It was a well hidden location.
A hidden door leading to the Job Center stood in a secluded corner of the back half of the wisteria garden. Due to its location, it was never discovered by players.
Not many players would even pass through the area, and not a single soul was anywhere near the wisteria tree that Ye Ci and Fleeting Time were leaning against.
This was why Ye Ci was shocked. How did Spotless Autumn find this place? Did he come across that place by chance?
Ye Ci once again covered her face with a hood after straightening out her disheveled clothing. She studied her surroundings, and left from the hidden door after making sure that there were no other players in the vicinity.
But…
“Yes I did! Have you recorded the whole thing?” another player appeared from behind the bush.
They were able to hide behind the tall bush in the area, avoiding detection by Ye Ci and Fleeting Time who were in the thick of the action.
A stroke of luck had brought the players to the scene of battle between Ye Ci and Fleeting Time, and they decided to follow the combatants.
They did it for only one reason:
Affairs happen all the time, but not everyone is around to see them happen.
And they came to the conclusion that something might happen between Gongzi You and Fleeting Time in such a romantic environment.
They were soon able to feast their eyes upon a scene that could on be described as:
Awesome!
Thrilling!
And simply unforgettable!
“It’s a shame that we’re too far away. Imagine if we can hear them.” sighed the player who recorded the action between Ye Ci and Fleeting Time when he reviewed his recording.
“You really want to hear what they have to say?” the other player shivered, not believing what he heard from his peers, “Do you really not treasure your equipment and experience points? If those two found out what we’re doing…”
“So what? We can just disconnect from the game!” the player was very satisfied with the video he took, “Besides, what’s the worst that could happen? Gongzi You would definitely be mad, but will Fleeting Time even mind?”
“How’d you know?”
“It’s just a feeling.”
“Bullshit.” replied the player who took the screenshot, “Let’s go offline and post these on the forums. This will definitely make the top 3 in the popularity leaderboards. We’re gonna get rich!”
“Yup, we should leave. We’ll be in deep trouble if they return.” said the player’s companion.
Unbeknownst to Ye Ci, the worst case scenario happened.
There were times when things simply do not work out.
As the saying goes, “What is done by night appears by day.”
One must not assume that their misdeeds would remain unknown, for no deeds, no matter good or bad, would go unnoticed.
In short, one must always be careful.
Ye Ci received a voice message from Spotless Autumn just as she left the wisteria garden, “Gongzi You, my lady, I’ve wronged out! I shouldn’t have done something like that! Please, forgive me!”
“What are you talking about?” Ye Ci was baffled.
“Tell your man to let me go! Please!”
The raging emotions that Ye Ci worked hard to suppress surged once more. Her face immediately heated up, and had she not hidden her head under the hood, passerbys would definitely see a female Elf with fair skin slowly turning into a bright shade of red.
She took in a deep breath, and shouted into her private message channel with all the strength she could muster, “He’s not my man! Can you hear me?! He’s not!!”
He dismissed Ye Ci’s anger as a response out of her embarrassment, “Not your boyfriend? After doing that? What do you think you’re doing? Munching on carrots?”
Ye Ci could feel her face heating up. It was bad enough that something like that was seen by someone else, and Spotless Autumn had made it worse with his description, “Why don’t you just go and die!”
The reply came after a few seconds, “I’m dead.”
“Serve you right!”
Spotless Autumn attempted to send yet another message after a short while, “I’ve seen the errors of my way. Please tell your man to forgive my transgression. I know the sentries will not attack you for fighting in the wisteria garden, but can you get him to stop camping near my corp-…”
A system notification rang up before he could finish the sentence, “The player you’re trying to contact is no longer within reach.”
This meant that Ye Ci had muted the channel and condemned him to his horrible fate. Allies who have been through life and death situations in the Southern Continent? It meant nothing to Ye Ci.
Spotless Autumn stood by his corpse, staring at Fleeting Time who was sitting not far away. He could feel tears welling in his eyes. Players from hostile continents could not communicate with a hostile player who was dead. “It’s my fault! I shouldn’t have disturbed you guys. Please let me go! I swear I’ll not do something like that again.” These were the words Spotless Autumn would say to Fleeting Time if they were allowed to communicate.
