"Why are you back so late? Uncle, where have you been?"
"There were too many people at the blacksmith, so we had to wait for a while."
The sky above the Free Continent is once again filled with stars. However, this is just the beginning of the night, so the streets of Fenghua Town are still crowded with people. This is a precious period for both players and aborigines. relaxing time.
When Duan Qing returned to the Adventurers Association, only Mengzhu was waiting here. Maybe it was because he came back too late, or maybe because he was dissatisfied with being left alone to wait here, the little girl's eyebrows were drooped, and she seemed unhappy.
"Uncle Smiling and the second-year middle school boy have come back, and then went to the tavern. I stayed here to wait for you!" The girl wrinkled her little nose and yelled: "There are not many good girls in the new era like me. , thank me quickly..."
"Isn't it because you don't like going to places like pubs...Okay, okay, thank you, let's go."
"Hey, there's no sincerity at all."
The two people immediately started walking towards Hua Lan Street. Among the people passing by, the little girl was still worried about what happened in the afternoon.
"In that battle in the afternoon, those people were so powerful... Who are they? Do you know them?"
"How can I possibly know each other? They are probably all close to level 40..."
"Well, why is it that no matter then or now, your expression is so calm and you don't feel envious at all..."
"Ha..." Duan Qing smiled: "Practice diligently, and you will reach that level."
"I don't believe it." The little girl said with an embarrassment, kicking away a small stone on the roadside: "I guess I will never be able to achieve that level in my life."
"I don't have confidence..." The man next to me sighed: "You don't believe it after I tell you. In fact, the level of those people is almost the same as ours. They only have some skills and some practical experience. That’s all, they are all things that ordinary people can practice..."
"So..." He spread his hands: "As long as you are willing to practice, these are not problems."
"Really?" the little girl asked doubtfully, "Why don't I believe it so much? If it's as easy as you say, then wouldn't everyone be a professional player..."
"Everyone can do it." Duan Qing said with a smile: "Jian Beidong in the afternoon, even though he looks very strong, he was actually a rookie at the beginning..."
"Well, really... Hey, are you familiar with him? To talk about him behind his back like this..."
"After all, I am a former professional player, so of course I know these things, such as that uncle in red robe..."
"Stop, stop, it's about to start again. I trust the head office."
"Huh, forget it if you don't want to hear it."
The two figures gradually moved away. Looking at the proud little girl, Duan Qing shook his head helplessly, thinking about what happened near the blacksmith shop in the evening.
Although there was almost no progress, Duan Qing still revealed Jian Beidong's intention of coming here.
Because of the title of "White Killing Chicken Sword Technique", the other party was inexplicably suspicious of Duan Qing's identity, but even so, a chance encounter between two "strangers" would naturally not result in too much communication. . So even though Duan Qing tried his best to mess around, he still managed to figure out some useful things.
For example, Jian Beidong came here to do a mission.
According to the information Duan Qing guessed from between the lines, Jian Beidong came to Fenghua Town after hearing about Wizad's dream, so he wanted to come here to settle some kind of personal grudge with him. But at the same time, he also had other tasks near Fenghua Town, and his time was relatively tight. He had been waiting here for several days to wait for the scholar in black. He really didn't have much time to wait any longer, so after tonight, he would leave the city.
"Let's put that account aside for now. He probably won't leave anyway."
These were the last words left by the swordsman before he left.
It has been a long time, and Duan Qing has no way of knowing what he has experienced during this period. Although this is what he wants to know most, under such circumstances, he has no time or position to ask. But judging from his appearance and the state of his previous battles, it seems that he has not given up anything in the past three years. Listening to the things he explained before, it seems that this is not a grudge between Jian Beidong himself and that person, but something related to someone else...
When did you become so enthusiastic...
Under Mengzhu's puzzled gaze, Duan Qing exhaled, then stretched out a hand and pointed at the night sky.
"As expected, everyone has matured a lot."
****************
As usual, the next day should be assigned tasks and then go their separate ways. However, due to Kidd's invitation, the members of the team were more inclined to participate in that group training. In particular, Xiao Hongchen and Smiling Butcher showed great interest in this matter - even if they were actually going to be a sparring partner, it would be much more fun than looking at goods or finding people.
