A duel?!

Vivian was so shocked she almost stuttered. After a while, she said, "Why would Jason Purewater agree to a duel?"

Jason Purewater doesn't seem like the impulsive type at all.

In "Dreaming of Jianghu," there are two types of formal one-on-one matches: one is a spar, commonly known as PK, and the other is a duel. Losing a spar doesn't matter much; you don't lose experience or levels, just your record suffers a bit. A duel is different. If you lose a duel, you drop a level. If your level is low, it's easy to recover, but for high-level players like Vivian and Jason Purewater, losing a level means half a month's effort wasted.

Jason Purewater is known to spend money on the game, with top-tier equipment, but to duel with the equally well-equipped Naihe...

It's basically suicide!

Vivian has teamed up with both of them, so she knows their skills very well. She has to admit, the gap in their micro-control skills is huge. Naihe is like a celestial being, beyond human, while Jason Purewater is at best on par with Vivian.

So Vivian strongly suspects that Jason Purewater has lost his mind.

George Yu replied to her, "It's not about whether he wants to or not. Third Brother issued a challenge in the world chat, and it was so underhanded that if Jason Purewater doesn't accept, he won't be able to show his face in this server anymore."

Issued a challenge? How formal... Vivian asked, "How did he issue it?"

Monkey Wine said, "He challenged Jason Purewater to three matches, saying that if Jason Purewater wins just one, it counts as his victory, and he won't pursue the video issue anymore. Plus, he won't use his divine beast during the duel. You see, if Jason Purewater doesn't accept such a challenge, can he still call himself a man? Losing is better than not fighting at all."

Not using a divine beast...

Can he still win like that?

Vivian continued to be flabbergasted. It just proves once again that Naihe is beyond human. And this challenge is indeed very... hard to describe. If Naihe had challenged Jason Purewater to a fair duel, even if Purewater didn't accept, admitting his skills were inferior wouldn't be too embarrassing, given Naihe's prowess. But this kind of challenge leaves Purewater no choice but to fight, or he really won't be able to show his face.

Monkey Wine said, "In the end, I felt sorry for Jason Purewater. Poor guy, if it were a single match, he'd only lose one level. If it were best of three, he could concede after losing two matches and only lose two levels. But Naihe played this trick, knowing full well that Purewater would still lose the third match, yet he has to fight for his honor."

George Yu Climber commented, "Insidious, truly insidious."

Naihe said, "You're overthinking it. I just didn't want to waste words."

Vivian thought about it and agreed. If it were a fair challenge, Purewater would probably find excuses not to fight, and it would indeed be a waste of words. Naihe's challenge was a one-hit kill.

Mozar Ta said, "Jason Purewater is quite tough too, not bringing his pet to the fight. Did you anticipate that?"

Naihe casually replied, "Why would I consider him?"

>o<, exactly! Vivian silently chanted in her heart. Naihe doesn't need to consider others. After chanting, Vivian belatedly realized the keyword: "Three levels?"

The red-clad heroine ran to the musician in shock and asked, "You killed him three levels?"

Naihe: "Yes."

Vivian: "..."

No wonder Jason Purewater isn't replying to her messages. He probably feels like dying right now. Three levels, that would take at least two months to regain.

Mozar Ta said, "You should leave yourself some room. What if you lose a match, say, if your power goes out or your internet suddenly disconnects, then the video would really be at his mercy?"

Smiling Naihe nonchalantly said, "If I lose, I lose. If I lose, my wife is still there."

Monkey Wine agreed, "Hehehe, right, Naihe only said he wouldn't care, but he didn't say anything about his wife. His wife's skills are better than Third Brother's. Didn't you see she handles the monsters while Naihe just freeloads?"

Vivian: "You're too kind >o<"

George Yu Climber sighed again, "Insidious, too insidious."

Having just finished a boss fight, Monkey Wine and the others were a bit lazy, sitting on the grass of Greenhill Mountain meditating and chatting. Since Greenhill Mountain is also a place to gather herbs, Vivian started gathering herbs.

