The World Online

When Ouyang Shuo led his troops to the western suburbs military camp, there were already a few lord players coming in.

In order to maintain order in the military camp, Shang imperial court had sent a hundred royal guards, which were later known as palace guards, to take charge of the camp.

The royal guards looked strong and mighty, they were equipped with the best bronze armors and shields of the era.

As the player representative, Ouyang Shuo was luckily given the largest settlement within the camp, which was located in the middle of the military camp and besides the tents of the royal guards.

After settling down, Ouyang Shuo arranged for Siege Lion and Xunlong Dianxue to gather information, mainly to determine which famous lords were in the faction.

As for the lords that came to visit Ouyang Shuo, Bai Hua and Feng Qiuhuang took them all away to the other side of the tent to discuss their cooperations.

Unlike the Battle of Zhuolu, Ouyang Shuo hoped that he could gather together as many players as he could to his side this time. Because he had chosen the supposedly defeated faction, he would need to rely on the power of the whole faction if he wanted to change history.

In the camp, Ouyang Shuo could enjoy a tent of his own. Wang Feng had already led the lord’s guards and taken charge of the tent’s safety.

When they saw that Ouyang Shuo had his own guards, Siege Lion and Xunlong Dianxue became envious. They said that they would also form a team of lord’s guards and show off their prestige as lords.

Ouyang Shuo ignored their teasings and invited Song Jia over to his tent. Ever since they met, this was the first time they had their time alone together. Ouyang Shuo naturally did not invite her over to murmur endearments. After some small talk, Ouyang Shuo took out the secret manual 1.

It was an emperor-level secret manual, and it cost Ouyang Shuo 1,500 gold to purchase it. And now, even if he sold it for 30,000 gold, the crowd would still go crazy buying it. Of course, that was if they could hold such a large fund.

For such a valuable secret manual, Ouyang Shuo did not mail it to Song Jia. Instead, he wished to hand it over to her in person as a surprise, and now was just the right time to do so.

“Take a look. What is this?” Ouyang Shuo handed the manual over to Song Jia.

She wasn’t too concerned about it until she saw the title on the manual cover. She was so shocked that her jaws almost dropped; she exclaimed, “!?”

“Shhh!” Ouyang Shuo made a gesture, as he asked Song Jia to lower her volume.

“Woodsy, You..you…you, are you trying to frighten me to death?” She lowered her volume and said, “Such a rare secret manual and you are still able to get your hands on it. I am really impressed.”

“So how is it; do you like it?” Ouyang Shuo smiled.

Song Jia nodded. Then, she shook her head and said, “Woodsy, of course I like it. But, I can’t have it. It is too valuable, so save it for yourself. You are a great lord. How can you not practice a great secret manual?” as she finished her sentence, she returned the manual to Ouyang Shuo reluctantly.

Ouyang Shuo shook his head while laughing, This girl. It is crystal clear that she likes it a lot, but she is still thinking of me, “It’s alright, I am already practicing an emperor-level internal strength technique, so I do not need this anymore.”

“Woodsy, are you sure you are not lying to me? They are emperor-level secret manuals. Why do they sound like vegetables in a market, so commonly available? I don’t believe you.”

Ouyang Shuo was speechless, and he simply showed her his character stats panel. Scouting skills could not reconnaissance a player’s character stats panel. This was the only way to discover a player’s stats.

After she finished reading his stats, Song Jia exclaimed, “Woodsy, I can be sure of it now. You are a monster. My god, you alone practice two emperor-level secret manuals and a king-level manual. Really, truly incredible.”

“You believe me now? Quickly learn the . I will be right beside you.”

“Okay.” She happily took back the manual and proceeded to learn it.

Ouyang Shuo watched, as she sat down cross-legged. He practiced beside her.

After two hours, Song Jia opened her eyes. Joy filled her face. She gazed at Ouyang Shuo, who sat beside her, and a touch of deep affection flashed through her eyes. Woodsy, You’re so good to me. I don’t even know how to repay you.

It was about time Ouyang Shuo finished practicing, and he saw Song Jia staring at him. He smiled and said banteringly, “What, have you never met a handsome guy before? Staring at me like this will make me feel embarrassed.”

“Cheh, woodsy, your face is still as thick as before,” Song Jia coquettishly smiled.

To be honest, the Ouyang Shuo in-game gave her a different feeling and felt similar to a stranger. He was a calm and steady man and a lord of great fame, so it was hard for her to relate him to Ouyang Shuo—that little brat in reality. And his words just dawned on Song Jia, Ouyang Shuo was still Ouyang Shuo. He had never changed and was still the same old little brat.

“Woodsy, I noticed that your Shanhai Alliance consists of quite a few beautiful ladies. Be honest, do you have any other girls other than me?” After the feeling of familiarity returned, she started to get jealousy.

Her words were true. Within the Shanhai Alliance, Feng Qiuhuang, Bai Hua, and Mulan Yue were all beautiful ladies and the lords of territories. Song Jia was feeling uneasy around them. Song Jia was only the young lady of Song Corporate, which was meaningless in this game. Moreover, Feng Qiuhuang was also the young lady of the Feng Family.

