Heroine, don't turn back, I'm just a farmer.

Since there is no completed task in the first stage, we should still be in the "Old Friend Returns Under the Moon" stage. As for the Jingmiao Nunnery in Jinling, it should be a continuation of the first stage, or one of the stages.

The swordsman's next step should be to go to Jinling, but there is still a lot to be discovered about Tianluoxiang.

What profession is best suited for intelligence gathering?

Of course, he's a thief.

In the game, you can only have one identity and one profession, but after transmigrating, it seems that this restriction no longer applies.

Every profession has its own characteristics and techniques. A swordsman may not be strong enough to overwhelm others, but he can simultaneously hold multiple professions and practice various techniques. Even if the techniques are different, the final benefits brought by the techniques will all be attributed to his true self, Lu Guo.

You think I'm a swordsman, but I'm actually a chivalrous thief. While you think I'm a chivalrous thief, I'm actually a general. You thought I was a general, but my true identity is the emperor.

With multiple identities and multiple aliases, he can become anyone as long as he has enough achievement points.

That's the damn stability, that's the essence of this game.

Stepping out of the alley, Lu Guo stood on the empty street, glanced at the sky, and realized that the time in the game was around 9:00 PM, which would translate to around 9:00 PM in real time. After thinking for a moment, he headed towards the Yuelai Inn, intending to exit the game, unlock the "Gentleman on the Beam" profession, and then enter the adventure.

The first floor of the inn is where you eat, and the second and third floors are guest rooms. Even at this hour, the lobby is still quite lively, with people sitting at several tables. There are people drinking alone, merchants talking in hushed tones, and a couple joking around in a corner. The scene and the atmosphere are very realistic.

The shopkeeper was a middle-aged man with a small mustache, who was behind the counter using an abacus. When he saw him come in, his face immediately lit up with a smile.

"Sir, would you like a meal or a room at the inn?"

"How much is a hotel room per night?"

"A standard room costs fifty cash, a superior room costs one hundred cash, and a room with a small courtyard costs three hundred cash."

Lu Guo looked at his silver taels—three taels and two qian. After converting it, one tael of silver was equal to one thousand wen, enough for a few days' stay.

"Give me a room with a small yard."

The shopkeeper took the silver and handed over a key with a wooden plaque on it that read "Jia San".

"Sir, please turn left into the backyard. Hot water will be brought up to you shortly. Please feel free to ask if you need anything."

[Check-in at Yuelai Inn, Room 3 (Grade A).]

[Gain temporary status: Well-rested (Experience gain +5%, lasts 8 hours).]

"Stay at an inn to rest and boost your stats, a classic RPG."

He walked towards the backyard, and a person came down the stairs in the hall.

a woman.

She was in her early twenties, dressed in a moon-white dress, with a silver soft sword tied at her waist. The tip of the sword swayed gently as she walked. Her appearance was not stunning, but there was a heroic spirit between her brows and eyes, like a sword that had not yet been drawn.

She went downstairs, walked straight to the counter, and slapped a string of copper coins onto the counter.

"Shopkeeper, please extend for three days."

The voice was unusually cold.

The shopkeeper quickly agreed, took the money, and made a note in the ledger. The woman turned to leave, but as her gaze swept across the lobby, it suddenly lingered for a moment on Lu Guo, who was walking towards the backyard.

Just a moment.

Then she looked away and went upstairs.

[Random event triggered: Mysterious female guest.]

You noticed a pattern engraved on the hilt of the silver sword at her waist, but it was too far away to see clearly.

Lu Guo did not chase after them.

You can tell from that black-clad assassin that the NPC behavior logic in the adventure is written very realistically. If you rashly strike up a conversation with a strange female warrior, you will most likely be seen as a lecher, and your favorability rating will drop to a negative number.

But he remembered her room—after she went upstairs, he heard the sound of a door opening in the hallway, and judging from the direction, it should be on the second floor near the hallway.

Without much thought, he found his little courtyard.

The courtyard was small, and inside the house there was a bed, a table, a chair, and a potted plant of unknown species on the windowsill. The bed was fairly clean, and there was an oil lamp on the table with paper and pen beside it—a standard, antique-style setup.

As soon as I left the manor, I was approached by people from Qing Tianluoxiang. There were also dialogue options before. Many people in the manor were also from Tianluoxiang, as well as my Aunt Liu and Madam Xue. What exactly are their identities?

And the words she said when I left.

When someone who knows too much and has a complicated identity suddenly gives you a warning, that's part of the plot itself.

Lu Guo thought about it and made a choice.

After a quick wash, he sat quietly in the courtyard and waited.

If Tianluoxiang is keeping an eye on me, then someone will definitely come tonight.

Or rather, he wanted to see if the red-sheathed figure from last night would come.

After a quick wash, Lu Guo sat cross-legged in the main hall with his back to the door, seemingly unconcerned about the assassination attempt and sneak attack. He lowered his consciousness, focusing all his attention on his breathing, inhaling and exhaling true energy to nourish his mind and spirit, while circulating the "Heavenly Demon Manual" throughout his body.

Most cultivation techniques, once mastered, will circulate automatically in the meridians. The higher the grade of the technique, the faster it circulates, automatically increasing one's power. The circulation speed is even faster during meditation, allowing for faster refinement of true qi. However, the "Heavenly Demon Manual" cultivated by the swordsman seems to be extremely well concealed.

