72 Tavern Quest

Zhan Little White and Li Third arrived at the tavern. Inside and out, players came and went in a steady stream, while only a few NPC farmers were buying wine and food to eat. Very few players were willing to spend copper coins on tavern fare that offered little practical benefit. Outside the tavern hung a wooden board listing the ingredients needed for all kinds of dishes.

Once inside, Zhan Little White immediately spotted a large sign mounted on the crude wall, covered with quests issued by various NPCs. Every NPC villager, player, and wandering NPC could post requests there: favors, pleas for help, with item rewards offered in return.

Carpenter [Villager]: Buying all kinds of wood for furniture and tools. Birch, rosewood, ebony, hemlock, pine, fir... High-grade timber welcomed; prices start at 10 copper coins.

Fat Auntie [Villager]: Useful stuff needed. Will anyone help me find some seeds, nutshells, and the like... 1 copper coin.

Girl with the Long Braid [Villager]: I really love shiny things. Glass, shells, smooth and gleaming stones... 1 copper coin.

Woodcutter Uncle [Villager]: Those damned gray wolves actually bit me in the butt when I was not looking... I heard that a gentleman never seeks revenge in too much haste. I want revenge too. Whoever kills a gray wolf for me and brings me a complete gray wolf pelt will get 10 copper coins.

Silver Serpent Slayer [Player]: Level 22 swordsmanship player here. Seeking a swordsmanship expert at level plus one to team up and hunt gray wolves. Loot split evenly.

Farmer Boy [NPC]: I'm really curious about wolf fangs. Would some kind elder brother help me find one? I have 3 copper coins here!

Jinling Tycoon [Player]: Going to Hualing Village in Longyou, a journey of about four miles. Recruiting one bodyguard to escort me along the way and prevent beast attacks. Requirements: level 23 or above, solid combat skills. 10 copper coins.

...

Zhan Little White read one entry after another. Just the quests posted by villagers and players numbered close to a hundred, varied and abundant. Most were minor tasks, the sort that only idle players would bother to notice.

Beside them was a special area with only a handful of quests, yet each was extraordinary and immediately caught Zhan Little White's interest. Many players had come precisely for the quests posted there, and they were standing around reading as well.

Wandering Old Man [NPC]: This old man needs a large quantity of rabbit pelts to make padded coats. Whoever can gather 100 complete rabbit pelts for me will have the chance to learn a basic life skill from me: Skinning. Listen well, I will only collect 100 pelts, so only the first person to bring me rabbit pelts will have the chance to learn the skill. The rest of you need not waste your efforts. Time limit: none. Note: after a player kills a rabbit, there is a very low chance of automatically obtaining rabbit pelt. However, with the Skinning skill, the chance of actively obtaining beast hide from a dead animal's corpse is much higher. The success rate depends on the skill level and the level of the beast.

This kind of quest is often called a vagabond quest. What you usually gain from it are exceedingly rare basic life skills: beast-life skills such as Skinning, Deboning, Tendon Stripping, Butchering, Capturing, Raising, Breeding, and Taming; agricultural life skills such as Seed Selection, Transplanting, Cultivation, and Pest Control; mining life skills such as Prospecting and Mineral Identification; and so on. Usually, only one person can obtain such a life skill at a time, which is somewhat different from the way martial schools teach skills on a large scale. To have more high-level NPCs post quests here, the village's inn, tavern, and post station would all need to be upgraded.

Zhan Little White could not help but smile wryly. This quest was rather demanding. How long would it take to collect 100 rabbit pelts? Even if one worked oneself to the bone, one might never gather them all. Unless someone paid to buy them from others, it would be difficult. He shook his head with a smile and looked at the next quest.

Wandering Ancient Qin Master [NPC]: This humble master has traveled over mountains and rivers, touring the world, and has passed through your honored village. Seeing this place in such flourishing and thriving condition fills me with great satisfaction. I plan to stay here for a few days and admire the wild landscapes of Xiliang, while also collecting several precious materials for making qins: paulownia wood, catalpa wood for the base, azure beads, and veined stone for the tuning pegs. For any one of these, I can teach the art of discerning tones. If someone can obtain phoenix paulownia wood, I am willing to impart everything I know and pass on all my qin-master techniques. I am staying temporarily in room 3 of the Little White Village inn. Anyone who finds the above items may come directly to me. Do not disturb me without reason. Time limit: seven days.

The art of discerning tones: a basic skill of qin masters. It is one of the methods qin masters use to judge the quality of a qin. In addition, it has military applications, allowing one to hear loud sounds within a range of about a mile. Can be upgraded.

After reading this quest, nearly every player swallowed hard in envy. It was too formidable. One could almost say it was the strongest quest that had appeared so far. Even searching through all the forum posts about player-discovered quests, it would be difficult to find one that could rival it. Because completing the phoenix paulownia wood quest would lead the qin master to teach an entire set of qin-master职业 skills, the only way for a player to obtain the full skill set of a profession. Ordinary NPCs would not normally do something like this.

Zhan Little White stared in astonishment, then blurted back over his shoulder, "What level is this qin master? Why would he issue such a difficult quest?"

Li Third hurriedly replied, "This is a level 36 ancient qin master quest. This master came from the imperial capital, Luoyang. I personally received him and arranged for him to stay at the inn. I had originally intended to keep him here, but he said he only wished to travel and admire the scenery, and did not want to remain in one place for long. So he posted this quest in the tavern and will leave after seven days. I rarely see someone of his stature; I would not dare slight him in the least."

Zhan Little White silently thought it strange but did not pursue the matter. Unless one was outrageously lucky, no one could possibly complete that quest.

Aside from those two quests, a third one made Zhan Little White indescribably pleased.

Wild Tea Farmer: I sell roasted tea year-round. Interested parties, please contact me. I live near Hualing Village in Longyou. Green tea: 10 copper coins per tael.

Zhan Little White hurriedly asked Li Third, "What is the deal with this tea farmer? Third, have you invited him to become a villager in our village?"

Li Third shook his head. "I tried to win him over many times, but he simply refuses to settle in our village. He only sells tea to the outside. He lives not far outside Hualing Village, and the village chief there claims to be protecting him. Any attempt to harm him or persuade him away would be considered a provocation to all the players of Hualing Village. I was afraid of causing trouble, so I did not press him to move to our village anymore. Besides, the tea farmer is still without village registration; he has not joined Hualing Village either. Many merchants can freely obtain tea from him."

"Oh."

Zhan Little White thought it over. If he could recruit the tea farmer, that would of course be best. If recruitment proved impossible, then simply buying tea from him would also be fine. In the future, if they were to build a teahouse, tea leaves would be exactly what they needed. After finishing the quests currently posted in the tavern, he left with Li Third and said as they walked, "I'll have Afey send people to inquire about this tea farmer first, as well as the situation in Hualing Village. We'll see how things stand before deciding on the specific course of action."

Li Third nodded repeatedly.

Just then, a player came to report that several envoys from Tiger-Leopard Village had arrived to request an audience with Village Chief Little White, claiming they had important matters to discuss.

According to the player's description, those envoys from Tiger-Leopard Village were haughty in manner and seemed to have hostile intentions.

Zhan Little White frowned slightly. Tiger-Leopard Village had been quiet for some time now. What were they sending people here for?

"Let them in."