Their appearance made Song Jia feel threatened.

“And also, the secret manual you were practicing is the . Are you thinking of having a chamber of three thousand imperial concubines?” Her jealousy grew heavier.

Ouyang Shuo laughed and shook his head. Then, he patted her head, “What are you talking about? That is just an internal strength secret manual. What is this about three thousand imperial concubines? Do you still have any pride as a girl?”

“Then, tell me. What’s with the girls? From the way I see it, they are quite close to you, smiling and chatting happily, while I can’t even find a chance to enter the conversation. Woodsy, tell me honestly, do you think that I am useless? I can’t even help you at all in the game. Instead, I am a burden that keeps distracting you,” Song Jia felt a little melancholy.

Her words stunned Ouyang Shuo; he stood up and hugged Song Jia from behind. He curled his hands around her waist and placed his face beside her little soft white cheek. He felt the uneasy heart that pumped in her body. Song Jia was shaken and felt shy. This was the first time they ever had such intimate actions since they met.

“Silly girl, I, Ouyang Shuo, am not a playboy. To have a woman like you in my life is all that I ask for. Bai Hua and the others, we are only friends and confidants. There are no affections between us. And stop saying that you are useless. We are a couple, so there is no need to haggle about matters like this. For the things that you have given me are far beyond all material givings,” Ouyang Shuo said in deep affection.

Her body trembled; her face blushed red, and even her ears were hot. This was the first time that Ouyang Shuo had spoken words of love to her, so how could she not be moved?

She turned over in his arms and looked squarely into Ouyang Shuo’s eyes. Then, she seriously said, “Woodsy, remember your words today. Please do not ever turn your back on me.”

“I, Ouyang Shuo, will not turn my back on you for the rest of my life!”

Song Jia couldn’t hold it back anymore. She had thrown away her pride as a girl and kissed Ouyang Shuo.

This kiss set a lifelong promise in place.

While the two lovers were whispering sweet nothings to one another, Siege Lion walked in all of a sudden and witnessed this scene before his eyes. He grinned and teased, “Brother, my big brother, your little brother here was busy gathering information outside, yet you stayed in here and had so much fun, wuwu *fake cries*.”

Luckily, Song Jia wasn’t a small-minded woman. She had the aura of a heroine. Even when faced with Siege Lion’s teasings, she was only just a little shy.

Ouyang Shuo ignored his teasing too and directly asked, “How was it?”

Siege Lion immediately became serious again and shook his head, “Brother, it is not so good. Guess what? Handan Alliance, Chunqiu Alliance, and Blood-metal Alliance have all surprisingly chosen the Zhou dynasty.”

Ouyang Shuo was stunned, “How could that be; was there anyone behind it?”

“That is not all.” At this moment, Xunlong Dianxue walked in. He greeted them and said, “Just now, I saw Handan Alliance’s Wufu.”

“Wufu? How is he not with the Handan Alliance now?” Ouyang Shuo was puzzled.

“Who knows.”

Siege Lion’s thoughts were much darker than the two, “Could it be that Di Chen sent him over to act as a spy?”

“Spy? On the battlefield, no messages are allowed. Even the alliance channel is restricted, so how can he send any messages?” Ouyang Shuo was still puzzled.

“Heihei, brother, as a spy, he does not necessarily need to send messages. He could just simply destroy the alliances within the faction and avoid participating during the final battle. As long as he wants to, there will be many more ways to do it,” Siege Lion was indeed a man of conspiracy.

Ouyang Shuo nodded, and a frown crawled all over his face, “It can’t be. If that is the case, with Wufu here, he will not benefit at all. Why would he make such a big sacrifice?”

“Brother you have spoken the main point. From my point of view, Wufu must be unwilling to do so. Probably, his own allies crowded him out. If we would like to know what is going here with Di Chen and Chun Shenjun and the trickeries they have, Wufu will be a great breakthrough point. Brother, you might want to try and contact him,” Xunlong Dianxue’s conjecture was fair and reasonable.

A mist of doubt clouded Ouyang Shuo. He would not be at ease without knowing what was actually happening, “Alright, I will find an opportunity and contact Wufu. It seems like this board of chess will not be an easy game after all.”

“Hei, Di Chen and the likes are merely scums. Brother need not be too concerned,” Siege Lion was disdainful of Di Chen as usual. The hatred between the two was quite baffling.

Ouyang Shuo shook his head and said, “You are wrong. Do not take them lightly. Didn’t you realize that ever since his failure in territory city promotion, Di Chen has reduced his exposure to the public? What does this mean? It means that he has realized his wrongdoings, and he is now hiding his hands in the shadow. To make an enemy with people like this is the scariest. Furthermore, after the galactic migration, a few more cunning old foxes stand behind him.”

Xunlong Dianxue nodded in agreement with Ouyang Shuo’s deduction.

1 (九阴真经): A Chinese fictional martial arts from a novel in Condor Trilogy by Jin Yong.