Undercurrents

After listening, Ye Qingyun kept chuckling awkwardly. He then tried every means to extract information from the two maids, first inquiring about the situation in The Capital, and then about the Song Kingdom.

The Capital was the imperial city of the Song Kingdom, formerly the imperial capital of the Tang Kingdom, and the most prosperous city in all of Song.

Ye Qingyun continued his relentless questioning, delving into numerous topics. He inquired about various sects, different influential powers, and specifically, the forces operating within The Capital.

“Miss Qingrou, why do you ask about these things? We truly aren’t at liberty to speak of them.”

Qiu’er and Dong’er shook their heads in unison.

This was quite normal. While they might have known a thing or two about The Capital’s affairs, they were largely ignorant of anything beyond that.

Seeing that the two were uninformed, Ye Qingyun felt a surge of helplessness. His eyes darted about quickly as he pondered other approaches.

“Alright, then. By the way, could you two perhaps help me buy some books from the city? Things like history books, geographical treatises, and other such texts? I’m terribly bored staying in my room alone and would like something to pass the time.”

Ye Qingyun said with a smile.

The two maids did not refuse this request.

“Ah? Well, Miss Qingrou, we can certainly buy them, but the cost of these items will be charged to your account and deducted from your monthly stipend,” Dong’er reminded him.

Understanding that one must part with something to gain something greater, Ye Qingyun readily nodded in agreement. He was, after all, subtly setting a trap for the two maids, step by step.

“Heh heh, it’s fine. Go buy them. When the time comes, just deduct it all from my monthly stipend. Oh, and you two girls, spend a little money to buy yourselves some jewelry and clothes too. I’ll cover the cost.”

Ye Qingyun suddenly chuckled.

Though Ye Qingyun had no money on his person, he received one hundred taels as pocket money each month, a sum sufficient to purchase anything they desired.

The two maids were naturally delighted to hear Ye Qingyun suddenly treat them so generously. As maids, their monthly stipends were meager, barely enough to cover food and drink, let alone afford clothes and jewelry. What girl, after all, did not love beauty?

“What? Miss Qingrou, you want to buy us jewelry and clothes? This… this isn’t really appropriate, is it?” Dong’er and Qiu’er asked, their voices a mix of joy and apprehension.

“It’s fine. Consider it a welcome gift from me. As long as you both serve me wholeheartedly, even greater rewards await you in the future.”

Ye Qingyun said with a light chuckle.

The two maids immediately broke into smiles. They then bowed in unison to Ye Qingyun, expressing their gratitude.

“Since that’s the case, then we two sisters won’t stand on ceremony. Thank you for your generosity, Miss Qingrou.”

As the two maids expressed their thanks to Ye Qingyun, the goodwill between them instantly soared from mere politeness to genuine affection. This was precisely what Ye Qingyun had intended.

“Go on, and return quickly.”

Ye Qingyun waved his hand.

The two maids, of course, promptly departed.

After their departure, Ye Qingyun, feeling somewhat bored, lay down on his bed.

“System, bring up the chat window,” Ye Qingyun commanded.

Soon, a dialogue box appeared before his eyes. This dialogue box was no different from a typical game interface, currently displaying only a World Channel and a Capital Channel.

No players were speaking in the World Channel, as, like in most games, players needed to spend money to post messages. Currently, only the system was making announcements. However, the Capital Channel was bustling with activity, filled with various rumors.

– Rumor: Hey, everyone, can anyone tell me how to get rid of this servant status? I’m currently a servant for the Li family in The Capital, and I really don’t want to be a servant forever!

– Rumor: Don’t ask us! I’m even worse off than you. This infuriating system threw this old lady into a brothel, and now I can’t even leave it!

– Rumor: Wow, that’s terrible! Beautiful lady, are you on Flower Street? What’s your name? This brother will come visit you.

– Rumor: Get lost! What do you want, to come over and flirt with this old lady? Not a chance!

