Chapter 43

Chapter 43: Chosen Players

Twin Dragon Mount.
At the entrance of the shrine, several armed setters who had been appointed as sentries anxiously stayed at their post, while more people were trying to peek inside the building from farther away.
Inside the building, nine people—five men and four women dressed in plain-looking starter garb—were talking to each other.
“‘Shrine of Loyalty’? Is this some kind of bandit lair in those old-ass stories?”
“Are we so unlucky that we were put in the home of some thugs? Oh I know, our ‘trial’ is to get out of here alive!” Jiang Wenming spoke while warily glancing at the sentries outside the door.
“I don’t know… those people saw us but didn’t attack us, right?” An athletic lady with clean-trimmed short hair finally said something productive. “That bow is made of birchwood. Telling from the shape, it’s a common weapon that had a widespread use during the Song Dynasty. I think we have been taken to a historical site.”
The next speaker was an elder with terribly wrinkled skin that seemed to be at least 80 years old. Although his body remained tall and steadfast instead of hunching down due to illness and age.
“Good eye, my girl. How are you so well-informed of ancient weaponry?”
“It has something to do with my job, sir.”
Jiang Wenming heard their conversation and looked at the short-haired woman again. “You are Qin Yueyu??”
“Oh? You know my name, mister?”
“Yes. We actually talked over the forum the other day. About the crossbowman killing the serpent…”
“Mister Jiang, it’s you!”
As Qin Yueyu and Jiang Wenming acknowledged each other, there were more people who had also recognized the girl since they were all citizens of Yang City.
“Qin Yueyu? The national archery champion and the brand ambassador of the city’s biggest museum. Why would anyone not know you?”
“I think there was someone whispering into my head when I was being summoned. The voice told me to select my city of birth or something. So this is why.”
“We all came from the same place, right? Nice! We can help each other!”
Qin Yueyu gradually became the center of people’s attention, causing another woman in the group to feel displeased.
“A star, huh? Well, you can’t be a top-star using your muscles. Hey, handsome. Can you tell me where this place is?” The woman moved away from the group and headed to the door to ask.
“I uh… well…” The addressed young man fumbled with words as his tanned skin blushed badly.
In the view of an “ancient man,” that woman’s careless way of dressing, her long hair and her white skin made her look like an angel descended from the sky. Moreover, all the females in the shrine looked stunning. Seeing that many beauties of such caliber, those tough settlers felt it was impossible to think clearly as too much blood was being pumped into their heads.
Of course, none of them would attempt stupid things. They had already been told that they were supposed to welcome more “Chosen Ones.”
“This—this is Twin Dragon Mount, my lady,” another guard who was holding a simple blade answered her.
“Twin Dragon Mount, huh?”
“Does anyone know this place?”
“Give me a second, I think I do…”
The new players quickly searched their minds to see whether any of the literature they had read in the past contained anything relevant.
“Twin Dragon Mount… The mountain in Qingzhou, Shandong, right? It’s an old name used during the Song Dynasty.” It was the old man who came up with an answer first.
“We—we were indeed ruled by the Song Government, sir.” The guard nodded to confirm. “But this is not Qingzhou, this is the ‘Land of Inheritance.'”
“I see. So we are in the world of Water Margin.”
“Water Margin?? Are you saying we’re inside a bandit camp from Water Margin, old timer?”
“That’s awesome. Good luck came our way!”
The players looked happy about the discovery, because most settlements in the Land of Inheritance tended to be randomly generated places devoid of any rich background stories.
However, Water Margin was definitely a different case. It was one of the best-known legends in Chidragon’s history.
“Too bad we didn’t go directly to the Liangshan Marsh. There’s still room for improvement. Damn.” The woman who talked to the guard tried taking over the subject.
“Oh, you’re Xu Xue, right? Our company once cooperated with you during a commercial campaign.” A man who looked pretty young but had already lost a good amount of hair looked at her.
“Your company? Which is…?” Xu Xue seemed glad that somebody had finally figured out her name.
She was a celebrity born in Yang City and was constantly bathed in fame and spotlight. She felt bad at first since those present had taken too long to recognize her face, just because she came without any makeup. In normal situations, she wouldn’t have wasted any time talking to a boring salaryman. At the moment, though, she couldn’t be picky.
“I work for Dragonsong Internet Tech. In Guan City, the provincial capital.” The office man proudly revealed his workplace.
His answer made the other people curious. That popular animation that illustrated the battle between the “Crossgod” and the monster serpent had been created by the same company, and it was loved by a lot of forum users. Unfortunately, the video was later removed by the mods for some reason.
“I remember you!” Xu Xue showed a friendly smile. “What a coincidence. Looks like we’ll be working together again!”
Of course she did not remember what part she played in this “campaign.” In fact, a lot of companies and groups would often ask to use her photos on the front pages of their products to attract customers, and she couldn’t care less about them as long as she got paid.
Though she still had to act the “popstar” role for the sake of her career.
“Since we’re talking about Water Margin, I wonder which ‘outlaw hero’ we’ll get to meet.” Xu Xue once again tried to control the flow of the conversation. “Will it be ‘Panther Head’ Lin Chong? Or Song Jiang?”