My lord, spare his life!

In a way, players are the most honest and trustworthy people in the world because they always complete the tasks they accept. Zhang Yang, pretending to be a player, naturally inherited these excellent qualities of honesty and trustworthiness. She delivered the task reward to Wang Qi as promised.

Wang Qi subconsciously raised his hand to take it.

"What is it?"

The item feels cool and smooth to the touch.

It wasn't the poison that was used to assassinate him?

Zhang Yang said, "Naturally, it's the human skin you want."

Wang Qi frowned and sneered, judging that Zhang Yang was deliberately trying to disgust him—how could he not know what the peeled-off human skin looked like? The human skin thrown by the "Mountain Ghost" was clearly not real human skin; it didn't even have a single human pore or fine hair.

He said maliciously, "I want human skin?"

The next sentence, in a low voice, was: "Isn't it being worn by you?"

The implication was that he wanted Zhang Yang to personally peel off the human skin and give it to him, rather than trying to fool him with a fake one. If Zhang Yang refused, he would overturn the table and become hostile.

"But I wore this one, didn't you complain that it was old?"

Wang Qi's rebuttal came out instinctively.

"When did I ever think it was old?"

It was clearly the "mountain spirit" who made the decision for him without his consent.

Zhang Yang: "Okay... fine then."

However, she couldn't remove the human skin in public for the same reason: she was worried about disrupting the stage Xiao Sui had set up. If someone with ulterior motives discovered that this skin could be easily removed and given to others, it would inevitably cause a bloodbath.

Wang Qi assumed she was just stalling for time and laughed mockingly.

But he didn't notice the sympathetic look Guan Si was giving him.

Guan Si did indeed sympathize with Wang Qi, and he could already foresee what would happen next. And things did indeed unfold as Guan Si had guessed. When Zhang Yang brought Wang Qi into the city, he found a place to stay at random, closed all the doors and windows, and made sure no one was watching. Only then did he peel off the human skin under Wang Qi's malicious gaze, and then throw it into Wang Qi's arms amidst his astonished eyes.

Wang Qi: "???"

He stared blankly down at the two human skins in his left and right hands.

Exactly the same!

Zhang Yang, who had sculpted the face of the aloof and otherworldly Mountain Spirit, revealed a face that was different from the Mountain Spirit's style, yet felt familiar to Wang Qi. He had seen this face not long ago. At that time, he had cut open the Mountain Spirit's face, and underneath was this face.

"you--"

His anger had barely begun when he saw Zhang Yang pull out a brand new human skin from his game backpack and put it on.

Standing in front of Wang Qi was the familiar "Mountain Spirit".

Wang Qi felt a lump in his throat, his eyes widening in disbelief. Zhang Yang smoothed his cheek, tidied himself up, and turned to look at him after hearing his words: "Didn't I already give it to you?"

Wang Qi, clutching two human skins, pointed at Zhang Yang and trembled.

The shame, anger, and resentment of being mocked surged forth like a tidal wave.

Zhang Yang lowered her head: "You don't want more, do you?"

That's two character skins already, equivalent to two mission rewards. Even if the Wild Man Naked Bro likes this face, he can't ask for a third one, right? Why would he make three identical character skins?

Wang Qi was so angry that he couldn't speak.

"Or are you going to buy out the character customization option?" Zhang Yang wondered to herself. Some players keep their character customization options to themselves and don't share them. She suspected that Wang Qi was one of those people. Although she could understand his feelings emotionally, she couldn't agree to it practically. "Not for now."

She showed off this face-pinching pose in Tianjiang County.

If we were to make a hasty change, and those wealthy imposters noticed something was amiss, wouldn't that be a hindrance to Xiuying's business?

Zhang Yang cannot agree now, but he can make a promise.

"How about this, we each compromise. You just have to bear with me using this face-pinching tool for now. Once we solve the water problem, I won't use it anymore, and it definitely won't affect you, okay?"

This is already the maximum concession Zhang Yang has made.

"You! Die! Of! You! Money!"

Wang Qi squeezed out these words from his back molars.

Without saying a word, they took action.

This time, however, he didn't use any weapons; he went straight for the punches, intending to beat Zhang Yang to a pulp. The two were relatively restrained, only destroying buildings along a small section of the street. Xiao Sui, holding a fan and a knife, apologized to her classmate, explaining that the street belonged to his family. Her classmate magnanimously replied, "Hahaha, it's nothing."

If a house collapses, just have someone rebuild it; it won't cost much.

"But is the Lady injured? That barbarian Wang Gongsun is notoriously fierce, domineering, and cruel, showing no mercy to women." Tong Yan had always regarded Wang Qi as a barbarian and looked down on him from the bottom of his heart.

He had heard that Wang Ba encouraged his sons to study, and all of them responded. However, Wang Qi piled all the books that had been sent to him in the courtyard, ordered his tutor to be held in charge and watch over them, and then he loosened his belt, urinated on the pile of books, and had them burned.

