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***
Author, you’ve got a knack for this!
I didn’t expect that giving a special item would even unlock unique dialogue options… Although it seems whichever choice I make might lower the favorability…
But it’s fine—my favorability is already zero, so the shoeless have nothing to fear from those wearing shoes.
Juli chose option C.
[Juli]: “Take this to eat on the road, don’t let yourself go hungry.”
Above the bronze-skinned pixel figure opposite her appeared a line of ellipses.
[Chuliuxiang]: “…………”
[Chuliuxiang]: “Do you have nothing to eat?”
[Chuliuxiang]: “Wait here for me a moment.”
After saying this, the bronze-skinned pixel figure suddenly leapt high into the air, somersaulted midair, and dived like a fish into the sea, splashing a modest wave on the surface.
Hmm?
What does this mean?
He wants her to wait a moment?
At this point, the game had no cutscenes, so the pixel figure controlled by Juli could still move freely on the screen.
Curious about what the NPC would do next, Juli didn’t leave even though she could; she chose to stay on the beach.
But as everyone knows, players never stay still in one place quietly.
So pixel Juli began running circles around the reef, darting along the beach to collect shells, digging holes in the sand with her hands...
In the main game, treasures such as ancient books and artifacts were hidden underground, which players could dig out using a hoe. Perhaps due to the new DLC’s style, the author changed this—now, players can dig directly with their hands in soft soil, but harder earth requires mastering skills like the “Iron Sand Palm” technique to dig through.
[Obtained: Strange Note]
[New Quest: Collect Strange Notes (1/4)]
The strange note was automatically added to the “Special Items” section of the game panel the moment it was dug up.
Juli didn’t have time to check it—because the bronze-skinned man who had just dived into the sea had now appeared behind her.
[Chuliuxiang]: “Let’s eat this tonight.”
[Chuliuxiang] handed [Juli] a [Spanish Mackerel].
[Obtained: Spanish Mackerel]
[Spanish Mackerel: Their arrival is a symbol of spring’s coming.]
!!
It’s not unusual for an NPC to reciprocate, but it’s surprising that he’d return a gift after receiving a sea cockroach...
Juli was astonished when she checked the social interface and found he actually had half a heart of favorability!
Ah...
Sea, sea cockroaches work too...
This is really... wonderful!
This NPC seems to be the type skilled at fishing in the sea, likely spending much of his time near the beach. That means any trash caught from the sea later on won’t go to waste!
It’d be even better if she could keep exchanging fish!
Juli felt very happy.
Pixel Juli was also pleased; expressionless, she raised the Spanish Mackerel high with both hands and circled the NPC to express her gratitude.
Then she glanced at the top right corner at the game time—oh no, it was almost dark!
Today’s plan was to find the other two NPCs, greet them, and give gifts.
Hurry, hurry.
Pixel Juli raised the Spanish Mackerel and turned to run, “splash, splash.”
[Chuliuxiang]: “……”
[Chuliuxiang]: “…………”
The bronze-skinned pixel figure lifted his arm and rubbed his nose.

***
Chuliuxiang, known in the martial world as the “Master Thief.”
“A gentleman among rogues, a marshal among bandits.”
This was the nickname given to him by the martial circles.
“Gentleman with flowers, thief leaving fragrance under the moonlight.”
This was the letter he penned himself.
Infused with the scent of tulips, the letter exuded poetry and ethereal beauty, yet the elegant words were tinged with teasing undertones.
On one occasion, he ventured to the capital to steal the white jade beauty statue of the Jin Banhua family.
The Banhua heir summoned many experts: the famed bald eagle detective from the Forty-Nine City, Wan Wudi—the chief escort of Wansheng Escort Agency, the life-and-death judge Cui Pan, and two formidable imperial guards, all arrayed to capture Chuliuxiang on the spot!
Yet he still succeeded.
Light and effortless, skillful and at ease.
“When I passed by them, it was as if they were dreaming!”
He lazily lay on the sun-warmed deck, smiling brightly as he said this to his companions.
Anyone could see he was truly pleased and happy with himself.
“Since returning from the capital, you’ve been lazy and immobile every day. Please get up and do something, young master!”
His companion was unmoved, delivering a precise jab and kicking the lazy cat sprawled on the deck who wouldn’t even turn over.
Chuliuxiang blinked and barely rolled halfway over.
But things still had to be done. The human body was like a delicate mechanism; lying still for too long inevitably caused stiffness, especially for martial artists.
Moreover, a prolonged lack of purpose eroded one’s spirit and will.
At this moment, a certain event occurred.
Chuliuxiang’s good friend, known as the “Butterfly” Hu Tihua, suddenly came to see him.