Ye Qingyun watched these rumors, a myriad of exasperated lines appearing on his forehead. It seemed he wasn’t the only one facing difficulties; if his estimation was correct, most players were likely grappling with this very issue.

However, just then, an unexpected system notification was broadcast in the World Channel.

[System Notification: Player Jiang Mofeng has successfully completed the initial identity quest, becoming the first player to achieve ‘Free Agent’ status! Reward: One fragment of a self-selected Internal Cultivation Technique.]

The moment this system message appeared, Ye Qingyun was left speechless. This was pure luck! Someone had joined a sect less than an hour after the server opened; it was utterly ridiculous. While most players were still struggling to climb out of their starting locations, this fellow named Jiang Mofeng had already escaped their predicament.

But was it really that simple?

Fantasy International Headquarters in The Capital.

In a luxurious room, a handsome young man with an indifferent expression, dressed in a suit, slowly removed his helmet. This was Jiang Mofeng, the son of the chairman of Fantasy International.

Many people stood beside him, all of them developers of Jianghu.

“Dad, I’ve successfully broken free from my identity,” Jiang Mofeng stated calmly.

“Hm, excellent. With this, the company will have a significant head start,” a middle-aged man in a suit declared, bursting into hearty laughter.

He appeared extremely pleased. This man was Jiang Kaiyang, the chairman of Fantasy International.

“Dad, is this truly just a game? Why does it feel so real? And wasn’t it said that humans couldn’t interfere with the game? How did you know about the loopholes?” Jiang Mofeng couldn’t help but ask.

Indeed, he had actually used a loophole to escape his predicament. These so-called loopholes were simply methods unknown to the general public.

“Don’t ask about this. You’ll understand when the time is right. You just need to grasp that this is more than just a game.”

Jiang Kaiyang smiled mysteriously, then departed with his entourage.

Jiang Mofeng’s expression was one of confusion, clearly puzzled.

The methods unknown to the public were, in plain terms, bugs. The official developers were exploiting these bugs to circumvent difficulties, which amounted to cheating.

However, others were unaware of this.

Soon, the items Ye Qingyun requested were bought and returned, but by then, it was already evening. Since game characters needed to rest at night, they temporarily went into dormancy.

He logged back on half an hour later.

Ye Qingyun slowly removed his helmet, his expression one of deep puzzlement.

‘Impossible, right? Could this Jiang Mofeng have truly found a bug?’

The reason he thought this was because, throughout the entire day, only Jiang Mofeng had completed the initial recruitment task; no one else had. It couldn’t possibly be mere luck.

After some thought, Ye Qingyun quickly entered the closed beta chat group. Upon joining, he found everyone discussing Jiang Mofeng’s situation. During the game character’s dormancy period, players could seize the opportunity to stretch their bodies, which was quite a humane design.

– Hey, what’s up with this Jiang Mofeng? How could he be so fast? Although we beta players know about some special circumstances, we still need to break free from our current identity restrictions first; otherwise, it’s all nonsense.

– Sweat! Brothers, don’t you recognize Jiang Mofeng? He’s the young master of Fantasy International, the heir of the game developers! He definitely used a back door.

Some beta players who recognized Jiang Mofeng quickly chimed in.

– What? It can be like that? Damn it, didn’t they say the officials couldn’t interfere with the game and everyone had to rely on their own abilities? some players grumbled indignantly.

– Come on, Jianghu is a highly free-form game controlled by artificial intelligence, but AI is also developed by humans. It’s like a prison; the living area we’re in is a cage. But why do some people manage to escape? The reason is methods. In the world of Jianghu, if you can think it, you can do it. As game developers, they certainly know some special methods—and of course, only they know them.

This left the other players speechless, because it was indeed true. Even Ye Qingyun was rendered speechless; in plain terms, it was a privilege. The officials had created a special channel for Jiang Mofeng.