In a high-level martial arts game, a wife is given to you at the start.

Lin Qiye scanned the task from beginning to end twice.

Blackwind Valley.

Located about 300 miles southwest of the holy city, it is a notoriously dangerous place, where bone-chilling black winds blow year-round.

The valley yields some unique minerals and rare medicinal herbs, offering considerable profits, thus attracting many adventurers. However, it is also home to numerous troublesome exotic beasts, resulting in the deaths of many within its walls each year. A Class C mission would be a tough nut to crack for most outer-city cultivators, but for Lin Qiye, it wasn't even a warm-up.

Two hundred Source Coins and a few Contribution Points—the reward is only mediocre, far less than the private missions issued by inner-city families. But the reward isn't important. What's important is that this is an official Temple mission. Completion will result in an official mission record and official Contribution Points. Contribution Points are far more valuable than their face value in the Holy City. Accumulating more is equivalent to having a "resume" in the Temple's eyes, so that when applying for official status later, you will no longer be a "stranger of unknown origin."

Moreover, standard magical artifacts like the "detection compass" piqued his interest. He currently knew too little about detection methods. If he could borrow a standard artifact from the temple to observe and study, he would be able to perceive and respond more systematically the next time he encountered similar anomalies.

He walked to the mission pick-up point at the edge of the square.

The pick-up point was a semi-open stone chamber, one side of which faced the square. Inside, there was an old, long wooden table with two tall stacks of registers and dozens of unactivated mission tokens piled on it. Between the table and chairs sat an old man with gray hair and beard, wearing a faded old robe. He leaned back in his chair, an open notebook in front of him, which he was reading with great interest.

Lin Qiye placed the temporary jade token on the table.

The old man slowly raised his eyelids, his cloudy eyes sweeping over Lin Qiye, lingering particularly on the overly calm aura that seemed out of place in the noisy surroundings. He put down his biscuits and notes, smacked his lips, and asked, "New here? Which district are you registered in?"

"Outer City West District. Temporary identity."

The old man gave an "oh," took the temporary jade token, and scanned it on the registration artifact. The token flashed, displaying basic identity information. He then glanced at Lin Qiye, his brows furrowing: "Alone? Black Wind Valley isn't close. Although Category C missions don't discriminate, if you take one alone, the Holy City isn't responsible if something goes wrong. Every year, at least eighty or a hundred lone wolves perish in Black Wind Valley."

"one person."

The old man clicked his tongue again, but didn't try to persuade him further. He had been working at the registration desk in the city for thirty years, and had seen all sorts of strange and monstrous things. He shrugged, took out a mission token from under the table, inserted it into the next one, entered Lin Qiye's information, and then took out a palm-sized octagonal compass from the iron box on the corner of the table, slapping it on the table.

"The detection compass, borrowed from you. Return it when you get back. If it's damaged or lost," he held up a finger, "you'll have to pay the original price, twelve source crystals. Injecting source energy will activate it; any abnormal source energy fluctuations and life reactions within a ten-mile radius will be marked. The higher the intensity, the larger the light spot. Mission deadline: fifteen days. If you don't return by the deadline, or don't proactively reply, the system will automatically declare it a failure."

"The timeframe is sufficient."

Lin Qiye took the mission token and compass and turned to walk back.

After walking a dozen steps, he heard the old man muttering to someone behind him: "Another one who never learns. Does he really think a Class C mission is child's play—"

He didn't finish listening; he had already walked away.

Their steps didn't falter. The first thing they did after accepting the mission wasn't to set off, but to go home.

In the courtyard of Qing Shi Lane, Luo Sheng was washing clothes by the skylight. When she saw him return, she wiped her fingers on her apron, did not ask any questions, but simply glanced at his expression.

"I'm going away for a few days," Lin Qiye said.

Luo Sheng's fingers tightened, but she didn't say anything, only nodded.

The barbarian princess was squatting by the well, sharpening her axe. The whetstone made a rhythmic grinding sound on the blade. After listening for a while, she finally squeezed out through gritted teeth, "How about... I go with you?"

"You stay."

The barbarian princess paused for a moment while sharpening her axe. Her lips moved, as if she wanted to say, "I can help you," but ultimately she didn't. She knew that with Lin Qiye's strength, if there was a problem he couldn't solve alone, taking her along would only be a pointless suicide mission. The words stuck in her throat, finally turning into a muffled "Mmm."

The little girl couldn't understand what the adults were saying at all. She just felt that the atmosphere had suddenly changed. She toddled over to Lin Qiye's side, tilted her head up, and called out a muffled "Daddy." Lin Qiye looked down at her, reached out and gently pressed the top of her head, and said nothing.

Qingyin stood in the kitchen doorway, a dishcloth in her hand, quietly observing everything. Just as Lin Qiye was about to leave, she suddenly spoke, her voice very soft: "Master...be careful."

Lin Qiye turned around and glanced at her.

"Take care of the household." He said those four words, then turned and pushed open the door.

Only the branches and leaves of the old tree remained in the courtyard, swaying gently in the wind.

……

The western gate of the holy city stood over ten zhang high, with two rows of massive rune arrays carved on either side, guarded by soldiers day and night. Lin Qiye presented his temporary jade token, quickly completed the exit procedures at the city gate registration office, and then ceased to conceal his movements. A flash of dark golden light appeared beneath his feet, and he had already become a blur on the official road outside the city, rushing towards Black Wind Valley in the southwest.

Three hundred miles is no more than half a day's journey for Lin Qiye now.

The closer one gets to Blackwind Valley, the more pronounced the changes in the surrounding environment become. The flat grasslands are gradually replaced by jagged rocks, the vegetation dwindles from lush to sparse, and then to barrenness. The rocks on the ground are dark brown, some bearing the scorching, glassy marks of intense heat. A faint smell of sulfur begins to permeate the air, mixed with a stench reminiscent of rotting flesh. The sun hasn't set yet, but the sky is already darkening—not because clouds are obscuring the light, but because some kind of black dust suspended in the air is absorbing it. Strange, black winds occasionally sweep through the cracks in the rocks, whipping up sand and gravel that crackles against the rock walls before whistling away into the distant twilight.

The valley entrance was extremely treacherous. On either side were steep, black rock walls, dozens of meters high, their surfaces smooth as if cleaved by a giant axe. Above the walls, a black wind, carrying copious amounts of sand and dust, churned and swirled, emitting a mournful sound, like a woman's sob. Several dozen meters outside the valley entrance, there were scattered traces of what appeared to be temporary campsites.

A long-extinguished campfire, tattered tent fabric, and a few rusty iron arrows forgotten in the cracks of rocks.

Clearly, adventurers had come before, but they had long since scattered like birds and beasts.

Lin Qiye stopped at the valley entrance and took out a detection compass.

The moment a trace of primordial energy was injected, the compass surface shone brightly with silver light.