Villains: Starting with the Landlady

Isn't this just a scene from a martial arts novel?

Wait, why does this opening sound so familiar...?

He tentatively asked, "Senior, is this the Qing Dynasty now?"

The old beggar looked at him suspiciously and replied, "Young man, could it be that you were ambushed by villains and lost your memory?"

"I guess so. I can't remember a lot of things now."

Qi Gaijia sighed softly and slowly explained the current situation.

Indeed, Niujia Village, where Lingyun is located, is within the sphere of influence of the Qing Dynasty. However, at present, various forces are divided, with powerful enemies such as Western Xia, Liao, and Turpan surrounding them. To the south, there is the Dali royal family, and even in Suzhou, the Murong clan is attempting to restore their kingdom.

Although the emperor was the young Kangxi again, in this world, because the majority of people in the martial arts world and among the common people were still Han Chinese, there was no forced requirement to keep queues. Only the Manchu Eight Banners members kept the money-tailed queues to show their status and position.

In the martial arts world, there are two people whose status is extraordinary, and they are also known as Qiao Feng in the North and Murong in the South.

With various sects standing side by side, the strongest was naturally the Shaolin Temple, but the one with the most members was the Beggars' Sect, which was known as the number one gang in the world.

The Five Mountains Sword Sects appear united on the surface but are actually divided. Among them, Zuo Lengchan, the leader of the Songshan Sect, is the strongest among the Five Mountains, followed by Yue Buqun, the Gentleman Sword of Huashan.

After listening, Ling Yun roughly understood what kind of world he was in.

The Legend of Jin Yong!

That's right, and it's the third installment that I played on a pirated game website when I was a kid!

Thinking of the various characters and plots within, Ling Yun clenched his fist, a surge of heroic spirit rising within him.

Who didn't dream of becoming a chivalrous hero when they were young? Dressed in white robes, riding a white horse, roaming the martial world with a sword, punishing evil and promoting good.

However, he is now a villain, although he doesn't know what kind of villain he is, but he should be different from the kind of chivalrous hero who draws his sword to save others when they see injustice.

"You must be a member of the Beggars' Sect, senior?"

"Haha, exactly."

Hearing Qi Gaijia's reply, Ling Yun breathed a sigh of relief. If even a random old beggar on the street had C+ strength, he would probably have to go into seclusion for half a year before daring to come out, otherwise he would probably be instantly killed by some righteous heroes who recognized him.

However, the old beggar was a member of the Beggars' Sect, so it makes sense that he had such skills.

At that very moment, atop a high mountain, four peerless masters stood with solemn expressions, trying to calm their turbulent emotions.

A man dressed in black sighed, "Logically speaking, more than ten top-level experts working together to unleash their inner strength should be able to restore order to the chaotic martial arts world and bring peace back, but... but how did it fail!"

“Those dozen or so old friends all died due to the depletion of their inner strength, leaving only the four of us,” said the old man with white hair and beard.

"However, I've checked, and time and space have indeed reversed, returning to the very beginning, but there's an anomaly!"

"Brother Dugu, what strange phenomenon is this?" the last monk asked.

"Just as we were working together, we discovered that an external force had entered our world, causing us to fail at the last moment," Dugu Qiubai said.

"Could it be that he is the root cause of future turmoil in the martial arts world?"

"Otherwise, perhaps it is the hope for the future..."

The four exchanged a glance, looked at the vibrant sun, bowed, and bid farewell.

Lingyun strolled around Niujia Village and then went to the riverbank.

He did it on a whim, and sure enough, he saw an old fisherman wearing a straw raincoat by the river.

Ling Yun stepped forward, smiled slightly, and cupped his hands in a respectful gesture.

"Senior, I would like to ask you for advice on fishing techniques!"

Chapter 215 First Encounter with Huang Rong

Upon hearing this, the old fisherman laughed heartily: "An old man in a straw hat and raincoat, fishing alone on a snowy river, I'm not fishing for fish, I'm fishing for someone destined to meet me!"

Seeing Ling Yun come empty-handed and with a sincere attitude, he stood up and handed him his bamboo pole: "Never mind, young man, you don't seem to know anything. Take this pole. Although it's not made of any precious material, it has been with me for many years. I hope you won't let it down!"

Upon seeing this, Ling Yun smiled and took the fishing rod.

It wasn't that he had the leisure to go fishing here; it was to conduct an experiment.

