Chapter 13: The First Defense of the City

After exchanging the Swift Talisman, Lin Yi converted the remaining three contribution points on him into copper coins.

During this time, Lin Yi had been diligently completing Gu Yongqiang’s firewood-cutting tasks, but even after exhausting himself daily, he had only accumulated just over twenty wen. He hadn’t expected that one contribution point could be exchanged for a hundred wen.

He had to admit, exchanging contribution points for copper coins was truly a bargain!

With these three hundred wen, Lin Yi no longer needed to rely on firewood-cutting tasks to earn money in the game each day.

He could eat plain pancakes and drink the slightly bitter well water, yet still afford some decent food.

Of course, three hundred wen wouldn’t last long.

However, after joining the militia, he would receive a daily subsidy of twenty wen plus a share of the loot, so Lin Yi felt he no longer needed to worry about money.

Before leaving the cellar treasury, Lin Yi casually asked the village elder Gu Yuan what a Soul Artifact was.

Gu Yuan was surprised. He looked at Lin Yi and said, “Soul Artifact? How do you know about Soul Artifacts? They are similar to Spiritual Artifacts but are of a higher tier. Soul Artifacts can integrate with one’s soul, not only effective against demons but some specifically counter cunning spirits. Of course, Soul Artifacts are extremely rare and highly valuable. If you ever possess one, come to me to exchange it, and you may choose anything from the scroll…”

“You flatter me. How could I possibly own a Soul Artifact? I only heard others mention it and was curious,” Lin Yi replied, a flicker of excitement stirring in his heart. He hadn’t expected Soul Artifacts to be so valuable.

He recalled browsing the scroll just now, noting that while it listed many rare treasures, not a single Spiritual Artifact was among them.

Considering that the four militia captains of Gutang Village each possessed only one Spiritual Artifact, it was clear these were exceedingly precious.

Soul Artifacts, being a tier above Spiritual Artifacts, were even rarer.

This meant that today, Lin Yi had truly unearthed something extraordinary.

His green treasure-hunting talent was indeed exceptional!

Suppressing his excitement, Lin Yi returned to Gu Yongqiang’s firewood hut and logged off.

After Lin Yi disappeared, a shadow emerged from the grass outside the courtyard — the village elder Gu Yuan, who had followed all along.

Gu Yuan squinted, murmuring, “Nothing discovered… but did this kid actually see a Soul Artifact, or did he just hear about it from someone else?”

“Gu Yuan? What are you doing here?” Suddenly, Gu Yongqiang appeared, his face dark with anger.

Gu Yuan frowned, revealing himself as he stepped from the grass outside the courtyard. “What’s this? You’re so rude you won’t even call me uncle? Still holding onto the past?”

Gu Yongqiang snorted coldly. “If you hadn’t controlled the treasury back then and refused to release the village’s medicine to treat my leg, I wouldn’t be crippled now.”

Gu Yuan sighed. “That medicine is the village’s lifeblood. Unless the village chief or the three elders are seriously wounded, no one is allowed to use it. Even if I had agreed back then, the village chief would have opposed it. I thought you had changed over the years, but it seems you still harbor resentment…”

“Resentment? I don’t hate anymore. I just want to teach you a harsh lesson!” Gu Yongqiang said, no longer bothering with words. With a flick of his wrist, his firewood knife appeared, swinging toward Gu Yuan.

“Good boy, you really dare to attack your own uncle, you unfilial wretch…”

Gu Yuan’s eyes widened as he quickly crushed a talisman on his body.

Though he was beyond level ten, his path was one of divinity, and clearly, his close-combat ability was no match for Gu Yongqiang, who once competed for militia captain.

In the next moment, golden light flashed, and Gu Yongqiang was blasted three meters away.

Rubbing his numb arm, he gritted his teeth. “Old man, you still dare to fight back? If you don’t let me vent with a couple of strikes today, I’ll keep chasing you to cut you down!”

Hearing this, Gu Yuan’s eyebrows shot up in anger.

“Utter nonsense!!”

“You traitorous little bastard!”

...

Lin Yi had no idea that his innocent question about Soul Artifacts had stirred up trouble, even sparking a battle between uncle and nephew.

The next morning, when Lin Yi logged in, he found his former firewood hut gone.

It seemed something had torn it down; three walls were destroyed, and firewood lay scattered on the ground in disarray.

What had happened?

Had demons invaded the village again?

