I Have a Date with a Thousand-year-old Female Corpse-Chapter 1254: Played by the Game

"Take it, why wouldn’t I? This is the most challenging task I’ve ever accepted!" You took the slip from Doctor Chen’s hand, and without another word, stuffed it into your pocket.

"Mu Yun!"

"Relax. I’m a Nine-Life Cat, I won’t die. Besides, I’ve encountered Green Spiders and Fire Tooth Flowers before—those are just some low-level monsters. Hmph, wait and see how I return triumphantly." You looked up at the sky, your youthful face glowing with golden sunlight and confidence.

"This ticket for one thousand gold coins is half the deposit for your task. Once you bring back the herb, I’ll give you the other half."

"Wow, one thousand gold coins!" Carefully, you accepted the payment slip, your eyes shining brighter than the sunrise. "Amazing, now I can finally save up twenty thousand gold coins—I’ll finally become a great swordsman!"

"Oh, by the way," seeing your excitement, Doctor Chen added, "The Blue Orchid Grass is a rare herb. To this day, I’ve only seen one, and even then, it was dried."

"Where can I find this herb then?"

"Someone once spotted one in the Bamboo Forest southwest of New Meng City. At the time, he didn’t know it was Blue Orchid Grass. After I informed him, he went back, only to find that it had been picked by someone else. Try your luck in the Bamboo Forest—who knows, you might come across a few."

"Bamboo Forest?" Your eyes widened, and you gulped dramatically. "Heavens, does that mean I have to pass through the Half Orc village?"

Speaking of which, your body suddenly trembled.

Indeed!

As soon as you slightly altered the script’s preset wording, you could clearly feel your body resisting.

"Hey, Mu Yun, what’s wrong?" Little Li looked at you with concern.

"N-Nothing."

"If you think this mission is too dangerous, you can return the gold coins to me right now."

"Who’s saying I’d back down? I’m not someone who clings to life and fears death—I aspire to be a hero of the ages!"

"Mu Yun, you’d better not go!" Little Li quickly chimed in.

Faced with Little Li’s worried expression, you responded with a confident smile, patting his shoulder as you laughed loudly, "What’s there to fear? We’re men, and as men, we must stand tall and proud! My ambition is to become a hero known throughout the continent—I want to make the high-and-mighty players bow before me!"

"But..."

"Don’t worry, I’m not stupid—I won’t recklessly throw myself into danger. Besides, the Samurai House enrollment is a little over a week away. If I don’t gather twenty thousand gold coins now, I’ll miss my chance to study at the highest-ranked academy. The next opportunity won’t come for another three years. So, there’s no way I’m giving up."

"Are you leaving now then?"

Little Li knew your stubborn personality well—no amount of persuasion could sway you, so he gave up trying.

"To reach the Bamboo Forest, I’ll have to pass through Half Orc territory, and that’s no joke. Players aren’t heading there anymore, which means the Half Orcs are everywhere now. If I’m not careful, I might end up being stewed by those fools. So, I’m setting off before sunrise tomorrow. I’ll ascend the Qiling Mountain Range as quickly as possible, and cross the Jungle Beast while those dolts are still asleep; by then, I’ll have reached the Bamboo Forest."

You chuckled, "Along the way, I’ll have to pull Green Spider teeth and prune Fire Tooth Flower leaves. The round trip will take about three days, plus the time spent hunting for herbs—approximately a week. And it takes two days to travel from our village to New Meng City. I simply don’t have any extra time to waste."

"Mu Yun, can’t you just listen to me and not go? That place is far too dangerous for you."

"No, I must go. The decision I’ve made is absolutely final and unchangeable." You said firmly, ignoring Little Li’s advice.

Standing tall, you suddenly felt a wave of dizziness. A strange sensation coursed through your soul root, penetrating deep into your very being, making your Three Souls and Seven Spirits tremble slightly.

As you turned your head, a figure in a pristine white robe came into view. Following that, you saw a face so beautiful it didn’t seem mortal.

What kind of perfection was this face? Her skin resembled an egg freshly peeled of its shell—fair with hints of rosy blush. Her eyebrows were just right in density and shape, framing jet-black eyes shimmering like pearls emerging from water. Below her slightly upturned nose was a mouth neither too large nor too small, with cherry-red lips and pristine white teeth. Long, ink-black hair swayed lightly in the breeze, exuding indescribable charm and unrivaled elegance.

Just at that moment, you froze.

Zhao’er!

Even though her appearance only faintly resembled Zhao’er’s, you knew unmistakably—it was her!

You were instantly dumbfounded. Zhao’er turned out to be a player!

And judging by her demeanor, she didn’t recognize you either.

"Hello, can you tell me where the pharmacy is?"

Zhao’er’s voice was like the spring breeze in Jieyu, carrying you into a fantastical, mesmerizing world.

"Excuse me, can you answer my question?" Zhao’er smiled sweetly at you, and this smile completely entranced your heart and spirit.

"Ha, another fool. Zhao’er, let’s ask someone else." A strong, masculine voice abruptly pulled you out of your dreamlike daze.

"It’s over there," Little Li, having snapped out of his stupor earlier, pointed to Doctor Chen’s pharmacy.

In Little Li’s eyes, this pair—a man and a woman—resembled the legendary divine couple musicians—he, handsome and refined yet brimming with masculine charisma, and she, graceful and ethereal with an otherworldly aura, their presence reducing onlookers to overwhelmed inferiority.

Before long, the pair emerged from the pharmacy.

Seeing you still rooted to the spot, Zhao’er approached you with a laugh, "Hey, I spoke to you earlier. Why didn’t you respond?"

"I... I... I..." Speechless, you stammered, unable to find the right words. Some thoughts were too difficult to verbalize, and lacking clarity on your surroundings, you dared not speak recklessly!

Taking you as shy and humble, Zhao’er softly smiled before pulling a simple-looking dagger from her backpack. She extended it toward you, saying, "The pharmacy owner said your dream is to become a samurai. Here, take this dagger—I hope one day you’ll become an outstanding samurai."

"Um..." Your hands trembled as you received the dagger she handed to you.

"Farewell, till fate allows us to meet again."

At that moment, Zhao’er suddenly winked at you.