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He came because of a strange matter.
It all started with Master Kumei.
Master Kumei was the leader of the Mount Hua Sect. She joined at fourteen, apprenticed under the then-leader Master Yinyu, and became famous throughout the martial world after her bloody battle against the “Four Swords of the Dark Moon,” earning the title “Iron Fairy.”
At twenty-nine, she took over as sect leader.
For over thirty years afterward, she ruled Mount Hua with a mighty reputation!
Yet, at the age of sixty-five, the “Iron Fairy” Master Kumei shocked everyone by growing out her hair and renouncing her monastic vows.
—Who could deny this was a strange matter?
Upon hearing this, Chuliuxiang immediately sensed there must be a hidden secret. As a curious man, he couldn’t resist investigating a secret left unexplored.
So he teamed up with Hu Tihua to track down the matter.
Unexpectedly, Master Kumei was but a single thread.
Pulling this thread unraveled a whole net.
—Bat Island.
In recent years, this has been the most mysterious offshore den of vice in the martial world.
Anything could be bought or sold there; any problem could be solved... So lately, it had become increasingly sought after.
But no one knew where exactly Bat Island was located.
It was said only those invited could set foot on the island.
Master Kumei grew her hair and hid her identity precisely to gain access to Bat Island.
And what about Chuliuxiang?
Chuliuxiang aimed to uncover Bat Island’s secrets.
The people of Bat Island wanted him dead!
The ship he was on had its crew all murdered, and dozens of kilograms of explosives were planted on board. When the ship sailed into the open sea, it exploded with a thunderous blast!
The island’s people even left coffins on the ship.
Even if Chuliuxiang were a great immortal, surviving a shipwreck like that was impossible!
Yet, everything seems to have two sides. The coffins, though meant as a cruel mockery by Bat Island’s people, could also serve as small boats floating on the sea.
So Chuliuxiang survived.
The coffin drifted on the water, surrounded by endless sea, where sky meets ocean in the distance.
But no one found it beautiful, for within their sight, no island appeared.
Escaping on a coffin—was it good or bad?
Was it better to die in an explosion or slowly perish of thirst?
This question had no answer; a person can only die once.
After struggling at sea for three days, a storm arrived.
Chuliuxiang wasn’t the only survivor; there were five of them. The ship had five coffins, so the group entered the water together, tying the coffins with coarse hemp ropes to prevent them from drifting apart.
But during the storm, the ropes snapped, and the five coffins scattered and capsized. Chuliuxiang, a strong swimmer, tried his best to pull the others back before being thrown off his coffin...
In short, what followed was a blur; even Chuliuxiang couldn’t withstand the might of nature.
He probably passed out. When he awoke, the sound of waves washing sand was in his ears, and he lay on water-soaked sand.
Beside him... were friends.
Two friends.
One was his long-time companion, known as “Quick Net Zhang San,” renowned for two skills: fishing and grilling fish.
The other was someone Chuliuxiang met during this journey.
Dressed entirely in black, with cold eyes sharp and merciless, he had boarded the ship and kept to himself, eating and drinking as if oblivious to others—his demeanor cold and aloof.
At that moment, Chuliuxiang couldn’t help but think of a certain person.
“The Soul-Searching Sword Without Shadow, a single red dot in the Central Plains.”
“A lethal hand, a single red under the sword.”
This was the title of the top assassin in the Central Plains.
What had this assassin swordsman come for?
Could he be seeking the offshore den of vice as well?
But this question no longer mattered, for Chuliuxiang could not find any trace of Hu Tihua.
After a while, Zhang San and the assassin also woke up. By then, Chuliuxiang had searched near the beach and found two coconut trees, bringing back a few coconuts.
Coconuts are marvelous water... nuts—inside their hard shell is a pool of clean water, and the white flesh is nourishing.
Since the ship exploded, they had drifted at sea for days without food or drink; coconuts were a lifesaving treasure.
They silently shared the food.
But coconuts alone were far from enough.
The three drank water from seven or eight coconuts and ate some flesh; old coconut meat tasted like chewing wood.
Afterwards, Chuliuxiang said he would dive into the sea to catch some fish.
Zhang San said he’d explore the forest to find other food and seek shelter to protect them from wind and rain; a good spot was essential.
The black-clad assassin said, “I’ll go look for water.”
Stranded on an island, survival was good, but not all islands had freshwater... Without a steady water source, coconuts alone wouldn’t keep them alive.
At this moment, all three shared silent sympathy.
Chuliuxiang said, “Let’s meet back here before dark.”
They said nothing and parted ways.