Once the news spread, Confucian scholars wrote countless articles criticizing Wang Qi, and some who came to reason with him even had their hands and feet broken by Wang Qi.

What I hate most are you scholars.

Wang Ba's subordinates were speechless upon hearing this.

My lord is so studious, skilled in both literature and martial arts. Even in his impoverished youth, he seized every opportunity to learn. How could he have given birth to such a reckless son? However, this child is exceptionally talented and has shown a strong aptitude for killing at a young age, so we cannot do anything about him.

Even his father, Wang Ba, could only watch helplessly as his son became illiterate, barely recognizing any characters, his education level limited to being able to write his own name. Wang Qi was not ashamed.

He also has a famous saying—

[Tsk, knowing how to read won't make your head harder or your neck thicker; the feel of them is pretty much the same.]

Zhang Yang was surprised by this person's attitude.

Didn't she used to call her a maid and order her around?

Why are you being so enthusiastic and caring towards her now?

Zhang Yang winked at Xiao Sui, but Xiao Sui just smiled and remained silent. Zhang Yang then checked the favorability ratings in her game friend list. She was shocked by what she found. When did Xiao Sui's favorability rating jump from single digits to over 60?

Looking at the system logs, I found the answer.

This person's way of increasing favorability is quite unique.

Xiao Sui thought Zhang Yang was lamenting the fickle nature of human relationships, and sighed softly, "That's just human nature. Whether it's being opportunistic or arrogant at first and obsequious later, it's all human nature. The world is cold and indifferent, and friendships are divided into noble and lowly. However, there will always be some gentlemen and refined scholars who seek 'to walk hand in hand with you, reciting poems and watching the white clouds.'"

Zhang Yang barely understood a fraction of it.

He nodded vaguely, "Oh."

Actually, she did have a slight liking for Xiao Sui, her classmate. Because being simply white or simply black doesn't really mean much. A complex personality makes the NPC's aura appear more three-dimensional and closer to the "person" described by the observation samples.

Wang Qi did indeed write a letter to the old man's adopted son.

"As for whether he will come or not, we don't know."

Wang Qi could never get the loading crew to do anything.

The term "packaging" was coined by "Mountain Spirit," and Wang Qi, not understanding it, asked what it meant. Zhang Yang generously explained: "Packaging" refers to someone who creates a persona by packaging themselves to gain attention and popularity. Wang Qi felt this was a revelation.

That's incredibly accurate!

Wang Qi slammed his fist on the table and stood up.

This word perfectly expressed his feelings.

That old man's adopted son is just a shill!

He was never a good person to begin with, yet he insisted on putting on a respectable act. His hypocritical demeanor made Wang Qi roll his eyes. To the point that Wang Qi felt a physical aversion to his face and wished he could tear the other man's head into pieces and feed it all to Jifeng.

Zhang Yang: "..."

Wang Qi was annoyed that she didn't answer: "You don't believe me?"

Zhang Yang said, "I just remembered something."

Does Wild Man Bro have the same persona as Easter Egg Bro?

Both were equally powerful, both had a large number of siblings, and both had killed their siblings. The difference was that Guan Si had already sent his biological father to the underworld, and he had killed off all of his remaining bloodline members, leaving only Guan Zong, while Wang Qi had killed two. They also both liked to keep pet star beasts, and both were not good at taking care of them. Zhang Da Gu and Zhang Da Miao were taken in by her one after the other.

Wang Qi: "What does this have to do with me?"

Zhang Yang: "It's irrelevant."

Guan Si, however, guessed what Zhang Yang was thinking.

When her gaze furtively shifted between him and Wang Qi, occasionally revealing a look of sudden realization, he guessed the gist of it.

but--

He's not like a piece of trash like Wang Qi.

He killed all his brothers and sisters, but did Wang Qi kill them all?

He killed the old man and his lover. Did Wang Qi kill him?

He is skilled in both literature and martial arts, and possesses both inner and outer cultivation. Does Wang Qi understand these things?

He led his Hundred Ghost Guards on a carefree journey. Has Wang Qi weaned himself off his leeches? The two thousand soldiers he brought are still relying on the old man to feed them. Once they leave Wang Ba, his troops will mutini.

to sum up--

Wang Qi is just a good-for-nothing.

Guan Si didn't even bother to give Wang Qi a second glance.

Out of boredom, he even chopped a bamboo stalk and made a bamboo flute. Wang Qi couldn't appreciate the noisy music, but he couldn't understand why Guan Si always followed Zhang Yang, almost inseparable from him.

"Is he your lover?"

"He wants to kill anyone who wants to become my lover."

Fire prevention, theft prevention, and prevention of childbirth.

Wang Qi: "..."

Even with the fastest cavalry, a letter would still take several days to travel back and forth. Zhang Yang had one question: "Why did you have to lure your father's adopted son here to threaten him? Couldn't you have stepped in yourself to act as a go-between and let me communicate with him?"

