Chapter 99: Undying City (1)

Seemingly having realised he'd been forgotten, the man began walking towards her with a face full of smiles.

"I'm Pure Crane, the one you met at the dungeon's entrance last time. I stopped my friends when they were being rude to you, remember?"

That snippet of information helped to jog Shen Jingbin's memory.

His friends weren't just rude to her during that one time, they've always been rude to her!

But, she couldn't just say such things. People who went around revealing their inner thoughts to others were all fools.

"Oh, it's you. What a coincidence."

Pure Crane didn't seem to notice her cold indifference, retaining the same gentle and harmless look on his face. "It really is a coincidence, I didn't expect to run into you here," He glanced behind her and continued, "Is it just you?"

Shen Jingbin nodded her head.

"Are you from Jade Sea Pavilion? I heard a Quiet And Steadfast married a Daoist nun a while back. That person should be you, right?" Pure Crane said, sounding very sure of himself.

Shen Jingbin shot a glance at him. "Looks like you're pretty well informed."

Pure Crane laughed, "I'm not the one who's well informed. This game has plenty of girls lusting after Quiet And Steadfast. Any news related to him always kicks up a huge fuss, let alone something as big as him getting married. You'd know about it even if you didn't want to. Quiet And Steadfast's marriage left quite a few girls from my guild in tears after they found out."

"Should I feel proud or ashamed about this?"

"Sigh… Did Quiet And Steadfast come along with you?"

"He had something to attend to so he logged off."

Pure Crane had a look of astonishment on his face. "He didn't come along with you? This map is pretty dangerous. Aside from the fact that PKers wouldn't have their names dyed red even if they killed you, there's even a chance of triggering an encounter with the Demonic Sect. Most people come here with their companions."

Shen Jingbin shrugged. "This is my first time here, so I didn't know about any of this. I'll leave first since it's so dangerous."

"How much time do you have left?"

Shen Jingbin checked her notification. "Around twenty plus minutes left."

"What a coincidence, I just so happen to have around twenty minutes left too. Why don't you come along with us instead? There's a higher chance of triggering a hidden quest here, and there's plenty of uncommon equipment too. It'd be a huge waste to just leave like this."

"Us?"

Pure Crane raised his hand and pointed at Undying City behind him. "My friends have just found the teleportation point and they're now in the city. I came out here to have a look at the situation."

A player's exploration of an area would be considered "completed" once they found a teleportation point. Those that didn't manage to find a teleportation point would have their exploration progress judged by the amount that they were able to uncover. Pure Crane's friends had above average luck, allowing them to find the teleportation point to Undying City after having taken just a few steps in the area. Once they were teleported over, they immediately began to explore the city in hopes of finding uncommon equipment.

Pure Crane himself was more concerned about the situation outside of Undying City, so he separated from the group and left the city. After rounding the city walls once, he didn't find anything out of the ordinary, but instead, he found Shen Jingbin.

Shen Jingbin considered his proposal for a moment before accepting.

Although she had this nagging feeling that Pure Crane wasn't a good person, he probably didn't harbour any ill intent towards her.

Eh, at least for now anyway.

Pure Crane walked in front as he led Shen Jingbin through the city gate and into Undying City. The entirety of the Demonic Sect's map was filled with desolation, and the inside of Undying City was no different. No a single person could be seen on the streets, junk was strewn all over the place, and messy stalls dotted the sides of it. It may be called a city, but it would've been more accurate to call it a ghost town instead.

"Isn't there a single person around?" Shen Jingbin asked after turning a circle to glance around.

"Yup. When I walked out of the city to take a look just now, let alone other people, there wasn't even a single living creature in sight. Who knows whether it's because the NPCs haven't been added in yet or whether this was intentionally done," Pure Crane replied.

Pure Crane led Shen Jingbin over to a less dilapidated looking tavern and said, "My friends are probably still exploring the city. I'll send news to them, so how about you wait over here for a bit?"

Shen Jingbin nodded, feeling completely indifferent to the matter. She stepped into the tavern and sat on a stool that was more or less intact. She glanced at Pure Crane who was standing at the tavern's entrance and saw him contacting his friends before she shifted her gaze away and started to look over the tavern.

It was a pretty large tavern spanning two floors in total. There was even a stage in the center of the first floor, making it clear that this was once a bustling place. The second floor was in a greater state of ruin. The ceiling beams were strewn all over the corridor, and the railings were filled with spiderwebs.

"Brother Pure," While Shen Jingbin was looking the place over, a woman's delighted voice suddenly swept past her ears, causing her to look towards the tavern's entrance.

A pure and cute looking female player was adorably tugging Pure Crane's arm as she chattered on about some unknown things. Behind her, a man and woman could be seen. The man wore a smile on his face, the corners of his eyes and mouth both curved upwards with mirth, giving those who laid eyes on him the urge to smile along with him. At the moment, his eyes were glued to the female player who was tugging at Pure Crane's arm with a level of affection that couldn't be concealed.

On the other hand, the woman beside him looked a lot more normal in comparison. In a game overflowing with handsome men and beautiful women, she was someone with a forgettable face. She herself was also looking at Pure Crane and the female player with a smile on her face, but unbeknownst to her, her gaze had been flitting towards the smiling man beside her the entire time.

Tsk, it's a love rectangle.