And the arena competition should start today.
Duan Qing made it clear yesterday that he was unwilling to go, so he didn't want to change his decision. So after the little girl rushed out happily, the situation became miserable for Duan Qing to solve the task alone. Looks good.
"Remember to help take care of little Nina. It's so pitiful for her to be alone at home..." After Mengzhu said the last sentence, he closed the broken door of the Adventurers Association, and the wooden door creaked and cracked. , the early morning sunlight shines on the leisurely look of the unshaven Uncle Richard, and the lonely figure of Duan Qing.
"Uncle, don't you have the slightest idea..." Duan Qing stood up and sighed for a long time, then pointed to the stack of pages on the dilapidated counter that had never been reduced: "Go Can you solve one or two of the commissions here?"
"Oh, this..." Uncle Richard held up what seemed to be a mirror and was trying hard to move his chin, apparently arranging his beard: "Of course... .are also being done.”
"Really?" Duan Qing squinted his eyes suspiciously: "Why have I never seen..."
"Please believe in my character, how could I deceive you young flowers, hahahaha!" Richard nodded with satisfaction, then threw the mirror on the table: "Of course, it doesn't matter if you don't believe it. "
He stood up, walked around the table, and patted Duan Qing on the shoulder: "I have seen your efforts in the past few days. You have done a good job and reduced a lot of my burden, so... ….I’m grateful to you.”
"So you have to keep working hard, hahahaha!" The uncle who still looked sloppy after tidying up for a long time laughed for a while, and then pushed the door open and went out.
"Who are these people..." Duan Qing grinded his teeth bitterly, and immediately decided not to get along with these cunning NPCs. Anyway, he was the only one left, and it didn't matter what commission he chose, so Duan Qing casually picked up the first few pages in the mountain of paper and started to read slowly.
The contents of these commissions placed on the table looked no different from usual ones. They were still a lot of trivial matters, which just looked like a headache. Duan Qing randomly selected a few tasks that seemed valuable, and then planned the route a little so that he could do as many as possible within the limited time.
This is one of the basic skills that veteran players must have.
"I sent this letter first, and then went to help Uncle Mamba... Well, the blacksmith shop still needs new goods today, can't you guys just calm down? Is it because of the recent war... .There is also a food delivery team, so let’s not go there, it feels like a bottomless pit...eh."
As if he suddenly remembered something, Duan Qing patted his forehead, and then looked at the adventure map in the system again: "I also want to see that Nina, um... her home is in the east of the city."
"Then after delivering the letter, I'll go to the blacksmith shop and take a look at today's daily routine, and then I'll take a look on the way when I leave the city..."
Muttering his plan, Duan Qing slowly opened the wooden door and walked towards the town hall. He kept walking, still deducing today's planned route in his mind - the first step is to go to the town hall to pick up the delivery items. Sending letters is the simplest task and shouldn't waste a lot of time.
Then, his whole day's plans were completely disrupted.
The letter was sent to the warehouse at the east gate of the city. It was said to be a plan for food distribution in the past two days. After Duan Qing delivered it, he realized that he was not far from the home of the little girl Mengzhu had entrusted to take care of, so he planned to Prioritize this task.
The little girl named Nina lives alone at home. Mengzhu told her before that she is a taciturn person, and her mother died young and her father is not at home. However, unlike the boy in Green Stone Village, her father was not a person who had been missing for several days, but a miner who seemed to be working in a mine near Blue Mountain Village.
Since she is away mining all year round, her father is always away from home, which makes the little girl with no one to look after her very withdrawn and rarely interacts with anyone. It was not until the mayor of Fenghua Town recently proposed a new policy that people in the town began to spontaneously pay attention to these children who stayed at home alone. The situation of this little girl was gradually discovered by people, and then her name was brought to the town hall. on the list.
