SMMW | Chapter 15

New Map: Capital City Unlocked.

Song Hao first helped a girl who was fleeing an arranged marriage at the city gate. Yes, a girl. Even though she called herself a scholar, her eyes were that big, and she even had upper and lower eyelashes. One look and it was obvious she was female.

After that, he returned to the Wen residence with Wen Qing. Since the family was reuniting, he could not very well stay there without tact. It was the perfect chance to quickly slip out and explore the map.

The new map could be explored 5 times per month. Half a year meant 30 times, and Song Hao needed to accumulate enough points within those 30 tries.

The Eastern District was where the government offices and powerful nobles were located. If he went to the government office, the officers would remind him that the metropolitan exam would be held in the third month, so this area could not be entered right now. Several areas were still locked, which seemed to mean they would only open in the next stage.

The Western District had a number of activity locations.

[Wenxi Pavilion]

You could read books or attend poetry gatherings here, which increased Literary Talent and Reputation, but the entrance fee was high.

Reading once cost 200 cash, and the stat increase was random.

Attending one poetry gathering cost 500 cash, giving Literary Talent +10 and Reputation +3.

[Jibing Ward]

A government-run place that took in elderly, weak, sick, and young people struggling to survive. You could donate money there. The minimum donation each time was 300, giving Reputation +3.

[Putuo Temple]

A place where common people burned incense and worshipped Buddha. Donating lamp oil money required a minimum of 200 each time, giving Reputation +2. There was also a chance to run into the abbot. After chatting freely about Buddhist teachings, you would gain Reputation +2 and Literary Talent +5. Song Hao tested it and found that you had to donate at least 1000 before you could run into him.

The Southern District was the commercial street.

[Inn]

A place to stop, eat, and stay the night. Rooms came in three grades, Heaven, Earth, and Human, all including meals and lodging.

Heaven room: 100 per day, reduces Fatigue by 5 daily.

Earth room: 60 per day, reduces Fatigue by 3 daily.

Human room: 30 per day, reduces Fatigue by 1 daily.

[Food Shop]

A place specializing in selling food. Different foods gave different stat bonuses. Among them, one serving of Golden Silk Rolls cost 300 cash, giving Reputation +1 and Intelligence +1. Steamed sea bass cost 600 cash, giving Intelligence +3.

From this, he could conclude that Reputation and Intelligence were almost openly priced. Reputation was 100 cash per point, Intelligence was 200 cash per point. To save up 50 points and clear the requirement, he would need at least 5000 cash. For a poor bastard like him who had only saved 1200 in a whole year, that was practically an impossible task.

[Tea Stall]

A gathering place for gossip. 10 cash bought one cup of tea and one piece of gossip. 50 cash let you ask a fortune-teller to read your fate.

Song Hao used saves and loads at this location and freeloaded a few bits of gossip. Things like:

“They say juren with a terrible reputation are not even allowed to take the metropolitan exam at all!”

“I went to the gambling den and made 500 cash today.”

“How come the emperor only has two sons, and all the rest are daughters? I heard…”

“The top courtesan in the brothel is really beautiful. I only looked through the window. They won’t let you in if you don’t have money.”

“The Food Shop’s steamed sea bass is absolutely first-rate. I heard it goes on sale from time to time.”

…

While he was at it, he also had the fortune-teller read his fate several times.

“Young master has the look of great wealth and high honor. In the future, you are certain to soar to success!”

“Judging from your face, your marriage prospects are unfavorable.”

“There is a bloody disaster in your near future. I have a method that can resolve it.”

“Heaven’s secrets cannot be revealed. I cannot say too much…”

“Heaven’s secrets cannot be revealed. I cannot say too much…”

By the fourth read, the fortune-teller’s dialogue just kept repeating. It seemed this was the game’s anti-freeloading mechanism. So what? He had still managed to freeload. Song Hao loaded the save again and got his 50 cash back.

[Pharmacy]

A place to see a doctor, buy medicine, and sell medicinal herbs.

It was an old familiar place. The purchase price of tong grass had also risen to 15 cash, but Song Hao only had 10 stalks in his bag, so he would not sell them yet.

[Yifang Tailor Shop]

Sold ready-made clothing that could increase Charm. Different price ranges gave different bonuses.

Song Hao tried them on one by one. Sure enough, they looked good, and sure enough, they were also very expensive. The starting price was 300 cash, giving Charm +5. There were even wedding clothes inside, and those started at 1000. It seemed poor people really did have a hard time getting married.

