My lord, spare his life!

"A living person?"

Fan You followed Zhang Yang's gaze.

Even with his eyesight far surpassing that of ordinary people, he couldn't see the target. Left with no other choice, he had to use a hand seal to focus his energy into his eyes. This time, he could see that the airflow in that direction was somewhat abnormal, but unlike Zhang Yang, he couldn't immediately determine whether it was a living person or some other living creature.

Zhang Yang said, "Let's go take a look."

She was convinced that this living person was the clue to the next mission.

Don't ask why, it's just a routine.

Fan You grabbed her arm quickly, his eyes flashing with Zhang Yang's warning: "Don't forget our current identities. Don't reveal too much, and especially don't alert the enemy or make a move."

What he really wanted to say was that he hoped Zhang Yang wouldn't suddenly pull out a shovel to dig for stones and herbs while walking; that would be too abnormal.

After pondering for three breaths, Zhang Yang raised his hand and made a circle with his index finger and thumb.

"OK, I'll handle it, don't worry about it."

This task apparently requires her to stay a certain distance from the NPC Fan You; exceeding that distance might result in task failure. She's familiar with the typical game quest mechanics, but unfortunately, unlike players who can click to follow an NPC, she has to do this lousy quest herself.

The two of them braved the wind and snow to approach that direction.

As the distance closed, Zhang Yang could see that there were not one person, but three people with yellow names. Because the three were close together, the yellow names she saw were almost overlapping. The three were named "Fanatical Refugee," "Out-of-Control Refugee," and "Hungry Refugee."

The [frenzied refugee] and the [out-of-control refugee] were locked in a fierce fight, tearing at each other. The [starving refugee] was terrified, his face pale, and tried several times to help but couldn't get a hand in. Only when Zhang Yang and his companion approached did the [starving refugee] shout, "Help! Someone's here!" The two struggling refugees finally stopped fighting. They rolled away to create distance and looked warily at Zhang Yang.

As the "out-of-control refugees" calmed down, their names gradually changed to "starving refugees," while the "frenzied refugees" became "Eastern bandits." Zhang Yang could tell the three's stances at a glance.

The bandits from the Eastern Frontier shouted, "Who are you?"

"My brother and I are refugees," Fan You said, panting heavily. His breath turned into white mist, blurring his vision. "Our tenants robbed us in the middle of the night and broke into the manor... My brother and I escaped with great difficulty, hoping to seek refuge in the city."

The Eastern Bandit's eyes darted around.

"You and your siblings?"

Fan You pulled down the tattered collar covering his chin, revealing a slightly haggard but still undeniably handsome face. The Eastern Bandit's eyes lit up noticeably at the sight of this face. When his gaze shifted from Fan You to Zhang Yang, his eyes widened, his breathing quickened, and his cheeks flushed.

Fan You stepped aside to block him: "What are you doing?"

Zhang Yang lowered her voice: "They were clearly captivated by my beauty."

Fan You: "..."

The character she has now is one she was born with.

Her makeup was light, yet it couldn't hide her stunning beauty.

The observer even asked her for advice: "Sister, how did you sculpt this character? You made those peach blossom eyes so alluring, yet the way you look at people is as cold as if you were looking at a dog? Could you please share some character creation data?"

Zhang Yang: [Personal use only, not given.]

In conclusion, her original character creation is incredibly impressive, even earning a high rating in the observation sample—a showcase of skill from a character creation master. Zhang Yang wholeheartedly agrees.

In the game world, some NPCs have hidden mechanics. Encountering a player of the opposite sex whose appearance rating exceeds a certain threshold will trigger a "lustful" debuff. NPCs under this debuff will have their alertness, defense, and intelligence reduced. Players can lure them away to successfully complete mini-games such as infiltration, assassination, and manipulation. Her face can trigger this hidden mechanic every time!

Conversely, if a player is too ugly, it will anger the NPCs.

The Eastern Bandit was now "blinded by lust".

"There's not much food in the city. If you two go in, you'll be skinned alive and killed in a few days. I feel a connection between you two the moment I saw you. You'd better not go in and die." The Eastern Bandit narrowed his eyes and told Fan You and Fan You a piece of news, "If you want to live, you can come with me. I'll take you to a place with food and warmth."

Fan You cautiously took a step back.

"Where can you find such a place nowadays?"

[The Eastern Bandit] ignored Fan You's reaction, spat, and laughed, "You ungrateful boy, do you think I'm going to harm you? If I wanted to, ten of your lives wouldn't be enough for me. To be honest, I used to have a younger sister, and I was once an older brother. I only helped you two out of pity, showing you a way to survive. Boy, you don't want your beautiful younger sister to freeze or starve to death, do you?"

His words indeed persuaded Fan You.

Seeing Fan You's hesitation, the "Eastern Bandit" pointed to two "starving refugees" beside him: "If you don't believe me, you can ask them. Ask them if there's any way for you two to survive here..."

