Shen was still in a daze, trying to figure out the disparity between quests. A C-Rank Quest had given him Combustion while the other only gave 500 points. The s.p.a.cial ring was useful as the food stored in it wouldn"t rot, however both were valued differently by the network.They complemented each other very well as one would store food while the other would use food. Of course, using the abilities in public would be suspicious and they might even call him a demon. Contemplating his next course of actions, he was ready to depart when someone called out to him.
A melodious yet sorrowful voice quivered and stuttered as if they were questioning the very concept of reality.
"B-brother, is that you?"
Brother? The original ident.i.ty had no siblings, then again it was a bit suspicious that a.s.sailants would travel to the middle of nowhere just to kill a bunch of commoners.
Shen hesitated before finally responding, "Who are you?"
Regardless of who they were, feigning amnesia is possible. After all, was had he ever even been to the capital?
The girl frowned before turning to General Lanye, "Let me take care of my brother while you two enjoy your reunion"
She then hurried off while grasping Shen"s hand in hers. Da Lan was about to say that Shen was capable of fending for himself but was too late.
He then turned to his daughter and they began to talk about the past years.
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"We have confirmed, General Lanye has returned with the Crown Prince"
"WHAT!?", the Emperor slammed his fist against the table before breathing heavily.
"However, the Crown Prince lost his memories and the General is unaware of his ident.i.ty"
"Send a.s.sa.s.sins to kill the Princess and the Crown Prince"
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[C-Rank Quest:
Objective: Become Princess Riri"s Bodyguard
Reward: Speed C and 2000 points]
"Big brother, I"ve always heard of how good your food is from the General"
"It"s nothing special though"
"But it"s Big brother"s cooking, it must be good"
"Hahaha, you put too much faith in your big brother"
At the kitchen, Shen was prepared to cook when a dish about to served to the princess pa.s.sed him.
In an instant, the tray flew across the courtyard and the servant fell down trembling.
[Skill Intimidation Activated]
"Who are you to dare poison the Princess?"
An invisible aura of trepidation and primal fear began to envelope the surrounding, the servant stuttered and sputtered.
Out of nowhere, an arrogant granny screamed, "How dare you throw away the Princess" favorite dish!"
The kitchen head...
"Which cesspool of filth do you come from?"
Shen held the knife before twirling it in a fashion which made one antic.i.p.ate it being thrown.
"Brother, what"s going on?", a frightened Riri began to ask until Shen looked at her. The stoic and chilling gaze gave her gooseb.u.mps as she felt endless distrust and brutality.
The servant which called her to mediate immediately began pleading for his life and the rest of the kitchen began defaming Shen.
They were about to continue when Shen clapped his hands.
"An excellent performance, if you are that dedicated then I will personally see to it that you all poison test this "favorite" dish"
That night the entire kitchen personnel had died of poisoning. They intended to escape but how could they compete with the General"s prodigy?
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"The a.s.sa.s.sin has reported that the child had a broken arm and a blinded right eye"
"That"s not possible. He"s clearly healthy and not a cripple"
"The spy has reported that the Crown Prince has an aura of a demon. He even killed the entire kitchen staff you a.s.signed"
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The next morning, Shen began lecturing Riri.
"Never trust the emperor. He is a cutthroat who is both thirsty for power and scared of losing it"
The current emperor was related to the Crown Prince and Princess, however he was their great uncle instead of their father. He clearly held animosity towards the one who had the right to the throne and even an imbecile could surmise that he wanted to become the emperor.
"This is how you check for this poison and this is what happens when you get poisoned"
Shen consumed the toxic herb which caused his skin to flush and blood to drip from his mouth.
"B-brother!?"
Shen stopped her and merely said that he was immune.
[C-Rank Quest Completed:
Speed C Acquired
2000 points added]
He spent the entire week teaching Riri how to fend for herself.
Self-defense lessons and the basics of swordplay which she was clumsy at.
The most common poisons and how to identify them.
The basics of loyalty.
Then finally, her favorite which was how to cook.
The burnt onion was incredibly displeasing to her. It had already made her cry but that was all for naught as she couldn"t even use it. She sighed before mumbling, "Maybe food just hates me"
Shen flicked her on the forehead, "It"s fine to not get it right the first time" and then handed her an omelette. Her mood brightened instantly as the egg melted in her mouth.
"If only I could always eat your cooking"
Shen smiled before saying, "It"s only until you either get good at cooking or you don"t get people who always try to poison you"
At night, Shen would always pretend to sleep soundly. The hired a.s.sa.s.sin would sneak up to his bed and strike... only to be parried and taunted. To their astonishment, he used the a.s.sa.s.sins as sparring material although their skills felt subpar.
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Da Guang sighed and said, "At this rate, Riri will become a brocon. How did he become that impressive?"
Lanye shrugged, "I still don"t know where he learned how to cook. His foster parents always said that they cooked for him"
"You think he learned it by himself?"
"If that was true then imagine how well he"d do with a master chef teaching him"
The two sighed in satisfaction as they savored the marinated bread.
The euphoria was short-lived though as an imperial eunuch came to their residence with a decree.
"By the grace of the Emperor, the Great General Lanye"s subordinate Shen
has been invited to partake in the Annual Youth Contest.
The first few winners will receive accolades, honor for their lineage, and the grand prize will be the Gravekin Sword"
Later, Lanye invited Shen to discuss his plans.
"Can I refuse the invitation?"
"Impossible, that"d be disgracing the emperor"
"I"m already disgracing him by bullying his a.s.sa.s.sins"
"You"d do great, Brother. Why don"t you want to compete?"
"A magician never reveals his secrets"
"What"s a magician?"
Shen merely smirked.
The next day the Annual Youth Contest was canceled. The emperor had a fever and a large group of brigands tried to raid the capital. With the help of Lanye, the casualties were minimal but the entrance still needed reconstruction.
Months pa.s.sed and life went on as usual. Due to not attending the Annual Youth Contest, Shen did not have a public debut and therefore had no unsolicited visitors other than a.s.sa.s.sins who were slightly more skilled than the last. However, Lanye"s fame soared as he partic.i.p.ated in more and more battles. The Great General had returned to his former glory. People would talk of his valiance in battle, unyielding might against the enemies, and the enemy would cower in fear when he rode onto the battlefield.
In fact, he became so powerful that the Emperor had begun to fear him. Suppression through other generals was meaningless as Lanye was always known as the Great General and the other generals even admired him. Desperate, he revoked Lanye"s position as General and imprisoned him for conspiring with the enemy. Of course, the public would never believe this.
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"Did you contact the Crown Prince?"
"Yes, he"s willing to help us"
Shen laughed as he held the chess piece, "Checkmate"