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Chapter 9: Entering the City

Even if it was Xing Ye, he also wouldn’t have thought the mirror would react like that. Normally, if somebody was exposed, they wouldn’t run into the bosom of the person who exposed them, right?

He reached in and dragged the mirror out, secretly thinking that the mirror was actually pretty strong.

Earlier, the mirror wrote words but he couldn’t see. When he looked now, it glowed with a pink light with the words “Ah! Bugs!”

Pink light… was that a blush? He rushed into his chest because he was scared of bugs?

Compared to getting his identity exposed, bugs were more frightening?

Xing Ye didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. This was the first time that he felt like he had completely lost. He actually still had a lot of answers he wanted to get from the mirror but seeing how confused the mirror was, he couldn’t bring himself to continue investigating.

If he asks any more questions, the mirror might explode on the spot...　　

Now that Xing Ye’s got a general idea of the plot, he helped the mirror hide in his bosom before covering himself with the cloak, ensuring the bugs couldn’t get to him.

In fact, he was more anxious than anybody else. For Xing Ye, winning this game was just a step along the way. Investigating the cause of his little brother’s death was the most important thing. Whether it be the senior maid’s words or the mirror’s identity, it all proved that this game wouldn’t kill people. But if that’s the case, then what was behind Xing Shuo’s bizarre death?

Xing Ye urgently needed to know the mirror’s real identity. If they were from the same world, he wanted to know what the state of the mirror’s actual body currently was. That way, he could know if his little brother really died or not.

But right now...

He can’t be impatient, he had to be calm. Xing Ye inwardly told himself.

He only entered a novice level world yet there was a bug-level prop. This was clearly abnormal. The black and white rubix cube could see through a person's hearts and feelings so perhaps his meeting with the mirror was the rubix cube’s doing. If he becomes impatient and loses his calm, he may get overtaken by fury.

Like countless times before, despite being in desperate straits, Xing Ye just clenched his teeth and continued to endure.

He wasn’t actually strong but he always had to pretend to be strong in order to intimidate his opponents.

It was hard for Xing Ye to sleep but he needed to. He stuck the mirror against his stomach and closed his eyes, counting to the rhythm of his heart. If he couldn’t sleep after a hundred or two hundred, then he would continue to a thousand or two thousand. Before he fell asleep, he wouldn’t move or stop counting.

By forcing himself like this, his breathing smoothened out at around 3000 pulses as he fell into a state of sleep.

Early the next day, Xing Ye saw a notice recruiting guards to transport items to the imperial palace.

”To prevent bandit robberies, we will temporarily hire adventurers as imperial bodyguards…”

Xing Ye couldn’t read the words in this world and could only understand the application by listening to others talk about it.

Narrator: “Claire decided to help the mirror and needs to go to the imperial palace. The group recruiting adventurers are delivering the queen’s birthday presents, joining them would make it easy for Claire to infiltrate the palace.”

Perfect, his opponents had even thought of a way for him to sneak into the palace.

His opponents knew that his fighting skills weren’t bad from how he subdued Earl Luca barehanded. Even if he had two lumps of fat on his chest that hindered him, it wouldn’t affect his fighting strength. With this, becoming an imperial bodyguard would be the best choice.

At the same time, it would allow the manipulators to watch him and track his location more easily.

However, this also meant that the manipulators’ scope of activity is limited to the imperial city or the imperial palace. They had to wait for Claire herself to enter their area before they could act.

He could probably deal with the two manipulators while idling about outside, having already pretty much guessed what the two remaining conclusions were. However, right now he needed more information and needed to search for the manipulators’ identities to make sure their character doesn’t reach their conclusion.

Thinking up to here, Xing Ye took the recruitment poster and took it to the person in charge of recruitment.

The person in charge was a capable and experienced looking knight. He glanced at Xing Ye’s face and said in a doubtful tone: “You look too pretty to be a man.”

Xing Ye really didn’t know what he looked like in this world but in any case, everybody said he looked good.

”My face and strength are unrelated,” Xing Ye said, “I need a job.”

”Then come and try.” The knight captain pointed to a strongman in the team, “You don’t need to beat him, you’ll pass if you can resist him for long enough. Your luck isn’t bad, we just so happen to be needing people right now.”

Xing Ye walked to the strong man who gave a contemptful smile when he saw him: “I’ll do my best not to hit your face, pretty boy.”

Am I very pretty? Xing Ye thought as he moved in front of the strong man and flung a kick at his knee.

Xing Ye’s martial arts focused on being fast and fierce, aiming to take down the enemy as fast as possible. It wasn’t just using strength to forcefully overwhelm the other either, agility was also an important key to scoring victory. His parents specially hired a newly discharged trainer from the military to teach him combat and later on, he had some chances to get actual fighting experience so his skills weren’t lacking at all.

The strongman was of the strength type. It was clear just from his bulging muscles that he passed up on agility for brute force.

His temper was arrogant and was receptive to provocation. After getting hit, he would probably act more recklessly.

Xing Ye actions were always planned a few steps ahead. After kicking his knee, he swiftly winded behind the strongman and stomped a kick at his lower back. At the same time, he took out the dagger he picked up in Earl Luca’s manor, using one hand to press against the strongman’s shoulder and used the other to press the dagger against the strongman’s neck. With a little bit of pressure, a drop of blood rolled down.