Even if Wang Ba doesn't value Wang Qi, he should at least listen to a few words, right?

How much trouble could it be if I just help with the introduction?

Wang Qi lay on the roof, stretching out his limbs, a blade of grass he had pulled from a crack in the tiles between his teeth: "Naturally, it's because the old man handed over the task of diverting the flood control to the loading and unloading department. It's no use you seeing the old man; you'll still have to see the loading and unloading department later."

He lay there looking up at the mountain spirit, which was bathed in sunlight and then emitted a faint golden halo. After watching for a while, he looked away.

"Tianyue is a place for country bumpkins; it's a waste of your talent."

"There's no place like home, and I won't allow you to slander my children." Zhang Yang glanced at him coldly, then tried to kick Wang Qi in the waist, but he dodged it by flipping over.

An interesting idea popped into Wang Qi's mind.

He sat up abruptly.

"Mountain Spirit, are you interested in Dongxian?"

Zhang Yang raised an eyebrow and asked, "What for?"

"How about I give you Dongham County?"

"Give it to me? What about your father?"

"You'll work with me to kill him. Dongxian County is much better than your rural place. It has people, land, and money." Wang Qi's opening remarks were bizarre and outrageous.

Zhang Yang stared speechlessly at the NPC in front of him, who was as absurd as a fake human, and seriously suspected that the game planner had included a lot of personal bias when writing Wang Qi's storyline. Although Wang Qi was very serious when he made the suggestion, Zhang Yang still didn't take his words to heart.

Wang Qi, this NPC, is mentally unstable.

She shook her head and refused: "No."

Wang Qi retorted, displeased, "Why not?"

His kind face just a moment ago turned from sunny to cloudy in an instant.

Zhang Yang had no doubt that if her answer didn't meet Wang Qi's expectations, he would suddenly erupt into murder; this process had been repeated many times in the past few days. She pondered carefully: "This doesn't align with my strategic objectives."

"What, what target?"

"Strategic objectives, the overall results within the strategic period."

According to the plan of Shu Yan, Yuan Yixiu, Ying, and others, Zhang Yang intended to use Tianyue as his overt power, while secretly using the various counties in the mountains as his base. This place was surrounded by two mountain ranges, with only two entrances and exits, making it easy to defend and even easier to block information from the outside world.

With proper defense, she can develop stealthily, secretly accumulating strength without being disturbed by the outside world. Now, she has already controlled the third trade route into the mountain counties, and it is not impossible for her to take advantage of their unpreparedness and conquer them in the future.

Once captured, they can connect with Tianyue County via the trade routes through the Dongfan Mountains. The enemy lacks intelligence; if they launch an attack on Tianyue County, they will face a formidable opponent, capable of both offense and defense. Zhang Yang can also feign weakness to gradually devour them.

First establish a foothold in the mountain prefectures, then attack Tianjiang or Dongxian.

What's the use of taking Dong Ham now?

The territories cannot be connected.

Taking it is pointless.

Thinking this to himself, he deliberately misled Wang Qi by saying, "If I want to expand my influence, it will naturally be towards Tianbian and Jianxing."

Wang Qi scoffed, "That's boring."

"To kill one's father and still need to borrow a knife, isn't that even more pointless?"

Wang Qi's face darkened instantly, and the meeting ended unhappily.

To be precise, it ended badly on his own, but Zhang Yang's mood remained unaffected. Xiao Sui, the top salesperson, was reliable, so Zhang Yang received another source of income, which would allow the Tianyue children to live more comfortably. Zhang Yang had already planned how to use it.

Just thinking about the smiling faces of Tianyue's children made Zhang Yang feel that even the boring and tedious homework in front of him seemed a little more pleasing.

She also made three contingency plans.

If negotiations with Dong-Ham fail, she will try her best to borrow rain from the heavens, artificially creating rain every few days. This requires a large stockpile of materials for artificial rainmaking. If artificial rain is still insufficient, she will have to find a way to buy water from those who have it.

It is not Tianjiang County, but the counties in the mountains.

However, we still need to figure out how to get the water from the lower level to the higher level.

Simple winches, tippers, and waterwheels are not enough, simply because the elevation difference between the two places is too great!

Zhang Yang: "You don't know the cost of firewood and rice until you're in charge of the household."

Two flowers bloom, one branch each.

Wang Ba's adopted son, who was in charge of loading cargo, received a letter from Wang Qi and was flattered. He repeatedly asked others to confirm, "Is it really for me?"

Wang Qi actually wrote a letter to himself?!

He unfolded the letter as he suspected it was a conspiracy.

At a glance, he recognized that it was indeed a letter written by Wang Qi himself. Apart from Wang Qi himself, no one in the world could imitate such crooked and ugly handwriting. The content of the letter was simple, nothing more than demanding grain from him and asking him to personally escort it over.

His subordinates were very dissatisfied and stood up for him.

"I wonder how the young general will humiliate you..."

??(σ???)σ..:*☆

Go to bed early, and try to update more tomorrow.