For two days, Wei Xicheng had been wandering around, repeatedly attempting to connect to the world network. Each time, the damned “insufficient energy” message appeared. He thought back—he had been rushing around in the previous world and hadn’t had a chance to siphon some energy from his lover.
From the information he currently had, it seemed the system upgrade had used up all the energy. He wasn’t sure if the disappearance of the extra energy had affected his lover.
He wandered aimlessly and eventually leaned against a tree. Over the past few days, he had been avoiding people, so he hadn’t encountered another tragedy of being beaten to death.
“Master, look!” A chat box floated up in the air above this scene, but Wei Xicheng, resting with his eyes closed, didn’t see it.
High up in the tree where Wei Xicheng rested, a long-haired man clad in exquisite armor and carrying fine weapons was perched. With him was a young girl in coarse clothes. Looking down, they saw a burly figure—the “wandering bandit,” sitting comfortably in the shade with a vivid, relaxed expression and his eyes half-closed, clearly enjoying himself.
“Mm, you go.” Another line of text floated into view.
Wei Xicheng suddenly felt his breath catch and could no longer move. A girl with a cheerful smile appeared before him, and he finally heard a voice.
“We’ve been searching for that wandering bandit forever, but Master, you’re the best!”
Sycophant.
Before being bound to the system and tasked with missions, Wei Xicheng had been a gamer. Thus, turning into an NPC didn’t faze him much—after all, games were just games.
What struck him most was that word, “Master.” Back in his world, he had also played a game and had a master. That master had taught him a lot, and their relationship was great. But one day, after logging out, that person never came back.
Wei Xicheng understood that investing too much emotion into a game wasn’t wise, but he could never stop himself. The character he controlled eventually felt like it truly was him, living out adventures in a world he could never physically touch.
After respawning, Wei Xicheng kept his distance from the pair. He instinctively checked to see if they were following but instead caught sight of the man’s username above his head: .
He widened his eyes, unsure if it was a coincidence or truly him. In this game, all men looked almost identical, with only minor differences in their features. After some thought, Wei Xicheng cautiously approached, intending to observe them more closely.
Just as he got close, he heard Yu Beiyan speak: “Is that enough?” That deep, familiar voice inexplicably put him at ease.
The girl replied, “Enough, enough!”
“Mm.”
As Wei Xicheng stepped into their attack range, his name turned into an aggressive red tag. Before he could take another step, Yu Beiyan casually raised a hand, and Wei Xicheng was instantly flattened.
Why did this sudden wave of bitterness wash over him?
Looking up at Yu Beiyan, a sense of familiarity and warmth assured Wei Xicheng that this was indeed him. Though Wei Xicheng had promised to find him one day, it turned out he was the one who was found first.
For the first time in ages, Wei Xicheng’s otherwise calm mind stirred with emotion. He felt something cold slide down his cheek. As Yu Beiyan turned to leave, he suddenly glanced back at him.
In the sky above, a small firework burst, accompanied by floating text: “Congratulations, player , for unlocking the hidden quest: The Tears Behind the Wandering Bandit (1/5).”
“You can go now,” Yu Beiyan said.
The girl reluctantly nodded; she was clearly too low-level to access such a quest dungeon.
Still lying on the ground, Wei Xicheng didn’t wait for his body data to refresh. Instead, he heard Yu Beiyan speak.
“Are you alright?” Yu Beiyan’s eyes held an inexplicable emotion, but his voice was calm, devoid of any other feeling.
Wei Xicheng glanced at his nearly depleted health bar and coughed weakly. “I’m fine…”
He had no idea what this hidden quest entailed since he didn’t receive any specific NPC action protocol.
“Is there anything I can do to help?”
“Then… could you gather some hemostatic herbs for me?” Wei Xicheng hastily referenced a task he had seen in their quest log earlier—there should be such herbs in this game.
Just as the man was about to leave after accepting the quest, Wei Xicheng groaned pitifully to draw his attention back. “Hero, take me with you.”
Thus, the sight of a max-level pro carrying a wandering bandit NPC to gather beginner-level hemostatic herbs outside the newbie village quickly became the latest gaming headline.
Countless people were curious—what kind of hidden quest could lead to such a scenario? No one had ever seen an NPC being carried off before.
Yu Beiyan’s name was soon unearthed: the server’s only max-level pro, with top-tier equipment and maxed-out skills. To this day, no one knew how he had achieved it all.
Comments flooded in: “A true pro is on another level. We must be playing a completely different game.”
Reportedly, Yu Beiyan was incredibly helpful—if you dared ask for assistance and he was in a good mood, he might actually help. But when he wasn’t in the mood, he’d kill you in one hit.
Even so, countless new players flocked to test their luck, hoping the pro might take a liking to them and help them soar to the top.