Everything happened in a flash of an eye. Xing Ye’s expression didn’t change, the dagger pushed against the strongman’s neck as he looked at the knight captain: “Is this passable?”

This was the first time the knight captain saw such moves, stunning him for a moment before he reacted, nodding: “Yeah, yeah, let go of Morse first and we’ll hire you.”

”My attacks just paralyzed his body for a bit, it didn’t actually wound him. His neck’s just a scratch, it’ll heal soon.” Xing Ye said.

The strongman Morse sat on the floor and rubbed his neck, his face filled with fright as he took a deep breath. The scariest thing wasn’t Xing Ye’s speed or moves, it was how he acted with absolutely no hesitation.

He really would’ve killed me, the strongman thought with lingering fear.

After seeing Xing Ye’s strength, the group was a little scared of Xing Ye and didn’t dare to approach him. This was actually exactly what Xing Ye wanted. Right now, he was still a, how to say it…. Half a girl. Although he was forcing his voice to sound deeper, speaking too much might still expose him. It’s best to keep his distance as much as possible from the people of this world.

To make sure they’d arrive in the imperial city within half a month, the group hastened on with their journey straight after recruiting. Xing Ye had his own horse and the journey was relatively smooth. The only things he found inconvenient were bathing and sleeping.

There was no choice, he couldn’t just chop off his chest now.

When everybody bathed along the river, Xing Ye could only endure. At night, guards couldn’t get a room to themselves either so Xing Ye didn’t dare to remove the bindings around his chest. Every night, he just selected a corner to sleep in.

After a week, Xing Ye could still endure it but the mirror could not. Every day, it jolted between his chest.

Xing Ye took it out in a corner with no people and asked it what was wrong.

Mirror: Stinky!

A beauty lover, scared of bugs, and can’t bear with the stench after not bathing for seven days. Xing Ye’s already decided that the mirror was probably a spoiled and pampered young master who loved to show off his looks.

His family situation shouldn’t be bad and he’s never had any big hardships. Xing Ye wasn’t sure if he really looked as good as he claimed to be. After all, everyone’s perception of themselves was different from others.

”Bear with it,” Xing Ye said patiently, “Just for this week. Claire can’t bath with men.”

Mirror: Then I want to find a less smelly spot to stay in!

True, the mirror never jumped out and caused trouble. However, it still played a lot of tricks when it was squished between its chest.

”Endure.” Xing Ye didn’t sympathize and stuffed the mirror in his chest again before wrapping his cloak around them.

To prove his position in the group, Xing Ye would always be the first to act whenever they ran into bandits. Usually, before others could even react, he’s already dealt with 2-3 three people by himself. The estrangement in the group’s gazes quickly changed into admiration. Despite his always cold face and attitude, there were always people who didn’t fear death and approached him.

”Lawrence, where’d you learn your martial arts?” Morse ran over again to ask.

Lawrence was a fake name Xing Ye created for himself. It was the wristwatch’s brand and was very easy to remember.

The skin on Morse’s face was a lot thicker than the skin on his neck. No matter how coldly Xing Ye glared at him, he just continued to chase him, his face flushed red with admiration.

TL’s Note: In chinese, thick face/skin = shameless.

”Nobody taught me, I learned it while I was adventuring.” Xing Ye professed himself as an adventurer who wanted to travel the world, challenging themselves to reach the peak. There were a lot of people like this in this world.

”Why did you become an adventurer? It’s a tough life…” Morse continued to chatter, “If you want to be a knight, any church or aristocrat would want you to join. I can also recommend you to our lord, Grand Duke Garcia. He’s second only to royalty.”

”I’m not interested.” Xing Ye walked away, going to rest under a nearby tree.

As he walked, Xing Ye heard faint murmurs like “He’s even prettier than women,” sound in the group. Xing Ye pretended he didn’t hear.

Just as Xing Ye expected, the other two manipulators’ influence were limited to the imperial city. They ran only into common robbers during the journey with no exceptionally powerful opponents.

Rows of soldiers strictly guarded in front of the imperial city gates.

The knight captain curiously asked one of the guards why there were so many people. The guard replied: “Her Majesty, the Queen dreamed that there would soon be somebody carrying a magical mirror arriving in the imperial city who would bring ruin to the country. Thus, everyone who enters the imperial city must undergo a body search in case somebody’s secretly hiding the mirror.”

So then, the first trap is entering the city?

Duke Garcia’s knights were positioned by the manipulators in a way that the odds of him getting discovered at the gates were very high. Xing Ye decided to think from the manipulator’s standpoint and thought there was a high chance that one of the manipulators were waiting at the city gates specially for Duke Garcia’s group.

Setting him up to be an easy target wasn’t a bad idea but they didn’t seem to understand how important the word “rank” meant in this world.  

Xing Ye took the rare initiative to speak up to the knight captain: “Don’t tell me that Duke Garcia’s men have to line up like ordinary peasants and minor aristocrats to be inspected? You’re knights that vowed fealty to the duke, why do we have to bear getting frisked by normal soldiers?”

The knights were originally fine with following the queen’s orders but then got second thoughts hearing Xing Ye’s words. Indeed, that would be quite shameful. 　

Although they were just ordinary knights, the one who would lose face after them getting body searched would be Duke Garcia.
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Kiki: Ooh I count like Xing Ye to sleep too! Not as hardcore though hehe.