Dark Sand: My Players Are All Actors
Chapter 267 - 207: People of Two Eras_2

Chapter 267: Chapter 207: People of Two Eras_2

"Archery that can hit the target from a hundred paces away, huh?"

Li Hongyun chuckled and retracted his bow, continuing to spur his horse into a wild gallop.

He didn’t plan to shoot a second arrow because he couldn’t say for sure if his luck would hold for another.

Moreover, his aim was to slow down the pursuers, and since that was already accomplished, there was no need to linger.

Even if he killed all the Jin soldiers, more pursuers would soon arrive.

It was time to focus on escaping— that was the priority.

Soon, Li Hongyun led his men out of the enemy camp, sprinting southward along a pre-planned route.

Not far ahead were the horses arranged by General Zhang Jun.

The men dismounted, switched to fresher, more energetic horses, and continued their frantic dash southward.

Finally, after covering more distance, Li Hongyun’s view gradually elevated, rising into the air as he watched Yu Jiaxuan lead the men, their horse hooves kicking up dust far behind them.

This meant that they had successfully made it through this phase of the instance.

"Success!

"It wasn’t easy, that first little challenge in the instance took up almost an entire night.

"But the rewards were quite significant, successfully replicating Yu Jiaxuan’s feat of capturing the traitor amidst a massive army.

"This guide, once written, should attract a lot of readership, right?"

Li Hongyun was quite pleased with himself; solving the "Fifty Men Camp Raid" this way seemed something not just anyone could figure out.

Perhaps even Chu Ge wouldn’t be able to achieve it?

But then again, he thought, as a literary player, Chu Ge probably wouldn’t choose Yu Jiaxuan’s role but someone else’s.

The scene shifted, and a mist engulfed Li Hongyun’s view.

Transition to a new scene.

Li Hongyun felt somewhat reflective; instances in the Qi Dynasty were indeed tougher than those of the flourishing dynasties— starting right off with the challenge of a fifty-man camp raid. What kind of challenges would come next?

It was, admittedly, quite exciting.

As the fog cleared, a system prompt appeared first in his vision.

[Nine Years Until the Battle of Niuzhu]

Li Hongyun was startled.

"Two years have passed already?

"I haven’t done anything yet!

"Isn’t that wrong, shouldn’t the system have arranged some other tasks for me? Why skip over these two years just like that?"

Li Hongyun looked around in bewilderment, finding himself in a completely new location.

It was a lush manor with a lake in the distance, and based on the lake’s topography, there were fields below and houses above, presenting a quite organized vista.

A serene pastoral scene.

At this moment, the character he was portraying, Yu Jiaxuan, was in a pavilion near the lakeshore. A stone table was set with wine and dishes, as well as brush and inkstone.

The person opposite him had just briskly finished writing a poem.

"Brother Tan Fu, what do you think of this poem I wrote?" he said, handing over the freshly written poem to Li Hongyun.

Li Hongyun paused briefly, quickly sizing up the other party, before taking it.

Because he realized, he had seen this person before.

This was the other character card he had seen in the initial scene, the one corresponding to the verse "Longsword and a cup of wine, a man’s heart in inches deep!"

Li Hongyun looked down at the poem handed over to him.

"The mortal world rolls on, what is it for? Only for the trivial gains and fame.

"Thousand miles, sick from home, I am a guest chasing dreams, a poor scholar in a humble lane.

"As poems misconstrue, we must part ways, disdain or favor untouched, I remain unshaken.

"Winning a serene spot to sit in my white-haired days, who else would contend for a pole’s length of wind and moon?"

Li Hongyun stared at it for a long while, intending to comment, but after struggling, he could only barely squeeze out two words: "Good poem."

Unfortunately, his literary level was not up to par...

If it had been the real Yu Jiaxuan, he might now be discussing the rhythms, allusions, and implications of the poem, but Li Hongyun’s knowledge of ancient poetry was merely limited to high school Chinese, and speaking more could reveal his lack of expertise, better to remain silent.

The other party seemed somewhat disappointed: "Brother Tan Fu, we are the closest of friends, feel free to speak your mind."

Obviously, he thought Li Hongyun’s lukewarm response meant he didn’t like the poem.

Li Hongyun cleared his throat, realizing it was unavoidable, and went ahead: "The poem is good, but the transcendent spirit it expresses... seems a bit excessive, revealing a sense of defeat."

After saying this, Li Hongyun also felt uneasy.

Because he just felt it strange for someone who seemed to be just over twenty, in the prime of youth, to write a poem that resembled something a man in his fifties or sixties, who had seen through life, would write.

So he mentioned it offhand, thinking that even if it failed, he could always start over.

Maybe refresh his talent to see if there’s a "Mastery of Poetry and Verse" skill available...

However, to Li Hongyun’s surprise, the man simply sighed softly and said, "Thou understandest me, Tan Fu!"

After that, he fell silent, pouring himself a drink and gazing towards the distant lake.

Li Hongyun remained as quiet as a chicken, not knowing how to continue the conversation.

Because he still didn’t even know the man’s name...

But then his eyes lit up, for he carefully noticed that there was a small line of text at the end of the poem— a signature.

He hadn’t seen it before, but now he looked closely, and it clearly bore the man’s name: Zhang Renxia.