The girl from earlier was one such player. The community had even nicknamed Yu Beiyan “One-Day Master.”
Wei Xicheng, however, remained oblivious to all this. He only wondered—how could someone like Yu Beiyan possibly take on a disciple?
In the end, Wei Xicheng convinced himself that every world’s version of his lover had slight differences in personality and approach. This world’s Yu Beiyan would be no exception.
A normal person, just playing a game—he shouldn’t take it so seriously.
“Quest complete.”
Taking the hemostatic herbs Yu Beiyan handed over, Wei Xicheng watched as his health bar filled back up. The burly man grinned and gave Yu Beiyan a big smile. “Thanks!”
“Well, I haven’t been to the city yet. Why don’t you take me for a look?” Wei Xicheng pondered that traveling with a player might get him further. He didn’t want to keep being a bandit—standing next to Yu Beiyan was almost making him feel inferior.
[Successfully connected to the game’s central system.]
A system prompt popped up, but Wei Xicheng dismissed it without a second thought.
At that moment, Yu Beiyan’s body suddenly stiffened. He slowly looked at Wei Xicheng’s rough face, that familiar electric sensation coursing through him again.
Meanwhile, across the game, players began mass-disconnecting in droves, all booted from the game interface. The sudden mass logout caused public uproar, putting immense pressure on the game company.
The company’s boss was furious. “Find out what went wrong!”
Yu Beiyan blinked, his tense body relaxing slightly. Carrying the bandit, he took a lap around the world map. Empty streets, silent wilderness—the entire game felt deserted.
Even Wei Xicheng noticed something was off. He glanced at Yu Beiyan, a little worried. Was it time for him to log off and sleep?
Clearing his throat, Wei Xicheng said, “You can put me down here. Come back tomorrow.”
Yu Beiyan didn’t quite understand but still set him down before disappearing around a street corner.
After exploring the world map, Wei Xicheng inspected all the NPCs and silently thought to himself, I want to be a constable.
Sure enough, the black-and-red constable’s outfit was far more handsome than the bandit’s. His body looked much better too, and his face—well, no comparison!
Only then did Wei Xicheng happily stroll through the now-empty city. Soon, people began reappearing, stepping out of glowing orbs—seemingly logging back into the game.
He realized he couldn’t keep wandering aimlessly. First, he needed to figure out the game’s restrictions on him—or more precisely, whether he could leave the game at all.
If Yu Beiyan was a player, a real person, then how could a human and an NPC fall in love? Wei Xicheng sighed. Why was it so hard to find romance?
Not being able to accompany Yu Beiyan to the end in the previous world still weighed on him. Now, even in this world, where they shared the same name, he couldn’t properly stay by his side. The thought made him feel stifled.
As the streets grew livelier, Wei Xicheng remained motionless in the spot where he had left Yu Beiyan, until that familiar figure reappeared before him.
“Was it you who brought that bandit into the city?”
“It was me.”
“You’ve got guts!”
“I do.”
“Do you know what the consequences will be?”
“I don’t.”
…Whoever wants to do this job can do it, but I’m not! Wei Xicheng gripped his sword tightly. Calm down, right hand! Killing is illegal! Killing is illegal! But… is it even illegal in a game?
He thrust his sword, but Yu Beiyan didn’t lose a single hit point.
Awkwardly, Wei Xicheng sheathed his sword. “Not bad, kid. Since you’re so skilled, why don’t you come with me to root out evil? That bandit has already fled back to South Mountain!”
Yu Beiyan’s lips curved into a smile. This hidden quest was truly adorable—just like the person in front of him. Suppressing his amusement as much as possible, he maintained the air of someone clueless. “Alright.”
The two set off for South Mountain.
What Wei Xicheng didn’t realize was that his face had already reverted to the appearance of Mu Shuyang from the previous world.
South Mountain was a beautiful place where many casual players came to enjoy the scenery. Its landscapes changed with the seasons, but Wei Xicheng knew nothing about this. The only reason he chose South Mountain was that his initial title had been <Nanshan Bandit Head>.
“I’m hungry. Go catch me a couple of wild rabbits!” Wei Xicheng ordered without hesitation. After all, he was a quest-related NPC—everything he said should count as part of the quest, right?
Yu Beiyan turned around, unable to suppress the smile on his face any longer.
The max-level pro’s skills were as sharp as ever. In just over ten minutes, Wei Xicheng received perfectly roasted rabbit meat.
Taking a skewer, Wei Xicheng asked, “Want some?”
Yu Beiyan didn’t say a word. Instead, he leaned forward and took a bite directly from Wei Xicheng’s hand, his movements graceful. “Not bad.”
Wei Xicheng was startled by the gesture but couldn’t let it show. He had to maintain the facade of being just another NPC.
Laughing awkwardly, he thought to himself: Yu Beiyan might be pushing his luck here.
