Four Split Personalities

But if they were to take the main road, that would be an entirely different concept. Although Motan was not very familiar with this area—in fact, he was not too familiar with anywhere outside Misha County—he did have a book called "Mage’s Adventure Notes." Besides a large number of useful insights for adventurers, it also came with a simplified map of the Northwestern continent. Although the drawings and words on it were rather ugly, it clearly depicted major roads and population centers. Motan was also quite skilled at map analysis, so with Ji Xiaoge constantly updating him on the target route, he miraculously managed to not lose his way even once.

In the past few days, he had fallen behind Ji Xiaoge by about half a day’s journey. Since the population of various races in the Spirit Monster Wilderness was not small, they encountered numerous villages and small towns along the way. The slave traders from the Viper Chamber of Commerce would find a place to rest each day until the next morning, and Ji Xiaoge, after disguising herself, would stay in the same place. Motan would end up being one or two towns slower, because of the horse he had to take care of, and before going offline, he would try his best to find a place for... his horse to settle down.

Unlike "Self-Destructing Sheep" or "Falling Axe City Wolf Whistle," Motan’s horse was just a common one purchased from the market, which could serve as a mount but could not be stowed in a bag or dismissed.

Because the Self-Destructing Sheep was not a living creature, it could be stored in a bag, and even if not stored, it had a compressed mode that looked like a ball of wool. The wolf whistle belonging to the character ’Hei Fan’ was a bit more high-end; the wolf mount Xiao Bai had characteristics similar to a player. It could be dismissed when no NPCs were watching, and upon being summoned again, would arrive from nearby in a ’relatively reasonable’ manner, which was also very convenient.

As for Motan’s horse, which was not worth much (actually this was in the past), it didn’t have the mentioned features. It was just a simple horse, a riding horse that couldn’t be put away or disappear.

Two days ago, while hurrying through the Spirit Monster Wilderness, Motan, trying to make up for lost time, did not choose to find a nearby place to settle the horse and go offline. Instead, he kept on until just before the Requiem Plan was about to start. He then left the main road and found a relatively suitable environment, pitched a tent, prepared ample hay, tied the horse next to a crooked tree nearby, and made a small campfire that served little practical purpose, before finally crawling into the tent and logging off.

He knew he would disappear because he wasn’t noticed by NPCs, but even so, it was unlikely that someone passing by would bother with a worthless tent and an equally worthless horse, and then...

And then there was nothing.

So, Motan had to ride a sheep instead. Although the speed of the Self-Destructing Sheep couldn’t match that of a horse, it wasn’t too far off from his normal running speed, and it didn’t consume Physical Strength Value. However, he expected quite a delay, since he hadn’t traveled at all yesterday, and his mount had gone from a horse to a sheep. It would probably be very difficult to catch up with Ji Xiaoge and those slave traders in a short time.

But as the saying goes, blessing and disaster are interdependent. Motan’s loss of his horse might not be a misfortune after all. Upon opening the message panel, he found that the situation was not as he expected; it wasn’t only he who hadn’t traveled all of the previous day—the slave traders hadn’t traveled either! Instead, they had continued to stay in the frontier city they had reached the day before yesterday.

’They’re still here, and they’ve sold a lot of supplies and goods, so you don’t need to hurry.’

’I’ve found out what these guys are up to; they’re heading to the Caselro Great Plains! Wait for me, I’ll listen in some more...’

’Trouble, the low-power communicator I snuck onto their carriage has been found. Those guys are becoming vigilant! But they probably haven’t discovered me yet.’

’They haven’t set off, not sure if they plan to travel at night.’

’Remember to reply when you’re online, I’m super bored right now!’

’Just kidding, I’m actually full of energy, just a bit panicky being alone. If they catch me, I’m done for since I can’t beat them!’

’Mor, should I apply for a job at their place and cook them something poisonous?’

’But I can’t find any poisonous ingredients, and I don’t dare to stray too far from this small town...’

’Oh, right, right! Cordova told me that two of our friends in reality seem to be heating up romantically! But they’re dealing with a very tricky problem. Although Cordova and Yu Chen (my friend, so pretty) didn’t tell me in detail, I’m still a bit worried.’

’The other friend is even worse, didn’t even reply to me! But I heard he’s very busy, so no help for that.’

’My sister’s been acting kinda strange lately! She’s been off all day today! You think she might have eaten something bad? I’ll make her some soup that’s good for her stomach later; that girl has always liked to eat out since she was little, and the food in those restaurants is never as clean as what you make at home!’

’Haha, I saw something super funny, hahahaha!’

’You’re not online yet? What could be so busy~’

’Ah, sorry, sorry, I didn’t mean to pry or anything, just too bored~’

’Radish radish, I’m a potato, eggplant is still under surveillance, no sign of leaving the basket, over.’

’Three years and another three years, after three years and yet another three years~’

’Silly iron pot~ Han Ya Lei shouts to repair the leaky pot~ Uncle~ Blue Dog~ Little Brother Six~ Monk Me~ floating far away!’

’Hahaha, that’s so funny!’

’Oh no, oh no! Big trouble! Mor, are you online? If you are, let me know fast!’

Motan: "..."

The above was all the messages Ji Xiaoge had sent from last night to just now. Motan felt that the criticisms he wanted to spit out were nearly bursting his throat.

But putting everything else aside, the last message was indeed a bit worrying!

So Motan immediately replied with a ’squeak’.

Two seconds later

’Hahahaha~~ I told you to squeak and you really did, hahahaha!!!’

Motan: "..."

[Can these old jokes from years ago really make this girl laugh so heartily?]

In the end, Motan still silently made a snide remark in his heart, then quickly responded: ’Ahem, sorry I logged on so late, what’s the situation over there? What exactly happened just now?’

Ten seconds later

’Well, it is indeed a big deal, but it’s not related to those bad guys, so don’t worry.’

Ji Xiaoge’s reply, devoid of any substantial information, arrived, making Motan facepalm.

Before he could reply, a second message from Ji Xiaoge followed closely...

’Um, actually it’s Jadka and Ya Ya... erm, and brother Dabus and little Anthony who came over, ahem, when can you come and handle this?’

[Huh? What?]

Motan was bewildered at that moment, earnestly re-reading Ji Xiaoge’s messages several times, and then... because he wasn’t watching the road carefully, he ran into a tree.

Five minutes later, having set back on the road after repeated study, speculation, and proof, Motan finally came to realize the fact that Jadka, Ya Ya, and Anthony•Dabus, three (well, four) individuals, had really made their way over to Ji Xiaoge’s side. Although because Chef Ji timely fed Anthony and prevented a major commotion, those friends who should still be near Anka doing adventurer tasks did cause a bit of a stir (credit to Anthony’s significant role).

What on earth is going on here!?

Motan wanted to clarify, but Ji Xiaoge said it would take too long to explain in a message. To prevent Motan from running into more trees or whatever is on the trees, she decided to wait till Motan could meet up with everyone to discuss.

’But you know, even though I haven’t shown all my cards yet, Dabus and Old Jia are no fools. You, as the small team leader, should think ahead about how to explain this. Avoid using the last resort if you can...’

That was what Ji Xiaoge indicated at the end of her message.

’A last resort?’

’Yeah, I thought of an explanation that probably won’t cause any trouble and will get them to go back quietly.’

’What explanation?’

’Eloping.’

’You’re joking, right...’

’Of course, Dabus would never believe that!’

’...’

’Hahaha, intrigued?’

’No.’

’Beast!’

’Really, no!’

’Worse than a beast!’

’...’

Chapter 471: The End