Fleeting Time had even summoned his pet as he sat eating and drinking beside Spotless Autumn’s dead body. Today was the day he camped the man and taught him a lesson he would never forget.
He knew Spotless Autumn was still lingering around, which was why he commanded Little Five to patrol the area. The moment Spotless Autumn revived, Little Five would immediately dive at the Sorcerer. The pet did not know of the rage in Fleeting Time’s heart, but it carried out its duty nonetheless with tasty food from its master as reward.
Fleeting Time knew that Spotless Autumn would not revive himself, and Gongzi You was already long gone from the garden. He tapped open his Map Channel, and sent out a message in the Common Tongue.
“Come to the wisteria garden (coordinates: 4237:1289:761), Little Gongzi. The view here is nice. Better than what we saw earlier even.”
The Map Channel was relatively clear due to the low average of players. None of them were advertising the products they were trying to sell, and there were no players looking for parties or members for their parties. Many of the messages in the chat were simply players asking for directions. The content of Fleeting Time’s message should be something that was not out of the ordinary.
Its sender, however…
Fleeting Time was the synonym of a top-tier legendary player. He was an existence that the average players could never achieve, and his message would naturally attract a lot of attention.
Too much information laid hidden within that simple message.
And it is human nature to seek out information for gossip.
After much discussion, the players reached a conclusion: Despite the large number of players with ‘Gongzi’ in their name, the only player that the top Western Continent Hunter Fleeting Time know as “Little Gongzi” could only be Gongzi You, the Huntress from the Eastern Continent.
And from that message had the gossippers gleamed a few hints.
One: Fleeting Time’s location
Two: Fleeting Time is looking for Gongzi You
Three: They were with each other earlier on.
Four: They were somewhere in the wisteria garden.
Five: They got separated from each other for reasons unknown.
……
Fleeting Time’s message was followed by a few insignificant chattering from the players nearby before silence finally fell upon the channel. It was as if the chat was experiencing a massive lag. Somebody finally spoke up a few moments later.
“Was that the real deal?”
“Is it real? Is Fleeting TIme really looking for Gongzi You?”
“It’s been awhile since I saw anything from those two. Could it it fake?”
“Hey Fleeting Time, what were you doing with Gongzi You just now?”
……
Similar messages began to flood the Map Channel. The public was always happy to discuss gossip such as this. The Map Channel was immediately filled with discussion among players after the message from Fleeting Time. Multiple theories about the incident had surfaced in the short span of 10 minutes. There were even eye-witnesses who proclaimed that they have seen the two together in the wisteria garden.
The commotion was of course not missed by Ye Ci.
But she had always been one to not bother with accusations like this. To her, the rumors would eventually fade away, and she would be digging her own grave by attempting to clear the air.
That was why Ye Ci decided to head into a very discreet shop in a secluded corner in Hero City.
Fleeting Time knew that he would not receive a response from Gongzi You, and followed up with yet another message, “Ah, my mistake. I shouldn’t let a lady come to me. I should go get you instead.”
His message drove the already excited crowd wild. Many of the players began cheering for Fleeting Time, and some female players who had crushes on Fleeting Time were jealous of his attention on Gongzi You.
Hero City’s Map Channel was suddenly brimming with life.
Ye Ci’s heart clenched when she saw the message. He can’t be serious! Is he really going to come look for me?!
She did not know how she was recognised in the job center, but she was certain that Fleeting Time had a way of detecting the identities of players even when they were hooded. This was how he was able to tell who she was by just a glance.
She studied her surroundings, making sure that she was already a distance away from the wisteria garden. Hero City was still new to the player, which gave her the advantage of knowing the map better. This was why she did not bother to react to Fleeting Time’s message.
Just then, she received a message from Bai Mo, “You ran into Fleeting Time again?”
“Yup.” replied Ye Ci despite her reluctance to admit the truth. It was very obvious that Bai Mo was already in Hero City.
“What were you two doing just now?” a mischievous smile appeared on Bai Mo’s face. He could sense the anguish behind the single-word response.
“Fighting.” Ye Ci replied after a long while. She was telling the truth. They were indeed fighting in the wisteria garden. And there was nobody around to see what happened after that.