The fisherman gave him ten more earthworms, pointing to the soft, muddy ground beside him: "If you use these ten up, you'll have to pay me for more. But you can dig them yourself; you might find some treasure."

After saying that, he left the shore as if he had completed some kind of mission.

After Ling Yun saw him leave, he immediately grabbed an earthworm, threaded it onto the fishing hook, and then cast it down.

In the game "Jin Yong's Heroes 3" that Lingyun played, the starting village "Niu Family Village" mainly involves improving strength through mini-games, aside from certain specific storylines.

Chopping wood increases strength, fishing increases concentration, and hunting increases agility.

Although these mini-games may not provide rapid advancement in today's "real" world, they should offer other additional rewards.

For example, when fishing, there is a chance to catch a golden fish that increases your "Fortune" or a treasure chest containing silver, weapons, and other treasures. The higher your Fortune, the greater the probability of getting good items.

In Ling Yun's case, "Fortune" is equivalent to luck value. His luck value is full, so as long as he guesses correctly, he can definitely catch a lot of good stuff!

Of course, fishing isn't something you catch the moment you cast your line; it's a long process.

While waiting, Ling Yun began to speculate about his own identity and which villain he was.

Duan Yanqing? He had lofty ambitions and grand plans, but ultimately failed. But he doesn't seem like it either; he's so handsome, has all his limbs intact, and his age doesn't match.

No, it might be Duan Yanqing in his younger days... But in the original game, Duan Yanqing appeared as an old man.

Just as he was making wild guesses, Xiaona finally couldn't help but speak up.

【Master, blind guessing won't work. We must find evidence that matches your identity; otherwise, even if we happen to guess correctly, it won't count!】

"Nana, you've finally spoken!"

[Ahem, I just can't bear to see my master go astray... but I'd better keep quiet to avoid spoiling the plot.]

Xiao Na regained her composure, and Ling Yun smiled wryly. He decided not to dwell on it anymore and would take it one step at a time, since there was still plenty of time.

After about 15 minutes, I suddenly felt the fishing rod in my hand become heavier and bend into an arc!

It's very heavy, probably weighing several tens of kilograms!

Ling Yun immediately assumed a horse stance, focused his energy in his dantian, and used his arms to lift the fish directly up.

A simple, narrow box came into Ling Yun's view. He dropped his fishing rod, found the box was locked, took out Mo Bai, enhanced it with "toughness", and then cleaved the lock open with a single stroke.

Upon opening the box, a three-foot-long emerald green longsword lay quietly inside, along with a corresponding scabbard.

[Congratulations on acquiring the "Azure Water Sword"! Besides its physical properties such as its ability to cut through iron like mud, this sword also has additional effects on certain female characters!]

Ling Yun looked around and, seeing that no one was coming, hung it on his waist, finally giving off a bit of the air of a country boy transforming into a chivalrous knight-errant.

As for the additional effects, Ling Yun was quite clear about them, after all, he had completed that game countless times and explored all the major and minor branches.

Some characters end up as good people who punish evil and promote good, while others become enemies of the entire martial arts world and become great demons.

It seems that I will most likely take the latter route this time, but you never know, because reality is not a game, and it is not black and white.

He tried fishing for a while longer, but it seemed he had used up all his luck for the day. He either caught nothing or got hooked on a floating piece of rotten wood. By noon, he had only caught one grass carp.

Ling Yun glanced at the grass carp, barely enough to fill his teeth, shook his head, and got up to wander around when he suddenly noticed a little beggar staring at him.

Seeing him looking at him, the little beggar quickly turned his face away, pretending to admire the scenery.

"Here, we're destined to meet, so I'll give you this fish."

"Huh?" The little beggar was stunned, not expecting Ling Yun to be so kind, and then looked at him with a slight wariness.

Name: Huang Rong

Age: 16, ☆

[Value: 160, B]

[Rating: 96]

[Combat Strength: C]

[Affection: Falling in Love (Beautiful and Friendly Attraction Up+)]

Although Huang Rong was dressed in beggar's clothes and had deliberately smeared her face, Ling Yun still recognized her at a glance.

As expected of Huang Yaoshi's daughter, although she is only 15 or 6 years old and her skills are not yet proficient, she has already gained the strength of a third-rate martial arts practitioner. She could probably easily deal with a few petty thieves.

However, considering Huang Rong's current combat strength, her A- rating would probably make her at least a top-tier expert in the martial arts world!