As night deepened, Lu Guo remained quietly seated in meditation, patiently waiting.

In the middle of the night, a figure appeared on the wall of the courtyard. After hesitating for a moment, it gently landed inside the courtyard.

I thought you were gone.

Upon hearing the sound, Red Sheath's eyelashes trembled.

Instead of answering the question, she countered with, "Why did you spare my life?"

You should ask yourself that question.

The red sheath remained silent.

Lu Guo didn't urge her.

A few roosters crowed outside the courtyard wall, and the night breeze began to carry the unique coolness of the deep night and the scent of grass and trees.

"You are...giving me a chance." Red Sheath finally spoke, her voice very soft, as if she were talking to herself.

"What opportunity?"

"The chance to betray Tianluoxiang."

"..."

Was that what I originally meant?

Lu Guo neither confirmed nor denied it.

He simply asked, "So, do you think you deserve this opportunity?"

The red-sheathed fingers tightened suddenly, the knuckles making a slight cracking sound.

She kept her head down, her face mask concealing her expression, but not her slightly trembling shoulders.

a long time.

"I have no idea."

"In Tianluoxiang, I killed 147 people," she said. "Every single one of them was ordered to be killed by Tianluoxiang. I never asked why, and I never thought about whether they deserved to die. I just carried out the mission, completed the mission, and then took on the next mission."

"Until last night?"

"Until last night."

1. Why did your master leave weaknesses in his swordsmanship?

2. Would you like to share more information about the Heavenly Luo Incense?

3. Your master treated you as a pawn from the very beginning.

4. Remain silent and let her continue.

Lu Guo looked at the four options and thought for less than a second.

Option two is too pragmatic. While gathering information is important, the other person is currently at a point where they need to release their emotions. If you directly switch to asking for information, she'll feel that you and Tian Luoxiang are no different—both just using her as a tool. Your favorability rating will likely drop.

How can one be so calculating when trying to win over a female knight-errant in the martial arts world?

Option three is too cruel. Although the truth may be like this, it is like an outsider revealing it, and so directly, which is tantamount to stepping on her already broken heart. The effect may be counterproductive.

If he loses his temper, this little assassin will go mad.

Option four... is too slow.

Let her speak for herself; she may or may not be able to. What's needed in these moments is just the right amount of guidance, not complete abandonment.

Option one is probably the deepest knot in her heart, and also what she most wants to be understood at this moment.

"Your master..."

Lu Guo spoke, carefully considering his tone. It was softer than before, lacking the condescending pressure and adding a subtle warmth.

"What did she say to you when she taught you this sword technique?"

Red Sheath paused for a moment.

She clearly hadn't expected that the person she had killed so many times would ask this question.

"She said I was the most talented student she had ever seen."

Lu Guo didn't speak, but waited quietly.

"I spent ten years practicing swordsmanship, practicing each move tens of thousands of times. I could even perform the entire sword technique in complete darkness by relying on muscle memory. I thought I had completely mastered it."

"Until last night."

Tell me, there's a flaw in my swordsmanship.

"I didn't believe you at first; I thought you were trying to win me over psychologically."

"I went through the trajectory of every single sword strike during the day..."

Her voice suddenly choked up.

"The seventeenth sword."

"The Twenty-Third Sword".

"The Thirty-Sixth Sword".

"Every time I unleash these three sword strikes, you break them in a special way, and I happen to be positioned at the exact moment of my sword strike transition, causing the change to fail. If I were to use this sword to fight my master to the death, I would surely die."

Lu Guo was startled.

What does he know about sword stance shifts and missed attacks?

This NPC's analytical skills are amazing; he can accurately reconstruct every detail from more than a dozen battles.

Since the other party has already found a reason, he doesn't need to find any other excuses.

"You're smarter than I thought," he said.

This statement is both a compliment and a safe response—neither admitting nor denying, letting the other person interpret it for themselves.

Red Sheath clearly took this statement as an affirmation.

Her fingers traced the camellia pattern on the sword hilt, her voice low and deep: "These flaws... were deliberately left by Master."

She no longer needed anyone to tell her the answer; she just wanted confirmation from Lu Guo—confirmation that she hadn't guessed wrong, confirmation that her doubts weren't just a mental illness.

Lu realized that the assassin had already seen the truth, but needed a little more courage to face it; his words last night, the environment inside the Heavenly Incense, and her master's intentions had just made her suspicious.

"Do you want to know why?" Lu asked.

Red Sheath's gaze shifted from the hilt of the sword to his back.

The person in front of her seemed completely indifferent to her, and was even facing away from her.

"think."

"Then answer one question for me first."

"What's the problem?"

"What's your name?"

Red Sheath was stunned.

The question was so simple that she hadn't expected it at all.

She had thought that the swordsman from last night would ask her about the secrets of Tianluo Incense, about Madam Xue's background, and about the whereabouts of the Heavenly Demon Scripture. From the perspective of a martial arts practitioner, these were the "valuable" questions.

But he didn't.

He asked himself what his name was.

How long has it been since a killer who has murdered 147 people was asked his name?

Lu Guo also wanted to know the information, but he felt that asking the assassin's name at this crucial moment was more valuable.