The starving refugees, who had been fighting with the Eastern Bandits, exchanged glances and nodded to Zhang Yang and the other man.

Zhang Yang tugged at Fan You's tattered clothes, speaking softly but loud enough for the "Eastern Bandit" to hear: "So hungry and so cold."

Her acting skills can be described as poor.

Fortunately, the distance was far, and Fan You's body blocked the view, so the [Eastern Bandit] could only hear a voice as melodious and pleasant as a clear spring, making his ears itch. Fan You lowered his eyelids, trying hard to suppress the nerves at the corners of his mouth, and nodded to the [Eastern Bandit]: "Okay."

[The Eastern Bandit] grinned and said, "Don't worry, little boy. Once you join us, we'll be brothers and sisters, helping each other out. Nothing you're worried about will happen."

Fan You pursed his lips and did not answer, but simply nodded slightly.

The Eastern Bandit led four people away.

After a brief chat, Zhang Yang and his companion finally understood what was going on.

The two starving refugees had fled from elsewhere, never expecting the situation here to be so dire. They were tricked by a group of bandits disguised as Eastern bandits and nearly devoured. After managing to escape, they encountered the real Eastern bandits, and a fight broke out between them due to communication difficulties.

The misunderstanding has now been cleared up.

These explanations seem reasonable at first glance.

However, Zhang Yang always felt that something was wrong.

Judging from Fan You's expression, the latter didn't seem to be acting strangely.

Zhang Yang simply adopted a calm attitude, ready to meet force with force, and deal with any imposters as they came. If they were real, great; if not, he would kill them all. Led by the "Eastern Bandit," Zhang Yang and his group arrived at a village.

It was called a village, but it was really just a dozen or so dilapidated thatched huts.

The village was silent.

Several young men could be seen patrolling at the entrance of the village.

Upon seeing the "Eastern Bandit" return, one of the young men stepped forward. The two spoke in hushed tones in a strange dialect, glancing frequently in Zhang Yang's direction. After a while, the "Eastern Bandit" raised his hand and beckoned, "Don't just stand there, come here."

The village has a fairly large population.

A rough count revealed over a hundred people.

"Sister Fang, take the girl to get something to eat." [Dongfan Thief] spoke cheerfully and warmly, and immediately invited a woman with a long braid to take Zhang Yang to eat. Fan You also wanted to go along, but was stopped by [Dongfan Thief], "They are women, we won't eat with them, let's go to the house at the edge of the village."

Fang Jie looked at Zhang Yang, her eyes filled with heartache.

She reached out and took Zhang Yang's arm: "You've suffered so much at such a young age, kid. Don't be afraid. If you join us, you won't have to worry about food and drink."

The woman had a very kind, gentle, and simple appearance.

Judging from her appearance alone, it's hard to feel any ill will towards her.

but--

Zhang Yang frowned as he looked at the large yellow name above her head, "Human Butcher Sister Fang," and pulled his hand back: "Don't touch me."

Before the bandits from the Eastern Frontier had even left, he smiled and tried to smooth things over, saying, "Sister Fang, she's from a wealthy family, so she's not used to us right now. Don't make things difficult for that young girl."

"Go away, do you think I don't understand? This young lady looks so noble, she's nothing like us commoners!" After laughing and scolding, he turned to Zhang Yang and explained softly, "Don't be afraid, young lady, this is how people are here. You'll get used to it after a while."

Fan You gave Zhang Yang a look, indicating that he should act according to the situation.

As it turned out, Zhang Yang didn't receive it at all. Maintaining an almost wooden expression, he followed Sister Fang away. Fan You could only pray that Zhang Yang would calm down. His worries did not escape the notice of the "Eastern Bandit," who patted him on the shoulder.

"Don't worry, we're safe here."

It is indeed very safe, and there is plenty of food.

Why do we say it's abundant?

What was served to Fan You was meat porridge, and not just minced meat, but whole chunks of meat the size of a fingernail. The steaming hot porridge had hardly any seasoning, but for a hungry man, it was nothing short of a delicacy. The "Eastern Bandit" inside the room picked it up and drank it.

Seeing that Fan You hadn't moved, he asked, "Why aren't you eating?"

Fan You, his face pale, said, "This meat is probably inedible."

The others in the room cast scrutinizing or fierce glances at him. Fan You's face was deathly pale. After hesitating for a long time, he pushed the food in front of the "Eastern Bandit": "I can't eat it."

[The Eastern Bandit] sighed and took the bowl of meat porridge: "If you don't eat now, you'll eat when you're starving. Fine, fine, I won't make things difficult for a baby like you."

A chorus of soft snickers rose from the surroundings.

Everyone was mocking Fan You for being tactless and failing to see the bigger picture.

At this critical juncture, does he still think he's some wealthy young master with countless fields and tenants? Having enough to eat, enough to survive, is already a stroke of good fortune. So many people would kill for a bowl of porridge, yet he, for the sake of his pride, refuses it.

Tsk, you'll see when you're starving.

The Eastern Bandit stepped in to smooth things over and ease the tension.

