A Chicken-Slaughtering Knife?
A knife this massive, just to kill chickens?
Mei Qian stared at the half meter-long cleaver in his hands, completely speechless.
But the moment he spotted the attributes—+3 Attack—his expression shifted from shock to wild joy, and he began thanking Liu Yuan profusely.
Liu Yuan waved him off casually, utterly unimpressed.
"Please, it's just a cleaver with +3 Attack. Does it look like something that'd catch my eye?"
His own long blade had several times that power. Compared to that, a chicken-chopper was peanuts.
But while Liu Yuan didn't even bother to glance at it, for Mei Qian, the cleaver was a priceless treasure.
Hadn't Sis Qing practically dropped her jaw over just four ordinary spears?
"Alright, alright, it's just a cleaver," Liu Yuan said, eyeing the little fatty. "No need to get all emotional. Stick with me, and you'll eat good, drink well—no shortage of benefits."
Mei Qian nodded furiously, his heart now fully set on hugging this golden thigh till the end of days.
After some chatting, Liu Yuan waved him off and returned to his residence in Ping City.
Just as he sat down, a system prompt pinged open—the player forum had a new message.
It was from Li Yuqing.
The contents were what he expected: a few lines of thanks, and a "big sister" monologue full of heartfelt pride.
"My baby brother's all grown up! He can gather gear on his own now. I no longer must worry about your in-game future!"
Liu Yuan gave it a skim and closed it.
Now tapping his fingers lightly on the table, he began thinking seriously about the next phase of his gaming journey.
All the other players had territories… but him?
Nothing. Just a lonesome wanderer.
"Maybe I should build a territory of my own…"
But… how did one build a territory?
He genuinely had no idea.
When other players entered the game, they got quests related to territory-building right away—if they activated their Novice Protection Token.
Liu Yuan?
Nada. Zilch. Not even a whiff of a quest.
He rolled his eyes in frustration.
Just then, a knock came from the door.
He got up to open it… and saw a familiar round figure.
Who else could it be but Mei Qian, the pudgy one?
"Boss, I've eaten! Reporting back for duty!" Mei Qian grinned widely as he spoke, his eyes subtly scanning the room.
Liu Yuan squinted. "What are you looking at?"
"Nothing," Mei Qian scratched his head sheepishly. "I'm supposed to design a layout for my Lord's Mansion, right? But I don't know how. So I figured I'd, uh… take some inspiration."
Stealing inspiration?
Mein Qian rolled his eyes. "Stealing? Since when did we start calling it that? It's called referencing. And could you please aim higher? What are you gonna learn from my guest room setup? If you want to steal—er, reference—go look at the City Lord's Manor!"
As Liu Yuan stared at him, a new idea began forming in his mind.
"Reference, huh… maybe I can reference his territory building experience. *"
Ideally, asking Sis Qing (Li Yuqing) for advice would be the smart move.
But that woman was too sharp.
A few questions in and she'd definitely figure out that Liu Yuan didn't even have a territory yet.
And then what? All the swagger he'd been trying to build up would collapse into dust. She'd mock him to death.
So… best not go down that road.
Better to stick with this plump little fool instead.
Round face, simple mind, gullible personality—perfect to exploit!
Liu Yuan conveniently forgot how badly this same "simple fool" had scammed him the first time they met.
"Where's your territory? Take me to see it."
Mei Qian blinked in surprise, then broke into a joyful grin.
Boss wants to see my territory?
That must mean he's ready to teach me!
My soaring moment has come!
Eyes misting over with excitement, he led Liu Yuan out, back into the passageway he'd used when sneaking into the city.
Liu Yuan looked at the so-called "secret tunnel," then at the perfectly functional city gate just a hundred meters away.
Was this guy weird, or just addicted to digging holes?
"We're literally ten seconds from the gate. Why the hell are we crawling through a tunnel?"
"There were Tang soldiers outside. Couldn't go through the front."
"They're gone now."
Liu Yuan gave him a long, speechless look.
So that's why he kept digging tunnels.
Tang army, gone?
That fast?
How long had he even been locked up for?
Three days? Five? A week?
No, he remembered clearly—it was only a few hours.
And in those few hours, an entire war had started… and ended?
Mei Qian's head began spinning.
Still not convinced, he followed Liu Yuan up onto the city wall. Looking down, the black sea of Tang army tents had completely vanished. The area around the gate was bustling with merchants and traders.
Yeah. No mistaking it.
The Tang were really gone.
"Boss, what the heck happened while I was in jail?"
"Oh, nothing much," Liu Yuan said casually, eyes slightly distant. "City Lord Zhang Jiao—The Great Teacher—personally intervened. Called down Heaven's Lightning. Gave the Tang army a good smiting. They ran scared."
He said it simply, but there was reverence in his tone.
"One day… could I become someone like that?"
Summoning lightning...
That was pure sorcery, right?
Mei Qian's eyes lit up.
I need to hit Level 10 ASAP. I'm switching to the Sorcerer path. One day I'll command storms, call lightning, become a living deity in this game!
The two left the city and made their way to the southern hills.
Mei Qian's territory was tucked away in a river valley behind the mountains.
The area was beautiful: surrounded by trees, nestled by a flowing stream, with a wide and fertile flat plain in front. A dream spot for any farmer.
Above the land hung a glowing barrier—a protective dome enclosing the entire territory.
"This is your territory?" Liu Yuan pointed at the dome.
Mei Qian nodded proudly, then sent a friend request.
[Ding! Player [I want to fly] wants to add you as a friend.]
[ Accept?]
✅ Accept.
[Ding! Friend [I want to fly] invites you to enter their territory.]
[ Accept?]
✅ Accept.
As Liu Yuan confirmed, the glowing dome shimmered, becoming more transparent—until it looked like a curtain he could reach out and push aside.
"After you, Boss," Mei Qian said with a grin.
Liu Yuan nodded and stepped in.
And then—he froze.
"This… this is your territory?"
He scanned the scene.
Overgrown weeds covered the land.
Those weren't houses—they were straw huts, barely held together with brittle sticks and thatch, letting wind and rain in from all sides.
Under one of the huts sat a group of dusty NPCs who looked more like displaced refugees than villagers.
When they saw Mei Qian, they scrambled to their feet and greeted him respectfully as "Lord."
Liu Yuan's mouth twitched.
"This… this is what you call a territory?"
Mei Qian puffed out his chest with pride.
He's proud of this???
Where the hell did this guy get his sense of accomplishment?
This wasn't a lord's domain—it was a damn refugee camp!