Song Hao changed back into his patched blue robe and continued exploring.

The Northern District was a place where all kinds of people mixed together.

[Gambling Den]

Place your bets, no taking them back, the house takes all. Perfect for gamblers dreaming of getting rich overnight.

Song Hao first put down 100 cash, planning to make a killing with save-loading.

Bet big.

Open! Small!!!

That 100 cash was gone like water down the drain. Song Hao calmly loaded the save.

〖Notice: Save/load is disabled at this location.〗

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah my money!!!

His howl echoed throughout the livestream.

Song Hao changed the livestream title to [Gambling Is the Root of Disaster, Harmful to Yourself and Others, Bad for Body and Soul]. Viewers passing by thought it was a gambling-awareness stream, and in support of public welfare, one of them even tipped him a lollipop.

One lollipop was worth 50 cents.

[Brothel]

Warm red gauze curtains, hot wine, and the fragrance of flowers. Just entering cost 200 cash.

Song Hao was afraid this place also would not allow save-loading, and if he carelessly threw away another 200, life really would become impossible. The moment he heard the entry fee, he ran.

[Matchmaker Hall]

Handled marriage arrangements. The cheapest package started at 5000 cash. The matchmaker said that only after affection exceeded 100 could you come here for matchmaking. She also showed Song Hao the current affection values for the female characters.

〖Affection Value: Xing’er 9, Mu Ziyi 5, Yun Ling 4.5, Kong Mengxue 2…〗

“See? I told you that Mu Ziyi was a girl disguised as a man.”

Ignoring the mockery in the chat about how he “didn’t even have one over 10,” how “the fortune-teller was right,” and “why isn’t my sis-in-law here,” Song Hao praised himself a bit, then went to the next location.

[Escort Agency]

Escort goods and transport cargo, licking blood from the edge of the blade. Anyone with Martial Arts greater than 10 could come here to make money.

If you had no Martial Arts, you could choose a master and become an apprentice. Once your Martial Arts reached 10, you could begin taking escort jobs.

And of course there was an apprenticeship fee, dear customer. There were masters at 300, 500, and 700.

300 tier: A former great general gives lessons personally. His teaching style is rough, and every lesson requires one jug of wine.

500 tier: A veteran escort. Five-day crash course, independent escort work, quality guaranteed.

700 tier: Heir of Plum Blossom Fist. Trains both inner and outer cultivation, balancing hardness and softness, leading straight to the peak of martial arts.

It looked like Martial Arts was obtained here. You learned while also earning money, and this was the only possible route that might let him reach the required values.

But Song Hao currently only had 1200, no, 1100 left in total, so he could not afford the expensive options. And that 300-tier teacher sounded like someone with a real background, so he decisively chose the 300 one.

The system prompted that he needed one apprenticeship wine.

So Song Hao ran to the Food Shop to buy wine. There was cloudy wine for 50 cash a jug, yellow wine for 100 cash a jug, and distilled spirits for 200 cash a jug.

Song Hao bought the cheapest one and delivered it to the “former great general.”

〖The drunken escort drank it all in one gulp, smacked his lips, muttered “Terrible,” then flopped over and fell asleep, paying no attention to your request to become his apprentice.〗

??? Taking the money and not doing the job

Song Hao loaded the save. Afraid of spending too much, he finally bought the 100-cash yellow wine.

〖The drunken escort drank it all in one gulp, savored it for a moment, muttered “Average,” then flopped over and fell asleep, paying no attention to your request to become his apprentice.〗

??? So it had to be the most expensive one, right? If you added it all up, that would already be 500, and at that point the 500-tier veteran escort looked way more reliable.

Song Hao was furious and his heart physically ached from the money loss. If he really apprenticed under this guy, he would have to pay an extra 200 every time he studied. How was he supposed to afford that? But now that he had come this far, he still went to buy the 200-cash distilled spirits.

〖The drunken escort drank it all in one gulp, savored it for a long while, and sighed, “Good wine,” then accepted your apprenticeship request.〗

〖Successfully apprenticed under “Huang Zhan”〗

〖After Huang Zhan finished the wine, his gaze suddenly sharpened. He hurled the wine jug straight toward the corner of the wall. A startled cry sounded from behind the wall, followed by the noise of someone fleeing.

Huang Zhan: What kind of enemy did you offend? Someone has been following you from behind this whole time…

As he said this, he suddenly widened his eyes and stared at your face. The smell of alcohol vanished completely, and there was none of the drunkenness from before. His mouth opened and closed a few times, and at last he asked in an unreadable tone, “What’s your name?”