As Lin Yi pondered, Gu Yongqiang appeared, limping as he stepped out of the ruined house.

“Gu Chenghu has arranged a place for you to stay. Since you joined the militia, live there from now on.”

Lin Yi wanted to ask what had happened but saw Gu Yongqiang’s dark, grim face and held back.

He clasped his fists in gratitude. “Thank you, Brother Gu, for all your care. I’ll head there now.”

“Go. Once you reach level four, come back to me to learn the Flaming Sun sword technique.”

Leaving Gu Yongqiang’s home, Lin Yi headed directly to the village wall of Gutang.

At this time, members of the second militia squad under Gu Chenghu’s command were already stationed outside the city walls.

Gu Chenghu was absent, but one of the second squad members smiled and said, “Brother Qingshan, you’re here?”

Lin Yi smiled in return. “I’m here. Where’s the captain?”

“He went to patrol the outer city wall. The third squad guarding yesterday heard the howls of bloodthirsty wolves nearby. The captain took some brothers to check it out.”

As they spoke, Gu Chenghu appeared with several squad members from the wilderness ahead.

He carried a black corpse. Upon closer inspection, it wasn’t a bloodthirsty wolf but an ordinary mountain antelope from outside the wilds.

Blood oozed from its neck wound, which looked like it had been killed with a single blade.

“Qingshan, good timing,” Gu Chenghu said, tossing the antelope to the ground. He then assigned people to handle the carcass, preparing to barbecue it outside the walls.

“You’re lucky,” Gu Chenghu joked. “On your first day here, you get to eat roast meat. Usually, we only get this chance once every ten or fifteen days.”

The second squad members expertly gutted the antelope, working in concert to remove the innards, then built a campfire and applied seasoning to the meat.

Lin Yi couldn’t help but ask, “Captain, won’t the smell of blood and meat near the city walls attract demons?”

“Demons? I’m hoping they come. But ordinary animals don’t attract demons much. You see, demons only grow stronger by consuming human flesh and blood. Ordinary animal meat can only fill their stomachs.”

“Besides, the demons near Gutang Village are quite smart. A few years ago, we used ordinary animal meat to lure demons into an ambush. But after that, such tactics only attract low-level, less intelligent demons. The smarter ones don’t come.”

Gu Chenghu explained this while roasting the meat.

Suddenly, Gu Xiaoliu, a squad member, pointed toward the hillside. “Captain, there’s a sign of bloodthirsty wolves!”

Everyone looked eagerly, spotting several two-meter-tall wolves with gray fur prowling the hillside.

Their eyes were blood red, striking and somewhat chilling from a distance.

“They really showed up, these beasts, but it seems they don’t dare come closer.”

“Not sure. Since they dared to show themselves, they probably have their eyes on us. Sooner or later, they’ll attack.”

Gu Shan, a member of the squad, grabbed his weapon and asked, “Captain, shall we strike?”

Gu Chenghu continued roasting meat. “No rush. We must be more patient than wolves when dealing with such beasts.”

Soon, the wolves vanished over the opposite hillside.

Gu Chenghu ordered everyone back to their posts to watch the wolves’ movements.

The city walls of Gutang had small beacon towers every few hundred meters. If demons invaded, the militia guarding these towers would light the beacons as an alarm.

Gu Chenghu explained that bloodthirsty wolves prey on the weak and avoid the strong. They won’t rush in blindly but look for weak spots to strike.

If predictions were correct, the wolves seen earlier wouldn’t leave but would linger around Gutang Village in search of an opportunity before attacking.

Lin Yi spent the first two hours of the morning enjoying mountain antelope barbecue with Gu Chenghu’s squad. Nothing else happened.

After Du Gu Feng came to relieve the post, Lin Yi logged off.

By then, it was already past nine o’clock.

Though it wasn’t too late to head to the studio, Lin Yi had no plans to go there. Today, he intended to visit a nearby gym to get a membership card.

He noticed that his strength attribute had increased from six to seven points.

In reality, his attributes were linked to the game. When his in-game stats improved, the same enhancement carried over to his real body.

Lin Yi guessed that his recent heavy chopping of firewood in Gutang Village had given him enough exercise to raise his strength by one point.

Recalling that his initial game character attributes were based on his real physical condition, this meant that improving one’s physique in real life could likewise enhance in-game attributes.

This demonstrated that leveling up wasn’t the only way to increase attributes in the Tianqi world; physical training and improving real-world fitness could also lead to attribute growth.