But above the top tier, there's a whole bunch of overpowered characters! People like Dugu Qiubai, Bodhidharma, Zhang Sanfeng, and the Sweeper Monk may not be the "protagonists," but even those protagonists might not be as powerful as them in the later stages of the story.

No wonder it's at the King level difficulty. I'm the villain, and the final outcome will probably be a one-on-one duel with these cheaters at the top of Mount Hua.

They took on Ling Yun one-on-one.

Seeing that Ling Yun was staring at her, Huang Rong said coquettishly, "Hey, when you said you'd give me fish, were you serious or just teasing this little beggar?"

"Give it to you."

Ling Yun decisively removed the grass carp from the fishing hook, tossed it into Huang Rong's arms, and then left without looking back.

Huang Rong stared blankly at Ling Yun's departing figure, completely bewildered as to what he was up to. She used her finger-flicking magic to put the fish into a deep sleep, then ran to the riverbank to take a look. She found that her appearance hadn't given her away; she was still the same dirty-looking woman, and no one would have guessed she was a woman.

"Hmph, perhaps he really is a warm-hearted chivalrous person!"

Huang Rong sighed. Ever since she ran away from home after arguing with her father, she had been living a life of irregular meals, and to be honest, she missed Peach Blossom Island a little.

For some reason, the handsome young man's image was imprinted in her mind and wouldn't leave her...

It's not that Ling Yun doesn't like picking up girls, but it's just that it's noon now, and there's a good show about to start!

He returned to Niujia Village and arrived at the entrance of an inn.

The innkeeper's wife wasn't very old either, probably around the same age as Huang Rong now. She was also eloquent and her name was Qu Feier.

When Ling Yun arrived, several constables had blocked her inn, and a group of commoners were gossiping about it, but no one dared to step forward to uphold justice.

"Hey Officer Li, didn't we neighbors just pay our monthly dues last month?"

Qu Feier had two pigtails. The young storyteller was much taller than her, but he still timidly hid behind her.

"Last month? What, you ate last month, but you won't eat this month?" Officer Li, with a fierce face, sat imposingly on a chair by the door. "Let me tell you, if you don't pay up this month, forget about doing business, I'll even tear down the inn!"

Chapter 216 Qiu Chuji [Bonus Chapter for Monthly Tickets]

Officer Li brazenly uttered these words, clearly intending to rob them of their property!

However, since the emperor is far away and the local authorities have power, the law is the law, and these ordinary people have no way to resist.

"What a corrupt official!"

"Damn it, what are we going to eat if this keeps up?!"

"Hey!"

The surrounding people erupted in discontent, but when those vicious constables glared at them, they all cowered and dared not utter a sound.

"Officer Li!" Qu Feier was not afraid at all. "You understand the principle of draining the pond to catch all the fish. I really have no money right now. How about this, at the end of this month, it will still be the same amount of allowance. I, Qu Feier, will give you every penny!"

"Pfft, the money's only at the end of the month!"

Seeing that Constable Li was not going to let things go peacefully, Qu Feier was at a loss. She was just a woman, not yet an adult and not married. How could she fight against this constable?

Seeing her anxious look, Officer Li suddenly chuckled and said, "Qu Feier, there are ways even if you don't have money."

He stood up with a lewd grin, rubbing his hands together. "I'm telling you, why don't you just sell this inn and settle down with me? Wouldn't that be better than anything else? Hahaha!"

His true nature was exposed without a doubt, and Ling Yun secretly gripped the Biyue Sword, preparing to strike him when he was off guard.

There are different kinds of villains. The level of a ruthless tyrant is completely different from that of a bully. Ling Yun would not even deign to associate with such a person!

Just as he was about to make his move, a fearless young man suddenly rushed towards Officer Li from the crowd.

"You corrupt official!"

He rammed into Officer Li, knocking his bulky body to the side. The young man immediately shouted to Qu Feier, "Run, girl! I'm here!"

However, Qu Feier was not moved as he expected; instead, she looked speechless.

She could have persuaded them with words, but now, she won't rest until she's shed blood at her inn.

"Damn it!" Constable Li drew his official sword from his waist and cursed, "Who here doesn't know that my uncle is the county magistrate? How dare you, a mere commoner, touch me!"

After saying that, he looked at the constables beside him and said, "What are you all standing there for? Are you blind? Beat him to death!"