even further away, but the journey was unmentionably long. As for other regions in Longyou, they weren’t worth considering.

Zhan Xiaobai pondered for a while and, out of caution, suggested, “Let’s check the forum for any information about this stronghold.”

Logging in, he easily found a flood of posts about bandits, but most were just rants. A few analyzed the stronghold’s strength through hints, all concluding: steer clear.

Upon searching, Zhan Xiaobai found several posts from Gray Sunshine Village players: “Damn, these bandits are lunatics.” “Misfortune never comes alone; horse bandits just left, now a bunch of thieves have arrived. Alas, what a bitter fate!” All were scattered complaints, offering little useful information.

Helpless.

By midnight, the two finally settled on their goal: tomorrow, they would head straight for the stronghold near Gray Sunshine Village and see if they could succeed. In the span of a single night, the wounded veteran managed to forge several iron weapons, handing them to Zhan Xiaobai.

The next morning, the group set out at dawn: Zhan Xiaobai, Wutong, Spring and Autumn Young Hero, Bloodthirst One, and twenty exceptionally skilled player experts.

On the road, Spring and Autumn Young Hero introduced them to Zhan Xiaobai. These twenty were the top-ranking citizens of Xiaobai Village, known for their strength and honor. Often leveling up together, they had formed four high-level player squads, coordinating seamlessly.

Though just twenty, each ranked within the top five hundred on the Xiliang player leaderboard, proof of their formidable prowess. Now, they were equipped with the best medicines and weapons.

They had been briefed beforehand: this mission was to accompany Chief Xiaobai for an important quest. They greeted him with joviality:

“Light and Shadow Team, reporting to Chief Xiaobai!”

“Blood Wolf Team, at your service, Chief Xiaobai!”

“Snow Leopard Assault Squad, greetings, Chief Xiaobai!”

“Shadow Team, reporting in, Chief Xiaobai!”

“Forget about bandits; even a whole stronghold won’t make us flinch.”

Zhan Xiaobai, usually busy with village affairs and rarely interacting with these relentless levelers, had heard their names. Such capable and bold players were always the focus of Xiaobai Village’s recruitment. He laughed heartily, “Excellent! Today, I’ll be relying on all of you, brothers!”

“Chief Xiaobai, you flatter us. If the village hadn’t supplied us with free healing potions, freeing us from worry, we couldn’t have climbed the rankings so easily. Soldiers are raised for a thousand days, used in a single moment!”

The group walked and talked, full of cheerful banter, never putting the quest’s difficulty in their minds. The ten-plus li journey passed swiftly, and they crossed the bustling Gray Wolf Valley, arriving at Gray Sunshine Village, the closest settlement to the stronghold.

The story of Gray Sunshine Village was well-known among local players.

It must be said that the village chief—Gray Sunshine—was quite unfortunate. He had gotten hold of a small village blueprint by chance while questing, and in his excitement, failed to check if the area was safe (lacking manpower, even if he wanted to, he couldn’t). He hurried to build, focusing on development. Who could have guessed that less than two li from the village, a bandit stronghold was hidden in the hills.

During the first month, Gray Sunshine Village was spared from bandit attacks. Only at month’s end, while gathering grain, did the bandits take notice. The players repelled a small bandit attack, even gaining a few copper coins.

But Gray Sunshine, blinded by greed, organized players to hunt the bandits lingering at the foot of the mountain, hoping for more copper coins. This poked the hornet’s nest, drawing out the stronghold’s main force for vengeance. Gray Sunshine Village was soon torn apart, its players suffering heavy losses and forced to abandon the place.

When Zhan Xiaobai and his group arrived, they found a deserted village. The long fence outside was battered and broken. Inside, collapsed huts, workshops, fields, ditches, and market stalls could be glimpsed—some still intact, including the administrative courtyard. The orderly layout revealed that Gray Sunshine Village had once been a well-developed settlement.

Zhan Xiaobai sighed in regret. Not a single leveling player was seen nearby, though he didn’t know why.

Suddenly, he noticed movement within the village, feeling puzzled. He sent a squad in to investigate.