Borrowed Sword

Chapter 24: Triggering the Quest

“Stop fooling around.”

Chu Huaixu immediately refused.

A smile appeared again on his face, but that inscrutable gaze… it was as though he was looking at a little fool.

That made Han Shuangjiang somewhat annoyed.

Chu Huaixu looked at her, but didn’t take the raised wine jar. He just gazed into her beautiful eyes and said:

“Do you know what will happen if you go home and I deliver the wine? You might encounter danger.”

Han Shuangjiang frowned and looked him straight in the eye, with not a trace of hesitation.

This icy-faced young woman replied:

“Of course I know!”

We’ve already talked so openly, I’m not really dumb—don’t give me that look!

She insisted because she knew there was danger; she chose to go home herself and let him seek help.

Seeing her stubborn expression, Chu Huaixu’s smile deepened.

“Do you think the danger a man faces is the same as what a woman faces?”

After he spoke, he appraised her from head to toe.

Under his gaze, Han Shuangjiang’s delicate form tensed for a moment, instantly understanding his meaning.

She hadn’t expected Chu Huaixu to think so thoroughly, even about this detail.

“But…” she still wanted to say something.

After all, this whole thing started because of her.

“Don’t ‘buts.’ Do what I said!” His tone was firm, even a little fierce.

The cold-faced girl pursed her lips and, despite her irritation, could only give in. She turned to leave.

“Heh! Little housekeeper, still trying to boss things around?” Chu Huaixu watched her walking eastward and thought to himself.

He felt no pressure or tension. He carried a bunch of ingredients back home and whistled as he walked.

To him, having some indirect contact with Niu Yuanshan was harmless.

But at this stage, direct contact should be minimized.

Besides, as a member of the Organization, it’d look beneath him to go begging at someone’s door.

“And if I’m not mistaken, players have already exposed that there are all sorts of strict rules in this Organization.”

“They’ve all been brainwashed, acting like they’re ready to die for righteousness.”

According to regular logic, undercover agents should at least avoid creating trouble for each other, even if they can’t cover for one another.

Chu Huaixu guessed that not going himself would better align with the Organization’s operating logic.

Bringing Niu Yuanshan a jar of wine from the Moon Country would be enough.

Given the current trade between the two countries, this wouldn’t raise suspicion.

It’s like on Earth—you can’t look down on someone for using an iPhone, right?

Not at all.

Of course, there was something even more important.

Chu Huaixu was waiting for something.

Back home, he placed all the ingredients at the entrance of Han Shuangjiang’s bamboo cottage.

“She said she’d cook, so I’ll put it here. I’m not making a meal this once!”

“And I’m definitely not washing the dishes!” he decided to himself.

Just after finishing that, he heard the system notification.

“It’s here!” Chu Huaixu was elated—he was out of experience points.

“【Ding! You’ve triggered a passive quest—Revenge from Liu Chengqi!】”

“【Quest Difficulty Level: Grade A!】”

…

Meanwhile, Han Shuangjiang had arrived outside Niu Yuanshan’s small courtyard.

As one of the nine key outer-door stewards, his courtyard was clearly more upscale than the bamboo cottage.

How to say—quite elegant.

Chinese aesthetic is luxurious, and this courtyard probably cost a lot to build.

When she stood before the gate, Han Shuangjiang realized she had forgotten something: “What if Steward Niu isn’t home?”

As outer-door management, Niu Yuanshan had his own duties to manage.

If he wasn’t home, he was likely at the Steward Hall.

Her manual includes a map, and she knew the Steward Hall’s location—it wasn’t too far.

But either way, it would take time.

She regretted spending so long buying ingredients just now, wondering: “Why was he so laid-back all the way?”

Little did she know that Chu Huaixu was waiting for the quest trigger.

The young woman raised the wine jar and knocked on the gate.

Before parting, Chu Huaixu had said a few words to her, and she had mentally prepared along the way.

The gate opened quickly, and it was a servant.

“And you are?” the servant asked.

“My name is Han Shuangjiang, I’ve come to visit Steward Niu.” she replied.

No sooner had her words fallen than a gentle voice came from inside: “Shuangjiang, is it? Come in.”

Han Shuangjiang breathed a sigh of relief.

Although she’d only met Niu Yuanshan once, she had a great impression of him—as a fair, kind elder, exactly the kind of person one would expect in the management of a righteous Dao Gate sect.

Undercover old Niu was tending to flowers in his courtyard.

It was a dragon’s blood herb, the main ingredient in a hemostatic pill.

Hemostatic pills aren’t precious—just low-grade.

He grew it not for refining a pill, but because the plant looked beautiful, uniquely shaped, with a strikingly red color—like blood!

Niu Yuanshan looked at Han Shuangjiang approaching, his gaze landing on the jar of Erlang wine she carried.

He offered her a gentle smile, nodded in acknowledgement, and turned back to tend the plant, though his eyes flickered briefly.

“Erlang wine?” Niu Yuanshan narrowed his eyes.

He was always cautious in Dao Gate affairs, with high awareness and sensitivity—very much the typical highly perceptive type.

He couldn’t ignore a jar of wine from the Moon Country.

After his expression returned to normal, Niu Yuanshan put down his shears and turned to Han Shuangjiang, saying: “If you’ve come, why bring a jar of wine?”

“Erlang wine? Isn’t this the wine from the Moon Country?” he added.

Han Shuangjiang placed the jar on a stone table and replied: “Reporting to Steward—Chu Huaixu asked me to bring it. He said it would be rude to arrive empty-handed.”

When Niu Yuanshan heard this name, all his doubts vanished.

In fact, he felt secretly gratified.

Is it just a jar of wine?

It’s a tacit understanding between two Moon Country people!

“Well done, child—thoughtful.” he praised the absent person with a smile.

Earlier he had suspected this newcomer might already know his identity.

Now it was clear.

Niu Yuanshan first sat on a stone bench, then invited Han Shuangjiang to sit opposite him.

“By the way, why did you come alone?” Steward Niu naturally followed the conversation, directing it toward the new Organization member.

Han Shuangjiang remembered Chu Huaixu’s instructions. No matter how anxious she was, she must not reveal her true purpose.

But she wasn’t stupid—only Chu Huaixu treated her like one.

At this moment, an important thought occurred to her—when Chu Huaixu fought Liu Chengqi, he took half a palm.

So Han Shuangjiang immediately found the best way in:

“Steward Niu, because he was injured a little.”

…