After a while, Vivian keenly noticed a system message refresh.

『System』: The notorious thief Mason Dong has escaped from the heavenly prison, broke into the palace at night, and stole Princess Snowy's jewelry box. His audacity is unforgivable. Heroes of the world, please capture Mason Dong and hand him over to the authorities for a handsome reward.

Vivian said, "Mason Boss is on the loose again. Shall we catch him?"

Mason Dong Boss is one of the more challenging bosses in "Dreaming of Jianghu." Every day, he escapes from the heavenly prison, immediately goes on a stealing spree, and then the system issues a wanted notice. Players start the chase, capture him, and hand him over to the authorities to be imprisoned again. The next day, Mason Boss escapes again. However, Mason Boss is also the most popular boss because once captured, the items he stole are given as rewards to the player who caught him, and Mason Boss usually steals very good items.

Vivian once got lucky. Mason Boss robbed a cart of silver, and Vivian happened to encounter him, single-handedly and barely managed to defeat Mason Boss, and the cart of silver became hers. Of course, there are unlucky ones too. Once, the system announced that Mason Boss stole the knife of Invincible East. The announcement caused a sensation, as Invincible East's knife must be a top-tier weapon. Players of all levels dropped their tasks to catch the boss. In the end, Mason Boss was caught by a top player, but when he saw the knife, he was so angry he almost quit the game.

Because the knife's description was—

The knife Invincible East used for self-castration.

Monkey Wine said, "A princess's jewelry box? Not interested."

Mozar Ta: "Don't feel like moving."

George Yu Climber: "I'm browsing the forums. The video has been deleted."

Monkey Wine: "Sigh~~ why is that guy so obedient."

Vivian: " >o<, why do I feel like you're quite disappointed?"

Monkey Wine: "I'm extremely disappointed!"

George Yu Climber: "If he hadn't deleted it, we would have, hehehe."

Monkey Wine: "Hack his computer."

George Yu Climber: "Wipe his account."

Mozar Ta: "What about me? Sell his wife?"

George Yu Climber: "Now that he's deleted it, we have no reason to act."

Vivian: "＝ ＝ You guys are too despicable."

George Yu Climber humbly said, "You're too kind, compared to Naihe, we're just a drop in the ocean."

Vivian sweated, can "a drop in the ocean" be used like that?

Naihe: "Vivian, let's go."

"Hmm, where to?" Vivian asked as she joined his team.

"Somewhere without them."

As soon as she joined the team, the scene changed, and in the blink of an eye, Vivian found herself standing on Sunset Peak.

Watching the sunset from Sunset Peak.

This is the most beautiful and least populated place in the game because there are no monsters, no quests, and no experience to gain. However, after meeting Naihe, it became one of Vivian's most frequented places.

The setting sun half-hid behind the clouds, casting brilliant rays of light, making the red-clad heroine standing at the peak even more dazzling and beautiful, while the white-clad musician appeared even more aloof and ethereal.

Vivian propped her chin and watched for a long time, slowly typing, "It's really beautiful here."

Naihe: "Yes."

For a moment, neither of them spoke. After a long silence, Naihe said, "This matter should have been left for you to handle, but with so many people watching, I thought it best to resolve it quickly."

In front of the computer, Vivian blinked, stunned for a long time before realizing he was explaining why he challenged Purewater to a duel.

He didn't have to explain to her. He handled it very well... but for some reason, Vivian felt a slow, gentle wave of emotion akin to being moved.

This emotion didn't arise when he gave her a grand wedding, nor when he avenged her, but at this moment, in this picturesque scene, because of his plain explanation, it emerged.

Vivian suddenly didn't know what to say. Her fingers hovered over the keyboard for a long time before finally sending a smiley face.

Naihe didn't say anything more, and Vivian just stood quietly by his side, not operating, not leaving, looking at the still screen, feeling that at this moment, everything was peaceful and distant.