Chuliuxiang removed his shirt.
His clothes had been soaked by seawater, sun-dried leaving salt stains, then torn by driftwood during the storm, leaving a long ragged rip—very shabby.
Yet he folded his clothes neatly, wrapped them in a few coconut leaves, and placed them under a clean rock to keep them dry from rain.
He touched his nose and dove into the sea.

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He had lived at sea most of his life; his underwater swimming skills were profound. Compared to fishing with a rod, catching fish by hand in the sea was certainly quicker.
It was at this moment that the girl appeared.
The sea deepened to a darker blue, waves rippling swiftly. Through the water, Chuliuxiang could not clearly see her face, only her silver hair.
She wore neither raincoat nor bamboo hat, standing silently in the rainy bay, holding a fishing rod.
Cast the line, wait.
Cast the line, wait.
She gripped the rod silently, waiting and repeating.
The fishing line dipped into the sea, and Chuliuxiang noticed the hook was made of wood—likely crafted from hard forest wood, sharpened with small branches, heated and bent by fire, then cooled in water.
A very crude craft.
Could she be a native of this island?
Chuliuxiang guessed so.
She reeled in the line, pulling up a piece of driftwood.
Again, she reeled in a length of wet hemp rope... the same kind used on their coffins.
Again, she pulled up a coffin board... well, no doubt about it—that was definitely from their coffins.
The sky darkened gradually; rain intensified, wind grew stronger.
Such weather was hardly suitable for fishing, yet the girl remained unmoving, reeling and casting as if she wouldn’t leave without catching something.
What kind of person would endure such a storm?
Only someone hungry and starving.
If her only food source was fishing and she caught nothing today, she would starve. So no matter how fierce the storm, she had no choice but to endure.
...Then her hook snagged a sea cockroach.
The girl held the sea cockroach in her hands, seemingly stunned...
Underwater, Chuliuxiang couldn’t help but sigh.
He decided to catch a fish himself and hook it for her on her next cast.
But the hook caught in his hair—he wasn’t even sure how!
As known, hair soaked repeatedly by sea water and dried in the sun gathers salt crystals, becoming rough and gritty. A hook caught in such hair is not easy to free quickly...
The fishing girl clearly thought she had caught a big fish, immediately reeled in and began an imaginary battle with him across the water.
Chuliuxiang: “...”
Chuliuxiang: “............”
For the sake of his hair, Chuliuxiang had no choice but to surface...
He leapt from the sea, landing on jagged rocks beneath his feet as if walking on level ground.
The fishing girl looked at him expressionlessly.
Chuliuxiang also saw her clearly now.
Dim daylight fell upon her, making her long hair shimmer like the dark side of snow, casting cold, pale blue-purple hues.
She stared at Chuliuxiang with a detached expression, showing no emotion.
Suddenly she said, “Hello, I am Juli.”
Chuliuxiang touched his nose and replied, “I am Chuliuxiang.”
Juli heard the name but showed no change in expression.
She simply kept a straight posture, an indifferent look, a subtle silence, and those crystal-clear green eyes fixed on him.
To be honest, Chuliuxiang was very perceptive. A mere glance was usually enough to read a person.
But before this mysterious silver-haired girl, Juli, he could discern nothing.
She didn’t look quite alive—more like... the white jade beauty statue he had recently stolen.
Could a jade statue have thoughts? That was hard to say.
Chuliuxiang touched his nose again, preparing to break the silence and ask about the island’s situation.
At that moment, Juli suddenly moved.
With a speed too swift to hear, she pulled from her clothes the sea cockroach she had just caught.
Chuliuxiang: “...”
—Then she handed it to him.
Chuliuxiang: “............”
She opened her mouth: “Take it with you to eat on the road, don’t go hungry.”
Her voice was a bit rough, strangely hoarse and hesitant, as if she hadn’t spoken to anyone for a very long time.
Chuliuxiang suddenly fell silent.
He understood—he understood it all.
To survive, one can endure so much. A traveler lost in the desert might drink another’s blood, even their own urine!
And those surviving on an island would never refuse any morsel of food.
He had seen Juli’s fishing posture earlier: proper yet awkward—she was certainly not a skilled fisher.
But she needed to survive, so she clung to any source of nutrition, even if that meant eating a bug!
And now, she chose to offer him her only food.
Chuliuxiang’s expression was complex as he looked at Juli.
Yet Juli’s expression remained indifferent, her gaze still so... earnest.
Her hand stayed extended, holding out the sea cockroach to him, stubborn as if she would hold the pose forever unless he accepted it.
Chuliuxiang suddenly sighed deeply, a strange pity rising in his heart.
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