“Yuan Hao.”

“Where are you from?”

“Hezhou County, Jinping Prefecture. I came to the capital with a classmate to sit the exams, and we don’t have much travel money left, so that’s why…”

“Who’s your father? And your mother?” Huang Zhan cut in roughly, asking his own questions.

“My mother is recuperating from illness at home. My father… I don’t know.”

“You don’t know?”

“My mother raised me by herself since I was little. I’ve never seen my father.”

Huang Zhan pondered for a long time, then said gruffly, “No problem learning martial arts, but with your pretty-boy face, who would dare hand goods over to you? Unless you slash up your face.”

Your choice is: Scar Face / Refuse〗

“What is wrong with him? It took me two hours to shape this face. He’s obviously jealous because I’m handsome.”

Song Hao chose Refuse.

〖Yuan Hao: I have to take the imperial examinations next year. My appearance cannot be marred.

Huang Zhan: In that case, then change into another set of clothes. You need to look like a martial man.

※ Obtained Escort Outfit〗

“Wow, free clothes, I earned back that 200.” Song Hao was pretty happy at first, but once he tried them on, he found out how vicious this was. The Tailor Shop’s clothes were all embroidered with gold and silver thread, gauze and brocade everywhere. The moment you put them on, you looked noble.

But this escort outfit, wow! Rough cloth and short sleeves, tattered and worn. Not only did it come with a hooligan-looking headscarf, it also added a lot of black smudges to his face. One look and he looked like some street thug.

〖※ Clothing attribute bonus: Appearance -30%〗

Song Hao’s face went blank. “…A reduction of 30% is called a bonus?”

〖Huang Zhan: Not bad. You finally look a bit more the part. Since you’re going to take the imperial examinations, it’s better to hide your real name when doing escort work. I’ll give you a nickname. Let it be… Rolling Blade Tiger!

Yuan Hao: …Fine.

Huang Zhan: It’s late today. Head back first. Start learning tomorrow.

※ Obtained title “Rolling Blade Tiger”〗

“Even the me inside the game would think that sounds awful.” Song Hao sighed. “He taught me nothing and just drank a jug of my wine. Tomorrow I still have to spend another 200. What a scam.”

“But he can trigger plot scenes, so one look says he’s an NPC with story content. I still have to keep learning. I only have 600 left, enough for three lessons. I hope he can teach me everything within those three, then take me to make money. Otherwise I really won’t be able to clear this.”

[Why not recharge a little? The first top-up event, spend 3 yuan and get 3000, is still active]

[So that whole promise about becoming a prince and collecting a harem was just empty talk]

[This is so hard]

[Single for this long and still can’t clear it]

[This game really is vicious about forcing top-ups]

[If it weren’t for Wen Qing, you’d still have to pay for food and lodging]

[Exactly, exactly, that’s where I failed. I didn’t have money for the inn, got treated like a beggar, and got thrown out of the capital]

[…]

[100 is just entry level]

[Everyone plays while cursing the game, players are all masters of language]

While feeling relieved and lucky, Song Hao returned to the Wen residence.

When he walked into the courtyard, he just happened to see Wen Qing.

〖Wen Qing: Who are you?!〗

“Huh? Did he bug out? Why doesn’t he recognize me?”

[You’re still wearing the thug outfit, bro]

[Your appearance got lowered too, anyone who didn’t know would think you were a beggar]

[This game is so detailed, wow, it actually can fail to recognize you]

[It takes real skill to force top-ups]

[The detail and the freedom in this game really are above criticism]

Song Hao glanced at the chat, then quickly opened Inventory – Clothing and changed back into the default outfit, [Patched Blue Robe].

After changing clothes, he found that Wen Qing was now standing several steps away, with his body turned aside so that only his back could be seen.

Song Hao moved the mouse and walked his character over to face Wen Qing and trigger dialogue.

But he discovered that there was no dialogue to trigger. Wen Qing also had his head lowered, so his expression could not be seen clearly.

Song Hao moved closer, adjusted the angle, and zoomed in. He discovered that Wen Qing’s mouth really was moving, but there was no dialogue box to click.

Looking more carefully, he saw that Wen Qing’s brows were furrowed and his face was a little red, as if he were angrily saying something. But no matter how much he clicked around, no dialogue box appeared.

“Did he bug out?” Song Hao guessed wildly. “He isn’t secretly cursing me, is he?”