Compared to Fan You's treatment, Zhang Yang was treated much better. She was given a bowl of wheat porridge, and Sister Fang even used the residual heat from the earthen stove to warm water for Zhang Yang to wash her face. After wiping away the few stains she had deliberately smeared, her face was even more radiant.

Fang Jie and the others were overjoyed and slapped their thighs.

He exclaimed, "Now we know what it means to make a humble abode shine! With you sitting here, even this dilapidated hut feels brighter!"

Other women who heard the commotion also came to watch.

It perfectly embodies the six words: warm, simple, and friendly.

Zhang Yang simply lowered her head and ate the rough, churning wheat porridge with a blank expression, which to outsiders would have looked like shyness.

In fact—

Except for Sister Fang, who has a yellow name, everyone else has a red name.

She was afraid that if she saw it, she would be unable to resist taking out the gold bricks and smashing everyone here to death, and then she wouldn't be able to catch any real fish.

I endured it again and again, but when I really couldn't bear it anymore, I closed my eyes.

Out of sight, out of mind!

Sister Fang leaned close to her ear and whispered, "Are you tired?"

Zhang Yang: "I have a bit of a headache."

Sister Fang smiled and said, "Then go lie down and rest."

As she spoke, she warmly helped Zhang Yang up.

Not long after lying down, Sister Fang started buzzing in her ear like a mosquito, repeatedly asking, "Is the young lady asleep?" Zhang Yang was too lazy to pay attention. Waking her up to ask, "Are you asleep?" was just plain stupid.

"Looks like he's fast asleep."

Fang Jie's gentle voice instantly turned icy.

Another voice approached, reaching out to pinch Zhang Yang's cheek, but not too hard, afraid of making too much noise and waking her up. He sneered, "Heh, little wench, you're pretty enough."

"After all, he's a pampered guest raised in a wealthy family." Sister Fang slapped her hand away and warned, "Don't wake him up."

"Don't worry, this time we used enough."

"How did those two manage to escape?"

"...That was a mistake."

The group chatted openly in front of Zhang Yang without any hesitation.

Zhang Yang: "..."

She pointed out that there was something wrong with what she had just said, and it turned out she had indeed been hiding important information. The two [starving refugees] were indeed going to join this group, but joining them required a "pledge of allegiance."

Without a "pledge of allegiance," one might end up as a nobody.

They were afraid and tried to escape, but they were caught up with before they got very far.

Just then, Zhang Yang and his companion appeared.

And so, the two of them made their "pledge of allegiance".

Both the man and woman were exceptionally good-looking; it would be a waste to use them as cannibals. They decided to package them up and offer them to those in power. Learning from past mistakes, they administered a large dose of drugs to Zhang Yangmaifan, enough to easily knock out two adult men, ensuring her inescapable fate.

Zhang Yang: "..."

So it's a drug that makes people faint and weak.

Zhang Yang did indeed get a negative debuff after eating the wheat rice, but she removed it without even looking at it. Ever since she came to this side map of the homestead, she gets some debuffs whenever she eats food produced on the map, such as causing diarrhea and fever.

She assumed the wheat rice would be the same this time.

So it was drugged.

However, it's not a big problem.

Just as Zhang Yang was pretending to be asleep, she keenly heard the sound of horses' hooves coming from the direction of the village entrance. Someone shouted in an obscure dialect, and the person guarding Zhang Yang inside the house also went out.

She opened her eyes instantly, and as soon as her feet touched the ground, a shrill scream suddenly rang out from outside, followed by abruptly stopped pleas for mercy, the muffled sound of a sharp blade piercing flesh, and the slight splattering of blood on the ground, accompanied by the neighing and trampling of warhorses.

boom--

A corpse crashed into the door panel.

Zhang Yang peered through the crack in the door and saw Sister Fang staring wide-eyed.

The latter was still breathing, her eyes still able to move, when she met the dark, alluring eyes behind the crack in the door, so close to hers. Her pupils suddenly contracted, a wheezing sound came from her throat, and her lips moved as if she wanted to say something, but Zhang Yang couldn't hear her clearly.

Zhang Yang peered through the crack in the door and clearly saw the group of people on horseback.

They were all clad in armor and wielding white blades.

The name above his head reads: "Eastern Bandit".

One of them had his back to her and was not far away.

Just as Zhang Yang was about to reach into her game backpack, the figure on horseback seemed to sense something. The next moment, the door panel, which was only inches from Zhang Yang's nose, shattered with a loud bang, revealing her crouching behind it.

The wind and snow poured in unhindered.

The young general's face on horseback unexpectedly entered Zhang Yang's field of vision. In that instant, it felt like an eternity. A string of thoughts raced through Zhang Yang's mind: "A cold, handsome man who melts my heartstrings, plus incredibly kissable lips, plus an eternity-inducing gaze, plus super hormones?"

Internet celebrity face!

??(?_?)

Zhang Yang: Shameless game planners stole players' character creation codes!