Entry Fee

Benita's gaze fell on the swaying figure walking ahead of her.

Lady Wu Yao possessed absolute violence. She could settle everything with sheer force and ignore all rules. This was the power she wielded.

While Benita could not acquire that kind of strength, she was not without a chance to obtain power of her own.

Her medical skills had already proven their value in Fancao Village. If she could heal more people and make herself even more irreplaceable...

For the first time, Benita understood what she needed to do.

She did not need to become Wu Yao. What she had to do was seize her own power in her own way!

“Mama?” Phelin sensed the shift in her mother's emotions and looked up at her.

“It's nothing,” Benita ruffled Phelin's hair. “Mama just figured some things out.”

Phelin blinked. She did not quite understand, but she knew her mother was happy right now.

On the horizon ahead, the outline of Qinghe Town was already faintly visible.

Though the rammed-earth walls were low, they served as a rare defensive measure on the flat plains.

Several guards stood watch at the town gate, and people entering and leaving formed a loose queue.

“We're almost there!” Phelin hopped twice in excitement. She could already see the roofs of various heights rising behind the town walls.

The soldiers at the gate leaned on their spears, chatting loudly. Their topics ranged from the liquor they drank last night to a certain widow in town, accompanied by coarse, booming laughter.

Most of those queuing to enter were farmers from nearby villages coming to sell their goods, shuffling slowly along the dusty, hard-packed dirt road.

Wu Yao did not even glance at the queue, walking straight toward the gate.

What a joke. Since when did players obediently queue up?

“Hey! Stop right there!” A soldier crossed his spear to block her path. “Entry fee is three coppers!”

Wu Yao turned a deaf ear, her pace not faltering in the slightest. She certainly had the money, but why should she pay? What game charged players a toll?

Enraged by her dismissive attitude, the soldier gave her back a threatening poke with his spear. The thrust was neither too light nor too heavy, leaving a dusty mark on her black robe. “Are you deaf?!”

A bright red health bar slowly floated above the soldier's head.

Wu Yao curled her lips. Bait taken!

A fireball flew from her hand, blasting the soldier backward. He crashed into the rammed-earth wall with a dull thud.

【Killed Common Soldier, EXP +14.8】

The other soldier froze for half a second, then instinctively yelled, “Enemy attack—”

His health bar lit up as well, so Wu Yao casually gave him a blast too.

【Killed Common Soldier, EXP +14.8】

The moment the flames flared, the queuing crowd screamed and scattered, sending fruits and vegetables rolling all over the ground.

The town gate fell into utter chaos. Some ran into the town, some fled outside, and others lay flat on the ground playing dead.

Wu Yao stood at the center of the chaos, and no one was blind enough to run into her.

Benita held Phelin's hand, with Suren standing to one side. The three of them appeared exceptionally calm amidst the commotion.

Benita should have been panicking, just like the first time she witnessed Lady Wu Yao's wanton violence.

But right now, her heart only fluttered for a moment. She instinctively squeezed Phelin's hand, and within seconds, that brief panic was replaced by a strange sense of calm.

She realized this was her opportunity.

Lady Wu Yao did not care about those rules and order. She would be like a hurricane, shattering the old order wherever she went. And only upon the ruins could something new grow.

How wonderful.

Benita took a deep breath and gripped Phelin's hand tighter. Beside her, Suren glanced at her and then quickly lowered her head.

Phelin looked up at Benita, shaking her mother's hand vigorously. There was no fear in her eyes, only excitement. “Sister Wu Yao is so amazing!”

“Yes, she is,” Benita replied softly. She led Phelin around a splat of crushed eggs and caught up with Wu Yao's pace.

Wu Yao swaggered through the town gate, not sparing a single backward glance at the commotion behind her.

The town's main street was paved with a layer of rough flagstones, the cracks filled with dried mud.

In the shadows just inside the gate, her chosen skill trainer was hiding in the chaotic crowd, secretly sizing her up.

Since no health bar had lit up yet, they weren't in the hostile faction.

Wu Yao was inwardly overjoyed. This was the perfect opportunity to showcase her value.

Wu Yao intentionally slowed her pace, letting the hem of her robe flutter gracefully in the wind. She strolled down the street with her chest out and shoulders back, as if wandering through her own back garden, completely ignoring the terrified and curious gazes around her.

“My Lady, I plan to head to the apothecary first to sell...” Benita asked for Wu Yao's opinion.

“Lead the way,” Wu Yao waved her hand with elegant poise, her movements even slower than usual, her fingertips meticulously pressed together. She looked like a scholar stepping down from a lecture podium.

It was the first time Benita had ever seen her walk properly, and she couldn't help but look at her a few more times.

Wu Yao had already successfully drawn the skill trainer's attention. She needed to be a patient hunter, waiting for the prey to deliver itself to her door.

Qinghe Town was not particularly wealthy, but it was bustling with life.

All kinds of shops lined both sides of the main street. The clanking of the blacksmith's hammers, the aroma of the bakery, and the rowdiness of the tavern interwove together; the disturbance at the town gate had not yet disrupted this area.

Her gaze was drawn to a blacksmith shop. Various farming implements and blades hung from wooden racks at the storefront, where several burly men swung hammers, sending sparks flying.

Wu Yao casually picked up a longsword resting on the top rack, only to find to her disappointment that these items didn't even meet the criteria for Common quality.

【Iron Sword: Physical Attack +3, Durability 50/50】

Wu Yao looked through them one by one. Without exception, they were all white-tier equipment, and she instantly lost interest.

The blacksmith shop owner thought she was here to buy something and was about to greet her, only to see this remarkably dressed woman put the item down and head toward the bakery next door.

As she drew closer, the bakery's aroma grew even richer. Freshly baked loaves lay on wooden racks, their crusts golden and crispy, radiating heat.

Having eaten nothing but sweet potatoes, potatoes, and dry bread for seven or eight days, Wu Yao's eyes practically lit up at the sight of soft, normal bread.

Benita had walked several dozen meters holding Phelin's hand before realizing they had lost the person behind them.

Looking back, she saw Wu Yao standing in front of the bakery, completely rooted to the spot.

She instinctively looked down at Phelin. Phelin was also craning her neck, staring toward the bakery. Both their faces, one big and one small, clearly expressed the same thought: they wanted to eat.

“Do you have money?” Benita had never seen this lady pull out any money. After all, she hadn't even been willing to pay the copper coins to enter the town.

Of course she had money, but things bought with money were never as satisfying as those obtained by force.

“Once I exchange the Star-Scar Grass for money, I'll buy some bread for you, alright?” Benita spoke to her in a tone one would use to coax a child. Phelin covered her mouth and giggled.

Wu Yao actually had 4 gold, 35 silver, and 677 copper coins sitting in her Inventory, but the moment she heard Benita was offering to treat her, she agreed immediately. Free stuff was always the best!