There are many children like Nina, so according to the original idea, the mayor wanted some people with leisure and love to take some time to take care of them and accompany them, so that these children can also feel To the warmth of Fenghua Town. However, when it comes to the specifics below, each child's personality, preferences, and family situation are different, and the wishes of those who want to take care of the child and the organization are also different, so the situation becomes a bit complicated again, and the results are reversed. Eventually, Nina was listed on the Adventurer's Association's black page and became a commission in the name of the town hall.
As a result, due to the decline of the Fenghua Town Adventurer Association, Nina's living situation has not improved much. It was not until Duan Qing joined the adventure group that other people began to appear in her family.
The girl's home is very old, and the floor is dusty, obviously it has been left unattended for a long time. When Duan Qing pushed the door open and entered, he almost choked on the dust kicked up by the fan.
It took him a long time to find where the little girl was.
Nina's room is located at the back of the whole house, and that is the only place that is relatively clean. It seems that the little girl herself thinks that there is no need to clean other places except her own room. Duan Qing also called at the door for a long time before coming in, but no one answered. In desperation, he had no choice but to go in and check for a while. Finally, after searching every room, he found the little girl sitting alone on the bed, holding a doll.
Perhaps she discovered that the eldest sister who came today was not the eldest sister from a few days ago. The girl's eyes were a little surprised. The two looked at each other for a long time. Finally, Duan Qing scratched his head in embarrassment: "Well, well, I am the one who came today." The person who came to take care of you, my name is...well, just call me Brother Qingshan, are you little Nina?"
The girl didn't answer him, she just continued to stare at him with her big eyes.
Sure enough, it was just like the legend, with a strange personality... Duan Qing had sweat on his forehead. Even the most experienced players would not have any experience in taking care of children. He stood there and rubbed his hands, swaying a little helplessly for a while. He really didn't think of what to say, so he had to smile sheepishly: "Well, um... hello."
The girl still didn't answer him, but pointed to a small cabinet next to her. On top of that cabinet, there was a clean plate, and there was a wooden cup next to it. There was nothing on the plate, but it was vaguely Some food residues can also be found.
After being stared at by Nina for a long time, Duan Qing finally realized that the little girl opposite was probably hungry. He sighed, then thought about it, took out the leftover "Shuoxinghua" cake from his pocket yesterday, and handed it to the little girl in front of him.
Seeing the little girl holding the doll and holding the snack in her two little hands, Duan Qing felt a little warm in her heart for no reason. This may be due to the appearance of the little girl. Apart from the shabby clothes on her body, this little girl is still a beauty and quite cute.
But it didn't take long for Duan Qing to stop thinking she was cute.
In addition to eating, Nina has many requirements. It seems that because no one has been playing with her, she really wants others to play with her, and because she doesn't like to talk, it is Duan Qing's biggest problem to understand her intentions. Whenever Duan Qing guesses wrong, a pair of big tearful eyes will appear in front of him in time, staring at the embarrassed man, making him anxious for a long time. After coaxing him back and forth, the girl smiles again. He let out a long breath.
If I knew who her father was, I would definitely beat him to death... If I knew who planned such a plot, I would definitely beat him to death...
This was Duan Qing's only thought when he mechanically read a certain fairy tale book later.
Little Nina's family is very poor, so there are not many things for children to play with. Even the small storybook in Duan Qing's hand is already in tatters. However, the girl didn't care about this. She still pulled Duan Qing's clothes with a small force and motioned him to read the content to her. She didn't know how many times she had heard it before.
But looking at the bald doll she was holding in her arms, Duan Qing endured it and read the story seriously.
This book is very thin, and it contains short stories similar to fables. When Duan Qing turned the pages, he found that almost every page had traces of being wet, so the entire page was already a little yellow. Halfway through reading, Duan Qing raised his head and found that the girl's earnest eyes were no longer on him, but staring straight ahead.
It was an open door leading to the outside. Duan Qing forgot to close it when he came in.
"You want... to go out to play?" After waiting for a long time and still no response, Duan Qing guessed with some uncertainty: "Have you never gone out to play?"
Nina shook her head slightly.
"Ah..." Duan Qing covered his head and looked up at the dilapidated ceiling. After a long time, he finally put down his arm: "Okay, I'll take you out to play..."
It seems that today's plans have all come to nothing.
